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*NO* Chrono Trigger 'Chrono's Fight Dance' *RESUB*


Gario
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Submission Download Link: 
 
Contact Information::
 
Your ReMixer name: Mercurius FM
Your real name: Borigard Mercurius
Your email address: 
Your website: http://mercuriusfm.com
Your userid: 17383
 
Submission Information::
 
Name of game(s) arranged: Chrono Trigger
Name of arrangement: Chrono's Fight Dance
Name of individual song(s) arrange: Battle
Additional information about game including composer, system, etc.: http://ocremix.org/game/16/chrono-trigger-snes
 
Comments: This is a resubmission based on my original arrangement being too repetitive. I adjusted the arrangement, which has resulted in a tighter, shorter, more exciting arrangement. I wanted to resubmit it sooner, but my dad passed away last August, and I had a lot of things to do. So, finally I'm back, and here is my resubmission. For posterity, I've also included my original comments...  
 
Hi, long time listener and gamer... Been producing since 2005 and finally decided to start hammering out video game remixes because regular dance music has been boring me! This is my take on the classic Chrono Trigger Battle theme. The idea came to me after listening to the SNES soundtrack for the thousandth time... I noticed I was humming the bassline still. At this point, I began writing the remix and it transformed into an electro house stomper inspired by acts such as Soulwax and Justice, complete with heavy drums and a grinding bassline. It should be great for listening, and also for DJing since I've tested the track a couple times when I do my monthly video game event called Gamer's Paradise Party. Thanks for listening! 
 
Regards,
Bo E. aka Mercurius FM
Music Producer & DJ
 
Edited by Liontamer
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There are definitely still some conflict issues, mostly caused by that thick bass.  You can really hear all those layers running up against and beyond 0dB, which results in it sounding squashed, with some pumping and even some clipping.

That said, I do think it's an improvement.  You can hear all the parts, even though they're distorted.  It seems less repetitive to me as well, although that wasn't one of my major crits the first time around.

I wouldn't mind seeing another pass on the production here to let those synths breathe some more, but I'm not averse to seeing it posted as-is either.

YES (borderline)

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  • Liontamer changed the title to 2018/06/28 - (1Y) Chrono Trigger 'Chrono's Fight Dance'
  • 3 months later...

I started feeling this around 2:15. That build is pretty nice and when the brassy leads hit it's like "yeah I can dance to this." There's some funky stuff going on with the interplay between the kick and the bassline. I think this track would have been better served with a tighter, snappier kick sample; this one you're using sort of plunks down and sits for a little too long when it hits.

Not a dealbreaker though.

Arpeggios are a little basic, but that's alright. Pretty solid track that doesn't wear out its welcome. YES

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  • DarkeSword changed the title to 2018/06/28 - (2Y) Chrono Trigger 'Chrono's Fight Dance'

The beats are still meaty, and the arrangement remains energetic, but there's a REALLY washed out and muddy/muffled sound to this still; it makes 0 sense, and this mixing would need to be addressed for me before we could post this. Once the soundscape thinned out some at 1:30 you hear the difference, but at 1:59 it's just cluttered again, with 2:15-2:45 particularly sounding very washed out. On headphones, this sounds pretty poorly mixed now, so I'm not sure how this has 2 YESes at all unless headphones aren't being used (I did compare with my usual control track to be sure it wasn't me messing up my listening settings). Not sure what changed between this and the previous version, but this made it a tougher sell instead of getting closer to YES, and it's 100% on the production level. I'm not mad, but it's a waste of a resubmission to mess up the mixing like this.

NO (resubmit)

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  • Liontamer changed the title to 2018/06/28 - (2Y/1N) Chrono Trigger 'Chrono's Fight Dance'
  • 2 weeks later...

That bass takes up a lot of frequency, but seems to fit fairly well into the busy soundscape you have here, which is surprising. There is definitely a overall muffled feel here that Larry has mentioned, which sounds like a universal low pass filter being applied across the board. I initially took this as a stylistic choice to make the overall track feel more retro. If that's the case though, I probably wouldn't have applied this stylistic effect to absolutely everything. 2:15 is very full, and while it is a build-up, the drop is just as full, with not much breathing room between instruments by that point. This is a bit of a shame because the I found the arrangement here quite interesting, despite being somewhat repetitive. As a side note the end tail closes off fairly abruptly which I feel may be an unintentional rendering issue. There are nice ideas here, but I think a further mixing pass would greatly benefit the clarity of this mix, things are still a bit difficult to make out.

NO

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  • 1 month later...

It does sound muddy.  I feel like the bass synth is the biggest issue, it is a very cool sound, but it has a lot going on (both harmonically and in writing) and it is entirely mono, making the center of this mix very cluttered against the arps and other busy writing.  (sorry to disagree with Jivemaster on this point!)  I do love that bass sound but it seems to me that it is the type of patch that does better alone or with just one other synth element than in a busy mix.  The drums sound tiny and distant when they should be huge.  Track needs more sidechaining to let the kick through and increase the general groove.  Snare is so small and centered, and it is fighting with every other mid-high element.  I think the soundscape needs to be re-thought, deciding where things should sit in the mix.  The track sounds overcompressed overall.  I don't hear compression artifacts though, and perhaps fixing the sidechaining and soundscape placement of elements will fix the issues.

NO

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  • Gario changed the title to 2018/06/28 - (2Y/3N) Chrono Trigger 'Chrono's Fight Dance'
  • 4 weeks later...

I like the synths, the beefy synthwave drums, and the arrangement, but the mix is very muddy and lacks air.  Feels pretty compressed and boxed. That's really my main issue with this mix, but it's a big one because it just heavily detracts from the enjoyment.  It's almost as if the whole track went through a filter, feels very muffled.  I like this very much, and I wouldn't change the synths or drums, but the mix and master needs fixing for sure.

EDIT: listening to your other music in your website, most of your other mixes are crisp and clean, not sure what happened with this one.

NO

Edited by Sir_NutS
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  • Sir_NutS changed the title to 2018/06/28 - (2Y/4N) Chrono Trigger 'Chrono's Fight Dance'
  • 2 weeks later...

Your choice of instruments and arrangement progression scream synthwave to me rather than electro house - and that's not a bad thing!  You've adapted this limited source into your club-like feel and even made the bass sound exciting compositionally - sometimes playing the melodies and sometimes supporting other parts.  I felt engaged with this.

However, if you're going to use that bass for a lot of roles within the track, it'll need a lot of TLC with its mixing to stop the soundscape from getting so muddy.  Consider doing some EQ cuts in similar ranges to your snare and other leads so they can shine out a lot more, as well as adding in those missing mid-highs across your higher-tone instruments (cymbals, arpeggio, synth lead, wind effects). If the track still feels compressed after these adjustments, weakening the multiband compressor (if there is one) can add some much-needed breathing room for your mix.

I'd dance to this at a party and after having a few drinks, undoubtedly.  But for site submission, the mixing is the most significant fault, and I'll be pleased if you go back and give it another pass.

NO (resubmit)

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  • Liontamer changed the title to *NO* Chrono Trigger 'Chrono's Fight Dance'
  • Liontamer locked this topic
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