OCR01574 - *YES* Chrono Cross 'Song of Ruin'

[Liontamer]

Hey everybody,

CONTACT INFO:

Damon Campbell (Blue Magic)

bluemagic1984@msn.com

My site: http://www.angelfire.com/blues2/bluemagic/

REMIX INFO:

Chrono Cross "Tower or Ruin"

You can find the song posted up on my site.

Enjoy.

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http://www.tzone.org/~llin/psf/packs2/Chrono_Cross_psf.rar - 215 "Dead Sea - Tower of Ruin"

Cool source tune. Sounds Parasite Eve-ish, except there's no cheesily fake vox, and the woodwinds are clearly not anything from that soundtrack. The source has a nice eerie vibe though.

I usually don't comment on mix titles, but "Song of Ruin" seems so out of place with this one. What little tension the original had to deserve its name, this has none of that. No points off for the name though, but perhaps this should have had a different name entirely.

Sequenced guitar was pretty decent, with some good filling out of the background with the string runs; nice gradual build for the intro with some subtle personalized touches.

Good subtle dynamic shift at :55 by punching up a few of the elements, and I liked the relatively smooth changeup in the percussion at 1:19 to keep things progressing. Wish that little phrasing at 1:37 & 2:01 wasn't basically used verbatim from the source; it's those little details that could easily be more substantially tweaked to make the arrangement stand apart more from the original.

Cool shift to the electrosynth at 2:34 that worked better than I initially thought it would. At that point though, the snare rim hits (thanks, TO and zircon) that started at 1:19 felt like they had dragged out for too long. Would have loved a slightly different sound to eventually make its way in for a changeup at the foundation of the track. Perhaps just a minor crit in the big picture, but still an important one given how much it stood out to me.

Relatively conservative but personalized approach. Though the sample quality was pretty nice, the performance could sound more organic though I can't put my finger on why that was. There was just something about it, but the execution was decidedly fine all things considered, and on par with Damon's skillz. The arrangement's quiet and understated enough that, IMO, it's not gonna reach out and grab you. But I appreciated the subtleties of the interpretation as well as the smooth shifts that allow the track to evolve without the casual listener even noticing. Pretty chill.

YES

[Jillian Aversa]

As Larry pointed out, it's those subtle details that can really make or break a mix. This is a lovely piece, from start to finish. A few minor twangs in the accoustic guitar, but that helps maintain the organic feel. 0:58 marks the entrance of your soft percussion; there are some nice rhythmic choices there, but I wish the bass kick had been a little louder and more supported... It was barely audible! I also felt like the beautiful sinewav that enters at 2:45 could have appeared much sooner. Why save it for the last minute, right before a fade? I wanted mooooore.

Relaxing, heartfelt, and unique. This gets a YES in my book!

EDIT: Would you be willing to pump up that bass kick a little before this gets posted, if it's passed? That would make my day. ^-^

[JJT]

The sequenced acoustic guitar is as convincing and well done as the piano is fake and distracting. After listening 5-6 times, these were the strongest impressions that I took from this mix.

The arrangement, though conservative, is both compelling and emotive. Overall, the concept is executed well. Pixie's comments on the kick drum are spot on...I would really like that entrance to punch me in the face a little bit more.

As I said, my biggest complaint is the piano, which sounds too dry and mechanical to blend well with the other elements in the sound field. This is a great effort, but there's still room to improve.

YES

[Malcos]

Great submission. The acoustic emotive feel of this mix and the constant subtle changeups make this a pleasure to listen to. The piano part did sound somewhat unrealistic when compared to the guitar, however for me that was a minor point. 808 kick is nicely balanced for the soft vibe of this.

YES