*NO* Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword 'Takeyabu Resort Promo Package, 1991'

[Gario]

• ReMixer name: Michael Hudak
• Real name: Michael Hudak
• email:
• Name of GAME: The Legend of Zelda - Skyward Sword
• Name of ARRANGEMENT: Takeyabu Resort Promo Package, 1991
• Name of SONG ARRANGED: Bamboo Island

 

Link to song:

 

The Bamboo Island theme from Skyward Sword was the perfect choice for a vaporwave track. It's a genre that kind of started as a joke but took on a life of its own, one that's usually inseparable from its nostalgia aesthetic, and very fun to listen to in short bursts. 

 

There was a resort somewhere in Japan, built during the heyday of its economic boom, and every year this place would send out promotional video packages to lure customers to a week of fun and compulsion. Imagine! Maybe the place still exists as an invitation only club, with no Google Maps presence, somewhere deep in a bamboo forest...

 

(Takeyabu is Japanese for wild bamboo grove. As opposed to chikurin, which is a...well-kempt one.)

 

Edited July 28, 2019 by Rexy

[MindWanderer]

This is pretty weird even for vaporwave.  I've seen the genre described as "dystopian elevator music," but this is so bizarre, dissonant, and fast-changing it's hard to tune out.  It makes the listener feel uncomfortable rather than pacified.

It's tough to separate my subjective distaste for the result from any objective criticism.  There's distortion, but it's intentional.  There's dissonance, but that's intentional too.  It's short, but you wouldn't want it to be any longer.  The source is definitely dominant and all the parts are clearly audible.  It does everything it sets out to do.  Why anyone would want it to do that is beyond me, but that shouldn't affect the decision, IMHO.

I never want to listen to this again, but I can't think of any reason not to give it a

YES

[Liontamer]

Well, there's no question about the level of source tune usage, so at least that's easy enough.

Lo-fi kick brought in at :37; I'd argue it's too lo-fi, but then I looked up some popular vaporware and reacted with "ooooook" after hearing how it's produced. That said, where's the rest of the beats; is that it at :37? IMO, there's not enough direction here underneath the melody. The random stuff from 1:13-1:31 doesn't exactly sell this either, other than sounding odd. 

Ultimately, the one thing I'd say though compared to most vaporware I've heard is that this isn't as melodious and lacks direction. I'm not saying this has to ape other vaporware, but without a more present beat to anchor this and drive it forward, this comparatively feels underdeveloped. I'm willing to hear other opinions and other examples of vaporware, but for now, I'm a NO. Good potential here, but it sounds incomplete.

NO (resubmit)

[Rexy]

It took me a few listens to detect the source, but it got played around in this bizarre soundscape.  You utilized its chords well, the singular run of the melody was adapted to fit the soundscape, and you nailed that lo-fi production aesthetic.

My issues with this track are that the percussion feels empty, and the framework ended up going into a sparser direction as time went on.  If you're going to make a vaporwave track, it's best to keep a consistent 80s pop style beat, rather than randomly hit parts of the kit on occasion.  Similarly, the bass dropping out from 1:07 onward ended up doing more harm to the second half of the track, taking it in some unintended ambient direction with no backbone.

I respect the unexpected direction taken, but as of right now it only really sounds like a tech demo.  It'll be desirable to hear a version that adds a more consistent driving beat with potentially more writing going on in the bass.  It's a genre that's surprisingly unexplored at OCR, but you've got the nerve to make it happen if you decide to revise the track.

NO (resubmit)

[prophetik music]

On 5/8/2019 at 4:15 PM, MindWanderer said:

It does everything it sets out to do.  Why anyone would want it to do that is beyond me

 real talk, the wikipedia page on ＶＡＰＯＲＷＡＶＥ is hilarious.

i love the soundtest intro. i definitely have always associated ＶＡＰＯＲＷＡＶＥ as being more of an 80's mall sound, and this is more sparse than i'd have expected for that. ＶＡＰＯＲＷＡＶＥ usually rides on a consistent kick and snare beat that you hear in most of of synthwave, and this doesn't feel like that. all that said, if we ignore that you said it was ＶＡＰＯＲＷＡＶＥ, then it's pretty spacy nu-jazz, and that's ok.

the arrangement's consistent (if not immediately recognizable), it's got a great weird feel, and it doesn't fail on any specific level. however, it is quite sparse, the kit could use some work (it sounds so dead), it's barely two minutes long outside the intro/outro, and some body to the mix would do some wonders at making it more like something you'd hear at Kodak in the 80s.

ultimately i don't think i can pass this. more attention to the kit and the kit's arrangement to add body and content would help immensely. it's also just too short - you only really go through the melody once, and it's transformed quite a bit beyond a clear statement of the theme. that compounds with the really spare instrumentation to make for something that doesn't quite feel like a song, but instead a backing track waiting for more to be added.

 

NO

[Jivemaster]

A strange package of a minimal lo-fi drum and crackly bubbly synths. The lo-fi works quite well for most parts, although the effect can be a bit too strong compared to others. Lead synths were a touch too loud, making things feel disconnected at times (like at 1:14 for example). As a fan of the lower quality vibe found throughout, I think some additional cohesion in the bit quality and mixing would go a long way in making the track feel more complete. I didn't have too much problem with source. Agree the track is a bit short for what is covered, some expansion to explore these ideas further is encouraged. Agree with Rexy that this feels like a tech demo. A good overall concept with some outstanding issues to address.

NO

Edited July 28, 2019 by Jivemaster