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OCR04116 - *YES* Final Fantasy 10 "Macalania Shaman"


Rexy
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about 4.5db headroom on this one. in reality it's more than that since outside of one section it's much quieter.

i've always enjoyed how lush this specific track on the OST is. it really does a great job bringing to mind how life-filled this area is.

right off the bat there's some fun Omnisphere pingpongs that crossfade into some really nice, lush tremelo strings and marcato winds. that's a nice realization of the original. the glock is real loud compared to everything, though, notably so that it doesn't feel like it's in the same sonic space. i like how it settles down at 1:35 though, maintaining the ostinado in the winds for a bit without losing the forward momentum. it felt a little meandering and lost from 1:50 to the flute coming back in at 2:05, and while i like the attention to the tempo i thought it felt pretty weird what was going on there. after that is some beautiful timbral variations and an ending that stretches on longer than expected. this isn't as egregious as the Zelda track i recently heard of yours with several minutes of aleatory, and it does feel more connected to the rest of the content.

overall this is a beautiful track and you do a nice job using motifs from the original to drive the arrangement without outright copying it. nice work.

 

 

YES

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  • 2 weeks later...

With a Hamauzu source so minimal, there are a lot of places you can go; this mainly distinguishes itself from the original by subtracting the backing strings and adding other organic-sounding parts in Rebecca's new age arsenal to fill up the space and present a different feel to the theme underneath and around the base pattern and melody.

The soundscape turned into mud at 1:09 until about 1:32; yeah, definitely revisit the mixing on this so things don't get flooded when you introduce some denser parts. 2:10 was a point where the woodwind came in to add more textural depth for a little bit. Hard to really evaluate the track as anything but a background piece, not that that's a problem; some sources aren't heavy on melody, and that's OK. I enjoyed Rebecca's spin on it!

YES

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  • Liontamer changed the title to 2019/10/15 - (2Y) Final Fantasy 10 "Macalania Shaman"
  • 1 month later...

Naturally, this isn't so focused on melody, but more on generating background textures underneath the source - and that's something I've seen Rebecca pull off so well.  As Larry pointed out, the string padding in the source got swapped over for some more ambient pad work and the occasional bell flourish - and the string stabs additionally got re-orchestrated for woodwinds.  I also noticed that instead of the tempo dip that was in the source, the bell melody at 0:58 stayed locked to the tempo - a stiff direction, yes, but a transformation nonetheless.  The slowdown at 1:51 felt more organic and served well as a segue into the A section's return.  I also wasn't too crazy about the ending from 3:08 onwards being source-free outside of the chord progression, but the low timbres and volume shaping did their job in gently bringing the calm to a close.

This mixdown is an interesting one, too - not a lot actually happens in the mid-highs and highs, but when something does among the arsenal of pads and bells, they well and truly get a moment to shine.  The instruments are well-balanced save for a low-mid overload from 1:09-1:31, and the woodwind articulations feel so lush and blend with the already pleasant-sounding pads and percussion.  I wouldn't mind a cleanup in that section before posting, but I won't be too concerned if it gets left alone.

Nevertheless, this is an example of working with so little and developing something worthwhile - experimentation with different textures and pacing, all placed on a pleasantly produced palette.  Through Rebecca's development with both this and earlier new-age arrangements, she's become the audio equivalent of a masseuse - and I am thankful for it.  Solid stuff.

YES

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  • Rexy changed the title to 2019/10/15 - (3Y) Final Fantasy 10 "Macalania Shaman"

Well first off, too much headroom.  It's not as bad as in other submissions from Rebecca but still I wish this was closer to "normal" volume.  This is less symphonic or folksy than Rebeca's usual entries and I love it, lush evolving pads and droning ambient sounds complement the track well.  I honestly enjoyed this hybrid track a lot more due to the unique sound you're going for here.  I think the mix is sufficiently clean and I can hear the elements of the song well enough.

The arrangement is nothing too transformative but there are some cool ideas with some of the melodies changing instruments and purpose.  I think you did a good job with a source that doesn't have that much to offer, and I really enjoyed this hybrid take.

YES

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  • Sir_NutS changed the title to 2019/10/15 - *YES - TAG* Final Fantasy 10 "Macalania Shaman"
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