Rexy Posted January 11, 2021 Share Posted January 11, 2021 If the track passes, it will need a new title. -Rexy Hi, I'd like to submit my arrangement of Lone Trooper from the Command & Conquer Tiberian Sun score. The original was by Jarrid Mendelson. Contact: Artificial Eye Fraser Jennison https://artificial-eye.bandcamp.com/ 31156 Game: Command & Conquer Tiberian Sun Track: Lone Trooper Composer: Jarrid Mendelson Thanks, Fraser Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prophetik music Posted June 16, 2021 Share Posted June 16, 2021 tiberian sun has some really interesting tracks. you know immediately what age of pc gaming this came from as soon as you hear it, it's so late 90s. track starts off with some sfx and pads. the chord progression is from the original and the wide pads are similar to some of what's going on in the original but other than it's not a super-clear correlation. there's a tonal shift at 1:37 that brings in the familiar bass riff that's through most of the first part of the original track. the vocal pads are reminiscent of some of the instrumentation there too so that's nice. 2:12 echoes some of the original at 2:21 or so, and noodles around the updated chord progression. 3:31 picks up significantly, mirroring 3:24ish in the original. there's a lot of interesting ideas here, like adding random beats, and not as much focus on the melodic content from the original (although it's there). the synth solo is pretty fun and fits the style really well. there's a quieter section that serves to settle things down, but then it just ends rather than finishing up cleanly which is kind of bogus. overall the arrangement is pretty far-reaching, but i think that there's enough here to pass muster for content volume. the synth work and instrument choices echo the original in a lot of ways and i liked that. on the mastering side, there's not much bass and most of the pad/mid-voice synths seem pretty heavily notched into their EQ ranges so it feels a little dense EQ-wise, but that's not a deal-breaker. this is a neat arrangement that does a lot with a track that has like five notes in it. nice work. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MindWanderer Posted November 2, 2021 Share Posted November 2, 2021 I have a tough time evaluating these sorts of ambient/score-like tracks on a melodic level, but this seems to have adequate source usage. It and the source have similar sci-fi score styles, but are still very different in terms of instrumentation and overall arrangement. This version is much more cinematic. Production seems fine to me on every front; I swapped headphones just to make sure, and I still hear plenty of bass. Other than the ending, which is indeed pretty anticlimactic, I don't have any complaints. Solid stuff. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkSim Posted January 20, 2022 Share Posted January 20, 2022 What a great take on this source. It’s definitely got a cinematic upgrade, and the sound design just screams Blade Runner as soon as that pulsing bass comes in at 0:09. I’m actually not sold on the first 8 seconds of the track, but once the pads and reverb-ed sine wave get going after 0:29 it’s absolutely dripping in atmosphere. The transition to introduce the percussion at 1:35 was surprising - after a minute and a half of scene-setting, I think it could have been worked in more smoothly. You’ve also decided to filter in the snare and kick, but the hats have a different filter applied, so they sound too exposed in the mix until all the filters are opened up at 2:17. Another unusual choice that was a point of interest was the use of panning automation on the staccato arp and the low-mid arp from 2:17-2:52. The low-mid arp is on a 1-bar LFO, and the staccato on a 4-bar rotation. This is fairly unusual and stood out to my ears as a clearly intentional decision, as the automation stops for the next section. Normally I’d say it’s a pretty risky choice to pan 2 separate textures in such a way, as it could result in some imbalances when their LFOs are in sync, however given that the character of the arps was different enough, you’ve made it work here. I’m pleased that some bassier elements make it into the final section, giving it more weight and filling out the soundscape for a more epic finale. The solo was a great addition to finish off the track. That lead synth is well balanced in the mix - it can be difficult to get such a clean square wave to sit comfortably, but again you’ve pulled it off. The ending is kinda strange in that I’ve no problem with how you transition out of the final section to the outro at 5:20, it’s just those final 3 notes from 5:30-5:40 seem so unnecessary and serve to make the listener think there’s going to be more to the track. Just have that arpeggiated note at 5:29 fading out, and it’d sound much more like a natural ending. Despite a few small issues, I’d say this track is definitely good enough to pass. I enjoyed the atmosphere and aesthetic for large parts of the intro, and there were some unusual techniques, solid mixing, and good original material thrown in there to keep me interested. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted March 27, 2022 Share Posted March 27, 2022 I don't hate the track, but there were a lot of criticisms that added up to me going NO. I wasn't a fan of the super fake & exposed choral/vocal sustains brought in at 1:37, they aren't a peak offender (and I realize that there's a similar element in the original), but they just sound awkward throughout and don't properly pad out the track; if these were changed into more of a pad/non-vocal sound, perhaps they'd fit better in the mix, though you have to watch the note-to-note changes not feeling so mechanically timed. Smooth it out. The beats after 2:46 & 3:32, respectively, quickly dragged out after a while, and a core issue was the track feeling dynamically flat over long stretches because the beat continuously plodded; maybe I'm just too drawn to the weak/vanilla-sounding kick. I dig the bassline at 2:47-3:22, which had more character to it. During the brief dropoff at 3:23, there's some volume, but the textures just feel barren, and I think that helped me lock onto what's not working; nearly everything in this piece has very stilted timing. The synth lead at 4:26 is the super robotic with the timing too. I like the arrangement itself, Fraser, but if this doesn't pass, see what you can do to bring some humanization in places, adjust the vox/padding into something that doesn't sound as fake and robotic, and varying up the beats some to prevent plodding. NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimpazilla Posted March 31, 2022 Share Posted March 31, 2022 What an awesome arrangement of this theme. I really like it, but I have to agree with Larry on the choir. Since it is so prominent in the track once it enters at 1:37, it needs to sound excellent, and it doesn't. The sound itself is weak/flat and it has no interest to it. Some sidechaining, filter movement, or even a mild trancegate effect would help, but the timbre itself is weak. I think the arrangement would open up if this choir (I mean an upgraded version of the choir) was replaced after awhile by some other kind of pad, something evolving or effected so it doesn't sound so flat, something different to add interest for the listener. I hear what Larry is saying about the beats plodding during their respective sections, but I think the constant drum loop won't sound so stale if there's something more interesting going on in the background. That choir/pad is the big offender to me. This track is very close, but that pad is bad enough that it would be a shame to post it when it can be easily fixed. NO (but please resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir_NutS Posted April 19, 2022 Share Posted April 19, 2022 (edited) A nice track that is pretty much a long buildup. The long, low notes for the sawwave bass in the intro sound pleasant but also pretty dry and a bit thin. When the instrument switches to the synth bass sequence it's catchy and all but still feels just a tad simplistic in its execution, and stays that way for the entire track. It feels I'm ragging a bit too much on this instrument but it's actually throughout most of the track and sometimes it's the only strong element in some sections so it's a very important piece and I don't think it's interesting enough to carry the whole thing. The choir sample is nice but is also very static throughout the track, I think it could be more powerful-sounding specially at the point it's introduced but it kinda sits in the background for long periods of time while the synth bass is trying to carry it all. There are positives here in the production though, the mix is clean and balanced and I liked the special effects used to emphasize and give variety to the beat. Overall I think the instruments here are just on the simplistic side and the track meanders for a long period of time, hanging on elements that are not strong enough to carry an arrangement. It kinda comes together near the end but I don't think it's enough. A revision could make this go over the bar perhaps. NO EDIT: One final clarification, I don't want this evaluation to mislead you into thinking you need realistic choir samples or anything, it just needs to be more interesting to listen to, that can be accomplished with arrangement changes, or production techniques used on the samples. Even just adjusting envelopes for a more natural curve and changing them depending on context helps a lot. Edited April 19, 2022 by Sir_NutS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gario Posted April 25, 2022 Share Posted April 25, 2022 (edited) Pretty straightforward arrangement - in a lot of places it sounds like a sound upgrade, even - but there's definitely enough expansion on the source to make it your own thing. I like the overall soundscape on this for the most part (we'll swing back to that). One nice thing that this track does is it keeps the soundscape interesting; while the arrangement is straightforward it never remains too static in the soundscape so there's always at least something fresh to keep my attention with. Nice work on that. The opening has some really cool licks in the sine wave, but it gets hidden by the rest of the soundscape (the bass, particularly). I love me some straight sine wave, but you need to be careful when using is since it's so easy to lose in a soundscape. Thickening your sines with reverb, saturation, heck, just about anything would help the listener grab it. As is it's cool if you hear it, but it doesn't detract too much if it's buried since the otherwise atmospheric soundscape carries itself just fine otherwise. Would've been better if folk could, y'know, hear it, since it is really cool what you did with it. The snare at 1:37 - 3:30 could use some release. I understand the you're contrasting when the track fills up that soundscape with the clipped snare, but it's a bit too clipped for that section since it makes the drums sound like a thin drum machine. Then again, maybe that was what you were going for, but combined with the choral sample it's distracting for that minute or two. Speaking of, yes, that choral sample as mentioned by my colleagues is... well the word often used is "low quality", but I prefer to say it's thin. It's a pad, so by design it's supposed to fill in the gaps in the soundscape, but right now it just doesn't do it's job very well. Partly because of the register it holds (mid-upper range), and partly because the sample itself is thin, it could used a note or two in the lower registers to help fill out the pad better, with some reverb to help it fill the soundscape better. The sample isn't the greatest, either, but there are things that could've been done with it to better satisfy it's role as a pad regardless. I've got a lot of nitpicks and retreaded ground, but that doesn't cover what this track brings to the table: an atmospheric, chill track that ramps up it's groove into a nice thumpin' beat. The drums (after 3:30) sound pretty great, and that bassline throughout is chunky and nice. Honestly while I echo the complaint over the choral sample and it's use, I don't think it sinks the entire track as a whole, though if this does get sent back to you I do hope you take another look at that sample and see if you can improve what you have, if using different samples or synths isn't an option. Nice work overall. YES Edited July 18, 2023 by Gario Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emunator Posted May 18, 2022 Share Posted May 18, 2022 After a few listens, I'm hearing many of the same positives and negatives brought up by my fellow judges, but finding myself far more entranced by what you got right with this arrangement than off-put by any of its shortcomings. The sound design, while perhaps not as lush and full during the first 3 minutes as I would have hoped, is still quite dynamic and features a constantly-evolving set of sounds to hold my interest. This is a fantastic example of a track that fully justifies its length despite not making any radical evolutions over its runtime. The varying bass tones sound great, and each new retro arpeggio always seems to enter at just the right time. I understand the critiques regarding the choir sample, but I personally found the issue to be overstated in terms of impact. Yes, a lot of the sounds in the mix were exposed and would have benefitted from an additional element of padding to glue everything together better, and I would say this is probably my biggest gripe with the track overall. I'll also echo the comments regarding the drums for the first few minutes, but the underwhelming drums in the first half of the track do make the ones that come afterward sound more intense by contrast, so by the end of the arrangement, I found it to not be a terribly big deal. You got where you needed to go eventually YES djpretzel 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djpretzel Posted October 28, 2022 Share Posted October 28, 2022 On 5/17/2022 at 9:51 PM, Emunator said: You got where you needed to go eventually This. At two minutes in I was in the NO camp, but it eventually sold me. This is one that takes the full listen to appreciate; over the duration, I think the artist incorporates enough evolution & interpretation. I would have preferred the first third to be a little more engaging - more contrast, more drama... just "more" in general - but after that we go from borderline to "hey, I'm digging this" territory, and we basically stay there. It's close, but it's a YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djpretzel Posted October 28, 2022 Share Posted October 28, 2022 I've emailed the artist requesting a unique title. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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