Rexy Posted May 24, 2021 Share Posted May 24, 2021 (edited) RebeccaETripp Rebecca Tripp http://www.crystalechosound.com/ ID: 48262 Game(s): Ocarina of Time Song Title: Voice of Din Songs Remixed: Chamber of Sages This is another track that was made for my Legend of Zelda inspired audio drama, "Lamp of Destiny". You can find the drama here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhsnNwoLVWWN0Ietx6W21aE-Jgn81geaY It's also just a remix of the "Chamber of Sages" theme used throughout the series. It also has some references to the Fire Temple from Ocarina of Time. Edited March 14, 2022 by Liontamer closed decision Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prophetik music Posted October 1, 2021 Share Posted October 1, 2021 what a weird track for a remix. looking forward to this one. a pad and some some ideophone (kalimba, i'm assuming) and (sounds like live) flute start it off. there's some synth voice (i love the idea but the execution is very fakey) going through the ostinato. 1:22 is a kinda repeat of the beginning, and 1:44 is similar to the beginning section as well with some differences in how it's moved through. there's a very out-of-place panflute (?) at 2:14 that doesn't sound like it's in the same space as the other orchestral instruments, and then some fadeout. i feel like i've said this a lot lately, but this is a weird one. in terms of the original, there's very little recognizable melodic content, and the untimed nature of several of the instruments is a key aspect that's hard to represent in a DAW. there's some really interesting work in how the original's two primary parts play off each other while the bells bumble on in their own time-world behind everything else. in your version, you squared it up to a beat much more than the original was, and attempted to capture a repeating pattern for the 'melody' as opposed to the more exploratory original. i don't feel removing much of what made the original unique both to the in-game situation and to the soundtrack as a whole (the out-of-time background, the weird harmonies, the very un-melodic direction of the whole thing) is a positive. that said, the submission standards require identifiable source material and substantial, original arrangement, not commitment to the source material's context. in that regard, your ostinato version of the vox synth in the original and how you handle it does fulfill those criteria. i don't consider the arrangement to be remarkable however, and the lack of blending by the flute, vox synth, and panflute in the remix are pretty rough. the flute's performance is somewhat uneven from a volumization perspective (the loudest part of the track is essentially just the flute at one point) and has some tone and audible fingering issues, whereas the vox synth's vibrato is so consistent and strong that it actually sounds out of tune when it comes in. variance of the vibrato usage and speed would be much more humanizing if possible. the panflute just sounded very out of place as well - it did not feel it was in the same space at all. this feels like nitpicks, but the entire piece is like six instruments and three of them have pretty clear execution issues. i don't feel the arrangement makes up for it. it's honestly pretty close - the idea that's here is really interesting! - i just think that it isn't quite there. i could be convinced that i'm being too hard on it and i wouldn't be surprised to see other judges vote the other way on it. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MindWanderer Posted December 31, 2021 Share Posted December 31, 2021 Normally I don't come down hard on humanization, but proph is right about the vibrato of the soprano being over the top, as well as the general comment about the instruments not sounding like they're in the same space: some have rich reverb, some have almost none, some are in the middle. And the flute is also an issue, both in terms of inconsistent volume, and that the breath control could use some work and has a couple of squeaky notes. In an ensemble performance I feel like some of these issues could be hand-waved, but they're so exposed here that I don't think this is quite postable. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted March 14, 2022 Share Posted March 14, 2022 Unlike proph, I didn't have a problem with Rebecca giving the source's unwieldy melody and percussion more of a fixed structure; IMO, that gave this more focus. No problem with approaching it this way. I also didn't have a problem with the vox humanization; it sounded realistic and fine to me; anything fake or stilted can be attributed to an otherworldly sound, but hey, being a non-musician heathen, maybe I'm just more permissive of something potentially sacriligious here. Hmmm... really odd mixing. The kalimba (or whatever this initial lead is) is so much louder than the flute and vox in places; it's not wrong, per se, but the balance among the parts feels weird. It's a subjective thing though; I'll get over that. The real killer here though: 1:21-1:43 essentially sounded like a cut-and-paste of :05-:27, then the vox from :27-1:08 was basically copied from 1:44-2:25. That's not to say effort isn't given to having the track and textures evolve; it's a cool track. But, IMO, the copy-pasta of the kalimba and vox parts like this ends up being too much wholesale repetition in the grand scheme of things. If you're willing to vary those parts up somehow, this would easily get my vote. I hate to potentially offer disjointed feedback when you look at what the 3 of us have collectively said. I didn't really agree with the others' core issues and found my own, so if you choose to revisit this, I feel like you're in a choose-your-own adventure scenario. I always enjoy your stuff and trust your judgement. That said, this concept with more development and variation within this length of time would be all systems go with me. NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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