PRC429 - Escape From The Apes In The Cave (Ape Escape)

[Bundeslang]

The People's Remix Competition 429
PRCv18-09

Hello everyone and Welcome to the People's Remix Competition!

In PRC427 it was TheVideoGamer who got the win. The source has been selected.

On 6/5/2021 at 4:11 PM, TheVideoGamer said:

Ima hit you hard with the nostalgia. This was one the games that takes me back so long, one of the finest PS1 games.

I'm obviously talking about Ape Escape, which was very innovative at the time, because it had a unique idea. Basically you had to catch monkey's to complete a level, with each level being expansive and well though-out. You had multiple tools at your disposal, as well as villains to fight at the end.  The game is made by Japan Studio and has undergone many remakes, mostly in updating the graphics, but with some remakes adding new tunes, and minigames. Only 3 games were made tops, with the rest of the games being spin-off's or games with multiple characters from different franchises. I don't know why they stopped at Ape Escape 3, maybe something killed it i don't know, but i will say when i was young i was playing this a lot, it's a fun game for sure.

But why focus on the game? The soundtrack is among the finest in the PS1 catalogue. Perfectly unusual blend of cartoony melody ideas, synthetic percussive ideas, and the most obviously, jungle breaks. Rich in Techno and Jungle, but also rich in light-hearted fun in some areas. A lot of the tracks are super simple, mostly looping 1-2 bar phrases, while some go for more heavy melodic ideas. The more i talk about it, the more i would love to put every song on here, but alas i can only choose one. 

The music was done by Soichi Terada, who (Except for the second game) has composed pretty much all of the games in the series. What's also interesting, is that he wasn't even a composer at this point, he was a producer making electronica albums for his own record label, Far East Recording. So this game was a turning point into VGM. All in all, you have to check this dude out, he's so good. I had a hard time picking one track from the game, but in the end i choose to go with Coral Cave. Very relaxing, but also very simple. Only 2 chords are used throughout the whole piece, with the main traction coming from the dynamic melody. Creativity will be needed for this one, but that's good, as music doesn't always need to be expansive (The Bomberman round showcases this well). Hope you do this one justice.

GAME: Ape Escape

Source: Coral Cave

 

And as expected from me, my own MIDI:

https://www.vgmusic.com/file/ab08d1620f0b0a3dce1d24d7de2737ba.html#disqus_thread

Source: Ape Escape (PS1) - Coral Cave

https://compo.thasauce.net/files/materials/PRC429_Ape_Escape_-_Coral_Cave.mid

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ape_Escape

https://compo.thasauce.net/rounds/view/PRC429

 

The deadline is Wednesday July 7th 2021 at 10:59 am ThaSauce time (18:00 UTC, 19:00 GMT), check the link https://compo.thasauce.net/rounds/view/PRC429 for the exact time left. Make sure that the song is uploaded to ThaSauce or that there’s a download link posted in this thread. 

You may enter as many mixes as you like and work with as many people as you like on each mix. You are free to create a second ThaSauce account for that if you use ThaSauce, it's needed to be able to upload a second remix if you use ThaSauce. Of course you can also upload it somewhere else and put a download link in this thread.

Do not make qualitative comments on an entry until the results of the vote have been posted in this thread.

Mixers cannot vote for themselves but if they vote they receive a free first place vote added onto their score.

The winner of this round may select the source for PRC431.

The winner of PRC427, TheVideoGamer , who picked this source, has a double vote but can only participate by submitting a Bonus Mix 

You can find the full rules list at this page as well.

 

GOOD LUCK!

 

PRC Home Page

[Wassup Thunder]

Nice rhythm and beat on this thing. Now to start the monkey business.

[Marcusg]

Soichi Terada, has some crazy break beat rhythm. He has some interesting tracks.

[Souperion]

I've not made music for monkeys before...

[Wassup Thunder]

Got my entry in!

[TheVideoGamer]

My bonus entrant's in!

[The Vodoú Queen]

Done.

[Bundeslang]

Welcome to the voting stage

I'm late, two days, but the mixing stage is over. This round has 4 songs and 1 bonus mix by TheVideoGamer. The following people compete against each other:

Wassup Thunder

Souperion

TheVodouQueen

Marcusg

 

 

To vote, do the following:

Visit https://compo.thasauce.net/rounds/view/PRC429 and listen to all the entries

Scroll to the form at the bottom of the screen or click PM.

Fill in the entries from first to third in the ThaSauce form or fill in your top 3.

State a reasoning for it.

Participants are encouraged to vote and leave feedback. They get a 3 point bonus, but they are not allowed to vote for their own track. They only have to fill in their top 2, leave the third box empty.

Always look in this thread to find out who's the winner of the round after the voting stage instead of only looking at ThaSauce for the results.

 

You have until Monday July 12th 2021 6:59 AM ThaSauce time (11:00 UTC, 12:00 GMT) to vote.

 

If you vote by PM make sure that your top 3 is clear. I prefer something like this:

(To)

(Subject)

PRC ### Vote

(Message):

1: (remixer A )

2: (remixer B )

3: (remixer C )

 

(reasoning)

Edited July 9, 2021 by Bundeslang

[The Vodoú Queen]

@everyone: Sorry I had no idea that the voting was today. I thought it was tomorrow. My bad, I'll try to post up my feedback tomorrow.

@TheVideoGamer I know you were in a rush but I'm very confused with your feedback for me. Maybe you'll elaborate further but my song is 90% Coral Caves...? Everything bar the pads and bassline was Coral Cave related. Pads and bassline were Redial, unless it felt more that way because of the phone SFX...?

Sorry, yeah I'm super confused as to how it seemed to have more Redial than the primary source.

Edited July 12, 2021 by The Vodoú Queen

[The Vodoú Queen]

If the voting tally isn't too late, here's at least my votes:

1) Cave Explorer - MarcusG

2) Reef Meditation - Wassup Thunder 

3) Coral Calamity - Souperion

[TheVideoGamer]

36 minutes ago, The Vodoú Queen said:

@everyone: Sorry I had no idea that the voting was today. I thought it was tomorrow. My bad, I'll try to post up my feedback tomorrow.

@TheVideoGamer I know you were in a rush but I'm very confused with your feedback for me. Maybe you'll elaborate further but my song is 90% Coral Caves...? Everything bar the pads and bassline was Coral Cave related. Pads and bassline were Redial, unless it felt more that way because of the phone SFX...?

Sorry, yeah I'm super confused as to how it seemed to have more Redial than the primary source.

I didn't have time to properly form opinions, because i was in a rush. I knew that by the time i would return home, voting would have ended. So i threw together very basic thoughts (I would even say real opinions). Didn't even get a chance to listen to each one fully. I just skimmed through 10 seconds based on what sounded good. It's not the most ideal...

I will do some real feedback soon. Hopefully you are ok with that.

Edited July 12, 2021 by TheVideoGamer

[Bundeslang]

It's results time.

TheVideoGamer did a bonus mix.

Wassup Thunder got 8 points and the last place wooden spoon.

Souperion and TheVodouQueen tie again with 10 points and second place.

And the winner of PRC429 is Marcusg with 11 points.

Marcusg you are the winner. You may pick a source for PRC431. Again I didn't have time to vote this time and didn't listen to the songs yet, I'll do that later (also for PRC428). It was very close, compared to last round the results are reversed. I included the vote by TheVodouQueen.

Send the source to me (with a MID/MP3 file, otherwise send a second source with a MID file) by PM, other options are PM me @ ThaSauce or by e-mailing to bambombim@gmail.com (I prefer a PM @Ocremix). Send your source as fast as you can, but before next Wednesday (21 July 2021), 11:00 AM ThaSauce time (18:00 UTC, 19:00 GMT).

You may select any source from any game, but not a source with an OverClocked remix or a source which has been used in PRC before. An overview of the past PRC's can be found in the following links (I recently updated this site):

http://sites.google.com/site/bambombim/prc

http://bambombim.googlepages.com/PRCRemixList.doc (also downloadable via the link above).

https://compo.thasauce.net/rounds/view/PRC429 for the votes and comments.

PRC430 already started:

 

[The Vodoú Queen]

1 minute ago, TheVideoGamer said:

I didn't have time to properly form opinions, because i was in a rush. I knew that by the time i would return home, voting would have ended. So i threw together very basic thoughts (I would even say real opinions). Didn't even get a chance to listen to each one fully. I just skimmed through 10 seconds based on what sounded good. It's not the most ideal...

I will do some real feedback soon. Hopefully you are ok with that.

That's fine, I guess.

Ten seconds really isn't ideal, no, lol, cause something is bound to get the short end of the stick, but it is what it is now. Real life happens. Don't worry about it.

[The Vodoú Queen]

Congrats, Marcus.

Well earned.

Gonna be honest on this one and say I don't agree fully with the tally up, because Gamer and I rushed it, but Marcus did very well for a song he also rushed up before work, so I'll call it even, lol.

See people next round. I may sit this one out, but I'll at least try to give constructive feedback where I can.

Also, thanks Bund for allowing my vote in and again, sorry for the lateness. It won't happen again, cause it's unfair to other people TBH... Sorry again.

And Marcus, again, super fab job. ❤️ Really did love what you composed despite on short notice and really want to get my feedback up ASAP to show that.

Edited July 12, 2021 by The Vodoú Queen

[Souperion]

Some real fun stuff this round. Congrats to marcusg, keep up the good work everyone.

[Wassup Thunder]

Great round! Insert monkey joke! Looking forward to seeing what source Marcusg picks!

[The Vodoú Queen]

Here's my feedback... Sorry, again, for the delay...

----

1) 'Cave Explorer' - MarcusG

Pros:

* Really like the thumping beat and percussion.

* The slightly dragging piano worked very well with the bass and beat. It felt like someone was adding a smooth layer of chocolate on some rocky road ice cream filled with peanuts and almonds--funky, crunchy, and delicious to hear.

* For a composition piece that you whipped up last minute before work, you did quite a bit of work, and it all meshed together nicely. Well done and big props.

 

Critique:

* Wish there was some added percussion to the synth bass and the echoey sustain / pad behind the melody as part of the harmony line. Perhaps like some added shakers or a tamb or two--something ultimately light that won't take away from the soft beat, but would add a bit more layering to the song...

* Unsure if it'd work, but perhaps another kind of piano (or other string instrument) working the melody along with your dragged piano in the second half of the song? Might've been an interesting addition. Don't want too many instruments, but having another one that dragged slightly behind the piano to give the song a reverb effect could've been worked in.

* Otherwise, for what it is and how long you worked on it, it's fantastic. Keep up the good work.

 

2) 'Coral Calamity' - Souperion

Pros:

* I like the spooky vibe with the shrieking stringwork and creepy organ. Didn't think 'Coral Caves' could have that kind of genre bend to it, but it's nice and very original.

* Like some others have mentioned, it sounded very much like a remix of the song made for a boss fight (e.g. similar to how DK 64 and Conker's Bad Fur Day did it, where the level music tended to also be the boss music, remixed and twisted, [in hindsight, many Rareware games did that back in the SNES & N64 days...].) I enjoyed the shift @ 2:30 to the lighter tones as well.

* To go along with that, your play on the dark and light-sides of the song, and incorporating different sounds and instruments between the two, especially around @ 3:20 where they started flowing in and out and meshing together, really, really worked. Was a lot of good interplay within the composition. Great stuff.

 

Critique:

* The heavy metal drum beats worked for me in the song, however the guitar at the beginning didn't (between 0:00 and 0:20 or so). It sounded too messy. Unsure of whether its the EQ or any possible add- ons to the sound (like a fuzz amp, etc) that caused it, but the dirty chord riffs just was a bit too haphazard. It sounded better with the surrounding melody and harmony and drumworks later on, but standing out on its own unsupported was weird for me, sorry.

* Besides the slightly "sloppy" start, as you put it, the song is pretty tight-knit and well-meshed as it goes on. Just wished the guitar in the beginning had a better, cleaner sound quality.

* This was a very close round for me in who I picked as well, to be honest. Your creativity for this was great. ❤️

 

3) 'Reef Meditation with Monkeys' - Wassup Thunder

Pros:

* The little percs and blips from the very beginning seemed so playful, so cute, and so you. Loved 'em, and put a neat spin on the source!

* For a composition that isn't your usual either Rock or Eurobeat vibe, it's very well done, smooth, and relaxing to listen to. The conga drum rolls and clavs / castanets were a nice touch as well.

* Real fine jungle beat that I'm sure the monkeys and cavemen out there would love. I especially loved the bit from 2:50 onwards. I almost didn't notice the vocal choir in there either, but on subsequent listen-throughs I picked up on it, and it was a treat as well. Fitted very well with the rest of the soundscape.

 

Critique:

* I wasn't a real big fan of the "chicka-chicka" shaker sound in the background from 0:00 - 1:00. It stood out to me way more than it probably should have as a background piece. It might've been me, but my ears trained to it almost immediately, instead of focusing in on those sweet foreground and midground instruments.

* The bass @ 1:00 seemed a little flat to me, and odd. Maybe it was the type of bass sound used, like a weird arpy / synthy sound, but I couldn't put my finger on what it was exactly. Perhaps it just stood out a lot compared to the rest of the soundscape. Unsure what I'd replace it with insofar as other synths or arps... Maybe something that sounded more like an upright bass rather than a synth bass. Hmm...

* Otherwise, great stuff. That flute, piano and pad(s) were, mmmah *kiss*.

 

--BONUS--

+ 'Ape on the Dancefloor' - TheVideoGamer

Pros:

* Ah, another one of your excellent pieces of craftsmanship in the art of Breakbeat and/or Rave tracks. ❤️ You never cease to amaze, (and I'm not being sarcastic with that, genuinely, it's always lovely to hear your work).

* This round surely showed a dichotomy between "simplistic" compositions versus "complex" compositions, like yours, and either one is some real good shit. The additional complexities added to the rather oversimplified source was done with some expertise and care. I liked basically every add-on.

* The beat was on-par, my man. Keep doing you.

 

Critique:

* I think the only downsides I had with this remix was the arp used for the main melody of the tune (I think it's some kind of arp anyways). It was a bit too shrill, and kind of swamped the rest of the piece. Not a whole lot, but enough to have caught my attention more than once even after a few listen-overs.

* Had a smiliar issue with the bassline (starting @ 1:35). Just the way it hit me (maybe it was my headphones???) Felt "SHARP", and stabby, atop of shrill. Sharp and stabby is mostly fine, but the volume could've been dialed like a few decibels, in real small notches...like 0.-- etc kind of notches. It's no biggie, just again one of those things that kept with me as I listened. Also, didn't like the wobbly pad @ 1:57 - 2:15, at all...sorry.

* Great variety, great changes, great song. Keep up the good work and the creativity.

Edited July 13, 2021 by The Vodoú Queen

[NovemberRhythm]

hello guys

the link to the music of the @The Vodoú Queen is broken

http://compo.thasauce.net/rounds/view/PRC429

if it is not possible to fix someone could send me the music link?

[The Vodoú Queen]

https://www.bandlab.com/vodouqueenxiii/redial-9c12e152

That's a direct link to the song on my Bandlab account, even though it's slightly updated and remastered.

Same song basically though. Just was fixing some niggles from the version I submitted to PRC.

[The Vodoú Queen]

Unsure how mine broke though.

...Guess this PRC especially is super cursed for me. ?

[TheVideoGamer]

4 hours ago, NovemberRhythm said:

hello guys

the link to the music of the @The Vodoú Queen is broken

http://compo.thasauce.net/rounds/view/PRC429

if it is not possible to fix someone could send me the music link?

All you really need to do is complete the audio file name. It appears to be incomplete. So in this case it's missing the 9, the bracket and the .mp3.

I tried it, and it worked. Ideally you shouldn't have to do this, but it works. I'd recommend it. 

[The Vodoú Queen]

That also works lol.

[TheVideoGamer]

Ok sorry i was so late, i have been very busy the last week or so. I've listened to them all and here's what i think of it, in grave detail.

Souperion - Really liking the dark rock vibes in the first half, it's almost like some intense boss battle. Great string ambience, this is one spooky tune. Like how you also tried to invert the chords, so we still get the complex 7th's, but in a minor key. Interesting melody switch too, it's very dissonant, but in a satisfying way. Nice that you included some synths, really brings it to life. Don't hear much of the main melody, but i'm sure that's just a stylistic choice, especially since we are dealing with a lot of synths. The mix is really nice on here, very heavy but in a great way. Now the second half really makes me feel like i'm in coral cave. It goes straight into the original vibe, with lots of beautiful relaxing synth warbles, and a great glide on the arp. Now i would have loved to hear more of this, because i'm personally biased towards this part, it's so relaxing, and play's super well to the source's melodic content. Also like how the main melody takes full effect here. Mixing wise i couldn't find any problems, not much in the overall track to be honest, it's very well done. Maybe more of the second half would have worked for me, and a better less abrupt ending, but all in all, lovely work, really enjoyed this. Well done!

Wassup Thunder - This is very close to the source, really like how you made the breakbeat out of light percussion. Makes the source more airy and breathy as a result. Not as intense. This does mean we loose a bit of the low end, but the bassline is there so it's not too much. Great bass sound actually, very juicy and enjoyable to my ears. Also really like the piano integration. Now the whole thing sounds lovely, but what would really work is a drum beat. I know i said it makes it light and airy, but i do feel drums could make this into something special. You could even do your classic Eurobeat 4 on the floor. Also i feel there is 2 things that could be improved. First the bass needs to be better mixed, i sense parts where it gets a little too loud for me, like it's almost distorted. I get this a lot in my tracks sometimes, and people have rightly pointed it out. It usually happens when i go for really intense basslines, mixed with distorted beats. The only other thing i might suggest, is doing more original things to the arrangement. I feel this is more on the MnP side than the PRC side, however though i too fall into this trap in PRC, so i call this one a minor issue. Plus as well, sometimes things sound better when it's closer to the original, so don't worry about too much. The last part is awesome, i love the choir integration, it's very well done, you've take only 2 chords and done something special with it, and i love it. Really nicely done on the arrangement. Well done!

Marcusg - Really lovely breaks here, i definately like the grooves a lot. Loving the wonky piano feel, definately liking the simple ideas, it's done well. The breaks are fantastic. Really liking the sub bass too. The piano is very out of time, even if i said it was nice. I don't know it just feels great on it's own, but weird when the beats and bass come in. It's also very simple, i'd argue too simple, i feel there could be a lot more to this, especially since there is only 2 chords. I also feel as well, the breaks are a tad bit loud for the melodic elements, but that's just me. I mean the breaks on their own sound awesome, but it's the integration that feels off for me. I still like this idea a lot though, the sound selection was great. Yeah it's only 2 minutes, but it's done well. Great work on this, well done!

TheVodouQueen - I laughed at the inclusion of Monkey sound effects, that's pretty funny. There seems to be some kind of live recording going on, with a radio. I think that could have been a Youtube video, who knows. Now listening to this in detail, my comments need to be completely rewritten. I love the pad sounds, and definately the drums, funky vibes all around. The educational comedy part was just the icing for me, i laughed so hard. Your creativity seems to always shine, some of the ideas are so original. Now i can kind of see why i thought this was a remix of Redial, because the pad sounds are quite full on, so i hear a lot of Redial in the front and Coral Cave in the background. However though, this is PRC, so this would be understandable. I also managed to hear a lot more of coral cave this time than when i skimmed through. Especially with the melody in the middle. I kinda owe everyone an apology for rushing mine, listening to it now, it's much better than before. The only problem i really have, is a kind of a polish thing. The drums get pushed down by the pad and melody, which i feel could be big and full. Also i feel there are parts that could be instrumental, (Or at least more instrumental than i'm hearing), to give time for some melody/drum play. Really though that's all i have, the rest sounds great. I love the work you did on here, and the humour was awesome, so much originality. Much better now that i got a chance to really listen to it, in full.  Well done!

Ok so what would i change from my original ranking?

Compared to my original vote, Wassup Thunder's track has more unique parts than before and was definately not as static as what i've written. Had a lot more cool elements to switch it up. I still think it fits more in MnP terms, but this one isn't an issue per-say. I also had a mixing issue with the bass, something not in the original critique.

Souperion's track was definately well mixed, i don't know why i put that in the original votes, this obviously came down from me not listening to it properly.

Listening to Marcus's entrant, definately changed a lot of things. I hate to say this, because i don't want to bring this user down or anything, but i felt i was being way too generous with this entrant. I still commend him, because it was a lovely arrangement, i loved the breaks, however the arrangement felt very simple, and the piano was a little out of time, which is especially noticeable when the drums in. It's more so Marcus started it, as kind of an idea, that could be expanded or finished upon. However though, i am taking into account it was rushed, and a couple of rounds ago, he said he was still learning FL Studio, so i don't want to be too harsh (Which i'm worried i am being). I still loved the track though.

TheVodouQueen was definately a big overhaul to me. I original said it was a remix of redial, and although to a degree i still can see why i said that, it's actually got a good chunk of Coral Cave, especially in the melody. More so when i listen to it, i only came up with a few mixing touches, i felt were needed, and maybe too much voice clips were used (But i consider this small, since everytime i listen to it, i get conflicted thoughts. I love it in one part, but then i think, maybe it's a bit too much. Still enjoy them though). The main pad sound might be why i initially thought of Redial, but going back, i've decided to backtrack on that, since i didn't listen deep enough Lovely work on this anyways!

Based on these alone, if i were to be given a chance to do a re-ranking of my top 3 votes it would be as follows:

1. Souperion would be first.

2. TheVodouQueen would be second (Although her's was very close to being the top spot)

3. Marcusg (I still think your entry is very solid, and i really do like the work you've done with the breaks).

Wassup Thunder would have made the 3rd spot, if the bass was mixed in a bit more (Still enjoyed his a lot though).

Hopefully people can be assured that i've listened to them properly now and done really critique on it, not some half-assed poor attempt.

Sorry it took so long too, been so busy this week. Onwards and upwards.

Edited July 17, 2021 by TheVideoGamer

[Souperion]

It was some good times either way. Let's tear it up on the next one, shall we?

[TheVideoGamer]

48 minutes ago, Souperion said:

It was some good times either way. Let's tear it up on the next one, shall we?

Agreed.