Emunator Posted April 23, 2022 Share Posted April 23, 2022 RebeccaETripp Rebecca Tripp http://www.crystalechosound.com/ ID: 48262 Game(s): Skyward Sword Song Title: Songs of Spirit Songs Remixed: Silent Realm (pieces of all 4 of them!), Fi’s Theme (various versions) and brief allusions to a few other SS tracks at the end! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MindWanderer Posted May 10, 2022 Share Posted May 10, 2022 Remixing 5 different sources isn't as impressive as it sounds when 4 of them are based on the same motif, but this is still a solid rearrangement of the various themes present. They're smoothly but uniquely integrated together, into something clearly derived from but clearly distinct from the originals. There's still the usual 4 dB of headroom we've come to expect from Rebecca, but it doesn't sound inaudibly quiet to me. Realism is adequate, thanks to the rich layering, though there's some especially mechanical tremolo that goes on forever---I'd expect those poor violinists' arms to be just about falling off. It's good enough for me, though. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkSim Posted June 12, 2022 Share Posted June 12, 2022 On first listen, I was a YES. After listening to the sources, I was a NO. I'm on the fence here for the main reason that the most recognisable melody - Fi's theme - sounds much better in the source than the ReMix. The flute has much more feeling, presence and body to it in the source. You can even hear the flautist taking a breath. The build and crescendo, leading to the climax of the theme at 2:17, sounds much more impactful in the source, and the sequencing of the flute sounds very quantised at 1:06, 1:19 and 2:05, with little to no release on the notes at the end of the phrase at 1:12, 1:23 and 2:09. There's a string iteration of the same phrase in there at 1:31 as well with the same issues. The tremolo on the low strings from 2:21-2:51 was too static, and the release on the strings again is negligible, so when those huge, long, sustained tremolos finish, it's so abrupt it breaks immersion. I feel like even when combining more than one source in a ReMix, if the style of those sources remains the same, as it does here, there needs to be a significant improvement in sound quality over the sources. The arrangement's climax is not as impactful as that of the source, which contains some extra backing elements to increase the payoff. Add to that the quiet mastering, and there's not enough of an improvement here for me to give it a pass. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimpazilla Posted June 12, 2022 Share Posted June 12, 2022 Hard disagree with DarkSim that the remix must sound better than the original. If that were true, no one would remix anything from certain games! If I had a dime for every remix I've heard that was not as good as the source, well I'd have a shitload of dimes! Yet, those remixes are still great in their own ways. I think as long as the mix sounds good on it's own and is produced well with enough variation, that gets it done for OCR's standards. In Rebecca's case she often melds multiple sources into a cohesive arrangement that tells a new story, as she has done here. Sometimes her instruments lack realism which can kill the mix, but in this track what I hear is real enough and mixed well enough not to stick out extensively as fake, although I do agree with MW about the overuse of tremolo, it's unnatural, but it does fit the vibe of this particular arrangement. I also agree with DS that the tremolo cutoffs are way too abrupt, oof. As usual, the mastering is non-existent and I honestly fail to understand why this has not been improved since we all mention it on every submission. Please reach out for assistance Rebecca, any one of us would surely be glad to help you master or learn to master your lovely arrangements! All that said, this mix transports me to that special "Rebecca Magic Place" and I think others will be transported there too. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prophetik music Posted June 13, 2022 Share Posted June 13, 2022 i will note that while i refuse to remix a track unless i believe it's better/more listenable/more engaging than the original to some extent, there's no official guideline around that. so darksim's original point - that the flute isn't nearly as good as the original despite being the same instrument in the same style - is a correct statement, but only as a note, not as a definitive. the panflute right away just doesn't sound good. it's fine on sustains but not at movement, too much uncanny valley. the subsequent plectral, idiophonic, and percussive elements sound great however and put forth a very evocative (if overdone) atmosphere. the flutes mentioned above do sound pretty robotic, as i alluded to before, and the attempts to make them more lively via intentional early releases don't really do a great job of mixing it up as much as it could be. the resolution at 2:15 is nice. the extended tremolo isn't egregious imo. the ending drags quite a bit after that section is cleared (starting around 3:02) and kinda noodles its way out the door. overall it's quiet, heavily reliant on plectral and percussive elements (easy to sample well and to use well) that sound slightly out-of-place in the soundscape vs. the rest of the chamber orchestra, and it's clearly over the bar. it's just the same rebecca track we've heard for the last several years, which is tiring. this could have been from thirty different games with a few changes in the melodic line. but there's nothing in the standards about uniqueness of arrangement being a requisite element. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted January 15, 2023 Share Posted January 15, 2023 On 5/10/2022 at 7:51 PM, MindWanderer said: Remixing 5 different sources isn't as impressive as it sounds when 4 of them are based on the same motif, but this is still a solid rearrangement of the various themes present. The four Spirit Realm themes are, surprisingly, totally unique compositions (I added them to the original post), so MindWanderer's mistaken in that conclusion. He should see if he can identify them all in this arrangement with that in mind. I only noticed Nayru's theme opening things (note the melody at :00 and :33), then Fi's theme arriving at 1:00 and staying for most of the way. Heard Din's theme at 3:02 and didn't recognize Goddess or Farore in there. Without being overly repetitive, I'll say Chimpazilla's vote matched my own, not just in terms of recognizing but accepting the flaws that were heard, but also speaking against DarkSim's inference that you need to exceed the sound quality/sample quality of the source material, which is mistaken. I'm in. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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