Emunator Posted May 15, 2022 Share Posted May 15, 2022 Your ReMixer name: Lucas Guimaraes Your real name: Lucas Guimaraes Your website: https://twitter.com/Thirdkoopa - knew nothing better to link for this Your userid (number, not name) on our forums, found by viewing your forum profile: http://ocremix.org/community/profile/33965-thirdkoopa/ Name of game(s) arranged: Golden Sun Name of arrangement: Mercurial Mechanisms Name of individual song(s) arranged: Venus Lighthouse (Ed: actually Mercury Lighthouse) Other people that helped: Eladar I took this song on because, while I love Golden Sun's soundtrack, the Lighthouse themes shine high., and this was one of the last important songs that needed to be done. Sometimes, my ambition eats me alive. One of those times was this song - When making this, and even now, my composition skills far outweigh my production skills. I had enlisted someone else before to help, and we were on a tight deadline. Thankfully, Eladar swept in and was able to turn the arrangement into gold - I was extremely thankful. I'd worked with producers for electronic type tracks before, but hearing how well this duo went is wonderful. Prior to, I'd never worked with him. Honestly? Finishing it was a miracle on its own. One of the aspects I appreciate the most about being a creator? Getting to demystify the other side. There wasn't any 'magic'; just a lot of hard work and determination. A lot of that stemmed from when I was finishing my masters degree. I hope everyone enjoys! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MindWanderer Posted May 19, 2022 Share Posted May 19, 2022 It's a pretty strange source tune to begin with, but this is a whole other level of weirdness. It's vaguely like a bright Daft Punk in places, and in others reminds me of the soundtrack to Axiom Verge, and then there are the deliberately dissonant sections. There are a lot of ideas packed into this, especially for a single-source remix. It's impressive that it manages to feel cohesive with so many changes. It's almost like a mini-suite. I hardly have anything to criticize. The main lead is a little bland, and on one hand it's unfortunate that it's used throughout almost the entire mix, but on the other hand there are so many changes that it's helpful to have that to hold it all together. Without that, it would sound too disjointed. Some of the dissonant stuff is a little too much so for my tastes, but it's intentional and it works. Production-wise, the soundscape is a smidge light in the lows; the kicks especially are thin and lacking in impact. The drums in general are the weakest synth; if I could pick one thing to fix, it would be that. It's not a dealbreaker for me, though. Nice work overall, and yes, I did enjoy it! YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkSim Posted May 21, 2022 Share Posted May 21, 2022 What a bizarre source tune! I wouldn't say it's particularly pleasant to listen to, so it must have been quite a challenge to approach this remix. It's a strong start though, with some nice atmosphere and pulsing synth bass. The percussion is lacking clarity and punch throughout (too much reverb?), which is a shame and something to work on in future, but nothing stood out too egregiously on that front. The detuned saw synth that appears around 0:20 and 1:20 playing the melody is occasionally too detuned, but I suppose it's true to the source tune in that sense, so I shan't be too harsh about that. I guess it plays into the darkness of the first half of the track. If the first half is darkness, the second half is most definitely light. The tempo slows down around 1:55 and there's quite a triumphant moment with the (now less detuned and sounding much nicer) saw lead. The lead really starts to soar at 2:28 - what a beautiful progression! Some great, tasteful glitching/crushing around 3:00, before the calming SFX and a further tempo slowdown. I enjoyed the second half far more than the first, I must admit, but having listened to the source afterwards, I can see the difficult path and effort it must have taken to get it to this point. Production isn't the best, as you well admit, but the arrangement here is enough to carry it. It's worth a listen just for the 'clear skies' moment at 2:28. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prophetik music Posted May 23, 2022 Share Posted May 23, 2022 about 3db of headroom. what a great source tune. super weird. i love GS's soundtrack. intro does a good job of setting the stage. that first lead is super generic and sounds like a gladiator preset, though, and the tons of reverb don't really do it any favors. it's much louder than everything else too. the varying of the beat around it is interesting though, and it's got a plodding nature to the bass that actually is pretty neat since it drives it forward through some weird tonalities. there's a big transition at about 1:13 that is more energetic in the drums, and some further time signature tomfoolery with some fun backing synths that give it a lot more drive. a significant ritard around the 2:00 mark and a big fanfare, followed by a transition to a different groove and a recap of the plucked synths from the intro. this second section has a much more singing quality to the writing, and focuses on a more traditional vi-IV-I-V chord pattern to help anchor it. a M7 chord to finish it and it's done. this is a tough one for me. on the positive side, it's a recognizable take of a super weird track, it's got a clear A/B format that you're going for, there's some fun intentional detuning and playing with the synths you're using throughout, the intentional atonality of some of the harmonies is neat, and the overall concept is one that i like. on the negative side, that main lead is way too loud and also super not in the soundscape at all with so much verb, the kick snare is almost inaudible, the toms have no punch, the snare has no attack tone, the hats aren't really there much, the first minute plus meanders around in a not-positive way, and the bass doesn't have any punch and sounds very generic too. as an example, the faster part at 1:29 sounds like you're going for a big groove-driven transition with a punchy bass and rhythmic synths to emphasize the tempo right before the big ritard, but little of that is speaking out. there's a lot of room for less generic, more active synths throughout and better mastering (and probably better samples on the drums) to make that entire first two minutes more impactful. right now it is really lacking verve. i think this needs more workshopping. i don't hear a finished mastering job. i do think the arrangement itself meanders a bit but is good enough, but i don't think it's as good as the other votes so far. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimpazilla Posted June 4, 2022 Share Posted June 4, 2022 What a weird source tune! I like the remix arrangement in terms of covering this source in a unique way. However, I am in agreement almost entirely with prophetik on the instrumentation and mixing. The lead does sound quite loud and the bass has very little presence. The drums sound so flat, distant and thin. The track could benefit from some surgical EQ to remove lows from every element that isn't kick or bass, at a very minimum. The drums sound overcompressed and sizzly as well as distant. I don't hear or feel any sidechaining; some gentle sidechaining of almost everything here in varying amounts would help the track to breathe as well as provide some groove. (Sidechaining done gently will improve your mixing without making it sound pumpy unless you're going for pumpy) Also, a track of this nature should not come in at -2.8db peak; the master is too quiet. I'm pretty borderline on this because it's a cool remix, I just think it needs a little more mixing and mastering love first. NO (borderline, resubmit please) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted January 20, 2023 Share Posted January 20, 2023 Certainly a weird source, and I recall the lead synths at :20 being a big headscratcher when I first heard this. I guess the synth lead's mechanical sequencing and dissonant chorusing are features not bugs, but it's not clicking, especially alongside these tepid beats, IMO. Interesting changeup at 2:10; I like that initial instrument, but that lead synth again at 2:25 is the antithesis of smooth and polished. Nice textures at 3:05 for the finish, including that last set of notes at 3:25; beautiful writing there. Mixing criticism from others aside, what this really needs is a lead that has a humanized sound. When prophetik says "right now it is really lacking verve", that's the main culprit causing it. :'-( There's a ton of other positives with the instrumentation and arrangement. NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XPRTNovice Posted January 21, 2023 Share Posted January 21, 2023 Man this source is weird. And yet you managed to make the remix even weirder. Great job. I enjoyed the uncomfortable slowdown at 1:57, and all the strange dissonances that you introduced throughout. I really did enjoy the interpretation. However, I have to agree with the other judges here that the lead comes off bland, if not bordering on boring, and some variation and interpretation on that could really give the piece something more. Countermelodies, a back-and-forth with other instrumentation, or simply just changing what's playing the lead might make it pop more. You have lots of options here. Overall, I found the production to be pretty solid from a technically-correct standpoint, but sort of lacking in the presence department. The whole mix sounds flat to me, lacking the depth that I think is available to you with a source, and an arrangement, and instrumentation like you have here. It won't take you long to really make this shine, and I think you'll be happy that you do before we post it to the site. NO (borderline, resubmit please) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emunator Posted March 16, 2023 Author Share Posted March 16, 2023 There are some REALLY weird harmonies here - I can't say that I find them fully enjoyable but it's certainly unique! I find myself agreeing with the previous four votes for all of the same reasons - "lack of verve" is really well-put and captures my feeling perfectly. There's actually a lot of really cool rhythms and modulations throughout the arrangement, and it's clear that a ton of work went into the writing side of this arrangement, but the sound design and production quality just feels flat by comparison. I could easily see this being a clean pass with drums that were mixed with more punch, and a lead with more expressiveness and voice, but right now, it's just falling a little bit short. I hope we hear this one again - there's a lot to love here! NO (resubmit!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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