Liontamer Posted October 10, 2022 Share Posted October 10, 2022 ardklaw Arden Klawitter www.ardklaw.com 36349 Chrono Cross "Fishing Village" Arni (Home World) N/A N/A This might be my favorite track from the Chrono Cross OST. It's relaxing and yet so emotional at the same time. I wanted to try my hand at giving the song a slightly more modern feel. LINK: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted October 10, 2022 Author Share Posted October 10, 2022 It's a competent arrangement, I'm just underwhelmed by the instrumentation, though this would have old gold back in OCR's early 2000s. That said, the aim was a slightly more modern feel, and I'm definitely getting PS2 vibes. Not my personal cup of tea, but I respect Arden's approach. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prophetik music Posted November 18, 2022 Share Posted November 18, 2022 (edited) always amazed me what the ps1 was able to do sound-wise. original is so impressive. right away the influence of the updated time signature is clear. several of the tracks in CC's soundtrack work as 4/4 ballads, and this one is no different. the instrument quality however is really all over. the bass sounds fine for this style, but the drums really sound weak, especially the kick, and the lead plectral instrument sounds like a casio toy i had in the 90s. i like what it's saying, but it doesn't sound good. there's a filtro section at 0:31 or so, and that continues through the melodic content in a linear fashion albeit with added flourishes throughout. the filter lifts at 1:07 with a new lead instrument, and the backing pads being a little more present. 1:55 is again filtered at least in the drums, and is even more adjacent to the original than earlier in the track. there's an outro that goes through the first part of the original starting at 2:37, and that's the end. i'm pretty torn about this one, honestly. i think the arrangement is actually pretty minimal - you've got similar instrumentation to the original (plectral lead, string pads, active bass, although added drums which are quite straightforward), many of the same ornamentations in the bass and backing parts, and while the time signature's changed, there's no adjustment to the form or the order of the melody, just ornamentations (which are admittedly nice). so i don't think this really is a transformative arrangement, but more of a cover than it first appears. beyond that, it's not like the instrumentation lifts it either - the instruments chosen sound weak (drums), unrealistic (plectral lead), or basic and played in a non-idiomatic fashion (the muted piano that's throughout the middle with the super-fast grace notes). i don't think anything stands out, and i don't think this is a sum-of-its-parts thing either. i think this needs workshopping - countermelodic additions, improvement of the sound quality for at least the drums and the first lead (maybe replacement), and better writing for the drums at least. i think the time signature change is inspired - now let's get the rest of the track dressed up too. NO Edited November 18, 2022 by prophetik music Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MindWanderer Posted November 29, 2022 Share Posted November 29, 2022 I'm with proph on this one. It's very conservative, not really treading any original ground. Sure, the time signature changes, and 4/4 drums are added to give it more of a beat, but that's really about it. The time signature change opened up a lot of space to do interesting things with percussion, riffs, and/or original writing, but the drums are simple and plodding and there's a minimum of new composition here. LT's and proph's comments about the instrumentation are valid as well, but for me it's the writing that's really not the kind of transformation we're looking for. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkSim Posted December 22, 2022 Share Posted December 22, 2022 Sounds super chill, and production is clean, but I'm not sure what you mean about the 'modern feel' - I hear some filtered, lo-fi sounding drums in parts, that even have some light stutter effects on them, but other than that the instrumentation sounds quite MIDI-like. The samples you've used for guitar and piano have little to no humanisation on them - right out of the gate at 0:02, those fast hammer-ons are presented the same artificial way 6 times in the first 30 seconds. Same with the piano - all the notes seem to be playing in the same way. If you listen to the source tune, the guitar sounds much more humanised, even though it's still clearly sampled. Nothing wrong with using samples at all, but when they sound noticeably rigid in this way, it distracts from the listening experience somewhat. It's a beautiful piece that at the moment is being carried by the strength of the source tune, and the switch to 4/4. I don't have any problem with the drum writing - the minimalism there and the lo-fi sound is working for me, but the instruments all lack character. I'd want to hear some more humanisation and original part writing to pass this one, I'm afraid. NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimpazilla Posted January 2, 2023 Share Posted January 2, 2023 (edited) I like the 4/4 adaptation, but the overall sound of this mix just doesn't hit the mark. The instrumentation sounds dated and the drums especially sound almost comically weak. Filtering the drums from 0:31-1:07 makes that section sound even more lo-fi and minimal but not in a good way. The arrangement sounds very conservative and similar to the source tune even with the time signature change, due to the similarity of instrumentation. This really isn't a bad remix, but I am reading the other Js' words and I agree with them pretty much completely: the lack of humanization, the similarity of the instrumentation and writing to the source tune (other than the 4/4 change), along with weak and over-filtered drums puts this just under the bar for me. I'd love to hear this again with some more unique elements added, different lead sounds, more varied and impactful drum grooves, some additional ear candy or effects, and just more interesting elements overall. NO (resubmit) Edited January 2, 2023 by Chimpazilla Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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