*NO* Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask "End of the World"

[Emunator]

hello,
I'm French and don't speak English very well, this is my first submission, I hope my request is correct. Thanks

Link to my submission :

Re Mixer : Onirik Dreamer
real name : Karim Ajroud
website : https://onirikdreamer.com
user id : 38210

Name of game arranged : The legend of Zelda, Majora's Mask
Name of original track : Calling the Four Giants
Name of my track : End of the world
Additional information about game : Nintendo 2000 (N64)
Link to the original soundtrack :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQ2fpLGAeH8
Your own comments about the mix : I find this piece infinitely sad and I wanted to add a more dynamic, cool and nostalgic touch to it, i hope you like it.

Edited July 22, 2023 by Liontamer
closed decision

[MindWanderer]

Cool sort of neo-noir vibe here.  Not at all what I was expecting, but I like it.

This opens with an exceedingly fake-sounding violin ensemble.  It sounds like something I'd expect to hear in a PS1 game.  Nice drums.  Then at 0:44 (in the middle of a section) comes the theremin.

After that, there aren't any new ideas introduced.  It's a fairly static groove, basically a theremin & D&B cover, with those 32-bit strings used as a pad.  And then it's over.

So, while I like the concept here, we're looking for much more development, more transformation, and the string section needs to either be made much more realistic or replaced with a synth pad.

NO

[Liontamer]

Opens with sampling omninous Zelda belltones and then introduces a pretty close cover version of the theme. Some funk drumming and a bassline are brought in at :29; nice genre change there, and a solid groove. The drum writing has a lot of character. Then a ghostly line at :45 that's supposed to contribute to that ominous feel. The bowed strings obviously don't sound real, but are also serving more of a padding function from :30-onward, so I wasn't put off by their sound like MindWanderer was; they're reasonable, IMO.

1:14 seemed like a spot to change up the drum writing, but no huge problem here. I enjoyed the mood that this set, even if I wished the melodic treatment were more interpretive and varied. For some reason, the bassline at 1:56 seemed to lack clarity; again, not a huge problem. The bass fills out the back nicely and is more active at 1:56-2:14 (repeating :33-:51) to vary up the pattern. A change in the lead writing or instrumentation from 2:08 until the end could have sealed this in terms of inarguably having a varied enough arrangement, but instead the repetition made it feel underdeveloped.

Without intending to miscast or strawman MindWanderer's POV, it's certainly not fair to say that you've heard everything in the track by :44. This is well in the right direction though and gets more right than wrong in terms of the development. The textures created with the drums, bass, and ghostly line, and the slight tempo increase do help this stand apart from the original; you have the lead line getting more shrill and animated at 1:14, then at 1:56, a) the bass writing gets more active once again, b) there's some wind-style SFX adding a little white noise there, as well as well as c) thicker drum hits and d) different fills. It's a narrower dynamic curve, but things are going on to subtly vary up the feel within it.

Our Submissions Standards say:

Quote

4. Arrangement
    2. Your arrangement must be substantial and original.
        * Submissions must be different enough from the source material to clearly illustrate the contributions, modifications, and enhancements you have made.

Rrepetition isn't inherently an evil concept that automatically & drastically dings submissions, provided there's enough to deem the arrangement "substantial and original". If this doesn't make it as is, Karim, don't be discouraged; in that case, I'd love to hear another pass at this adding some other arrangement techniques or instrumentation changes to continue developing this further. On balance, there's just enough there for me to be fine with passing it. Not every interpretation needs to be an uber-polished revelation and supremely melodically interpretive. This retains the structure of the original and is a reasonably personalized genre adaptation with mixing that allows me to make out the parts well. It could be more, and I don't mind others voting NO, but it's also OK to declare that this is enough.

YES (borderline)

[prophetik music]

big sfx initially and the aforementioned pads. drums come in at 0:30 and remind me a lot of something off of the Pyre soundtrack with the laid-back feel combined with plectral stuff and a slidey synth lead. the string pad doesn't sound very strong, i can agree with that. the drums are on autopilot for a while until maybe 1:35 with a few tom fills. this loops through the melodic line twice.

there's a change-up in the drums and bassline at 1:57. at this point it's been two minutes of mostly the same synth tone doing the same thing for leads, the same string pads copied through a few sets of chords, the same arpeggiated synth doing the same thing, and one of two sets of drum grooves that were mostly the same throughout. Then it ends with some more sfx.

i would argue that LT's quoting of the standards around arrangement are what sinks this, not passes it. there is a lot of repetition here in the backing parts. there's little variation from the initial instrumentation, dynamics, tempo, vibe, and direction of the work throughout the entire 2:30 duration.

i think this has a neat idea. the initial drum groove is nice, i like the obviously artificial lead next to the plectral and string elements and realistic drums, and i thought the bass groove was good too. it just didn't go anywhere after that, and it needs to. adding your own elements to the lead part, changing up the string pad in the background or updating the writing (especially rhythmically, it's just whole notes for 150 seconds), passing around the plucked part or changing how it's being implemented...there's a lot of easy stuff that's not even really reliant on new instrumentation or complex theory that can be done here. as it is, i think the arrangement is not transformative, but rather pretty limited.

 

 

NO

[Chimpazilla]

I love that OMG IT'S THE LAST DAY AND TIME'S UP stress-inducing bell intro plus storm sounds.  I don't have any issue with this arrangement being different enough from the source; the bass and drums and theramin take care of that just fine.  The strings aren't the best, but I hear them as a backing pad and I don't think they need to sound real to work in this arrangement.  The arrangement is short, and I wish it had a bit more development and possibly a dropout of the drums for a short breakdown somewhere in the middle, but that doesn't sink it for me.  The ending is brought to a logical conclusion, with more storm sfx, which I like.  Mixing and mastering work well. This one works for me, short but sweet and simple, lovely sad-yet-groovy vibe.

YES

[DarkSim]

This is cool! The rainy, noir-style atmosphere fits the writing very well, and the instrumentation works too. I like the theremin lead, and the drums have just the right amount of looseness to them. The thunderclap effects do sound overly compressed though, and you could probably have found a better sample for that.

The trouble with submissions like this is that when I listen, I can think of a million things I'd do differently - a break here, a drum fill there, a different arp pattern - but ultimately I'm judging what's in front of me. After 2 listens I was in the 'NO' camp, but then on the third go around I asked myself "Would I listen to this and enjoy it?", and the answer was yes. I agree with my fellow judges that there isn't much development of the ideas presented here, however those ideas do just enough to carry the piece for the 2:45 running time. It's a close one for me, but still a

YES

[Liontamer]

On 1/24/2023 at 10:35 AM, prophetik music said:

i would argue that LT's quoting of the standards around arrangement are what sinks this, not passes it. there is a lot of repetition here in the backing parts. there's little variation from the initial instrumentation, dynamics, tempo, vibe, and direction of the work throughout the entire 2:30 duration.

Is that what happened?? Because it doesn't look like that's what happened.

I'm sincerely kidding around, I'm just trolling for more opinions. These judges... stinky slow.

[Emunator]

I've been listening to this one for a while and, to be honest, I can't really make up my mind. It's absolutely, squarely right in the middle of the road for me. I'm going to deliberately abstain from voting on this for the time being.

?

[Gario]

I like this one, it has a really cool groove which changes the somber tone of the source. However, the arrangement is quite static; after the introduction of that legato lead at 0:45 the track is more than happy to rest on it's laurels. Don't get me wrong, the groove, the lead, the synths, etc., blend fantastically, but after 0:45 it's nothing but that instrument combination with some drum fills. The ear tunes out of the song after a minute of this, since it's all the same textures and instruments.

Remove some instruments sometimes, add a different instrument, make some changes to the arrangement after a while of using all the instruments at your disposal so that the ears have a break from the instrumentation so that they'll be fresh when you decide to bring all the instruments back again.  What's here is damn fine, but it's only so long before one wants to listen to something else.

NO

[DarkeSword]

This whole track feels like an extended intro. I'm waiting for the B-section to hit and it never does.

Gario nails it: this arrangement is static. Larry's correct in pointing out the slight variations throughout the track but overall this piece establishes one idea right at the start and coasts on it for not-even-3-minutes. Hop around the track and it's basically doing the same thing at any given point. I'm not as critical of copy-paste issues as other judges are (dal segno is a thing) but this is not a return to and reestablishment of a previous passage; this is just one passage.

My honest evaluation is this: where's *the rest* of this track?

Needs more. NO.

[XPRTNovice]

I really like the lo-fi vibe going on here, and was grooving with the piece for the first minute. It's a settle-back kind of piece, and I respect the choice to not go bonkers with throwing the kitchen sink in there. That being said, there's not enough here. 

Mixing is solid - nit pick is that the drums and bass are too far forward, but only by a pinch. Enough to muddy my ears, but be gentle when tuning it back. It doesn't need that much adjustment. 

Ultimately I have to agree with a lot of other judges on this one; I need more of whatever this is. This 100% is in Quentin Tarantino's version of Majora's Mask, but also sort of suffers from the same problem that most of his movies do; it meanders and doesn't really get to the point. With a track that's only 2:45, though, you have some room for experimentation and fun - a B section would be awesome here. 

 

NO 

[Rexy]

It's a solid presentation - an ominous bell and thunder SFX, into going into the source proper, and variations around a 60s-sounding groove.  The drums and the theremin sell the entire idea, respectively, with a solid beat and some great expression in an otherwise understated backdrop, and the balance is clean enough to tell where everything is.

But I've had to go back and forth on this one because of the arrangement.  It's a simple enough source that took pride in vocal harmonies providing whatever melody it had, and thanks to the theremin turning those melodies into a mono voice, what we've ultimately got here is a theme and variations idea.  The main issue with going for theme and variations is that you'd want all parts to do something unique in those variations, you'd like to introduce some different instrumentation to replace others before them, or you'd use a combination of the two.  As of now, your soundscape is established 30 seconds in and stays that way for the rest of the track, so some change-up to prevent fatigue could be helpful here.

I'm all for the cool groove and theremin melody variations; however, the static sound design needs addressing before I can see it on the front page, whether by instrument changes or throwing in different writing ideas.  There's some potential here, so please keep at it.

NO (resubmit)