The Brinstar Chemical - Mash of Sonic 2: Chemical Zone and Super Metroid: Brinstar Jungle Floor

[Kyaku]

My first post here, and I am sure I have a lot to learn.  I am having fun doing it though!

The original intent was to be vapor-wavy, kind of like that VHS sound, but curious if I went too far or I mixed too much up.

The song:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rjSQNr9D91GsH8Cd2joCuqavcY0g75Wk/view?usp=sharing

Sources:

 

 

Edited March 27, 2023 by Kyaku
Clarification and additional info

[Kyaku]

The MP3 link as well: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aFq1u-iunL34QbhyQVuLMt27jFMuAoRR/view?usp=sharing

[Hemophiliac]

Evaluation:

Maybe went a little too far with the extreme vaporwave-bass like you said.

I'm clearly hearing both sources being used.  The bassline from super metroid and the repetitive vamp from sonic 2, both slowed down quite a bit.  It's really cool how you've managed to make them work together.
Consider having some variations in your second repeat of the themes in the second half 2:09 and on.

With that said, the bass is absolutely huge and takes up a large part of the sonic space.  Please tame it and get it to sit in conjunction with the rest of the parts so they work together.  It could also use some clarity, some of the lower notes it plays get muddy.  Not sure if it's the samples or synth itself but i'm hearing a buzziness on the left side, and it honestly made me think something was wrong with my monitors XD.  If that's something you intended, try to make it sound more intentional and less subtle.  I do like the pads used in the background, they are very pleasant and sound very vaporwave as intended.

The arrangement itself is the strongest part of what's going on here.  Work on the production as noted and clean it up/refine it.  Cool track, definitely has some potential with some work!

[Hemophiliac]

[This is an automatically generated message]

I've reviewed your remix and have returned it to Work-in-Progress status, indicating that I think there are some things you still need to work on. After you work on your track and feel that it's ready for submission to OCR, please change the prefix back to Ready for Review and someone will review it again. Good luck!

[Kyaku]

Thanks so much for the feedback, Hemophiliac!  It takes time and experience to provide this level of critique and it's absolutely appreciated!  This is my first foray into making music like this so I have lots to learn, and without these sort of comments, I'm not sure how anyone could get better.  Thank you!

 

I was too married to that drum line I decided, so I forked it and went in a different direction, for better or for worse.  Also tried to be a little more intentional about the dynamics, but whether I went far enough is up to the listener.  That and some other minor changes.  I welcome any and all feedback!

Updated version:

 

[Hemophiliac]

Evaluation:

Fantastic improvements everywhere!  Great job cleaning up the muddiness of the previous version.

Now that you cleaned up the soundscape a bunch 1:43-2:08, or quieter parts feel more barren.  What I suggest would be to add a part to these areas or bring up the quiet subtle parts so that the space is filled more.  In that section 1:43-2:08, as well as the ending (3:51-end) the synth pad underneath everything is feeling more exposed now and could use some movement.  Suggestions for that could be volume swells/automation or filter sweeps.

If you want to take the arrangement to the next level I would suggest looking at the repeat (2:59-3:51) and adding variation to the lines to change it up in some way, this will help it feel less like it may have been copied and pasted from the first section.  

The ending feels a little sudden and some of the sounds feel like they are cut off abruptly to the end.

Really pleased with where this is heading and I look forward to hearing where it goes next.

[Hemophiliac]

[This is an automatically generated message]

I've reviewed your remix and have returned it to Work-in-Progress status, indicating that I think there are some things you still need to work on. After you work on your track and feel that it's ready for submission to OCR, please change the prefix back to Ready for Review and someone will review it again. Good luck!