Liontamer Posted June 2, 2023 Share Posted June 2, 2023 (edited) ReMixer Name: Spice Name of Game Arranged: Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune Name of Arrangement: Highway Spirit Name of Individual Song Arranged: Stream of Tears Link to original soundtrack: https://youtu.be/TFJq4hB3Swc Edited July 28, 2023 by Liontamer closed decision Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MindWanderer Posted June 27, 2023 Share Posted June 27, 2023 Hm, really simple and repetive source tune. Let's see what you do with that... Unfortunately, it seems like you stuck pretty close to the inspiration. There's a more lengthy intro, a breakdown, and an outtro, but otherwise it's mostly the same 14-second hook on repeat. It's pretty close to the original in style and instrumentation, too. Production could also use some improvement — kicks are too loud, melody is too quiet, accompaniment is much too quiet — but the arrangement is the real issue here. We need both something that deviates from the source material in a more substantial way, and which is itself not so repetitive as to lose the listener's interest. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prophetik music Posted July 25, 2023 Share Posted July 25, 2023 original is basic and essentially follows the circle of fourths for a chord progression. intro in the keys (not idiomatically played, just blocks with melody layered on top) and some nice filtered synths. the initial build is pretty big, and the synth arps, bass, and drums at 0:29 are nice - just way too loud. i can't hear the melody around that at all. it goes through the initial melodic progression several times, and finally hits a break at 1:23 or so with some filters and no kick. interestingly enough, you didn't use the break at 1:23 in the original here, which exacerbates the repetitive original lick. it gets loud again and noodles through the circle of fourths progression some more, and then falls off at 2:33. there's some piano at way too high a velocity (this is why it sounds so metallic), and then the track is over with a bunch of silence and not even a resolution. this arrangement isn't really much more than a cover. removing the break in the original wasn't a good choice - this doesn't have anything to help mix it up in the middle at all now and is super repetitive. there needs to be significantly more arrangement to get past the bar there. beyond that, the track needs volumization to allow a lead instrument (that is, you need one to begin with) to carry the melodic material. right now there's essentially nothing there. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted July 28, 2023 Author Share Posted July 28, 2023 I definitely heard what MW was talking about with the source tune repetitiveness, although once you get past 1:23 of the source, it pivots. I appreciate you putting this track on my radar, Spice, it's a good source tune choice! Opens up quietly but quickly gets the beats going. When the escalation started picking up at :14, I wasn't liking how the melody's piano line was getting buried; by :27, the melody might as well not have been there, it was too quiet and subdued. By putting the all the volume and focus on these kicks/beats after :27, you actually expose how plodding the pattern is without the proper support built around it. Shift to 1:23's part of the source tune at 1:23 in the arrangement and the lead still doesn't cut through. It'll sound like I'm saying you have to copy the original verbatim or that the sound quality of the original, professional track is our bar: the source tune’s countermelody and bassline have a lot more smoothness and flow compared to this, which sounds more stilted. As far as the sequencing and mixing, if you haven't done so already, I'd recommend getting feedback in our Workshop's Post Your Game ReMixes forum as well as our Discord server's #workshop channel. If the parts were mixed to give everything the proper space, it would be a good cover version, but there's also the question of whether this rendition's interpretive enough for our arrangement standards compared to the original song. There's a saw providing the countermelodic groove here was about the only significant original writing I was identifying here; it seemed like all of the other part-writing was carried pretty closely from the source tune. Again, mixing issues aside, this is a solid cover that reconstructs the original well. As long as it wouldn't compromise your vision of what you want from this, consider integrating other writing ideas or changing up the instrumentation or textures somehow. Even if it's not this track, I hope we hear more submissions from you, Spice! NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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