Liontamer Posted September 29, 2023 Share Posted September 29, 2023 (edited) Contact Information Your ReMixer name: Bryan EL Your real name: Bryan EL Your email address: Your website(s): www.bryanel.com Your userid: 34748 Submission Information Link to remix: Name of game arranged: Sonic the Hedgehog Name of arrangement: Industrial Dystopia Name of song arranged: Scrap Brain Zone Original composer: Yuzo Koshiro (Game Gear / Master System) Link to the original soundtrack: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSUZZXGbipc&t This has always been one of my favorite game soundtracks from my youth. I tried to reimagine the original melody in a slower but more powerful trance genre while keeping the retro vibe of the sound. Edited October 16, 2023 by Liontamer closed decision Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prophetik music Posted October 4, 2023 Share Posted October 4, 2023 near-constant clipping alongside a wisconsinite's dream waveform. there's not really an intro, as it dives right into the melodic content. after the initial runthrough of that melody, though, we get a much more fleshed-out beat, countermelodic content, and pad work starting at about 0:28. this is a lot more interesting than the intro. right after this, though, at 0:56, we get the B section of the melody with the same backing, similar countermelodic content, and (most egregiously) the same lead. at this point that lead needs to change as it's not only boring on sustains (there's no motion on it at all), it's also heavily focused on the right ear and way, way louder than everything else. the section at 0:28 is repeated 1:1 at 1:49 and 2:46 (and nearly 1:1 at 1:23, but just the kick), and then the following section at 0:56 is repeated 1:1 at 2:18. that's a lot of repetition, even for trance. it's possible there's some very minimal changes in there that i missed, but the performance of the lead, the bass, the countermelodic content, the drum work, and the pads all sounded the same. then there's no ending, not even a fadeout. trance tracks have an easy out for endings - just subtract elements of the background until you're left with a kick - so a lack of an ending is not a positive. from a mastering perspective, the lead's super loud and not centered, and the track clips like mad. i think you've got it so hot to make it sound loud, which is understandable. my suggestion is to roll off the sound content under your kick's pitch. it looks like your kick sits around 55-60hz, which is a bit high but fine, so having a much harder roll off of everything below maybe 45-50hz would add a lot of room to the mix for you to make it feel big outside of that. after that, spending some time with the EQ will help ensure that there's no overlaps that cause things to get lost. the same lead throughout emphasizes the repetition in the backing parts, and the mastering really needs some love. this one isn't there yet. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted October 15, 2023 Author Share Posted October 15, 2023 Opens up pretty heavy with a nicely personalized EDM take on the source. Loud and cramped to start, and then gets more cramped at :28; I did like the countermelodic writing that was added in there though. I'm not a producer, but prophetik gave some potentially helpful feedback on some of the cluttered frequencies. That said, if the arrangement side was a pass, I could approve something mixed like this; even if it was technically clipping, the density and levels didn't bother me. :55 moved over to the chorus, and that was a good opportunity to change the textures or intensity some, even briefly. It makes the retread of the verse at 1:23 feel samey even though some of the supporting writing changed; another idea could be changing the sound or the lead at 1:23 and/or the countermelody at 1:51. At 2:18 for the chorus again, the writing was a cut-and-paste retread of :55's section until 2:46. Yeah, the textures do change a little, but the leads and countermelodies sounding the same throughout isn't staying interesting for the length of the track. For example, the countermelodic writing at :28 is the same as 1:51 and 2:45. See what more you can do to vary up some sounds or textures, vary some rhythms, or employ other techniques to keep the presentation fresh. Great base here, Bryan, and it's great to hear music from you again! As I said at the start, the EDM arrangement approach was creative and well suited; now, it's a matter of ensuring the piece doesn't drag out from a lack of enough dynamic contrast. NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimpazilla Posted October 15, 2023 Share Posted October 15, 2023 Ooooo cool concept for this source! No intro, as Brad said, opens right up into the source material. I like the concept for this a lot, but it is loud and cramped right from the start as Larry mentioned. The intensity has no chance to build which is a lost opportunity for arrangement dynamics. All the sounds used throughout the track are there from the first moment and although there are additions as the piece moves along, the core elements never change. The lead never changes, and this lead is somewhat abrasive while not doing anything too interesting other than some delayed vibrato. Some filter movement on an LFO would be nice. To keep this interesting, varying the lead between sections would be a good idea. Either do something different with the lead in terms of effects or writing, or have another lead take over for a section or two. The mixing isn't too bad overall, but the lead feels really wide, too wide, and seems to be a little louder on the right (or is this just my ears?). The lead can be wide but needs to have at least some presence in the center, the lowest part of its fundamental frequencies for sure. Wide highs on a lead are always nice but it feels disconnected from the rest of the track when all of it is stereo-spread 100%. The mastering is way too loud. The waveform is a sausage and it is clipping like crazy, the master limiter is being overdriven massively. As for the arrangement, it needs a bit more work to add interest. A buildup intro would be good, doesn't have to be more than a few bars but we need something to introduce the piece. The sections here are basically the same writing, making one section more original writing-wise would be good. A proper drumless breakdown somewhere in the middle would be most welcomed, followed by the fullest section, then a cool-down and/or outro. There is no outro here, it just stops. This all sounds negative, but it is a really good start I think! Cool vibe and concept, just needs more finesse to make it a proper EDM arrangement. Hope to hear it again! NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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