Liontamer Posted October 21, 2023 Share Posted October 21, 2023 (edited) The submission link: Your ReMixer name Kyaku Your real name Richard Westbrook Your email address Your website(s) https://www.youtube.com/@kyaku_ongaku Your userid (number, not name) on our forums, found by viewing your forum profile 38541-kyaku Name of game(s) arranged Top Gear and F-Zero Name of arrangement Top Gear in Mute City Name of individual song(s) arranged Top Gear: Track 1 and F-Zero: Mute City Additional information about game including composer, system, etc. (if it has not yet been added to the site) Both are popular songs for remixes so I imagine I can’t add much more here, though please let me know if I need to. Link to the original soundtrack (if it is not one of the sound archives already available on the site) Top Gear: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAMvfv6X8xs F-Zero: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxU0eHnQjo8 Your own comments about the mix, for example the inspiration behind it, how it was made, how the source material was referenced in the arrangement, etc. I can’t help myself with these two-song combos, it’s kind of a habit at this point, a fun angle to guide remixing for now. Both games are very nostalgic for me and in my minds eye I pictured a Mute City 200 years before F-Zero, where the cars we're much more used to seeing today were racing around. It was fun to spend a little time riffing on guitar samples too for this one. Edited October 23, 2023 by Liontamer closed decision Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted October 23, 2023 Author Share Posted October 23, 2023 Was getting a lot of piercing frequencies with the beats here starting at :36, so I'd love to hear that addressed with another render, if possible. Not sure what was layered into to the beats at :36 compared to before, but it's tough to take. From 1:29-1:47, the themes were unpleasantly mudding together without a clear lead or direction, which needs to be fixed up. AFAIK, it was that woodwind-esque line (not the delayed "Mute City" chorus) that seemed to cause the interference and clutter; happy to be corrected by another J. In terms of the clutter, the theme interplay could probably be reduced some by selectively lowering the volume on some of the lines, pulling back on Top Gear sometimes and F-Zero at others. The return of the beats with the piercing high frequencies at 2:05 as well; my ears were getting battered here. 2:59 until the end referenced :49-:55 of "Mute City", but the transition into it was abrupt, and the section sounded off-key, especially that final trailing chord. I probably wouldn't have changed that chord at 3:09. What a weird way to finish it, and done in a way that undercut the rest of the arrangement. (The fadeout also didn't fully go to 0, but stuff like that can always be fixed.) I like the theme interplay in principle, and you've shown you're talented at it with your two previously approved submissions. The themes are creatively arranged, and it was cool hearing the interpretive treatment of both themes combined in a way that generally worked, especially with F-Zero in play the entire time. That said, the mixing on this one isn't clicking during the busiest sections, the piercing frequencies that were baked into the beats also made things needlessly difficult to listen to, and the awkward switch into the janky ending killed the finish. I'm hoping a musician J can identify some straightforward ways to tweak the mixing. This is a solid base, Richard, but it does need another mixing pass and a retooled ending. NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prophetik music Posted October 23, 2023 Share Posted October 23, 2023 big arena feel to the drums initially, with some similarly-big and wide synths to flesh it out. 0:37 did feel particularly treble-heavy - there's a bit spike around 2.5k that you may want to cut back on a bit. around 0:54 there's a backing line that comes in and is louder than the melodic line, which isn't a positive. around the shift at 1:12, i realized that the beat (which was novel initially) hadn't really changed yet, and it was becoming a bit stale. the combined section at 1:29 works from a melodic/harmonic standpoint. there is a lot going on, though, and it's hard to keep track of what's what. you may want to pare that section back a bit to make it make more sense aurally. there's a break at 1:47 with some sfx, and then the beat's back at 2:04 with fewer extra bits, so that's a nice change. 2:24 brings in more backing elements, and this is where it starts to get overly dense again - there's just too much going on. i can mostly hear everything, but it's difficult to figure out where my ears are supposed to go. the ending section is a no from me. i get where it's coming from, but the long tail on the notes, the lack of contextualization in how it's brought in and then realized, and the suddenness of it really doesn't work, and then the track's over with a sour taste in your mouth as a result. the mixing of the parts is mostly fine, but a lot of those synths are sitting in similar frequency shelves. i'd say some more specific EQing would help a ton, as well as trimming down some of the really wild freqs that are making it feel sharp and irritating to listen to. beyond that, some attention to decluttering and the ending would also be needed. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimpazilla Posted October 23, 2023 Share Posted October 23, 2023 That's a huge sound right away, drums and everything. Some kind of drumless buildup would introduce the material better I think, it can be short but just a buildup to the drums. When the drums come in they sound very quiet and tame. I don't hear any sidechaining on any element, so the drums aren't cutting through, and the musical elements don't have any groove with the drum patterns. I like the instruments and sounds used here generally, but this lack of groove makes the soundscape very flat. Oh I like the sirens! Almost every element used in this arrangement is sitting in the same frequency range. Without sufficient mixing and effects (stereo placement, EQing to allow fundamentals to come through, strategic reverb to place things forward or back), everything is competing to be up front, making this a wall of sound. The bass sounds lovely and low, but I can barely hear it. Larry and Brad both nailed it that the leads are competing in writing, which is exacerbated by the flat mixing. There should only ever be one primary element playing lead at any one time, and other elements (backing chords, arps, or countermelodies) will need to be strategically placed further back in the soundscape. Elements can take turns being the more up-front element/lead, but when you have multiple up-front elements, it causes a cluttered overly-busy soundscape that is hard for the listener to follow. I agree with my fellow Js that there are too many unpleasant mid-highs and highs in the mix overall. It's fine to have one or two elements with distortion on them, so they stand out, in the context of the entire mixing process. But when everything feels too crispy, the whole mix becomes uncomfortable to listen to. Whether this occurred during mixing or mastering, it needs to be dialed back quite a bit. That ending does not work. The reverb tails are so long that when the chord changes it clashes with the previous chord that is still playing, and it becomes a disharmonious wall of sonic mush. This concept could work, but the reverb from the next-to-last chord would need to be almost completely finished before that final chord plays, to avoid the disharmony. A safer bet would be to have your final chord be something that fits with the key of the preceding chords and writing. The arrangement is great, very creative combination of these two themes! The issues are almost entirely with mixing. I think you've gotten some great advice in this thread, and I hope to hear this again with the improvements made! NO (please resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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