prophetik music Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 This was originally submitted to the Final Fantasy month (November 2023) for Dwelling of Duels. I just had an idea to take Balamb Garden and make in the style of Pink Floyd; specifically Wish You Were Here. I didn't have a lot of experience arranging, mixing, or dealing with instruments other than guitar so I asked for some collaborators (anonymously of course) and I ended up working with some amazing musicians that really helped make everything happen! We may have not placed super high in the end -- I am beyond proud of what we did. Credits: The Rocket Knights - Rhythm Guitars, Arrangement pixelseph - Rhythm Guitars, Arrangement, Squall Connor Engstrom - Lead Guitars, Synth/FX, Mixing, Mastering DeLuxDolemite - Drums Siolfor the Jackal - Bass donut - Rinoa Games & Sources Final Fantasy VIII - Balamb Garden With inspiration from Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prophetik music Posted January 26 Author Share Posted January 26 some sfx to start. the Wish You Were Here riff fits into Balamb Garden really well, that's a clever dovetail. there's some voiceover that's fine for an extended section quoting the game which reminds me why i haven't played the game in 20 years, under which is some fun guitar work (i like the 12-string the most). the overall texture picks up a lot at 2:04 with some excellent lead guitar playing. there's an extended section from about 2:39 through 3:15 that's going through the descending B theme with some soloing over the top. the section at 3:15 wasn't familiar to my ears. there's a bigger section at 4:08 that's got some more buzz in the rhythm parts and some more virtuosic guitar playing, and the final return of the melodic material doubled with a synth lead. coming out of this big section, there's the WYWH riff again and some sustained pads going through the opening guitar elements before some sfx to end it. this is a great concept and it works really well. i appreciate the patience to really get into the solo section and to let the original with its disparate parts each have their time to do their thing. i think aping Pink Floyd's style works out great and the track doesn't rely too heavily on that concept to carry the idea. nice work. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MindWanderer Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 How did this not place well? I'm immediately checking out that month's DoD results, because it must have been one hell of a competition if this placed poorly. The musicianship is great, the construction and aping of Pink Floyd (without containing overt direct references) is well-conceived, the production is mostly top-notch (though the overdriven guitar makes it gets crunchy and distorted in the climax, 4:08-5:28, and there's an odd spike in volume around 5:00). It's hard to believe you're as inexperienced as you claim. I do think that the vinyl crackle SFX is a little over the top, especially going on for as long as it does. And the voice acting is not the best, but when you're working with FFVIII's cringe-worthy dialogue, there's only so much you can do. You're well-justified in being proud of this one. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted April 13 Share Posted April 13 Sounds pretty chill. The voices don’t cut through as much as I’d like, but this does a solid job of sounding like they’re voice clips taken from another medium, like you’d hear in some synthwave piece. Strong lead performance once the “Balamb” melody arrived at 2:05, digging the tone; the acoustic guitars and percussion clicked so nicely here and throughout. Really liked the supporting guitar line as well at 2:38, drifting in between original writing and referencing the source. Just an amazing concept. And I see what you did there at 4:16 & 4:28, you heathens! The change-up at 5:20 with the textures and going for that old timey effect was also cool. Probably didn't need the final voice clip or at least could have effected it differently, but no big deal. VERY nice work, y’all! YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hemophiliac Posted May 8 Share Posted May 8 Not much else I can say to add to what everyone else has already. This has such a warm tone to the track, that it feels homely. Maybe that's what Balamb Garden felt like to the SeeDs? The reverb on the guitar is so very reminiscent of Pink Floyd, and that's exactly what you were going for, so kudos! The musicianship across the board is excellent in all performances. Siolfor is solid as a rock in the bottom, and the drums are steady and constant. The lead and synth both fit together very well. 4:16-4:17 ? IYKYK It's so great how you all bring it together for the big recap (4:35-5:30), introducing what might be big synth pads or strings to help lift everything up aside from everyone playing stronger and more forte. I think it's tough to pull off big energy for that long without it becoming tiring. You are successful in doing that here, and it feels so fitting to hold a big forte that long. Great job everyone involved! YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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