prophetik music Posted March 6 Share Posted March 6 (edited) This remix simply titled "Secret of the Forest" is a mashup of Secret of the Forest and Schala's theme from Chrono Trigger! I had a lot of fun making this one and decided to go with a trap/wave style for the remix. Hope you like it ~ This remix was released on my EP "Whisper Tree" in 2020: Games & Sources The intro of this song also samples sounds from the game files including menu buttons, various in-game fx and the opening clock ticking sound! Edited March 10 by prophetik music Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prophetik music Posted March 8 Author Share Posted March 8 this will need a new name if it passes, as we don't allow remix names that are just the name of the original track. also, given that we don't allow any sampled audio regardless of source from square enix owned games (square enix currently owns the rights to chrono trigger) means that this is a no-go with the given samples. i'll still review it, but we can't post it even if it passes in its current state. opening has some sfx (naughty naughty!) alongside a very thin, airy pad playing the SotF arpeggio. i like the transitional effect into 0:26. the lead here is nice as well, and the beat is appropriately chill. there's a significant amount of pumping (i don't think it's sidechain unless everything except the kick is sidechained) which is notable and doesn't sound great. there's a break that features the Schala arpeggio (and eventually the melodic material when the beat comes back in). there's not much going on in this section that's not from the original track, but some brass stabs come in near the end which keeps it from being a palette swap from the original. it goes through the Schala arpeggio a bit before ending without an ending. i think this would be fairly close if i had to vote on it fo rillz, given the pumping in the limiter and the lack of original content in the second half. short tracks are hard to have enough transformative arrangement to really get themselves over the bar without everything firing on all cylinders. that said, the inclusion of sampled effects makes this a moot point. they'd have to be changed before i could vote in earnest. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted March 8 Share Posted March 8 Yeah, it’s a perfectly fine cover-style mashup but it’s underdeveloped for our arrangement standards. The groove just coasts, and like proph said, there’s not much here that’s not just covered from the original themes. It needs to be further personalized/arranged in some varied ways to better stand apart from the original themes, so further melodic variations, rhythm or tempo changes, or other dynamic contrast would help. Not a bad base, just would need to do more for the arrangement standards here. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimpazilla Posted March 9 Share Posted March 9 Square Enix sfx are a no-go right from the start, so those would need to be removed. But once it gets going, the arrangement is simplistic, underdeveloped and on the repetitive side. It needs further personalization as Larry said, by changing the writing, groove, instrumentation, melodies/countermelodies/solos etc. along the way. The track would also benefit from a proper outro instead of just stopping cold. The instrument volumes could also be re-balanced as the drums are all extremely quiet and the main lead is very loud. Nice vibe though, it's a decent start. As for the pumping, I'm suspecting it is sidechaining and not master over-compression because I don't hear any crunchy artifacts, but I could be wrong. It sounds to me like the entire mix is sidechained, using one compressor. The sidechaining is too heavy-handed, and does not release fast enough, which is made worse because there are multiple kicks in a row and not just one. This is giving a pumpy effect to the track, which is exacerbated further by the drums being generally too quiet in the mix. So it is a lot of gain reduction on the entire track, and in that volume-reduced dent, there is this very quiet kick, which feels so unnatural. In the case that the pumping is due to heavy-handed mastering, I always recommend bringing the overall volume up gently using two or three different compressors in your chain and then a final limiter. Each compressor should be using gentle settings, bringing the volume up in stages using different algorithms. This method allows more loudness with less chance of any over-compression unpleasantness. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts