OCR04768 - *YES* Final Fantasy 6 "Frozen Light"

[Liontamer]

Artist Name: Pipko Fanfare

A sort of post-rock or doom metal-ish take on "Another World of Beasts" from FFVI by Nobuo Uematsu. Slow, introspective, sludgy, heavy, and moody.

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Games & Sources

Final Fantasy VI: Another World of Beasts

[prophetik music]

i think i know enchanted esper better than the original, interestingly enough. 

starts out with some tempo-synced effecting on the guitar and a very slow, arena-like sound. keeps the original 7/8 time signature. most of the opening section is pretty straightforward outside the genre adaptation. there's a break at 1:21 with a super dope guitar arp element, and then we get the band sound back together at 1:45 for another blow through the melodic content. there's a few changes here but not a ton (i loved the doubled melodic line up an octave though). 

after this we again get a similar break as at 1:21, but this time the drums are driving it forward a lot more, and that build-up keeps going for a while. there's no payoff, though, as it hits 3:49 and is into the outro.

from a mixing perspective, this one overall has a solid band tone that is clear and doesn't ever get in the way of itself, although i can't really hear a bass instrument. there's not much bass at all, in fact - bass peaks at 70hz? that seems pretty high - and as it nears the end the lead guitar gets a little shrill. outside of that though there's a really clear design for the band tone and it's enjoyable.

the arrangement overall is pretty conservative - there's not a ton going on in the track that isn't in the original already. in fact, i'd go so far to say that while this does adapt to the genre really well, there's virtually nothing that's played by instruments that isn't word for word what's in the original. with that in mind, though it kills me to write it as this sounds so fun, i don't think there's enough arrangement here to pass our guidelines. this feels like a cover in a different genre, and that doesn't demonstrate the transformative arrangement that we call for in our standards. altered chords, manipulation of the melodic or harmonic elements, rhythmic variations, added original content, or even manipulation of the time signature would have been a huge plus in your favor here, but ultimately i just don't think there's enough. which stinks because this is a really enjoyable listen.

 

 

NO

edit 9/11: i spent another bit of time listening through this and i'm not willing to hold it back based on arrangement. i think there's enough here. in fact i think there's more than i caught the first few times i listened through that, so that's on me.

YES

Edited September 11, 2024 by prophetik music

[Gario]

Well, this is certainly an approach. This is almost contemplative in it's pacing, and the guitar work just sounds... thick and rich. I like the use of register to help distinguish the first second from the second - the tension really does sound elevated from one section to the next.

This is certainly a conservative arrangement, but the instrumentation, tempo change, and small variation in repeating the ending section (repeating 2:54 - 3:24 with double bass and more strained lead guitar), as well as the shift in register from the lead halfway through the arrangement should be considered plenty of individualization from the artist, for OCR's purposes. I can see the argument that the notes are more or less the same, but I think there's a plenty valid argument on the other side that there's more to personalizing an arrangement than changing the notes and chords.

The production is pretty good, though sometimes the lead can get lost in the mix (like when it drops to a similar register as the accompaniment at 0:54), but overall it's acceptable if I don't want to nit pick it. The arrangement is conservative, but it isn't a cover; it stands on it's own when compared to the source, which is what I'm looking for when it comes to OCR standards. I think it'd be a great addition to the site.

YES

[Emunator]

Right off the bat, I love the tone of the cymbals and the tremolo guitar - it gives the track a very airy, ethereal quality to start and sets up a fantastic amount of tension. The problem I'm hearing is that the feeling of being in "intro" mode never seems to go away, and I don't think that's how you intended your arrangement to come across. It feels like an energy management issue that stems back to a lack of bass presence - at :15 when the heavier drums kick in, the track feels like it's supposed to kick into the next gear, but then the next minute and a half feels like it's still building up to something. A deeper bass tone or a sub bass layer that engages strategically when you want your song to have impact would make this function more coherently IMO. Around 1:50 things finally ramp up a notch with some extra layers, but the lack of a true bass presence is really diminishing the intended impact of your arrangement choices.

I'm mindful of the fact that I might be hyperfixating on this single issue and missing the forest for the trees, so I'm going to try to reset. The rest of the elements of the track sound really good to me, and I would argue in favor of Gario's perspective that there's a lot of personalization added through the performances and tone shaping decisions. Aside from what feels like a slightly-too-loud snare drum with a bit of low end buildup that could be tamed with EQ, the rest of the production decisions sound great.

After multiple listens, I think this is feedback that would have been better suited for the workshop phase, and that overall this one element is not enough to diminish the good work you've done everywhere else. I'd love to hear the bass thickened up before we post, in the event that this passes, but I can't quite justify rejecting the track outright on those grounds.

Good luck with the rest of the vote!

YES (borderline)

[Chimpazilla]

I have no problem at all with this arrangement being varied enough from the source tune, due to the total genre adaptation and the tempo and vibe differences.  Very cool genre to do with this source!

I hear what Emu is saying about the low end, it comes across as weak and nebulous.  The lowest lows could have a monomaker applied (like 125Hz and below) and compressed, and that would tighten it up.  I also agree with him that the snare is on the loud side and the snare's lows have been over-emphasized, making it stick out against the other drum elements and instruments.

I also agree with Emu about the energy management in the arrangement, it does feel like it idles in "intro mode."  After the actual intro, at 0:13, it feels like the exact same writing and instrumentation as it moves forward, only with a slow drum groove added.  The drum groove stays the same until the breakdown begins at 1:21, and it feels like something is missing somehow, energetically.  Then at 1:48, the same patterns begin again, same drum groove, same writing, the only difference I hear is a higher-octave guitar lead has been layered over the lower one, but the writing is the same, the backing guitars, bells, and the grungy arp thing are all identical to the first section.  This second section would be a good opportunity to introduce some new sounds or interpreted lead writing, varied backing elements, etc.  At 2:54 we get the first drum variation in the whole piece, and it sounds great, it builds and builds until 3:48... at which point we are at the outro.  This is an odd arrangement.

I am going NO on this, not as Brad has due to being too conservative (it IS, but the genre adaptation and slow pacing are enough for me), but for being too repetitive both in writing and instrumentation, and because the arrangement itself does not flow well; energy management is very awkward.

NO

[Flexstyle]

I'll keep my vote short: I think this has *enough* to make it by. Enough arrangement with the genre adaptation. Guitar parts are played pretty skillfully (drums, on the other hand, are a bit mechanical...could have benefited with a bit more variation/humanization in the sequencing/performance...nitpicky drummer here, sorry!), and the tones/sounds fit decently. Yeah, it could use more bass, but it's also kinda a genre thing too, so I'm not too fussed about that. 

Yeah. It's got some issues, and if it doesn't pass there's plenty to work on, but it's also a decent example of the genre and a good handling of the source. You've got my vote!

 

YES

[Hemophiliac]

The tempo-sync'd effect at the beginning of the track is a nice touch, it helps give a rhythmic element while the drums are playing sparsely. The adaption of the genre to a dark, brooding, and heavy metal-adjacent piece works very well for the source, and is the strongest element of this track.

I would've liked to have seen more interpretation of the melodic, harmonic, or rhythm of the source in the second half. Along with less repetition in the part-writing. That said, there are some very small things that you did do to help distinguish from 1st half to 2nd half: there's slightly more drum work going on, the timbral change by going up with the guitar, and additional usage of tremolo on the guitar. Not adding something more substantial to differentiate the second half makes the piece drag. You lose energy and it feels like build-up without a pay-off.

The production is good enough, even with the bass not giving the fullest punch it could have.

YES (borderline)

[Liontamer]

I'm digging the dark, deliberate weight of the bells, liked the textural changes at 1:20 & 2:56 for the choruses, and appreciated the backing guitar going meedeley-meedeley-meedeley the first time and then screeeeeeech the second time, during those choruses. Some Js claimed the drums plodded, yet to me, the overall textural complexity amidst the slower tempo meant the drums as written were working very well. From 2:54-3:48, the drum kicks with varying intensities was a very subtle yet nice touch, so the relative drum-writing sophistication was on point for me. Loved the final winddown at 3:48, with the warmest most upfront tone yet for the guitar lead yet and beautiful cymbal work. There were so many low-key yet overt ways the textures were varied up over the course of the piece (if you're paying attention). Whatever ways this could be improved would just make a solid thing better. Nice debut, Pipko; definitely a lot of be proud of here! :-)

YES