OCR04684 - *YES* Super Mario 64 "The Slow Pull of the Space Docks"

[Emunator]

Resub
Original Submission

Artist Name: Mel Decision

I created this piece as part of a challenge to "write an arrangement of any video game song, but make it space-related." I immediately knew that I wanted to do a take on Dire Dire Docks. There's a thin line between deep sea and space, and I wanted to see how much I could break it. I relied on layering lots of soft pianos and synths, and drenched the whole piece in reverb. I wanted to give the feeling of drifting through space, staring out through the window of a space station into the black as ships dock or zoom by. Kind of peaceful and a little mysterious, with a touch of awe that comes from getting lost in the majesty of space.

Games & Sources

Dire Dire Docks from Super Mario 64, composed by Koji Kondo: 

[Emunator]

Just going by memory, I recall the original submissions always showing promise but falling short on execution and dynamics. Immediately, we're met with captivating ambiance and ear candy that lays a brilliant foundation for the slow burn, ambient piano arrangement that follows. The piano sequencing still feels lethargic to an extent, but there's a lot more going on fills the space between the slowly unfolding melodies. The strings at the end also feel like a new addition, and are truly gorgeous. This is a much-needed changeup to cap off the arrangement, but doesn't feel entirely detached from what came before it. Emotion bleeds out of the writing there. All in all, the additions were just what this piece needed to push it over the edge, and I'm happy to say that the final result is worth the effort.

The piano sounds a touch overcompressed and loud in overall volume, which feels overbearing for the soundscape. I feel like pulling the piano down across the board by 1-2dB max would still allow it to take center stage, but sit a little more nicely with the rest of the sounds. This is especially evident at 2:32, where we're getting some very audible distortion as you hit the higher velocities. That's the only real sticking point, and it's noticeable enough to go conditional on, but I do think this track would benefit from a slightly more delicate touch on the piano mixing overall. That said, if you can fix that unintentional distortion, this will have my unconditional YES.

YES

EDIT: File has been updated to fix clipping, we are good to go! The file in the form above is good to listen to.

Edited May 12 by Emunator

[Liontamer]

It was fine last time, it was simmerin'. :-P I hated you people the last time around and you still stink now!

YES

[prophetik music]

i didn't vote on the original but did listen to it, and voted on the resub. my complaints were around the over-simplification of the track (ie. not enough to call it a remix) as well as some technical issues.

 

interesting sfx elements in the opening, outlining the chord structure of the original. keys and an original-adjacent bass element playing the arpeggiated opening section, in one of the minor modes. i like the approach at 1:29 with the very nice higher keys. separately, this entire opening section through 2:15 has some timing elements that are mildly irritating to me - the keys and bass synth aren't always in sync.

2:15 or so has some much larger chords that really stick out of the mix. they filled up the soundscape a lot but didn't feel much louder - lot of mids there. there's some pretty strings after this that do some fun ideas to outline the melodic structure. there's some timing stuff in here that's a little confusing to my ears.

there's a reversed cymbal hit at 3:15 that does a superb job transitioning into a last runthrough of the melody before we're done.

i think there's a lot to like about this track. there's a fullness of character that wasn't in the last two versions, and most of the issues i had with those have been alleviated. nice work.

 

 

YES

[Chimpazilla]

I have voted on this twice already, and both previous times I found the writing too sparse, simple and mechanical. and the soundscape was extremely sparse.  Also I noted that the track had no mastering and came in at -6db peak.

There has been quite a bit added to the piece in terms of instruments, textures, padding and sfx.  This is a huge improvement.  It still feels very sparse but now it sounds purposeful and with enough going on in the soundscape to retain the listener's interest.  This arrangement isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea, but this resubmission gets the job done.

The track now has some mastering or at least a final limiter on it.  I see that a new version was uploaded to remedy some clipping.  The master is still very loud for this style of music, but I don't hear any clipping or overcompression artifacts.

YES