Liontamer Posted May 13, 2024 Share Posted May 13, 2024 Artist Name: TheManPF Additional artists: Zach Chapman; Connor Engstrom; colorado weeks We're back with another DoD tune, this time from HAL Laboratory month (otherwise known as Kirby month, because duh), I was in the mood for a cheesy pop ballad after listening to this song from the Spy x Family soundtrack (it's actually the THIRD time this anime inspires me to make a song, first with my little Smash Bros. rap, and second time with [REDACTED]). I was also looking for something with vocals and, as far as my research went, this is the only vocal track in any Kirby game that I could find. Worked well enough though. I did the arrangement, mix, electric guitars, yadda yadda, y'know the usual. The chord progressions in this arrangement are completely reharmonized, I usually don't reharmonize much on my vgm arrangements, because I like keeping things faithful and recognizable, but I didn't love the chord progression of the original, and it didn't really fit the cheesy pop ballad mood that I was going for, so I tried rearranging the chords in a way where it brings a more cheerful and hopeful mood rather than an eccentric rock-y one the original had. The vocal melodies are untouched (except for a very slight change in the pre-chorus), and some core melodies from the original also remain intact to keep the identity of the source recognizable. In the bridge where the guitar solos happen however I made use of the chord progressions of the original song because I think it brought a good contrast. The lyrics in the original are gibberish, but the ending credits provide a very nice "translation" of the lyrics which are already structured to be sung along to, which made the job of fitting the lyrics in the arrangement a lot easier, neat! My concept of this arrangement "World of Pink" is a rose-tinted world, a happy place you can go to in your mind whenever you feel exhausted from the outside world, you go there, and you have a happy time, you can relax and enjoy, everything is perfect, and you don't have to worry about anything. Of course this is more of a fantasy for us, and eventually it vanishes and we have to go back, which is what I try to express with the ending being slowly bitcrushed. I've been in a bit of a funk lately and I've found myself doing a lot of feel-good-y music for the sake of trying to fill a little bit of a void, and having music like this to listen to helps me relax and feel a little bit better. Zach is once again playing the bass for me, he's always been a super talented bassist, but I feel he has been improving a lot since he's started, he improvises and sticks his own bass lines, he brings me stems faster than anybody else, and his recordings are always squeaky clean. I'm incredibly lucky to be able to work alongside someone like him. I invited Connor Engstrom to play acoustic guitar in this track, who you might know as one of the guitarists from The Tiberian Sons (!). I left my acoustic guitar back in Argentina years ago, and I haven't been able to get another one to record, so I'm in the need to get someone else to do it for me. It also happens that the person I got for it is a lot more talented than me, and not only is his rhythm playing extremely tight, I also took the opportunity to stick a solo section for him because I knew he would be able to pull it off with flying colors. I haven't collabed with him before and that's a big mistake, he's one of the best collab partners I've ever had. colorado weeks did me the favor of singing this one. I love vocals, I love lyrics, I love music with vocals and lyrics, and almost every time I do a vgm cover I find myself finding excuses to put vocals on everything, and when I do, I usually like trying to experiment with different singers. I've met colorado weeks in the OCR discord first but also noticed them hanging around DoD from time to time, I noticed they had a "vocals" role, and checked out their music. WOW. Angelic voice, I need this in a track of mine asap. It was really fun to collab with them and they did a fantastic job at nailing the exact kind of vibe I was going for with this song, even if I think this was very challenging for them to pull off, so kudos to them! This entry ended up placing 4th out of 22 tracks in HAL Laboratory month, which I think is pretty decent considering I actually struggled to finish this one very close to the deadline, even with a non-ideal mix. This version is improved a bit from the DoD version, and I hope you guys enjoy it as much as the DoD community did (: Lyrics: Strange horizon, ready to go Feast your eyes on a new world A new dreamland, a new place where you'll laugh and smile Along the way, stuff your belly and nap awhile No one can hold you back, new fields full of mystery The sky's opened up, and there's so much to see Running wild Just let your heart take the wheel and show you the way Fresh spring breeze Adventure is awaiting you in the fields of a new world Don't be afraid, face your fears and you'll hunger for more The tension builds, plunge ahead on this thrilling tour Think of all the friends you've made, all of them living free Their cares have been washed away by a wild sea Laughing loud Even if you're far apart, they're right by your side Hearts full of love Everybody here is welcome to live in this new world Strange emotion, what do you feel? Roaring ocean of a new world Open hearts already fluttering free and riding the breeze Nothing but love to share with everyone we know New world New world New world New world Games & Sources Game: Kirby and the Forgotten Land Songs arranged: Welcome to the New World! (https://youtu.be/vUS-Za5MhMg) Original composer: Neichel; Shinya Kumazaki; Tadashi Ikegami; Taro Nagata; Yuuta Ogasawara (whew that's a lot of people) System: Nintendo Switch Year: 2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prophetik music Posted May 21, 2024 Share Posted May 21, 2024 opens with some john mayer-esque acoustic chord progressions and some light strings and keys. acoustic sounds super crisp. melodic material is immediately recognizable. the new chords are a neat concept. the backing elements are super lush which sounds great. there's a bit of a break right away (which is a technique i really like). there's some timing crunchiness at 0:59 but it resolves quickly. the chorus at 1:31 has a fun bit right before it and then sounds great when it's all firing. my one critique there is that the drums are a touch loud through this section. aside from that, the chords at the end of the chorus section don't quite fit the vocal line as much as you'd want, but it's not bad, just felt a little weird. CW's voice overall sounds really solid. don't be afraid to support from your belly more! some of the ends of phrases lose some body and get a bit pitchy (1:04, 1:21). that can be rectified by ensuring you're using proper posture and that you're using enough air support. your straight tone is pretty consistent which is great, so just cleaning up the edges will make a big difference. tom groove at 1:58 is great. the bass work in here too is great and helps keep it moving forward without being too in front of the beat. the phrase at the end of 2:32 is probably the best vocal part of the song thus far - great support and tone. the second chorus is solid and then we get the requisite guitar solo. i love the arp in the background of this - it's so kirby! acoustic guitar solo sounds excellent too. clearly you need more acoustic solos in your songs. we get another electric solo (which is honestly so wild considering the style of the song, it's almost too much! but i love it). there's a hard fall-off after this in terms of energy - it's a hard cut. the words fit that pretty well. the transition into the chorus again has a ton of energy and then we're into the last part of the song. there's some outro with bells and it's done. this is a great example of how to take a melody-centric approach and totally rewrite the backing elements. it's clear what the original is and does a great job of making a fun, clear, new interpretation of it. excellent work all around. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimpazilla Posted July 18, 2024 Share Posted July 18, 2024 Lush soundscape right away, acoustic guitar sounds great. The vocal sounds great too. Very interesting approach to this remix, it fits the original very well, while holding its own as a remix. I do hear the occasional pitchy-ness on the highest notes that Brad mentioned, but it isn't too terrible. All the instrumentation sounds great, drums and guitars are very well performed, the soloing is amazing. Vocal could come up a bit in volume when the soundscape is dense. The little bell outro is very sweet! The master is uberloud, but I don't hear any overcompression artifacts. Arrangement overall is terrific, full of energy and with nice dynamics. Nice work. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hemophiliac Posted September 3, 2024 Share Posted September 3, 2024 This is a track that's full of joy and wonder. Feels like something that would be sung to a child in a musical before sending them off on a journey for the first time. Both guitars, acoustic and electric; are performed wonderfully. The acoustic especially has such a richness to it that sets the stage so tastefully when accompanied by the tremolo strings in the intro. On 5/21/2024 at 5:07 AM, prophetik music said: CW's voice overall sounds really solid. don't be afraid to support from your belly more! some of the ends of phrases lose some body and get a bit pitchy (1:04, 1:21). that can be rectified by ensuring you're using proper posture and that you're using enough air support. your straight tone is pretty consistent which is great, so just cleaning up the edges will make a big difference. I was going to say something very similar to this, so I'd like to also echo what Prophetik has said. Just the expansion and support is all it takes to keep the breath from slipping through too much and getting an aspirated sound or losing the pitch. There was a few times on longer phrases and notes where the air was starting to slip too much. What's here does it's job, it could just be taken to the next level and pushed further. 1:58-2:35 sounds like this was your strong lower range and sounds great. Just wish the higher range was more mixed and strong with the breath support it needed. At the end of the day this is a joyful arrangement that adds so much original material to the backing while keeping the familiar melody from the source, and has strong performances. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted February 14 Author Share Posted February 14 Bah, I thought I voted on this thang! (Lazy./Busy./Not actually lazy.) Amazing source tune. Some pitchy slips, no doubt, yet well-performed on the whole and full of heart. PINK ENERGY, a.k.a. LOVE! :-) YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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