[WIP] Shinobi 3 & Rise of the Robots "We Built an Edifice Towards a Dark Sky"

[The Vodoú Queen]

Hey all.

This is gonna be relatively quick, because I wasn't sure if I'd present it or try to rework it again yet, but. . .

SUBMITTED, MASTERED SONG:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ixEWhVdIC-Xj1y5YevPlgwfW9hTDTgYF/view?usp=sharing

ORIGINAL DECISION:

SOURCE TRACKS:

Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master - "Inner Darkside"

Rise of the Robots - "Prime 8 / The Builder's Stage"

REFERENCE TRACKS:

The Glitch Mob (Aesthetics / Vibe / Asian & Ethnic Influences)

Mike Oldfield - "Tubular Bells (Theme from 'The Exorcist')"

'Theme from the X-Files'

I uhm...don't entirely know what to do to resolve the critique points for this track arrangement-wise. *Mixing* I might be able to grasp on, but the basses are hell, and I need to find a way to rhythmically marry the two sources together better? Or--at the very least--the main issues I took from it are: 1) too much going on that sounds fuzzy, and 2) there's not enough variation on the main motif. . .and I guess the sources are very strange / weird / wack...etc.

Any comments or questions or concerns would be great to discuss here and ask. ♥ I'm open to any ideas on how to redress this or...whatever. I'd hope maybe the way the song is built is alright, and maybe it's just the elements within in that are problematic and can be resolved for the better.

Edited June 20 by The Vodoú Queen
. . .Imma dummy and forgot the *ACTUAL* song's file. . .o7

[pixelseph]

Hi VQ!

Gonna reiterate what I can from the live review:

• Be very selective about what voice is the focus in each section, and pare back parts that aren't providing texture for your rhythm and harmony lines
• Consider swapping the bass ostinato from Shinobi 3 in the middle sections of the piece with another melodic phrase from your sources; I recommend the descending arpeggio siren thing from Rise of the Robots

This is gonna be a groove machine when you're done. It always sucks to go back and start from scratch on mixes but it's worth it in the end!

[paradiddlesjosh]

Howdy, VQ! Also gonna reiterate live review notes for posterity:

• The judges honed in on the fuzziness happening from 3:25-4:09. It's highly likely to be too much saturation on something. This can be tamed with a high shelf cut around 6-8kHz or by pulling the saturation back about 10%.
• The modulation/key change into the same section was a great idea that needs the proper preparation for the listeners to stick with it. I think we determined you're going from Ab Major to E Major. Major third modulations are pretty easy to handle as modulations go -- I mentioned going to a shared chord between the keys but you don't have many between these two keys. However, Hemo suggested some tritone substitution action. In this case, do an Ab7 (Ab-C-Eb-Gb) chord into (in this case) a B7 (B-D#-F#-A) chord leading into the change into the E Major (E-G#-B). You can omit the 5ths on the 7 chords (Eb and F#, respectively) if you don't have enough voices to cover the chords -- but keep the 7th intervals spread out to minimize the potential dissonance.

[The Vodoú Queen]

Need a vibe check, haha.

Did a lot of work fixing this track, primarily eradicating dissonance and clashing / fuzziness due to too much shit going on in a single section, so I've been ripping unnecessary parts away, refitting/re-engaging others, re-writing the entire drumline and bass from scratch and with better loop samples that fit rhythmically with supporting the beat and low-end, etc. Took a lot of time and care in analyzing the previous rejection decision, absorbing what Josh, Hemo and Seph said in a previous Office Hours, and employing some needed, professional outside help and discussion on the track. Doing my best to try and write-up my own drums and beats with one-shot samples, drum machines or MIDI, rather than relying so much on loops that aren't hand-crafted.

I hope it's a ton more feasible now and capable of being Panel-worthy.

Still being mixed insofar as fine-tuning but I've reworked the entire mixing and processing FX and automation lanes. It's about 90% done. No side-chain or mid-side...uh...anything yet, but I had to rip them out and do them from scratch and didn't have time before Office Hours today. D:

Edited August 30 by The Vodoú Queen
Explanations!

[The Vodoú Queen]

Can't sleep. . . Dove back into it after the Office Hours and was informed after around the 3 minute mark, there were 5-7 instances of funky sounding notes that were souring spots, primarily in conflict with the Builder 8 source and the key change.

Please can I get a quadruple check on this? I stripped it back down to the raw arrangement to try and functionally fix any MIDI notes and adjust any live takes via semitone pitch changes in Reaper. ...IDK if I fixed every instance, but I believe I did... ...I sometimes just don't trust my ears in these problems, but it isn't for lack of trying.

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/6rdsozkxrhqe5lpytv6ti/VQ-Shinobi-III-Rise-of-the-Robots-We-Built-an-Edifice-WIP-FIXED-NOTES.mp3?rlkey=sngy7j3ea4y7ymfv3vqw80b43&st=qyb62gzk&dl=0

I'd appreciate the extra ears to inform me either way, and if there's still issues, timestamps would be helpful. Thank you. . .