Emunator Posted July 2 Share Posted July 2 Artist Name: Xaleph, Zack Parrish, Audiomint Arranger: Xaleph Guitarist: Zack Parrish Vocals: Audiomint Mastering: Zack Parrish I wanted to have an acoustic psytrance song that used sfx from the game (provided by OceansAndrew) and was thankful that Zack rerecorded the acoustic parts I initially played (I'm not nearly as good!). I really had a lot of fun putting together this mix and I hope you can feel what fun I had through the energy in this mix! I'll look at getting the lyrics later as Audiomint is at camp (she recorded right before heading out). The vocals used (the climb), I worked with OceansAndrew to make sure it's an approved rearranged version that still encompasses his vision for that motiff. Also - I really wanted to support this game on release, I love the concept and I would love to see this succeed! Flowstone Saga - Standoff and "The Climb" (motiff) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prophetik music Posted July 3 Share Posted July 3 opening is very similar to standoff, but quickly shifts to an acoustic-driven psytrance groove. this progresses through the chord progression before getting to the first break at 0:54. audiomint comes in here - it's not super clear what she's singing at first, as the pronunciation isn't super clear. open your mouth when you sing! that'll fix most of that right away without changing anything else. a bit more emphasis on the consonants will help too. there's some rising action with the strings around 1:10 and at 1:24 it really kicks it up. vocals are still clear in the mix, although i wouldn't have minded a little more formant boost around 2.5k-3k to bring her voice out more as opposed to just cranking it up. some sfx and the beat hits at 1:58. there's a really nice lfo distorted synth doing some fun stuff in the background here. this headbobs through the chord progression some more until we get to a string-driven section at 3:53. this is pretty dense in here with the low strings and some of the synth pads in the same area. there's a drop at 3:22 and a shift back to 12/8. kick has a ton of click on it which is a neat feel. some acoustic makes it back in which is nice - i was starting to lose the plot through some of the chord work without melodic backing. the mesh of acoustic and electronic at 4:02 is really nice. the gating effects applied once a while are fun too. it goes through the chord progression one more time and it's done. this is a pretty hip track as expected from a xaleph-fronted project. the beat is immaculate throughout. i would have liked to hear a bit of a clearer singing section, and separately i didn't connect a lot of the more beat-driven sections directly to Standoff's recognizable elements. i believe we're still >50%, but would have liked more overall correlation. this is still way over the bar though, excellent work as always. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emunator Posted August 1 Author Share Posted August 1 (edited) This is a slam dunk of an arrangement, it reminds me a lot of Pistolero by Juno Reactor with the fusion of western-style acoustic guitar and goa beats. It fits like a glove. Matt has mastered this genre and it's hard to find any significant fault in his execution. Having played Flowstone Saga a lot, I have an extra level of respect for what he did with this source! I don't have a lot of specific commentary to give here, but I'm happy to sign off on this without reservation. YES Edited August 1 by Emunator Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hemophiliac Posted August 2 Share Posted August 2 I'm immediately grabbed by this as it's immediately recognizable (I've been playing the game for the last few years). That "suspense" theme is really cool and i'm glad you gave it a very recognizable opening on the guitar here, played very well by Zack. Once we get into the electronic portion it's full-force what I would expect from Xaleph. It's his signature bass and it's always so dang good. Production is fantastic and on point. Vocal harmony during "The Climb" (1:09-1:11 and during the next phrase) was a nice touch and I liked that. There could be more enunciation in the diction but I think it's fine with this style of piece. Good pitch! At 2:54 I'm hearing a return to "Suspense" theme, but with a Xaleph spin on it, great interpretation. Big fan of acoustic elements interplaying with synth and this was a great example of them working together to create something awesome. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimpazilla Posted August 18 Share Posted August 18 I have listened to this several times, trying to formulate my thoughts on it. Xaleph is amazingly talented, of course, and the guitar performances by Zack are excellent. The production of this track is pristine, although I will gripe that the psy bass feels just a bit on the weak side, mixing-wise; I prefer more bass-beef in a psy production, a little more compression and/or volume. But that's a nitpick and a personal preference. I really enjoy the mixture of triplets and straight 4/4 throughout the piece. I adore psy triplets, they give me chills, always. The following is my personal taste and does not affect my vote on this track, but I want to mention it anyway. I don't really care for the genre mixing happening in this arrangement. The guitars are not a good match with psy, to my ears. The psy drums also do not compliment the guitar soundscape when they play together. I guess I am more of a psy purist, but again that does not affect my vote. I also don't care for the synth that plays at 0:27-0:54, it sounds detuned in a way that I find unpleasant in context with the guitar that continues strumming during that section, and it becomes abrasive to me when the filter opens up fully on the patch. The vocal comes in at 0:56 and she sounds lovely to me, although I agree it is tough to make out the lyrics. The strings sound luscious behind her, I love the soundscape here and the subtle arp patterns in the background. Love this part. The psy beat is pulsing up, and then vanishes, hitting full force at 1:58. This is when I'd love to hear the bass quite a bit louder than this, but I love this section. The squelches, synths, arps, and that gated clap, are divine. The drumfill transitions are terrific. The strings that start at 2:54 sound very good in this soundscape, as everything is ramping up in energy... then.... triplets.... omg I love triplets. This part is so wonderfully sparse and huge. The guitar plucks in this section work for me since they are sparse, but when the full guitar section returns followed by that wonky synth, I'm a little disappointed, since I have heard both of those sections previously. The ending of the track after that is quite abrupt. The track is obviously great, despite my gripes, and is very well produced, even if the genre-mixing is not my cup of tea. The other Js love this genre combination, and I am sure others will as well. The overall arrangement is on point and has great dynamics. I am not familiar with these sources so I am very glad that the other Js are familiar with the game OST and can easily pick out the source use. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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