prophetik music Posted August 30, 2024 Posted August 30, 2024 updated thread name based on artist suggestion in submission thread - prophetik Jazz Jackrabbit 2 has a fond place in my heart from my childhood, with this track in particular being one of my all time favorites. I was inspired to make a remix by Allan Zax's remix of the same track. What started as a small project turned into a full reimagination of the track 1: The intro sequence up until the 1st "solo" (0:00 - 1:34 in the remix) is based off 0:40 - 1:00 in the original 2: The 1st solo (1:34 - 2:12 in the remix) is based off the same piano melody starting at 1:00 - 1:19 in the original 3: The 1st "drop" section (2:12 - 3:27 in the remix) is based off the guitar melody and chord progression at 1:19 - 2:00 in the original, and also incorporates the 1st melody as a sub-melody 4: The section between 3:27 - 5:01 in the remix is largely original and follows the overall chord progression 5: The 2nd "drop" section (5:01 - 6:44 in the remix) has the melody from 2:05 - 2:25 in the orignal layered over the melodies from the 1st "drop" Games & Sources A remix of Dark Groove (part 1) from Jazz Jackrabbit 2, composed by Alexander Brandon, Sean Hiller and Bryan Rudge. Jazz Jackrabbit 2 is a 2D side-scrolling platformer produced by Epic MegaGames in 1998.
prophetik music Posted August 30, 2024 Author Posted August 30, 2024 (edited) original is just fantastic. starts with an audio artifact. fades in with rain sfx and pads. the lead starts to emerge from the texture around 0:39, and we get some percussive elements after this at 0:55. it's a really lofi texture - lots of hard pumping on the compressor, wide brushes of sound, and it's pretty heavy in the left ear. there's a break at 1:32 (is that cylindrum i hear?), and we get some fun textural elements with the pvc instrument that eventually gives way to a nice glidey lead playing the electric guitar lead from the original. 3:27's another break, with the keys roughly outlining the original's chords at 1:00 or so. this builds additively - i particularly liked the clicky EP that eventually comes in - and eventually gets to a big blow at 5:01. there's a ton going on here but it sounds good and it's a really fun feel. the original doesn't have a ton of melodic content throughout, and what little there is doesn't seem to show up much at all in this remix. it sounds super dope! this is easily one of my favorite submissions of the last month or two. but i don't hear much direct representation of the original outside the chord progression sometimes. with that in mind, i can't pass it as-is, unless something is revealed to me that i missed. NO edit 9/3: i got a more defined breakdown from the artist. the opening section through 1:34 does indeed follow the rough shape of the melody, but not enough that i'd call it an arrangement of it - more that it's inspired by it. similarly, the cylindrum stuff at roughly 2:00 is shaped similar to the piano part but doesn't appear to be aping the actual notes - it's almost as if it's just the harmony part and the melody's muted. the section at 2:12 is closer to the original and more familiar. the section at 5:01 is also closer and more able to be picked out. this breakdown doesn't balance out to be half the track being from the game - or, rather closer enough for me to call it that. still a NO from me. edit 12/11: coming back to this with fresh ears. i hear more source this time around. thanks to larry for the extra timestamps. i think this is close enough that what's here is over the line. so i'll change my vote. YES Edited December 11, 2024 by prophetik music
Liontamer Posted November 8, 2024 Posted November 8, 2024 Opens with a pretty loud pop that would need to be fixed. Nice fade-in of the source melody at :19, with a stylish lead. Good addition of the shakers at :46, which added a lot of personality. Beats added in at :54 worked so well with the padding, the textures were gradually building in a nice way, leading to the dropoff at 1:15. 1:52 hit another area of the source and the stuttered, layered leads there were a nice touch of sonic variation before going back to the previous gliding lead. Solid instrumentation/sound design, albeit somewhat cramped/muddy; seems like it's too loud but could be pulled back some. The groove is enjoyable, and I like how the source tune sections were referenced. (Thank you for the breakdown!) Not sure why proph didn't connect the parts to the arrangement, but I didn't have that same problem and thought this did a great job incorporating the source. I recognized it from :19-1:14, 1:52-3:29, 4:42-6:39, so that was way over half. Assuming that we can't get a revised version to pull back the volume some, I'd still roll with this. The pop at the beginning can also be trimmed off if there's no other version of this available, so that prevents this from getting a conditional vote. I'm good on this one; could argue that it could be slimmed down a minute or so, but that doesn't get in the way of an otherwise creative arrangement. Nice job, Inwayn! YES
Chimpazilla Posted November 23, 2024 Posted November 23, 2024 Pop at the beginning can easily be cut off by either the artist or one of us, no worries. I find this arrangement incredible. The mixing is heavy/dense especially in the lows and low-mids but I don't hear any overcompression. I love the luscious soundscape and super hard kick dominating when it hits; sidechaining is perfect. I love the constantly morphing soundscape, the sounds move and have variation even while the soundscape is consistent. Great use of sfx expanding across the entire stereo field. The whole mix is drenched in reverb and that works super well in this context. I especially like the drums here, the hard kick, the trap snare, and the super groovy shaker pattern really add movement to an otherwise fully ambient piece. It's a long arrangement, but it's one that you melt into.... it's a vibe for sure. I love this, count me in! YES
Hemophiliac Posted November 25, 2024 Posted November 25, 2024 This is pretty fantastic, great atmosphere and soundscape. Such a luscious bass, fills up so much of the space in a good way. Kick sounds great, and really cuts through nicely. The boomwhacker sound is not something I think I've heard in an arrangement before, but it fits in perfectly here. There was a few times when I though the melodic elements could have been more focal and forward in the mix, but they also weren't buried as is. Hard to have them be focal on a casual listen when the bass is also this massive as well. Pop artifact at the beginning has already been mentioned. I really don't have any major complaints here, and if this passes it's going to be a strong debut for Inawyn. YES
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