OCR04814 - *YES* Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Justice for All "Omnia in Dubium Voca"

[prophetik music]

Another entry from Dwelling of Duels, second time I submitted as the main arranger. Didn't medal this time but all my collaborators are gold medalists to me. The plan for this track wasn't really there this time because I was so burnt out from the amount of effort I put into Dancing with the Wind, that for the first couple of weeks of the month the only thing I had done was transcribe the source, which was a pain because of the time signatures. Let's just say... when you add them up they come out to 27/8 which is what I sent to Emunator when I asked if he wanted to contribute anything. Anyway, track turned into something pretty stellar because of all those that hopped on to help drive it there. Hit play, close your eyes, and see where it takes you(and then tell me because I'm still not entirely sure what the destination is...)

Zack Parrish: Arrangement, Production, Guitars, Sax, Keys, Mixing & Mastering
Emunator: Sound Design
colorado weeks: Vocals, lyrics
trumpetsori: Trumpet
paradiddlesjosh: Drums
pixelseph: Guitars
Cyril the Wolf: Bass

Lyrics: Fīat iūstitia ruat cælum (Let justice be done though the heavens fall)

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Games & Sources

Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Justice For All

[prophetik music]

sounds like 6/8, 4/4, 6/8, 7/8 to me at least initially. it flows really well together though, i really like it.

some fun sound design to start with keys, vocal elements, and some percussive elements. we get some bass and hats at 0:16, and soon after some guitar elements. it's got a bit of an old starcraft feel to it initially with the bass groove and hats focus. 0:54 is where we start to get some heavier guitars and more drum elements. imo this kind of mixed meter needs a more specific groove in the drums to help people keep track of where they are in the pattern - it was a little tough to keep track of. i always recommend Herd Culling by Porcupine Tree as an example of how to do complex meters without losing people - the little hat element thrown at the end of each phrase is a good example of what to leave for someone to grab onto in the storm. to be clear - i think the drums are well-performed and enjoyable, and they say relevant things, but i often found myself losing track of where in the four-bar phrase i was despite the melodic elements.

there's a break at 1:21 with a focus on the bass first and then mirrored in the guitar. 1:59's another 'chorus' section. i noticed the different lead elements all had different cutoffs in several phrases in this section a few times - it's a little distracting that they're all over the place (i think this was intentional, i just don't think it was quite executed 100%). we get some trumpet at 2:40 (wasn't expecting that!) and it's a nice change in feel between that and the strings around here. it was a good time to mix it up as we'd kinda done the same thing for a bit.

there's a third chorus at 3:17 and it's a great payoff. i really love the rising lines in the lead guitars through here, especially that they kind of overlap in several places. the constant motion feel to the end of it is just great. there's a fall at 3:58 and we're into the outro. a few more hits and we're done.

this is a really fun adaptation of a complex original! i really like the concept - focusing on the simpler melodic line above a variety of complex lower elements is a great choice and one that really turned out well. it's got that signature zack shimmer to it and features a great slate of skillful performances. excellent work all around.

 

 

YES

[Liontamer]

Oh wow, I immediately like that genre transformation of the theme, giving it a darker edge. Something about the texture after the ramp-up at :53 didn't feel quite right. Also felt like one of the guitars was briefly panned too far to the right, but maybe it's just me.

Very subtle vocals at 1:21 for more of an ominous undertone as opposed to an overt message; cool placement. Loved the double guitar leads at 2:00, another cool iteration of the theme. The strings at 2:25 were too exposed, but conceptually were cool; the strings sounded less exposed later on when they were a supporting part.

A wild TSori appears at 2:38. Loved that original mallet-like countermelody underneath the lead, what a unique addition to the texture. 3:17 felt like the final big build gradually filling in the soundscape; great interplay of the part-writing throughout.

Structurally, I dug the format of just riffing on the core theme and exploring the instrumentation permutations. Textbook creative arranging!

YES

[Hemophiliac]

Wild time sigs on the original, surely a tough transcribe as you said. They also give the source a very unique uneven and unsettling feel too.

First off, I want to applaud the direction taken, you've added some much needed drive to this that the source did not have. The original felt very one-dimensional and this is an improvement to me. The live performances are strong and are highlighted appropriately in the mix. Great work all around!

YES