*NO* - Chrono Cross "Chillopolis"

[Liontamer]

Hey there!

So I never submitted this track for some reason.  Also, the project file got lost in the house fire I had in 2018 but luckily I still have the exports.   I loved making this one because I used the actual loop that Yasunori used in his Chronopolis song (from a Spectrasonics library)  The one with an ambient metallic hit and hi-hats panning back and forth.

 

This track was originally made for the Chronopolis project here on Ocremix and it's easily my favorite source tune from the game.  The remix is a jazzy downtempo take on the original.  The live instrumentation is provided by Big Fish Audio (some of their jazz libraries)  I can't say which one because I don't remember honestly.  Anyway, it turned out great and I am proud of it.  I hope you enjoy it.

 

Jordan

bLiNd

 

Edited 8 hours ago by paradiddlesjosh

[Liontamer]

You definitely want this to go in some personalized, expansive directions, especially since this reconstructs some of the original's instrumentation.

The sound quality's a bit denser compared to the source and then a basic beat comes in at :47, and now the soundscape's too loud and cramped, IMO, with the bassline barely registering for example. As soon as the synth arrived at 1:51, I was "Alright, now let's hear where it goes", so it might be a case where the latter 2/3rds is more interpretive.

At 2:42, the electric guitar samples definitely feel tacked on, though it's well-performed; wished they weren't mixed in there in such a muddy way. The source also isn't going anywhere new aside from the guitar samples on top. Some organ-like keyboard stuff at 3:44, but it feels more disconnected than the electric guitar lines did (and those felt that way too). Then some sax & trumpet at 4:22, well-performed (though there's some sort of audio deformation at 4:43), but this also feels disconnected from the overall track. The various sampled lines seem cool in a vacuum, but there's no synergy there, so 2:42-on feels like vamping without direction and the overall level of interpretation feels notable but limited. Obviously, one gets more used to the flow of the extended sampled instrumentation lines upon repeated listens, so maybe the disjointedness is overstated in others' eyes.

I'm feeling like without the extended drop-ins of these sample library segments, the overall expansiveness and development of this concept is limited. Maybe the added lines are integrated well enough that that's not a problem? To me, that's not the case, but I could understand being willing to consider that POV. Leaning NO and would need to be pursuaded, but I'm actually gonna see what others think about this first.

?

EDIT (2/7/25): Yeah, revisiting this now, this just isn't a developed arrangement. There's too much leaning on the sampled instrumental lined, which feel stapled on top and not well-integrated, to provide the differences from the source to the arrangement in the latter half. This has nice heft compared to the original, but does feel like a cover with beats + sampled add-ons. I'm not expecting a revisit on this one due to being from way back, but anything that could add more interpretation while feeling fully integrated would help this stand apart beyond the beef-ups in the instrumentation.

NO 

Edited February 7 by Liontamer
changed vote from ? to NO

[prophetik music]

i'm not voting on this because it's my project. but i never felt this was a particularly developed arrangement. the soloing sounds like it's for another song. it's cool that he found the original loop though and the track is mastered real well.

it was kind of funny because i asked jordan specifically to join the project because i needed a banger track to fill out the flame side of the album and then he came back with something significantly different than what i'd expected.

[Hemophiliac]

The vibe on this is really cool, and it's rad to hear you really expand your territory into unexpected places that I haven't heard before. The production is clean as I would expect and it feels like we're getting a sound upgrade to start out. When we get almost two minutes in a new synth is introduced and the soundscape starts to have some evolution.

When the head returns and the guitar is introduced (2:40), it does not feel like it's playing with the same band. It's got it's own ideas about where to go and noodles about regardless of the rest of the song structure. Either this is a prerecorded loop added on top of your backing that you created or the solo was not developed enough. That same thing goes for the trumpet and sax from 4:27-4:58, they step all over each other's toes and at times are not complimentary with each other. If you want to write parts out that are noodling around less, pick a target and have a goal you want to reach with both high and low points along the way. The solos can be telling a story just as much as the whole song does. That way it can go places and progress rather than noodle about aimlessly.

3:06~3:14 there's some odd chords in the synth pad not playing nice with the rest of the parts. Again really crunchy chords in the electric piano 4:19-4:26.

The other problem is not enough micro-variation within the drums. Yes, you do change up the pattern section-to-section, but it would be next level to give some tiny fills or slight variation to the pattern from time-to-time.

Overall this is a cool vibe and energy with strong production, but with a very under-developed arrangement that does not feel completely refined.

NO

[paradiddlesjosh]

Agreed with Hemo, cool vibe on this one. I'm reminded of the Metal Gear Solid OST in the intro, and then once the drums and piano come in for the head at 0:48, it's more like Silent Hill. Solid production as well: parts are all audible (the guitar solo is less clear than expected, though that's more so due to the pitch overlap between its part and the piano and less so the mix) and the sound gels.

I might come across as harsh when I write this; as Larry and Hemo have pointed out, the arrangement isn't very transformative and the guitar solo (2:40-3:40) and the trumpet/sax duet (4:26-4:58) don't sound integrated into the material at all. The lack of drum fills and variations within the patterns cause the parts to feel static, and it doesn't help that the heads (0:48-1:30, 2:40-3:40, and 4:26-4:58, the B section of the source material) sound identical to each other except for the leads. Elements like the synth vamp from 1:36-2:34 and the EP segments from 3:44-4:05 and 4:59 to the end help keep the re-intro segments fresh, but it's not enough to offset the lack of development on the heads.

I'm co-signing on this one: the vibes and the mix are great on this one, but the arrangement's just not up to par.

NO