Color of The Summer Sky - Secret of Mana

[Ordonis]

Hi all,

I'm shooting for my second remix here at OC with one of my favorite video game tracks of all time, Color of The Summer Sky from Secret of Mana. It's not at the point where I would call it finished yet, but I'd like to welcome any and all feedback to help me get there. Thanks!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1I_8oDWhW1r8k_nfi2USEc6Or7iAjiJu_/view?usp=sharing

[mo.oorgan]

Huge fan of the source tune, and I feel like I can see the vision here for what the intention is here. For some reason, it keeps reminding me of this particular song by Bougenvilla, or other songs around this time and in this kind of future house-y nature.

The open hats, clap, and kick feel like you're specifically aiming for a house track, but the progression seems to lack the tension and release that a song in that genre would bring to the table. I do feel moments where it feels like it's on it's way to achieving something like this, however I feel like there's a fair amount of polishing that needs to be put into this track here.

Throughout the entire WIP as it is, there doesn't seem to be any sorts of evolution or automation being applied anywhere, where some progressive filter sweeps could be some really powerful elements. 

I also feel like to really establish a 'groove' on this type of track, it's crucial to have some kind of low-end activity going on, where it doesn't feel like this track has any bass presence outside of the kick drum. I would be amiss to not recommend that some kind of proper bass finds its way into future updates of this track.

Some kind of one-off notes that may be helpful:
--The kick seems to have no 'thump' to it. I can see that it has presence in the 'sub' regions, but it feels like it needs either a layer that focuses on the 200Hz-500Hz region, or the kick that is there needs to be emphasized in that same frequency region, to really drive the kick.
--The open hats do feel pretty quiet at the intro.
--The high-end synth that is introduced at :30 is very harsh on the ears, and seems to be mixed louder than everything else. With the frequencies that particular synth is living in, the human ear naturally hears these frequencies a lot louder than others, so while a frequency analyzer/EQ may show this at a relatively normal level, the perceived volume of this feels louder than intended, and could stand to be brought down a fair amount. This also stands out in contrast to everything before it comes back in at 1:16.
--The fill at 0:29 sounds like a kick drum is trying to achieve the job of a tom fill, where using the kick isn't really doing it for me.  This also goes for the fill at 1:17; since a kick drum is being used here, it feels like it belongs more in a metal track than the song you're producing, but if switched to a tom fill, I feel like would capture the spirit of what I imagine is intended for the track overall.
--I think for the fill at 1:44 to work, it would be most effective to strip out the rest of the drums, and let there be that pause moment before you go back into the groove, and send it back off with a crash.
--The synth that takes the melody line at :45 doesn't really change, and kind of just comes from out of nowhere. This is the type of element that could be introduced with a hi-cut/low-pass filter with percussive elements stripped away, that coinside with a buildup, to then drop with it in full force and drums to really make it make sense, but as it is, it gets repetitive pretty quickly. The change that does happen at 1:16 is intriguing, but since it's followed by that 30 seconds of the exact same synth and MIDI and no evolutionary elements, it quickly loses its novelty, and by the time it comes back at 1:45, I'm longing to hear a different synth at that point.

As a personal recommendation, I would try to find a reference track that you want this track to emanate 'vibes' of what you're aiming for, bring that into your DAW, and consider things that are happening within that track, to identify individual tasks and goals you can surmount to bring your track closer to that chosen reference track, because I think there's some bones to this idea, but a huge part of what I feel like is missing here is a House song structure and progression, as well as those moments to solidify an impactful moment in the track. I would really focus on the transitional elements, and how you can emphasize the sections of buildup and release, since there's spots in the WIP that seem to have a moment where that can happen, but they lack the leading tension to really pay off when that moment passes.

This all said, I really think this can come into it's own with some due diligence, I think with some restructuring, some progressive evolution throughout, and some balancing of frequencies, this track will be on it's way to being a much more solid piece of work!

Edited Friday at 05:02 AM by mo.oorgan

[Dyluck]

If my name means anything...well, then.

The Color of the Summer Sky is one of my favorites from the soundtrack. It never fails to put a smile on my face.

The bell-like opening is nice, and then the use of the A section upper counter-melody is effective against it. But then that synth voice/calliope(?) lead doing the intro lead just doesn't sit right with me in regards to its timbre.

After a hi-hat rhythm and wind-like upwards pitch build for eight bars, you then bring in a drop like the original, but it's subdued compared to the original. This is all well and good in and of itself, but that kick into the heavy snare punch of the original is what drives its energy. Without it, COTSS has the danger of becoming very twee because the countermelodies and marimba/piano "pluck" don't have enough juice (I suggest going into Chipamp and turning off the percussion channel to see what I mean here). Here, you have a snare roll-tap to at least emulate that oh-so-characteristic entry, but the following claps and kick and snare feel like they're too far back. That's not to say that it now becomes twee, but I want more of a punch and more presence throughout, especially to counter what sounds like is meant to be a grand main-line melody lead instrument.

I do like the attention to the bass line and bringing it forward in the mix because it doesn't get enough love while you have a softer flute-like main-melody ducking behind it. Clever. The glitchy-slide of that bass melody through the eight-bar B section is also a great touch. The drum changes through here have good energy, but I still want more.

We then have an additive C section with new "voices" getting added every two bars...that very exposed simple kick and snare in the first two bars sounds very flat in terms of presence and I feel it doesn't drive it forward as much as I would want it to. The synth you have replacing the string countermelody (borrowed from the A section) is a little strong when it comes in. Other than that, the idea is great, but I think the balance between the strength of the instruments needs to be worked out as the main melody's rhythm is rapid compared to the A and B sections and that contrast is getting lost behind everything else.

We then loop back around to the A section now with that strong bass line versus the flute like we did in the first A section reprise...the balance feels off now between the two after having this additive build-up through the C section. I want something more here as the promise of the C section's build is leaving me somewhat unfulfilled. I see that you're winding things down to get ready for your big B section re-entry (the re-entry works fine), but again, it doesn't feel big enough for me, and the bass line is a little too strong through it in comparison, making it feel like a plain repeat of the first B section.

Your C section reprise with the glitchy original bass line is fun. I like this idea a lot.

Without going into a spectral equalizer to work out where the gaps are, I do feel overall that there's presence missing. Needs more oomph, too, more actual bass. Your instrument choices are definitely interesting and generally good, but that one with the intro lead sounds out of place. Arrangement direction wise, the possibilities are endless of course but at your current endpoint I feel like you're ready for some sort of breakdown from the structure of the original (take it to the bridge) as, after all, the original is only one minute and change long and now we've repeated the entire cycle once.

Keep cooking.

[Ordonis]

Thanks for the amazing and thoughtful feedback! I'll keep working on it and keep you posted!