prophetik music ⚖️ Posted October 22, 2024 Posted October 22, 2024 This was my entry to Dwelling of Duels' Party Month in September 2024 where it placed 2nd. 🥈 Lineup: * @jnWake - Piano, Synths * Roland N. Laracuente Martínez - Bass * @minusworld - Arrangement, Production, Guitars, Drum programming Technically, Connor Engstrom also provided ~4 bars of arrangement as well - I will comment later whether he wants to be credited. 😆 This is relevant because Connor and I have wanted to do a Plini-inspired epic prog submission to DoD for a while. However, Connor had a month of intense commitments and insane curveballs that kept him from being as involved as he wanted. I was on the hunt each month as DoD themes were announced for a good tune to apply some whacky prog rhythms to, and I finally landed on Space Land from Mario Party 2. The source has an interesting rhythmic backbone with a strong pulse that makes it feel like a 4/4 march, but with subdivisions into triplets for the melodic lines and background arpeggios. Yes, technically this is 12/8, but keeping these dual rhythmic ideas separate made it easier to progify this arrangement. Harmonically the source is in the Mixolydian mode, which makes it easy to (ab)use the VII-I transition, which sounds epic. :) Here's a map of all the ideas I stole... I mean... paid homage to. :') * Intro - [I'll Tell You Someday Intro](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8cGceHp9lU) * A section - [Glass Bead Game](https://youtu.be/V8IVroLfizI?feature=shared&t=94) * B section - Lots of different Plini tunes * C section - [Electric Sunrise](https://youtu.be/Rv_a6rlRjZk?feature=shared&t=79) * A' section - [Macchina](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4UZmc4jeRw) by Sungazer * A'' section - [Salt and Charcoal](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3tjQ8tR7pw&start=32) * Transition - An attempt at copying 😆 [Somervilleans](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHMG1OqNujc) by Poh Hock * B' section - A piano re-harmonization idea from @jnWake * Transition 2 - Dream Theater influences... guess I can't escape it 😛. @jnWake comes in with an awesome spacey synth solo too! * Clean chords - [Inhale](https://youtu.be/BpOJyPdolck?feature=shared&t=28) * Palm mutes - [Glass Bead Game](https://youtu.be/V8IVroLfizI?feature=shared&t=345) * Alternating guitars - [Glass Bead Game](https://youtu.be/V8IVroLfizI?feature=shared&t=166) * A section reprise - just... make it epic Once again, I used kishotenketsu to guide my arrangement, roughly dividing it into four sections: Theme (Intro, A, B, C), Theme Development (A', A'', Transition, B', Transition 2), Twist (Clean chords, Palm Mutes, Alternating guitars), and Theme Reprise (A section reprise). I'm very pleased with how it turned out. I didn't intend for this track to sound like an epic space journey, but that's exactly how it sounded after all the parts fit together! The way I write these kinds rhythms is by improvising rhythmic sequences and refining it if the "pulse" doesn't feel right. For example, I might play 9 eighth notes, 1 rest, then 3, 2 rests, then 5 and so-on; then I may modify it to be 8, 1 rest, 4, 2 rests, and 5 if the first version doesn't sound good. I try not to repeat sequences, or I will have the sequence repeat after a long-ish number of measures. This idea is on display in the A section and Palm mutes (and my FFX Thunder Plains remix, and my Chronopolis remix, and my Mole Knight remix... yeah you get the idea :) ). I've been really digging Sungazer lately and I wanted to work in a nod to their music, which turned into the A' section. The final result isn't as technical as Sungazer's exploration of hypertuplets, but I think it captures a similar vibe and fits the space epic theme well. The "backbone" of this section is the square wave arpeggios which follow the exact same pattern as the A section, but start to get chopped up as the section progresses. Underneath, I wrote an insane bassline which moves the pulse around using a similar idea mentioned in the above paragraph. Roland absolutely slays this part, playing my demented rhythms with ease. 😆 I honestly couldn't tell you what the time signatures are here - in the DAW it's marked as 6/12, which absolutely no notation software would accept. 🤣 I had to notate it as 3/4 at a slower tempo. Effectively, the square wave arpeggios which used to be triplets are now the main beat unit, so when tracking I would count to 12 along with the arpeggios. @jnWakeprovided a lot of ideas, many of which were kept; many of which were scrapped. 😆 Notably the piano arpeggios he sent me for the Intro, and revisited throughout the track, are inspired by the song [Hydra by Toto](https://youtu.be/sPecS5Y8PfY?feature=shared&t=197). He wrote this awesome jazz piano bit over the B section that I really liked, sounded too busy to me over the lower dynamics, so I "compromised" by chopping off the first half. 🤣 He supplied some pads and arps throughout as well. @jnWakealso wrote the B' section, which was an improvised reharmonization of the melody. I liked it and added guitar and bass parts. But his most "important" contribution was the sound clips. We kept joking that some movie quotes would go well in the Clean chords section. Before the deadline he sent me the sound clips and I dropped them in without hesitation. 😆 Of course, @jnWakealso does the epic synth solo in Transition 2 and the synth fills in the A section reprise. Often, I play on his arrangements, so I'm glad we were able to work out another opportunity for him to play on mine! Roland absolutely nails the bass parts in this track, as well as providing some tasty fills throughout. 🤘 I met him during the VGMCon Charity Album Jam in April where I played on some of his Motoi Sakuraba arrangements, so I knew I wanted to invite him to play on my next DoD prog arrangement... which finally happened six months later. 😅 OK, I think that's it from me! I hope you enjoy "In Space, No One Can Hear You Party"! Games & Sources Mario Party 2 - Space Land (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zdort7dA7JE)
prophetik music ⚖️ Posted October 23, 2024 Author Posted October 23, 2024 opening is really fun with the guitar arpeggios over the synth, and then of course it goes absolutely balls to the wall immediately. obvious plini feel in the glassy arps with extended single-note guitar chugs and drums locked in. i made a stank face at my computer when i heard 1:02 hit, what a great feel right in this section. i love the lead guitar tone as well. 1:32 is a big transition section and a few of the notes in it don't fit the prior section's sustain, which is a bummer. there's a big build into 2:00 which is a pretty wild expansion section of the chord structure and opening arps in the original. i am gonna admit i lost the time signature plot in this section, i'd need it spelled out more to be able to keep track. it felt very free actually though which is a neat homage to the locale in-game. filthy riff at 2:59. the section between this and 3:30 was pretty wild as well but i could feel some outline of the B theme through there. big break at 3:46, which is needed by this point. 4:15's got some plini-style rhythmic elements outlining the C theme before we get a reprise of the A section in a super heroic vibe. there's a final fanfare and it's done. this is nuts, as expected. fantastic representation of a really great original theme. there's a few tiny bits and bobs here and there that i wasn't into but overall this is an incredible achievement. excellent work. YES
Emunator ⚖️ Posted February 24 Posted February 24 What are you doing all the way down here? This has all the makings of a successful track - minusworld at the helm of the arrangement, a couple of clutch collaboration partners, and a banging source tune. Mario Party 2's soundtrack has always felt like it's begging for a triumphant rock opera upgrade. I don't have the rhythmic vocabulary to describe what you're doing here, but the prog is felt on a visceral level nonetheless. The transitions are handled deftly, which is usually the primary pitfall that prog rock arrangements can fall into, but cohesiveness is not a concern here at all. There's always something exciting happening - for being a song about outer space, you left no dead air across the 5 and a half minute runtime. It makes moments like 3:45 all the more gratifying when you finally let off the thrusters for a moment and just let it coast, and although the voice clips aren't going to be everyone's cup of tea, it felt appropriately tongue-in-cheek for me! Yeah, this is ridiculously satisfying, and did everything I could possibly want a prog rock arrangement of Space Land to do. I can't find any gripes worth noting - let's get this posted! YES
Hemophiliac ⚖️ Posted February 25 Posted February 25 (edited) So, I really think you nailed the Sungazer vibe, I think Adam Neely would appreciate what you've done. This is a very mature arrangement despite a short section of levity and silliness of the use of some SFX. I really appreciate that the time was given to create bridges or little transitional sections to allow the listener to adjust to new time signatures and changes. Sometimes in complex music those can be unprepared and feel awkward or jarring. I have to say that was not the case here at all. You've covered all the fronts. The drumkit sounds great, especially the toms. The arrangement is great, and the source is very clear to me. The 3:47-4:16 floaty space section was a great palette cleanser and a break from the rhythm. That break also helped make the final minute have an extra oomph of energy that really closed out the song strong. My only nitpick was the background arp in the first 1:32 is really only noticeable when the arrangement is sparser with less going on. This seemed to be an anchoring idea and that could really give the listener something to hold onto when things get wild (even though this section is actually very approachable). Well, this is great and I hope people enjoyed it as much as I did. Very sweet. YES Edited March 4 by Hemophiliac complete sentences
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