Liontamer ⚖️ Posted January 12 Posted January 12 Artist Name: Mel Decision Drums: @paradiddlesjosh Vocals: Nemo Fairlight November 2024 was David Wise month at Dwelling of Duels! I narrowed down on the Donkey Kong Country soundtrack pretty quickly (because let's be real—it's a banger) but didn't want to do the more obvious choices. I loved the soundscape and overall vibes of Life in the Mines: deep, desperate, driving, and bittersweet. After listening to it a few times, I was able to picture where I wanted to take it. I liked how the melody and countermelody played off of each other in the original, and thought that vocals would help enhance that back-and-forth between the two. I got the phrase "take me with you/I want to go home" stuck in my head while I started arranging and ended up creating this story about a miner injured after a cave-in and their struggle to find their way out of the mines, while the spirit of their long-dead lover urges them forward. That helped me frame the lyrics. I recruited Nemo Fairlight to sing, and she was able to tackle both parts with ease, bringing a sense of desperation and hope to the parts that I thought really made the song work. In terms of instrumentation, I wanted to do a mix of synths and pads but bring in some orchestral elements like harps, strings, and a little flute. I relied on piano to reinforce the melody. I kept the bass part simple because I planned on recording it myself. I also played in a few of the backing tracks with my midi keyboard; DoD's been a great excuse to practice. I was also unsatisfied with my first few attempts at percussion on the track, and asked paradiddlesjosh to write something instead. He came back with a complex, driving groove that helped build momentum and intensity throughout the song which I was able to build on with some additional percussion for texture. I normally usually use even more fx in my tracks, but I wanted to keep this one a little sparser and just relied on some ambiance and percussive texture to build out the picture of a mine. I hope I was able to create a moody, evocative piece that does David Wise's original composition justice. Lyrics: VERSE 1 Cold and dark (Dark as night) Lost, alone (So alone) Whispers echo (Echoing) In my ears VERSE 2 Memories (Long ago) Of your voice (Tears within) Take me with you I want to go home VERSE 3 Hope decays (Into earth) Breathing slows (Air is thin) Steps uncertain (Help) As walls close in VERSE 4 Hear my cries (Voice so weak) Through the gloom (Bleeding through) Quaking softly I want to go home BRIDGE Through the dark I crawl (Striving to survive) I fight (Go!) To see the light (Where is the light) If there's strength left inside my bones (Reach deep inside) I'll hold on tight (Embrace the strife) (Go on, that's right) VERSE 5 Glint of light (Somewhere close) Flickers near (Steady now) Fragile sparking (Catch) Will faith be reborn? VERSE 6 Voices close (Are you there?) Help is near (One more step) Take me with you I want to go home, go home (Take me with you) (I want to go home) OUTRO Take me with you I want to go home (I want to go home) Games & Sources Donkey Kong Country – Life in the Mines
Liontamer ⚖️ Posted January 12 Author Posted January 12 Heard this a few times in this past week's Office Hours with the Sages and I was all about "Tone these drums DOWN, there's no synergy!". Josh admitted he was too close to things to be able to say whether that should happen or not, but Melly Mel thankfully knew what was up, so we got the adjustments to pull 'em back, particularly during the middle of the track. :-P Great treatment of the theme. Major props for Nemo's stylish and emotive delivery which effectively handled two styles of vocal performance; I enjoyed the treatment on her vocals to give them a spacious feel. I appreciated the story behind the lyrics; very cool! A subtle thing, but strong use of the SFX at the beginning and at 3:09 to bookend the piece. The drumming was good, it just needed to know its place amidst this soundscape, which was subordinate to the vocals. :-) The DoD version would have gotten my approval as is, and there's no major changes, but it's nice to have an even stronger version now. Just need to get a proper fade to 0 here, but that's easy enough. YES paradiddlesjosh and pixelseph 2
prophetik music ⚖️ Posted January 13 Posted January 13 opens with some atmospheric instruments and effects. the piano at the very beginning has a surprisingly amount of weight to it, it's a neat effect. nemo's voice is perfect for something this airy. the upper octave has a few slightly funky notes that come with the style, but the lead voice is really solid. there's a shift at 1:15 when the bass and kit comes in. this section's intro sounded a little over-compressed - there's a ton of space in the opening minute's feel, so when the bass came in it felt a little denser than i'd expect. the F# that nemo sings at 1:45 doesn't quite fit into the chords under it. there's a dropoff before the voice comes back in at 2:05. i felt like this section was trying too hard - it's not clear who to listen to when the voices come in. also there's an sfx at 2:02 and 2:05 that sounds like a recording pop - it's probably intentional but it doesn't sound great. as this verse goes along it becomes easier to track what to lock onto. drums are a bit much at 2:55-3:03 or so in the texture - they're playing fun stuff, but it sounds a bit too intense for the texture there. there's some sfx and piano to bookend it, and it's done. i think this is a really neat idea. the original is such a unique track, and your approach here definitely leans successfully into what makes it so interesting. i like the vocal approach a lot, and it's executed really well. i'd say that i think that this is not perfect - i didn't like the second half as much as the first with some of the conflicting instrumentation and vibes, and a few spots in the writing - but there's a really neat core here that's absolutely over our bar. this is going to be someone's favorite track of the last year for sure. YES
Rexy ⚖️ Posted February 20 Posted February 20 This track feels haunting, for sure. Source quota is definitely on point, thanks to the verses anchoring them handily - and the call and response between the deeper vocals and the airier ones mark a great way to reflect the melancholy of the original's melody. The textural shaping is also on point - the lighter delivery of the first two verses, then the following two pairs were parts of a rollercoaster to a breaking middle. The one concern I had was that those two vocals in that middle section sounded like they were unintentionally fighting each other, and that's something that could've had more focus by splicing them and placing them at more distant beats within their respective bars - a science that is difficult to look at and may require re-recordings - albeit, it's a nitpick in an otherwise haunting composition. The presentation is also serviceable, too. Nemo's performance delivered both vocal styles well, though tonally, it's not perfect and had some questionable pitch moments (case in point, the long note at 1:45) - but in a soft rock environment, imperfections ought to drive things forward. My bigger question mark was on the mixing clarity of the lower voice, which needed some low mids rolled off to make it sound less muddy and bring more of those consonants through. It's not a dealbreaker - it's a clean recording that adapted to the soundscape in front of it, and the instrument selection and Josh's percussion secured the package with a neatly wrapped bow. I like this submission, Mel. This core hits the standards with no issues, and this haunting delivery is bound to reflect on someone somewhere. I hope your next submission doesn't activate the waterworks on my end again, but that's just me. 🙂 YES
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