Liontamer ⚖️ Posted March 31 Posted March 31 Artist Name: timaeus222 Ever heard of Pokémon Sleep? If you haven't, this incredible soundtrack by Shota Kageyama stands out to me as one of my new favorites. I'd describe several of the songs as harmonically-mysterious; I found myself doubling back many times after being surprised by the directions the soundtrack took me. I started this ReMix around Oct 2024, as a rough draft of... not Pokémon Sleep music, but actually, Eterna Forest (Pokémon Platinum)---just a sine lead atop some sketched chords and a simple drum loop. I set it aside and started on another idea in November, which was the Pokémon TCG Pocket ReMix you may have heard (I ended up finishing that one right after Christmas). Fast forwarding to Feb 2025, I returned and continued writing the arrangement, with the philosophy that it's better to lay out rough ideas than to expect them to be fantastic quickly. Let me quote zircon, who quoted John Swartzwelder (I know djp would appreciate the quote-ception): 'Since writing is very hard and rewriting is comparatively easy and rather fun, I always write my scripts all the way through as fast as I can, the first day, if possible, putting in crap jokes and pattern dialogue [...] Then the next day, when I get up, the script’s been written. It’s lousy, but it’s a script. The hard part is done.' I've struggled with this aspect of 'writer's block' for many years, but there has been an easy solution: be okay with rough writing, and trust your future self to fix it later. This motivated me to make this over 5 minutes long, which is my longest solo ReMix. Having heard the Pokémon Sleep soundtrack a number of times by this point, I had 'Taupe Hollow (Day)' on my mind in the shower. I realized that it could actually fit well with Eterna Forest, having a wondrous, thought-provoking vibe. Later on, I shared this with a friend of mine on Discord (Draft_Fusion on twitch.tv). She was getting into writing music, so I kept sharing the next versions of this ReMix with her. Finally, in early March, I finished this, ultimately combining Eterna Forest (Pokémon Platinum), Taupe Hollow (Day) (Pokémon Sleep), and Aether Paradise (Pokémon Sun/Moon). (I was pretty surprised when the transition at 2:58 got me back to the original key.) As for any new sounds or techniques, I started trying a new (free or cheap) synth, Vital. I haven't delved that much into it yet, but it only took like 5 minutes each to make some smooth dubstep growls that fit well for the frantic sections (1:14 - 1:26, 3:45 - 3:57), and I plan to learn Vital and Arturia Pigments as 2 out of 3 primary synths. :-) I also tried and loved kiloHearts's Trance Gate on the main bass (I typically don't like designing synth sounds with tremolo built-in, as it makes it hard to test chords), and experimented with kiloHearts's Ring Modulator and some pitch shifts on the piano as well. Lastly, the title took some inspiration from 'eterna' ('eternal') and 'aether' ('aeternal'), as well as the wondrous style of Taupe Hollow's theme. With that, strap in and enjoy the ride! :-) - Timaeus Extra Info: Source Breakdown: 0:00.00 - 0:25.33 = 0:00.00 - 0:28.51 (Eterna Forest Chords; Melody Diff. Rhythm) 0:28.47 - 0:47.41 = 0:00.00 - 0:28.51 (Eterna Forest Chords; Melody Diff. Rhythm) 0:53.73 - 1:14.25 = 0:00.00 - 0:44.95 (Taupe Hollow (Day); "Verse" in 8/8, 5/8) 1:14.25 - 1:26.89 = 0:44.95 - 0:50.53 (Taupe Hollow (Day); Dissonant "Bridge/Transition") 1:26.89 - 1:39.52 = [1:24.02 - 1:29.57] (Taupe Hollow (Day); Syncopated "Loop Point") 1:39.52 - 2:04.79 = 0:50.53 - 1:12.86 (Taupe Hollow (Day); Climax) 2:04.79 - 2:17.40 = 0:00.00 - 0:10.10 (Aether Paradise; Arpeggio + Sine Melody A) 2:17.40 - 2:26.88 = 0:23.55 - 0:30.19 (Aether Paradise; Arpeggio + Sine Melody B) 2:30.05 - 2:58.47 = 0:30.19 - 1:03.83 (Aether Paradise; Santoor condensed melody) 3:04.59 - 3:17.03 = 0:00.00 - 0:28.51 (Eterna Forest Chords; Melody Diff. Rhythm) 3:23.74 - 3:44.26 = 0:00.00 - 0:44.95 (Taupe Hollow (Day); "Verse" in 8/8, 5/8 + variation) 3:44.26 - 3:56.89 = 0:44.95 - 0:50.53 (Taupe Hollow (Day); Dissonant "Bridge/Transition") 3:56.89 - 4:09.51 = [1:24.02 - 1:29.57] (Taupe Hollow (Day); Syncopated "Loop Point") 4:12.68 - 4:25.31 = 0:50.53 - 1:12.86 (Taupe Hollow (Day); Climax) 4:25.31 - 4:31.62 = 0:50.53 - 1:12.86 (Taupe Hollow (Day); Climax + new chords!) 4:37.54 - 4:44.25 = 0:50.53 - 1:12.86 (Taupe Hollow (Day); Climax + more new chords!) 4:56.88 - 5:16.00 = [1:12.86 - 1:24.02] (Taupe Hollow (Day); Winding-down) 25.33 + 18.94 + 12.04 = 56.31/319.09 = 17.65% Eterna Forest 20.52 + 12.64 + 12.63 + 25.27 + 20.52 + 12.63 + 12.62 + 12.63 + 6.31 + 6.71 + 19.12 = 161.60/319.09 = 50.64% Taupe Hollow (Day) 12.61 + 9.48 + 28.42 = 50.51/319.09 = 15.83% Aether Paradise 56.31 + 161.60 + 50.51 = 268.42/319.09 = 84.12% Source Games & Sources You have data on these games, except for Pokémon Sleep, whose primary composer is Shota Kageyama. Developer: SELECT BUTTON, Publisher: The Pokémon Company --- Pokémon Platinum - Eterna Forest: Pokémon Sleep - Taupe Hollow (Day): Pokémon Sun/Moon - Aether Paradise:
prophetik music ⚖️ Posted April 1 Posted April 1 some nice glassy pads to start, and the melodic line comes in right away. the scattered nature of that lead there is very fitting for an opening element. the beat comes in pretty soon after, at 0:28. bass at 0:32 is a little weird. this is a very dynamic approach, and quickly expands into mixed meter with the Taupe Hollow section. there's some really wild stuff here which is such a shift from the initial premise which felt more poppy to start. i love the progression of styles. 1:27's a transition and build into a new feel with a very dynamic lead element at 1:39. this might be my favorite build and texture out of any of your music, truong - it's so intense and vibrant. i like the little countermelodic shouts in the background. there's some settling action at 2:07. the high lead here has some (obviously intentional) weird stuff that it's doing like at 2:11 and 2:22, but i like it and think it fits into the feel. there's a half-time section at 2:30. there's a ton of long-delay elements here and some chromaticism in the chord work, but it doesn't ever fall on itself (although it does sound pretty dynamic). 2:58's back to a more driving feel, with the forest melody chopped up on top for a bit. this isn't quite the same as the opening section at 0:28, but it's very similar. same with the following mixed meter section, break section, and shout section right after (build has an extra measure) - so that's actually a lot of repeated material, over 90s, before we do finally get some different material around the 4:30ish range. we get a nice final chord at 4:50, and there's some outro as keyboard cat plays us off. this is a fun ride through a variety of themes. i never got the feel that there was multiple melodic sources here - it's very well-connected and a great whole. there's more repetition than i cared for, but overall i found the track to be well-handled with good synth choice, a solid master, and a fun arrangement. nice work. YES
jnWake ⚖️ Posted May 22 Posted May 22 (edited) If you like randomly good soundtracks in Pokémon games, I recommend Pokémon Quest! You already took the time to make a source breakdown so I'll try to not repeat much from the description. We begin with some nice airy pads and a pretty synth lead. Percussion enters quickly with a fun groove that's kinda chill and upbeat at the same time. Drumkit sounds great here, very punchy and clear, although the hats are a bit washed out. We move to Pokémon Sleep with more interesting percussion over some nice melodies and at 1:14 we get a fun rhytmic section, I think you used less dissonant chords than the source here, a good move IMO. At 1:39 we get a change to double time that sounds really cool! Being a bit nitpicky I think this section could have extra oomph, the hats are super washed and I'm missing a sharp contrast. Something like background arpeggios or a dynamic pad/chord stabs could be a fun idea as well. After a cool chord progression we move into Aether Paradise for a bit of a break. Melody at 2:11 is a bit weird. At 2:30 things get a tad more intense, there seems to be 2 different leads competing for attention and I'm finding it hard to focus on a clear melody. Around 2:58 we slowly transition back into Eterna Forest, the chord progression at the beginning here suggests something darker coming, which caught me a bit off guard when the chill forest melody returned. There's a repeat of the Pokémon Sleep material in what almost seems like a copy/paste to me. Missed opportunity to add extra variation or maybe even a keyboard solo. At 4:30 there's variations over the double time melody from 1:39. Finally, track ends with some pretty piano stuff. On production this is excellent, almost no notes really. Percussion is punchy, samples are all high quality and everything sounds clear. We know what to expect from you after all this time! On arrangement this is mostly excellent as well, with my only gripe being the "copy pasted" repetition starting at 3:23. It'd have been fun to have some twists on the returning material, otherwise I feel the track could've easily lasted 90 seconds less without much loss. Overall, awesome job! Excellent production and a fun arrangement despite my only gripe. There's no doubt this deserves to be on the front page. YES Edited May 22 by jnWake
Chimpazilla ⚖️ Posted May 22 Posted May 22 Ah, I remember this first Zebra2 lead patch, it is called "avien" and it is still gorgeous! What an interesting arrangement here, I agree that the three sources go together super seamlessly. I really like this varied and unique arrangement and soundscape. The chord progressions strike me as just a bit awkward here and there but it all mostly works and sounds luscious. I love all the changing time signatures, I'm a sucker for varied time sigs in a piece, it helps to keep things very groovy and interesting all the way through. Production and mastering are on point, let's go! YES
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