prophetik music ⚖️ Posted April 7 Posted April 7 Team Lead Xaleph Arranger Xaleph Guitar Sallekhana Tribal Intro Dj Mokram Chiptunes JSABlixer Vocals Colorado Weeks Lyrics Dyluck Mastered by Zack Parrish edit: xaleph asked to put this on hold to address some of the wordless section vocals. edit 2: new version as of 5/30 We had a lot of fun with this one. I really enjoyed working together with my childhood friend (Sallekhana) for the first time since high school. I thought the chiptunes that JSABlixer added a lot of energy, and the fill she uses at the end, I reused for the fill later (with different instruments) to give some repetition. Originally, I was going to reuse the intro Japanese instruments (Koto, Taiko, and Shakuhachi) to build up the psytrance part and then replace them with metal elements - but after a quick idea session with Colorado Weeks (vocals) and Dyluck (lyrics), I decided to just build that out and finish with the vocal section. I have some guitar parts from Sallekhana that I may reuse later if I do a re-remix, I was thinking of extending this song but the current length seems right to me. I used the backing strings to do the octave jump that you hear in streets of rage. I also alter the bassline to 12/8 from Streets of Rage, bump the halfstep 2nd to a fullstep 2nd (so it matches the EO key) and try to have both song concepts mashed up / playing together in the build up through the end. I kind of do some of this in the intro and first psytrance section, but it's a lot more obvious in the ending sequence. I also added a few changes to the fills and mixing in this version than the one in the competition. Should be fun to re-listen. Enjoy and thank you! Games & Sources Etrian Odyssey II - Wings and Cherry Blossoms [Event: Ones with Wings] Streets of Rage 2 - Never Return Alive
prophetik music ⚖️ Posted April 7 Author Posted April 7 (edited) boy, that EO2 track is fantastic. opens with some intense strings and koto. sfx and later some guitar join the party, and the soundscape is great. synths really hit at 0:42 with the SoR2 high riff, and the kick and bass hit at 0:50. the flute riff as well sounds fantastic - i can't believe that isn't live. we get some guitar after this that appears to be outlining the EO2 chords and rising pattern - neat build effect, but it doesn't go anywhere. after a filtered break we're back to more arpeggiated elements (i think this is from EO2?) before another drop. the change here is abrupt and i wouldn't call this a particularly well-handled transition. the ep tone however is just beautiful for this (love the wet wahs in the tone). CW's voice is so low and rich in this key - the 'high' notes sound incredible. i think there are a few points where her voice is just a touch loud, and i wouldn't have minded some harmonies or countermelodic elements behind the scenes of that section as well. there's a big build with stutter synths into the 12/8 section at 3:42. i think CW's voice is too loud here, especially considering she doesn't use vibrato or have a particularly strong tone in this range - there needed to be more treatment on her voice and to have it pulled back to really make this section pop. 4:26's build with guitar work behind it is really fun. again CW's voice needs to be farther back so as to not overexpose the lack of vibrato, but i like the concept. i think this section does drag a bit by the end of it around the 4:45 mark, and something to keep it moving forward would have been great. 5:11's balance is again off - CW's sustains need to be turned way down, like half the volume they are. they compete a lot with the lead part, which i think sounds really solid (but probably could use more room tone as i can't really hear any overall, might just be because of the competing sustains in the back). the backing parts here have some fun stutter synth stuff but i definitely could have used a bit more guitar. there's no ending =( like, at all. this is an interesting one. the skill throughout on the execution, sound design, and arrangement is super clear and comes through easily. there's so much breadth to the scope and i love that. i think that the vocal treatment after 3:42 isn't at all what i'd hoped for, and i think that the big transition at 2:40 is almost different-song level of change, and i don't like the lack of ending at all. but when this track shines, it really shines. what's here is certainly over the bar, even if the ceiling for this track could be so much higher than this. YES 6/11: listening to the 5/30 new version. i think CW's vocals fit a lot better into the section at 3:42 - the higher parts have been pulled back a lot, and the countermelodic line is more balanced as a result. it sounds like possibly some more verb on the lines as well. 5:11's more balanced as well, although her voice sounds a touch muffled. either way, it's a lot better than it was and makes for a much more balanced version. thanks for taking another look! still a YES from me. Edited June 11 by prophetik music
Hemophiliac ⚖️ Posted June 14 Posted June 14 (edited) When this was being worked on during the second round of GSM, I kept hearing it in bits and pieces along with various WIPS. I was very confused as to how it was going to come together because everything was so different out of context in disparate parts. To me this feels like a very multifaceted precious stone. One side is dirty and the other side is clean. So much different stuff going on when you look at it in different ways. That's the difference between the Streets of Rage parts and the Etrian Odyssey parts. I'm less clear on where the SoR stuff is in the final third of the track, but I can clearly hear the EO melody in CW's vocals. Speaking of CW's vocals, absolutely incredible! There's real power in your dark-low chest voice. I personally like the straighter tone and less vibrato, it's a more pure sound that gives me chills. I also have heard both versions of this mix and I agree the new one is improved in the balance in the back half of the song with the vocals compared to the other parts. The only disappointing thing is the ending, it's just a cut. Stunning work. Clean production, strong arrangement. YES Edited June 14 by Hemophiliac
Chimpazilla ⚖️ Posted June 14 Posted June 14 Really nice combination of these two themes. The various instruments go well together. The vocals are well performed and mixed. Nice combination of psytrance and guitars and vocals. The plucks in the intro are excellent, as are the little bits of flute and strings that follow. I'm sad that there isn't a proper outro, but this arrangement is otherwise top notch. YES
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