Liontamer Posted February 15, 2007 Share Posted February 15, 2007 LULZ IT'Z TEH BRAMBLES *ahem* Anyway, mad props to my good bud mr. Red Tailed Fox for helping me fine-tune it. -Xenon Odyssey -Bobby Keller -xenonodyssey@hotmail.com -http://xenonodyssey.googlepages.com -10277 -Donkey Kong Country 2 -Stickerbrush Symphony -lol -you've got one -Umm...well, over at OLR, we had the idea for a DKC2 project. Then a week later people in teh ReQuests forum here (OCR) say "Hey! You know what would be a really cool idea? A DKC2 PROJECT! OH YEAH!!" But that's besides the point. I was browsing through the songs (even though I had already picked one), and decided to listen to the infamous Brambles which is on the list of "Most Remixed Songs" with the likes of Ice Cap and Wily's Stage. It dawned on me that "whoa, this could be a really chill mix," and thus, I began to work. The project file says I finished it in little less than a month...whatever i'm rambling If the link doesn't work, please take the time out of your busy judging schedules and go to my page and click the the appropriate link (it's labeled) and yes, i'm re-vamping Lava Passion...it's getting a massive overhaul --------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://snesmusic.org/v2/download.php?spcNow=dkq - "Stickerbush Symphony" (dkq-17.spc) The pads opening things up were fairly flimsy, and I felt like the opening was really close to the original. The instrumentation was well varied in the intro to at least offer a slightly different feel, though I'm feeling like there's not enough personalization for this cover to stand apart enough from the original. All the way until 2:21, the structure is so similar, albeit slowed down. Though the first few minutes still hit me the wrong way, luckily the interpretation from 2:21 until the end significantly offset those issues. The first time the sax came in seemed markedly improved versus your past performances. The tone of the drum and rim hits starting at 1:16 didn't mesh well with the rest of the instrumentation at all, IMO, creating a really bland texture. The mixing was such that the drums and snare were comparably too loud to the other sounds. The airy pads being used didn't fill up the space at all, leaving the sax, woodwind, and drumwork to carry the load; overall, an empty atmosphere. This didn't help your more arranged sections fare any better at 2:21. Still empty, and ultimately the track seemed like it was falling flat dynamically. You're going for chill; good goal, mind you. But especially with the background textures (drums/pad) being so thin, repetitive and samey (every 4 bars for those drums is a bit much), the track dragged out all the way until 3:27. Some more interesting cymbal work helped offset the other repetitive percussion during the sax-lead portion at 3:38. Delivery on the sax was better, as mentioned earlier, though it could still be smoother and stronger; other Js like JJT or Vigilante will have better advice on that level once again. Good base, Bobby, but it needs more agreeable/fuller textures, and better dynamic contrast over the long haul. As an arranger, you continue to move in the right direction. NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big giant circles Posted April 3, 2007 Share Posted April 3, 2007 This is borderline a cover... intro, melody, progression, not to much deviation from the source, and that's probably going to be the biggest hangup i'm going to have with the track. You're right, this is and definitely has potential to be a great chill track. Unfortunately, you're going to have to implement some more ideas into the song structurally. For what it's truly worth, I didn't feel you tried to do anything really expressive or different with the sax until 3:39, where you put a little bit of personalization into the melody. I wish there'd been more of that. The performance of the sax wasn't bad, but it definitely could have been bolder. Mix-wise, the sax was a little on the quiet side, on top of the fact that you seemed to play with reserves. You can still belt out a melody without disrupting a track's "chill qualities". Also, the soundscape throughout seemed a little thin... not sure if there's one prominent reason; I think it was the combination of several small factors. Like, the drums were really dry, which wouldn't have been so bad if the supporting pads hadn't been so far behind the xylophone/marimba/vibes. The flute seemed a little too rigid, as well. At any rate, I encourage you to branch out a little more, and take the melody by the horns and don't be afraid to throw a little more improvisation into your performance. Beyond that, perhaps run the final mixdown by a few people to see if someone can offer some good insight to make sure everything is going to blend well in the big picture. Keep at it. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vig Posted April 10, 2007 Share Posted April 10, 2007 the pads are very nice, and the sax is well recorded and sounds smooth, in spite of a few notes of shaky intonation. However, this is pretty much a cover. Some of the rhythms are more choppy and akward than in the original. this is a good concept, but you really need to make it more your own before we can pass it. The flute solo is a good start, if only adequately written. I'd say keep the concept, but build it again, with more arrangement in mind. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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