Liontamer ⚖️ Posted November 25 Posted November 25 Artist Name: Luxxy Sunheart My ambient take on A Wish under one of my aliases, Luxxy Sunheart. I wanted to create a more whimsical, wondrous vibe from an already magical track. A slow build up across the composition felt the best approach in my heart. I used a synth flute sample for the main melody, bringing pads and a celeste sound halfway through to accompany the main part. Games & Sources Secret of Mana (1993) - "A Wish" Composer of track: Kiroki Kikuta Link to source track:
prophetik music ⚖️ Posted 9 hours ago Posted 9 hours ago starts off sounding like a midi conversion with a lot of reverb outside of an octave jump around the end of the first phrase. there's a really uncomfortable blown/distorted feel to this opening section - truly one of the weirdest freq analysis results i've ever seen, with a flat line from 0-200hz and then a 40db jump in massive spikes in the 300+hz range. an enormous amount of overtones, and it gets worse when the pads come in before the 1:00 mark. other than that, it just keeps repeating the same material, and eventually adds a rhythmic arp. the track then just ends after the fourth or fifth repetition of the initial midi. i think that the underlying idea - a more ambient take on a classic from a killer soundtrack - works well with this particular original, because the melody's got a lot of whimsy to it. the chords as well work in a long-tail reverb soundscape as they don't have a lot that'll run into each other. but there's no development here right now - there's zero dynamics, the elements chosen are harsh on the ears, and the overall track really doesn't go anywhere. the arrangement itself can't fly here because it's literally just the midi with one or two minor things changed and then looped, so that doesn't satisfy our submission requirements around arrangement. but separately, there needs to be a lot more intentional, focused work done around ensuring that the soundscape itself is something that folks will want to grab onto and listen to. all of the best parts of this are kikuta's right now. NO
paradiddlesjosh ⚖️ Posted 4 hours ago Posted 4 hours ago I'm well inclined to agree with proph on all points for this one. This is below our bar for arrangement purposes, being several straightforward runs through the source material without any significant changes. Relatedly, the parts themselves are all clustered in the upper octaves; this is totally valid for capturing the frozen soundscape you're looking for, but the lack of bass register elements adds to an unsettled feel. To be clear, I don't think you absolutely need a bass voice if that would compromise your vision, but I would be remiss not to mention it as a nitpick. Separately, this needs more care in the production realm. That pad that enters around the 1:00 mark is all high-frequency content and it's buzzsaw sharp, very uncomfortable to listen to. The keys that cover the source's arpeggiated chord progression have such rich overtones that they take over the soundscape: I could barely make out the additional synth at around 1:40 except for its rhythmic delay burbles. Finally, every element feels widely stereo -- I'm not hearing any issues with mono compatibility, but the lack of a defined position in the stereo image for any of the elements is a drawback for sure. What's here is a good foundation to build something truly special, but it's not there yet. We would need to hear you take some time to flesh out the arrangement with personal touches and elevate it beyond a simple loop of Kikuta's original composition before putting it up on the front page. Roll off some of the very high frequency content on that pad and your listeners will thank you; additionally, some filter and/or volume automation on that pad can keep the texture interesting. NO
Liontamer ⚖️ Posted 3 hours ago Author Posted 3 hours ago Hate to glom on with a quick co-sign, Luxxy, because this is an excellent theme choice, but the bros are correct on all counts, i.e. little-to-no interpretation of the source tune beyond the instrumentation changes, no dynamics/contrast, and harsh-sounding instrumentation. I hope you stick around to see what you can pick up from the community in terms of using more interpretive arrangement techniques, creating more interest and dynamics, and smoothing out some of the more grating sounds so that you retain the mood you want without it causing ear fatigue. It's a lovely Kikuta source tune, and in a vacuum, I like and appreciate the even more ambient and spacier take on the sounds, but we're looking for more substantive interpretation and personalization for people's takes on these themes. If you listen to Zeratul's "Ice Crystal Fields Forever", that's a good example of staying melodically conservative but also integrating more original supporting writing and more dynamic contrast to put more of an individual stamp on their take. There's a million ways to approach it while still retaining the overall character you're looking for with this presentation. :-) NO
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