OCR01596 - *YES* Final Fantasy 10 'Twilight of Ivory'

[Liontamer]

Remixer: Palpable

Game: Final Fantasy X

Song: People of the North Pole

I realize you already have a couple remixes of this song, but I've chosen some more obscure songs to remix before so cut me some slack. This remix is quite a bit different from the other ones on the site. It's a bit spooky and minimal and in 6/8 time.

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http://tzone.org/~llin/psf/packs2/FFX_psf2.rar - 405 "People of the Far North"

Didn't focus on arranging the source melody like I'd expected. Rather, the arrangement evolves while touching upon various aspects of the source, which was a good idea.

Yeah, this was decidedly minimalist in terms of some of the textures. There were some nice bright spots for the first couple of minutes, with the mix starting off emptier, but gradually filling out more and escalating the energy. In this context, i.e. seeing where the track initially plans to go, the minimalism works alright. But once the melody kicked in at 1:48, I felt the textures were vanilla and relatively empty for too much of the piece. Comparably, something like Quinn Fox's Shining Force CD "Five-Sided Square" goes for a minimalist approach while better filling up the soundfield in the long run.

The underlying beat structure ended up dragging out as the piece went on, which was a significant drawback to the minimalist approach. Dynamically speaking, almost everything from 2:25-onward was basically hovering around the same energy level and textural complexity. Cuts off in the middle of the fadeout at 4:51.

I know you had one narrow Mario Paint rejection that you never attempted to resubmit, which I hope isn't the case for this one (RESUBMIT!!!! The other one too!). But I gotta go NO on it. The base here is good, but the potential here isn't realized. The sounds need more fleshing out (which can be done without sacrificing the minimalist concept), and the song structure could use more dynamic contrast for the latter half.

NO (resubmit)

[Vig]

Certainly minimalistic in a certain way; in that atmospherics, mood, and groove play a bigger part than melody. However, within those parameters, the song works great. The atmospherics work great. the sweeping pan at 1:23 is beautiful. The mood is very mellow yet engaging. There's plenty of evolution and expansion for my taste...I never get bored with it, and there are plenty of little things going on to keep the listener's attention.

The triplet rhythms are at times reminiscent of another song of the same OST *looks it up* Mi'hen Highroad. anyway, this one is solidly above the bar.

YES

[The Orichalcon]

I think this arrangement could be a lot more daring. It's an overall good soundscape. But the instruments are only just barely tacking together to make a nice sound. Minimalistic is an understatement.

I liked the swell at 3:18. Made a shiver run down my back.

Borderline with this one. It could clearly be a lot better. While it sounds good overall, it'd benefit from more work on flushing out the arrangement.

I'm gonna swing with Larry's vote on this one. See what else you can do to it and resubmit it.

NO

[Jillian Aversa]

Very catchy early 90's kind of groove. I could picture this on a Pure Moods album any day! I understand Larry and TO's standpoint, but I feel like this is still minimalistic in the positive sense. I was feeling everything up until about 2:26, and then it got a little sparse for a bit with the standard bassline and light piano embellishments. Same kind of thing from 4:13 on - wish there had been some more punch for the conclusion! Also, there's a weird, dissonant note at 0:48. Was that intentional?

All in all... Could be better, yes, but it's still good in its own right. Maintained my attention without a problem, at least.

YES

[zircon]

I discussed this mix with Larry when he was first doing his vote and I am going to basically reiterate my thoughts after hearing it a few more times;

The arrangement overall is pretty creative and interpretive. Especially after things pick up at 1:49 with the full texture, it's very pleasant to listen to. However, overall, I think it is on the sparse side. I'm aware it's supposed to be minimal and I can see how that would work here, but I think that most of the parts are too dry. For example, the synths and piano that come in at the 2:26 section feel up front and bare when they should have some sort of washed delay/reverb going on, or at least some pads backing it up. I think that with some very minor production changes such as some basic pads, reverb, and delay added to parts throughout the track, it would sound much richer without losing the "barren" quality that I think you're going for. The beat could also be a little quieter or washed (particularly the hats/snare) so it isn't in the forefront so much. I also think using some lighter percussion at times, like some ethnic loops, highpassed drums, or even more complex shaker rhythms, could add to it.

Side note: the bass at :48 is definitely off, seems just like a mistake to me.

I'm a big fan of Palpable in general, so it's no surprise that I really like the overall style and feel. The time signature change works well, and despite being more or less a dance tune, it's distinctly different from bLiNd's interpretation. Thus I just want to see it resubbed with some production changes - all the ideas are good and the synths + instruments do work, timbrally speaking. I just think more effects and slightly more layering could be added to push it over our bar. Just about everything else is great and spot-on.

It is great to see you still at it, Palpable. Please resub!

NO, RESUBMIT

[Vig]

Side note: the bass at :48 is definitely off, seems just like a mistake to me.

The bass isn't doing anything different. It's playing the Root. The synth pad plays the 4, then the tritone an octave down, then the 2, then the b3. It's presumably the semitone (really a M7) between the 4 and the +4 that you're commenting on, not to mention the tritone in and of itself. However, given the atmospheric nature of the piece, i think it's awfully nitpicky to call this "wrong" when it certainly does its job of evoking a certain atmosphere.

[zircon]

Yes, it is the E dissonance that is throwing me. I had to play the section a few times and play the chord on my keyboard just to make sure I heard it right. Besides not sounding good to me, there is no basis in theory for that note since it's under a simple Bb minor chord. It especially does not fit given that it is sustained, and considering the motion of the piece, which for 99% of the rest of it just uses the root as the bass. IMO this dissonance just sounds wrong (and on further examination, is "technically" wrong) to me and I think a low Bb or further expansions in the upper registers would have done a better job at creating atmosphere.

BTW this really isn't impacting my decision much, I just felt it was worth mentioning. If my other complaints were addressed and this remained the same I would be happy to YES it.

[JJT]

The arrangement overall is pretty creative and interpretive.

I don't see how this, paired with your minor production criticisms equals a NO.

Yes, the textures do sound a little off/amateurish in a way, but this sub really grew on me with each listen. The groove works really well, and there's an emotional sensibility that speaks to me through the soundscape. Wow, did I really just say that?

Anyway, it's not as good as it could be, but I'm comfortable passing this.

YES

[Malcos]

I thought that this mix worked in what it was trying to achieve. While it was minimalistic, I felt that with the use of pads that it did manage to fill out the soundscape adequately. All other aspects where above the bar for me. However, there was a note at 0.48-0.52 that sounded very, very off-key. Some may see this as minor, but it distracted from the rest of the mix, so I would definitely like to see it resubbed with that taken out, and it will be a yes from me.

NO (resub plz)

[big giant circles]

This is a tough call. I waited forever to vote on this, because each time I would sit down and say "OK, I'm FINALLY going to actually vote on this..." I would feel a different way. I was hot and cold and hot again and cold again with this one. It seems every other time I listen to this, I'm feeling the opposite of how I did the listen before. I swear, my brain has nearly imploded.

As cop-out-ish as this is, ultimately I had to turn to my fellow J's votes to see what the presented arguments for and against were. Ultimately, while I agree almost 50/50 with both sides, at present, it's more of a 50.01% FOR and 49.99% AGAINST

This is a unique approach, and successfully reinterpreting any track into a different time signature usually takes a fair amount of effort. Despite the lack of prominent source melody, I can gather well enough that the mix originated from the original "People of the Far North", so that's cool.

I didn't have really any major quirks as far as the production goes. There were times when the dissonance seemed accidental instead of intentional, but it's brief enough that even if it were, Palpable could easily enough say that it was intentional and I'd believe him, so it doesn't really matter.

This is such a close call, and it's made by a razor's breadth.

BORDERLINE YES

[zykO]

interesting mix. interesting mix to re-pop my cherry, no less

sparse yes but in its simplicity, effectively entertaining. i'm a sucker for simplistic arrangements to begin with but this isn't really all that sparse... it is actually quite filling. consider it a double quarter pounder at mcdonald's - it isn't the carl's jr. six dollar burger but you don't come out of it hungry still (unless you're me but that can be explained). it doesn't have a lot going on but i see it as a strength rather than a weakness. simply put, it doesn't have unnecessary parts distracting the listener's attention. it is a confident, direct dose of goodness.

the pads are full, the bass sits well with the drums and drives the piece decently, the arrangement in 6/8 is a nice breath of fresh air, and i love the bit of dissonance at controversial 0.48.

all in all, it is good. i embrace the role of tiebreaker because i trust my instincts but i don't think this one is as tough a call as it has become.

YES