Kakariko Remix, Sunset Over Kakariko

[Degree]

This is my first real remix. I've messed around in Reason before, but I've never really made a decent track.

http://media.putfile.com/Sunset-Over-Kakariko

It's the Kakariko Village theme off of most of the Zelda games. I know you'll recognize it. I wouldn't say it's in an orchestral style.. because I don't know much about orchestras, haha. It's mainly in a ballad-ish.. [i guess] style. I tried to make the intro build up into the main medley. Of course, there are still tons of parts to be added. Tone tweaks, more instruments, drums.. haha.

I'm just posting to see what people think so far.

And please, if you have any suggestions, let me know.

I don't care- say whatever you want, if you think it sucks.. tell me.

I'd rather you be blunt and let me know, than me waste my time.

Thanks.

[Flik]

The long winded intro is a bit different since it seems to take a long time before actually getting into the recognizable theme. It could end up working out in the end when you're finished I suppose.

A couple things I've noticed so far. It seems to sound a bit too mechanical at this point. I'm assuming you're manually entering all notes by mouse instead of using a keyboard controller to aid you. If this is the case then all of your notes are the exact same length and exact same velocity unless you've manually adjusted everything to sound a bit more human. The reverb used also sounded like it could use a bit more depth and probably a little less in the mix. Hard to fully tell at this point since I'm at work and listened on smaller speakers. I'd have to listen again in my studio later to get a better idea.

It definitely needs a lot of work to be a decent mix. A lot more instrumentation is needed and a good bit more life pushed into the mechanical-ness of it. I did a remix of this same track myself years ago when I was getting the hang of Reason a bit more. Was a fun piece to do.

[Dr. Rod]

I actually liked the long intro....though I think it would work better if you lengthened out the ending some more. I completely agree about the mechanical sequencing though, for a song of this nature, you should really humanize it more by adding some variation in note intensity, velocity, and even volume to a slight extent. Also what might help is to turn the grid-snap off when sequencing your piano, this will almost ensure you get some slight variation in there.

You said this is your first real remix.....Im just lettin u know that when using composition software, especially reason (which is not the easiest to learn, at least for me), orchestral/ballad/light ambient can be VERY difficult, mainly because its hard not to make it sound mechanical (after all, u are using a machine). The more mechanized genres (techno, electronica, hip-hop to an extent) tend to be easier. Youve got a nice base though, I would love to see how this turns out : )

[Degree]

@ Flik:

Thanks for the input. Yeah, I heard your remix, it's really creative.. and pretty funny. Yeah, it does sound mechanical, now that I listen to it more. I recorded everything live. I listened to the metronome when I was recording it and tried to time everything out. I guess that's to my downfall. I was afraid that if it didn't match the metronome, it would sound out of time. I'm definitely planning on adding more instruments. I'm not even near done with the song. Thanks again.

@ Dr. Rod:

Thanks a bunch man. Yeah, the technical 'ending' of the WIP link that I posted is only the beginning of the actual main medley. During the final stages of this mix, I'm going to change the velocities up more and change volumes at certain parts. The piano sounds very mechanical- I know. I recorded it live and just listened to the metronome. I was afraid to make a note of it out of time. Yeah man, I'm editing this up right now. I'll post a newer version soon. I appreciate the feedback.

I'm going to post a new version soon.