OCR01695 - *YES* Final Fantasy 6 'Keep Out the Veldt'

[zykO]

zyko

Keep Out the Veldt

Final Fantasy III

gau? zyko?

waleed?

[Liontamer]

http://snesmusic.org/v2/download.php?spcNow=ff6 - "Wild West" (ff6-117.spc)

Seemed rough initially, but as I relistened, I realized the timing on everything was fine. Some songs are like that.

The instrumentation was thin. It was decent, but (aside from the bass) it was too quiet and didn't adequately fill out the background, IMO.

Loved the guitar work from 2:59-4:17; ultra-polished, ultra-sexy delivery. People will hate on the vocals with a passion and I'll laugh. I didn't realize the word "motherfucker" was even in this until JiggyJon pointed it out, but some people will have a colonic over it. Not sure why the light shakers at 4:17 cut off at 4:28. That was a really good yet subtle idea to fill out the space.

Yeah, to me this needs some rebalancing. The instrumentation needs to be louder compared to the vocals and could use some thickening up/fleshing out as well.

I'd go YES-conditional, but in the event that weed doesn't wanna touch this, I wouldn't let it slide as is, so that's the only reason I'm formally going NO. Refine it and it'd be good to go. Don't call it a comeback.

[JJT]

hmmmm, been listening to this a lot.

i thought the source was adapted well into a hip-hop setting, with lots of additions to the beat that were tasty (love that harp in the upper register). the new melody in the chorus fits well with the original.

I thought the kick could've been a bit phatter, and the bass more of a presence, but those aren't deal breakers. in that line of thought, i didn't like how the bass lays out in the first transition to the chorus...thought it should have at least announced the chord change, as opposed to coming in a few beats later, but whatever.

that synth with the delay on is sexy.

i thought the lyrics were well crafted. as larry mentioned, some people will probably flip a lid over the MF bombs, etc, but whatever.

i think the hook at the end is some of the best zykomizaka i've heard ("you wonder why, everybody says to keep out the veldt").

anyway, this is some sparse, funky, west coast hip-hop. like you'd expect from a zyko arrangement, the production is unconventional. this is too infectious for me not to pass, though.

YES

ps - am i the only one who hears it cut off at the end? is this intentional?

[Liontamer]

ps - am i the only one who hears it cut off at the end? is this intentional?

weed noted at VGMix that the cutoff is intentional.

[Vig]

I can hear some of the issues cited, but I'm not hearing them as anything close to deal-breaking. Weed demonstrates again his lyrical talent, and as usual, there's a good deal of creativity and emotion on the musical end. The understated guitar is effective.

sure, some of the balance and samples are a little rough, but the track accomplishes what it goes for.

I enjohy it..

YES

[zircon]

I like the lyrics and delivery... as usual, top notch from zyko. I didn't even really have a problem with the instrumental balance. However I definitely think there are timing issues particularly with the brass at several parts (:31, 1:23 for example)... they really stand out to me as being considerably off tempo. Compare to a mix like the recent TJ&E one we got, where we nailed them on timing issues that were in soem cases less severe than the ones here.

There's not a lot of actual melodic or harmonic rearrangement for the first part of the piece. The instrumental backing is basically the same as the original, if not somewhat simplified in terms of texture. 2:34 has some new material but it's really sparse and minimal. The solos don't really fit in to the atmosphere of the rest of the piece IMO, nor do they seem to connect with the Veldt source material musically. They are quite enjoyable, but considering how long the section goes on for with seemingly little direction, I really think they have to gel more with the rest of the track.

4:18 brings in some variation in the form of the sinewave synth complimenting the source's harmonies. I would have liked to hear something like this earlier, and to me it's too little, too late.

I gotta say the new brass at 4:39 is very general MIDI.. not to be a stickler for samples but it's really very fake sounding. I also can't say I like the abrupt ending even though I know it's intentional.

Overall I think the production is OK, aside from the brass towards the end, but other aspects of implementation need work.. a denser texture, even in the form of more rhythmic layers, would really help flesh things out over the course of the 5+ minutes. Additionally the brass timing issues are noticeable and unpleasant. From an arrangement standpoint, the vocals are wonderful, but they can't carry the track when the instrumental has such little variation except towards the very end.

NO

[Jillian Aversa]

Hmmm... I'm conflicted. On the one hand, the lyrics and delivery are excellent. But there are a few things that are holding me back:

- Timing of the brass. It's definitely a significant distraction.

- Balance of parts. I don't think the instrumentation was particularly sparse for a hip hop track at all, but it kind of felt that way because of the way things were mixed. The beats could use a little more bass and reverb. They sound really dry. And the parts that are doubled or filled with strings and sinewaves seem too soft.

- The section from 2:35-4:18 lost a lot of energy, I think. Although I like the guitar and sinewave solos, they felt a little aimless after a while. I'd propose either consolidating them, or layering in a few more things for this instrumental. It's such a significant portion of the track: approximately 1/3.

- The cutoff at the end seems unintentional, like the download cut off. Maybe you could add in some FX like a record scratch or something, just so people aren't confused?

I think all these are pretty easy fixes, so I can almost guarantee my YES on an update. Very nice work overall.

NO PLEASE RESUBMIT

[Malcos]

Very good vocals and rapping! There are some specific issues here that if resolved will definitely get me to vote yes. Although the instrumentation is quite sparse, I think it works (it is hip-hop after all!) up to the point where the vocal parts cut out around the 2.50 mark. The lead parts could have been made much more engaging. At 4.20 the kick volume decreases, presumably to make way for the ending. However, the ending just cuts off. Perhaps a delay would have sounded better so that the sound tailed off or something, rather than just abruptly cutting it off, I don't think it worked in this case. I think this is really good, just needs a little more tweaking.

NO(Please resub)

[big giant circles]

gonna have to agree with vig. i'm not really hearing any of the aforementioned gripes as being enough to withhold this from being posted. i dunno. seems pretty slick to me. i don't listen to much hip hop, but the staggered brass seems to fit pretty well.

zyko's rapping has also progressed--this is pretty well done all across the board. again, while i can partially agree with the hangups, i don't think it's enough to keep this one from a thumb's up.

*EDIT* (see other post) I do have a gripe with the balance, that I'd like fixed first.

YES (conditional)

[zykO]

hey good lookin on the comments

i just barely got my computer back after nearly a month out of commission and i've been intending on fixing the track up and resubmitting (contrary to my common practice of doin no such thing). honestly, this is the first time i've made my own traditional hip hop beat so a lot of things were new territory for me

i'll be working out the kinks and getting back to y'all so hold off on the judgement for a second until i can resubmit. thanks for the feedback. i probably won't be able to access the internet from home for a little while longer but i'll be back.

thanks!

[big giant circles]

EDIT - after listening to this with headphones - I've noticed the stereo is notably weighted towards the right ear which I found to be a bit unpleasant and disorienting. It's especially noticeable during the brass hits, but overall, it's more in the first part of the song. I took a close look at the waveform, and here's how it looks.

[pic]

notice the peak meter. i realize the screenshot is only representing a split second, but it looked that way quite a bit.

there's no beef during the quieter parts, or during the guitar solo at the end, but for now, i'm actually going to change my vote to conditional. weed, i know you don't have the internet at the moment, but if you could possibly tweak the balance a bit, you're good to go by my book.

[zykO]

http://www.zykomazika.com/Final_Fantasy_III_Keep_out_the_Veldt_OC_Remix.mp3

updated =)

[zircon]

Nice additions and improvements. The production sounds a lot better, and there's a greater level of variation and interpretation in the instrumental. I still don't really like how the horns drag in timing in a few parts. The ending is also better IMO. Comparing to the first version, it also sounds like the middle solo section was tightened and now it doesn't drag much (if at all.) Really, the whole thing sounds better.

Revising my initial vote to a

YES

[Liontamer]

The arrangement, which was dicey on interpretive-ness before, was made only more solid through the additions and improvements here. All of my criticisms are more on production and execution.

I thought the bowed strings from 1:22-1:41 and 3:36-3:54 were a good idea in concept but should have sounded more human. 1:22-1:41 also should have been more in synch with the other instruments, a bit more an issue than the criticism of the brass afterward.

Don't remember why it didn't stick out in the previous version, but the hip-hop groove and sampled finger snaps sounded out of place to me the whole time orchestral elements were in play. I would have pulled back the volume on that stuff during the busier sections, and altered the pattern and/or production on those to make the texture more cohesive. Even a smaller detail like the finger snaps, the sample there could have been varied to not make the sample sound so cheap and repetitive, especially because it was used so loudly.

For 3:36-3:46 & 3:57-4:17, I would have swapped out the hip-hop groove, as it didn't mesh well with the handdrums or big drums & tambourine IMO. Though I didn't have a big problem up until the end, I'm not sure the squeaky clean and upfront vocals worked well for the final, extra busy section; they just felt too dry and pasted on top rather than being couched in the soundscape.

A lot of good new ideas were introduced, but they could be more cohesively put together. Still very close, but I'm unfortunately not quite sold yet on the sum total of the instrumental execution. Ultimately going to stick with my NO (refine/resubmit) vote.

[Vig]

Addressed a lot of my issues, filled up the space that was in the original version. Still a

YES

[big giant circles]

New version is tight. Uber. Not only is the balance addressed along with the brass-timing improved, the vocals cutting through even more clearly. And the ending is going to please a lot more people, seeing as it's *resolved*. Nice work, bro.

YES

[JJT]

my YES is still a YES.

so YES.

[CHz]

I was NO on the first version of this, but I really like the new ideas you've thrown in.

The arrangement's definitely improved. The interpretation level went up a little bit (like the string stabs from 1:22-1:40), and increasing the instrumentation variety of the source through the track helped (mainly during the chorus: the darker sound at 2:03-2:34 and overhauled ending at the end of the track give it much more flavor). Pulling in the length of the original section was also a good idea, as was changing up the ending. I didn't mind the cutoff of the first version (a cheap trick, but one I like), but this does a much better job of rounding out the track and gets a little more interpretation in there: two plusses.

The additional stuff to fill out the instrumental work pretty well also. The new melody line at 0:24 is a great lead into the short break. The additional countermelody from 1:26-1:44 is good, and the volume boost you've given the background stuff from 1:42-2:03 helps bunches. The big drums from 3:55 to the ending are good too. I'm feeling much better about the arrangement level.

I didn't have a big problem with the off-time horns in the first version, but this version definitely sounds better with the fixed timing in the beginning of the track. Unfortunately, they're still lagging a bit at 1:43-2:03, and this just sounds sloppy given that the timing is fine earlier. String stabs at 1:22-1:40 are clearly fake, but they add some nice menace to that section as is, so I don't think those need touching.

More percussion variety would be nifty; the new drums in the ending are great, but I still think the instrumental section in the middle is still too empty for that loop to anchor from start to finish. It also interferes with the big drums. Toning it down or dropping it out completely at 3:55 would've helped because the part immediately after sounds too messy.

There's still room for improvement, but I'm definitely feeling your changes from the first version. So much, in fact, that I'm now on the other side of the bar.

YES

[zykO]

Keep out the Veldt