Liontamer Posted August 26, 2007 Share Posted August 26, 2007 Contact Info Remixer Name: Mykel Francys (forum name) Real Name: Michael Mercurio (preferred name) E-mail Address: mike_merc2002@hotmail.com Website: None UserID: 5418 Remix Info Game: Shenmue Song Remixed: Main Theme Remix Title: Boldly Lost Composer Comments: This is my very first submission...anywhere. I don't have any formal musical training (or any training for that matter). I can't read notes, I don't know any of the fancy terms or Italian phrases, and I probably will never get anywhere with any of this. Now that the self-deprecation is out of the way, I HAVE taken a couple of odd semesters at my local community college. For what it's worth, my current major is music production technology. It was here that I was able to record this piece. As I said, I'm still not familiar with any of the technical terms (I suppose that's what I've been going to school for on and off). I DO know that I did it through a keyboard hooked up to a Mac. I used Reason for the instrument patches. There are no pre-recorded loops, sampling, or any sort of time-automation. Everything was done in real time...with me performing with one instrument patch, recording it, playing it back, and then recording another instrument over it...and so on. Since everything was performed "free-hand" in this manner, it most likely will not match up with any automated time signature. It does however, sound "pretty." Well, at least my ex thinks so. Thus, without further ado I present to you my take on the main theme from Shenmue...which I have entitled Boldly Lost. Enjoy! You will tell me if it doesn't completely suck, won't you? --------------------------------------------------------- Shenmue Chapter 1 ~ Yokosuka Original Sound Track - (101) "Shenmue ~ Sedge Tree (Original Version)" The arrangement seemed like a pretty easy pass to me. The piano, particularly the left hand, was exposed and more mechanical sounding at times. While definitely a significant negative, those issues didn't dent the arrangement quality enough for me. The left hand was definitely the weaker part of the arrangement, not only exposing the sample, but also feeling meandering in places in part to being so loud. Personally, I don't mind a NO on that level. There was some complaints in the judges channel about the left-hand writing being too repetitive as well, but there was enough variation in the long run for me to be OK with it. I thought the piano lead combined nicely with the string support, with the overall tone/feel of the track not being too similar to the original. The stated lack of time signature didn't hurt the piece either, as I didn't get any sense of a lack of cohesion between the instruments. The dynamics could have been more pronounced, but the dynamic changes were there and were due to increased intensity in the instrumentation rather than mere volume changes, so I was OK with that as well. Not without its flaws due to that left-hand piano part pulling the track down (the only thing I'd really NO it on), but the overall execution was solid enough. YES (borderline) The letter and complete lack of searchable information seems sketchy, so we'd have to look into it further if this passes. Dunno how exactly, but I suppose we'll cross that bridge when we get there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big giant circles Posted November 4, 2007 Share Posted November 4, 2007 Shenmue had some really cool music, I've come to learn. Seems like a watered down version of the original. At your request Michael, it doesn't completely suck. Nice arrangement, decent sound, and all that stuff. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJT Posted November 4, 2007 Share Posted November 4, 2007 Uh, guys? While there is some interpretation going on here, this remix is overlong and never changes textures. Ever. Match that with a lackluster performance and i'm scratching my head trying to figure out why you think this is an easy yes. This isn't even close IMO. Though the sample quality is fine, the piano isn't eq'd very well (could use a lot more high end) and the arrangement is meandering: after a minute has gone by i'm hoping it will end soon, or there will at least be some kind of change in instrumentation. neither of these things happen though. I can tell that some thought was put into dynamics, but there's not nearly enough of that going on. Michael, this is good for a first try, but you need to bring a lot more to the table on the arrangement end. Either make it shorter, or bring in some other instruments to spice things up. Maybe you could let the strings lay out for awhile. Just give us something different to listen to, cuz i'm sick of the string bath/repeating piano pattern after the first 45 seconds. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vig Posted November 4, 2007 Share Posted November 4, 2007 Fairly pretty, but painfully simple. The textures never do change, And when there are only 2 or 3 instruments, this getsto be a problem. the Track is boring. The writing isn't particularly interesting or complecated. There's nothing terribly objectionable about the track, but it has very little going for it. This is an easy NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zircon Posted November 5, 2007 Share Posted November 5, 2007 I think this is a fairly interpretive mix, though I wasn't exactly blown away, for the reason BGC described. It's like a watered-down version of the original. Similar in emotional delivery, tempo, etc. Personalized, but not all that creative from a RE-arrangement standpoint. To me this is more of an adaptation of the original to a different set of instruments, with a limited amount of variation and embellishment. I have to agree with Jon and Jesse that the lack of textural changes and the static mood brings this down. There are dynamics in terms of volume, but you need more than that. The lack of change in rhythms, key, tempo and/or time signature also hurts the overall musicality of this. The piano being somewhat exposed and mechanical does not help either (could stand to have some additional high end EQ.) If this were performed live, I feel it would have a much better shot, provided the arrangement and structure were improved and reworked as well. Not quite there yet, but I'd like to hear a resub. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkeSword Posted November 10, 2007 Share Posted November 10, 2007 Not a bad piece of music by any stretch of the imagination, but it certainly isn't very exciting. I'd have to agree with Jon's sentiments; "string bath/repeating piano pattern" aptly describes it. I'm not one to hate on simplification or minimalism, but really, this piece a simplified version of the original, and I think it suffers from that simplification. There's more of a structure in the original, more dynamic variation; your piece doesn't necessarily need so defined a structure, but the lack of dynamic variation really detracts from the end result. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zykO Posted November 14, 2007 Share Posted November 14, 2007 i gotta agree that the arrangement isn't so strong to the point it can carry the track on its own. the playing is emotive and i'll give it that. there's still some work than needs to be done on the strings backing the piano at times when they clash really bad with the piano. there are timing issues on the piano playing that while humanize the part also stand exposed because of how loud and front and center they are. if they sat back into the strings more, the mistakes won't be as glaring. truth is, i really do enjoy this track. it is beautifully sorrowful yet lifting. i would listen to this driving along the california coast during a sunset with a joint and i am not being funny when i say that. but there are too many factors that don't pass it here and think of it this way: you've really already got the most important part of this piece down and that's the emotional side of it. now you just gotta work on the cerebral one. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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