Liontamer Posted October 28, 2007 Share Posted October 28, 2007 Hey, I caught liontamer's recent comment on my old Ada's Groove ocremix and something about him asking for 'more high octane hotness' made me really want another remix up at OCR! So, after tossing in a couple hours here, couple hours there, I finished a new remix. It's attached to this email since I don't have any webspace to call my own (the auvixa.com/abg site doesn't have any more space.) It's called 'One Step Forward'. I called it that because this track is a remix of Into the Thick of It, the 'first level' of Secret of Mana, and I like the positive, upbeat connotation the title has. I don't want to 'spoil' the remix by revealing anything in particular about it before you hear, so I simply hope you dig it and upload it to OCR Thanks. -Shawn --------------------------------------------------------------- Hahaha! Now I'm in deep shit. Read on: http://snesmusic.org/v2/download.php?spcNow=sd2 - "Into the Thick of It" (sd2-06a.spc) Opens with some spooky sounds while fading in the source bridge at :05, and transitioning the the verse at :33. The bassline's punched up a lot compared with the original. The melody, counter-melody and bassline are the core components of the SPC original, and they're basically the same. The percussion's cool, and everything has a beefier sound, but that's about it so far. Seems like direct sampling from 2:08-3:02. I wouldn't care except IMO it only shows just how similar the arranged material is to the in-game music, which is a comparison that doesn't help the mix. Even thinking of something melodically conservative with this theme like DarkeSword's recently submitted "Thicket", his percussion patterns are different, his bassline is different, there are more new instrumentation ideas and embellishments. No lie, I like how this is produced. If this were 6-7 years ago, it would be state-of-the-art for OCR, but the arrangement/interpretation bar was so much lower then as well. The sound design is great and really adds a lot of depth to the material. BUT, arrangement-wise, not interpretive enough. If you made this in only a few hours, Shawn, you could spend a little more time and really get the interpretation sounding a lot more creative. When I listen to "Ada's Groove" I get something that's not only high energy, but really took that Resident Evil source in a very creative and different direction. That second part is just not the case here, IMO. Hopefully no hard feelings. DON'T HURT! <3 I'd love to hear you step back, take some additional time and apply more interpretive ideas with the melody, with the countermelody, the bassline, maybe new harmonies. Doesn't have to be all those things, but think how you can add even more of your own flavor and personal style to the arrangement. NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zircon Posted November 14, 2007 Share Posted November 14, 2007 Unfortunately I have to agree with Larry... the level of arrangement here is not quite up to our bar, though I don't think he is giving enough credit. I was definitely hearing some good interpretation throughout, such as in the extra harmony played by the saw underneath the melody in the first part of the mix, and the section at 1:14. If you just added a little more original material, varied up the chord progression from the source, maybe changed around the arpeggios or melodies from the source (rhythmically or melodically) you would definitely be able to get this to pass. But as is, a lot of the riffs are just used verbatim with little to on changes to anything. EG. At 2:35 why not change the chord progression to something else with a new bassline? Then maybe add your own melody on top. After the key change, you could really take the primary "Thicket" melody in another direction with some cool synth solo stuff. You don't necessarily need to change the entire thing. Maybe start a passage with something unchanged and develop it into something new before returning to the original format. There are a lot of things you can do, and I know you're skilled enough to do it. I do really like the texture and production. Creative breaks/dnb type sound, nice job varying the beats, smooth mix (I would have used a different snare than a 909 though.) No complaints there! This is really enjoyable and it will stay on my playlist. I think you are not that far from being at our arrangement bar. Rework that aspect and resubmit!! NO, resub Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big giant circles Posted November 17, 2007 Share Posted November 17, 2007 Actually, if I'm not mistaken, the opening sfx is direct sampled (title screen) as well, although it sounds timestretched. At any rate, this track is bleeding awesomeness, and I'm literally only 1:21 into it on my first listen. Unfortunately, despite the nifty drumwork additions and a few other touch-ups here or there, I'm going to echo the concerns of my fellow judges--man, I hate that I have to gripe about it, but it's just too much like the original. Plus, the heavy usage of direct samples is kind of sketchy territory. Man though, I wish I could pass this. Really cool track regardless of how well (or not) it adheres to our site's standards. In the meanwhile, maybe check out The Seikens and see if they'll host it (they seem pretty cool, so I'm guessing they will). That way you can at the very least get it out there. Otherwise, I'd love for you to tweak this into an OCR edit somehow. It'd take a bit of rehashing, but try to utilize the WIP forum, #ocremix, #ocrwip, whatever resources you can tap into to get specific feedback on what might help in that endeavor. Again, I hate to not pass this, but remember, it has nothing to do with the quality of the track. It's just a matter of what's already been laid out in our guidelines. Hope to hear you come back with this one, and I definitely look forward to your future submissions. Rework and RESUBMIT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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