Super chilling, and amazing as always!
Reviews for "Infinite Dungeon 1 & 2 (1f1n1ty Remix)"
Onefin responds:
Thanks man! You could say the winter chills possessed this track :)
Dude, what you've done here is incredible!
I was a huge fan of the mystery dungeon series, but I have yet to buy a 3ds, so I haven't gotten to play GTI. I'm glad to hear from this that the music is as inventive and atmospheric as from the previous games (Those games, musically speaking, are actually a huge inspiration to me). I wish I'd heard the original to have more context into what you've changed here, but since you didn't compose the music, I'm only going to review your production technique etc.
First off, I love just how spread out over the stereo spectrum this is, right from the get go. It really envelopes the listener, draws them into the track and fills them with a sense of wonder. At about 0:24, I was afraid it was going to turn into a generic dubstep remix, but it went right back into that same chill groove. A musical bait and switch, and one that works really nicely! I'd say that maybe the kick/snare is a little too heavy here, but that's just a matter of taste.
At 0:39, I LOOOVE the way you mixed this counter-line on synth harp. Both it and the melody are beautiful, and because of your mixing choices I'm able to not only focus on both lines at once, but appreciate the way they interact with one another.
Great job on the smooth tempo change at 1:03! To my taste, the lead synth is just a little too grating. Don't get me wrong, I love that square wave sound, but I might have added the tiniest bit of low pass on it. Just a minor nitpick, though, and it doesn't both me very much at all until 1:22. There, you should at the very least turn the volume down a little.
Transition at 1:28 is quite nice.
At 1:59, your choice to use a subtle electric bass-esque synth (it may actually be an electric bass for all I know lol) really pays off. It's a decision that truly marks this as something made by a mature producer, and I truly appreciate it.
2:20 or thereabouts, I very much enjoy the tone of the pad you have playing in and out of the background. This section shows a clear understanding of volume modulation and the ability to manage multiple textures at once (something I'm still working on haha).
Just a general note, the drum fills that you create in various areas are a really nice touch. I also love, love, love your use of the percussion toys you mentioned at the bottom of your description.
The return to the original groove/melody at around 2:40 (albeit modulated to a different key) is so satisfying, not only because of the transition, but because you took the time to create subtle differences between this and the beginning. It's familiar, but there's a lot of new stuff to listen for too. Again, this kind of thing is truly the mark of a mature, developed, well-practiced electronic composer.
The piano at 4:09 melts my heart. It sounds like you recorded it live (again, for all I know, you very well might have). Just gorgeous.
This review has gotten really long, and filled with a lot of gushing. What can I say? This is a superbly arranged, beautifully mixed, expertly produced remix.
Aside from my couple minor nitpicks, this is pretty much perfect.
Really well done.
Onefin responds:
Hey, thanks for the lengthy review! Glad you liked it!
The new MD games, Gates to Infinity and Super Mystery Dungeon, have superb, if not better, soundtracks than the previous entries! They take lots of inspiration from electronic sounds and styles, too, mixing them perfectly with orchestral and ethnic influences. It's super cool!
I always liked to spread out the stereo a bunch ever since NoisySundae told me how. <3
A little heavy on the kick and snare, huh? I used impact sounds, so that's probably why. The "kick" is a lower impact and the "snare" is a higher impact.
I'm really happy with how the electric harp turned out, with every harmony being satisfying and lovely. Didn't really think much about the interaction between the lines, though - I guess that was just an instinctual thing! :P
The tempo doesn't actually change there lul
Yeah, the lead is a bit jarring. I noticed that only after I uploaded the finished work, when I was listening to it on a phone and realized that that part at 1:22 is unbearably screechy. Welp
That's a boobass at 1:59! I use boobass a ton for some reason :P
The pad was a preset that I added in and it just somehow perfectly meshed with what was already there so I kept it in. A lot of the nuances in this piece can really be boiled down to accidental, unconscious edits. :3
One of the things I really focus on with my music is never writing the same thing twice! If I have to repeat a line, I always add something new to listen for. It's become a characteristic of my music for some I've spoken with.
The piano is actually sampler-based! Totally awesome, though, that you thought it was actually played! Tells me I did my job well.
Again, thanks for reviewing, and in such detail! I really appreciate it! :D
Really don't know where to start with this one, dude. It is positively excellent. It's always really impressive to me when an artist can begin a track one way and expand over multiple ideas throughout the length of the piece. You've done this so well here, basically switching from one song to the next. It's seriously impressive so a major kudos to you there.
The atmosphere that you were able to instil is so prominent as well. The feeling of winter, snow and ice come through really well with a lot of the patches and sounds you've used here, sleighbells aside. Those syncopated chords throughout in particular really exemplify a feeling of joy and wonder.
My only criticism would be that there's so much going on that I can't pay attention to it all so picking out exactly what I like about it is very difficult. That just means that you clearly spend a lot of time crafting this, though. Exceptional stuff, my dude, keep it up.
Onefin responds:
Hey! Thanks for the kind words, and thanks for the follow!
This piece was actually really special in its idea arrangement in that the remix itself is a sort of "instrumentation-slap", if you will, of an unfinished original composition, meaning I took a scrapped piece and changed all of the midis to match another piece, creating a remix, but keeping the instrumentation and general structure the same. In this way, I was able to continuously switch pieces fairly easily, since I just had to put the right midi in the right place.
The atmosphere, however, was added in after the fact. Of all of the atmospheres I have attempted in previous songs, I feel like the winter in this piece has come across the best, so glad to hear that it worked out!
The syncopated chords were an idea straight from the original piece, and they worked well in the soundtrack - why wouldn't they work well in a piece of my own?
Hey, thanks a ton for the review! I appreciate every word of it :D
woah
but really this is so good
I can`t stop listening this!