ReMix: Star Fox 64 'V to the X Power'
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- Game: Star Fox 64 (Nintendo, 1997, N64)
- ReMixer(s): DZComposer
- Composer(s): Hajime Wakai, Koji Kondo
- Song(s): Sector X
- Posted: 2006-06-25, evaluated by the judges
DZComposer, aka Adan Leal, had his first mix posted back in September of last year, and it didn't fail to impress, especially on the arrangement front, with very energetic, latin-infused coverage of the ill-fated Starfox 2. He now provides the site with another Starfox first, this time taking on McCloud and co.'s Nintendo 64 outing. Starfox 64 was a great example of why the N64's audio hardware really didn't seem like an improvement over the SNES - not to be overly harsh, as it had some good tunes, but at the time Nintendo were hyping the console's "better than CD-quality audio" and for my money SNES soundtracks on the average both sounded better and had more elaborate instrumentation. But I digress - Adan's mix, whose algebraic title triggers my latent mathophobia, employs subtler motifs this go round, with an emphasis on understated orchestral instrumentation focusing on chromatic percussion. The ReMixer writes:
"The V stands for Vibraphone! This piece is a Vibraphone feature (bowed vibes included!). The X stands for Sector X. I've always loved the vibraphone. The metallic, vibratic sound that can be so mysterious, happy, or swingish! This piece doesn't go into swing though. The reason for the psuedo-minimalism is to convey the mysterious feeling from the Sector X level. You arrive at Sector X to destroy an enemy base to find that someone beat you there and destroyed it first! So, you search the area looking for signs of what happened."
And you thought V was for Vendetta... once again, DZC's arrangement is extremely creative, capitalizing on dynamics and the almost inherently spooky/spacey nature of the vibraphone well. At some points the dynamic contrast may be a little too extreme for my taste, as the majority of the mix is rather soft, punctuated intermittently by brash brass flourishes and percussion; I might have either bumped the vibes up a notch or EQ'd their treble higher so they cut through a bit more. This is actually the type of track a BBE Sonic Maximizer could work wonders on - I've started using one again on my more recent mixes; it has a unique ability to add treble presence without butchering the rest of a mix. Larry writes:
"The arrangement here was pretty sharp, doing a lot of creative, interpretive things with the "Sector X" variations, making use of a lot of good instrument combinations, and developing well over its 5+ minutes. On that level, this piece gets the job done. It sizzles, but it doesn't suck."
Adan's definitely spending time on these arrangemets, thinking them through and plotting them out so they both flow and elaborate intelligently on their source material. It's additionally impressive to go from his initial latin mix to this more minimalist classical composition without waning on either of those criteria. Good stuff.
Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the The dynamics of it worked out really well, and the arrangement was very creative. I agree with a few other comments that this isn't really my style, but I definitely can appreciate the craft that went into creating this, and i'd love to see it performed live.
- OA on March 18, 2009
Prometheus;130243 wrote: Well, it's decent (4.5 out of 10) .
What? It's at least a 6.5.
It's a good listen; yeah, not something I'd like to listen to over & over, but something that (when it comes up) I look forward to. :)
- Jedi QuestMaster on April 26, 2007
- meccaneer on December 15, 2006
in 5:21, i though the "cool part" was going to begin(a Sticky and nice chorus), but the song eventually ended.
(Sorry to be that honest)
- John Revoredo on August 7, 2006
Nice work. Keep it up.
- Martin Penwald on July 17, 2006
I think this is his first peice I have heard that I've liked the entirety of besides the black hole one.(I hope he submits that one some day just to see how the judges react to its disonant nature :D).
I'm sure there's plenty to be improved upon, but my ear isn't critical enough to really find anything wrong with the production or arrangement going on here. Hell I've played in a band and orchestra for a few years and he's improved enough that it's hard to tell some of the instruments are fake now unlike his older stuff, so he's doing a much better job at working with the samples he has when he puts his mind to it.
Mr. Yoshiyami, you'd make a bad judge, you seem unable to judge things objectively or give good feedback for what you didn't like about it.
- cobaltstarfire on July 14, 2006
yami for judge yami for judge yami for judge
- anne amère on July 5, 2006
Yoshiyami wrote: I was expecting much more after hearing his Star Wolf remix, but this is utter trash.
MOD EDIT: Keep it constructive.
EDIT: Um, there's no point in constructive criticism since it's apparent that DZComposer can do much better than this. :roll:
Just write one with a more defined melody next time.
Melody sounds pretty defined to me.
- Liontamer on July 4, 2006
MOD EDIT: Keep it constructive.
EDIT: Um, there's no point in constructive criticism since it's apparent that DZComposer can do much better than this. :roll:
Just write one with a more defined melody next time.
- anne amère on July 2, 2006
Keep it up - looking foward to more.
- Mustin on June 28, 2006
- yanagin on June 26, 2006
I am thankful for the responses to this mix, partcularly the ones that pointed out the problems. Looks like I neeed to work on my post production a bit. ;)
The dynamic contrast, however, was a very important part of this piece, and I would never change it. Unlike many of the more modern genres where louder is better, Orchestral music is dependent on dynamic changes to help bring forth the mood of the piece. Listen to some classical CDs and you see what I mean.
- DZComposer on June 26, 2006
anclunn wrote: I felt like the difference in volume was a bit too much. But other than the issue with the dynamics, I'd say an all around good remix.
You guys that don't understand dynamic contrast.
Go join an orchestra or something.
That or beat up all the band and orchestra directors and judges in the world (or atleast the state of texas) for emphasizeing how KEY haveing a wide dynamic range is to make good and dramatic music.
Oh yeah, awsome remix, I love it.
- cobaltstarfire on June 26, 2006
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