Hi everyone!
Just wanted to show some of the work I've been doing for Antharion (www.orphicsoftware.com), a throwback to classic teambased RPG's like Baulder's Gate and Planescape Torment!
Any questions, comments, criticisms are more than welcomed!
Here's the link:
https://soundcloud.com/ericjgallardo/sets/excerpts-3
Fates of Kings: Wow - right from the start I felt like I was listening to Braveheart OST. :) Some nice moods here. Kinda wish there was more low end in your strings to create that lush, Hollywood sound. There's some great writing here. 1:19 reminded me of LOTR OST as well. Although I really liked the first track I did feel like some of the segments of the song could be better connected to each other. What it felt like to me was chunk - slight pause - chunk - slight pause. To an extent the slight lift pause works when changing sections but if over used it can take away from the song's structure and momentum.
Cities at Night: Adore the start. Delicate piano over strings. Solid! It's great for a while but then my ear starts to get tired of the texture and wanting to hear something a bit more established. Could just be me but it started off so strong but over using the contrasting rhythms and such left the track feeling a bit... meandering to my ear.
Fields Run Red: Good rhythmic opening. Again, more low end in your production because on my set up I'm not really getting much. For a battle track I'm not really getting that big sound which I'm expecting. Some cool rhythms!
Overall: You've got some great music here. Good ideas, fantastic moods and settings. The biggest issue I'm hearing is the mix/production could really be raised several bars to bring the music to life.
Enjoyed listening to your stuff!
Nate
Thanks Nate for your feedback. The fermata and the following brass fanfare was actually a nod to Arron Copeland's Billy the Kid. I purposely left the breathing room to let the brevity of the fanfare be more effective. It was more than just a change in orchestration, it was a change in tone and I wanted to really emphasize that. Maybe I should shorten the pause even more? What do you think?
As far as Cities at Night, it is a piece that is two-folded in it's operation. It's a tranquil exploration piece, so the Creative Director wanted it to be very ambient and not in anyway overbearing or even noticable. It's funny because the director specifically used the word meandering in my notes! haha! Anyways, at the same time he wanted it to have development and be very interesting and beautiful if you stopped and payed attention (much like the backwaters of much of the cities of the game) What I did was create an additive figuration in the piano that, If you listen carefully, will notice it begins as a two note motif that slowly grows in additive fashion until it becomes a ten note motif by the end. All the while the strings and the woodwinds have non-metered figurations based on the motif the piano begins with. All in all it's supposed to be both meandering and very directed, if the player chooses it to be so. I think I was successful with the meandering at least :)
Thanks for the insight with fields run red, I'll work with mixing the lower end of the string section in this (and other) piece. I'm still learning the in's and out's of post production. 90% of my four years has been with concert and theater works in live settings. This weekend I'm going to be cramming up on mixing and post-prod. techniques!
Maybe I should shorten the pause even more? What do you think?
I think it would be interesting to try having at least one section hold over a pause here and there instead of the whole ensemble lifting and pausing. That could still provide the breath you're seeking but also give some variation to these types of pauses being used.
