Pokemon G/S - National Park (MnP126)

Votes (6)

Aug 23, 2021 coloradoweeks
  1. Gotta Catch Me a Scyther
    Wassup Thunder
  2. Governmental Greens
    APZX
  3. While They Play
    Souperion

great job with all of these, everyone!


  1. "Gotta Catch Me a Scyther" by Wassup Thunder. love the use of xylophone, which really ties well into the youthful excitement of catching a scyther during the bug catching contest!
  2. "Governmental Greens" by APZX. loved the synth choice for these parts, and i love the way you extended the b-section the first time. piano ending was great!
  3. "While They Play" by Souperion. instrument palette reminds me a bit of KH1's "Traverse Town," and ties extremely well with Wassup Thunder's more youthful piece. while i did find some of the modulations a bit jarring, the improvisations were really fun to listen to!


"VENUSAUR used PETAL DANCE!" by TheVodouQueen was an absolute delight to listen to, and i found myself dancing along. the section 3:00-onward was by far my favorite part of the song. i do wish the sections where the tempo started to pick up had a bit more cohesion, but i absolutely loved the play with time signatures.

Aug 27, 2021 APZX
  1. Un Dimanche Apres Midi
    coloradoweeks
  2. Gotta Catch Me a Scyther
    Wassup Thunder
  3. VENUSAUR used PETAL DANCE!
    TheVodouQueen

Un dimanche apres-midi au Parc Naturel: I gotta say I rather liked this. Wonderful vibe, pretty good overall balance and definitely not the usual suspect I'd expect to hear here.


Gotta Catch Me a Scyther: It started off pleasant enough, and then just kinda went ape ****. I dig it. I think if you're trying to find a better balance of the highs and lows, you may find that working the low mids (200-800Hz) will go a long way to making it sound deeper without it actually being so :)


While They Play: The placement of things is all over the place. It is kind of confusing for the ear to pick & place them. Like the horns are fighting for each other as is the keyboard.


VENUSAUR used PETAL DANCE!: Okay the sound of stream and some birds (hint try use reverb to blend your instruments in with the natural sounds because they sound hyper juxtaposed). Oof those tempo changes are rough. But you did try some interesting stuff here. I did like the OG Venusaur scream though. Nice touch! Also, why pan the kick off to the right?

Aug 28, 2021 Wassup Thunder
  1. Un Dimanche Apres Midi
    coloradoweeks
  2. Governmental Greens
    APZX
  3. While They Play
    Souperion

A real treat to listen to all these for voting!

Coloradoweeks gets my first vote. Hope it goes through, as when I try to select your name for first place, it just showes a blank field, so let's see if this works. Anyway, I absolutely love the park-band feel for this song, and the faithful composition really hits the soul of MnP I think! The instruments all got that open-air quality that further captures your desired effect. It's beautiful, delicate, and lively. I would have loved this to be longer, just for my personal entertainment.


APZX gets my second vote. A good ol' synthy retelling of the song, with the variation of the instruments and percussion adding the fresh air of your own style to it. And I dig the synthy brass lead. The wavey pads are a great touch too! Excellent percussion for the break down section. Nice work!


Souperion gets my third vote. I like the modern vibe you get with the brass and sax with electric piano underlying. It's a neat experiment, I think it worked pretty well. Your melodic variations (do I refer to that too much in my voting? Maybe....) get that little bit of variety while playing to MnP's theme. Brass and piano is a beautiful combination. Something that seemed a bit off was that at the start of the "chorus" part at 1:19, something about the saxaphone's notes seemed a touch dissonant. I'm not sure why, like perhaps some of the notes are a half step from where they're supposed to be. Fortunately it quickly seems to be corrected. The piano seems to run into something similar around 3:18, perhaps the same kind of problem? It only lasts like 8 measures or so before being fixed. Two small areas to eyeball, it's likely an easy fix. The rest of the song I absolutely enjoyed.


Just because TheVodouQueen didn't get a vote doesn't mean I don't enjoy the song! Congrats on conquering stubborn software and getting your song in! The contrast of relaxing and Excited EDM parts is a great effect! I really liked around 1:15, the low strings made a great bass section. The increasingly intense percussion got me more and more excited as the song went on. A couple of times the transitions felt a bit abrupt and jarring, like around 1:32 or so. Mighta been Bandlab being difficult or something. While I enjoyed the Sudden EDM section in the middle, it sounded far too different from the source song to properly fit MnP's themes. If the same kind of energy and instrumentation had been variating the source's bass and melody, it would have been a beautiful effect. The part that followed around 3:02 got your EDM uppity version of the song just right though! A very enjoyable song, great work.

Aug 29, 2021 TheVodouQueen
  1. Un Dimanche Apres Midi
    coloradoweeks
  2. Gotta Catch Me a Scyther
    Wassup Thunder
  3. While They Play
    Souperion

Very short commentary this time around. Apologies, been extremely busy with other music-related stuff...


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1) 'Un Dimanche Apr�s-Midi au Parc Naturel' - ColoradoWeeks


* Despite this piece being short, pretty simple and pretty 1:1, admittedly, I think I really like the aspect of a more acoustic variant to the source that's just a live jam at a park festival. And I think it's humble in your statement to capture that serene chill-out mode in your composition, because of missing that feel IRL.


* I almost thought some of your instruments were too soft, but in some repeated listening, I've come to just appreciate how they sound and the realism you tried to bring to it. No over-EQing or extra effects. They're also pretty robust and whole in sound, and add to the palette of your beautiful soundscape. Did you live record any of these? Just curious. :)


* Very well done, and very enjoyable to listen to even in its brevity. Nice work. :)



2) 'Gotta Catch Me a Scyther' - Wassup Thunder


* Great rock / electric guitar elements, as usual. Love the sort of more upbeat, faster, frantic change-up to the music at the midway point. It's almost as if you got into a random battle in the tall grass and finally found the Scyther you were looking for!


* The drums were a bit on the soft side and hard to hear behind all the great synth and guitar work, sadly. :( Mainly it was an issue towards the latter half of the song. Can hear them perfectly fine in the beginning. But when I did hear them, they were wonderful.


* I am a bit half-and-half on the xylophone at the beginning. Half of me feels it was cute and a nice way to introduce the harmony, and half of me thinks it should've been a different percussion instrument. I'm unsure really. Oh well. Great stuff as usual, nonetheless. :D



3) 'While They Play' - Souperion


* Love the sax and the bit of experimental play with a harmony that "follows along with the melody" and goes on a bit of a walkabout, rather than pairs or matches its exact beat. Found the alternates and instrument choices very satisfying to listen to.


* This feels almost like a Cantina Jazz-style piece, or at least a lil' Jazz Club-style. Smooth, too.


* Did felt that some of your instruments were a bit on the weak-side, especially the sax. When you hit that section with the bells / louder keys at about 1:30, I expected the sax to blow with a bit more power behind it, and to go deeper in tone. However, I did really like the 2:30 jaunt with the boppin' piano arpeggios and runs... A very imaginative take on the source. Good job.



4) 'Governmental Greens' - APZX


* I really like the enhancement of the bass and deeper tones of this song. The piano was extremely pretty too, (this song just suits piano and strings, clearly. xD)


* The additional synths and quality makes this feel like a mix meant for the HeartGold and SoulSilver remakes of the game, or at the very least, if the National Park was released in later gen Pok�mon games (unsure if it ever was or if we ever revisited Johto after Crystal and the remakes for DS).


* Pretty 1:1, but I'm not taking points away because of that. I do really like the soundscape you produced. It's a vibe and a bop to listen to. Great stuff. :)

Aug 29, 2021 TheVideoGamer
  1. Un Dimanche Apres Midi
    coloradoweeks
  2. Governmental Greens
    APZX
  3. Gotta Catch Me a Scyther
    Wassup Thunder

After thinking long and hard i believe Colorado Weeks should get the win.


APZX - Very lovely synth work here, it feels almost 80's inspired in a way. Love the vibrato on the lead synth, that's a lovely touch. Now this source is a little short, so creativity is needed on this one, and so far you've done a lovely job in that. Really liking when you change up the second part of the source, into a groovy electronica feel. If i have to point out some flaws 2 come to mind. The little klinks at the end, heard especially in the second part of the remix, feel a little off to me. Sounds out of key, and weirdly too forward in the song. I don't know how to describe it exactly, but i feel it could be toned down as a background element. The second one is a little more of a minor issue, but i feel you could do a bit more variation to the source. As of now we hear the 2 parts, as you do in the original, but after around 1:30 you simply do a fair bit of copying and pasting. I feel the remainder of the song, you could do a little bit of drum switches or key switches or something, however though, that's just me. Lovely work on the source, the synth sounds were amazing. Well done!


Colorado Weeks - Did you play this all by yourself, or is this a MIDI guitar? (This is not me questioning your guitar skills, this is me being slightly confused). It's hard to tell, because there are parts that sound real, but there are clicks that i'm not sure would be in a real guitar. I love the acoustic feel, this somehow feels like the exact approach the composers would go for, if this was remastered in HD. The bongos are an excellent touch, it's very much a kind of Easy Listening thing. I love the background noise, really amps up the atmosphere. The only thing i can critique on, is the guitar could do with a bit more reverb it's feels very dry to me, and i also feel this could be expanded into a long almost orchestral part, with lots of interplay between instruments. The part with the bongo's only lasts about 10 seconds, which i felt was the key into really going all out. However though, i love the idea, it's very much scenic appropriate, and has a lot of beautiful background noises. Lovely work, well done!


Wassup Thunder - Really like the orchestral approach in this one, i love the flute melodies. I see you sort of went for a "Children's Cartoon" vibe, and i really like it. It's very fitting, especially with the nice interplay of the Marimba and the choir. I really like the arrangement in general, it just seems to fit that adventure spirit. The electric guitar was a cool addition, however i feel it's a bit out of tune, and unnescary in a scene of lovely organic instruments. I wouldn't have added it in personally. However saying that, it does go into a full crescendo where there is 2 types of guitar, that both seem to clash. This part is nice though, it's very much a rock tune, with great melodic movement. Although i said it was unnescary, i think it works amazingly well here, it's a very nice switchup. The bass is sadly a little bit too loud in the quiet parts, i feel it takes away from the strings and winds. The whole idea is super great though, definately think a rock tune works well for this one. Well done!


Souperion - Has a sort of easy listening feel to the whole thing (Kind of like Colorado's lol). The saxophone is a perfect way to arrange this, definately wouldn't sound out of place in a Kenny G record haha. Really liking the sound selections, the melody is the star here. I also love the electric piano motif's too, this definately feels like a different style from what i've normally heard from you, and it's great. If i had to critique it, i notice quite a few things that could be changed. The drums are super quiet, and almost non-existent. For this style, i would increase the volume of the drums, and maybe tone down some of the melodies, to make it more unified. Speaking of melodies i do dig that piano a lot. It's gives kind of a "Solo" vibe. Your essentially playing the main melody, then giving it to someone, to do a solo on. The piano is very busy for this remix, and although i like it a lot, i also feel stripping back that part, into something more simpler could make it more magical, who knows. All in all this is an lovely approach, i do like the sounds here a lot, well done!


TheVodouQueen - I like the calm intro, it's very much like a emotional version of the song, even though it's already emotional to begin with. The water sounds and ambient effects, really brings it to life. It really makes the whole thing sound peaceful. Before the second section of the source (In your remix), you introduce a pause before each tempo shift, which person is a bit too abrupt and sudden, it doesn't give me much of a transition or anticipation. It's very sudden, and takes me out of the moment. I can see you trying to go for a completely different vibe, and while i love it, it's got very abrupt changes. I think it might be, because it's not beat-matched, or the tempo is moving quite fast. The dance vibe is super lovely though, it feels like Eurodance, it's a great sound. The whole thing is very groovy, i think it's just about bridging each section together, because it sounds great. Your drums are awesome, very syncopated it's great. That's all i can find though. Saying that, the latter part of this remix, seems to blend more than the first part. Still though the synths were great, and the melodies really work well, especially in some of the ambitious key changes. All in all, super funky and definately an enjoyable listen, great work, well done!

Aug 29, 2021 Souperion
  1. Gotta Catch Me a Scyther
    Wassup Thunder
  2. Governmental Greens
    APZX
  3. VENUSAUR used PETAL DANCE!
    TheVodouQueen

APZX: It is definitely a thing with some nice synths responding well to midi commands. Enjoyed the wobbling lead and spacious pads. I suppose it to be cool.

Coloradoweeks: Delightful piece. Delicate articulation on all parts, it breathes and flows very well.

Especially enjoyed the string work. I could listen to this on loop for a good while.

Wassup T: I remember looking for scythers. Good times. I liked the changes you implemented in the bass line, choirs were a neat touch. And the break down was pretty nicely down, still feels like it belongs.

TVQ: I'm glad BandLab failed to stop this one. I hope you have good luck with your DAW search (I use FL 20 meself.) I liked the approach of the first segment, flute and piano is a solid mashup. Sure, the transitions of your spliced projects is a bit jarring, but I can appreciate the work it took to undertake the whole thing. Keep it up!