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KaleOverlord - The Old North - Ancestral Echos's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Overall | #2 | 4.365 | 4.365 |
| Composing Quality | #2 | 4.353 | 4.353 |
| Listenability | #2 | 4.176 | 4.176 |
| Overall Uniqueness | #2 | 4.412 | 4.412 |
| Correlation to Theme | #2 | 4.765 | 4.765 |
| Mixing Quality | #4 | 4.118 | 4.118 |
Ranked from 17 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Link to Streaming Service
https://soundcloud.com/alkan23/kaleoverlord-the-old-north-ancestral-echos
Description
I did a lot in this mix. I wanted to capture a deep sense of beauty in a mythic context.
I actually created an instrument specifically for this jam - my own take on a Kantele. I made it with scrap wood I had sitting around:
https://i.imgur.com/V5FsczQ.png
I was shocked at how much it sounded exactly like what I was looking for when I made it over the course of two evenings. This is the third instrument I've made.
I used old Norse poetry to write melodies to and help guide my inspiration. I used the first part of Völuspá, the most well-known Norse creation myth:
https://www.voluspa.org/voluspa1-5.htm
While I uploaded a unique album cover to this, I very much was working to compose to the image.
This would be for an open-world northern setting with high realism and heavy Norse inspiration. Spirits of the past fill the realm, guiding the player through their journey.
The energy changes from energetic to meandering.
My favorite part is probably 3:39 to the end. The phrase at 3:49 is especially my favorite, and the kantele came out just perfectly to me at that spot.
Inspirations:
Skyrim Soundtrack as a sort of guiding influence in terms of how to structure ambience of the style I was after.
The Bridge of Khazad Dum from Lord of the Rings had strong unconscious impact with the voices that I noticed later, with the percussiveness of the vocals at some points.
Gesang der Geister über den Wassern, D.714, by Franz Schubert was also a strong influence vibe wise.
Screenshot of DAW
https://imgur.com/xa4oU2f
Description of Setup (Optional)
For stereo mixing, I did my best to simulate the physics of sound. I didn't use spatial plugins for the effect - rather, I put a delay between each side, and panned one track all the way to the right and all the way to the left for each track.
So, I manually set the delay, volume and EQ for each ear. On the center voice, I added a third track that simulates the sound hitting your skull before your eardrums, where I cut the lows down.
All sounds are live instruments and singing. There are no virtual instruments.
Instrument list:
-Kantele - self made for this jam. It's the high pitched plucked instrument.
-Talharpa - self made earlier this year (the tenor range, slightly raspy strings)
-Cello
-Frame drum, pitch corrected to match, with added reverb to make it a large bass hit that also sounds organic.
-My voice
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Comments
Super cool approach to this, i really like the different points of reference you have in your music and especially in this i got a lot of early chant, and I think you used it really effectively to create this feeling of awe and wonder. Nice job!
Vocals are super cool! Love the driving string rhythm at around 1:10, comes in at a great time in the composition. The plucked instrument sounds very nice in the mix too.
I think the talharpa could be a little louder in general.
This is more on arrangement but ~1:37 it is the first time in the track that we hear the talharpa take on 100% of attention, and it just gives the impression that something more could be done with that space created. How it continues playing the same way it was during the crescendo makes me feel that if a down beat was established and everything except for the beat was faded out, the talharpa could come in on a nice upbeat with some cool line and it would have a stronger effect.
I also wonder what it would sound like with more variation on drums, since it seems to always have a very long reverb, when it might sound nice a little tighter in some places. The ending might irritate me ingame lol.
I actually was planning to move to something more energetic after the current end, but that's just where I ran out of time. Ideally, I'd have a track like this which runs 15-20 minutes.
Hey! I did a review of your entry via video. I posted it on the Jam discord but appreciate everyone might not be on there. Here's the video timestamp for your entry: https://youtu.be/1-aLhBdNCKE?t=12119
Heh what an awesome review!
I noticed the voices at the end getting muddier when I went to listen again with fresh ears. It's funny how much your own ears get used to things when listening to the mix, and having a set of fresh ears.
Yes indeed, everything was 100% live instrumentation - there was not a single virtual instrument in the mix. The closest things to that were how I modified the output of my cello and frame drum. The frame drum I changed the formant and pitched down, as well as pitched to the track. The cello I pitched down an octave to play as a double bass. Out of all the things you can pitch down, I am always surprised at how well the cello becomes like a double bass, compared to the human voice, which starts to sound awkward and muddy.
Thanks for a thoughtful, thorough review in real time as you listened to it! :)
I was also thinking about what you were saying about the voices at the end getting muddy.
This was not a mixing issue, but a singing issue. I added that spot at the last minute, so I was still acclimatizing to how I was going to go about pronouncing the old Norse. It's actually recorded on the same tracks that the earlier stuff is recorded on. It's 100% singing not in unison, singing off key, which is why it gets better at the other tracks when the sound gets clearer.
after some plays i can feel the intention of the music and the passion u put in making it, there are real instruments, real voices, and real emotions, that's all any piece of art need. Great Work! Congratulations
Very well done. I enjoyed it, for sure, and felt immediately drawn into the painted universe.
I really like this song, the vocals on this are amazing, and really stand out in the mix. It really does feel like a grand open space someone is performing in.
The only thing I might say was one of the strings plays this really extended note around the middle section that everything else plays around, and that note ended up distracting from the rest of the piece a just little bit.
Really great ambiance and vibe on this!
I have to agree with FoxHyode that the change to the second section at 1:35 feels a bit jarring, I'm not sure if having the talharpa stop playing together with the voices and letting the reverb decay before starting the second section would make flow better, just one thing I felt might work.
The spatial stuff works great, giving this the feel of being performed in a big space like a church to me.
Stellar stuff!
I had the Talharpa playing, but I did a rerecording and missed putting that part back and was running out of time.
My assessment of how I need to approach this in the future is to do more of an outline ahead of time, and record at a tempo I actually naturally want to sing at. I recorded it too slowly initially, so the issues with the timing weren't as apparent until I sped it up. To make it worse, I prerecorded it slow, then sped it up after rerecording.
I've decided I need to adjust my process after this jam, and be more deliberate about having a clearer process from start to finish.
Thank you for the feedback! :)
I love the vibe of this track, the vocals do a lot of work in evoking "the spirit of the north." The strings also lend to the spookiness. Very good mixing, I could definitely hear this track in a video game or movie. Your inspirations and hard work are evident in this mix. Good stuff.
Thank you!
All right. I know you're seeking feedback i'll do the best I can. Super organic and "reel" track, we are getting immerse immediately into your universe, you definitely upgraded your mixing skills on this one, its not quiet anymore as some previous submission. Now for a more precise critique: First section 0:00 to 1:35. Nice vocals, very realistic, the playing of the kantele and sometimes the voice can be looked into in terms of rhytm its a little out of the "metronome" its fine to give a more human feels but I think you can adjust a couple of notes. Favourite part is the vocal chords at 1:26 sounds great although the lack of bass precense in general in the mix could be added to the lowest voice. Also the drum is a nice touch but can probably be a little more in your face in terms of bass frequency you have some space to do it or you can dynamic EQ some other instruments to make the Drum pass through since its only here for a couple of seconds. The transition between the first section and the second can probably be a little more smoother from energectic to smooth because I have a feeling of being suspended with the last chord not knowing where to go for a moment, its not a big deal just how it felt for me in the moment. Second segment is very nice but some small bass element from time to time can probably round up the mix pretty nicely. Well done on this one.
Loved the chantin' voices (don't understand them, but anyway) - It has a heavy sorrowful and phantasmagorical vibe to it. Really dig it :)
Sounds very unique, and I can really see the Skyrim influence here!!