Author Topic: Cross Symphonic - A cinematic Chrono Cross album  (Read 50576 times)

CptOvaltine

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Re: Cross Symphonic - A cinematic Chrono Cross album
« Reply #60 on: May 21, 2018, 03:47:09 am »
Awesome! I will check it out.

That's great! I'd love to hear your thoughts after you listen!

Lord J Esq

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Re: Cross Symphonic - A cinematic Chrono Cross album
« Reply #61 on: May 21, 2018, 11:23:46 pm »
So, I went and listened to a bunch of musics on your YouTube page! I think someone else used this word upthread, but you have a very "cinematic" sound that is quite well-developed. Very sophisticated; no amateur work here. Your powers of arrangement are very good. Your music is quite enjoyable to listen to, not just the stuff I know but the original pieces too.

As a fellow artist, compliments only go so far, so additionally my great constructive criticism to you is: Sound mixing is the puzzle standing between you and the greatness of, say, a Samo Studios.

CptOvaltine

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Re: Cross Symphonic - A cinematic Chrono Cross album
« Reply #62 on: May 22, 2018, 02:04:24 pm »
So, I went and listened to a bunch of musics on your YouTube page! I think someone else used this word upthread, but you have a very "cinematic" sound that is quite well-developed. Very sophisticated; no amateur work here. Your powers of arrangement are very good. Your music is quite enjoyable to listen to, not just the stuff I know but the original pieces too.

As a fellow artist, compliments only go so far, so additionally my great constructive criticism to you is: Sound mixing is the puzzle standing between you and the greatness of, say, a Samo Studios.

I really appreciate the kind words, thank you!  I'm glad you like my work, it's always interesting to hear peoples feedback and to see what they think.

You've really nailed my weakest area, which is the sound engineering aspect of my work. I deal with live orchestra's as often as I can, so the sound engineering/midi mock up phase is always just a means to an end.  That, of course, means that I never had to learn to develop that skill since it never really matter.  That's something I'm working to change! :)

Sam is a very talented musician and engineer. I worked with him on his latest album that's coming out, and I can say he's a very nice guy with a lot of passion and experience in what he does! He and I use a lot of the same libraries, yet he always gets a much cleaner sound than I do. I suppose it goes to show you that EQ and mastering go a LONG way. haha
« Last Edit: May 22, 2018, 02:06:20 pm by CptOvaltine »

Lord J Esq

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Re: Cross Symphonic - A cinematic Chrono Cross album
« Reply #63 on: May 22, 2018, 05:14:07 pm »
As an (amateur!) composer myself, I certainly admire good sound mixing because I absolutely suck at it!!

How cool that you got to work with Sam! I love his style. He has some of the most inspired phrasings and timbral choices.

Anyhow, I look forward to hearing more of your work too!

CptOvaltine

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Re: Cross Symphonic - A cinematic Chrono Cross album
« Reply #64 on: May 22, 2018, 08:50:05 pm »
As an (amateur!) composer myself, I certainly admire good sound mixing because I absolutely suck at it!!

How cool that you got to work with Sam! I love his style. He has some of the most inspired phrasings and timbral choices.

Anyhow, I look forward to hearing more of your work too!

Do you have any examples of your work?  I would love to listen!

Sam has a great ear for cinematic orchestration! It blows my mind that he has next to no formal musical training.  He really has an incredible talent that he's developed, I'm a huge fan of his Chrono album.

There will definitely be more to come!  Stay tuned, I'll be posting some more in this thread, and will be sure to let everyone know when I have more information about this album!

CptOvaltine

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Re: Cross Symphonic - A cinematic Chrono Cross album
« Reply #65 on: May 24, 2018, 01:30:27 am »
I wanted to share a clip from track 08 with you guys.  This track cover's Lynx's original theme, as well as the battle atop Fort Dragonia.

I'm a bit nervous about this one, since Lynx didn't have a theme in the game, and this scene was largely silent during the game, so most of this track is original music. I really wanted to represent this scene, so here it is!

Let me know what you think!

https://www.facebook.com/JohnPaulHaywardMusic/videos/2111154332493902/

Boo the Gentleman Caller

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Re: Cross Symphonic - A cinematic Chrono Cross album
« Reply #66 on: May 24, 2018, 01:46:04 am »
Stellar. It was also nice to see your working style, with game and composing program side by side. :)

CptOvaltine

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Re: Cross Symphonic - A cinematic Chrono Cross album
« Reply #67 on: May 24, 2018, 01:55:08 am »
Stellar. It was also nice to see your working style, with game and composing program side by side. :)

What you couldn't see is a huge score underneath the video. haha  Usually I have the video on the left screen while I write on the big one.  Although I only really use the video when I want to depict certain scenes.

What do you think?  Does it do Lynx justice?

Boo the Gentleman Caller

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Re: Cross Symphonic - A cinematic Chrono Cross album
« Reply #68 on: May 24, 2018, 03:49:08 pm »
It totally did Lynx justice. I don't have any suggestions or thoughts further than you got it nailed down!

CptOvaltine

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Re: Cross Symphonic - A cinematic Chrono Cross album
« Reply #69 on: May 24, 2018, 07:35:43 pm »
Awesome!  I think this was probably the hardest track to write.  Things should get a little easier now that I'm back to arranging existing music.  (It'll also be nice to stop working on horror movie music late at night. haha)

Kodokami

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Re: Cross Symphonic - A cinematic Chrono Cross album
« Reply #70 on: May 25, 2018, 01:21:47 pm »
Man, these are great, CptOvaltine. I'm so excited for when your album's finished.

CptOvaltine

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Re: Cross Symphonic - A cinematic Chrono Cross album
« Reply #71 on: May 25, 2018, 06:17:47 pm »
Man, these are great, CptOvaltine. I'm so excited for when your album's finished.

Thank you! Its refreshing to see everyone enjoying them! My guess, barring any unforeseen delays, that I should be finished with the writing by August. Then it's just a matter of licensing and artwork! :)

CptOvaltine

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Re: Cross Symphonic - A cinematic Chrono Cross album
« Reply #72 on: May 30, 2018, 01:31:22 am »
Just a little update.  I posted a clip from track 09.  So far this is probably the most "true to form" track on the entire album. 

https://www.facebook.com/JohnPaulHaywardMusic/videos/2114051625537506/

Boo the Gentleman Caller

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Re: Cross Symphonic - A cinematic Chrono Cross album
« Reply #73 on: May 30, 2018, 02:52:56 am »
So I must first admit that the Arni Village theme is probably one of my favorite pieces from the entire Chrono Cross soundtrack. I had no idea that it was going to be included in the album! I was thinking this track was going to be for Marbule and the whole Nikki/Fargo music motif of the demi-human village. This must be part of the effort to add a few more tunes. :)

That all being said, I'm so used to this being a fairly simple tune; the Home World version being an upbeat guitar and resonating bass and flute, and the Another World version being a more lowkey piano and acoustic guitar version. I don't know if I've ever heard a fully orchestrated interpretation of this song.

I gotta admit, this may honestly be my favorite track to date. It's hard to tell without hearing all the tracks cohesively, but the flute and underlying strings is downright stellar. I now have a craving to play Chrono Cross, as this hit my nostalgic simpler-times funny bone to the core. The transition to the -0:23 portion/chorus(?) and the subtle swells and rises of the strings from here until the end is spot on ethereal goodness.

Hot damn.

CptOvaltine

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Re: Cross Symphonic - A cinematic Chrono Cross album
« Reply #74 on: May 30, 2018, 02:55:04 pm »
Haha I love the enthusiasm! Although it's only fair to point out this is "The Bend of Time" not "Arni Village"...although the Another World version is very similar to "The Bend of Time" which is also played by a solo guitar. I love that it takes you down nostalgia lane, though.  That's exactly how I felt while writing it. 

This track represents that oh so confusing Van Gogh esq area with Sprigg - post body switching. It felt right to keep it simple, sort of lullaby-ish with the strings and winds. It's a bit of a welcome relief to the album, as the early tracks are more laced with the drama from the story, it's nice to have a breather.  Which is kind of how I felt about this area when playing the game as well. Later on there's solo violin excerpt, as well as a slight emotional shift as I introduce a more melancholy/less menacing version of Lynx/Harle's theme.  Ultimately it will make the round trip and end with "The Bend of Time".

Track 10 is on to Marbule!