Spirit Blade Music Remix

As some of you may know, in addition to developing our next audio drama, I'm also working on a music project that will include remixes of the songs from "Spirit Blade". Yesterday I spent some time listening to all of them (as painful as that was for me) and made some quick notes on how I want to remix each one. Although these ideas are likely to change quite a bit over the next several months of mixing, here are the notes I've jotted down so far for a few of them. Please note that some terminology means one thing to me that it may not mean to others. A few other notes may not make sense at all. Happy decoding!

Destiny Remix Notes

This is a "trailer song". Distort/rough-up main synth loop, possibly adding octaves. Add much more percussion from the start. hard rock feel. This song should EXPLODE at the start, be moderate for the verses, build in pre-chorus and rage during chorus (with all silence just after "listen to his voice" and during "go on and take it cuz its") only to drop off again after chorus and rebuild.

Major beats of measures punctuated with monosyllabic choral stuff and orchestral pounces.

Soldiers Remix Notes

This is an industrial/percussion song. Remove techno pulse-beat and insert more industrial sounds, like the crazy beat used in Necromancy. Preset automated melodic material should be either re-recorded from keyboard recording (if one exists) in stereo, reperformed and recorded in stereo, or played with extensivey using pan envelopes to make a more stereo effect. This just sounds small, stifled and boring.

Deadly Game

In General, this may not need much.

First, polish the orchestral/choral elements by bringing them up in the mix and adding reverb or other effects where needed. Then add additional orchestral choral materia las needed to fill this out and make it work as a orch/choral/organ/harpsichord peice.

Record some REAL guitar for this song. Then find a unifying electronic sound (this may actually be the guitar, depending on how much your guitarist wants to play.) to add over the top to unify this with the rest of Spirit Blade.

There may be a place for electronic/distorted rhythmic elements as well.

Default reverb is Taj Mahal 3

Fly Remix Notes

Remove Techno pulse beat. This song needs a beat overhaul. Something harder edged, rock-oriented?

Also an active bass part.

Use an "ascending effect", sound effect or musical effect.

Golgotha's Tale

This song you can actually keep!

Give it the same treatment you gave "silence". Soothing, Electronic and Epic. Keep the piano, but it can't be the core instrumental. Add some layers, at least one of which is a "dirty" sound electronic amidst the expansive beauty, reflecting the ugliness of this beautiful act. Add some vocal layers, too, especially at the climax. Use other swelling sounds to build the drama of this song.

See how you feel about your vocals after all this is done to decide of you want to re-record.

-Paeter Frandsen