WIP Yie Ar Kung Fu II

[Hellunen]

Hullo everybody

I finally got around to try my wings in making my own remixes. I practised on a few Galway tunes at first, they are nothing to brag about yet, but now my first real thing, Yie Ar Kung Fu II is almost ready. To me, this tune has always had a Chariots of Fire feel in it, and I've tried to underline the feeling in my version too without changing the original too much. Can't get the intro quite right though, the pitch bend is hard to nail. Same goes with the ending, even after a day's work of slo-mo listening and reverse engineering it's not 1:1, but then again, perhaps it doesn't have to be.

Any remarks, suggestions and criticism are welcome.

http://koti.mbnet.fi/~rpesonen/Piisit/Y ... u%20II.mp3

[SarahKreuz31]

It`s pretty minimalistic. But that`s what makes it great, enough room left to build up an ambience. And I love these "Matthias Steinwachs"-synths in the background, roaming from the left to the right ear. XD (reminds me of "Ambermoon" or something like that)
This is pretty good for a "first try"

[Analog-X64]

I'm torn between thinking if it needs a couple of more elements to make it fuller, or just the way it is.

I really like what I'm hearing so far.

Great job.

[Hellunen]

Thanks! I've consciously tried to keep things simple this time, the original surely deserves it with its calm and wistful atmosphere. I've had a bad habit of stuffing my pieces full of all kind of stuff after which they get way too crowded and sound awful. But perhaps I will add something subtle, when and if I find out what it needs and where. I'm also quite new to VST's and synthesizers in general, so I'm not yet able to achieve most sounds I'd like. The wonderful Vangelis horn present in Chariots of Fire for example, luckily I just found a video tutorial for it.

Sarah, I also started with trackers in the 90's, though on PC. http://www.mikseri.net/artists/hellunen.126110.php these are most of the best pieces I've been able to salvage from old HDD's from 10 years ago if anyone is interested. The problem of overcrowding is present on some of them, so much ideas to put in one song...

[SarahKreuz31]

Sarah, I also started with trackers in the 90's, though on PC. (...) The problem of overcrowding is present on some of them, so much ideas to put in one song...

If it isn`t the "overcrowding" it`s the feeling that a lot of things are missing. (the opposite of it) I feel kinda exhausted everytime I compose. It`s fun, that`s the only reason why I`m doing this every now and then...but...exhausting.

Yeah, your old Tracks are somehow progressive. But in a way that I don`t understand. Hard to tell in which direction the Song goes the next few seconds.

[Hellunen]

When I compose, I get bored of the melody after a while, as I only have done mostly instrumentals so far, and simply must come up with something new and different to put in the song. Just altering the melody a bit doesn't feel right but rather forced, so usually I come up with bridges or even something more radical. I've always been a prog fan, so unpredictability is a huge compliment and more often than not something I try to achieve.

For example my newest still unfinished original has only one short bridge in it, but the second part of the verse is sextuplet based, which makes a nice if simple contrast to the first straight one http://koti.mbnet.fi/~rpesonen/Piisit/1+valiosa.mp3

[Chris Abbott]

I always thought changing the melody was kind of like drawing on a tune with crayon, and that there was a lot more to be gained by messing with everything round the melody: sounds like a similar approach to yours...

[Hellunen]

I remembered another reason for picking this tune; it hasn't been widely covered yet, so the slate was clean. I've also begun work on Bombjack II and Mask, but are they OK to up here when finished as they aren't originals but covers of the themes of animated series? The first is heavily influenced by Thundercats at least, if not a straight copy.

[Chris Abbott]

On the Sidologie CD Marcel actually did "Yie Ar Kung Fu II" as "Chariots of Fire", and Reyn did a great version too on "Galway Remixed".

[Hellunen]

Well well, the resemblance was more obvious than I thought then, perhaps Galway was inspired by it too. I've heard Donne's magnificent One Man and his Droid done Jarre style, so I have to get that CD. Too bad it seems to be sold out at the moment.

[Chris Abbott]

Sold out? Where is it sold out?

http://www.c64audio.com/productInfo.php?cat=SIDOL

[Hellunen]

How dumb of me, I only checked the first hit, Lynnemusic, and assumed the worst.

[Hellunen]

All right. I reworked the ending and tweaked the first lead a bit. I still must variate the arpeggio in the end somewhat, but other than that, panning and levels, this piece is ready.

http://koti.mbnet.fi/~rpesonen/Piisit/Y ... Fu%202.mp3

[Rubinstein]

Sorry to bump an old thread...

I've always liked the YAKFU II title theme, but that might be largely due to nostalgia.

Personally, I prefer Donne's version to the one here, but that's just my opinion.

On the Sidologie CD Marcel actually did "Yie Ar Kung Fu II" as "Chariots of Fire"".

IMHO, that arrangement is the best version of the title theme of YAKFU II. (As for the whole Sidologie CD, I don't know why Donne decided to remix the Cobra theme though... After all, the SID was a cover of the original by Sylvester Levay.)

I've heard Donne's magnificent One Man and his Droid done Jarre style

Have you heard the original recording by Rob Hubbard? Perhaps it shares some similarities with Jarre's earlier works as well (might be far-fetched though, and some people may not like the comparison).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iOMFcT5nO8

[Hellunen]

I've heard that version of the tune and also the other one that have been circling around for a few years, there's been some controversy whether they really were by Hubbard or a clever ruse by some remixer. Both tunes are really good nevertheless.

I'm not at all surprised or disappointed you like Donne's version better. He's really talented and his astounding ability to mimic the sounds of the two greats show that he knows what he's doing whereas I'm just a beginner in modern DAW's, synthesis and remixing. I'm getting there though.

I'll upload this and my version of Galway's Rambo II after I have time to read the uploading instructions.