please read the channel descriptionKirbys Dream Land 3 - Ripple Field 1 (renoise arrangement)John Joy Tay2024-10-13 | i caved in and bought renoise
for a tracker with daw features like track mixers, vst support, automation, filters etc., it's pretty impressive what you can do with it. finally i get to do hq music without having to wrap my head around more conventional daws; i like the inconvenience of modern tracker interfaces myself, actually.
the first time i had to arrange for something hq like this, the biggest obstacle and wake-up call i had to face was the fact that uh, my mixing skills weren't up to snuff. fixing it was a nightmare. biggest thing i didn't know at the time of arranging was that sidechaining the bass was really important, otherwise the bass drum (kick) wouldn't be heard and be overpowered by the bass. this was pointed out to me by a server member of ours, lolwe. they've been mixing for about 7-8 years and counting so they understand it pretty well... and actually the final mix was made just this morning to actually fix the entire mix lol.
other more minor mixing issues were ironed out with eq-ing, which i have a bit of experience of, though it was pointed out by dinebon_, yet another (new!) server member, who was primarily a bassist. they also pointed out some unwanted dissonance i had put in for the arrangement.
i understand that mixing is pretty much subjective and everyone does it differently, but it should be worth pointing out that there are some rookie mistakes that someone like me _can_ make. i may be a good arranger but this mix wouldn't have sounded better if it weren't for people giving me advice and pointers on how to fix things. i definitely think that getting input from a variety of artists who have different strengths helps to put a mix together and give listeners a more comfortable listening experience, so from now on, i'll be at the very least, sidechaining my basslines with the kick for better mixing. sorry if this doesn't sound great for everyone lol
the vst i used on the other hand, has _a lot_ of technical problems.
i think we all here love the sound canvas series of midi synthesizers, but i unfortunately do not have the money to buy the physical hardware (yet), so i stuck to the roland cloud sc vst. god, it is a terrible technical mess...
obviously the sc is sampled beautifully, and is iconic in the video game music world, but how the hell do you mess up a vst _this_ badly? it has _inverted stereo_, which is, a fad from waaaaaay back when. i'm happy i got to simply fix this through audacity but good grief, man. i had to export each instrument one by one just so i could identify which instruments were cancelling themselves out on mono and which ones weren't. genuinely horrifying stuff. there are also the in-built low-end and high-end boosters, but what about the mids? i'm going to assume that it's just a feature of the time but god i honestly wish they added middle frequency knobs. not that i can't fix that with eq post-production, but i'd rather not do that (especially for the main melody) unless if the problem really is a big deal. again, i love the sound canvas, but i wish that the vst were better; the technical problems i had to work with ended up souring the experience. i wish people could actually fix it some day and turn it into something greater. i'll likely use the vst again but i also want to mix in other instrument and sample libraries as well!
in the meantime, this arrange gave me a crave for kirby again. i love kdl3 sm, it is my favorite game of the gb - snes era of games. idk how but jun ishikawa writes these intoxicating songs for kirby and i am just left to rot listening to them. they are waaaayy too good.
Song name: Kirby's Dream Land 3 - Ripple Field 1 (renoise arrangement) Written by Jun Ishikawa; Arranged by John Tay Mixed with Audacity
please read the channel descriptionfortress [s-smp]John Joy Tay2024-10-05 | i had a lot of fun trying out the smw soundbank! the samples themselves are pretty versatile but i think have very situational case uses. a little of the percussion comes from other games and i managed to get a lot more use out of the wavetable synth more than i thought. can somebody explain to me why it isn't editable beyond effects, though
Song name: fortress Written and arranged by John "Joy" Tay; Made with tildearrow's Furnace tracker
please read the channel descriptionSonic the Hedgehog - Star Light Zone (2× YM2612 + 2× SN76489 Arrangement)John Joy Tay2024-09-13 | star light, star bright, will you be with me tonight?
rom hack shown is SophieDude's Sonic the Hedgehog - Anniversary Edition from SHC 2021 @ sonichacking.org/vault
Song name: Sonic the Hedgehog - Star Light Zone (2× YM2612 + 2× SN76489 Arrangement) Alt. title: Star Light, Star Bright [2× YM2612 + 2× SN76489] Written by Masato Nakamura; arranged by John "Joy" Tay Made with tildearrow's Furnace tracker
please read the channel descriptionrrthiel - athletic (vocal mix)John Joy Tay2024-08-29 | for anyone who wants the commentary:
the pain of vocal production on a tracker with simple detuning controls
no, genuinely i can't tell you how frustrating the vocals were to tune; first i set the entire project to 435hz (440 is the default tuning that every single daw in existence uses), but the consequence of that is that it also lightly detuned every single sample, making timing very difficult to manage. i felt like the devil having to artificially extend my vocals to fit both the timing and get the tuning right, but you win some you lose some i guess.
on top of that i feel very unsure about my own vocal performance and there'd be a few noticeable tuning mistakes, i think? i mean before i tuned them again tonight they were even worse, but apparently the trick to that is just to listen to them outside my headphones; because listening to the lower frequencies to tune vocals isn't going to give great results. or maybe that's just me and my habits. my shit phone audio that exposed the mid frequencies did a good job at telling me that, "hey, you tune terrible for a gal that likes to say she does music production to people when you like silly video games and music that came out before you were even conceived"
venus theory made a very good point about having a "shitbox" (like, a boombox that is shit) youtu.be/1iK1wSciUkM so it exposes frequencies you would've never heard otherwise, and that was quite the enlightening experience to say the least. i wouldn't say my tuning is terrible; frankly i think it's fairly okay for someone with informal training and practice, but i genuinely didn't expect to go so out of tune in my one (yes, one) take of the main vocals... and then i learnt that way that the voice that you think you're singing varies widely with what's actually produced from your vocal cords, your mouth shape, and how much air you put into it. needless to say this was a really good, and *horrifying* learning experience, and hopefully this means more vocal covers and originals in the future.
as for the lyrics, i was going for the "mindless 80s love song" cheesy lovey dovey kind, and was inspired slowly after a few listens of the og song. it's not my first time writing english lyrics, but it's fair to say that it's really rare coming from me.
Lyrics
sometimes i feel like i'm afraid of heights (don't look down now) sometimes i feel like i wanna hold you tight oh you would never know the sight, because right now we're so high we could almost die but now you're here with me, i'm like on ecstasy if anything ever happens i won't mind
'cause with the two of us, our hearts combined we'll always have our time to shine together we can find a place or run away it's okay you could pretend that we would be so far but i will find my way 'cause you're my north star i hope that you and i are on par i don't wanna put my feelings in a jar
is it just my mind that is pacing, my chest that is aching the things i wanna say could be said everyday is it just my heart that is racing, the love we'll be sharing and we will never say goodbye you see that all is fine, now put your worries all aside
[guitar solo]
'cause with the two of us, our hearts combined we'll always have our time to shine together we can find a place or run away it's okay you could pretend that we would be so far but i will find my way 'cause you're my north star i hope that you and i are on par i don't wanna put my feelings in a jar
is it just my mind that is pacing, my chest that is aching the memories we'll make will never fade is it just my heart that is racing, the love we'll be sharing and i will always play my part we should take on the charts, or maybe begin from the start
Song name: rrthiel - athletic (vocal mix) Alt. name: Athletic Love Written by RRThiel; Arrange and lyrics by John "Joy" Tay; Made with tildearrow's Furnace tracker; (Lightly) mastered with Audacity
please read the channel descriptionrrthiel - athletic (ym2151 + ymz280b)John Joy Tay2024-08-17 | take me on
giving the people what they want, with me actually feeling genuinely accomplished about it for a change
honestly thanks for the love on the overworld arrange. i love rrthiel as much as any other person who loves silly chiptune, and i'm slowly improving and evolving in the process! the last time i did an rrthiel cover back in 2022 the mixing was freaking terrible haha. good to know i've come a long way, huh
speaking of! i made a vocal mix and wrote lyrics for it, so if you wanna do check it out! extra commentary is there too! ...in the description of that video, ehe. my boyfriend likes this i think he's silly youtu.be/3A3HQOXvEQ4
Song name: rrthiel - athletic (ym2151 + ymz280b) Alt. name: Athletic Love Written by RRThiel; Arranged by John "Joy" Tay; Made with tildearrow's Furnace tracker
please read the channel descriptionhave i grown [x2 ym2151 + x2 ymz280b]John Joy Tay2024-08-03 | this was made for our year-end chinese assignment, so obviously this song is in chinese. actually not too happy with it, but when i've spent abt a good month working on this i might as well post it to the channel. i've left my audience waiting for too long anyway.
genuinely the only thing i'm not happy with is the vocal execution and its mixing. incredibly amateur stuff. i hate it. maybe i'm just insecure with how i sound on mic, which is very funny because i thought i sounded fine when i tried singing to a ginger root song. maybe i just wrote the wrong song for my voice ig. i don't think i deserve to sell this on bandcamp though
also in regards to the future of this channel, i'll definitely have to be on hiatus for longer. stuck in school rn, and it's the only thing that's halting music production. because of the important exams we registered for, we have to focus our attention on it. even if i don't think it matters to me as much as it did, i unfortunately can't spend much time making music, added up with all the homework we have to do, this channel is basically abandoned.
regardless, cheers to probably many more experiments in the future
Song name: have i grown [x2 ym2151 + x2 ymz280b] Written and arranged by John "Joy" Tay; Additional guitar playing made with Caustic 3 Made with tildearrow's Furnace tracker Mixed with Audacity
please read the channel descriptionGinger Root - Loretta (YM2151 + SEGA PCM Arrangement)John Joy Tay2024-07-06 | on this new occasion of joy covering pop songs that she likes
Song name: Ginger Root - Loretta (YM2151 + SEGA PCM Arrangement) Written by Cameron Lew a.k.a. Ginger Root; Arranged by John "Joy" Tay; Made with tildearrow's Furnace tracker
please read the channel descriptionAnimetic Story Game 1: Cardcaptor Sakura - Groovy! (Sugar Sweet Mix)John Joy Tay2024-04-23 | so this is what the kids call "filler"
Song name: Groovy! Written by Kohmi Hirose; Arranged by Yuzo Koshiro
been very slow lately i apologise in advancePseudoregalia - Delirious Acting (YM2612 + SN76489 Arrangement)John Joy Tay2024-04-13 | a half-arrange-half-tribute
Song name: Pseudoregalia - Delirious Acting (YM2612 + SN76489 Arrangement) Written by potatoTeto; Arranged by John "Joy" Tay; Made with tildearrow's Furnace tracker Visuals made with kuma4649's MDPlayer
please read the channel descriptionUndertale Yellow - Vigorous Terrain (YM2612 + SN76489 Arrangement)John Joy Tay2024-03-24 | if starlo watched a crap ton of westerns then surely he's played lethal enforcers 2
this is a lazy upload
Song name: Vigorous Terrain (YM2612 + SN76489 Arrangement) Written by MyNewSoundtrack; Arranged by John "Joy" Tay; Made with tildearrow's Furnace tracker
please read the channel descriptionPseudoregalia - Outside the Castle Walls (SNES/ S-SMP Arrangement)John Joy Tay2024-03-20 | dude i love this song
Song name: Outside the Castle Walls (SNES/ S-SMP Arrangement) Written by potatoTeto; Arranged by John "Joy" Tay; Made with tildearrow's Furnace tracker
please read the channel descriptionUndertale Yellow - A Mothers Love (YM2151 + YMZ280B Arrangement)John Joy Tay2024-03-04 | SPOILERS FOR THE UNDERTALE YELLOW FANGAME (Pacifist Route)
Song name: A Mother's Love (YM2151 + YMZ280B Arrangement) Written by MasterSwordRemix, emBer, NoteBlock, Figburn; arranged by John "Joy" Tay Made with tildearrow's Furnace tracker
please read the channel descriptionranger-x goes to 7-11 (ym2612 + sn76489 original medley)John Joy Tay2024-01-29 | never done a medley before but this took me what feels like way too long
please read the channel descriptionft. @UhrwerkKlockwerx: Sonic the Hedgehog 2 - Oil Ocean Zone (YM2612 + SN76489 Arrangement)John Joy Tay2024-01-15 | first collab of the year!! this one's not so long since i didn't want this to be overkill.. did most of the work anyway.
i feel bad sometimes tbh
Song name: Sonic the Hedgehog 2 - Oil Ocean Zone (YM2612 + SN76489 Arrangement) Written by Masato Nakamura; arranged by John "Joy" Tay, Uhrwerk Klockwerx Made with tildearrow's Furnace tracker
yes i am still working on original music ty for askingSonic the Hedgehog - Green Hill Zone (2024) (YM2612 + SN76489 Arrangement)John Joy Tay2024-01-01 | warmup for tha year so i ain't doing too much for this one also lazy to edit video
Song name: Green Hill Zone (2024) (YM2612 + SN76489 Arrangement) Written by Masato Nakamura; arranged by John "Joy" Tay Made with tildearrow's Furnace tracker
please read the channel descriptioncaving in (ym2612 + sn76489)John Joy Tay2023-12-24 | last upload of the year (probably). sorry guys i was busy cooking
Song name: caving in Written and arranged by John "Joy" Tay; Made with tildearrow's Furnace tracker
stay silly for 2024 guysChrono Trigger - Corridors of Time (YM2608 Arrangement)John Joy Tay2023-12-06 | the song that made you question what a gamelan is
Song name: Corridors of Time (YM2608 Arrangement) Written by Yasunori Masuda; Arranged by John Tay Made with tildearrow's Furnace tracker
please read the channel descriptionYuji Ohno, Ichiro Mizuki - Love Theme from Lupin III (Vocal Ver.)John Joy Tay2023-11-07 | This is the first time I've uploaded something that isn't of my own. Honestly really surprising coming from my part.
This vocal version of the Love Theme from Lupin III Part 2/ Red Jacket is extremely hard to come by normally on YouTube; I've been desperate finding it for months, only recently knowing that the original uploads are actually blocked worldwide. No wonder it was so hard finding this.
I however managed to come by it from a full album upload of Lupin The Third Vocal Selection Vol. 1 by Wallside Fly (here: youtu.be/ZR_sOd_6mMg?si=8kV5nCispxHJvTkH). I then trimmed the audio to just the Love Theme. Originally I was going to upload it with the Vocal Selection album cover, but I then decided that I upload it with its first ever release instead, which was on the Theme from Lupin III / Love Theme from Lupin III vinyl release. It has what it says; its A-side being Theme from Lupin III, and its B-side being the Love Theme from Lupin III, both the vocal versions used in Red Jacket Season 2. The Lupin III Fandom Wiki and VGMdb coming in clutch with this one.
The Love Theme is pretty killer and all but I've always thought it'd go so much better with vocals, and recently binging the Red Jacket seasons reminded me of how charming and on point this vocal version is. Truly unfortunate that Ichiro Mizuki died from lung cancer in December 2022. My deepest condolences to him and his family. I'll try to cover the Love Theme some day; maybe even spin it for my own with my very own arrangement.
Yuji Ohno has been a favorite jazz artist of mine ever since I've started watching Lupin III, and I'm very glad that's the case because I've been listening to this kinda stuff for a long time. It's good to have an inspiration like him under my musical arsenal, though I admittedly have some catching up to do. Glad to be a fan, though!
Song Credits (from VGMdb):
SIDE 2: 2nd Ending Theme (episodes 27~51) Lyrics by Kazuya Senke Composed and Arranged by Yuji Ohno Vocals by Ichiro Mizuki Accompaniment by You & Explosion Band
I'm incredibly lazy to do music at the moment, so I guess I'll catch ya' later!Sonic Superstars - Press Factory Act 1 (YM2612 + SN76489 Arrangement)John Joy Tay2023-10-30 | dr. robotnik's ball crushing machine
Song name: Press Factory Act 1 (YM2612 + SN76489 Arrangement) Written by Jun Senoue; arranged by John "Joy" Tay Made with tildearrow's Furnace tracker
please read the channel descriptionSonic Superstars - Sky Temple Zone (YM2612 + SN76489 Arrangement)John Joy Tay2023-10-26 | the baby. she rises
Song name: Sky Temple Zone (YM2612 + SN76489 Arrangement) Written by Jun Senoue; Original arrangement by Rintaro Soma; arranged by John "Joy" Tay Made with tildearrow's Furnace tracker
please read the channel descriptionPeppered Ivy (9×Generic PCM DAC)John Joy Tay2023-10-19 | snesn't
rushed editing style yet again! i am on a roll spent 2 weeks on this so i hope that it was worth the wait. been so busy that working on this has been more torturous if anything
Song name: Peppered Ivy Written and arranged by John Tay; Made with tildearrow's Furnace tracker (lightly) Mixed in Audacity
please read the channel descrptionSocket Superstars - InvincibilityJohn Joy Tay2023-10-14 | it's been a bit since i've uploaded; i prromise you it's because i've been busy w school
Song name: Socket Superstars - Invincibility Written by Shigenori Masuko, Yoko Suzuki, Fumito Tamayama; arranged by John "Joy" Tay Made with tildearrow's Furnace tracker
technically speaking this is an electrical leak so uh. clever joke made!RednGreen - Cursed Cathedral (YM2612 + SN76489 Arrangement)John Joy Tay2023-10-01 | me? gongaga
Song name: Cursed Cathedral (YM2612 + SN76489 Arrangement) Written by RednGreen; arranged by John "Joy" Tay Made with tildearrow's Furnace tracker
please read the channel description...Delve!!! (YM2612 + SN76489)John Joy Tay2023-09-19 | lazy upload style because i have a visual arts portfolio to finish
Song name: ...Delve!!! (YM2612 + SN76489) Written and arranged by John Tay; Made with tildearrow's Furnace tracker
please read the channel descrptionThe Great Ace Attorney - Pursuit - Time For a Great Turnabout (YM2608 Arrangement)John Joy Tay2023-09-10 | because it was worth pursuing
Song name: The Great Ace Attorney - Pursuit - Time For a Great Turnabout (YM2608 Arrangement) Written by Yasumasa Kitagawa, Hiromitsu Maeba; Arranged by John "Joy" Tay Made with tildearrow's Furnace tracker
please read the channel descriptionMega Man 6 - Mr. X Fortress (YM2151 + YMZ280B Arrangement)John Joy Tay2023-08-26 | john cena (trumpets blaring)
Song name: Mega Man 6 - Mr. X Fortress (YM2151 + YMZ280B Arrangement) Written by Yuko Takehara; Arranged by John Tay Made with tildearrow's Furnace tracker
please read the channel descriptionVectorman - Oshin Thing (PAL Ver.)John Joy Tay2023-08-19 | vector are my favorite guy
Song name: Vectorman - Oshin Thing (PAL Ver.) Written by Jon Holland, Kyle Gordon; ft. DJ Crazy Times & Ms. Biljana Electronica Arranged by John Tay Made with tildearrow's Furnace tracker
please read the channel descriptionMega Man Zero 2 - Departure (YM2151 + YMZ280B Arrangement)John Joy Tay2023-08-06 | let's rock, man
Song name: Mega Man Zero 2 - Departure Written by Masaki Suzuki, Luna Umegaki, Tsutomu Kurihara; Arranged by John Tay Made with tildearrow's Furnace tracker
please read the channel descriptionJohn Tay - Intermission!! (YM2612 + SN76489)John Joy Tay2023-08-01 | a jesper kyd x tim follin styled original! made for no particular reason at all
Song name: Intermission!! Written and arranged by John Tay; Made with tildearrow's Furnace tracker
i have other things on my mind so i apologize for the half-shitpostGunstar Heroes - Rolling Chaser (YM2612 + SN76489 Recreation)John Joy Tay2023-07-22 | i like the cover art i took for this video
Song name: Rolling Chaser (YM2612 + SN76489 Recreation) Written by Kazuo Hanzawa, recreation by John Tay; Made with tildearrow's Furnace tracker
please read the channel descriptionstargazing (ym2612 + sn76489)John Joy Tay2023-07-13 | "i ponder into the night sky as i wonder, '...is there really any hope out there?' and so, the stars answered."
...or some corny crap like that idk. i felt inspired to do an opening theme simply to break a bit of the pace with s&k alternate. honestly i just want it to be over with already; i'm simply developing fatigue for it again. don't want another half-year hiatus lol
Song name: stargazing Written and arranged by John Tay; Made with tildearrow's Furnace tracker
please read the channel descrptionNaofumi Hataya, John Tay - [Alternate] (S&K) Boss Theme (YM2612 + SN76489)John Joy Tay2023-07-08 | despite everything, egg dragoon mk ii still goofy as hell
Song name: [Alternate] (S&K) Boss Theme (YM2612 + SN76489) Alt. Title: [Alternate] Boss Theme (Egg Dragoon Mk. II) Written by Naofumi Hataya; arranged by John Tay; Made with tildearrow's Furnace tracker
read the channel descriptionJohn Tay - [Alternate] (S&K) Credits (YM2151 + YMZ280B)John Joy Tay2023-07-02 | just a reminder that we're not done yet! more to come whenever i feel like it.
Song name: [Alternate] (S&K) Credits (YM2151 + YMZ280B) Alt. Title: Life Will Go On Written and arranged by John Tay; Made with tildearrow's Furnace tracker
clever joke about the channel ending because this is a credits themeJohn Tay - [Alternate] Mushroom Hill Zone Act 2 (YM2612 + SN76489)John Joy Tay2023-06-24 | happy belated birthday sonic
Song name: [Alternate] Mushroom Hill Zone Act 2 (YM2612 + SN76489) Written and arranged by John Tay; Made with tildearrow's Furnace tracker
yu-no, i still have more work to do. stay tuned!!The Legend of Zelda: Links Awakening - Mabe Village (2A03 + VRC7 Arrangement)John Joy Tay2023-06-14 | i have never played link's awakening
Song name: The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening - Mabe Village (2A03 + VRC7 Arrangement) Written by Kazumi Totaka, Minako Hamano, Kozue Ishikawa; Arranged by John Tay Made with tildearrow's Furnace tracker
read the channel descriptionRibby: The Game - Im Gonna Teach You a Freakin Lesson! (YM2612 + SN76489 Arrangement)John Joy Tay2023-06-07 | simply a change of pace from sonic & knuckles alt uploads lol
Song name: Ribby: The Game - I'm Gonna Teach You a Freakin' Lesson! (YM2612 + SN76489 Arrangement) Written by valfrey/ megan/ diamondthorns/ @meganvioletkelz; Arranged by John Tay Made with tildearrow's Furnace tracker ______________________________________________________________________
read the channel description, i have homework to doJohn Tay ft. @UhrwerkKlockwerx - [Alternate] Lava Reef Zone Act 1 (YM2612 + SN76489)John Joy Tay2023-06-05 | after the impatience of many, lava reef act 1 has finally arrived! with a collab, surprisingly. feel free to support uhrwerk whenever you can.
Song name: [Alternate] Lava Reef Zone Act 1 (YM2612 + SN76489) Written by John Tay; arranged by John Tay, Uhrwerk Klockwerx; Made with tildearrow's Furnace tracker