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OCR02422 - *YES* Nemesis the Warlock 'Nemesis the Doorlock'


OceansAndrew
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Your ReMixer name: Makke

Name of game(s) arranged: Nemesis the Warlock

Name of individual song(s) arranged: N/A

Additional information about game including composer, system, etc. (if it has not yet been added to the site):

Rob Hubbard, Commodore 64, Martech Games Ltd 1987

Link to the original soundtrack (if it is not one of the sound archives already available on the site):

http://www.c64.org/HVSC/MUSICIANS/H/Hubbard_Rob/Nemesis_the_Warlock.sid

Your own comments about the mix, for example the inspiration behind it, how it was made, etc.:

I used to love the comic Nemesis the Warlock, but never really got the greatness of the game. I loved Rob Hubbard’s soundtrack for it though. The gloomy theme perfectly captured the dark and cynical atmosphere of the comic.

I’ve been wanting to remix this track for years, but never had an idea that does it justice, and with Mixer’s (http://remix.kwed.org/download.php/3275/Mixer%20-%20Nemesis%20the%20Warlock.mp3) excellent jazzy remix of it I gave up.

Then I got the idea of making it into a late 60’s, The Doors-like arrangement. I even tried singing like Jim Morrison to begin with, borrowing a few of his poetry phrases for the lyrics. But it sounded ridiculous, so I went with “my own” voice in the end. I kept the original remix-name idea, Nemesis the Doorlock, as it was just too cheesy a word play to pass up on.

Hope you enjoy it! Be pure! Be vigilant! Behave!

Regards,

Makke

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  • 2 weeks later...

The first thing I'm noticing right off is that it appears you've panned the bass and synth to the left channel, and the guitar and drums to the left. Some subtle panning is alright, but this is nearly exclusive, and it just feels very strange in headphones. It's hard to comment on the balance or production because of the set up.

The lyrics are a little difficult to make out, but you've got a good style for your voice, and intonation is good. Overall the arrangement feels a little sparse and repetitious, especially the opening, which could be pretty much cut in half. Overall I think you could add some more counter melodies or parts to give this a little more flavor.

I think you've got a pretty cool idea here, but it needs some adjusting.

NO (resubmit)

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I think the arrangement idea is very solid, and it definitely feels like The Doors, but the issue with the intro being so long is that it's 25% of the entire running length of the track. I do realize that the source itself was like this to some extent as well, but the original was also over 8 minutes long, and could afford to be drawn out.

The bass panning is a little strange, as it heavily weights the track in a specific direction, and isn't quite consistent with The Doors's production style. They had frequently hard panned instruments, but the bass and drums were almost exclusively centered.

Overall I dig this concept a lot, but it needs a little bit of tweaking, I think.

No, please resubmit

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  • 4 weeks later...

Aside from the panning, I thought this was sweet and pretty much a dead ringer for the Doors' style. I can buy Deia's comment about this needing more partwriting - I would have loved an organ solo, even a lick here and there - but the backing instrumentation was new if subtle and contributed to the overall Doors mood. Vocal performance fit like a glove. I'm not sure if other judges will dig this the same way I did, but I think with more centered panning (a two-second fix) this is good to go.

YES

EDIT: Changing to YES but I think we should ask if he wants to center things.

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  • 1 month later...

very cool adaptation, though I do agree that the intro was too long. the original melodies seemed somewhat lost in the translation to vocals, but I'm still hearing the source in here just fine. I agree that there's still a lot you could do to expand on this, but I feel that what's here is pretty solid none-the-less. the hard panning on the bass bothers me though; would at least like to see that fixed.

YES(conditional)

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  • 2 weeks later...

I'm fine with the panning. It's kind of like Marc Star's Super Metroid "Dirty Sam" that had a pretty loud, pulsating sound panned pretty hard left. Ideally, it would be more centered, but it still wasn't a dealbreaker.

The arrangement was fine overall, IMO. I agree that once the vocals came in, the source felt pushed back a bit too much, but the patterns were always there during the verses, and used interpretively in adapting the theme to this style. The long intro wasn't a bother at all, especially when the intro's based on the source. It could have been an issue if the overall arrangement was underdeveloped, but that wasn't a problem.

There were some flat notes with Marcus's vocals that were unfortunate (e.g. 1:33 "skies", 2:23), but overall the performance was capable enough. The vocals were too dry though, and it would have been great to muddy them a bit for a more legitimate throwback sound that, in turn, wouldn't expose the vocals as much.

I liked the Doors style here, though I felt the bass work sounded too rigid, which was a bigger issue than usual given how sparse the soundscape was. 2:35's section was definitely a bigger example of the timing being too tight re: the lead.

That said, this was otherwise clicking solidly, even if various tweaks would really put it over the top. VERY glad to hear more from Marcus submitted to OCR, he's a creative beast.

YES

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Excellent, this is a Hubbard tune I haven't heard yet. I can cross this one off the list now.

And that's certainly a direction I wasn't expecting this to be taken. Very cool. The intro is longer than I'd personally have liked, but it's source all they way through and there's still close to three minutes of awesome that comes after it, so no worries.

The panning isn't really that much of a problem, although the bass in particular does leave things a bit unbalanced in that direction. Squeaky clean otherwise. I can get behind this.

YES

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