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It's July 7th. It's time for the Summer, baby. We've got heat, we've got humidity, we've got all the things needed to make you feel sticky... and not in a good way. But don't worry, I've got something cool for you. Yepper, it's time to start recruiting for the next An OverClocked Christmas album! We've got over five months before the due date, so let's see how many people are interested in taking part for the seventeenth entry in this (usually) happy, seasonal project. As per the norm, this project is open to any and all OCR members, regardless of whether you're a posted remixer or not. You want info? I got your info right here... When's The Project Deadline?- December 20th, 2024 at 11:59 P.M. EST. This is now a REALLY hard, non-negotiable deadline, since it's very close to Christmas. We've had lots of last-minute entries and updates over the years and, to be perfectly honest, it shouldn't be that way. With months of time, having to hold off as long as possible for people made things pretty hectic for myself and Dyne in the past. Treating this project like a college paper that doesn't get worked on until the last minute got annoying rather quickly when it kept adding up to lots of hurrying year after year, with last second updates to artwork and retagging/reuploading things. As such, you have until one minute before midnight EST on December 20th to get me the final WAV or MP3 of your song. After that, you're shit outta luck until next year. I need time to do everything, including possibly making a little website to host this project if Dyne isn't online for one reason or another. So this deadline's set in stone... PERIOD. What Information Does The Coop Need?- When you send me your final versions, I'll need what name you want to use (real or remixer handle) and the name of your remix. Please, come up with something when you send me links to the file, rather than just giving me a file called "ff6-owa-v3f.mp3" and nothing else. You don't have to tell me what song you're remixing, but I do need a name for the remix. Plus, if you have a website you'd like to pimp, supply that as well and I can add it to the MP3 tags. What Can Be Remixed?- Any song, really. Traditional Christmas carols, video game music, published music by a signed artist, music from TV/cartoons/anime... whatever gets your heart racing and into that Christmas spirit. This isn't an official OCR album, so you can draw from more sources than just VGM. Plus, you can take a non-Christmas tune, like the Main Theme from Space Harrier, Stage 6 Mission 2 from Metal Head, or I Defend STM from Truxton II, and turn it into a Christmasy one. So know that it's not limited only to songs that are Christmas-like to begin with. All that said, do keep in mind that if you want to submit your song to OCR later, you'll need to keep this site's guidelines in the back of your mind. But for this album, you can take it in just about any direction you want and get as crazy as you'd like (but please, no "Silver Bells" done in farts or something). How Long Can My Song Be?- As long as you want it to be. There are no restrictions on this, so whether it's 1:30, or 9:51 with a five minute guitar solo ala Metallica, it's all good. But again, if you want to submit your song to OCR later, keep their guidelines in mind. What Genres Can I Remix In?- Again, the door's wide open here. Rap, Metal, Pop, Piano-solo, Orchestral, Jazz, 8/16-bit, Barber Shop Quartet, A capella, Death Polka... it's up to you where you want to take it. What Format Should I Submit My Song In?- WAV or an MP3 of at least 192KB/s quality. I'll be tagging the MP3s and making MP3s from any submitted wavs, so you don't have to worry about that. But, if you'd like your website to be in the MP3 comments section, be sure to give it to me when you submit your song. How About A Little Music To Get Us In The Mood?- To help everyone along, here's a YouTube list of Christmasy tunes made by Ocre a number of years ago... https://ocremix.org/community/topic/32727-an-overclocked-christmas-~-now-recruiting/?tab=comments#comment-676914 What's The Website's Address Again?- It's got a new home at... http://williammichael.info/aocc/ This album will still be downloaded there as well, as Dyne will continue to host the albums on his site. How Do We Contact This The Coop Person?- If you've got questions, comments, concerns, want feedback, or your track is done and ready to be sent to me, you can PM me here on OCR, or send me an E-mail at thecoopscorner@gmail.com. Just be sure you remember to include a link to your remix, or attach it to your message. So yeah, there you go. You've got over five months to get something done for the lovely people of OverClocked Remix and the billions of listeners around the world who've become followers of our project. Good luck, have fun and make everyone some Nice Work™! Artists involved thus far... The Coop (director, cover artist and remixer) The Vodoú Queen (remixer) colorado weeks (remixer) Dj Mokram (remixer)

Back at it again, m'friends. Hope y'like.

I gave the original a listen, and while it sounds amazing in its' own right, I kind of like this version better. The section from around 1:07 - 2:30 was great stuff. Those sparkling bell tones were on point, as well as the all the little percussion elements. The drop at 1:04 was quality.

I mean, OP doesn't mention "basic prompts" or anything of the sort, it just mentions prompts. The "simple" part was by me 😋 There's really 2 points in the OP, one is about the ethics of how the models were trained regarding artist consent and copyright. I'm not sure if OCR's stance would be the same if the models were "ethically" trained or if, for example, a user trained their own model only on songs they made or something like that. There's a second point about the "interpretation" aspect of AI generated music, the "human touch". I think we simply disagree here, I don't think current tools provide much "human touch". Even if Suno allows for more than "a simple prompt", the "human part" is still a low percentage of the finished creation. Of course this could change with time and how the technology evolves but it's my stance on what I've seen of current technology. In the end, it's up to the community to decide how it approaches these things. I think it's fair if OCR decides it wants to focus on music that is created on a larger percentage by the "human touch" and, of course, policies can change over time as technology evolves.

I've been thinking about this. I had a look at the submission standards. I think they need to be rewritten for future submissions. 2.1. Your submission must be your own, original arrangement. 2.4. If your submission involves multiple artists, ensure that all artists: (are named, agree with the content policy, and are credited how they want to appear on ocr) Without any opting out of being part of the training data of some of the ai generators, and some of them (Udio at least) being sued over recreating copyrighted tracks, it's difficult to confirm that an arrangement is the artist's own, original arrangement. And while sample libraries and loops are licensed and don't need crediting, the artists contributing (without consenting) to the ai generators are contributing their arrangements and performances to the tool, which is turn generates (possibly overfitting) an arrangement based on some amount of prompt and directing. Would using a ghost writer for the arrangement and not crediting them (anywhere) be acceptable on ocr? I think that's a close enough analogy to some of what the ai generators do. 3.3. Any incorporation or arrangement of source material not from games (mainstream, classical, etc.) should be extremely limited. This isn't just something an ai generator might do, but when it does so, it might do so deliberately, as in referencing the track in the training data with the intent of recreating some of it. When a human does it, it can be coincidental, simply doing the logical thing based on a chord progression or rhythm, not having ever heard the thing it resembles. If I recognize that my remix is ripping off the 5/4 bass and brass combo from Lingus, I can rewrite it. But what if an ai generator recreates it and the artist doesn't recognize it because the artist doesn't know it? Can it be someone's own, original arrangement and be built on and contain sizable portions of someone else's track without the artist knowing it? 4.2. Your arrangement must be substantial and original. Submissions must be different enough from the source material to clearly illustrate the contributions, modifications, and enhancements _you_ have made. My emphasis. The ghost writer scenario applies here too. Different from the source can't just mean a close copy of some other track that exists in the training data instead. 5.2. Production must show significant attention to sound quality, mixing, mastering, and utilization of effects. Whose attention? Logic's gotten its new ai mastering tool (haven't upgraded and tried it yet). Isn't Neutron some kind of auto-mixing tool? Tools are tools, and it's difficult to draw a line exactly in between when a tool is convenient and when it does everything for you. I don't think ocr would reject a track for using Neutron or something. But at some point a tool is less a tool and more a collaborator. At that point, credit is due. And given how the generators are trained, and the black box between training data and output, how do you do that? I suppose a new section regarding ai generators should be added regarding where ocr draws the line. Don't know what it should contain. Do all notes need to be inputted by the artist(s)? Does the artist need to have had full control over each track in the mix? How does using an ai performance of the artists' notes count? What about non-neural-network automation tools that humanize things? -- My general stance is that it should be clear what an artist has done. Like in point 4.2. I know I get disappointed when I find out that the cool thing I like about a track is just a loop anyone could have used. What was impressive about the track and the artist is then just an asset they found. But that doesn't mean they can't use the tools available to them. A guitar player is using a tool to play the notes, more notes than they could produce with just their mouth. Usually. A composer isn't necessarily performing, and a performer isn't necessarily composing. People often select their sounds from presets rather than make their own. There are automated mastering tools, be they based on written algorithms or neural networks. There's no shortage of tools that simplify the music-making, but we all have some idea of what counts as effort and skill, and even if my performance on Eye of the Storm isn't all that interesting (if any performance at all), my choice of notes and sounds is what makes that track mine. I think that's the key. What did the artist actually do? What's the thing that makes this _theirs_? A full ban on everything related to ai is probably not the right direction, when much of the same criticisms of making things too easy can be said for automation like humanizing features in sample libraries, chord generators, arpeggiators and multiband compressors. And synths. And Hatsune Miku. And at some point we might turn into goat farmers. But there's the other direction too, where the artist is less creator and more facilitator. Director. Producer. Not performer, writer, designer. Patron rather than artist. I don't know if there's a convenient stopwatch-like criterion that can be used, so I think the best I can come up with, for now, is the question regarding an artist's work: "What makes this track theirs, and not the tool's?"

Hey all, So, I have been in a Street Fighter kick this summer, so I made two four covers inspired by the Alpha 2 soundtrack. These were made almost entirely with the Alpha 2 soundfont, which still sounds very good (especially if you are like me and longs for that mid-90s arcade vibe).

Hey everyone, UPDATE: My version of Dan's theme. Same rules as above - made almost entirely using the SFA soundfont. Enjoy!

not me im just getting younger :3

Glad you didn't waste any time turning that cool concept into a full remix. I can hear the melody much more clearly now, and the sidechaining is less aggressive without affecting low-end presence. Still digging the background voices that add character to the track. Overall this is a joy to listen to, tho I kept waiting for your signature chord-swap to roll-in. Wish you used a little more of the source, but this works wonders for the section you've chosen to arrange. Thanks for sharing as always Ruku. ✨

I'm in!

I actually really enjoyed this, both musically and the cheeky Rickroll nods. The vox voice added a lot to the wubby beat and the themes worked well off each other. Very nice ReMix.

Good feedback! At first, I wasn't planning on adding any percussion to it at all because it was going to be more like meditation music. It wasn't meant to be very dynamic. I threw percussion in there anyway, and I admit, it turned out pretty lazy and uninspired (which is probably why it sounds like it doesn't fit). I scrapped the percussion for now. Also, I decided not to submit it since this is more of a "remake" than a "remix" and I want to stick as close to the original as I can. However, I do have another idea for a low-fi/hip-hop version (an actual remix) that will be more dynamic and hopefully more acceptable according to OCR standards. So, there will likely be multiple versions of this song. This one is going back to the drawing board.

If life permits I'll jingle dem bells. 🎄

count me in for holiday cheer :)

Sign me up, as per usual. :)

Thank you! I wasn't looking for feedback in particular, as I consider this finished (hence the extensive visual work in the video). I just wanted to showcase some of my work here.

i have to strain it a bit - did a long walk and it's gone. while going spastic to music.

This was and still is an amazing piece of music. Everything from 2:24 to 3:20 is pure musical greatness. So smooth, powerful and moving. This remix has been the backdrop of many a moment in my life, and has earned its' spot on my music library where it will remain!

Just took a few long international flights and found this in their movie list. Ended up watching it three times, definitely picking it up when it gets a physical release: Also, Yearn in Years by Josiah Everhart has become one of my favorite albums of all time. You may have come across his video game lyric covers on Youtube before which are fantastic, but this original album of his is really great and deserves more attention. He's been re-recording new versions of a lot of the songs with Michelle Heafy as OrcaMind but I still really enjoy these original solo versions too.

Sorry to take so long to come back to this one! The detuning on the EP (or is it a marimba? sounds like a hammered instrument) at the beginning is a bit too heavy, and when the whistling comes in to double it, it gets sour. I recommend either not doubling with the whistle, or reducing the pitch shifting on the EP to match the whistles. The tremolo picking on the guitar isn't working for me - because of how tight the rhythm section is, it must be together with it or it sticks out uncomfortably. Tonally, the guitar is right where it needs to be; the (programmed) performance is not there yet. Overall, though, this is a great remix! Love the swap from bossa nova to waltz feel - wouldn't mind hearing the drums shift either to half-time or double-time for a section to give some difference in kind to add more spice.

Tonally, everything is working as it should. The clean guitar doing the chord strums feels like it’s not changing velocities or picking direction, which exposes the fakeness of the sample. I think you can get more mileage out of sliding the notes in your lead guitar as well, specifically on intervals that are greater than a whole step a part. The vibrato is great! Be careful of how long the reverb tails are on the leads, especially if you’re using both delay and reverb. The wash from the verb is definitely part of the vibe (I can’t hear a swishy-sloshy hi-hat in 6/8 without wanting some tasty reverb wash) but it can get out of hand pretty quickly. Good stuff, Mi! Can’t wait to hear what comes next

Wonderful - all three of these are :). Even if this one is driving me crazy cause everywhere I go I hear this chord progression (it's the Boulevard of Broken Dreams/Wonderwall progression, also about a million other songs it turns out...)

I love the piece, if I heard it out of context I would think it's official OST. I would have to agree that it's pretty conservative and I would prefer to hear more of the drums you have at the end, but with that said, I still love the dark ambience you've created along with a pleasantly faithful recreation of the original.

Hey there! Just had a listen to this, and I would definitely say I enjoyed it. Love the fact this is a faithful re-imagining of the original, whilst still putting a bit of your own twist onto it (like the swirly verbs echoing the violin/strings, heavy industrial/dark orchestral drums towards the end starting ~3:15, and the plucky acoustic guitar @ 2:00). The harp and piano combination is beautiful, as well. As a 1:1 cover, it does its job. If someone showed me this, and I did not know the original Ezio's Family track, I'd take this as basically either the original or an adaptation of it directly from / endorsed by Ubisoft. So from a rendition-standpoint, it's very lovely. I do ask, however, if you have more story to tell behind this or more ideas for it? Do you plan on submitting this to OCR? :) If so, you'd have to do a lot more to this to make it more your own personal take on the source, even if it's still a very conservative take more faithful to the source. If not, I'm curious as to how you ran into this source, and what compelled you to do a cover of it? :D

The opening doesn't stand apart from the original much, so I'm interested to hear how it branches out; this is just viewing it from the lens of OC ReMix's arrangement standards. The female vocals have more outward power & strength compared to the original song (not better or worse, just a slightly different tone). Loved the lead strings up until 2:00; nice richness to it. Acoustic strings at 2:13 also sounded nice. Piano at 2:27 was obviously sampled, but had reasonable body to it, even if it was too obvious it wasn't real; same critique for the strings at 2:42. The dynamics are there; you could argue this should be even more dynamic, but within a relatively narrower range of contrast, it definitely does its thing, especially with the beats arriving at 3:26 for the big finish. This have a nice added level of intensity & density to distinguish it from the original. Cool stuff! IMO, go ahead and submit this, Mellow Sonic! :-) https://ocremix.org/community/submissions/

Sounds like a great cover you've put together, mellowsonic! Your arrangement is almost 1:1 with the source material until a well-executed break to the bass elements at around 2:00. The build that follows works well -- love the ping-pong plucks at 2:13. The dark drums are a great touch at 3:24; I would have loved to hear them come in sooner, but part of why they're so impressive is because of how restrained the arrangement has been leading up to that point.

Hi Mellow Sonic! This one's a damn good cover. I really enjoy the change-ups at 1:59 and 3:30 - interesting palette swaps and epic trap-style drums. Is this one you're working up to submit to the site or just looking for general feedback?

I listened to this as part of a workshop event. It's very pretty (like the original) and faithful to the original. However it's too faithful/conservative in this case (it only seems to differentiate itself from the beautiful original around 3:20). I really like the dark and epic drums at that point and feel like this mix could've used them a lot earlier. Overall it sounds good for a cover.