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WE FINALLY DOIN’ IT! We need your help to add genre, mood, instrumentation and other tags to the OCR database. The full list of terms. The minimum of what we need for every ReMix is: Primary Genre (e.g. funk, metal, rap, EDM, jazz) Secondary Genres (when applicable) 1+ Mood (e.g. aggressive, goofy, romantic, sad) 2+ Instrumentation (e.g. acoustic-guitar, chiptune, piano, singing) Additional tag types we want to apply whenever possible: Specific Arrangement aspects (e.g. # of instruments, minimalist, extended soloing) Effects (e.g. distortion, glitching, lo-fi, vocoder) Origin (e.g. collaboration, created for a compo) Live production aspects (e.g. live ensemble, live recording, use of live instruments) Regional influence (e.g. Celtic, Japanese, world) Time (e.g. tempo, long or short duration, time signature) Usage (e.g. workout, winter/holiday, Halloween, meditation) This is a serious project, so you need to have a good understanding of what the tags mean and also have a good ear for labeling genres and identifying instruments and moods. We want to build an accurate library of tags for the remixes on the site. If you’re interested and you think you have what it takes, let us know right here in this thread and we’ll assign you a block of ReMixes to work on and PM you our tagging submission form where you can enter the data. THANKS! __ Can we add more tags to the list? No! We don't plan on adding many other tags, but if a good case is made for something we've overlooked, we may add more. Note on genres: We're not trying to add tags for every subgenre under the sun. We're going for pretty broad descriptions. We don't need "tribal Moombahcore chillwave"; EDM works just fine in most of those cases. Note on using "epic" for mood: We're not using "epic" as a synonym for awesome/amazing/yoooooooooooooo. We're using it to describe ReMixes that are grand, heroic, or anthemic in scope/tone, which isn't limited to orchestral and rock pieces. Note on lyrics and duration: Larry has already handled lyric-specific tags (original, existing, explicit) for all lyrical ReMixes, and duration tags for long and short mixes. Problems?! If you’re working on tagging your batch of ReMixes and run into an issue where something isn’t clear, then post here and let us know and we can help you.

Here are my reviews! Sorry for me being harsh, but I'm just being honest - please take no offense. And it's just my opinion so who cares I wrote them as I listened, so it's real-time feedback so to say Arsonist - bLiNd: Nicely setting the vibe and building up the energy. Huh, didn't expect the dubsteppy rythm afte that build-up. But it works I guess. Nicely done with the Flame Mammoth theme, although rather straightforward. The second part of the Maverick theme features some different chords, I liked that. Doppler theme doesn't blend too well with the single bass note I think, especially the end of it. It's missing some energy I think. Flame Mammoth is, again, nice but a repeat of what we heard earlier. All in all, nice mix, the vibe and energy are great, but the writing isn't that creative and the two themes feel too distinct. 7.5/10 Tiger Millionaire - Cam3: Oooh I like that intro! Drums seem very buried or overcompressed. And the high frequencies aren't too pleasant to listen too. Starts off with the Neon Tiger theme with some varying background instruments. Dissonant piano around 1:25 don't work for me. Guitar doesn't sound that good to me, since the rest had a very reverby feel (yeah I suck at technical terms, sue me ) - which is too bad, since the transition to Doppler was very smooth. Transition back to Neon Tiger is very smooth aswell. Nice mix, with some smooth transitions between themes, nothing too creative. Some production issues here and there. 8/10 Arma Gonna Topple That Dopple v0.1 - GrapplingHook: This sounds rather MIDI-ish, sorry bro Timing isn't too consistent and you seem to switch in to a cpmpletely different key with the melody at 0:40 (while keeping the background chords the same I think). The Armored Armadillo theme doesn't seem to blend in that well. It's (obviously) rather short as well. The laid-back version of the Doppler theme is a good idea and works; too bad it's (probably due to time constraints) really lacking in production and the armored armadillo part is not well executed 4/10 (sorry dude, no offense - honesty makes for better mixers in the long run ) MMMDop - WillRock: Hahahah that intro! Fucking epic. Those drums sound a bit weird though... Ah when the guitar comes in... Dude you are so good at building up songs with layering instruments. Although, I felt that before the 1:00 mark the "carrying" instrument should have already entered (hey, I need SOMETHING to critisize). Creative writing with the Doppler theme. I wasn't overly familiar with the Slash Beast theme (SNES fanboy, whatyagonnado? Also, didn't own a PSX), but it's a real compliment that I din't recognize the switching of themes the first time I listened to your mix. You really mixed them well; I especially like parts like 1:20, where the themes are intertwined. Bridge is very well done, building up tension and atmosphere. And guitar solo's with chiptune ladders <3. Nice variations in chords arend 2:30; and nice switch of vibe and improv afterwards. DUDE STOP DOING STUFF LIKE THIS IN ONE WEEK. Very much improv at the end, but still keeping a dynamic vibe and adding new stuff. Ending is a bit weak though, since there is none - it just stops. Conclusion: this sucks, worst mix ever 9.5/10

I Don't Run At All - Tuberz McGee: Jumping right into the action at the start of this mix. Organ sounds a bit fake to me and too buried. Ooohhh vocals. Oh, some harmonies are off. Mixing is very muddy. Timing sounds off at some parts as well. Nice adaptation from Crystal Snail, transitions into Doppler well. I think there is not enough variation in the chorus parts in the background, needs more dynamics. The accoustic ending is nice, but the transition is a bit sudden. OH GOD RICK ASTLEY - niccce. A bit of the opposite of bLiNd's mix imo: lacking production in many places, but some creative writing. 7.5/10 Is é mo aingeal imithe - Garpocalypse: Wow, interesting choice of genre - kudo's for doing this! Themes are very well rearranged so that they transition very smoothly. Some timing is a but off, and the accoustic guitars have a bit too high freq (or something, something sounds uncomfortable). Oh, I very much like the subtle "aaahh's" on the background. Gets a bit repetitive at the 3-minute mark. Ah, nice variation at the 4-minute mark; piano sounds a bit buried though. Oh, the sudden rise in volume at the transition is too much in my humble opinion. Creative writing, but for rearranging the themes in a different genre, chords and sturcture, as well as meshing them together and your original stuff. It drags on a bit at places and there are a few production issues - but this is an arrangement contest primarily so I'm overlookign those a bit . 8.5/10 Red Shifting Drift - Gario: This is my favorite theme, so you better do it justice Oh, nice blending of themes from the get-go. Again here, I think the synth frequencies are a bit too high. I really like your writing of the themes, they mesh very well together! The mix loses some energy at the 1-minute mark, which I think is too soon. Even moreso at 1:20. The synths with the alternating panning are very difficult to really make out, I think you should have done such a hard panning (and perhaps decreased them in volume a bit, they distract a bit). Nice blending of themes at 2:50. Nice writing, but really: the alternating synths gave me a bit of a headache (due to volume, frequencies and hard panning) 7/10 Thermoception - fxsnowy: That intro sounds like a que from a sitcom or something you've established a very smooth groove, while you also kept the ominous vibe from the Dark Necrobat theme, nicely done! Oh, I like the writing at 1:25 - feeling very creepy but clearly the Doppler theme, I'm impressed! I don't like the synths panned to the right, since there's nothing on the left to compensate. The dissonant notes in this vibe I think. Enough variations to keep it dynamic, but still keeping the overall unconformatable vibe. Good mix, excellent in having the creepy vibe from the Maverick theme while focussing on the melody from Doppler - and putting some nicely smooth grooving sauce on top of it. 9/10 Winter Weather Advisor - James Sutton: Those brass instruments sound fake to me, and something's off with the timing there. WOW, so much reverb. Things get veryy muddy very fast because of it. Seriously, what's going on here? This is partially due to the effects you're using. I'm getting the vibe you're going for here (I think - fast paced jazz, very dynamic with many changes throughout), but it just isn't perfectly executed and results in chaos. Nothing to creative with the main melodies either. Too much chaos; good ideas, but not executed really well - which is killing in such an approach 5/10 (again, I don't mean to offense) Just Give Me a Minute - DusK: Ahhhhh too much noise going on at once! Again - what the hell is even going on here? Start of the rest of Storm Eagle is very sudden. Meshing of themes doesn't work and the timing seems off throughout the mix. Time constraints I guess? Writing doesn't work that well, and everything is chaos. Productions isn't that good eith, unfortunatly 3.5/10 Dark Times, Happy World - Cash: Fair build-up, but the beat feels a bit bland - a shame since this is a minimalist mix. Transition at 0:50 doesn't work that well I think. Doppler adaptation at 1:20 is nicely done. Transition works better this time around, but the themes still feel to distinct. I'm also missing a clear structure in this mix. Mix misses a clear structure, and the themes do not blend together that well. Beat needs to be better in this genre I think 6/10 Beetle Dopplerganger - jnWake: Right from the start, the meshing of themes become clear, very nicely done! Really pays of when the lead sets in at 0:40, although it tends to drag a bit on at around 0:55. Transition to the next part feels a bit too sudden, and the lead at 1:15 feels diconnected genre-wise.Moreenergy coming in at 1:40 which is a good thing - the mix needed that. The background chords/piano/guitar are, however, too repetitive - they really needed a change in rythm. Thus, the mix drags on a bit and takes some energy away from the lead writing I think. Ending is a bit abrupt Started off really nice, but lacks variation and dynamics, which makes it drags on quite a while 6.5/10 Tropical Relaxation Method - timeaus222: Zero Tolerance you say? Oh, instant 10/10! Fine, I'll give a proper review: Ok... interesting intro... Could be very awesome if it pays off HAHAHAhaha, this is straight up DKC style! Awesome stuff tim! Didn't expect this from you to be honest; but it's executed nicely! Really, I can't stop thinking about DKC The Doppler theme is very buried however, it's there but it seems more like an a very original adaptation of Cyber Peacock with some bits and pieces of Doppler if you're paying attention. Very awesome vibe, very creative writing, but I'm missing the Doppler theme (and thus the bledning of themes) too much 8/10

Eventually, but it'll be back.

Sign me up for this! Raring to go!

I believe the term you're looking for is "speedcore"

=D As for distortion, I suggested that since certain methods of distortion strengthen the strongest harmonics of a sound. I tend to use overdrive or waveshaping (I like Fruity Blood Overdrive or Fruity Waveshaper); if you apply overdrive or waveshaping to drums (carefully, to avoid getting an overly-clipped tone), I find that it can bring out characteristics of the tone you may not realize are there on the clean sample. Since those characteristics that are most noticeable are the strongest harmonics, and one of these is for example, the fundamental, it'll add punch.

Really great round, guys! Reviews: bLiNd ~ Arsonist Really solid work here, and out of all the EDM tracks in this compo so far, the best production. My only production gripe is that the lead guitar felt like it stuck out of the soundscape for some reason; I think it was the reverb design and midrange EQ that did it. The arrangement was fairly predictable, but there were lots of subtle variation details. The incorporation of Doppler felt kind of "shoehorned in", so a decently-cohesive but well-executed track. Cam3 ~ Tiger Millionaire Cool concept. I get that you were going for kind of a grungy, techy feel. The production needed work in the Master track processing in that the whole track felt quite overcompressed whenever the drums played. The main drum samples also felt rather tonally weird, moreso the kick than the snare. I thought the sources were fairly well-integrated and personalized to the style. GrapplingHook ~ Arma Gonna Topple That Dopple v0.1 Not too shabby. To me the tempo felt a bit slow for what you appeared to be going for (not by much, just maybe 4~8 BPM). At 0:43 - 0:56, it felt like the lead was meandering. The production is alright, but could be better. For example, the intro guitars had quite a bit of reverberation in the treble frequencies, which isn't really audible once all the instruments come in. I find that the upper treble frequencies get cluttered fairly easily, and even the smallest EQ edits up there could help. Also, the drums felt fairly clean/uncompressed, and some controlled distortion and careful compression could have strengthened the tone of those drums some more. WillRock ~ MMMDop Dat title; what, X3 = times three, and so Mega Man X3 -> Mx3 = MMM, and then Dop? Aight, anyways, this arrangement is clearly exceptional. Loving the chord progressions throughout, especially the ones at 2:28 and 2:48. The wicked solos also weren't totally terrible (in other words, they were awesome). On the production side, I thought the midrange was a little bit cluttered with regards to the backing instruments (those could have used some slight mids scooping), but it wasn't a big deal to me. That shift to minor at 3:16 was also genius. Based on the chord progressions and crazy solos, and the solid production, this is pretty awesome. Tuberz McGee ~ I Don't Run At All Right off the bat this feels a bit quiet, but that's not too hard to fix, right? Some small crits of note: At 0:19, I can hear you make a noise with your mouth that you could have edited out, for example, and some of the fricatives and sibilances on the vocal takes don't line up to such an extent that I would call them "tight" (such as 2:13 on the "st" in "style"). And then there's the lyrics; funny, but perhaps a bit overdone on the frequency of usage. I get that that's your theme, so to speak, but I kind of anticipated cameos more so than repeated usages. I thought the rock part was fairly straightforward, and my favorite part was the acoustic outtro. The drums are serviceable, though they could be a bit stronger via some controlled distortion and careful compression. Garpocalypse ~ Is é mo aingeal imithe This was a refreshing vibe to hear amidst the more electronic tracks I tend to hear in compos. It sounded Irish to me, and I actually sang lots of Irish music in high school, so that's cool. The production is fairly clean, aside from the amount of reverb on the distant choir that shows up every now and then, and my main concern is the amount of repetition in the track. By about 3:07, I start to crave more variation in at least the textures, and if not, at least the chord progressions, or even the melodic contour. Maybe a stark left turn into a mood shift, or something new to keep us interested. I think after you incorporate more variation or eliminate repetitious areas, it's a pretty good candidate for OCR. Gario ~ Red Shifting Drift This could have been one of my top picks, actually. The lead sequencing was excellent, and the drums, while fairly generic tonally and in terms of the sequencing, are serviceable. My main gripe with this was actually the pad/synth choir you had going on, which had quite a bit of reverb and made the whole track feel a bit overly washy (the one exposed at 2:28). The sources were pretty well-integrated too. fxsnowy ~ Thermoception The intro literally felt like an X-style stage-select theme. HAH! The drums were fairly serviceable tonally, but they didn't seem to fit the mood I thought you were going for. If you wanted to go with that drum kit, I felt you needed a wider bass (even if by just a bit). The bells were pretty loud and lacking in velocity variation (such as at 1:24). I also thought at 0:46 - 0:48, the notes were rather weird, and there were some other spots that felt weird with the melodic contour and/or chord progression, such as 1:25 - 1:26, 1:36 - 1:37, and 2:13 - 2:14. My main issue with this is that the bass frequencies feel fairly bare, leading me to perceive a bit of textural sparseness overall. I realize that you actually have a bass, but it was written staccato for a good chunk of the track, so there's not as much of a "foundation" beneath the other instruments wherever it feels more fit to parallel the action of the bells and pads that each had long releases (ADSR). That really comes down to the flow of the way you wrote the bass, so I realize that it may not be an easy fix. Shadix ~ Winter Weather Advisor I see you were going for a Jazz Fusion feel. I think that tonally it worked. I enjoyed the less busy parts the most! One of my three main concerns with this is that in the spots where the drums are busiest, they feel conflicting relative to the other lower-energy instruments. Perhaps if the writing in those spots was lighter (such as using primarily overhead and not writing such hard hits), even if nearly as busy in terms of the rhythm, would feel less busy overall. My second is that there is a bit much reverb on most of the "primary" instruments. For example, the sax could have a higher low-cut cutoff frequency on its reverb to minimize low-mids reverberation (the character of the reverb is fairly perceivable at 3:07). My last concern was that the overall track feels overcompressed, but you knew that. I would check the Attack and Release on FabFilter Pro-L, and experiment with the Attack, Release, and GR settings on the LA-3A compressor emulation. DusK ~ Just Give Me a Minute Fun metal track! Sounds "like you" (easily identifiable as something you wrote). Rather short, though; to me it felt like it could have been longer, based on the arrangement flow, but that's alright. Fairly solid production, and I wasn't bothered by the clicky kick. I forget if that's FPC or something else. Cash ~ Dark Times, Happy World To me, the arrangement felt rather forced, and the stereo field was strange. I personally have (almost) never auto-panned a bass or anything having low-mids frequencies, because it tends to feel weird doing so. The people I know are so used to bass being centered (typical) or wide (dubsteppish). The overall soundscape also felt sparse, and lacking a chordal component; you seem to have tried to make up for it with reverb, but I think it would be more helpful to write chords. Lastly, the ending note tail needed to last in its entirety before the track ended, and it's an easy fix (just add an empty/silent clip at the end of the track, perhaps). jnWake ~ Beetle Dopplerganger The arrangement was really fun, and my favorite part of this was the chord progressions you used. The solos were quite nice too, though they could have used a synth tone that had more body to give them more of a commanding presence. The rhythm guitars were fairly straightforward but pretty realistically sequenced/MIDIed in. I don't think the lead guitar was really lacking realism, per se, but the execution of the performance emulation wasn't as impressive as a real person playing the same notes, and was lacking the variation in playing style that a real person would naturally incorporate out of human tendencies to not play the same thing the exact same way each time (even if it was written that way on sheet music). Overall, based on the chord progressions and pretty good solos, I think you should continue polishing this track in the guitars and solo synth tones and submit this sometime to OCR.

I pledge to make my kicks twice as clicky.

Halloween is still my goal, so let's hope the staff will eval and pass it quickly.

As a lurker/outsider, I would say that the vast majority of people who even know this forum exists know by now that projects come out on their own schedule. The rest are likely younger kids who aren't going to be silenced anyways. Honestly, I'm surprised at what (I agree with Brandon Strader) came across as being angry. It's an open forum. Asking about the release date is part of open discussion. If you don't want conversation regarding hype/release/joviality/etc., then it might be best to make Projects a closed forum, open to the artists, project managers, and judges only. I will say that my knowledge of such things are that the more "businesslike" a forum is, the less fun it is, which is completely against my impression of the OCR community. The main reason I've been lurking the past decade or so is that while I appreciate the work going on here, I have not the musical ability to feel comfortable with carving out a place here for myself. Lastly, I will say that for this project in particular, my impression is that folks are less concerned about "when is it coming out," than "IS it coming out." I'm sure everyone would have to agree that 5 years is a fairly long development period, given that most of it was done years ago. That's no a critique, I'm sure there are good reasons, but there will also be a natural amount of curiosity. Curiosity isn't a bad thing, neither is hype for a release. Since there has been significant movement in the last few months and the release is imminent, I would wager the posts here are more excitement than frustration. And frustration of "when do I get my free stuff" should just be ignored. That's all I have to say. As I crawl back in my hole I just want to say good luck with the release, and I'm sure it'll be suitably epic.

Went shooting in Salt Lake City this weekend, with some friends. I managed to come back with some good stuff. This one I make into a triptych measuring about 27in x 36in. I think I can market it pretty easily in this area.