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I'm happy to announce a couple of staffing changes here at OCR. First up, I wanna welcome @Hemophiliac to our Judges Panel! Hemo's been putting in the work for the last few years as one of our Workshop Evaluators, and has also stepped up in the past few months to handle a lot of the visualizers for the remixes you see on our YouTube channel. He's an active presence in our community and has a lot of helpful advice in the Workshop. We're glad to add him to the panel. Look forward to getting some fresh new NO votes on your tracks! Speaking of Workshop Evaluators, a few months ago we retired our Ready for Review process in the Workshop because we felt that it was a cumbersome extra layer of evaluation prior to submitting to the Judge's Panel. Our Evaluators did a lot of great work over the years but we're retiring that role. In it's place, we're introducing our new team called Sages! Sages are active artists in our community who'll be in the Workshop giving feedback on remixes, posting tutorials, and coming up with their own ways to revitalize and energize the Workshop. Our three new Sages are @Xaleph, @pixelseph, and @paradiddlesjosh! We're glad to have some fresh faces on staff, and I'm personally looking forward to seeing what these folks have in store for us. -- DarkeSword

It's a huge pleasure to be fulfilling this role! Over the coming weeks, you'll be seeing my mug replying to your posts in the workshop and (if I'm doing things right) I'll be providing you with means to make improvements to your writing, arranging, and/or mixing. Can't wait to hear more of what y'all have cooking out there!

Starting today, the sharing of music generated by feeding a prompt into AI-software is prohibited on OC ReMix, both here on the forums and on our Discord. LLMs, AI, and other machine-learning technologies are both interesting and impressive, but the implementation of these technologies in popular usage rely largely on unethical training practices. Copyrighted works are used without artist consent to train commercial AI-models. Moreover, OverClocked ReMix has, over the course of over 20 years, established itself as a place for artists to learn about the composition and production of music and hone their craft. We ask artists to pay tribute to VGM through the art of interpretation; we're looking for the personal spin, the human touch. I, personally, don't believe audio generated by a machine-learning algorithm is doing that. There are ethical implementations of AI-technology in the music sphere, such as sample libraries, physical modeling software, and audio production suites that use machine-learning to perform complicated tasks that an artist can use in the production process. Sharing music that uses this kind of tech is absolutely fine. But tracks generated wholly or in-part by services like Suno and Udio (among others) do not belong here. And just to clarify, the discussion of machine-learning, LLMs, and AI here at OC ReMix is not prohibited, but should be tempered by an understanding of the goals of our community, which include artistic development and education and the appreciation of VGM through thoughtful exploration and interpretation. Thanks. -- DarkeSword

I'm really excited - we have some cool stuff planned ahead!

Awesome to see this Sage business! This is important stuff. Just yesterday I was talking about OC ReMix's rare feedback culture to a musician friend of mine. Can't wait to see what you come up with.

Additional ears? You got it. I'm coming in cold on this one so you're going to get all of my impressions - not saying that all of this needs to be addressed to pass a resubmission, but hopefully you can make use of the brain dump. The intro brings some really cool flavor - the noisy distorted elements remind me of Porter Robinson's Fellow Feeling (see the 3:00 mark if you're short on time.) If you're going for random blasts of noise, I think this works - if you're trying to make it sound like footsteps stomping through, it's not giving that impression at all because every stomp is exactly the same. There's no variation in the sample and it reaches uncanny valley territory fast when you play the sample multiple times in a row. This all boils down to what you are going for here, but either way, I think some subtle variation with each repetition of the sample/layer of samples (without knowing how you actually did this) would build immersion. Some of your orchestral elements (flute, glock) are very resonant, oftentimes peaking at their fundamental frequency between 3-6db above everything else. The bells in the intro also feel comparably dry. This will probably get ironed out in your next pass, but I'm going to point it out anyway. The orchestral sequencing sounds workable for the most part, you're getting good mileage out of your samples. It's not the best but I do think you're using them effectively for the most part - the main areas that sound really noticeably fake are the half-step chromatic runs on the strings at times like 2:48. I just don't think the big ensemble patch moves fast enough to accommodate that writing, and would recommend adjusting the lead writing to fit better within the limitations of your samples. I also feel like the intro could use some deeper sub bass presence. It's not that the stomps aren't contributing any bass frequencies, but a big cinematic sub drop or sustained bass to accompany the stomps (see Fellow Feeling) would make this feel much more dynamic, or have some risers building up tension in the low end leading into :49. The decision to intersperse various melodic elements (glock, harmonic strings, cello) was a good one - otherwise, this intro would be way too long. It already feels a bit lengthy as-is, but those additions help pad it out quite a bit and justify the length. However, this gets to the problem of transitions and buildup, which I think is my biggest gripe currently. There is rarely much going on to signal that we're approaching a new musical idea, so even though you have some very dramatic changes throughout your arrangement (which are quite inspired and interesting, I must add!) they come on very suddenly. Cinematic risers, fills, sweeps, etc. are a part of this equation and could definitely be used to greater effect here to bridge your gaps, but there's another element I want to touch on: the idea of movement in your part writing. You do a great job building atmosphere and have all the makings of a very dramatic song, but there's a lack of movement on a compositional level. When cinematic music is clicking well, composition and sound design have a lot of synergy. Right now, you are doing a good job building an interesting sound palette for each individual section, but the underlying chord progression feels weak. It hovers around the tonic chord for most of the time, and even when you do have chord changes, they don't feel properly supported with anything strong in the lower frequencies. This is where a bit of music theory troubleshooting could go a long way - your melody has many opportunities for powerful chord movements that build drama and tension, especially as you lead into new sections, but you're not fully capitalizing on that potential. I don't think it would even require changing up much fundamental about the rest of the parts; just identify the chord progression you're playing and make sure that there's strong support in the bass for whatever chord/root note you're trying to play. I don't know how else to suggest addressing this without studying up on some fundamentals of music theory, but certain chords just move naturally into others and can help you allude to future changes and help transition between vastly different musical ideas in a way that feels rewarding. I think you're running up against some of the same problems I faced before I made the decision to finally start researching music theory. I had a conceptual idea in my brain for what each section of my song was supposed to do, and could support it in terms of selecting sounds and picking grooves/effects/etc., but it boiled down to luck whether or not it worked on a fundamental composition level, and I spun my wheels trying to fix that issue with every other production tool known to man. I think if you were to pick an area to focus on, the big orchestral section starting at 2:36 would be where I'd focus my energy most. Everything else before and after that can skate by a little easier, but when you're trying to make a big melodic orchestral statement, the fundamentals need to be strong first. Figure out what chord you're playing on each measure and map them out in sequence using just a basic patch. I find that it helps to actually just plot my chord progressions out on piano so there's no temptation to get distracted by sound design. See if the song sounds strong and compelling when it's just played on a single instrument, and go from there.

Thank you for feedback. I restarted the remix from scratch so it fits to the submission rules, I added an early version here. This time its a little more on the funky than the deep side esto gaza oc remix.mp3

Hello, I'm sharing a wip for a remix of Tomorrow and Tomorrow after receiving live feedback on the OCremix discord. The goal was to mimic the style of Imagine Dragons (ie Warriors) Source from 0:00 - 1:05 of and below is a earlier wip to compare changes I've made (for better or worse)

Hey Vylent! As was mentioned in the live feedback, having space between vocal phrases is helpful for the listener to digest what the vocal passage is doing and saying. The guitar lead in the older version is a great example of creating that space between the vocal phrases! The intro in the older version has a stronger build than the current, though it goes without saying that your vocalist, Sirenstar, is absolutely wiping the floor with the AI vocal. Returning the levels to the drums on the out (as in the older mix) would better realize the vision of getting this mix close to Imagine Dragons. There’s some rough cutting on the vocals around 2:44, and the breath coming in around 2:48, 2:52 is a bit hot. I think that’s most of the feedback from last night! I am really looking forward to hearing this get polished and see it get submitted!!

Hey Xaleph, I think you've pulled some of my VSTs from the Discord server anyway, but here's a list of some stuff I use commonly: VST Instruments u-he's Zebra2, Hive, Diva. All the u-he synths are notable for having free versions with very limited paywall restrictions; the free versions don't limit settings at all, they just play static or randomize notes intermittently after 20 minutes of rendering/use. This can be worked around by reloading the instance, and it's obviously an easy workaround for final mixdown. FM8 by Native Instruments - goes on sale a lot FMDrive - very cheap Genesis/Mega Drive synth that can read the original instrument files Roland Sound Canvas - not free but essential for a lot of GBA/SNES type sounds. A lot of them make up GBA soundfonts unaltered; Golden Sun, Pokemon, etc. Sforzando and Samplelord are both worth bringing up as soundfont interfaces; the former is free and the latter can notably read some proprietary instrument files used in E-mu kits like the Proteus. Performance Samples has paid VSTs but also a lot of freebies; I use the strings and percussion a lot. They just require a certain version of Kontakt. VST FX Guitar Rig - I use Guitar Rig 5 specifically. Its amps/cabinets are really diverse and convincing and I use the reverb effects on pretty much everything. Convology XT has a free version with a lot of convolution reverb presets. I use them in conjunction with these Impulse Responses a lot to emulate how reverb effects were achieved on the PS1. EliteReducer 2 and CMT Bitcrusher are both free bitcrushers. MeldaProduction has a lot of versatile free FX; I use MCompressor for sidechaining and MVibrato for gated/tremolo effects. ToneBoosters has a lot of free legacy FX i.e. Barricade. Tokyo Dawn Records has some good free/paid FX like Kotelnikov; I use the paid version on my master bus pretty much all the time.

Oh man, you gotta add Famisynth to the list! Not only is it 8-bit heaven, it's 100% free. http://mu-station.chillout.jp/plugins/FAMISYNTH-II/index.html

I only now realized I got another wooden spoon to my proud collection in the final round

Not bad at all, you'll be hearing an update in here before the end of the month.

yeah, i got lucky a few days back, in the morning. this old fav tune sprang into my mind, green hills (actually, stage 5 in the 8 bit sonic 2!) it's pretty WIP-y after 2 minute mark. i'm a bit stuck for now, but idea is a buildup of course, to something.

you already helped a bit i think...i started something a few days ago after writing&reading on here. it's not super duper but was enough to make me quite happy. was so starved for getting a groove going before!!

ha, that's cool redshadow. i haven't been using soundcloud for a while. i'll get back to you when i have anything new and noteworthy, because i love the idea of my music being blasted to some random ppl in the states. but it's gotta be something new. my music from 2018ish was really just about coping with the strange new reality. i can do much better...but it's gotta happen!! i gotta get out of this strange anti-creative loop. for reals.

definitely. over-analytical and just plain traumatized by all the crap that happened in those years. i have tried some pure cbd early on in 2019, when the voices situation was still pretty new. it's not really for me. i tried some weed a few weeks ago, and it was good for letting the fingers, like, just fall on the keyboard and see what they do. but it's a thing i better only do once a month or so. my history with cannabis is iffy. anything meditative is the way to go. biggest change for me has been doing regular cold showers. whenever i feel like not quite myself, cold water shock is good for gaining some presence. big fan of wim hof, and what he's saying about the vagus nerve and stuff. if i'm not wrong, that nerve can be connected to hearing voices, and becoming acquainted with the sensation of the cold can help you gain back some control.

What a cool remix! I was really drawn to the bass in this remix for some reason, it's just really punchy and vibrant. The varied mix of instruments kept this remix nice and interesting. The production on this remix was top notch as well, excellent job!

what are you using? i wanna do Blackened now :) i have GennyFL, still pretty lazy with it. eventually i would like to learn how to do a solid hard rock sound like Comix Zone, but automate the parameters in a way that makes it sound like real guitar intonation. that would be like holy grail. you know, like wails, feedback, string muting, pinch harmonics etcetc....i reckon really advanced stuff is possible with loads of effort.

Hello everyone! As you are probably aware, on December 11, 2024, OCR will be turning 25 years old. And what better way to celebrate this than to do what the community is all about: collaboration. So, after running the idea past folks on the Discord, I've decided that we ought to get the ball rolling with a project while we are still over 11 months out. Namely, I want to put together an album that both looks forward and looks backward, that celebrates the 25 years that OCR has been around, acknowledges this time period in VGM and also promotes the ongoing growth of the community's musicians, new and old, younger and older. Therefore, I present the idea of TimeShift (working title). The premise of the album is simple: 1. Any ReMixer BORN BEFORE December 11, 1999 may contribute from sources that were RELEASED AFTER this date. 2. Any ReMixer BORN AFTER December 11, 1999 may contribute from sources that were RELEASED BEFORE this date. By doing this, I hope that the album challenges all ReMixers to look at sources that they might not necessarily be familiar with. In so doing, we can all stand to gain some fresh perspectives on sources (I had actually considered calling the album "ReFreshed Pixels" for this reason!). Further Rules 3. All new ReMixes. In other words, don't grab a ReMix you did that's already published on the site and add it to the album. This is as much about the challenge as it is the celebration of the time period. Have an unreleased WIP, even one you've shown off in the forums/Discord? Cool, it's valid. And yes, you can ReMix a source that's already been done. 4. One game, one claim. I don't want the album to filled with veterans' takes on Megalovania or City of Tears, and likewise we already have enough Corridors of Time and Terra's Theme for the younger crowd... Of course, don't let me stop you from being the one and only ReMixer who chooses Undertale or Hollow Knight, or Chrono Trigger or FF6! 5. Multiple sources are fine, but please ensure your main source comes from your valid time period. Adjudications may apply. 6. Release dates means original release. Cross-territory must use the first release date. For example, if a game was released in Japan in early 1999 but in North America in mid-2000, it goes to the younger ReMixer group since it's early 1999. No, just because a classic got a remaster 20+ years later does not qualify it for the veterans unless there's brand new musical material exclusive to that remaster. Adjudications may apply. Expansions (because they were a thing at the time of OCR's founding; remember those?) are valid if they contain brand new musical material exclusive to that expansion that wasn't in the original base game. This also applies if the original was released before OCR's founding but the expansion came out afterwards (making the expansion open to veterans). Adjudications may apply. 7. Typical quality standards apply. 8. The current final submission date (which is open to change) is September 11, 2024. Release date is the 25th anniversary: December 11, 2024. Suggestions We have a thread on the Discord where folks can post soundtracks that they can suggest for the album, especially from sources younger than OCR. It's not a requests thread, though: it's designed to get gears turning and ideas flowing. Roles Ah, now here's the tricky thing. I've been around the ridges on OCR for a very long time but it's only just recently that I've started to take a more active role in the community. I would certainly love the help of some experienced director(s), artists...heck, let's make this a full celebration and evoke the days of yore with a website too! Please let me know how you may be able to help me out here! And, of course, this wouldn't be an album without someone to make music to go onto it. I encourage every ReMixer who wants to take part to let me know! And if we can get some sleeping giants from the old days involved somehow, that would be absolutely fantastic. So that the album can get off the ground, I need expressions of interest from: Co-director Mastering Engineer Artist(s) (unless you want my poor art...) Website Designer (not as necessary, but preferred) Apart from expressions of interest, I am definitely open to comments, suggestions and feedback. How to Join Hit me up on the OCR Discord! Simple as that. Claims Tentative Sketches Cohesive WIP These games currently have WIP's and are closed for selection: Blue Reflection (2017) Vylent Chrono Trigger (1995) JSABlixer Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn (2013) & Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers (2019) Pixels & Paradiddles Final Fantasy XVI (2023) Xaleph Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light (1990) & Fire Emblem Gaiden (1992) JSABlixer Horizon Zero Dawn (2017) Mel Decision & Treyt LISA: The Painful (2014) 100%ROEMER SimCity 4 (2003) Dyluck Stardew Valley (2016) Moebius feat. Lucas Guimaraes ValiDate (2022) adrian gravitygauntlet All of the following claims are currently regarded as tentative until a WIP is received: Dark Souls III (2016) / Elden Ring (2022) / Bloodborne (2015) / Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (2019) / Demon's Souls (2009) - The Vodoú Queen Deep Rock Galactic (2020) OR One Step from Eden (2020) - colorado weeks (& Ridley Snipes?) Halo: Combat Evolved (2001) - adrian gravitygauntlet The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (2006) - Geoffrey Taucer Neon White (2022) - Michael Hudak Sands of Destruction (2008) - TSori The Witcher (series) (2007—) -sake_hime Let's not let this significant milestone in our community's history go past without acknowledgement or celebration. Let's do this!

This mix is such a jam. Production-wise, I want some more low-mids in the bass, but I don't think it's a dealbreaker. I'll join the chorus of folks hoping this is OCR-worthy; that said, I think the source is a licensed track from outside the game.

Hi Rukunetsu! Gonna drop the source of the track here for reference later. This is some slick D&B on this track! The vibe is on lock right from the get-go and every shift just maintains it. The pitch bends on the source melody are a great touch.

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/

I listened to this remix as part of a workshop event and I kinda like it. It's got a great groove to it and is pretty creative. However I feel the violin section is both thin and misplaced (it'd work better as an intro than in it's current placement). Also agree with Liontamer/Larry on not having enough of the melody of "Hidden Palace Zone". Still it's a good start and I'd love to hear a completed version of this on the site some day.

JUM jiggity JUM jiggity. You really feel the triplet meter in this one. I enjoyed the bass in this a lot. Great energy and remix overall! Props to you!

Just from the point of the artistic level and the joy and intensity of a creative journey, AI is even worse than using premade loops. You might be able to get something that sounds good 'n' ready for the masses of listeners - but you'll never be able to put all the compositional details, thoughts and feelings from inside your imagination into the realization of the soundtrack. And if you don't have the knowledge and experience in music theory, composition, mixing and sound design, you won't even have an idea about what's even possible in the soundtrack you create. For the most part, AI draws on things that already exist, on things that are known or have been grasped by the human mind. A fine consciousness of a vital life form in combination with a high level of creativity, on the other hand, might be able to recognize things, energies and phenomenons that are still unknown in this world, and to create some really new 'n' unique stuff. ... Or to put it in some more romantic words of video game poetry: Creating video game music or remixes with AI technology is like feeding the plastic/wax fruit to the hungry, music-loving Green Tentacle in Maniac Mansion. Even if the Green Tentacle likes the artificial stuff and already feels stuffed after eating it, as a hungry composer fueled and inspired by true life force within and around you, you wouldn't feel vital, nourished and satisfied if you ate the stuff yourself. ))

We don’t want A.I. music: We don’t have a means of easily or accurately identifying A.I.-created music; if there are free services for that, let us know. The two “Red Brinstar” A.I. prompts that you linked as examples didn’t spit out any actual arrangements of that theme. Would have to try other VGM-related prompts to see how much of a threat they are.

This was the original above Below is the remix The original track has a lot of room to breathe, very specifically tuned drums to match the synth, and the synth has some mid/low EQ to really fill the space coupled with some noticeable reverb. What you've added, especially around 0:48/0:49 with the bass really grounds the song, making it feel a lot fuller. You'll need to make sure that the song feels full of energy and not just "busy" by adding a little more room for the melody to breathe. Additionally, I would tune the drums in the same keys that the original song is to get a similar effect/feel. Also - if you listen to my songs, I love panning drums - but make sure you're not over doing it. We want it to feel frantic and full of energy - we don't want it to just feel busy and cluttered. To do this, you can pick and choose what's panning, usually you'll want your drums to have relatively set panning locations maybe with the exception of closed hats (as you'll see often that there are 2 to 4 closed hats in this style music each with a preset pan to give the perception of movement, usually between 20L and 20R). I think having the synth pan is fine, especially if the percussion is grounded - again the goal is chaos while avoiding clutter. As a style recommendation, having a low end drum or rumble would really add a semblance of stability in the first 30 seconds to foreshadow your bass entering later. This way it kind of teases that it's more than just this tension you have built up in the beginning. If you want to jump in the #workshop discord channel - feel free to @ me (@Xaleph) if you want to share screens to go over any of this, would love to see this song in a finished state!

Good stuff! I'm a sucker for hymnals. Nice work.

Pretty banger stuff going on here! That down-pitched tambourine-sounding cymbal at 1:27 works well in the drop. Any chance you have a link to the source for this one? Trying to find it for comparison and not having much luck. :)

This feels VERY fitting for plants vs zombies instrumentation and arrangement wise. Are you sure this isn't ripped straight from the soundtrack? That harpsichord was great, this remix is great! Great stuff.

This was done very well. Just the right amount of instruments to paint a picture and sweep you along a musical journey. I particularly liked the strings. Great stuff!

What a great jam! I especially liked the drum fills and piano solos!

To open the synths feel dry. The open hat sizzle is hot, bring that down ~2db. The arrangement is solid with plenty of interpretation, but the production is what needs the most work. The parts don't feel like they blend together for cohesion so much, they feel like they are all the foreground and I'm not sure what I'm supposed to focus on. The panning is favored to the right it seems, I think it's the open hat just standing out so much. Open sections like 0:58-1:11 and 2:25-2:54 could benefit from having another soft lead play a countermelody or pads with filter sweeps to fill the space in. You give us textural contrast by dropping out parts to create less going on but what about dynamics? Could definitely use some dynamics with the track staying at close to the same level throughout. Fade out? After 4 minutes, it'd be nice to have a more refined and conclusive ending. After all of that it's gonna sound like I'm really ragging on this, but it has potential and I want to see you develop it more.

What a big collab! Kudos to everyone who participated in this, the end result was very impressive and well done. Great version of the source song! :)

Yeah my dude spits the truth. You can beat this game beginning to end in an hour, but I can think of 4 times in that hour that the experience just blew my hair back. I agree it's an experience, almost an art piece. For the love of all that is good and holy though, play this cranked on either your best cans or better yet a full sound system. Just turn it up. And then go buy the soundtrack on Bandcamp because if you're reading this at all you're the type of person who will want it and I felt a need to give the dev money somehow.

The intro to this was really sweet. It's not often I get to hear a cool Shakuhachi in a remix! That lead guitar was baller to, so overall great stuff!

Thanks, CJ! "Going ham" is indeed what's going on there, haha. I still can't get enough of that particular dissonant chord, for which IIRC I used my nose to hit an extra key... :)

Very foot tappin and head bobboin. Overall a great remix! :)

What a lovely tune. A pleasant remix to listen to, bravo! :)

This was a trip! I really enjoyed the percussion, especially from around 2:20 onwards. This was weird but in a cool way.

I can't believe I haven't heard the tune of "Eyes on Me" with different lyrics. I really enjoyed this a lot!

As someone who is watching a playthrough of Rebirth, I appreciate this remix a lot. Some of the parts here are better than the music from the remake! 1:50 - 2:40 Was sublime!

What a beast! So many genres, so much remixing, so much awesome! This was a delight for sure. (My favorite section was the Tetris one :] )

This was a lot of fun and I think I like it more than the original. The solos at the end were great, I can't remember the last time I heard a theremin solo! :)

Hey btw a scant 8 of the tracks on your soundcloud account aren't available for download. any interest in rectifying that so I can blast them in my car to the chagrin of any pedestrian?

wow, this one's a hell of a mashup ahahaha. Love it!

Cool original! Very cool version! Excellent vocals, very nice work of expanding the simple synth choir sound usage from the original. One detail I didn't enjoy was how aggressively the music ducked the SFX towards the end, although for effect at the very end, it worked well. Otherwise I do love all aspects of the sound design on this! edit: to clarify, I like the glitching and the sfxs themselves, but the mix pumps uncomfortably to my ears (on earplugs)

Tons of interesting textures and patterns in this one. I really like the industrial percussion, with the reverb on it, giving it a spacious and metallic feel. The changing time signatures make it hard to pin down the track, and as such the melody/arpeggio is used as more of an anchor. Given how busy the upper-mids are in the later sections of the track though, I think the mixing does this a disservice. Around 1:35 is where things start to get hard on the ears, with that string pad, and all the resonance on the melodic synths. Things become altogether too cluttered, and it's difficult to get a sense of direction. I think the arrangement could be improved, however the main issue is that of imbalance and lack of focus. The first minute or so is very engaging and intricate - I'd like the arrangement to progress at this level of textural depth, without losing itself in the process. Toning down some of the resonance may help, or dropping a synth down an octave in the busier parts. There's a great track in there, but this one needs another pass to highlight the details. NO (resubmit)

I've listened to this a whole bunch of times, over two days now, and there's just something about it that doesn't jive with me that I've been having a hard time putting a finger on. Part of it is how rambling and aimless it is, which is partly due to the sources doing some weird things, but when you slow them down they just sound like random notes in a way the originals don't. However, is that an objective criticism, or something I just don't care for? I honestly can't say. I'm going to put a pin in this one. ?