Harmony

LOL, The intro bells have me thinking "I want my babyback, babayback, babyback, Chiliiiiii's, babyback ribs" . Maybe it's just me. I'm all over this lo-fi vibe. The distorted synths that sound as though they are struggling to hold themselves together, just so they can finish this last song, the mono drums that live in the background, and the delightfully dry feel of everything work so well in Sam's hands. Ahh, and the orchestra of saxes, fun fun fun. Sam, your percussion sequencing really is amazing but somehow your mixes always show so much restraint there, not allowing the percussion to overtake the all-important melody unless absolutely necessary. Here, I'm not even able to beg for more drumwork simply because of the beautiful control that the saxes and synths exercise over both the rhythm and the melody. Yada, yada, praise, praise. No surprise that this mix is more of your usual great stuff. Congrats on the DP man.

I didn't notice it until you pointed it out, but I'll agree that written down it's a little iffy. No, no, no. You guys are missing the very poetic palendromic alliteration: Fly me my Flammie. FMMF. C'mon, you don't get more poetic than that. Fly me my dragon!? That's crazy talk...stop talking crazy That's an insult to both Joshua Morse and myself.

Absolutely nothin' wrong with that. You're certainly not alone And thanks again everyone for the compliments.

Oh wow everyone, thanks for all of the compliments and criticisms . And what an amazing write-up from Dave, thanks man! I’m glad to hear that this brings back memories for some and is a just a great listen for others. I've put a lot of work into this and the appreciation is GREATLY appreciated. A few clarifications are in order I suppose. Yep, part of the song is in 5/4 but at 2:31 it switches to a cool 6/8 for “Secret of the Arid Sands” and the second half of “Prophesy.” It briefly goes back to 5/4 for the outro (which I’m so glad that you guys are enjoying). As for the source usage, the only significant stretch where I don’t explicitly use one of the sources is from 2:07-2:49, but even there if you’ve played the game you’ll recognize that the lyrics are directly referencing the game. I’ll say, SoM 85%, original %15. Meh, that’s alright Mustin, I still like Secret of Spram. I do enjoy infusing original solos and melodies into my mixes though and I think that B1itz Lunar’s comment did a good job of explaining what I was trying to do here. Again, thanks OCR for the feedback so far and the feedback to come. LOL, I also "talk white" if that has any meaning whatsoever.

I'll second the NO OVERRIDE. The chord progression seems to be the largest tie to the source material and at just over a minute, a much stronger connection to the source needs to be established for this to have a chance of passing. The strings are actually pretty good James. Work this intro into a fully developed piece and you might have something nice on your hands.

http://www.snesmusic.org/spcsets/sd2.rsn - "Give Love its Rightful Time" (sd2-34.spc) Nice storm sample for the intro; those can be hard to come by. I’m not sure about the dance intro though. The barebones beat at 0:22 is plain and exposed and although we get some hi-hat action and more storm SFX, things don’t get as interesting as they should until we get some strong melodic content at 0:49. The synth that enters there isn’t anything amazing but I like the way its wide panning and heavy reverb works in context. It meshes well with the thick kick/bass combo and adds some depth to the soundfield. Interesting use of clutter when the breakbeat comes in over the storm from 1:37-1:59. I won’t fault this mix there but I think 1:59-2:26 could be a little clearer. The two lead synths aren’t panned away from each other and with the amount of reverb that’s floating around, sonic toes get stepped on. The first two and a half minutes noodle around with the baseline and accompanying melodies from the source (an idea that isn’t bad initially but overstays its welcome) until the piano enters with the familiar lead at 2:27 to hopefully kick things into gear. Unfortunately it feels completely pasted over the other elements. Alone, the piano sample and performance sound great but together the processing isn’t quite right. It feels like the piano was mixed in a completely different environment. Lowering the volume on the piano track would be a first step in the right direction but hopefully some more specific suggestions will pop up in other votes. Once the piano sits better with the rest of the instruments, think about incorporating it in other sections. There’s potential there. After the semi-successful piano section, the saw synth tries it’s hand at the main melody but 3:27-3:54 comes off as too much of a cover in my book. 3:55-4:08 seriously rocked though. I love the synths stacking to the brink of clutter then backing off, all while the bass and percussion break out of the standard dance mold. Best part of the source and best part of this mix IMO. The breakdown at 4:10 needs a lot more punch too it. The flute is overshadowed by the synth strings, the hi-hats don’t contribute much, and the harmonies of the source are taken out. It sounds like you forgot to add a harmonizing lead at 4:16 which forced the lone flute to complete the bridge on its own, leaving that section relatively weak. 4:27-4:55 is essentially another cover leading to the outro. The biggest problems here for me are the mixing of the piano section, and the coverish nature of major portions of this. Since the source is already an upbeat dance-ish mix, you guys are going to have to bring more amazing synth design, percussive sequencing and melodic interpretation to the table if you want to stick with the genre. Good work but there’s plenty of room for improvement. NO

Nice. The composition is simple and effective, the arrangement is engaging and relatively creative and the performance is above the bar IMO. 2:02-2:08, 2:38-2:40 and 1:15-1:16 stand out as examples of some of the beautifully utilized chords in this piece. That being said, I too hear a hint of the plunky, midi-like lackluster vibe that Larry, TO and Zircon mention. Would a darker longer reverb make this daring mix bold as well? Would making the tempo changes more frequent and more fluid help humanize things? Would scaling back the velocities on 1:25-1:31 help give the middle 4/4 section more dynamic variety? Maybe, but I don’t think that the improvements would be drastic at all, and that’s the best I have in terms of suggestions. The fact that I can’t pinpoint any sure-fire ways to fix the minor issues that I have with this mix leaves me leaning towards a passing grade here. Good performance and great arrangement get my vote. YES

My goodness I enjoy this mix. Excellent work Phil. The theme is stripped to its bare essentials, melted and swirled into ambient magic (certainly reminiscent of Vig classics as Zircon mentioned), then brought back from the climax to a simple serene resolution. Needless to say that the arrangement is more than passable in my book. Compositionally, I understand the claims that this is repetitive. The simple recurring strumming patterns and melodies team up with the waltz-time and limited number of instruments to make for a very static feel at times. There’s a lot going on though that makes up for compositional simplicity. The performance is absolutely nailed in the sense that the off-tempo strumming and picking add complexity rather than clutter, human variety rather than human mistakes. This is especially true in the acoustic sections. A small exception comes during the resolution (3:50-ish) where the guitars get somewhat muddled. I’m going to blame this on the light faster strumming. Way too much pick/string noise is picked up in the recording which clutters up the scene. It’s a common problem when you’re playing softly on an acoustic/electric with a piezo pickup, which typically gives pretty poor dynamics for quieter strumming. If this is the problem then how do you fix it? Mic your guitar. It’s not a big deal though. Also adding to the compositional complexity is the rich guitar layering and subtle SFX that fill this piece out. The ocean SFX and the piano at 1:33 are wonderful. I’d love a higher quality ocean sample but I know how difficult that can be to find. I think that the hand percussion should be punched up a bit. It’s a potentially endless source of variety and accentuation that I don’t feel is being used as effectively as possible. I agree with Sam that the return of the strumming patterns at 2:45 and 3:14 are lazily done. A slower fade in or possibly a fade from heavy to light reverb would work a lot more smoothly. The distorted section is generally well done though. Great stuff Phil and I’ve really got no significant problems with this. Parts remind me of the CSNY song “Guinevere” with its 3 part guitar harmonies and minimalist composition. That’s a compliment indeed. This mix has got development, it’s got arrangement, it’s got good sound quality and it’s got my vote. YES

The first thing that strikes me is the muddled EQ. There are a good amount of highs missing that would bring a lot of life to the higher notes and some excessive lows that take a lot of clarity and distinction from the lower notes. Finding a pleasant piano EQ for a given piece can be a lot of trial and error but in this case a good start would be a boost to the 2-13kHz range and slightly reduce the lowest frequencies, around 50-100Hz. Two suggestions. First, if you don’t do this already, compare the EQ of your mixes to similar OC ReMixes (e.g. Dhsu’s work). I’m not suggesting that you copy their sound but it’s sometimes helpful to have a benchmark. Secondly, find a good frequency spectrum analyzer (spectrogram/spectroscope) so that you can better visualize and tweak your mix to avoid poor EQ. They make it a lot more obvious when things are getting too muddy for example. Zircon might be able to point you in the right direction in terms of plugins. Aside from this being a solo piano arrangement of a powerhouse rock/orchestral tune, the interpretation is pretty conservative. There are some melodic twists and turns here and there that make this more than just a genre adaptation though so I’m satisfied with the level of rearrangement. The opening lines of this mix are a pleasantly simplistic introduction of the theme. The build at 1:00 is one of my favorite parts of this mix although I think a nice bit of variety could have been introduced by having the roll be in Ab rather than in A. This would break the monotony of the static A root note that continues from 0:54-1:58. Decent intro through 1:00 though. I know you don’t want to hear this but the left hand significantly hurts this mix. It’s not overly complex from 1:08-2:09 (if fact I would say it’s a little too simple) but it is serviceable. It gets progressively cluttered though as lower registers are explored, sustain and reverb allow notes to excessively bleed together, and an overabundance of low frequencies prevents distinction. 2:10-2:25 is a major victim of this left hand clutter. Another problem here is the execution of the genre adaptation. In an attempt to make up for the energetic activity of drums and distorted guitars from the source, many sections sound as though you’ve tried to pack the left hand with simplistic repetitive chords that don’t do the original justice (1:57-2:41, 3:15-3:32, 4:29-5:09). A better way to accomplish that is by successfully utilizing the amazing complexity possible with the piano. You have the right idea with a section like 3:39-4:14 where the left and right hands feel better connected and the left hand achieves a good level of complexity and variety. Practicing pulling all of the supportive and melodic possibilities of the left hand is a never-ending process, keep at it. It’s worth a mention that the performance of some sections is a bit rigid, especially the right hand. 1:25-1:55, 2:16-2:23, and 4:14-4:25 come to mind. 4:41-5:10 is an interesting melodic shift but the right hand needs a lot of loosening up there (4:49 is a good example). This mix is a good listen as usual Bev but the pesky left hand I’m afraid is dragging it down. The simplicity of the intro and outro is wonderful but that doesn’t translate well to the heart of this mix. I think working on improving the left hand complexity and the humanization of your performance will be the largest steps that you can take towards improving the overall quality of your submissions and your piano playing in general. I know you’ll keep working at it so whether this passes or not, I'll be looking forward to the next submission. NO

I like the low bell-like synth in the extended intro that eventually morphs into the lead. There’s some fairly engaging melodic stuff happening through 1:32 but the supporting instrumentation is very weak. The subtle thin strings and the default hi-hat aren’t enough to serve as backup, even with a very active lead. After 1:32 the problem is amplified as everything drops out except the lead and we only have a thin beat/bass combo to push this track along. Not a bad effort in general but the final result is a sparse underdeveloped track. The intro really shows promise and I think putting some of Zircon’s and Shna’s suggestions into action is your best bet right now. Make sure to hang out at the ReMixing forum for some help beefing up your sounds. Keep working at it. NO

Sadly I agree that the level of interpretation here isn’t enough to pass. What a beautiful orchestration though. Everything from the placement of the instruments to the quality of the samples to the climactic builds and delicate bridges solidifies this as one of my favorite orchestral pieces to hit the panel since I’ve been here. Great work Michael. Fill this piece out with greater melodic, rhythmic or stylistic variation from the original and this magical mix will easily get my YES. NO

I’m really digging the ambiance of the intro through 1:07. Although a bit distracting, the circling drums are an interesting choice. When the groove hits it’s clear that this is a solid track with some quality sounds in play. The flute needs to be punched up a little, but it’s not too bad since it lets us focus on some of the other elements. The bass gets its share of funky riffs from 1:50-2:31 playing backup to the bongo/synth jam, and the left-panned high synth effects that dot the scene play against the soft pads very nicely. There’s a fair amount of reverb at work, and as personal preference I would want a little less, but it’s not bad at all. The flute solo at 2:52 is decently humanized but it oddly starts to break it’s flow around 3:07. By the time it’s over, it has lost the energy that I think is necessary to carry us through to the synth solo which feels loud and out of place as a result. The synth does bring some life back into things though before we are dropped back down to a sparse extended chromatic rendition of the theme. Things start to drag at 3:35-4:15 and if fat needs to be cut, this is where I would look. The remainder of the mix is largely a revamped version of earlier sections. I think the e. piano solo at 4:16 has it’s shining moments but like it’s flute solo brother, loses steam at points as well. Nice reversed effects for the outro. This mix has a lot of the same flavor as the original which in one sense is a great thing, but with sources that are as richly developed as this one, it’s very easy to stick too close and end up with a nice cover rather than a creative remix. Some of that is avoided here with creative solos and additive goodies, but in some instances the flute lead, the bass and the drums don’t fall too far from the source’s tree. Overall this mix is certainly conservative, but that’s not where I’m going to have to take off the most points. As Larry mentions, much of this mix is pretty sparse and some elements are repetitive (percussion) or rigid. It’s ok that this goes for a simple smooth jazz approach but more variety wouldn’t hurt. Rather than pack this 5:31 mix with more instruments, I honestly think a better plan would be to tighten this mix up by cutting 3:35-4:15, cleaning up the flute solo and varying the percussion a bit. You might try throwing a bit of swing to the drums with some additional triplets or dotted notes to keep things from sounding too rigid. Hey, you’ve got a nice solid groove here and I’m really borderline on this decision, but I think a little polish time would put this mix over the top. Do us all a favor and keep working on this one. NO (Please Resubmit)

The two major problems have already been mentioned: the recording quality and the performance quality. Aside from the audible recording hiss, I think a better mixing job would give this mix a much more solid feel. Even with the slight panning, everything sounds right up front which in part creates a sound jumble during the fuller sections. Any number of things can help in this area but reverb, delay and more extreme panning are some basics that might help to better balance this mix. I’d especially focus on more effectively reverbing some of the dry guitar leads. I like the distorted lead that first enters at 0:12. It abruptly cuts out at 0:20 and 0:39 for some reason, but I think it’s one of the better leads nonetheless. Also enjoyable is the clean guitar run at 0:52. After that though, the arpeggios come in and the mix is lost from a performance perspective. Those must be cleaned up or eliminated, especially if more reverb or delay is to come into the picture. You might want to try sequencing something in its place. The drums need a lot more power. They are in fact the only things that sit back in the mix. Once you give them the punch that they deserve with a little volume and EQ work, make sure to vary the sequencing and keep their pattern interesting. What you have isn’t bad for this type of cover (and unfortunately the arrangement is a cover), but the steady stream of crashes starting around 1:30 sounds amateurish and I’m pretty sure you’re capable of more creative stuff than that. Practicing your performance is the best thing that I think you can do right now (or anytime really). Not only will pieces like this sound a lot cleaner as a result, but your improved skills will broaden your range of creative possibilities. Aside from that, practice your mixing and sequencing skills and don’t stop churning out the tunes. NO

This is a pleasantly simple lullaby of a piece and from that perspective there’s a lot to enjoy. The piano is a decent sample and is effectively processed to give it a rich enough tone to carry this mix. The effort to bring some accompaniment to the solo piano isn’t bad either. The cymbal swells add a nice dynamic to the otherwise serene material and the supporting string pads work as well. I’m not so fond of the solo instruments that join after 2:10 as they do tend to sound very synthetic, including the trills. Still, the piano is what drives this mix and because of this I think a greater effort needs to be placed on humanization and variation. I don’t mind the similar tempo at all but as Sam said, switch out the 3-note pattern once in a while and try having the piano work more effectively with the other instruments in order to bring a bit more interpretation to the theme. You can also always throw in a hint of the classic Zelda theme which appears in the last half of the credits theme. Good stuff so far but more interpretation and variation on the theme is a must. Keep working at it. NO

The percussion is all over the place, the low male choir is hot, and the chromatic stuff is amazingly haunting; this has Doom written all over it. Great work man. Ice Cube says: "Ya'll foos betta love this mix betta than ya'll liked my movie"

Having recently met Jill, listening to this has me smiling in wonder at how such a powerful reverberant voice comes from such a petite woman. 8th wonder of the world I guess. The orchestral meat of this mix is nicely done as well. I’m going to have to agree though that the arrangement here is too liberal for significant portions of the mix. I think that Larry’s initial breakdown was more than fair and I don’t hear any source usage that he missed. The sections that are derived from the source (especially the piano takes on the theme) are very creatively handled. Great work but I can’t let the arrangement issue slide. NO

Exactly. For the number of ideas that come up in this song, 3 mins is way too short of a mix. Variety and progression are the keys to bringing this trance tune to it’s proper place in the sun. From the beat to the stock trance synths, there's a lot of potential to expand on what' here. Love the SFX, but I agree that they get overused. Why not pull some more from the billion other Mario titles? This track is pretty enjoyable as a whole but it's just not a finished product yet. Keep working at it. NO (Please Resubmit)

Awesomeness incarnate. Waking up with this song stuck in my head is a great way to start the week.

http://www.zophar.net/zsnes/spc/lemmings.rar - (08-lemming 1.spc) I’ve been waiting for someone to bring a great Lemmings remix to the panel and this has the potential to be that remix. I like the wide panning on the piano when it’s exposed from 1:14-1:43, and nobody can tell me that the clean guitars for the outro weren’t as good as good ol’ apple pie. Haha, Larry’s gonna get on you for the vox at the end though. I think the “Let’s Go!” for the beginning is essential to ANY and ALL Lemmings songs, but the vox at the end doesn't work for me. The interpretation of the theme is very conservative (the source tune from Zophar isn't a good representation of the original) but the orchestral elements and guitars add an epic feel to the original that I could pass from an arrangement standpoint. Unfortunately I think the execution needs cleaning up. The leads carrying the melody are terribly quiet and lacking any presence. This is especially true of the acoustic lead at 0:15 and the flute at 1:00. Without a strong melodic accompaniment, this song reduces to a repetitive chord progression. It also feels more cluttered than it would with a good lead cutting through the supporting instruments. Still, working on separating the instrument to maintain clarity during 0:31-1:00 and 1:44-2:28 isn’t a bad idea. I’m pushing for a resub on this one with the hope that if this doesn’t pass, you’ll give the melody a more prominent spot in this mix, clean up some of the cluttered sections through better mixing and panning, possibly rework some of the melodies to be a little more interpretive, and cut the vox at the end. Great work so far. NO (Please Resubmit)

http://www.zophar.net/gym/sonic.rar – #1 (Get a Life.gym), #6 (Marble Zone.gym) http://www.zophar.net/gym/sonic2.rar – #2 (Aquatic Ruin.gym), #4 (Stage Select.gym), #5 (Ending.gym), #7 (Casino Night.gym) http://www.zophar.net/gym/SK+SONIC3.RAR – #3 (Ice Cap Zone 1.gym) Thanks Larry for the #5 source. The live vibe on this medley is great. Some sections feel like a college marching band cover, others have a more “Sonic Does Broadway” feel and the Ice Cap zone cover is a straight jazzy impromptu jam. The transitions are handled relatively well, with the mixer wisely keeping cornerstone instruments through some of them in order to maintain a cohesion between sections that is necessary for a piece like this to work. The nearly constant presence of the bass and drumset is a nice example. The leads on most of the sections were handled very conservatively, which is partially understandable given the limited time available to develop each theme before moving to the next. Even though there’s a bit of funk and spice thrown into some of them, most notably the Marble Zone theme, the coverish nature of individual sections does hurt things from a judging perspective. The supporting instruments don’t do a bad job of making up for the conservative leads though. The harmonica accompaniment for Ice Cap zone is very slick. I wish it varied a little more, but I’ll let the hip-hop style of that section justify the repetition. The brass from the Marble Zone theme, the percussion from Casino Night, and the arrangement of the brass for the Ending theme all deserve mention as creative tidbits that make this piece flow. Productions is nicely done. Elements take up their own appropriate sonic space, the panning is dynamic yet not distracting, there’s a good range of highs/lows, and generally the track just feels solid. Some of the percussive elements are dry though, and considering the marginal quality of some of them (particularly the rimshot and the Stage Select section percussion), they should have been more effectively processed with EQ/chorus/reverb to bring a better sound to the stage. It’s worth a mention that although many of the samples aren’t top notch, I think they mesh quite nicely with each other resulting in a more than passable mix from a sound-quality standpoint. I’m upset at the ending. Both the choice of themes to end with and the way in which the Casino Night theme is ended are letdowns. This is especially true coming off of Marble Zone which IMO is the best arranged, most engaging and climactic section of this mix. A fade out from an extended version of the groovy drum/bass/conga jam from 4:20-4:35 would have been nice. As much as I love this mix, I’m torn. The mixer brings a wonderful atmosphere to the Sonic themes with enjoyable performances and smooth transitions. However, the conservative way in which many of the themes are handled is difficult to ignore. I’m going to go with my performance-biased gut and pass this. Whichever way the vote goes, I won’t be surprised though. Great work Frank. YES

http://www.zophar.net/psf/LoM_psf.rar- 107 “Daedal’s Organ” Showing off your strength from the start, the simple yet dynamic intro drums are full of cool SFX and have a great beat that has the potential to form a solid backbone of this mix. I’m not really feeling the electronica-sitar synth that enters at 0:15 and I’m waiting for something to mix with it or cover it up. The saxamaphone comes to the rescue at 0:30 with a very conservative take on the theme and this highlights what might be considered the weakest part from your recent submissions. This interpretation is very conservative not only in the straightforward manner with which the source is used, but also in the instrument selection. The synths that are chosen for the lead sound very similar to the organ in the original. Conservative source usage alone won’t sink the remix ship but in this context, there isn’t much beyond a decent beat played under the source with a few compositional changes tossed about. I enjoyed this mix but I can’t pass it. NO On another note, for LiquidNeon and all of the other submitters out there, there are very specific guidelines as to how songs should be titled, what the .mp3 tags should be and what should be in a submission e-mail. Even if most of the requested info isn’t included, giving us the important info such as game remixed and original song can go a long way in helping us judge your submissions as quickly and accurately as possible.

Honestly this sounds like a mix that’s only 3/4 finished. Ideas are thrown around but nothing really locks together like it should leaving the already few instruments feeling more sparse and disjointed than they have too. There are plenty of issues that need addressing (the overbearing bass at 2:16, the lack of processing in general, the weak percussion, etc.) but I think the WIP forum would be a better venue for those discussions. Keep working at it. NO

Wow, this opening piano is beautiful...and it doesn’t stop there. The entirety of this mix is packed with rich (read PHAT) elements that fill the soundfield, beats and transitions that get the blood flowing, great synth processing and creative takes on the theme that would make Papa proud. That morphing synth at 2:47-2:51 is HOT. The piano fading back in subtly signals the end of this mix which is really a shame because this could easily hold my attention for much longer. Great stuff from all involved. YES

I love this track. From the droning choir, to that crazy left-panned synth to the high-pitched lead synths, this mix has a solid atmospheric foundation. During the home-stretch from 3:02-3:40 the high synths start to get a little repetitive as they are progressively more exposed, but it’s not that big of a problem. The intro sets up the percussive groove that drives this mix through all 4 min. It’s repetitive but in this context that’s not a problem. I agree with Larry though that the source is extremely difficult to pick out. I’m very familiar with the source tune and on DSoP I was unable to recognize the original without reading the album art. With an original that’s as bassline-dominant as this, that bassline has to be kept more intact than what has been done in order to achieve some level of familiarity with the listeners. In this case, it’s not enough to keep the chord progression (which is actually altered in plenty of spots) and the notes without also keeping a good portion of the melodic phrasing as well. Again, this is a great track with solid production and few sound quality problems to speak of. It just needs to relate more efficiently to the source. NO

I’m stuck on two significant problems with this piece: the percussion and the mechanical leads. Other than that, the backing strings are solid, the bass is simple yet holds its own, and with the already decent arrangement, this has the potential to be pretty cool. As Larry mentions, the acoustic kit doesn’t mesh well with the atmosphere created by the other instruments. I would be in the market for something with a richer kick, a softer snare and a ride with much more presence. I have no idea why it was created this way, but the Ken Ardency kit uses a very GM-ish ride and its use here isn’t giving the full effect that I think you were after. The drum sequencing is also rather static. Alternate the closed hi-hat and ride velocities loud-soft-loud-soft to take some of the metronome feel away. In general, watch out for long stretches where the velocities are too similar on any instrument. You might also try adding some triplets or possibly 32nd notes during the fills to liven things up. The leads are also in need of humanization. With such a potentially moving mix you don’t want to roboticize it with solos like the guitar at 2:00-2:24, or the piano from 0:36-0:52, 3:23-3:40. It really comes down to good old fashioned practice but it’s well worth it when you hear your pieces like this sounding more and more human, more and more realistic. There are some pretty good tips on humanization in the remixing forum if you haven’t checked it out already. Good stuff. Keep working at it. NO