Liontamer   Judges ⚖️

I actually didn't have a problem with much of the instrumentation, so I honestly don't get MindWanderer's criticism; yes, it's not as polished sounding and realistic as some of your later pieces, but it's cohesive enough to pass today's bar. I liked the original writing included alongside the source during the introduction; with such a minimal drum groove, there aren't as many interpretive directions you can take it in. That said, once the original writing arrived at 1:11, it was much louder than the source tune beat and majorly de-emphasized the source tune. The original & source parts didn't have synergy because of the volume disparity, and that ended up tanking this for me. In the arrangement section of the Standards, it says "The source material must be identifiable and dominant", and it's just not dominant here. In short, the drumming of the source tune would have to be mixed in a way to stay more audible and participatory, and the arrangement would need to work in interpretation of the source tune itself. It's actually doable with a percussion-focused source, so never say never. Enjoyable track, but I think the concept manages to fall outside of OCR's scope due to taking all of the emphasis away from the source tune. NO

With the source usage being straightforward, I don't have to get into any extensive breakdowns. At the very end at 4:55, you had a nice slowdown and all it made me think was "Where was something like this before?" in order to change up the flow some. Dynamically, this felt flatter and more repetitive than it should have been. That said, it's nonetheless a very cool take on the original that manages to have its own personalized presentation style. A beautifully constructed arrangement with a more ethereal presentation than the original; it still feels like you're swimming underwater, but maybe here you're in the deepest, darkest depths. Let's go. YES

I like the arrangement overall, and felt this was a creative take on it, but the execution holds this back, IMO. Though I can live with it, the sax is mixed too low and doesn't stand out enough vs. the rhythms guitars. The track's also mixed quietly in general. As soon as the sax went into comping, the timing slipped (e.g. :35, 41). What happened to the notes at 1:43 and 1:47? Should have re-recorded. The sax comping from 2:04 until the finish at 2:35 also felt directionless. The sax performance doesn't sound polished enough, so please watch those smaller details. Dynamically, this actually got plodding despite the energy inherent in the writing. Part of that is because the backing rhythm guitar and drumwork never let up, always going at the same overall energy, intensity and busyness the whole way; just because it's surf doesn't mean you can really get away with the overall energy level feeling so flat. Vary up the textures to create more dynamic contrast, tighten up the saxophone performances and give them more direction for the finish. It's a cool take on Tal Tal, so I hope you guys are willing to revisit this if it doesn't pass. NO (resubmit)

Not the most cohesive piece I've heard from Rebecca; most of the sequenced parts had uncanny valley realism issues. Even the plucked string lead here, which I can see being inspired by the super-fake sounds of N64-era Zelda, just didn't sound rich enough. Brass and bowed strings also had the same issue, IMO. Arrangement-wise, this was fine. The bowed string attacks from 1:08-1:28 also stuck out. Perhaps other judges may feel differently, but this piece struck me as the samples not being used anywhere near their best. I'll come back to this one. ? EDIT (11/18): I thought the transition from one theme to the next was smooth; while I agree that the combinations of themes is just A then B, the structure flowed perfectly fine from one theme to the next. This track passing isn't a hill I'm dying on, and I respect Rexy and prophetik's knowledge, but IMO, the arrangement still gets by and the production's adequate, even though it has flaws, several of which I also pointed out in my initial comments. The sustains leading into dissonance didn't stand out for me though, so I didn't ding it on that level. I don't need this to be impeccable (not saying the NOs did), I just need this to be creatively interpretive and reasonably produced; to me, this ticked both boxes with the genre and instrumentation adaptations being good enough, and the sound/sample quality and mixing being good enough to get by. Some of the sequencing should have sounded less rigid, but the overall result was still expressive enough. Again, I don't mind being outvoted, but I think Rebecca came through enough that I'm all good accepting this, and not making the perfect the enemy of the good. YES (borderline)

YO I don't know how to delete a post so I'll post a cute picture of a Abby the Furret instead. ~Deia

Most of track directly samples the original audio as the major connection to the source tune, which violates our arrangement standards. It's not enough to build original material around the sampled source tune audio, you have to substantially arrange and interpret the VGM theme. There's some but there's not enough incorporation of the source tune that isn't sampled. NO

Stilted's the first word coming to mind with this. I thought the theme change at :49 was abrupt, but we'll see how other changes go. I can't help but feeling like the relatively stilted timing undermines a lot of the personality of the performances. 1:30 had another abrupt change, then again at 1:52. I like the concept and the overall performances are capable, but there's a very flat quality to the accordion performances that pull this down. And 2:57 with a sudden change as well; I really felt this needed at least some brief but notable transitions, which this didn't have. I didn't have any significant issues with the mixing; I do hear the tambourines cutting through, but they weren't a big deal, nor did I feel they sounded bone dry, as there's clearly light effects on them. I want to be clear that I'm not saying that the track needs to sound more high-energy with toe-tapping pacing, but the timing when the accordion's in the foreground feels very mechanical; 1:29-1:52 felt a lot more natural-sounding in comparison, for example. IMO, the two biggest issues holding this back were the stiff accordion performance and the abrupt transitions. Address those, and I think the overall execution would be cohesive enough to roll with. Good base here so far, and the vote ain't over till it's over. NO (resubmit)

Interesting opening; very basic/generic sounds, but we'll see where this goes. At :28, it seemed like you had the perfect opportunity to layer or effect the vocals on some of the parts, like "break me"/"save me"/"again"/"spend", to put some additional depth and contrast into the vocals. Immediately I can tell the vocals need pitch correction/AutoTune (e.g. the "me" in "wake me" at :10 is flat; the notes in "desperation" at :24; a flattening at :44 during "over and over"; "away" during "run away" at :47 and :49, "stay" at :54). Clearly said "exscape" instead of "escape" at :13, but we'll move on. Less than a minute in with this many issues, and I already know it's a dealbreaker and will further prove that as we go on. Not trying to be demoralizing or short, but I just don't have the cycles to note each & every instance, and you should be more mindful of stuff like this going forward. If you yourself are listening to this and not realizing that it's off-key, we've got significant problems. There's even what's effectively a mouth fart at 1:45 as you say "break". On the plus side, your overall tone of voice is good; it's not like you couldn't develop a strong singing voice, but it's not there right now. Texturally, this is decent, but you also have moments like 2:07 where you've got relatively thin textures after the drop at 2:02 joined by a super-dry clap lasting until 2:24, and it sounds like a quality disparity between parts. I'd also argue the drum tone at 2:26 and the countermelodic synth line at 2:46 didn't click with the rest of the instrumentation. I'd argue that you should overtly incorporate more of the source tune into the arrangement, but I honestly didn't investigate that yet because the production's not passable yet. There's so much raw potential here, but raw's the key word. It's not a polished piece, though you do have a really solid WIP. See if you're able to refurbish this by fleshing out the textures more, replacing some of the more generic/thin parts, and consider re-taking or pitch correcting the vocals. Don't be discouraged, Aaron, this is a good base to build on. NO

We scoured the land for the most evil people we could find to join us, and we're proud to add @prophetik music and @Rexy to the judges panel. I'm personally aiming to finally have that submissions queue go to 0 by the end of this year, and we're excited to have their help. Revel in their fresh perspectives and presence now before they become entrenched in the system and simply become part of the evil mass of musical oppression that the rest of us have morphed into. (a.k.a. WELCOME!)

The sound design's not very sophisticated, but the tools are used effectively. Opening synths were pretty cool. Enigma/Streets of Rage style beat came in at :19, with a basic synth lead at :39 and some decent ear candy behind providing countermelody. Beat shifted a little at 1:19 for a good subtle change in the energy. The overall textures have been basic but arguably effective albeit subdued. The track's pretty low-key throughout, but there's nothing wrong with that. Interesting rhythmic change-up at 1:59, and I liked the shift into the EP at 2:09. At 2:19 you have the melody come back, only things are even busier and darker-sounding behind the lead. Weird shift in the beats at 2:59 very briefly, but things quickly reoriented, with some straightforward but well-integrated original writing combining with the source and continuing to vary the textures until the end. Overall, this of course presents a different energy than the original, since there's no driving beat behind this, and you have a slower tempo and darker sound. One could argue there's not enough development or dynamic contrast, but I felt there was within a purposefully narrower dynamic curve. Having the melody vary more would have been nice, but the structure here is all about building different textures around the lead serving as a constant; that's a valid approach I respect. Solid work, Anthony. EDIT (7/19): Just noting that I've re-listened in light of the three NO votes, but the mixing criticisms brought up don't affect my vote. IMO, the suggestions they've brought up would be nice to have, but I didn't feel the parts bled together too much and I didn't have a problem distinctly hearing the lead (or other parts) even though the surrounding elements got louder at times. As long as the part-writing's distinct enough to be made out, I'm not bothered by the balance being unorthodox. YES

Nice demake-style approach for the intro, including some nice chorusing/layering of the chippy sounds; sounds great! The switch into the partial beats at :59 could have been a pitfall instead of just a stylistic lead-in, but Ben filled things out nicely at 1:23 and showed how purposeful the approach was. Nice dropoff into the piano at 1:47 for some great dynamic contrast with the usage of the light ensemble before reviving the chip sounds at 2:33. Watch those notes from 2:50-2:54; it would be nice to get a tweak there, because the notes were off-key, but it did ultimately resolve alright, so I won't lose sleep over it. Another good change-up at 3:23 into the stuttering leads to once again keep the presentation fresh before winding down with the piano/EP combo at 4:12 for a beautiful close. Nicely varied arrangement that worked in some original writing areas, but mostly focused on presentating cool variations of the source tune. Great presentation and energy throughout, Ben! YES

Production-wise, this was pretty flooded from 2:10-2:24, and the phasing effect from 4:14-4:27 was unpleasent as well, but I'll live. Otherwise, good instrumentation choices and mixing that led to a lot of tension and purposeful battle between different themes/elements. As far as the arrangement, smart stuff throughout that morphed around a lot with creative interplay and transitions between the source tunes. Very impressive stuff! YES

It's so cool that when I heard the source tune's forceful melody, I immediately thought "Oh yeah, this has Cyril written all over it." Totally gels with his vocal style. So when the vocals kicked in at :23, I thought the organ line behind it was really anemic/flat and dragged down the energy. Not a dealbreaker issue in light of the overall musicianship, but something that could be refined. Not sure what's going on with the vocal chorusing from :47-1:15, as the timing was slightly behind until :59. Good delivery and performances there otherwise. Again, the organ line was weak, as well as simplistic & droning, with those whole notes from 2:06-2:53; that part's easily the biggest letdown of the piece and felt lazy compared to everything else. If anything, the change in the rhythm of that line compared to the source wasn't an improvement. Some smaller issues, but the overall arrangement and presentation were excellent. It took me a few listens to wrap my head around the choruses, because they don't initially sound melodious, but after comparing with the source tune and also getting used to the delivery, I understood the way it was arranged. HeavenWraith's guitar work was excellent as well, by the way. Solid mixing for the most part, even though I thought the organ line was "eh". Otherwise the rest of the part-writing was energetic and well-written, and I could make out the parts easily. People will hate on the metal, but I'm on board. YES

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By this time last year, there was only 1 album released, and we ended 2018 with 6. I don't know if that much material's in the works this year, but it's all up to what the community finishes and what we have time to publish; we definitely have one more in the hopper for later this year. For ReMixes, last year had 180 mixes posted, so I'll work to boost that up and hopefully get more than 180 during this year. Most album mixes go through the regular submission process just like any other track, and deserve the same spotlight; for the people that don't check out the albums, which are many, that material's new to them. The OC ReMix of the old days in terms of having 300+ mixes posted was back when djp was single and had a ton more free time, but we're not letting the site die. We'll be at it until we have dentures.

Gotted. Should be live on the site the next time a mix is posted..

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Nothing wrong with using what you originally made for it, if you'd like to.

As a VGM arrangement, it's too liberal; barely recognized Frog's theme in there, but in a vacuum, this is indeed smoove! Nice work, @Antisheep!

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@duskvstweak I'll send them a professionally worded message to see about coming onto their Sound of Play podcast to talk OCR & VGM. Wish me luck, and thanks for the heads up! EDIT: Nailed it.