Liontamer

Just to follow up on this, I'll also be mailing the mixer to see his reaction to the MIDI similarity, and offer him the chance to co-credit the MIDI author if it's true. I would then have to contact the MIDI author, Monster Iestyn, to get their approval as well. djp agreed with both Gario and I that -- while the arrangement is close to the original and is more borderline, there was enough going on that removing it on arrangement grounds compared to the original song itself isn't the issue. This is strictly about the closeness to the MIDI version on VGMusic.

It's our first recall vote in over a decade, and these things happen. As I said above, this all underscores my feelings after I first heard this VGMusic MIDI. Had there been no MIDI for this source tune, the mix had indeed stood apart from the original in terms of the style, despite being structurally close. But when you compare it to the MIDI, the tempo is different, yes, but it sounds like the parts were just taken from this specific MIDI and re-instrumented, including subtler backing writing. djp brought up the question of whether the mix is simply too close to the source tune anyway, given that the MIDI was a cover. The MIDI is close yes, but the mix did change the presentation style of the track some with the different drumming, the different style of the vocals, more emphasis on different supporting parts (though all of those parts existed in both the source and MIDI). It's really about the tone feeling different enough. He's not wrong though, and it's at least debate-able, i.e. this might qualify as just a full removal based on this arrangement not being different enough from the Sega CD song, but I was OK with this as a personalized-sounding cover or I wouldn't have went YES on the original vote. All of that said... at all times, artists need to disclose if other people's music or arrangements were referenced or used a base for their submission; it isn't an automatic disqualification, and we have some arrangements of arrangements on the site already. But even if -- somehow -- this mix wasn't taken from the MIDI itself, it's too similar -- too close of a cover -- to an already existing arrangement without standing apart enough from that existing arrangement. It's too similar, IMO, so I'll vote YES on removal. YES on removal

This is being revisited because someone told Sir_NutS it was too close to the source, and NutS then found a MIDI on VGMusic that's not 100% the same, but is similar and brings in the possibility that this was ripped. To me, when I actually heard the MIDI, it's a reasonable concern because the mix does have a fairly straightforward usage of all the same part-writing found in the MIDI, pretty much for the entire track. Judges' votes:

Though the ending was abrupt, the arrangement's all good, Paul, and I especially loved the rhythmic changes to the melody, so there's absolutely no issues there. That said, I felt the mixing was muddy and cluttered, which dinged this. Ultimately, I felt the arrangement carried it enough where I don't think we should hold this back. I'd love to get another pass at the mixing that was clearer without weakening the energy here, but I'll live with what's there. YES (borderline)

There were times where the main source tune was more pushed back and marginalized, but it was audible enough overall, that I didn't have a problem with counting it when it was in play. Really creative and expansive way to handle things, Vasily! Great to finally have you aboard. YES

The opening piano should sound more realistic and less mechanical, but I'll live. Nah, this isn't nitpicky at all. The backing gets practically lost for me on headphones, so this mixing's a dealbreaker because the source tune's getting marginalized during the fullest sections, e.g. every chorus and even some of the verses (:24-:36, :50-1:01, 1:13-1:38). Even when it's audible, it's too pushed back (e.g. :36-:46, 1:01-1:13). It's otherwise a strong & creative track, and I didn't have a problem with any dissonance, but this mixing's got to be addressed for me to get on board. NO (resubmit)

Big energy to kick things off, that's for sure. The arrangement was substantive enough to bear the repetition, but the copy-pasta was disappointing because it was definitely too straightforward and it made the track feel too flat/samey over the long haul. I also thought the mixing was cluttered, and felt there was some high-end sizzle; not enough to hold this back, but it's indeed crowded like Gario and MW mentioned. Andrew still bringing it big-time, but more detail work in the repeated sections to keep the show fresh would have been awesome. YES

Co-signed with Gario entirely. The lack of humanization bothered me a bit less, but it still did, and this would sound much more solid if it were addressed. The textures were pretty cluttered, and there was indeed not much low-end presence. The arrangement was creative, but I'd also recommend doing something different with the lead writing or instrumentation at 2:09 to vary things up more for the final section, otherwise this felt too repetitive for a closing section. Good base here, James; see what more you can do to polish this up! NO (resubmit)

The balance was a little iffy, I agreed, but the lead guitar sounded out well enough relative to the rhythm guitar and accordion, but it was nothing obscuring the performances, so I'm cool with it. I actually enjoyed the placement of the instrumentation and thought it contributed to a more authentic sound of a room setting. Fun arrangement, and the live aspect of the performances and rhythmic changes created enough personalization in the arrangement to have no problem getting by. Fun stuff, Reuben! Send some more, and welcome! YES

I thought the mixing got cluttered and was too hot, so I wouldn't mind another pass at that, but it nothing that ultimately affected my vote. That said, this was a subdued but substantive interpretation of the source. There were extended portions of original writing over the top of explicit chord progressions from the source, but as long as that stuff's used directly from the source, that's OK with me and valid source usage. The track may feel overlong, but it's meant to just coast along and there's enough subtle contrast here to make it clear that the track developed and evolved. Nice to hear Justin back at it once again! YES

IMO, this gets it done now as far as making things more polished, but I still can't help but feel like this has a really limited dynamic curve despite all of the wild writing going on. I think it's just that when the breakbeats are in play, the track seems like it hovers in one gear the whole time, which makes it feel plodding despite all the obvious changes in the textures. More should have been going on with the breakbeat writing, but beyond 2:07 there was more attention paid to that before the close. If anything, I think the breakbeats were coasted on too much leaving the energy level feeling relatively flat after a while. All in all, it's over the line, but maybe another J could better articulate why this doesn't feel like the potential is fully realized or if I'm on the right track. Still a win though and creative, expansive work by Jonas. YES

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The other Js covered this well, including the arrangement concerns, production feedback, and performance advice, so I'll try not to retread too much. That said, be sure to re-read all of their comments. The opening was definitely too close in structure, tone, and presentation to the original song. There's nothing inherently wrong with making a super-close cover, it's just that for OC ReMix we're looking for a greater level of interpretation, so the opening being so close to the original song is a ding against it. The guitar taking over later did shift it into a more personalized sound, but melodically it was still pretty close and more could have been done to make this interpretation more interpretive somehow; of course, if that's not the goal of this piece, definitely don't alter it for our sakes, just make the kind of music you want to make. The drums coming in 1:21 felt really lonely in the empty background, and the lead guitar didn't have enough thickness and presense to the sound to compensate, so the texture just felt half-empty. Until 2:02, I'd argue the lead guitar was also mixed too quietly relative to the drums, and I'm also not sure why the drums were panned so far to the left. Lots to tackle if this were to be posted, but it's a solid effort that needs more to distinguish itself from the source tune as well as some mixing improvements. NO

Listened to this a few days ago and forgot to lay down the vote. Short and sweet, nice work. It's indeed sample-sounding orchestration, but it's solid enough vis-a-vis the production standards here and produced in a way where the instruments have body and mitigate the relative stiffness of the sequenced timing. Got a fair bit of mileage and variations out of this theme! Nice work, Mathieu, and cool to have someone also tackle the Souls game like RoeTaKa does. YES

Even though the U.S. name of this game is Tyrants: Fight Through Time, we'll indeed need a new mix title if this passes, since Mega-Lo-Mania is the European title. Around :13, the bowed strings got buried under the other instruments, but it was brief. At 1:02, the drums did seem to distort briefly, so I see a little bit about what MindWanderer is saying, but I didn't think anything was a dealbreaker. I love the adaptation to these instruments, which really fleshed out the track compared to the original; I thought it was a valid, expansive arrangement approach. The added guitar soloing from 2:34 was a nice touch as well. Cool overlooked source tune choice, Rustam, and you did a nice job expanding the instrumentation and personalizing the sound to stand apart enough from the original track. Welcome aboard! YES

I counted the marimba base as a rhythmic change to the melody's opening chords, so all of that counted and there wasn't a need to timestamp anything. The pan flute was stiff, but no big deal. The marimba pattern did feel repetitive and lacking dynamics over time, like Gario pointed out, so that was a a great point; other than that, I didn't have a problem with most of the minor criticisms other Js had. Really strong work, Ad, and I didn't feel like the arrangement plodded or lost its focus; I thought it evolved nicely. Cool stuff! YES

I was pretty meh on the blocky-sounding piano that opened things up; it was brief, but sounded very unrealistic. Having it come back at 3:00 was unfortunate too; for your future tracks, try to make the piano sound more humanized. Nice beat at :17, and I'm really digging the transformative take on the BotW main theme. The synth timing at 4:12 also felt too blocky, and the synth could have used some more creative processing, because I felt like it was pretty lonely sounding and droned some, but we'll live. Smaller crits aside, really strong arrangement, Ad! YES

When the theme kicked in at :31, the texture and structure were pretty much verbatim with the source aside from no percussion, so there wasn't a substantial enough difference compared to the source. There was some accenting instrumentation going on, but this was still very similar to the source until 3:01, which was nearly halfway through. For the arrangement/interpretation standards, this needs to stand apart more from the original source tune much sooner. Pretty fake-sounding strings, perhaps throwing back to A Link to the Past or Ocarina of Time in some respects, but I don't think it works. The attacks and decays for the strings from 2:01-2:54 (especially from 2:17-2:23) just sounded awful and greatly exposed the samples too much. Then the strings and brass at 3:27's more forceful section were also very exposed. You've got to make sure the attacks sound more realistic & human; it's silly at that point. The writing there was otherwise energetic and more interpretive. When you have more instruments in play, the fuller textures did mitigate the sample realism issues some, but the parts still sounded thin and exposed, so you'll want to see where you can thicken up some of the parts for a richer, more realistic sound. Decent base here so far, Ben, and it's a very nice theme choice to arrange. Do what you can to make the first half more interpretive, and you absolutely need to improve both the humanization and fullness of your instrumentation; if that can't be done, it's a dealbreaker. While the production needed more attention to detail, you showed some good arrangement ideas in the second half; even though that half was also structurally conservative, you managed to have it feel more grandiose than the original song in terms of your part-writing. See what you can do to make the first half more distinctive and different from the original as well. NO (resubmit)

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Thanks for the catch! We'll fix it on the main site soon, and a torrent fix will have to wait.

That's "Title / Password" from the NES game IronSword: Wizards & Warriors II, composed by David Wise. http://ocremix.org/song/10178/title-password