Liontamer

Opens up nice, with a clean soundscape. Let's see if this holds up. ... It didn't hold up. Keep in mind, the overall mixing/balancing job IS an improvement, but it's definitely not separated well enough, IMO. As soon as 1:01-1:12 happened, the track was distorted and clipping. Moving on, IMO the layers of guitars & drums at 1:27 are still pretty muddy and the melody on piano doesn't cut through. Even the guitar from 1:59-2:04, which was supposed to sound intense, just sounded quiet and swallowed up. Not sure why 2:21-2:52 sounds so distant. Even if it's intentional, the volume jump at 2:52 when that part ends was awkward, so it doesn't sound purposeful & smooth, even though I'd assume this was done on purpose. 3:02-3:13 was pretty cluttered. I still point to 4:09-4:25 as the one section where the parts really can breathe, and the mixing sounds strong. This is still a great arrangement, but you HAVE to fully eliminate these clutter & distortion issues before we can post this. If this doesn't pass, take it to the Workshop for targeted production help and don't resubmit this again until you're able to really focus on tweaking some very specific things with the EQ. I'm not saying that our of any anger or frustration, Anthony; this is a strong piece, but production-wise, it's gonna need some advanced back-and-forth critique, and possibly some direct assistance from another musician, to clear this soundscape up enough while preserving the power you intended here. NO (resubmit)

Didn't judge the first version, but this started out pretty nicely. The lil' hand percussion touches added at :23 and gradually building were mixed too loud IMO, but it wasn't a huge deal. Great job retaining the mood of the original while changing the rhythms a bit. What happened at 1:21? The synth at 1:21 clashed in places with the piano until 1:40; another J can better explain what sounded off there. Not feeling the percussion additions at 1:50; those thuds sounded out of place with the rest of the instrumentation, moreso when exposed from 3:01-3:13. That could stand to be pulled back a bit along with the volume of the hand percussion. Maybe it's a just a personal taste thing, so we'll see where the other Js fall, but IMO the thick beats for all of the second half didn't quite click here. Along with agreeing with Chimpa's crit that the arrangement ideas in the second half were stagnant/repetitive, that and the beats in the second half are enough to ask for a resub after another pass at this. TL;DR: The arrangement's pointing in the right direction and this maybe could make it as is, but, for me, the second half needs more interesting/unique variations of the source, whether it be more melodic changes, instrumentation changes or rhythmic variations. The textures in the second half also aren't cohesive at all, IMO, so I can't quite sign off on this yet. Like I mentioned, I didn't hear the first version, but whether or not this version passes, you're well on your way to getting posted with work like this Cody. Now it's about getting the detail work sounding great. NO (resubmit)

I didn't judge the original version, but this one's solid. I think the balance still isn't great and that the lead and backing guitars kind of occupy the same space; this is still somewhat busy/cluttered, but the parts are separated well enough, so ultimately there's no dealbreaker. Unlike Nutritious, I would have counted :13-:33 as source, and the context of those two note pieces matters when comparing it to the source. I think he justified his opinion on it, I just felt otherwise re: counting it when I checked it. Source usage checks out markedly above 50% overt usage for me, and this was a really sweet take on a very somber, pensive source. Great energy and definitely not a take I would have ever expected. Nice work from Eino and Calum! YES

Anything from the past is grandfathered in per our agreement with them. It's just going forward, we disallow SE samples of any kind. I did notice that back in the day when researching for lockdowns. Since the productions were 6 weeks apart and Sega was a co-producer of the anime (with some character/product tie-ins), Jun Irie's music is at least known enough from the game as from the anime, and may have been concurrently developed. We'll likely need to credit him as well as an composer for the game.

I'll check on it late tonight or tomorrow for you.

YAY! Journey & The Banner Saga's Austin Wintory is digging it! THANKS, AUSTIN! Way to go, Seb! https://twitter.com/awintory/status/572517396407177216

OC ReMix Presents Seven Songs for Seventh Saga! March 2, 2015 Contact: press@ocremix.org FAIRFAX, VA... Swedish cellist Sebastian Freij artfully pays homage to an underappreciated RPG with OverClocked ReMix's latest album, Seven Songs for Seventh Saga. The album features seven arrangements of themes from The 7th Saga, released by Enix in 1993 for the SNES with music composed by Norihiko Yamanuki. This is the first album published by OC ReMix to feature a single instrument and to be accompanied by sheet music and , creating an experience that is both immersive and educational."Like many VGM fans, I'm very fond of music from RPG's like Final Fantasy, Breath of Fire, Lufia and the list goes on... but for making a project as this, I wanted to choose something that hasn't been covered as much," Freij explained. "As far as I know, 7th Saga is the only game [Norihiko Yamanuki]'s written music for. The question pops up in my head from time to time: Why did he stop? I think many of the tracks have a classical touch and very interesting harmonies." Each of the seven pieces is beautifully conceptualized and arranged by Freij for three cellos, accompanied by videos edited by José E. Felix synchronizing the sheet music to each of Freij's performances. Beyond including photography by Swedish studio Tuana with digital painting by Andrew Luers, the album was mastered by Wilbert Roget, II, who worked with Freij while composing the scores for Square Enix's Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris and LucasArts' unreleased Star Wars 1313. Seven Songs for Seventh Saga is available for free download at http://sevensongs.ocremix.org. This album was produced to help promote the music of The 7th Saga, was made by fans, for fans, and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Square Enix; all original compositions are copyright their respective owners. "I'm honored and excited to be releasing Sebastian's Seven Songs for Seventh Saga on OCR," OC ReMix founder David W. Lloyd affirmed. "From the classical presentation to the amazing videos Sebastian and José worked on to the availability of sheet music, it presents the essence of both arrangement and performance in a stripped-down, compelling, and immediate format, highlighting the cello itself and Sebastian's exquisite playing." Hailing from Falköping, Sweden, Sebastian Freij has played the cello since a young age, performing for both acoustic and electric cello. Beyond his work as a cello instructor, Freij also presents workshops on sample looping, and has studied theater, dance, and sound engineering. His first love, however, is arranging video game music, and he has been an OC ReMixer since 2006, contributing 16 arrangements. Seven Songs for Seventh Saga is his first video game music album. About OverClocked ReMix Founded in 1999, OverClocked ReMix is an organization dedicated to the appreciation and promotion of video game music as an art form. Its primary focus is ocremix.org, a website featuring thousands of free fan arrangements, information on game music and composers, resources for aspiring artists, and a thriving community of video game music fans. ### Download it: http://sevensongs.ocremix.org Performance Videos: Torrent: http://bt.ocremix.org/torrents/7th_Saga_-_Seven_Songs_for_Seventh_Saga.torrent Comments/Reviews: http://ocremix.org/forums/showthread.php?t=49277

Download it: http://sevensongs.ocremix.org Performance videos: Torrent: http://bt.ocremix.org/torrents/7th_Saga_-_Seven_Songs_for_Seventh_Saga.torrent My first contact with the game 7th Saga was a cold winter day. I think I was about 14 years old and was sick home from school. I borrowed it from a friend that said that this was a hard game that would keep me busy. His words were true. Too true, in matter of fact. Die, level up, try again, continue, die, level up, try again were the steps I remember. I think I got to the 5th rune or something… then I gave up. I got well from the sickness and tried easier games and forgot about The 7th Saga. A few years later, I found it again and thought I would give it another try, but failed to finish the game even this time. One thing I do remember is the very cool melodies from the game that really got to me. Norihiko Yamanuki wrote the music and as far as I know, 7th Saga is the only game he's written music for. The question pops up in my head from time to time: Why did he stop? I think many of the tracks have a classical touch and very interesting harmonies. Like many VGM fans, I'm very fond of music from RPG's like Final Fantasy, Breath of Fire, Lufia and the list goes on... but for making a project as this, I wanted to choose something that hasn't been covered as much. As I currently work as a substitute cello teacher, I wanted to create a video that could inspire you as a cellist or just a music lover as well by being able to follow the progression of the piece both visually and audibly. It's a video that you can watch over and over again and choose freely what part you want to focus on as a listener or a fellow cellist. I've done a few prototypes of this kind of video before. "Sky" was made a little less than 2 years ago and posted on my YouTube channel: http://youtu.be/YRHBPz5X9Iw The idea of adding sheet music synced to the BPM (beats per minute) came up and I made the first video with an arrangement for three cellos of some tunes from Secret of Mana. I didn't get as much response as I hoped, but I was still satisfied with the result and the core purpose of it: http://youtu.be/XbJI_hSvDlo My goal with this project: • To inspire other musicians to play more video game music • A tribute to the music of 7th Saga written by Norihiko Yamanuki • A play along video solution • Keep studying the musical possibilities with music written for three cellos It's been a great journey to work on this project and I hope to do a similar project in the future! Big thanks to the OC ReMix crew for being supportive with helping out with art, homepage, and everything necessary to make it happen! (All the names that's been involved.) - Sebastian Freij

What did you think? Post your opinion of this ReMix.

What did you think? Post your opinion of this ReMix.

Just throwing a quick YES on this. Great listen, and the source interplay was seamless.

I treated some of the interpretation as a little too liberal IMO, but my breakdown ended up checking out just barely over 50% regardless: :26-1:07, 1:32.5-1:51, 1:53-2:17, 2:30-2:33, 2:35.5-2:38, 2:45.5-2:47 = 90.5 seconds or 50.2% Anyway, I strongly disagreed with "If I click around randomly in this track, I can't tell where I am." Maybe I'm more used to the piece having listened to this a lot when Futebol Arte came out, but I didn't get thrown off by any of the structure, and I thought the layout of this wasn't any different than a lot of A-B-A subs we receive. It may be a case where listening to it more and getting more used to the structure makes it click for the full listen. I can see concerns about the melodic and backing repetition, but IMO the overall interpretation of the source and expansion of the instrumentation was more than substantial enough to bear some repetition. There's a difference between copy-pasta that works and doesn't work, and I felt there were a lot of textural/combination changes that helped this not feel samey. Overall, the the instrumentation and production were on point, the textures changed up more than enough, there were lots of subtle dynamic changes through, and the source tune was very nicely interpreted, varied and expanded. I didn't get any sense that it was getting into boring/underdeveloped territory at all, and I'm with this all the way. IMO, it's a mistake if something like this can't pass. YES

Melodically, I agreed this was too conservative, but there was enough going on around the melody that I thought this was reasonably personalized. There are good ideas for changing the surrounding instrumentation and textures. That said, by the time you hit 2:08 and it's just the source tune continuing near-vebatim melodically, it would have been good to hear some sort of melodic variations to add more uniqueness here. Overall though, it's mainly the execution and production holding this concept back. The sequencing/timing was pretty stiff-sounding, and the textures were very thin most of the time, so the track feels empty and robotic, despite the effort put into it. If you can humanize your sequencing and learn how to create fuller textures, you'll be in much better shape. If you aren't doing so already, William, hit the Workshop, and post your arrangements there for advice on how to improve those specific things. NO

BUMP! I'm staying away from social media so I don't get spoiled. I know the original UK series, so there's some major plot points I'm fairly sure they'll hit, but just like the U.S. version's season 2 demonstrated, even if you know the British version's plot, you don't know how this version will get there. GET HYPE! Here's Sesame Street's House of Bricks to tide you over.

Hey F it, I'm still on panel and can take another look. Would rather you just went "Dude, WTF?!?" 8 years ago and not carry that with you, also so we could have re-visited it earlier. I'll reread/revisit it and see if we messed up. Going from major to minor isn't too liberal by the standards. From TO's vote, he says it's good to go as far as source usage, but I'll look more closely at the overall rejection grounds when I'm free. Honestly, I think the other issues I brought up about the repetitive beats, bassline, and dynamics possibly would keep my call the same, but I didn't timestamp as much in 2006, so I'll certainly do that. I definitely don't meant to insult your arrangement and your efforts to use the source tune. Having been on panel pretty long, I don't believe we've made lots of calls that were wrong or poorly justified, but we're also human, so if someone thinks we BSed a call, just let us know right when it happens (ideally). Just FYI, any artist who thinks we majorly jacked up a call should always ask for more votes/another look. We've done it before and reversed a rejection, and we're always willing to revisit.

When has that happened? That hypothetical doesn't sound (at all) like a reason we'd reject a track.

Interesting simplification of the melody with the backing pad to start things off. :34 picked things up some with the beats as things built gradually. Good stuff at :52 with the added lead synths. Things do sound somewhat indistinct, but nothing that was a dealbreaker. Arrangement-wise, there's some solid personalization even though the treatment is melodically conservative. The thinness of the beats at 1:27 after such a long build was a disappointment; the soundscape was too empty on account of the core beats being fairly flimsy. The pacing was too rigid and the sound design of the lead was plain & generic, making 1:32-2:33 sound very flat and unexpressive. Again at 2:54 and 3:29, the timing of everything was too tightly timed, and the beats plodded. I get that this is meant to sound robotic, but there's a stiffness to this that doesn't click; hopefully another judge can better articulate what's the matter there. This is well in the right direction and just needs some additional TLC to ensure the beats don't plod, the the timing sounds less rigid, and (to a lesser degree) the synths sound less generic. Good base so far, Kyle, this is well on the way to getting there. NO (resubmit)

Sorry about not sending an email after the veto, Pieter; it's so rare, I didn't think to do that, so that's my fault. Right from the start, the piano timing being rigid still undermined this, the opening strings sounded pretty unrealistic, and the pipes first used at :11 still sounded very stiffly timed. The mixing was still odd here, and the pan flute brought in at 1:09 sounded even more like it was played at full volume and then just turned down, which made no sense. The way the volume drastically dropped at 1:09-1:29 & 1:43-2:12 from the louder piano sections before them also made no sense. The track sounded needlessly hollow during the quieter sections. It's a shame, because the arrangement itself was solid, but the piece passing before was the panel being too lenient on a number of smaller production issues that added up. The issues from before are all still here, and the balance issues are arguably even worse, so I don't think any tinkering around the edges can make this passable; you'd have to start from scratch. If the sample articulations can't be modified, it's a non-starter as far as getting this to pass. NO

Funny how the klezmer stuff from 2:19-2:58 seemed to wander off aimlessly, which some people will hate, but I loved vegging out to it. The build to the final crescendo starting around 3:36 got cramped by the reach of the apex at 3:52 IMO, but it wasn't a big deal. Arrangement- & concept-wise, love it. I love it. YES

Pretty much this. I don't mean to sell short the instrument dropouts and changes you employ throughout, but this has basically one intensity level/one gear, so it tends to drag out, plus the sampled harp and female vox articulations need more realism/humanization. That said, you managed to get a lot of juice out of this source tune, but it doesn't hold interest for nearly 4 minutes due to the dynamic curve being relatively flat for most of the track. I could see additional variations of this working, e.g. dropping out the drums entirely & changing the tempo and instrumentation for a section. Something like that could spice things up and retain interest while still keeping this march-like orchestration as the core of the arrangement. NO (resubmit)

I'm glad we at least got to the point where Josh, in fact, decided to submit this. It always sucks when talented artists, and even less experienced arrangers get intimidated by the submissions process or how they perceive the standards. Even if you're not sure something will pass or believe it's not what we're looking for or allow, SEND IT IN ANYWAY. A lot of people misinterpret or misunderstand the submission standards, so some artists needlessly psych themselves out as a result. Definitely have a beer or two, get that courage meter up, and send in your arrangements! Onto the track itself, the change to the organic drums at 2:26 seemed rather arbitrary on first blush, but OK. While sound design-wise, some of the synths & beats were on the vanilla side, the arrangement's cohesive, developed, and charmingly exploratory. I didn't think the production issues Chimpa and Emu cited were dealbreakers, just things that would be good to tweak if possible. There were brief spots where things were too buzzy (e.g. 3:23), and this could have been sharper/clearer, but I think the overall production quality as is was a pass, and don't want to make the perfect the enemy of the good. YES

Co-signed with Chimpa and Emu. I liked the wide, varied panning of the notes to start, and I'm surprised no one's ever used this idea before. That said, melodically, there's not too much development of Kraid theme, even though there was an attempt to personalize the sound. But kept at the same tempo and same overall mood, there wasn't enough of a difference in this arrangement compared to the original track. The melody having a lot of mud in it was a production dealbreak as well. Good initial concept, Scott, but the theme needs much more interpretation/variation compared to the original, and the track needs clearer, more balanced mixing. NO

Pretty loose and messy like the TJ&E style, i.e. in a great way. The mid-range seemed mixed too hot for me sometimes, but other than that, awesome energy and fun times. YES

This sounds like it's missing something to make it sound fully cohesive. I'm not against robotic timing for a purposefully mechanical song, but there's still something lacking expressiveness with the leads, e.g. the bassline brought in at :25 and the lead at :53. Also, there's a lot of volume, but not a lot of balance. EQ-wise, there are frequencies mudding together all over the place, which makes the soundscape sound lo-fi and cluttered. I agreed with Chimpa on 1:59-on just sounding directionless with too may things going on; the timing's stiff, there's no clear lead and no clear background players (all the parts are at similar volumes & overlapping ranges). It's an interesting, cerebral arrangement, but the mixing needs more work. Even though you've done some creative sounds & effects with the tools here, this could also afford to sound more unique with the overall sound design. NO (resubmit)

I'm the camp that this is a good start, but the production's not quite there. There's a lot of empty background space for much of this piece, and (despite the effects) a lot of the textures seem relatively too dry. There needs to be light but continuous padding of the background in the first half, so you don't have too much empty space. I also agreed about the beat patterns going on for too long without enough variation, which dragged down the energy and made the arrangement feel samey-er and blander than you intended. Dynamically, there needs to be even more going on with variations in the energy, instrumentation, and textures. Pretty close though, as the arrangement concepts were great and the gating was a creative approach. Keep at it, bro, this has promise. NO (resubmit)