Liontamer

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Man, this was great. Chrono Trigger's done to death, no doubt, but look at what you're working with. Are you going to skip a creative "Secret of the Forest" arrangement? NO. Great fundamentals here in terms of lengthy EDM, where you have a gradual build as more and more elements come in before the main verse finally arrived at 1:30, as well as breakdowns like the subtle dropoff starting at 2:59 and eventual ethereal rebuild leading into 4:14. Though the energy was still great and the overall approach was transformative, 4:45 sounded like a retread section until 5:44 added something new by combining different parts of the source together until 6:14 (which was a very cool idea). Repetition wasn't a big deal in the big picture when the arrangement was so creatively developed and expanded to begin with. ABG might feel like creating this piece was analogous to putting on a comfy old T-shirt that still fits nicely and looks good. It takes you back. That said, enjoy the music of someone whose been out of the game for a while but, in reality, never, ever lost a step. ;-) Shawn, it's was a true pleasure to have you back in action. Please keep 'em coming!

(Aaron wanted two tiny spots of loud sibilance corrected.) ad.mixx's comments: This song was a fun one to work on. I had the idea while going through and listening to some old Touhou songs, and the source is actually from the same game I tried remixing a long time ago. That one got rejected, but I'm back at it again this time with singing involved. All I did production wise was the vocals, piano, koto, and one synth in the chorus. Chimpazilla came through with everything else and brought a beauty to the song that I never could have imagined when first working on it. She absolutely killed it with the drums and bass and added a bunch of details with chords, strings, synths, and transitions that really made this song sound 100%. The meaning behind the song is pretty simple in my opinion - it's a breakup song. Think of something like Tyler the Creator's "EARFQUAKE" and you pretty much get the gist of it. It hurts to break up - you feel like you lose a piece of yourself in a lot of ways, and I tried to capture that moment in time to the best of my ability, even though it was so long ago ("everything's getting so blurry"). The vocals and game actually have nothing to do with each other, like my past remixes here, but I felt super inspired by the doujin project "FELT" and how they write their vocal remixes (again, having nothing to do with the games themselves). I wanted to try to transform the song into something a little prettier much like they do, and I think Chimpazilla and I succeeded on that front. This one was incredibly difficult to sing because the melody is so much more complex than anything I've ever done, but I hope everything is up to par with OCR standards, and I hope the judges enjoy it. Chimpazilla's comments: Aaron said "all I did production-wise" but he isn't giving himself enough credit! This remix is his source choice, his concept, his arrangement 100%, his lyrics, his vocal performance and processing, in addition to his piano, koto, pads and fx. Aaron sent me an initial wip of this arrangement with his first sung verse, and I was hooked. It had such a haunting beauty already in wip #1. I added the bassline and drums, sweepy pads, a few plucks and details, a couple of transitions, and I mixed and mastered it. Aaron and I work very well together, with our ideas complimenting each other pretty seamlessly. This track came together rather quickly to about 90% completion and then went on hold for nearly a year due to LifeStuff™. Aaron reached out to me a few days ago with a completed vocal stem, and from there the track was finished and polished in two days. I had never heard this source tune before Aaron sent me his wip, and I was surprised how different his wip was from the source in vibe and energy. One thing I love about both the source and remix is the use of triplets throughout the arrangement. Aaron was able to maintain all those triplets in his vocal writing and it gives the piece a very nice flow I think. Aaron stayed very true to the source melody, but he added such amazing variations (such as the end of the chorus sections "and still I find I'm in love") as he crafted this arrangement, making it flow to express what he wanted to say. He even included the trucker's gearshift modulation in his arrangement! (and it is seamless!) I can appreciate how difficult this was to sing. As Aaron mentioned, the melody is quite complex, and it covers a wide range of octaves too. I think he did a terrific job! This is really an achingly sad song, but Aaron and I managed to put together a soundscape that is so lovely, and I feel like the beauty of the piece adds a hopeful feeling to counterbalance the intense pain in Aaron's words. It was a joy to work on this! Stuck In My Head lyrics: Who's to blame? It's all the same The battle's won, still it's a goddamn shame We oughta not, it's best we forgot Leave it all to rot, yet I'm still thinking what it could be I'm stuck in my head making all the wrong moves The wails from the dead say I'm breaking all the wrong rules Who's to blame? It's all the same Our hearts are charred from the unruly flame I'm so tired of this Guess I'm just not that strong So now I'm trapped with my thoughts and this same damn song I'm stuck in my head acting like a damn fool The tales from the dead say I'm being way to damn cruel I've wasted all of this life So that my hate could finally feed It's crazy for me to think That all of this ends without a bleed Enough with the nonsense, I'm stuck on the offense I'm trying so hard not to lose It needs to be confessed, my troubles were repressed And now I'm just left here confused I'm bruising my own skin to hold down the demon And still I find I'm in love I can't stop with the fury I'm so sorry Who's to blame? It's all the same The battles won still it's a goddamn shame I'm so tired of this Thinking I did no wrong So now I'm stuck here just writing the same damn song I'm stuck in my head making all the wrong moves The wails from the dead say I'm breaking all the wrong rules I've wasted all of this life So that my hate could finally feed It's crazy for me to think That all of this ends without a bleed Enough with the nonsense, I'm stuck on the offense I'm trying so hard not to lose It needs to be confessed, my troubles were repressed And now I'm just left here confused I'm bruising my own skin to hold down the demon And still I find I'm in love I can't stop with the fury I'm so sorry Everything's getting so blurry I'm so sorry Games & Sources Touhou 10: Mountain of Faith Stage 5 Theme: The Primal Scene of Japan the Girl Saw

Hello everyone ! I made a new album (Black SeeD - Wings of Renaissance (2024) (Full Album) - YouTube, once again atmo/melodic black metal) which contains two VGM track, and here's the first one. It's a remix of "Invincible" from World of Warcraft. There is of course the main know theme (chorus), but the rest is there as well, especially part of the intro during the beggining and the break section of the song. Introduction is remixing the actual introduction of "Invincible", but it's really diluted. Chorus is repeated with added guitar sections and sort of counter melody with the breathy/airy pad. After the break, I've included a section from "Arthas, my son" which is the trailer version of the music (1:11 / 1:40 in the original song, 04:26 / 5:36 in my remix), getting back to "invincible" with the intro section remixed in another way again, and back to the chorus. This song once again takes inspiration from ambiant black metal (Part 3 (Like Music in the Night) (youtube.com). I hope you'll enjoy ! Games & Sources Game : World of Warcraft Song remixed : Invincible Composers : Russell Brower and Jason Hayes

@Emunator Need a source tune breakdown; help a brother out!

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Grandfathered in, since this would be a Standards violation for how it leans on the samples vocals as the source tune connection. I wish the beats evolved more, because you gets the untz untz (not “units units”, you dumb phone, don’t autocorrect me!), and not much more. I’d have not had the beats sound out over the top of the vocals so much, but it’s a style. :-)

Good expansiveness per mp’s usual. I’d argue the intro sounded the best, then the rest sounded dated, yet it’s a creative in terms of the arrangement. The autopilot drums for the closing section were disappointing, but for its time this track does stand apart from the original well, and even in comparison to the rest of the Radical Dreamers flood set.

The potential was there to further develop in some different directions, but the genre interpretation was fun. Beats were meaty, the production was spacious for its time, it’s a good rendition. Loved the sampled NES music intro; sounded extra ominous and VRC6-like!

For the early days, this is pretty solid. Though much of the instrumentation is rigid and dated, the arrangement has a ton of character, and the lead piano (not the left-hand part) and the organ in particular sounded strong. Very creative approach by mp!

E for effort, as Saunders himself admits. Feels MIDI rip level with no depth to the sounds, and no meaningful transition between the two songs. A product of its time, the good ol’ days. :-)

Hefty beats here that fill up the soundscape well. The saw lead’s too abrasive for me personally, but I’ll live. Cool to sample the “GO!” vox from the original. Some patience/restraint shown by not getting to the melody until later on, which helped this take stand apart. Didn’t realize how overlooked this Sonic 3 theme was; it was a great stage theme from a fun zone. :-) No stress playing that level back in the day!

Good changing of the textures over time. The saw was the weak point, since it was very vanilla. Enjoyed the breakbeat loop thrown in there in the second half, which I’ve heard in other tracks. The dropoff at 4:35 was well done, with good bass writing followed by getting subtractive with the textures. Shows its age, yet has good arranging/interpretation fundamentals.

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Opens up with some pretty vanilla leads, but they've got power behind 'em, so props on the production there. Nice guitar-like chugs at :17, combined with the loud "woo"-like synths doubling the melody. Nice dropoff at :41 to a thinner texture while preserving the groove and gradually rebuilding, including with the vocal samples. For the new section at 1:13, it felt like the bass and lead were both too loud compared to everything else, but nothing majorly dinging this. Overall, this has a fun Genesis+ kind of sound to it. At 2:01, the woo-like sound handling the melody was again way too loud; nothing where I'm saying this can't pass, but it felt imbalanced. Regardless of some mixing & volume reservations, the sound design's cool overall (whether "dated or "vintage") and I loved CJ's arrangement approach, which has a lot of character, and that easily trumps any minor production critiques. YES

I remember listening to this on my phone a few weeks ago and thinking the initial sequencing felt stiff. To me, it's lacks humanization that undermines the energy of the writing, but it's serviceable. The creativity of the arrangement side tends to make up for this for me, though I can absolutely understand others feeling otherwise, and it's a borderline case for me. I liked the bass writing; it's oddly mixed in that I hear the notes, but it's not as audible as it feels like it should be, so you don't get the full effect of the cool composition there. Nice sudden rhythmic shift at 1:59 as a subtle transition into the chorus at 2:02, that was smart stuff. At 2:14 when the snare rhythm shifted, it exposed the relative emptiness of that drum sample more, but it wasn't a huge deal; the textures are cohesive enough. Sampled guitar from 3:43-3:54 is weird in that it rings out so loudly yet it's there so fleetingly (the part comes back at 4:19); didn't make sense to mix it like that. In any case, while the sample realism was the biggest drawback to me, Kevin's arrangement approach was cool, and I thought the combination of themes was effective. I would love an improved version if possible, but I'm willing to let it ride, and appreciate the creative arrangement approach first and foremost. YES (borderline)

Many thanks to minusworld for the source usage breakdown. :-) I get what the NOs are saying about the relative imbalances (e.g. the volume of the sax first used at 2:04's absurd :-D), so I wouldn't mind another mixing pass at this, but if we couldn't get another version of this, the arrangement are performances are solid, so we ride! YES

I remember voting on ella guro's and, at the time, we'd had a falling out, so though I was impartial with the vote itself, I was upset and shouldn't have let it to color how I expressed things. I still enjoy the arrangement side of "Unleashed!" and most of the production. I've listened to "Unleashed!" multiple times afterward to ensure I wasn't being biased, and I still couldn't get behind the (fully intentional) levels of distortion for the big boom-boom-boom drumming, even though I heard the Guided by Voices references and understood the influence, so it'll be interesting to see if I also feel jmr's approach, inspired by all that and "Ashes in the Snow", is too much. For example, 7:52-11:10 in "Ashes in the Snow" just sounds like noise & mud where the details of the writing are too obscured, so I hope it's not a ton of this. :-( Source theme arrives at :45. Great gradual build of the textures until 1:50, and I of course enjoyed the rhythmic changes. Nice transition into the chorus section at 1:50. I love the tension of the backing parts here, especially knowing the influences, as I'm 2:30 in and now I'm bracing for the hit, it's on the way. :-D OK, 2:43, we get some added geetar in there, and we don't have any massive booming or distortion yet. A-ha, 3:23, there it is, though I'd say this is way more tame than "Unleashed!" You get the boominess and the volume being overdriven some, but "Ashes in the Snow" had the distortion of backing guitars as a really thick backing layer and that didn't happen here, while "Unleashed!" had the drums & cymbals distorted and blasting at 1:33 & 1:47. I'd be really interested in Emunator (this is his kind of thing) or another J comparing "Unleashed!" and "Ashes in the Snow Man" to better articulate why I'm OK with the latter; the best way I can describe it is that the booming drums here didn't slam over the top of the other instrumentation and sound as crunchy & clipping. Diggin' it! YES

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Artist Name: jmr Games & Sources EarthBound - Snow Man https://ocremix.org/song/820/snowman https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niE24aTdtns EarthBound - In Winters There Is A Genius (similar song, but has a unique section at the end which I've used in my arrangement) https://ocremix.org/song/26452/in-winters-there-is-a-genius https://youtu.be/NY2SD4ur0Gc oooh fancy new submission form! Hey all! Hope you're doing well! Last month, I used Dwelling of Duels as an excuse to shake off the rust and try recording a solo arrangement for the first time in a while. Normally I'd turn to my Marshall Art bandmates for something like this - I'm severely outclassed as a guitarist compared to Mikhail and Cory, and I haven't programmed anything other than famitracker drums in years (and why would you, with ErichWK and Kev Ragone around?) - but I thought it would be a fun challenge for myself to make something entirely on my own. As the title of the arrangement alludes, this track is heavily inspired by the band Mono, particularly their song "Ashes in the Snow". There are some clear aesthetic and arrangement choices that are, shall we say, "borrowed" from that song (especially the drone and glockenspiel intro), but as my song proceeds I think it becomes it's own thing and leans less into their specific sound. A large number of the choices I made for the guitar tones and drum production (kick and snare spring reverb! :D) owe a lot to Cory Johnson's music. Cory's been an inspiration and a friend for over a decade now, and I've had the opportunity to collaborate with him quite a few times so it's maybe natural that his style would rub off on me. I think a few DoD voters might have thought this was one of his entries; I am merely the Big 8 to Cory's Coca Cola. I've also got to highlight one final influence - ella guro's "Unleashed!...". I posted a review of that track back in 2016: So here I am almost a decade later, finally recording the arrangement I had in mind back then. It's pretty clear how that version influenced mine: BIG AND LOUD AND SATURATED DRUMS. Thanks for the inspiration, Liz. One final note: the intro drone. It is intentionally uncomfortably long. For the DoD version, I decorated that section with a Carl Sagan sample from an interview about the risks of nuclear winter that is awfully, scarily relevant to today's climate change crisis. I've removed this sample to comply with the content policy, but I've opted to not cut down the length of the drone that was under the sample. Even without Carl's prophetic voice that drone sets the tone for the rest of the arrangement in a way that I felt simply didn't work when cut down. The whole idea is to create a mood of tension, discomfort, and unease, so if you don't like how long it takes the song to start, I say it's done it's job. All the best, and I hope you enjoy the track!

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Wow! And being a "Wings of Gold" fan back in the day with virt, I know Jake will enjoy this! Shit, is this an audition to do a Shovel Knight rock anthem arrangement album, because this is an amazing proof of concept. At 3:48, the guitar work took the intensity to another level; loved the layers/effects there. Triumphant! YES

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