Liontamer

Opens up with more textural depth than the previous version, lots more oomph, but it's loud and crowded. At :23, when that countermelody comes in, I immediately reacted like "this sounds too loud and too bright". At :31, the bassline does resonate, so I hear it, but it's still being buried. The dropoff section at :46 with the Toad "whoa-whoa-whoa's" is so annoying; I definitely hate you for it. (Seriously, good change in dynamics.) This mixing's definitely too muddy now, I'm afraid. At 1:02, the chip-like countermelody just sounds like it's adding busyness to the texture; maybe there are parts with overlapping frequencies, I dunno. The musician Js can hopefully hone in on what I believe I'm hearing as issues. The kicks at 1:31 are so loud, they sound like they're clipping/popping. Then at 1:48, the melodic line's absolutely steamrolled over until the louder synth at 1:56. Too loud and too busy. If you can pare back the levels appropriately and ensure parts aren't getting obliterated, this would be stronger. Watch the lack of a proper fade-out too; the ending just cuts out (though we can always fix that if need be). Good writing and textural improvements, Cameron, but not yet mixed properly. It feels like if this got YES'ed, it would be with at least one conditional vote. This is moving in the correct direction though. NO (resubmit)

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Being glib will make it sound like I hated this. The piano sounds too mechanical and thin, which is a non-starter. The arrangement's cool, and this may pass as is if something like https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR03527 is any indication of the solo piano bar, but I'm never gonna be in favor of it. If this can be reworked for the sampled piano to have a richer tone/more body and more humanized/fluid timing, I'm game. Though the arrangement easily gets it done, now we just need the sound quality side tightened up! NO (resubmit)

Nice tone with the dual geetars; conservative but inherently transformative via the much more additive writing of the accompaniment. We'll see if it opens up creatively in any other ways. At 1:31, I was waiting for something else to happen with the arrangement to further break it out compared to :08 and wasn't hearing it. Anything with further melodic variation and/or performance dynamics would have made this stronger, IMO. It took until the 3-minute mark for me to hear ideas that ventured into something new with the presentation. Cutting out an iteration of the verse would be a good thing if there's not going to be any tangible differences. It'll sound like I can't get on board with a deliberate tempo, or need some very wild dynamic shifts, or think Justin's performance was below par; IMO, the concept and arrangement approach is valid, but the lack of dynamics over time didn't justify the length and made things drag. :'-( We'll see if it comes off as just being my personal taste rather than the consensus. If this doesn't make it as is, would you be against another take? NO (resubmit)

I disagreed that this isn't a valid arrangement concept, as the source's rhythmic bassline groove right at the start is the foundation of the song and is present for most of the arrangement. Source tunes aren't solely about melodies. It's perfectly valid to invoke that groove and build around it the same way the source tune does. The original kind of coasts and evolves, and this is meant to do the same. However, I do feel like the evolution's too understated and that the core instrumentation doesn't work. Opened up with snare drums that felt very stilted and didn't match the texture of the other instruments, which dragged the piece down. Kicks at 1:52 sounded like they were slightly (though briefly) distorting. Good changeup of the energy at 2:14, and I liked the presense of the electric guitar line. The percussion brought in at 2:24 doesn't sound bad, but still feels like it doesn't really fit the overall texture. After the vox drops out at 3:17, I'm feeling like the tone of the percussion parts again doesn't click with the other instrumentation. Around 4:47, you make things more active around the beat and a new original lead comes in at 4:57, but I feel like I'm hearing the same foundational textures that don't fully click as the base of the track for most of the way; very tepid sounding percussion that doesn't mesh together with the ethereal sounding stuff for about 5 of the 6 1/2 minutes. If you can't refine the sound design with this instrumentation, H36T, it's not going to get off the ground, but the potential is certainly there. NO (resubmit)

"A Road Twice Traveled" Justin Lincoln www.kabukibear.com I'm sorry, I don't know my number. :X

The snare drums at 3:15 didn't quite fit, but that was a case where the texture had thinned out and exposed the sample more. Somewhat muddy/cramped, so I'd prefer another mixing pass, but the arrangement's strong enough no matter what, so I'm on board. Nice job squeezing so much juice out of this theme, Mauricio! YES

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Too many fundamental shortcomings. Like others mentioned, the track starts with 0 introduction or build-up, and the drum mixing is imbalanced. All of the sequenced parts sound stilted and the arrangement is underdeveloped and repetitive, certainly nothing justifying an extended cut. The track took too long to even get to the melodic portion, then once you got to 2:14, about a minute’s worth of loop went on for four for no reason. Would have loved some further variations, textural changes, or other arrangement techniques to be employed to help justify the length. Even if this were a brief cut, the way the samples are used lacks sophistication and humanization, and the arrangement ideas are too minimal. I’m sorry to not have positives to point out beyond the kudos for entering the arena, Jeremy; as a non-musician, I respect that you’ve made this piece happen. Without further compositional/arrangement ideas or production polish, however, this is very far from a developed concept, just something in the early work-in-progress stages. NO

Ow, my fuckin' head. :'-( JUST KIDDING, I'm fine. Short stuff, but good, intense sound design, and well varied. YES [ Ow, my fuckin' head!!!!!!!! :'-( ]

Hey there! I would like to submit a Zelda remix! Contact Information Your ReMixer name: bash explode Your real name: Jesse Your email address: Your website(s): https://bashexplode.com Your userid: 35060 Submission Information Name of game(s) arranged: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Name of arrangement: Great Fairy's Tribulation Name of individual song(s) arranged: Great Fairy's Fountain Your own comments about the mix, for example the inspiration behind it, how it was made, how the source material was referenced in the arrangement, etc. I started this remix out as a beat battle for a Twitch stream and produced up to the first drop in 2 hours. I thought it came out pretty awesome, so I decided to finish it. I've always loved The Legend of Zelda series and ALWAYS wanted to create a remix of a track from Ocarina of Time, so everything at that point fell into place. I did all of my own sound design for synth patches and composed via MIDI, then arranged it in a hybrid mix of genres combining Future UKG and Dubstep/Riddim, which I tend to do in a lot of my tracks. I chose this route because I wanted to do something a little more high energy than the original and what others have done in the past. I also fully mixed and mastered the track! I hope some of the Navi/Ganondorf/Link sample usage is okay, I checked the standards and it seemed like it met the criteria. Hope you enjoy!! Cheers, bash explode

Artist Name: jnWake Collabing artist: Jabo. So, about the arrangement. I made this for Dwelling of Duels' Final Fantasy month. When the month started I wanted to do something creative and/or obscure, but as soon as I sat down on my keyboards my hands took over and started playing the FFVII Boss theme and I was like "ok, we're gonna do this". After all, as much as I love trying to cover less known stuff, there's also value in taking a popular track and trying to make it your own. Initially, I was going to make this a synth-only cover of the track (to separate it from the usual guitar driven rock approach) and even wrote the entire arrangement like that, but DoD shenanigans led me to eventually recruit Jabo on guitars. We switched some leads from synth to guitar and added some rhytm guitars here and there, which honestly improved the track. It's not straight up metal all the time and instead switches from synth focus and standard metal, which gives it a somewhat unique flair IMO. Anyway, the track eventually placed #3. I got some feedback related to drum volume so I made some changes and that's what you hear now! Source usage: Original track is pretty varied, so I'll try to make a detailed explanation to make judging simpler! Original can be basically separated into 5 sections: A (0:00-0:24) B (0:24-0:41) C (0:41-0:52) D (0:53-1:04) E (1:04-end of loop) Now, for the remix: 0:00-0:30: Based on A. 0:30-0:40: Chord progression from A. 0:41-0:53: Arpeggios from B over different chords. 0:54-1:04: Variation over the second part of B. 1:04-1:32: Variations over A (Jabo snuck JENOVA's melody in here). 1:33-1:55: Solos over the chord progression of A. 1:55-2:18: Riff based on bass from C. 2:18-2:32: Lead from C over a different chord progression. 2:32-2:54: Based on D, changed chord progression again. 2:54-3:17: Main melody from E, changed chord progression again. My fave part of the arrangement! 3:17-3:54: Melody based on the backing strings from E. Ends with arpeggios, just like the original (different arpeggios tho). 3:54-end: Repeat of the intro. Hope you enjoy! Games & Sources: Game: Final Fantasy VII Source: "Fight On!" https://ocremix.org/song/130/fight-on YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_GUWdkJQgw

'Twas fast. Revised mix in the first post.

I had to turn this up a little louder than normal to hear the detail work here. When things kicked in at :13, the pacing felt stilted, but we'll see how this goes. Nice dropoff at :42, with a rebuild starting at :56. Things were still feeling relatively empty, and I feel like the bassline from :56-1:24, which had a great tone, was creating muddyness. I can appreciate the way it creates textural contrast with what comes before and after it though. Once that part dropped out at 1:24, the texture got much clearer. I'm liking the ornamentation throughout. Pratically a cut-and-paste of :28 at 2:06, just for 15 seconds before hitting the winddown finish mirroring the intro. It's going to sound like I'm saying this needs to be sped up to be at the original tune's tempo, but this feels too slow. Maybe increasing the tempo some could mitigate the stilted feel of the sequencing here. There's a lot of good details here, so I'm OK with this as is, but it does feel like the potential's not fully realized. YES (borderline)

Your ReMixer name: CJthemusicdude Your real name: CJ Cunningham Your email address: Your website: https://www.youtube.com/@CJTheMusicDude Your userid: 1149 Name of game(s) arranged: Sonic & Knuckles Name of arrangement: Ghost Touch Name of individual song(s) Sandopolis Zone Act 1 Link to the original soundtrack (if it is not one of the sound archives already available on the site): https://youtu.be/sT6POlmybPw Your own comments about the mix: I really like that crunchy genesis FM bass. I also like panning.

Nothing too complicated, but it's a nicely slowed down rendition with some nice ornamentation via the guitar, SFX, and voice clips. 1:42 was another iteration of the melody but a different key and with some doubling, followed by the chorus at 2:06 with some subtle differences. See, I don't need ZOMG drastic differences; subtle but meaningfully observable differences are more than enough to get it done re: arrangement development in my book, since the overall tempo, instrumentation, and tone of the source tune are markedly different. Low-key, but substantive enough of a treatment. The ending was POOOO because it ended relatively abruptly, but we'll live. Nice to hear a slower concept from Alexis that I don't have to ding for being too repetitive or underdeveloped. YES

Remixer: LXE Name: Alexis Gelinas Email: Website: instagram.com/lexadex_yo 38753 -- Earthbound Days Gone By Onett This one is a laid back lofi bop with bass synth, electric piano, mellotron, and backing guitar, and loads of ambience. I played this game a lot as a kid and this subtle reharm is nice and nostalgic I think.

This track came from the second round of Game Set Mash! Compo from the forums, run by Darkesword. On that particular week Final Fantasy 7 was matched against Final Fantasy 6. Tifa vs. Forever Rachel. I started working on this piece very quickly after the sources were revealed and ideas really flowed fast. That was a good thing because it also happened to be the same week as I was having a major certification exam scheduled so I was also studying a lot. My plan was to get a barebones piano sketch/structure in place so I could that off to H36T to orchestrate and shape the feeling and color of the piece. That ended up happening as well, and it came out lovely. But something in me still wanted to keep it as an expressive solo piano piece. After that week was over, I went back in and added a lot to the arrangement to make it stand on it's own compared to the compo version. I extended one of the sections out to hold it's feeling for a longer period, added additional embellishment and interpretation, and even a small cameo of Terra's theme snuck it's way during this time. The title "Steeling Hearts" is double meaning both with usage of stealing and steeling. Locke was a thief and therefore the stealing came into play. Steeling referring to hardening and toughening, exactly what both Tifa and Locke had to do to move on and deal with their situations after trauma. Solo piano was quite the challenge to undertake. I hope people will enjoy this! Source breakdown: 0:00-0:23 Forever Rachel 0:24-0:31 original bridge to next theme 0:32-1:08 Tifa's theme 1:02-1:05 and 1:19-1:22 Mako Reactor intro in the left hand (big octaves) 1:09-1:21 Original material 1:22-1:27 Tifa's theme 1:28-1:58 Forever Rachel 1:59-2:14 Tifa's theme 2:15-2:19 original bridge 2:20-2:38 Forever Rachel 2:39-2:41 Terra's theme cameo 2:42-3:01 Tifa's theme 3:02-3:12 Forever Rachel with some interpretation 3:13-3:19 Tifa's theme Games & Sources: Final Fantasy 6 - Forever Rachel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWfdEj9jHDM (main source) Final Fantasy 7 - Tifa https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cO_ftxA28Y8 (main source) Final Fantasy 7 - Mako Reactor https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZH6coTxDTo (cameo of the intro only) Final Fantasy 6 - Terra https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObccgHQdos0 (cameo of the melody)

Love it! IMO, Michelle's vocals could have been given more clarity and been more upfront; I say that because other parts trading off the lead work like the sax ended up sounding clearer to me. For example, during the big flourish from 4:02-4:25, I felt like vocals were just being swallowed up by the surrounding instruments. It's nowhere near pulling anything below the line, but there had to have been a better way to mix it. Nice breakout section of the main MMBN theme from 2:13-2:46 as well. Amazing concept, energy, and performances! It's a jam, it's a vibe! YES

At 1:33, that synth line's pretty shrill. From 1:51-on (arguably 1:33-on), the way this is mixed, I feel like I'm hearing the beats and claps being the most forward instead of the melodic elements, and then you also have leads and supporting lines competing to be heard due to being in the same frequency range. For example, the lead at 2:07 is too subdued compared to the percussion and industrial sounds (even though I realize it's meant to have contrast with the louder instance at 2:41), then you have stuff like the plucked strings and bassline just adding mud. Very busy sound without clear enough mixing to know what should be focused on, resulting in nothing having a direction. I like the overall arrangement concept, Eino, but the overall texture is too messy and cluttered. NO (resubmit)

The track was 2:25-long, so I needed to identify the source tune in play for at least 72.5 seconds for it to be considered dominant in the arrangement. :00-:11.75, :19.5-:39.5, :41.5-:46.75, 1:04.5-1:08, 1:09.5-1:10.75, 1:12.75-1:16.25, 1:17.75-1:20, 1:24.25-1:31.75, 1:32.75-1:33.5, 1:55.5-1:58, 1:59.5-2:06, 2:10.25-2:18.5 = 73 seconds or 50.34% overt source usage The source tune's very slowly paced, so I've tried speeding it up 1.5X, 2X, 2.5X, and I just don't hear all of these stated connections. Even stuff where the marimba's supposed to be playing the source bassline (from what part?), if it's even doing that, it's barely audible to the point where it seemingly wouldn't count because it's so obscured. Regardless, I found what I needed to, so there could be more, but I'm done checking. Well performed, and what I could make out of source usage squeaks over the line, so count me in. Hated analyzing it, enjoyed listening to it. YES

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Iron Piston (Cover) Remixer: Animattronic Game: Mech Warrior 2 Track: Iron Piston The Mech Warrior 2 soundtrack was a big influence musically so naturally I had to try a remix. This track along with my own original mech inspired music was used as a soundtrack throughout the official MechCon 2018 event. All things Mech Warrior & Battletech. Thanks, Animattronic

SUBMISSION LINK: Contact Information * Your ReMixer name: minusworld * Your real name: Grayson Hardaway Submission Information * Name of game(s) arranged: Mega Man Battle Network * Name of arrangement: Mega Jam Disco Network * Name of individual song(s) arranged: Operation! * Additional information about game including composer, system, etc. (if it has not yet been added to the site): * Composer: Akari Kaida * System: Game Boy Advance * Link to the original soundtrack (if it is not one of the sound archives already available on the site) * https://vgmdb.net/album/2176 * Your own comments about the mix, for example the inspiration behind it, how it was made, how the source material was referenced in the arrangement, etc. This is an arrangement I did for Dwelling of Duels’s Spinoffs Month in March 2023. While my previous OCR submission would indicate otherwise, my usual arrangements are rock and metal. This arrangement was my attempt to merge a groovier sound into my more typical style. Biggoron (organ and keys) introduced me to Japanese city pop a few months prior, so that and disco ended up being a starting influence for the track. I ended up getting away from that and moving toward some groovy fusion-style songs, so the end result is this sort of smashed-up version of a city pop/disco tune with crazy instrumental jams. Here’s some of the songs I used as reference. * Airport Lady by Toshiki Kadomatsu (city pop) * Soul Lady by YUKIKA (modern city pop) * Cruise Control by Dixie Dregs (fusion) * PUNKADEMIC by Takayuki Murata (fusion) The submitted version here is an updated production of the submission in March. The mix was redone from the ground up, and I rerecorded some of the lead guitars because I thought they were too busy after being away from the track for a while. This arrangement was a few firsts for me: first time arranging for real saxophone players, and it’s the largest collaboration I’ve done to date. Executing this arrangement in DoD’s month-long timeframe was a challenge. I solidified the arrangement early to give my collaborators a good chunk of time to give feedback and record, and I had to cut back on my initial ambitions to get it out quickly, such as vocal harmonies, and I didn’t write any lead guitar parts until everything else was arranged because I thought I could “fill it in later.” This ended up being a bit of a mistake because, as mentioned above, I think I made them too busy trying to “fill in” as much space as possible. I’m extremely grateful to my collaborators for working with me on this, despite me having to learn a thousand things throughout the process. Everyone was absolutely stellar to work with. This is easily the cover I’m most proud of for 2023! Track credits: * Biggoron: organ and keys (+ solos at 1:47, solo at 3:20) * Cyril the Wolf: alto saxophone (+ solos at 1:47, solo at 2:40) * Jess Destramp: tenor saxophone (+ solo at 3:34) * Michelle Dreyband: vocals * minusworld: guitars, bass, arrangement, production Oh! I forgot the lyrics. The lyrics are about staying up waaay too late working on DoD entries, with a thin "disco" veneer on top. XD Verse The night is calling The lights are fading The glow is beckoning Lit up in color Feels like no other There’s so much happening It’s hypnotizing It’s mesmerizing Can’t take my eyes off you The things you show me It’s like you know me And what you see is true Chorus Into the sunrise We will dance all night So captivating Can’t sleep! Tag Up all night Soul alight Verse 2 The music’s thumping My heart is pumping Not sure I can go on Deadline approaching Tension is growing Won’t stop until the dawn Chorus 2 Into the sunrise We will dance all night Gotta keep going Cast off sleep for the lights Never perfection No don’t worry now So captivating Can’t sleep! Bridge The music’s waiting here for you Always waiting here for you Always just a step away (just a step away) Tune in and disco to the groove Always something new to do Bringing happiness today Final Chorus Into the sunset We will dance ‘til night Anticipation Can’t contain my delight The music’s waiting here for you Always waiting here for you Always just a step away Tune in and disco to the groove Always something new to do Wide awake Tag Up all night Soul alight

Aquaria was a game I sadly never played properly. But I immediately fell in love with the soundtrack, which was one of my first purchases on Bandcamp. With this remix I tried to represent a kind of travel through the underwater caves, including sound samples of water and bubbles. To emphasize the loneliness I also incorporated the sound of a pulse pumping slow and faster. The remix became quiet long over time but I think it is worth the trip. UPDATE-INFOS (March 20, 2024): The Journey: The original remix was built up like a journey through Aquaria. That’s the reason why most of the main parts are still existent in the new version. – The Intro starts with a splash and the dives deep down into the ocean. Theres a noise sound in the beginning which is rising down to emphasize this. And there's echo sounder like sound used in the drums starting at 1:10. – At 1:40 theres the breath of Nadja, the protagonist of Aquaria. – The center part starts with the pulses, which become faster at the end, to increase the drama. – The climax of the main theme ends with the waves above the sea, but it is not clear what became of Nadja. Things I’ve changed: For me the intro isn’t disconnected at all. Especially because parts of it are repeated I the middle section. But I changed the chord progression at 1:27 to use it as a foreshadowing of the upcoming melody starting at 1:42. So the chord progression is now more connected to the rest of the melody. Emunator criticized the detached feeling. Although I didn’t perceived it while writing I think it underlines the journey-like character (like chapters). Some of you mentioned the thin soundscape at the start of the main melody at 1:42, so I tried to make it fuller, with the basses coming in earlier. The biggest change is in the middle part. Chimpazilla suggested that a spoken text could maintain the interest. Inspired by this idea I wrote a poem from the perspective of Nadja about her journey through Aquaria. In the game there’s something similar when Nadja narrates the intro: https://youtu.be/gv5xxGp7qzM?si=2WMd4Ygk-s5Hp27n&t=343 Nadjas text is introduced by »the verse«. According to the story of Aquaria »the verse« is something that flows throughout Aquaria« and »binds all as one«. The lyrics of Nadja are inspired by the text she speaks in the intro. At the end of the spoken part I cutted about 30 seconds which were from 4:30 – 5:02 in the old version and put the climax directly behind it. @DarkSim: Your shorter version is interesting, but too short for my taste, because the intro and outro are about the half of the whole track. The Lyrics: Listen to the whispers of the verse ... Deep in the ocean down below where dark and dangerous waters flow. Concealed within this vivid gloam there is a place I once called home. But I am not supposed to stay, ’Cause loneliness drives me away. So I'll be strong, I have no choice. Call out in song, and use my voice. Through coral banks and caves so vast I seek the truth, search for my past. Don't let my aim get out of sight until the answers comes to light. And while my journey sets me free I use my strength to finally reveal, behind the barrier, the secrets of Aquaria. Games & Sources: Name of game(s) arranged: Aquaria Name of individual song(s) arranged: The Traveller https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gvSmXqEg-w