Liontamer

Just noting I've only heard the version updated on 4/11. The string sequencing opening this up sounded pretty poor; very exposed mechanical timing. The way the theme was modified during the verses ended up sounding atonal; it's not clicking with the rest of the track at all. The string sequencing and notes during the verses were core to the arrangement, but it's jacked, so I already have to go NO since you need to address that. The changeup at 1:02 was much stronger, writing-wise. Very cool tweak of the Schala theme melody. I did agree with the mixing criticisms. Even with this new version, it's only serviceable. I could potentially pass it with that kind of average mixing if everything else were on point with the arrangement. That said, this was a 320kbps sub (too high) but the track still sounded like it could have been 128kbps, maybe 160. There's a lot of good rhythmic alterations and ear candy with rock parts, the mallet percussion and the other instrumentation that is cool when you notice it, but isn't really mixed clearly. The strings need more body and less robotic timing during the verses, and they (along with the mallet percussion) need to cut through more during your chorus. The mallet percussion at 1:45 was getting crowded out. Anyway, the arrangement itself was strong, we just need the strings on point (or that instrument changed entirely) and the mixing cleaned up further. Keep working on it, you'll get your groove back. NO (resubmit)

Yeah and just to clarify, when we were speaking with our Capcom contact, they didn't realize the OC ReMixers-only restriction would be frowned on by the legal department later on either, otherwise we wouldn't have put that in place. Thomas is from the ghetto, and thus suspicious of "The Man." I don't think any conspiracy level stuff is behind the wording, so I doubt Capcom's gonna sell/profit off of the arrangements if you submit they. BUT they could based on that agreement, so if you're afraid they would and you don't want to open yourself up to the possibility of them doing that, then don't submit, that's understandable.

Just including a source breakdown for the curious. It turns out the game with the most representation among the sources was New Super Mario Bros. SMW - :05-07 (2 seconds) SSBM - :13-1:06, 1:29-1:42 (66 seconds) SMB1 - 1:06-1:19, 1:19-1:29, 4:06-4:15 (32 seconds) SMB3 [& SMB1 together] - 1:06-1:19 (13 seconds) SMB2 - 1:42-2:40 (58 seconds) NEW SMB - 2:40-4:06 (86 seconds)

Some of the synth work in the opening sounded pretty vanilla. The guitar performance was a bit on the stiff and lifeless side to start, but it sounded somewhat stronger for the final section (2:46-3:11), even if the overall energy and expressiveness could have been bumped up. The chugs opening things up sounded OK, but there's just a mechanical feel to the guitar performance as well as the sequenced elements. Not feeling the synths from 1:07-1:19 or 2:22-2:47; bland, generic synths with very stiff sequencing, they just sounded devoid of any feeling. The interplay between the guitar and synth from 2:22-2:47 just sounded odd; It was a great concept, but neither element really took the foreground, and the synth wasn't melodious. I sound pretty negative, but the overall arrangement concept is strong, let's be clear. However, the execution's not there yet. I disagree with the YESes; even if you acknowledge it's flawed, I don't think the execution is cohesive enough or expressiveness enough yet to do justice to this arrangement concept. I think you need to see what you can do to tweak the mixing, , Dustin, and also consider re-recording the guitar and cut loose in order to breath more life into this piece. What's here is OK, but it's, hypothetically, along the lines of a 8th-10th place DoD effort. It doesn't have the polish and energy that the top entries in a typical month have. Do what you can to make this more consistent and polished. NO (resubmit)

- "SMB1 Overworld BGM"Sections like :22-:59 had the same progression as the source tune, but everyone should know how I feel about that by now; just using a source tune's progression is a nice touch, but that doesn't count as actually using the source tune (otherwise we could accept original tracks where someone just followed the chord progression of a piece of game music). So I wanted to just double check how much the Overworld theme was actually in play: Since this was 3:08-long, I needed 94 seconds' worth of explicit source usage to at least qualify it on using the source material: :00-:22, :59-1:17.25, 1:45-2:21, 2:39.5-2:57.5 = 104.25 seconds or 55.45% Anyway, the source usage was over the line, as far as the source tune being used during more than half of the arrangement, but the source tune arrangement wasn't developed enough for this to work as a standalone piece at all. There were a couple instances of the chorus being used in a stylized way, but it was pretty much taking the 7-note opening to the tune, giving it some minor variations and repeating it over and over again. Well, the email header mentioned this was an instrumental, and you weren't kidding. The actual instances of VGM arrangement here are too repetitive. It's not a bad beat at all; it's mixed well and sounds pretty solid. But there's not enough substance or development here for this to pass as a standalone track. That's not always the case with rap instrumentals, but that's absolutely the case with this one. What's there with the instrumental right now sounds sweet, but doesn't develop the themes as much as repeat the same ideas over and over. You'd definitely need add lyrics to this to flesh it out and add that missing piece of the puzzle. Ideally, those lyrics would ALSO use either the Overworld or other Mario themes a bit, so that you're offering some other VGM arrangement ideas in there. Cool start, now put some words to it to take it to the next level. NO (resubmit)

Your ReMixer name: TUNE Your real name: Tunde Junior Your email address: tune@theycallmeTUNE.com Your website: http://theycallmeTUNE.com Your userid (number, not name) on our forums: 48891 Submission Information Name of game(s) arranged: Super Mario All-Stars Name of arrangement: SMB1 Overworld Name of individual song(s) arranged: Overworld (Main Theme) Composed by: Soyo "DJ Alice" Oka and Koji Kondo Your own comments about the mix, for example the inspiration behind it, how it was made, etc. I used to produce video game remixes on OCRemix under the alias "lilsonic". Then I went the hip-hop/ pop route and disappeared from my roots as a VG Music Remixer. I'm trying to slowly come back and see if I can incorporate what i've learned in the industry into OC Remix. This should be fun. What better way to start than to remix the music of the first video game I ever played back when I was 5 years old. Time to have some fun! - TUNE

- "Swimming BGM"A bit torn here, or at least annoyed. As far as expansiveness and the overall premise of the arrangement, I'm all over it. This was clearly a creative approach, and a lot of people would enjoy it. BUT... by 2 1/2 minutes, I felt like the techniques that kicked in at :40 had already been overused. I'd heard the essentially the same beat patterns, the same stuttering technique of the death sound, the same gated-type stuttering of the melodic arrangement, the same countermelodic stuttering pattern. Brief break at 1:32, then more of the same at 1:39. At least by 2:31, we finally had the source in a minor key with a different-sounding lead, though everything surrounding it was pretty much repeating. Over the 3 1/2 minutes, the overall groove just felt way too static and repetitive. That's not to say there aren't subtle dynamic changes and dropoffs within the arrangement; it's obvious those are all over the arrangement as well. Ultimately though, those beats and techniques became too repetitive. This needs some stronger attention to dynamics. Some of the dropoffs of the beats were encouraging, but some tempo changes, more rhythmic variations on the arranged theme, and more variation of the core beats at the foundation of the track would really help this not drag on. The core creatively and treatment of the theme is great, Tyler, but this groove and the overall ideas are just too much on cruise control once you've established them. IMO, the overall repetition isn't justifying the length of the track. I'm sure you can spice this up some without sacrificing the overall vision you've had for this piece. I can see this potentially getting some YESes, I just don't think this is as fully developed as it could and should be. NO (resubmit)

Link: CONTACT INFO Remixer: Tspeiro Name: Tyler Speiran e-mail: website: http://www.youtube.com/user/tspeiro User ID: 49080 SUBMISSION INFO Game Arranged: Super Mario Bros Name of Arrangement: Squids N' Fish Name of Song: Underwater Theme

Just gonna keep it brief. Arrangement-wise, I like it. Cool mood, cool time signature changes. The main issue is that the track feels too dry and thin. The soundscape just comes off too sparse most of the time despite the volume, one example being the organ parts. Not really a fan of the snare tone either, it didn't quite work. Everything sounds too clean. This was pretty close, and it could very well pass as is. However, there's something about the relative spareness of the soundscape that prevented the instrumentation from fully clicking and sounding cohesive. Hopefully, we can get further insight into the potential issue. It's OK, but could use another pass to polish this up. NO (resumbit)

Brandon Strader www.bstrader.net 3123 Game: Super Mario 64 Source: Metallic Mario - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlF1t9jns6I Composer: Koji Kondo Remixname: Prog Mario Super Mario 64 Album Project Song Notes: I bet you were expecting metal... that's too obvious! I called this Prog Mario but it's inspired more by funk. I got the chance to do this song super late in the SM64 project timeline, unfortunately John Revoredo was moving away and couldn't find his session files for me to help out so I ended up taking the claim with his blessing. I am happy and thankful that it worked out and I was able to do the song for the album. I wanted a live feel, like if a band were sitting in a room jamming this. Lots of sweet wah pedal, even on the bass guitar. It amplifies the funk. The parts are pretty similar to the source but stretched to fit in 7/8 and eventually 6/4 time signatures. Had to add a couple synth solos so it wouldn't be boring and some 'harmonies' to the source lead in the chorus.

Nice work!

Well, that's said tongue in cheek, but I'd do it. That would be a legitimately sweet idea, since it would obviously boost awareness and get people primed to seed the torrents once they were out, a la Maverick Rising. We'd just be accused by a handful of people of hating the fans and holding the music hostage.

Incorrecto! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_music

Yeah, the opening's going to sound competant, because it's just verbatim with the source tune. After a few seconds of what's basically a MIDI rip, then the source's foundation alone is basically copied, including much of the supporting writing. So much of the structure is merely ripped from the source tune, it's disappointing. When you tried to get interpretive with the melody at :21, the notes resolve decently, but they're just weird variations that don't really flow. From 2:07-on, you're just writing this solo-ing style stuff with the lead synth that noodles for a bit before resolving with a verbatim piece of the theme. I dunno, maybe one day you'll get that whole approach to click, but this isn't that day. There's so much in the arrangement where the structure and instrumentation aren't meaningfully different from the source, and those are basically the only parts that were melodious. On top of the other structure and production crits, this just isn't cohesive enough. As per previous subs, I know you have problems as far as an ear for melodious writing, and I don't mean that as a knock. But even if you wholesale copy some aspects of the source tune as a framework, you still need to present more substantial personalization of the sounds into something more unique, and then build from there with other interpretive ideas for the source tune itself. NO

Vig hates Pokemon music, but we don't ACTUALLY judge submissions based on whether we like the source or not (Vig included). We'll comment on sources fairly regularly, but it doesn't affect votes.

Stevo got submissions rejected from here plenty of times before he became as strong as he is now. Same with OA, Rozovian, WillRock, The Orichalcon, Nutritious. Way back when, the previous generation of guys like Danny Baranowsky, zircon, Fishy, halc, DCT, Mattias Häggström Gerdt, analoq, Navi, Big Giant Circles -- who all make diverse, amazing arrangements that seem effortless -- all got rejected a few times or a lot of times when they were less experienced. Aptitude is one component and diligence is the other. Been on staff approaching 8 years, a fan for over 10, and I've heard so many regularly posted mixers start off scrubby and grow into great musicians. Some hated the rejections and sometimes those people hated us. But they all weren't discouraged. Like Stevo was getting at, carve out time to work on your craft, don't just solicit feedback from here, and stay hungry.

Forgot to vote in Shoryuken Round 1 (thought it ended at midnight, not noon), but the right people won all the matchups, so it's OK.

What do you mean? It's not clear what you want to do, but DS is correct that we typically don't delete accounts.

- "Corridors of Time"The snare drum pattern at :50 was plodding and too loud, IMO. The couple of times you did some quick repeated snare shots (:49, 1:22, 2:45), it essentially sounded like you weren't varying the velocities well, kind of a slow machine gun effect. The background during the verses with the drumming was on the sparse side. The DarkeSax at :49 was decent, but still sounded pretty fake with the mechanical attacks/timing; it doesn't sound horrible, it's just noticeable it's fake, and the sample (while serviceable) is still dry and exposed. Mainly, the notes need to not sound as stiffly sequenced. You might be thinking "wait, 'Time Chill...!'" but that came out 8 years ago; that would be scrutinized more today. Interesting original Schala-esque rhythm introduced at 1:21. The piano brought in at 1:56 & 3:03 sounded decent, it's just not quite rich enough of a sound. The chords in particular (2:13) sounded mechanical, thin, and lacked body, while the sequencing of 3:03's section sounded noticeably more rigid. I like the overall arrangement concept, and this is going in the right direction. I think the drums need some further creativity with the core drum pattern and balance, the background during the main verses needs to be better filled out, and the sax and piano need some tweaks to sound stronger. The devil's in the details. NO (resubmit)

(ignore name of file, should be "Lost in Time") Remixer Name: urdailywater Real Name: Aaron Corbitt E-mail: urdailywater@hotmail.com User ID: 33000 Game arranged: Chrono Trigger Name of Arrangement: "Lost in Time" Name of song(s) arranged: Corridor of Time ( )Hey guys, I'm submitting again. This time a song that doesn't get enough attention on OCR in my honest opinion. (/sarcasm) This song was something different for me, and a challenge. Going into it, I had the plan to change up the soundscape drastically throughout the song, which is something I've never done before. It got me into a roadblock down the road in the writing process, but hopefully I've got an arrangement that works now. Inspiriation stuff.. well the first part, I'm not entirely sure where inspiration for that came from. I was just kind of messing around with the harp sample and started adding stuff. 1:23 and onward until the piano section was heavily inspired by the first part of the OP from the anime "Clannad". Then the piano section coming in was inspired by McVaffe's piano breakdown in "Celestial Winds From the East". This was also the first time I ever humanized a piano with both bass and lead parts, and was extremely fun to do. Production wise I think it's some of my best work. The soundscape stays filled out, even while changing up. Arrangement wise - if you don't count the harp thing (because it plays throughout the entire song) I counted up to about 1:21 of completely original material, and the rest I pretty much arranged from head (I didn't listen to the original much while doing this). So I think accurate stopwatching of original material goes along the lines of: 1:23 -1:56: no real connection to the source except the harp. 2:47 -3:44 (end): Just me doing stuff with the whistle/sax/piano. The rest is the source + arrangement stuff. Also the chord progression during those times is pretty much the same, except a little bit more simplified. So yeah, I hope that arrangement isn't really an issue with this one. I personally like it, but I'm not a judge Yup. I think I covered everything. A lot more than I expected to say, but whatever. Enjoy!

Donated, and I'll be getting the kit soon so I can just join the marrow donor registry.

Until a new torrent is out, have at the mirrors, hoss.

Not to seem blase about it, but I've already heard and loved this mix, so I'm keeping it short. The arrangement definitely keeps the structure of the original, but Brandon absolutely gives it his own unique style with the instrumentation, so it's not too cover-ish without interpretation. It's a bit long, but the original was the same way. Everything's sounding strong here. YES

Pretty low levels on this overall. Arrangement kicked in at :45. Don't really have much to say initially besides I like the arrangement. The realism of the the piano at 1:52 was nothing to write home about, and stuck out a lot given how relatively sparse the textures were. I would have definitely done something to make the tone sound more realistic given how exposed it was. The overall levels need to be louder; especially for the second half where you get lots of original writing on top of the quietly arranged source, it's important the source isn't pushed too far in the background. And the drums being on auto-pilot definitely could use some more variation. Again, with the relatively sparse soundscape, when any of the sequencing/realism is off, or an idea's beat into the ground like the drums, it stands out more. Just noting though, the percussion repetition issue bothered me significantly less because once the first pattern at :13 dropped off at 1:38, it didn't come back until 3:12 or repeat anywhere near as excessively. This is probably 85% of the way there, and the core arrangement itself doesn't need to be altered at all. But I'd make the overall levels louder, OR vary up the drum/cymbal pattern more from :13-1:38, OR get the piano to sound fuller and thereby less obviously fake and sequenced-sounding. halc had other valid points about the instrumentation, but overall it clicked and I don't think anything NEEDED to be tweaked there. Anyway, none of the criticism are MANDATORY to address, but the main takeaway is that there are some smaller issues that prevent this from better realizing the potential of the arrangement. Figure out what crits are valid for you, give this some additional tweaks and polish, and DEFINTELY resubmit this if this doesn't make it. Love the arrangement ideas, and we'd love another Ico mix, as well as more submissions from you, since you have great ideas. NO (resubmit)

I'm gonna disagree with OA about how cohesive this sounded, though I thought the arrangement was fine, it was the production that sounded too off. I didn't hear the first version, but I still thought the way the drumwork mixed didn't click with the rest of the soundscape and the timing/performance there also sounded stiff. I also felt the synth lead was kind of grating. The guitar work and what sounded like a harpsichord part (quietly in the background) were both really sweet. The mixing from 2:51 until the end just didn't sound clear or cohesive, with the organ and the guitar parts panned too widely apart and thus sounding very lossy and muddy. Actually, listening to the beginning again, the panning seems too wide most of the time, and I'm not sure why, but it's reducing the clarity of the piece. The 1:57 section, when things seemed to go back to normal for a time, was really needed. I had to throw on a few baseline tracks to listen to just to make sure my ears weren't plugged up and that my headphones were fully pugged in. I think the arrangement's there, but the mixing needs another pass to set things right with both the stereo balance and the overall separation of parts. NO (resub)