Liontamer

Confirmed, we lost him. http://www.straitstimes.com/Latest%2BNews/Singapore/STIStory_180302.html Our thoughts go out to Reuben's family and friends.

Yeah, all the info seems to confirm him, including last online activity at various sites. Hoping for a miracle, but I fear the worst.

You need to provide music. Forget CHz, the box art may lead to some interest due to the weird imagery of the game. But you're not doing your request any justice without an audio link.

http://www.zophar.net/gbs/zelda.zip - Track 88 Track 88 according to CHz anyway. Can't get this GBS to play at all. Any other GBS, all good. This one, no dice. "Face Shrine" regardless. Let's see what's up. Starts off pretty quiet. I can already see what Vigilante was talking about with the levels being too low; they hardly even register here. Not a huge deal though. I just turned it up, and it sounded good. Beautiful writing on the intro so far. The sax reverb also threw me off; something like this but a bit cleaner would work better, as this didn't sound even in the same universe as the other instrumentation. I'd tone it down a bit so that this meshed better with the soundscape. Ugh, 1:56. C'mon Brad, with this ultra-mechanical piano. Did you break the project file? No way something that mechanical is gonna get by. You gotta be better than that, and you know it. Give it the human touch. The sax production at 2:35 somehow sounded even more far-gone than the first verse. That's just baffling. If the rest of the soundscape had somewhat of a wash on it, this approach could work better. But there's nothing like that going on, just some light room-style reverb. Thicken up the back or thin out the front. Interesting touch at 3:12 with the brief performance noise. The strings suffered from the same realism issues, though definitely nowhere near as badly as the piano. The strings were a lot more serviceable, and were couched reasonably well in the soundscape so as not to be very exposed. The taper of the last few seconds around 4:47 needs to be touched up to not expose the sample. The ending itself was well written, but IMO the strings needed more volume, energy and tension to resolve this strongly and memorably. As is, the finish falters. Agreed with Vig, the arrangement is pretty solid. Beautiful concept, pulled off ok, with the silky sax performance obviously making the track. If you polish this up properly, you got it. If you can't, you don't got it. That's the short of it. NO (refine/resubmit)

ReMixer Name: Garret Graves Real Name: Devin Paquette E-Mail Address: metalgarret@gmail.com (same as above) Forums ID: GarretGraves Song: The Antagonist Remix Of: Boss Theme Track from: Mega Man 3 (NES) Comments: I composed a metal remix for the boss theme from Mega Man 3 because I've been playing the main melody over and over on guitar for years just as something to fiddle with. Playing it brought me back to my old childhood days of doing nothing but playing guitar and playing Nintendo with my friends. So I decided to combine my two loves in my life. Metal and video games.I tried composing a remix before but it turned out badly and there were many mistakes in the rhythm I came up with. That was a few years ago. Now that I've become more educated in music, I thought I'd give it another go with a completely revamped version of my old one with more accuracy to the original track. I ran into some problems with this. Primarily the lead guitar being in tune with the rhythm guitar during the main theme. I'm GUESSING that's how the original sounds. I kept analyzing the game version to get as close as possible and I don't know if it's possible to get anymore accurate with a metal sound. The other thing is, to get the file to at least VERY CLOSELY comply with the submission instructions, I went with a bit rate of 160kb. I'm still slightly over 6megs. (6.38 to be exact) I'm hoping this isn't too much of a problem. The only instrument not being played by me are the drums. I used Fruity Loops for those. I also harmonized any guitar part possible that didn't totally obstruct the song. If anything it gave it just the right amount of color. Anyways, enjoy! -------------------------------------------------------------- We're not gonna post stuff over the filesize limit. We've had people ask being even closer to 6MB. If we make one exception, we have to make any exceptions. Nice try though. Doesn't hurt to ask, but nah. Just noting, if you wanted to get closer to the original, you could have used the NotSo Fatso plug-in for Winamp and disabled whatever channels you needed in order to isolate what you want. http://www.zophar.net/nsf/megaman3.zip - Track 13 ("Boss") Aside from the audible recording hiss, nice original opening. I'm a sucker for guitar work with those type of serene effects. Here's it's pulled off pretty nicely. Moved over into the source tune at :55. 1:21-2:06, the rhythm guitar and drumwork here were serviceable, but otherwise bland IMO. You're trying to get close to the style of the original, but to me you've sacrificed interpretation and personal flavor in the attempt to mirror the original. Hate to say it, but I'd argue you sacrificed energy as well, as I felt the original, as simple as it was, was more driving than this. That's not to say or imply this is poor, but the supporting instrumentation isn't that powerful, and could use more bite. Also, if you're gonna play the melody straight, you should be compensating with some creatively written support instrumentation. That's just in keeping up with the arrangement/interpretation bar we have here. Moved over into some original material from 2:09-2:36. 2:37-2:59 featured some soloing on top of the background pattern of the source tune, before moving back into the source from 3:03-3:15. Then some wholly original material before finally going back to the source from 4:15 until the end, again with the straight melody and bland support instrumentation ideas. I definitely felt like the original sections were a good ideas in concept. While they didn't sound out of place alongside the arranged portions, many of them didn't lift up the overall track either IMO. Sections like 3:28-3:50, they're just kind of...there. You could probably think up something that fits better and is more exciting. Pretty good first sub, Devin. There's a lot of good things in place, but this still hasn't realized its potential by a long shot. When dealing with the source, you can stand to do a lot more with it creatively, rather than just adapting it for a rock piece. Change the melody, the rhythms, the support, anything to spice this up and give it a more unique flavor. The original sections/solos can't be the only really new material offered up, as they have nothing to do with the source tune. NO

Just noting, don't get overenthusiastic in regards to revising this. It doesn't need an overhaul.

Original Decision: http://www.ocremix.org/forums/showthread.php?t=4152 I hope I understood correctly from the new standards page that ID3 tags aren't necessary, here goes: - Icarus Evolution Contact Information * James George * maestrodeclure@aol.com * www.soundclick.com/jamesgeorge * user id=3557 Submission Information * Kid Icarus * Title theme, Underworld, Overworld, Fortress, Boss Theme, Ending Theme * Composer: Hirokazu "Hip" Tanaka, system: NES * http://www.flyingomelette.com/kidicarus/kidicarusmidis.html Comments: I think this is what...the third time submitting this? maybe the fourth... I felt the title "Icarus Evolution" was appropriate because listening back on each version shows how far this mix has come. I just returned from a trip learning from Chris Bacon and James Newton Howard, so I wanted to take a stab at trying some sequencing tricks I learned. Thus, I beat this ol' dead horse some more. I think last time the comments were mainly: the transitions stink, and something about "medleyitis". May God bless the creator of that word with seven years bad luck, and gas, lots of gas. This piece was originally 10 minutes long, then truncated to fit time and size, so yes the transitions are admittedly not as I would have them. As for medleyitis, I deliberately approached this as a medley, not an overture. While I do recognize that creating a true medley would go against the actual purpose and criteria of OCR, I do also feel that the shear amount of work I've put into this also speaks for itself. I really felt there was a genius to the Kid Icarus soundtrack, and I wanted to showcase that while still doing my best to make it my own. Here's hoping I fall on the other side of the fence this last time; I can promise I won't touch this f@#$ing music ever again, ha ha. Bonus if you accept this: finally you can tell every whining complaining SOB that ever had their "perfect mix" rejected that there's good reason and point to this work. j/k

BIG Man Brandon McKinnon bossmanstudios@yahoo.com The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker Hero of The Wind Overworld Theme I was playing Wind Waker, and I heard this theme. I really liked it, and I thought it was something a little more obscure than the Gerudo theme. I wanted it to start off kind of evil and menacing and end up being happy and triumphant. I believe I accomplished that. It breaks it's own mold, too. To me it sounds like something you might hear at a Blue Man Group concert. It has synth elements along with live samples, and it leans towards hip-hop some, too. ------------------------------------------------------------ The Legend of Zelda ~Takt of Wind~ Original Sound Tracks - 103 "The Legendary Hero" There were some good interpretive takes on the main Zelda source, usually involving the supporting instrumentation being changed, but also some good melodic interpretation. Other times though, the melody itself couldn't have been more by the numbers. Interpretive will always serve you better around here. The orchestration was decent. The "hip-hop" parts definitely were not. You can't throw some overly simplistic beats in the background and call it hip-hop style. I'd joke that you were offending half of me, but weak execution of music offends all of me. I kid. So the opening was a decent concept, but very poorly executed. I hate to say it, but the whole orchestral/hip-hop thing ain't working at all for ya. The sections just don't piece together well. You'd have been in a better position if you had stuck with orchestration. Even though many of your samples don't sound that hot, you generally had some good composition ideas. Not yet solid enough for me to pass even if this was just orchestral, but just saying you showed some skill on that level. Keep at it. NO

Yo, remix: The Place I'll Probably Return to Someday, maybe by Cram original: Final Fantasy IX - The Place I'll Return to Someday by Nobuo Uematsu This is something that I was working on a few weeks ago and decided to revisit. I really like how it turned out. I'd always have the opening tune stuck in my head after playing ffIX and wanted to re-do it, my style. I am a huge fan of Nobuo and absolutely love to listen to/play ska music. So it's no surprise this song came to be. This is my second submission and after recovering from the sorrow of being rejected on the first, I decided to submit another. I tried my best to follow the advice that was given to me and it actually helped me a lot. In retrospect, I put a lot more effort into this one than the last. Anyways, I'll stop blabbering - enjoy! Thanks, -marc http://www.checkerpop.com -------------------------------------------------------------- http://tzone.org/~llin/psf/packs2/FF9_psf.rar - 101 "The Place I'll Return to Someday" Piano Collections Final Fantasy IX - 03 "The Place I'll Return to Someday" The source the artist linked to was pnly a clip from FF9's Piano Collections. In this case, I'd say don't bother; it's just a piano cover, so on that level it didn't offer any new insight into the source that the PSF doesn't. In any case, definitely a cool approach to the arrangement, just not produced very well, IMO. No idea why the leads were placed so far back in the soundscape to the point of not being very audible. The thick beat felt like it was distorting a bit on each hit, but it may have been just because it was layered with something else. In any case, not a good sound to keep getting hit with every second. I'd appreciate a knowledgeable second opinion specifically on that. Melody is vastly changed, arriving at :33, with the chorus from :52-1:12. Melody returned on piano from 1:12-1:50, thus showing why he felt the Piano Collections version was his source. Track ends at 1:52 with about 4 seconds of silence at the end that would need to be snipped. The arrangement was definitely highly interpretive. I'd argue the groove was good (solid beat, strong bassline), but not good enough to carry the track on cruise control for the entire time. Some may disagree; the brevity of the track certainly makes this level of repetition more tolerable, plus the backing guitar kwak in the back would vary up here and there. (All the guitars were nicely performed, IMO.) IMO, I think the core groove could be altered once or twice without ruining the character of the arrangement, but I'd literally be satisfied with the instrumentation being rebalanced. Awesome first sub, and good luck with the rest of the vote. Definitely hope to hear more from you in the future, Marc. NO (borderline/refine/resubmit)

Advance Wars: Dual Strike (Game Rip) - 31 "Green Earth Theme" Interesting opening, certainly a different approach with the material. Very Genesis-style. The piano runs from :23-:29 felt a bit too muddy, but nothing inherently wrong with that approach. :29 was a good concept but felt too spartan. Vox at :29 sounded extremely cheap with the robotic note movements. The vibes/marimba/wuteva from :41-:54 sounded too cheap and exposed. Liked the switch over at 1:05 into the organ (which should have been louder at some point at least). Everything's feeling too spartan and not making effective enough use of the sounds. The 1:47 section seemed the worst in terms of sound balance as everything besides the lead and beats were swamped out, worse from 2:01-2:13 when more elements joined in, only feeling more cluttered despite the thin sounds. I like the concept, and the arrangement was definitely at a good interpretive level so far, but the execution lacks too much polish. NO

Tales of Symphonia Original Soundtrack - (101) "Tales of Symphonia" Nice source tune, albeit brief. CHz would poop on it, due to massive Sakuraba-bias. We mourn 'Ili's passing from lack of taste. Track starts off really quietly, so I'm hoping there's some sort of dynamic build to justify it. The sequencing was fairly good, though there's some rigidness to it. I do the so-so hand sign. The source tune definitely sounds a lot smoother in terms of humanization, which hurts a track like this hoping to break out in the same genre. Volume picked up around :45 to some pretty good levels. The brass and woodwind were pretty fake-sounding and fairly exposed to me, especially the woodwind. The brass reminded me of a higher-quality Super Mario 64's samples, i.e. serviceable, but ain't gonna fool anyone. 1:28's section was spartan for some good contrast, but all the samples felt exposed and the mechanical feel of the composition was only more exposed. Not sure of the writing from 2:22-2:24 working well; there could have been a transition that didn't sound jarring. The more verbatim-level playthrough of the source from 2:42-3:01 sounded fairly decent. The arrangement was definitely hindered by the execution, which explains a bit why DS wasn't feeling this. The arrangement was interpretive but could do more to stand apart from the source, given the same genre. Further interpretation would help this feel different enough from a slightly militarized version of the original, but this was clearly in the right direction. There's some, but IMO the sample articulations lacked enough finesse. I'm sure you approached this in the right way, but to me, the quieter areas weren't effective enough. I could hear what you were going for though. Definitely agreed with DarkeSword on his articulation and balance criticisms, which explains why the dynamic contrast you went for sounded so awkward. More finesse and balance with these samples, and I'd more likely be down. NO (resubmit)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Timbaland_plagiarism_controversy

Yeah, I know Madame Avenger wanted me to feedback this earlier, but I just don't have much time for evaluating material that's not on the panel. Currently, submitting is basically how you be sure to get feedback from me. Let's see what we got. http://snesmusic.org/v2/download.php?spcNow=rd - "Requiem ~ Dream Shore (2)" [rd-09.spc] http://tzone.org/~llin/psf/packs2/Chrono_Cross_psf.rar - 107 "Dream of the Shore Bordering Another World" The intro was still weird, with choppy mechanical sequencing on the lead and no real melodic qualities. Might as well have cut out all of the first :42 seconds, IMO. Picked up a bit stronger as the song finally built up. That gliding synth brought in at :53, the writing on it just wasn't harmonizing well with the other writing. So far, there's a lack of cohesion the in both the writing and the sound choices. Even in light of the relative sparseness, the texture sounds busy for the sake of being busy, but wasn't effectively done. If this was to be overhauled, I would have scrapped most of the structure here. DA arrived at 1:33. A little hit and miss still in terms of the syllable structure of the lyrics, but ok IMO. The instrumentation sounding so unfocused tended to bring her down inadvertently. I felt her voiced wasn't couched in the soundscape effectively enough (echoing what DarkeSword said about the vocals feeling too disjointed from the music), plus I didn't feel the percussion anchored or directed the flow of the piece. The harmonization at 2:32 was a decent idea, but the vocals still sounded too dry despite the effects. I probably would have switched the foreground and background vocals there opening that section up. The performance could use some production touch-ups on some of the drier, more exposed parts, with 2:39-2:41 "...dow, staring" and 2:53 "what" standing out, even though the criticism isn't major. Not feeling the closing section at all starting from 3:51's transition during the vocals. There are a lot of style changes here (:42, 2:20, 3:05, 3:51) where the transitions aren't cohesive IMO. The dynamic of the track ended up awkward as a result. Dunno if it's worth it to attempt to revisit this one after so many attempts, but I would rethink the approach to the instrumentation more than anything else. It needs more direction and cohesion. Some of the writing could be scrapped in favor of something smoother in order to maintain a smoother, more natural dynamic. NO

Yes, I wonder who made that.

Hate to add to this, but if that blip can't be smoothed out, I gotta go NO as well, since I would need that to be fixed, intentional or not. There are good skips and bad. :'-( I had 0 problems with guitar tuning. The arrangement was otherwise solid enough, IMO. Looking forward to your next subs!

You have appealed to my massive ego! Thus, I have blogged about this wonderful cereal, part of a balanced breakfast!

Sounds solid except for some click/pop action from 2:33-2:35. Not sure how that got in there.

It's been a while since I've submitted anything, year and a half i think. My sub is a project track. Note: I'm not sure if it came through or not but the title is supposed to have an ampersand in it to appear as such: Tales & Trials. * Your ReMixer name : Hemophiliac * Your real name: Chris Roman * Your email address: romantaker@yahoo.com * Your userid : http://www.ocremix.org/forums/member.php?u=4862 * Name of game arranged: Tales of Symphonia * Name of individual song arranged: Tales of Symphonia (i think) * Composed by Motoi Sakuraba * Link to the original song:

Hello Judging panel! I've got a re-resub which is also a project mix for you guys (and girl) to check out. Remixers - Avaris, DragonAvenger, Retlaf Games - Radical Dreamers, Chrono Cross Tracks - Radical Dreamers Track 8 - 9/17: Requiem ~ Dream Shore (2) Chrono Cross At the Dream's Shore ~ Another World Original Decision (A): http://www.ocremix.org/forums/showthread.php?t=4594 Original Decision (: http://www.ocremix.org/forums/showthread.php?t=7866 Remix: PROJECT MIX & RESUB Link: Avaris' notes - Ok so this mix was pretty much gutted. Big thanks to Retlaf for sending me a 4 bar midi sequence with some ideas. That lil section turned into the bridge in the intro and the completely redone 2nd main section. The ending is also a blending of both sources...that took the longest. The rhythms were done by taking one loop and performing different FX on it and then slicing and dicing the ever living crap out of it. I'm really glad to see this mix finished. It took an entire year and numerous revisions to make. A huge thanks to everyone on the RD project and others for all of their comments and ideas that really helped mold this into what it is. Also a big thanks to DA for doing even yet another vocal retake when we took out all of the tempo changes. DragonAvenger's notes - This went through quite an overhaul, and I'm really glad it did, because the result has improved from the original mix way back when. Besides another (couple) complete re-records, the biggest change for me was in the second verse, which I reworked to be different from the source tune. Geoffrey Taucer suggested a countermelody for that verse which I created and Prophet of Mephisto helped smooth out. The rest of the vocals remain mostly the same, though I changed a few timing issues that had been brought up in the other judgings. I'm looking forward to when this get's released with the RD project! The Lyrics: Dreaming of a shore on another world; Endless seas and sand far as I can see. Is this where I'm meant to be? Is this my fate, my destiny? Dreaming of my shadow staring at me; (Dreaming of my shadow staring) Is this real, or a mirror of what I see?(At me, looking right at my soul) Am I the true reality, Or am I just a reflection? Searching for a shore on another world Where I'll seek the truth of my existence. Do my answers lie on this shore? Will I find you among the sand?

Hi Judges! I'd like to submit a remix of Devil's Lab from Final Fantasy 6. It's done in the style of a band called Pendulum who hopefully some of you know! Basically its a jump up drum and bass track with a bit of chiptuney stuff thrown in! * Your ReMixer name: Ellywu2 * Your real name: Chris Elliott * Your email address: ellywu2@hotmail.com * Name of game(s) arranged: Final Fantasy 6 * Name of individual song(s) arranged: Devil's Lab * Link: or (both expire in 7 days, so shout if you need me to resend!) Hope this is all the info you need, and thanks in advance. -Elly ----------------------------------------------------------- http://snesmusic.org/v2/download.php?spcNow=ff6 - "Devil's Lab" (ff6-214.spc) Opens up with an 8-bit take on the source, before bringing in some additional sounds at :22 (heh, Speak & Spell action from :30-:33) and eventually shifting into higher-level sounds entirely at :44. There is totally something missing from the soundscape once things kick in at :44. The d'n'b stuff tucked way in the back felt too Amen break-ish, thus really generic and tacky. The soundfield could use a pad or something to give the track some more background-level fullness. Can't say I agree with the melody being quieter than the beats; it lacks a lot of presence as a result, and the drums only feel that more droning and repetitive as a result. It would have been ok if the core drum pattern wasn't so bland. The soundscape feels empty, with the drums overcompensating with volume and the breaks being too quiet. Just a weird balance going on to me, but I'd like to hear some other opinions. Shifted over into some string pads at 1:51, then another voice sampling, before moving back into the 8-bit sounds at 2:06. Conceptually this felt scattershot and messed with the flow of the track. The voice clip does mention the devil, but otherwise felt needless in the big picture. Anyway, picked back up at 2:31 with the thick beatwork again. Weird sweeping effect from 2:31-2:51. Lots of crazy synths and processing before shifting into some more d'n'b at 2:52. More of the same stuff from before to close it out. From an interpretive standpoint, nothing wrong with it. The production was a bit flat, with much of the soundfield feeling pretty empty, dry and distant. Could be nitpicking, but I can't help but think the production should be refined to better balance the sounds and make the track seem properly fuller. This isn't poorly made, but there's just something off about the whole thing at that level. You've been improving significantly, no matter where my vote falls. Good to also see something outside of your orchestral work. No problem if this passes as is, but I'm looking forward to some more opinions to confirm or deny what I'm hearing. As is though, I gonna roll with a borderline NO, primarily on account of the production, and also on account of the percussion criticisms. Good luck with the rest of the vote, Chris.

Hahaha! That's pretty slick. Nice work!

Pleaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaase resubmit! I will hug you for this!

My bros here already got this one, but I enjoyed the arrangement so much, I had to give a full vote on it as well. http://snesmusic.org/v2/download.php?spcNow=ff5 - "Unknown Lands" (ff5-2-04.spc) Well, first off, I love the concept and potential of this one. Great vocals, cool lyrics, and a fairly good sense of atmosphere. Sure, some Moby similarities. The closest analogue you have community-wise is Arkimedes. The interpretation level of this one compared to the original was excellent. I suppose one could argue it's purposeful given the mix title, but I wasn't a fan of very distant, lossy, lo-fi wash given to the string pads that opened this up. They sat fairly comfortably in the track once the other instrumentation arrived at :25 though. I'd make the strings cleaner and more upfront to start, then shift them further back into the washed style you have at :25. The drums brought in at :25 don't quite fit alongside the vocals, plus they cruise control for way too long; there are definitely ways to keep the relaxing groove you have while varying them up more. The addition of the light cymbal work at 1:10 was all I heard to do anything else with it. Just ends up droning badly in the big picture, undermining the other strong aspects of the arrangement. Also, the other Js are definitely right about the strings occupying the same frequencies as the vocals, preventing the strings from sounding out well during the singing. That literally sums it up right there. Agreeing with Palpable and pointing it out because of how it causes unintentional earbreak: you need to de-ess the vocals, with 1:04, 1:10-1:12, 2:02-2:03, 3:01, 3:13, 3:25-3:26, 3:38-3:41 being the worst offenders. Otherwise, this is around 80% of the way there. I'm definitely keeping this, and you're on my radar, Kevin. You better work on this more and resubmit this. You can see the general vibe of the panel is that we'd like to see this posted on the site. You only need to fine tune what's in place, you don't need to reinvent the wheel or drastically overhaul the track to get above the bar. Use the ReMixing and Works forums for help and feedback. If you have to, don't be afraid to nag people to listen to this along the way in order to get the assistance you need to push this over the top. Impressive so far, bro; let's fix the issues on this and get it on the front page! NO (refine/resubmit)

There's a copy on my dead laptop, but otherwise no. I will be in contact with all the prospectives soon, as I don't want the overall effort to fall by the wayside! I love all the completed tracks, and lot of WIPs (Abadoss, Nutritious, Another Soundscape, Fishy) have great potential!

Opened up pretty close to the source, but with an interesting enough instrumentation approach. Immediately, one sees what zirc was talking about with the spareseness. At :56, the guitar synth was definitely not up to the challenge of a more leading role, with the sequencing being decent but still mechanical. Having it all by itself from 1:11-1:40 was just a bad move, and only exposed the sample further. The trance synths and vox brought in after 1:40 didn't fill out the soundfield enough, and of course the vox movements sounded robotic as well. Drum and claps brought in at 2:36 are repetitively written and had 0 place in here, not meshing with the other instrumentation that was used. The electric guitar synth added at 3:54 was screeching up a storm, with a terrible tone and mechanical-sounding sequencing. Indeed, besides getting a better ear for picking sounds that click together, and learning more about adequately filling out the soundfield, the arrangement should have been more interpretive beyond your genre adaptation. Kind of difficult to recommend which aspect of your music you need to work on more, because neither arrangement nor production were setting the world on fire. At the end of the day though, I'd say stick with learning more about writing, but when learning how to make various sounds work together properly, you're likely gonna have to learn composition and production hand-in-hand. Keep at it. NO