Liontamer

Nice stuff! Some of the permutations of the Ice Land theme got too loose for me to enjoy, but when I timed it all out, there was no issue at all with source dominance, and I definitely appreciated the theme treatment overall. Very cool subtleties to the instrumentation in the buildup to the melody at :44; great percussion and swirling lines with nice depth that made things feel alive. On the mixing side, no dealbreakers; the beats overpower things, and the leads from :44-1:50 are shrill, albeit not in a way that's dealbreaking, just noticeable. Subtle buildup of the chord progression of the World 5 Sky/Clouds theme at 1:50 & 2:01 before the theme explicitly cameoed from 2:13-2:23; very nice touch. The DnB elements were solid, and I think the overall presentation's helped by the source tune being so limited; Roch really had to go through lots of permutations to keep it fresh, and that helped the overall track stay fluid. Even when the beats were coasting, the textures would change around. Interesting example of having subtle dynamic contrast within some high octane energy levels. Diggin' it! YES

Contact Information Your ReMixer name : Rockos Your real name : Roch Côté Your email address : Your website : None Your userid (number, not name) on our forums : 44017 Submission Information Name of game(s) arranged : Super Mario Bros. 3 Name of individual song(s) arranged : World 6 Map Theme Name of the remix : IsseLand Your own comments about the mix, for example the inspiration behind it, how it was made, etc. : I did as quick and fast as I could to pump a remix from an actual Mario game for the Mario movie month. Rough on the edge as I had to work fast but very fun mix. Sad tho that I just read the comment for the DKC 2 mix I sent earlier. I could use more of those comments. Thanks again for taking the time Judge our stuff. Hope you enjoy this fast Drum & Bass with guitars. Some FX added for the ear to chew on the candies . WAV: Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8LnHIODRMM

Haven't voted on either previous version, so I'm coming in cold, but I like the short and catchy 50-second source tune. Early 2000s throwback sound palette notwithstanding, which Hemo caught onto, this would have definitely passed in ye olden days. Let's see if it holds up for the current bar. The track had some liberal turns, but from what I could make out, there was enough direct source usage. Since the track was 2:41-long, I needed to make out the source tune being overtly referenced for at least 80.5 of the piece. :01.5-:06 (same beat rhythm as source's opening, but different notes), :08.5-:13, :15-:21.25, :22.5-:28, :31.5-:38, :43.75-:49.5, :51-:56, 1:22.5-1:28, 1:31.75-1:36.75 (same beats as source's opening), 1:42-2:05, 2:25.5-2:36.5 = 82.5 seconds or 51.24% overt source usage The more musically adept Js may pick up on way more. I just wanted to be sure the source tune usage was dominant in spite of the arrangement taking some twists. Opening based on the source's countermelody, though more the rhythms than the notes, but there's the melody at :15. Right when the beats come in at :01, the mixing's not quite on point; the kick's too upfront and the beats feel droning and plain aside from the fills; applying some of the fill-type writing during the main beats could spice those up, as right now the boom-tss of the core kick and beats feels bland and metronomish. Changeup at :31 with the beats dropping. When the beats came back at :44, it crystallized that something felt stilted about the timing and the beat pattern feels plain despite the rhythms being a little swung; it could be everything (except the kick) not having punch to it. The lead and countermelodic line at :58-1:11 were alright, then I liked the instrumentation (and stereo field play) more from 1:12-1:20 and would have liked to have heard more of that. :58-1:12's could be loosely based on :37 of the source, though I can't really tell at all; a great idea would be adding in another part to play the bassy countermelody from :36-:51 of the source as a supporting line, which would be a non-invasive but direct way to call back the original song without going off the rails through this interpretation. Then 1:22-1:42, I can't tell where that derives from the source either. 2:05's section also seemed loosely derived from :37 of the source. At 1:22 the beats return, and I still felt the beat-writing was meant to be energetic, but the patterns felt bland aside from the fills. Nice melodic lines from 1:42-1:50 as well, which reminded me of djp's Phantasy Star IV mix "Millenial". IMO, those sounds are working more than the electrosynths, but the overall package is alright. Really nice fakeout ending at 2:16 before closing it out with the 2:25 section. I like the arrangement in general, but I'm gonna be annoying and ask for a spice-up of the percussion during the main verses; some sort of rhythmic or instrumental variations could make that part pop more. Right now, the main verses seem stagnant despite all the other energy around them, and that's caused by the beat-writing. Good luck with the rest of the vote though; other Js may have more instrumentation- or production-based critiques, though I felt this was well in the right direction. NO (resubmit)

1st RESUB Original Decision Hi once again! So I did the forum evaluation process, and received a completed, so here is the resub. I'm going to share some things I have learned personally recently, so people get to read it in case it does pass the panel. I hope this doesn't violate any website etiquette. I have been using Caustic 3 and Caustic Mastering on my mid range cell phone, mainly because with work and a young child at home, time to sit in front of my PC for any period of time is very hard to come by...but I think all of the production rules apply:) There are tutorial videos on YouTube made by the producer of the app that are great. The one that I think helped me a lot was the video on the merge to rack function. Caustic 3 has limited effect slots per channel, but you can use the merge function to create a PCM instrument with those effects applied...and then apply effects to the resulting patch. You can also merge multiple channels/instruments to create a patch that perhaps has different properties and instruments for low vs high pitch, or left vs right channel. The other tuts are great....although the app is no longer updated. Another thing I learned was about my headphones, lol. The headphones are Bluetooth, but have a wired aux connection. I had always used the aux input, assuming that would give me a more accurate take on the sound. Well, my cable stopped working one day recently, so I hooked it up through Bluetooth...and I finally heard what the judges and evaluators have been saying about denseness. I wonder if this anecdote will help anyone else. Thanks again, as always, for the time and consideration taken! Audiomancer Original https://youtu.be/b56sxPRukTY Remix, it's also in the submit your music forum

I like the warbling sound design from the opening, and the lead fading in around :21 was awesome, where the chiptune timbre becomes more apparent as the volume rises, which was so cool. The beats added in at :42 were too loud compared to the melody, but they do hit hard and have nice energy, though the pattern feels too basic and could use some variations or other ornamentations. The lead at 1:03 feels stilted, but it's purposeful, especially hearing the other ornamentations from the source and then the chip lead at 1:37. The ornamentations starting at 1:03 were getting buried though, aside from the louder flourishes at 1:11 & 1:23. I dig the distorted and more overt NES lines at 1:36, where there's some stylistic similarities to D. Wise's Battletoads music. The DnB beat writing at 2:07 felt pretty plain again, then had a little breakbeat-style fill at 2:29, but the main beat coasted until 3:13 and definitely could have used variations to retain interest and not plod. Love the ethereal chippy lines from 2:51-3:13, which had total Fez vibes. The dropoff section at 3:13 with the padded lead didn't make much sense to me, then the bridge section that started at 3:55 felt like it should have been in a different key. I hear how the key pivot was started at 3:37, but IMO, the transition didn't fully click. A theory-proficient J could chime in on whether they liked this execution, and possibly suggest how to make it smoother. And then back to the generic sounding DnB beats, though with some tick-a-tick-type fills at 4:17 to at least do something else. The countermelody from 4:18-4:38 was getting steamrolled; it registered for me, but it should have been more audible and integral to the soundscape. It feels like a lot of my complaints with this match up to the issues with Roch's Animal Crossing piece, where the DnB aspect was stilted but serviceable. Roch's still learning, but I definitely hope his DnB beats get more creative. Here, the production feels more cohesive despite the flaws, so I can get behind this, though I'd love it better with some revisions based on panel feedback, even if it made it as is. YES

Contact Information Your ReMixer name : Rockos Your real name : Roch Côté Your email address : Your website : None Your userid (number, not name) on our forums : 44017 Submission Information Name of game(s) arranged : Donkey Kong Country Name of individual song(s) arranged : Enchanted Wood Name of the remix : Distorted Forest Your own comments about the mix, for example the inspiration behind it, how it was made, etc. : This song was made before the Genshin Impact one as a Guitar practice but became a full length song. I'm glad it did. This continue the current Drum & Bass merged with rock style I've been making lately. Sending it now because of the Mario Movie Month. I hope wish you will like it. The song has fast drums and distorted guitars. Lots of psytrance pad effects and is very close to the source. WAV: Source:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRR47I88RJ8

Your ReMixer name: Lucas Guimaraes Your real name: Lucas Guimaraes Your email address: Your website: https://twitter.com/Thirdkoopa - knew nothing better to link for this Your userid (number, not name) on our forums, found by viewing your forum profile: http://ocremix.org/community/profile/33965-thirdkoopa/ Name of game(s) arranged: Paper Mario Name of arrangement: Tale of the Star Rod Name of individual song(s) arranged: Title Theme (https://youtu.be/ks-bSRNamR8) Collaborators: Lucas Guimaraes - Producer, Arranger Tim Rosko - Lead Ian Martyn - Tenor Chris Doughty - Baritone Nautilus T Party - Bass James C. Hoffman - Mixing Engineer My comments: This was a Barbershop Quartet I made a while ago for a project. Since this track has lyrics, it can't be put back on Spotify, so I figure OCR is one of the few places it'll have some legs left. I spent about a good 2(?) months on and off editing this arrangement? By the time I was done, I knew I was too close to it myself, so I enlisted the help of some amazing vocal talent - Tim Rosko, Ian Martyn, Chris Doughty, and Nautilus T Party, and James C. Hoffman to mix the track. The lyrics are mostly derived from the Intro to Paper Mario with almost all the lyrics from that intro. LT EDIT (4/19): Requested a source breakdown, which Lucas was happy to provide. Timestamped: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eH1a-QQhFdk Try half speed at 0:18. Focus on just the melody A section - 0:18-0:36 B section - 0:36-0:54 0:00-0:46 - A section 0:46-1:40 - B section 1:40-2:22 - A section 2:22-2:49 - B Section 2:49-3:05 - Original content 3:05-3:28 - A section 3:28-end - The intro of this (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eH1a-QQhFdk - Focus on that 0:01-0:03 part mostly) The reharmonizations + it slowing down is a biiit odd to anyone not familiar with the source material, I'll admit, BUT, once you get it, you go 'woah'. Plus I'm really hoping this mix can get new life. It was on Spotify. It got yanked from Materia Collective. It can't go back up due to original lyrics. Lyrics: We're here to tell you the story about the Star Spirits Way above the clouds they rest! They rest with the fabled treasure known as the Star Rod This rod grants you any wishes that you want With this great wand, the seven star spirits watched our world, Our world Care-ful-ly until one day King Bowser stole the star rod for himself! Whatever shall we do... He then kidnapped the seven star spirits And gave them to his loyal henchmen! They spread to hide in their own lairs all across The Mushroom Kingdom keeping them captive Now with king Bowser That wretched beast Having the star rod to himself (All to himself!) Now the Star Kids can not make their wishes come true. Whatever can they do about This predicament oh! With our story taking a dark turn He's the only man we can trust. Paper Mario (x3)

It's a cool cover for sure, Alex, but with the melody and (though subdued) the bassline so close in writing, you'll need to do more to differentiate the structure or overall composition, which you're certainly capable of. If you're interested, see where else you take this! NO

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I've not heard of ALAC having critical mass acceptance like FLAC. It may be worth a look provided that the importation process is straightforward enough once you have the files. For the time being -- and it doesn't meant it couldn't change later -- It feels like offering ALAC downloads is like catering to a segment of a segment of segment; people pushed for OGG 20 years ago, and it's a good format, but it's never hit ubiquitous acceptance the way MP3 format has, so I'd need to see ALAC do the same. Anyone else around here explicitly prefer ALAC format for your Apple devices (e.g. for your Bandcamp purchases)?

I checked with Zach again, but he's tapped out of ideas to fix it, so this one might just set off dogs and MindWanderer in perpetuity.

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I brought up the conditional comments to Jeff to see about possible changes, but he's got some ear issues that'll prevent him from working on stuff for a while, but he explained how the juice wouldn't be worth the squeeze there, so this is just an FYI:

I always enjoy sampled soprano vocals that sound like Parasite Eve. Hell of a sound upgrade, chief. YES

The sounds aren't dry at all, but there's a core clap groove introduced at :27 that's noticeably lacking body & energy (which also weakens the finish at 6:28). There's something ultimately very vanilla and tepid with how this instrumentation currently sounds, and the textures feel muddier and more indistinct than intended. Not a sophisticated sound palette yet. I liked the altered rhythms for that melodic line first done at :58; sweet idea here, and gradually adding more part-writing around it and varying the textures helped not let it drag out. The line that came in at 1:36 and gradually rose in volume was a fairly generic sound as well, but the more crystalline part at 2:04 was a much more unique sound, and the accompanying strings brought in at the same time were also a nice touch. IMO, the synth handling the melody at 2:31 came in too strongly (and kind of piercing, but I'll live); consider pulling it back for the first few bars and letting a gradual volume raise of it finish at 2:45. Nice drop idea at 3:29, though the stuttered parts at 3:42 felt too locked to grid and mechanical-sounding; there may be some creative effects that could be used from 3:42-4:10 to give that a more creative and fluid sound that draws less attention to that. The buildup from 4:10 into the stop at 4:37 was odd as well, and I got clashing writing from 4:31-4:37 (then an abrupt key change at 4:38). Yeah, that whole transition definitely didn't click as intended, yet it was employed again from 6:14-6:21 with clashing writing again before the dropoff. At 5:53, the bassline did register for me, but it's basically steamrolled and has no presense. I'll await further votes in the hopes that the musician Js can better identify and isolate specific problems here, as well as suggest ways to achieve some richer, fuller sounds that are nonetheless well seperated. This isn't a cohesive enough presentation just yet; it still feels like the instrumentation is more at a work-in-progress phase where the core writing's in place and the arrangement's direction is set, but more effects & polish are waiting to be added. If you can figure out how to add that sheen to the instrumentation and not have that pair of akwardly written transitions, Tobias, this could be a contender. NO (resumbit)

Link to Remix: Contact Information ReMixer name: Tab Newflax Real name: Tobias Nylin Email address: Website: https://www.tobiasnylin.com/ Userid: 2108 Submission Information Name of game(s) arranged: Donkey Kong Country Name of arrangement: DK Island Trance '94 Name of individual song(s) arranged: “DK Island Swing” Comments about the mix: Hello! Donkey Kong Country is one of my favorite games ever! I got it as a Christmas gift in 1994. I still often think of the nice memories of me and my brother playing it while celebrating Christmas at my grandmother's. This is a remix of “DK Island Swing”. When I heard this song the first time I thought it a bit weird, but it has really grown on me over time. Especially the second half of the song, the more relaxed part. For me it is a bit mysterious but also soothing. I like trance music and got an idea on how this part could fit well as a trance remix. In the timestamps below I will refer to it as “Part 2” (1:30-2:47 in the original). There are also some parts where I’ve used elements from the first part “Part 1”, for example the characteristic chords from the intro (0:38-1:30 in the original). I hope you like it! Timestamps: ("Part 1" = elements from 0:38-1:30 in the original) ("Part 2" = elements from 1:30-2:47 in the original) 0:00-2:05 - Intro, elements from “Part 2”. 2:05-3:29 - Break and build-up, elements from “Part 2”. 3:29-3:43 - Transition into “Part 1”. 3:43-4:39 - “Chorus”, elements from “Part 1”. 4:39-4:45 - Mini-break, using elements from 1:25-1:30 in the original. 4:45-5:13 - Transition back into “Part 2”. 5:13-5:54 - Break and build-up, elements from "Part 2". 5:54-6:22 - “Chorus”, elements from “Part 1”. 6:22-6:28 - Mini-break, using elements from 1:25-1:30 in the original. 6:28-6:42 - Transition back into “Part 2”. 6:42-7:03 - Outro.

Sounds solid enough, and opens up sounding pretty clean on the mixing side, but then as soon as you had the track fill out more at :21, this was a mixing mess until :57 for a few moments until the beefed up textures returned at 1:05. The chorused brass samples are too exposed when they lead, and I wish the brass, drums, and (to a much lesser extent) guitar weren't stumbling over each other in the same frequency range. We'll see what the musician Js think. If the source files were gone, Grayson, I could still barely pass this, but it would be a YES (borderline) due to the iffy production holding this back, not the conservative but spirited arrangement. Would love to hear an improved mixing job on this, as I could see NOs and conditional YESs based on the current samples and mixing.

Contact Information Your ReMixer name: minusworld, killaGraham Your real name: Grayson Submission Information Name of game(s) arranged: Paper Mario Name of arrangement: Sing Sing Sing Your Heart Out Name of individual song(s) arranged: Ghost Gulping (Tubba Blubba's Theme) Your own comments about the mix, for example the inspiration behind it, how it was made, etc. This track was made for the Dwelling of Duels competition in August of 2022, where it placed 3rd out of 25. Submitting to DoD enables lots of experimentation for me, so for the August submission I (minusworld) wanted to try a swing metal arrangement. Tubba Blubba's theme from Paper Mario really fit the bill, though it was a bit of a challenge to turn the 45-second loop with only 2 distinct sections to speak of into a solid listening experience. I ended up with a simple ABACA structure, where the A and B sections come from the game and the C section is an original section with solos. I played the guitars and killaGraham played bass. The rest of the instruments are VSTs. Speaking of experimentation, I wanted to see how far I could push a virtual brass section with this track. It's certainly no substitute for real instruments, but I think it makes for a fun track regardless. The Brass VSTs used were Hollywood Pop Brass and Vir2 Mojo. The title of the arrangement is a reference to "Sing Sing Sing" popularized by Benny Goodman and to Tubba Blubba, who separates his heart from his body in order to become "invincible" in the game.

I had only one significant issue with this piece, which was shrillness from 1:08-1:42 and 2:39-3:31 due to the glitching/beeping effects. I can live with it, but would prefer it pulled back some. Otherwise, fun arrangement, and it's also a nice treat to hear Grant Kirkhope's telltale N64 composition style from Banjo-Kazooie and DK64 carried over into the arrangement here. Strong use of some classic/dated sounds to achieve varied warping and warbling textures throughout the track. Aside from the beefy beats, this sounds like something Mazedude (another Chris) could have had a hand in creating, meant with lots of praise. Nice job, Chris! YES

Hi folks, Many thanks for posting my first submission. It's a great honour! Remixer Contact Information Your ReMixer name: shieldeater Your real name: Chris McGee Your email address: Your website(s): https://shieldeater.bandcamp.com/ Your userid: 7727 Submission Information Name of game(s) arranged: Donkey Kong 64 Name of arrangement: DK's Mushroom Trip Name of individual song(s) arranged: Fungi Forest (Daytime) Your own comments about the mix, for example the inspiration behind it, how it was made, etc.: My new offering is an energetic take on Grant Kirkhope's "Fungi Forest" from DK64 featuring glitchy drums and a variety of synth leads. This piece imagines a scenario in which Donkey Kong, having (perhaps unwisely) eaten a mushroom in the forest, finds his consciousness expanding to the point that it clips through the walls of his reality. Cheers! –Chris

I feel you re: the effect of waiting too long to hear back re: a submission and having moved on to the point where you just hear flaws; I know it's not intended as a complaint, but that's definitely a negative part of the length of this process that we're always needing to improve. For this track, this scenario hits me a lot like a different track that Bowlerhat merely performed on but was also very liberal, "Hey Saria, There's a Fiesta Down in Kokiri Forest". Jorik essentially said "the source tune usage is apparent from 1:42-2:40, but not elsewhere", and I'd say she's accurate there. Though trying to couch the rest of the track as being influenced by the source tune, I'm not able to make many more connections. I appreciate the track in a vacuum, and love the performances and video, but AFAIK the treatment's too liberal. There's nothing inherently wrong with being very indulgent with a jazz or big band arrangement, but the OC Jazz Collective, for example, tends to stay grounded enough in overt references to the source material to not run into these problems when submitting music to be featured as standalone submissions to be considered with OCR's Submission Standards in mind. The track was 6:13-long, so I needed to hear "Dire, Dire Docks" referenced for at least need 186.5 seconds for the source material to be dominant in the arrangement. We'll see what the others say, but here was my source usage timestamping: 1:06-1:11, 1:42.5-1:53, 1:54.75-2:06, 2:11-2:37, 5:17.5-5:22.5, 5:38.5-5:42, 5:47.5-5:49, 6:02.5-6:10 = 70.25 seconds or 18.83% overt source usage Great piece of music, but the arrangement has to stay grounded in the VGM source material, otherwise I'll never vote for it. I don't care whether the source material's referenced during close to 50.01% of the duration of the track or nearly 100%, but it needs to unmistakably be the case that VGM arrangement dominates the presentation by being present for a majority of the track's duration, otherwise you lose sight of what's intended to be tributed vis-a-vis our Submissions Standards for arrangement. I also appreciate the offer to potentially trim this to ensure the source material dominates the arrangement. If your vision aligns with OCR's standards, that's great, but it's never required or expected that you compromise your vision for your work just to get something posted here. If you want to make a stronger case, Jorik, you'd need to explicitly point out the A-to-B connections of how this piece references the source tune at most times. Happy to be shown connections I'm massively overlooking, and if we needed to pull this back to revise our votes, I'd be happy to. But as far as I can tell (and without some comparative timestamping to explictly illustrate otherwise), the additional direct source tune connections are not there. NO

Contact Information Your ReMixer name: Bowlerhat Your real name: Jorik Bergman (she/her) Your email address: Your website(s): https://jorikbergman.com Your userid: 30366 Submission Information Name of game(s) arranged: Super Mario 64 Name of arrangement: The Maintaining of Absolute Buoyancy Name of individual song(s) arranged: Dire Dire Rocks Your own comments about the mix, for example the inspiration behind it, how it was made, etc. Hi, hello! Long time no see! Here’s a remix of mine called “The Maintaining Of Absolute Buoyancy”, remixing Dire Dire Rocks from super mario 64. It’s a big band arrangement, mixing both jazz and pop, featuring an open drum improv by Arno Grootaers and a tenor sax improv by Jens Böckamp. So, there’s this phenomenon which I personally experience a lot and endearingly call the “OCRemix effect”. Basically, every time I send a remix to ya’ll I’m really happy and proud of it, and then 1-2 years passes as it goes through the judging process and by the time it gets posted I absolutely hate it. I’m not saying this is the fault of OCRemix, because I know ya’ll work hard as heck, but it’s just something that always tends to happen haha. And the worst thing about it, is that my remixes always get such an amazing and positive reception, which then culminates in this weird mixed feeling of being happy that people are enjoying it and not being able to actually listen to it anymore myself. But the feedback is always super encouraging, so every time this happens I immediately start planning my next remix. Anyway, going back in time to 2020, my Zelda’s lullaby remix “To See Like Me” got posted and people loved it. So obviously I really really can’t stand it anymore, I hate the mixing, I hate many of my arrangement choices, and while I do think the band mostly played really well, it unfortunately doesn’t help enough with fixing these other issues I have. So, after this fresh “OCRemix effect” I passionately started working on an arrangement of Dire Dire Docks. Then, the pandemic hit, and I didn’t really feel motivated to finish it. Jump forward a bit further to the beginning of 2021, and I got a bit of motivation back and finished the arrangement. However, I didn’t really have any options available at that time to perform or record the arrangement. So, we jump forward another year to the beginning of 2022. I got funding to record some big band music in September, and decided to use it for my super mario 64 arrangement. However, at this point, some parts of the arrangement were 2 years old, and I hated everything again haha. So, I rewrote the whole thing. I deleted over 2 minutes of music, completely rewrote the ending, made many many changes to the rest of the arrangement as well and basically only a few bars ended up staying the same as it was originally. Then, last September we recorded everything, and now, at the beginning of 2023, 3 years after the release of “To See like Me” was posted and I started with the arrangement, we released the music. Which means I finally get to submit it here to OCRemix (yaaay!). I’m a bit worried about the source material percentage here. I would personally argue that everything in the arrangement is source material except for the open drum intro and the beginning of the sax solo. The introduction is all melodies which are derived from Dire Dire Docks, until at 1:42 the full original melody comes in. After that, kind of like in a symphony or sonata, I start doing my own thing with the melody, twisting and turning it in as many interesting directions as I can. Basically, my concept was to develop every single musical idea I used in the intro, and morph it into this 5/4 + 4/4 groove thingy starting at 5:00, which then climaxes at 5:35 and the piece ends. So all of the melodic material is related to the original super mario 64 tune. However, you could also argue that the only source material present in here is from 1:42 to 2:40 which is like, 15% lol. So, if the jury has this viewpoint, which I would totally respect and understand, I could potentially, with a lot of pain in my heart, cut out the open drum intro. I guess that would still not make it to 50%, but it would at least help a little. It would be very unfortunate of course, but for sure an option. To help with the judging as well, I made sure that all the other parts of the remix are as impossible to object to as possible. First of all, there’s a fancy video to go along with the arrangement. I’ve attached it to this email, and you can also check it here (https://youtu.be/Gm0VHXPkeP8) on Youtube. Then, the arrangement was recorded in studio, so the sound quality is very clean, and Stefan and I spent a lot of time on the mixing as well, ensuring that all of the little details in orchestration and such came out. Plus, obviously, the musicians playing are freaking fantastic. It was truly a pleasure working with them. I’d like to point out just how amazing they all are by listing our project planning: We had a rehearsal on a Friday, in total 3 hours, to rehearse 2 pieces. “The Maintaining of Absolute Buoyancy” and an original composition of mine called “The Road With A Thousand Giraffes”. This other piece was a lot longer and more difficult than the super mario remix, so we spent most of the rehearsal on that piece. And that was it, that was all of the rehearsing haha, on Saturday we met up in the studio and recorded. We had 3 takes in total, and this is the 3rd one. All of the other time was spent recording the giraffe music. And we didn’t really fix any tuning or many mistakes post edit as well, 90% of the time mixing was spent on balancing and eq-ing and such. The band simply nailed it in the studio. The biggest issue I had was that I also really liked the 2nd take, especially Jens’ solo in there, so it was mostly just difficult to choose which take to use haha. So yeah, the band really delivered spectacularly in focus and talent and preparation and such. It was a huge honor to work together with them on this music. Of course, there was a lot of preparation on my end, getting the funding, booking the studio, collecting the band, writing the music, lay-outing the sheets, mixing the music together with Stefan, working with Gesa on the video, preparing the release… The list goes on and on haha. But I had a lot of fun, and now I have this hip Dire Dire Docks arrangement for big band and some music about giraffes, so I can’t complain. Also: If you’re interested in checking out the other composition about giraffes, you can check out my bandcamp (https://jorikbergman.bandcamp.com/album/the-road-with-a-thousand-giraffes) or spotify (https://open.spotify.com/album/3N2nb7gRsmqLtqE849ejjS?si=0NdwujhaT8CzuSXkrPRfEg). The line up: Alto (+flute) 1: Julius van Rhee Alto 2 (+clarinet) : Evgeny Ring Tenor 1: Jens Böckamp (solo) Tenor (+clarinet) 2: Joachim Lenhardt Bari (+bass clarinet): Heiko Bidmon Trumpet 1: Florian Raepke Trumpet 2: János Löber Trumpet 3: Stephan Geiger Trumpet 4: Marie Tjong-Ayong Trombone 1: Philipp Schittek Trombone 2: Matthias Schuller Trombone 3: Max Steffan Bass Trombone (+tuba): Els Verbruggen Piano (+plus rhodes): Moritz Preisler Guitar: Johannes Sour Drums: Arno Grootaers (solo) E-Bass: Louise van den Heuvel Recording, mixing: Stefan Deistler Recorded at Loft Köln Video by Geza Gadow The true OCRemix jazz fans will recognize 2 names in this list. Arno and Louise also played in “To See Like Me” and drove all the way from Belgium to Germany for this project. Another shoutout goes to Jens, who plays the tenor solo. I don’t think it has to be mentioned as it’s very obvious, but he absolutely killed it. Like, seriously, his solo goes so hard haha. I’ve had the pleasure of working with him a few times before, and constantly when I was writing the arrangement I had his sound and improvisation style in mind. And then it all came together in the studio and I just couldn’t be happier. I had a blast working with all of these fantastic musicians, who’re also all very nice and gentle people. I will be satisfied if at least 10% of these feelings come through in the recording. I love arranging video game music, as so many melodies are just so simple and beautiful. With this remix I tried to really treat the melody seriously, not focusing on showing off fancy chords and being complicated, but on melodic development, supported by the orchestration and groove, and resulting in a satisfying overall musical form. I hope it gets a pass on source material, and that y’all enjoy it! And, most importantly I hope that when (if??) it gets posted in 1-2 years I will still enjoy listening to it myself as well :). Lots of love Jorik

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