Liontamer

Ryan actually PM'ed me about two hours before djp posted the mix, finally getting back to me on the e-mail that I sent him. I wanted to make sure his views on the judging of the mix were there for the judges panel and fans to check out. I hope that Ryan, along with everyone else, has no problem with me making these comments public, as I think his comments are very informative for those out there who are interested in this very split decision. I wanna extend my congrats to Ryan again for "The Grief of Aktemto" making the grade and bringing some Dwelling of Duels material to the site. I speak for myself alone, but I feel that DoD is a fairly recent, yet very important facet of the remix community that more people should appreciate. With Ryan & Crimson running a high-quality compo, I hope to see more artists there submitting a few tracks this way.

Remixer name: Darangen Real name: Michael Boyd Email: darangen@hotmail.com Remix Info Remixed Game: Chrono Trigger Name of Song: Schala's Theme Comments: Resubmitting this. The original judge decisions are at http://www.ocremix.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=46935. This is about as far as I'm willing to change anything on this, so don't ask for another resumbission. Some of the things I've changed include samples, volumes, layers, additional parts, and a new ending that doesn't fade out. As much as I didn't want to change some of the samples, I did anyways (I really wanted that violin sound, it whined, and that's what I wanted). Contrary to popular belief, I meant for the piano to be one of the leading instruments, but I turned that down too since everyone thought it was too loud. I layered some of the instruments so they wouldn't pierce any ears. I added strings, harps, drums, and synths to the middle section where it used to be solo piano as well. And lastly, I took out the fading ending and reworked it. I added some reverb here and there to give it a more spaced out feel too, it may seem to be much, but I wanted to keep a sombre mood. This is as far as I can change things without it losing my original vision. Hope you all like it this way. - Michael 'Darangen' Boyd

I'm definitely satisfied with 6Y here. As I said before when offering this idea, we use it "as long as any NO vote make it clear that they strongly disagree with a mix's passage." It's not enough that a vote simply have some disagreement, but that you actually ask for the additional votes. We won't always have 12 active judges; since reaching 6 on either side is the aim of these vote extensions when someone's particularly unsure of a mix, let's lock'er up, boys. If Wing or zirc feel like voting, they're welcome by all means. In any situation like this, you're welcome to voice yourself after 6Y or 6N has been reached, but you already get more than a few days courtesy of the extended voting. This one's certainly resolved to me, and while I didn't vote YES on it, this is nonetheless an enjoyable mix that lots of people out there will enjoy and that we're collectively down with. As far as I know, this is a mix that exposes people to another genre of music not covered on OCR and thereby adds something I feel is important to the site, so thanks to Dan for bringing some house material our way.

http://www.snesmusic.org/spcsets/ff6.rsn - "Tina" (ff6-201.spc) There are gamer geeks out there who have said that this theme literally touched their heart. Ugh. I hate Terra's theme. I wish people wouldn't arrange the first part and try out some of the stuff from 1:18-1:50 of the theme in there, but they never do. Not that that section is anything great anyway. The handling of just the Terra melody is too straightforward for my tastes; no one ever takes any genuine risks with it because it's so perfect or whatever. Don't get me wrong, you have cool some delay/echo effects (though it does indeed wear out it's welcome) as well a ton of expansive addtions in instrumentation. Handling this arrangement via the expansion route turned out really well here and, on that level, almost qualifies as something I'd accept as a more straightforward arrangement. If the production was better (22khz ain't where it should be), the reverb was toned down, and the structure of arrangement had more variation and development, this would have more of a chance. Whatever woodwind sample comes in at 2:00 sounds pretty artificial, so do what you can to address that issue, by the way. The muddiness of the track obscures some of the more delicate sounding elements and messes with the balance of sounds. There was some further building of the theme during the addition iterations at 2:50 & 3:40, but aside from the added instruments there was nothing new in the arrangement. The mix turns out boring about halfway through and unengaging overall as a result. Keep at it, Xerol, and keep improving your game. You're coming along I can hear, but this needs a lot more attention to production as well as crucial work in keeping the arrangement ideas fresh. Just wanted to give some more feedback on the arrangement, so you have a little more to work with. NO

Repeat after me, folks... "We are doing a show tonight."

I coincidentally also sent an e-mail yesterday. I've actually talked to Rich thanks to Binster's help over at the VGMix chatterbox. He said it may be a little difficult to get a copy of the Tom Bible remix of this song. Because this song is actually the precursor to the source tune, there's a risk that the arranged version of this track used in Dredd vs Death is just a close cover of this I believe. While the sound quality and presentation is good, no one should cast a vote without having heard the source. Over the weekend I may try and see if anyone from the GamingForce Audio forums has a game rip copy of it, but don't have any ideas to get the source beyond that.

I don't mind. However, is everyone going to contest votes they don't like? I don't really feel this is one of those special circumstances. This one isn't that questionable imo. But if you guys want to continue to the vote, that's fine. I felt the lack of dynamics was enough of an issue, in spite of the genre. Would prefer to have some more input.

6Y, if y'all don't mind.

Play nice, kids. Watch the atonal techno notation there.

Thanks a lot to Xerol for hooking this up. Certainly try it out, especially if you're interested in snagging the recently released episodes for #33 & #34 It is, isn't it? The reason I did that was so I didn't skip any numbers for the weeks I've missed. During the 3-day gap I have between my second and last final, I plan on recording makeup shows for all of the weeks I've missed covering the material released for those respective weeks. I always keep saying this, but HOPEFULLY Saturday will be a live show provided the stream stays intact. I just have to make it through Friday and the many papers and presentations I have. I'm dead serious when I say wish me luck.

Right now, there's a poll going on at my other main hangout, Ormgas.com, regarding VG Frequency and other established VG remix radio shows. The current system is one where every single OC ReMix plays once (newer ones getting several plays), and then an episode of VGF plays. This cycle occurs once every 3 days and some change. The poll is there to decide how VGF should be handled in the future at Ormgas. The poll is on the bottom left-hand side of the main page. I encourage you to register to leave comments, but do vote on what you would prefer to have done with the show at Ormgas.com.

http://www.snesmusic.org/spcsets/smk.rsn - "Rainbow Road" (smk-12.spc) First off I have to state that I like this track. It doesn't make my vote any more difficult, but I enjoyed it overall and had the privilege of debuting this track on VG Frequency while interviewing Mustin in September. Objectively speaking though, this mix does nothing particularly interpretive with the source material on a rearragement level most of the time and isn't an innovative or expansive straight arrangement piece either. That sounds a lot like my Donkey Kong Sunset vote, which I've now referenced twice in two days. The orchestral opening of the first 30 seconds sounds great, and makes you think the arrangement is going to be a very different take on the source material, but then going into the meat of the track at :31, everything is basically a minorly upgraded cover. The voices in the SPC that comprised the meat of the original's melody and harmonization are referenced verbatim here. You've just gotta be more. You can hear various instruments periodically pop in to embellish things, but aside from that there's no substantial creative expansion here when the Rainbow Road theme is being covered. Create some brand new harmonies and countermelodies to provide a more unique spin on things. The percussion pattern was probably the only thing drastically different from the source, but it looped the entire time. Use drumloops as much as you want. I don't mind that badly myself. But provide some variations in the pattern to keep things fresh. I felt the guitar playing throughout could be more energetic and expressive. The sax solo from 1:57-2:22 was well done overall but felt somewhat dry. Add some reverb to it. The piano solo from 2:23-2:46 sounded better to me, although I thought the last few notes from 2:44-2:46 sounded awkward. When you were on the air with me on VGF, you mentioned that William laid down his tracks pretty quickly. I would just recommend that both of you devote additional time to polishing up the delivery on the live work so it's at its best. Nonetheless, providing the near-minute of original solos was a great idea that really pieced together very naturally with source material. Be sure to apply similar ideas on top on the source tune melody as well if you plan to keep the arrangement straightforward. Mixes by guys like bLiNd, Midee & Mark Vera are excellent examples of straightforward arrangements that expand their source tunes greatly. I enjoyed this mix, but the live instruments could sound better, and the Rainbow Road arrangement could be much more creative overall, which is the main sticking point on why it's not YESable in the first place. It's not meant as a knock on the track, but this sounds more like a late-stage WIP, where more ideas sound as if they're going to be added. Good stuff, but it's gonna take more creativity to meet the guidelines here. NO (rework & resubmit)

This one got submitted back in late February, and I played it on my show then. Grr on losing this one. http://www.zophar.net/nsf/duckta~1.zip - Track 7 I really liked how all of the elements came together here. Good opening with the piano and strings. The claps on percussion are pretty tame, but the reverb levels are good. Kind of spacey, along with an basic upbeat yet trancy type vibe at times. Star always does a great job of fusing electronic and "real" instruments. Here's he relies on the occasional use of some string samples to give the track a slightly epic touch that also often functions as a transition point to a change in the style. The arrangement is pretty straightforward most of the time, yet certainly expansive compared to the NES original. Though the clap beats at the base of the mix could have varied up more when they were in effect, the overall development of the track was very good throughout. Lots of instrumental changes, along with plenty of addition and subtraction on that level as well to constantly keep ideas flowing and the presentation fresh. The minimalist work from 3:03-3:29 was one late example of how Star kept the rearrangement ideas here viable for 5+ minutes. 3:29-3:55 also had some freestyle-type work that was later placed underneath the Moon theme for yet another new idea introduced late in the game. Overall, how you gonna hate on this? Good progression, good flow, good arrangement. Happy ©Hannukah, Star! YES

Just replace "Aquatic Ambiance" with "Stardust Speedway (Good Future)" and there you have it. NO

Gecko seems to imply that the of the Present version of the theme is what's being arranged here. Listening to all of the "Wacky Workbench" variations from Sonic CD (Japan) however, the pacing and arrangement sound the most similar to the Past version to me, which basically features the same melodic content of the Present version. The arrangement has some good ideas in that the source melody is placed more in the background from :30-1:01, while Gecko places other arranged ideas in the forefront. 1:02 onward features some pretty straight arrangement until 1:32 gets simpler with the bass thump pattern, but I felt this would have been a good time to get away from that thumping pattern as the foundation of the track, at least until bringing it back later on, like at 2:19. I did like the percussion/cymbal activity that came in at 1:40. 2:18 changes the sounds of the melody a little bit, but overall I felt like it wasn't enough going to make it feel as is the track progressed at all the whole time. The patterns and sound choice vary up a little bit, but even with these variations I don't feel like the overall groove is changing or developing significantly during the whole 3 minutes. Maybe that's an inadvertently inherent bias against the house genre; I wouldn't know. Things certainly change up from 1:32-2:18, but the whole groove is anchored to this quarter note thumping beat that never changes and it fails to really hold my interest for the whole time. The rearrangement could incorporate some more original ideas, but my vote isn't based on that. I just need to see this track exhibit more noticeable structural variation over the 3 minutes. If the lack of more overt variation and development here is a byproduct of the genre, then I'll be informed by others I'm sure, but overall I just didn't find this mix that engaging so my vote's solid. The groove felt plain, sedate & unchanging, and that prevented it from getting out of the gate to me. NO

http://xferoc1.fileplanet.com/%5E1664812191/classicgaming/castlevania/mp3/chronicles/1-33-etude_for_the_killer.mp3 - "Etude For The Killer" (X68000 Version) Cool piano and wind opening. The French horn (if I've got that correct...which I don't) at :07 sounds fake, but the tone isn't bad on it regardless. Per Shna's usual stuffz, we've got some offbeat arrangement here. The bongos are very active yet sensibly done; same for the piano work. On the surface, things sound pretty awkward with the guitar strings, but focusing on the geetars you hear a sense of structure to them. They may put off some people, though. The track manages to stay grounded despite the many wacked out instruments courtesy of the source tune melody, which is heavily rearranged at some points, but also handled via straightforward arrangement that expands upon the source with several layers of embellishments. Very excellent ending section at 3:10 with the final buildup at 3:22 and resolution at 3:28. Quality shizz as usual. Nice idea for the mix title by the way. Stuff like this, Hunter's Community Chest, and even HOMMAGE A NAKANO that didn't get passed by us promotes a healthy dialogue with the panel and within the community. (Be sure to post Hommage to VGMix though.) Hopefully there won't be as much controversy on this one, but in any case, I've got no issues here. Best of luck with the Chopin stuff you're working on, Sam. For the next six months or so, the community can enjoy your four OC ReMixes along with your other work. The fanbase'll grow, I hope. YES

Yep, quality stuff here. Thanks from me as well for providing the source tune. Lee was nice enough to throw me a copy of this one as soon as it was finished. I didn't get around to formally prejudging it, but looped it a number of times and knew this was good to go. The beats were initially too basic for my taste and could have flowed better with the groove here via some increased activity, but were full-sounding and otherwise fuctioned well to start things off. Things really picked up on that front once we hit 2:29 and the activity levels rose to where I wanted them. In that sense, there was good development over the course of the track. Very nice synth work from Lee that's reverbed heavily but doesn't get too overbearing over Karl's piano work. Interesting swtichup at 1:47 that I remember not totally feeling the very first time around, but it worked after several listens. Same with the key change at 2:28. Kind of awkward, but certainly nothing that kills the momentum. Ear acclimation made the changes less jarring over time. Most of the arrangement work focuses on the piano work, so the beats generally kept the same structure though you could hear subtle changes made during different sections. Very nice close with the piano at 3:57. For any people that aren't really sold on the mix all the way, I swear to you, that ending it gonna hook 'em and make 'em go "Alright, that was pretty sweet." Satisfying flow and energy and very loopable work. I'm genuinely glad I had the privilege to hear this as soon as it was finished. Good collab, bros. They're two of PRC's finer homegrown talents. YES

http://www.snesmusic.org/spcsets/mm7.rsn - "Shademan" (mm7-14a.spc) Everything is mastered pretty low here; bring the overall levels up. The sax work is a little too sedate to be expressive. The piano work starting from :19-:36 is awkward on several occasions, as well as the sax, which seems to not be grounded in any sort of melody or sensible progression of notes. I could point to other time references, but the story remains the same. The sax and piano generally aren't cohesive in the sequencing. Everything sounds altered for the sake of being altered but with no real form of structure. The last 30 seconds or so of sax work in particular was just too random. You don't call yourself The Anti-Jazz for nothing. The bass is alright, but the percussion work is also really repetitive and dry. Add some variation and presence to the percussion, bring up the overall levels, and add some much-needed form. NO

Development wasn't too bad; a little repetitive but good energy nonetheless. If the production wasn't so poorly done, it would be cool on an ear candy level. I don't really mind the reverb per se. There's certainly too much, so that's already been covered. Frankly though, there's not a bit of clean sound separation here. The "GO GO GOs" are a little cheesy, but again I don't mind them that much. However, the female lyrics that come in at 1:20 are practically inaudible. Aside from making a full-sounding track, you have to be able to substantially distinguish the various layers of sound from one another. The fadeout ending was way too sudden and didn't work either. Dunno the source tune, so I'd have to check it out to gauge the level of rearrangement, but in any case, this needs a lot of production refinement. NO

http://www.zophar.net/nsf/faxanadu.zip - Track 5 (:00-:24), Track 1 (:51-1:16), apparently 5 or 6 tracks in a medley The piano is incredibly mechanically sequenced. So is the percussion. So are the strings. The xylophone's a little more tolerable on that level, but doesn't seem to quite fit it despite the upbeat nature of the track. The xylo levels could be more subdued if anything. The light choir/vox is also more tolerable since they aren't loud, but that all needs work on humanization. Not much in the way of dynamics here. Cool vox usage at 2:44 & 2:49, as a little side note. The arrangement wasn't too bad by me, but I can't tell where all the source tune use is from. Point that kind of stuff out to us for big medley pieces. Once you learn how to humanize your instruments and get the sounds flowing more naturally, you'll be in a much better position. Digging around your website just now, one guy pretty much told you the same thing, so it's nothing you haven't heard before, honestly. Keep at it, bro. NO

http://www.zophar.net/nsf/megaman1.zip - "Fireman Stage" (Track 7) Harp about lower guitar standards and all that shit, but frankly, this is quality stuff. I agree with Vig that you really need a bass to handle the bassline if possible, and the bassline was too repetitive. Go for a little bit more more with the flanger and wah-wah effects. Cool stuff at 1:33 with the further arranged source work moving into the freeform solo at 1:53. 1:53-2:24 was especially where the repetitiveness of the bassline and percussion stuck out. I realize the drums are sampled and pay homage to the Stone Roses, but absolutely be sure to change things up with the percussion and the bassline to something totally unique there to keep things fresh, along with having additional subtle variation on those throughout the rest of the track. A lot of work was put forth in expanding the source material via the many additional lines of instrumentation and it's duly noted here. Frankly, there's nothing wrong with taking this expansive straight arrangement approach, and I think this in particular has promise as an Hendrix/blaxplotaion-influenced genre piece. Not quite there, as the lead could sound more expressive, but it's certainly getting there. But yeah, what I basically heard was 2 iterations of the source's melody/chorus, followed by the solo, and then a 3rd iteration of the source tune melody/chorus. Add some further original ideas elsewhere in the mix. So to iterate, hook it up with a real bass guitar for a richer bass sound if possible, provide more percussion and bassline variation to keep the backup instruments from getting stale, and add more original ideas of your own to put more personal compositional touches to this. Take the advice of Vigilante (and possibly Danny B & zyko if they comment) on what you can do to strengthen the guitar tone and delivery here. Please RESUBMIT, Henrik. I'm keeping this one. NO (refine & resubmit)

http://www.snesmusic.org/spcsets/ewj2.rsn - "Lorenzen's Soil" (ewj2-03.spc) This does an phenomenal job of taking the foundations of Tommy Tallarico's source material and expanding upon it via the structure of the lyrics. Listening through the whole thing, this is something I feel you can point to and say "This expands upon the ideas of the original composer yet truly takes on an identity of its own." Dan's lyrics have some excellent reverb and delay effects on them and his voice is engagingly melancholy at times. Frankly, I didn't know he could sing until I heard the first WIP of this. Over the course of the track's development, the delivery on the lyrics went from completely sedate to a balance of sedate, mournful and wailing. At times I questioned the change, but the escalation in the mix's intensity from its modest beginnings as a WIP proved to me that this was indeed the right move. Hitting 2:02-2:16, I felt Dan's lyrics were obscured a little bit by the instruments, but were nonetheless very clear thanks to superior production work. weed's rap contribution was also drowned out a little bit by the synth coming from 2:55 to 3:14, but the delivery was otherwise excellent and intelligent per his usual high standards. Excellent rhythm, excellent flows, along with strategically placed vocal layering that thickened things up at the right times. Certainly nothing in the sound balance that you don't often hear in professional/industry-grade work. Very nice work in calming things down at 3:21 with just the bassline, ambiance, and percussion before transitioning into Dan's lyrics with Vigilante's guitar accompaniment at 3:34. I could have gone for a bit more reverb on the lyrics on that go-around for more of that moody feel. Otherwise, everything was top-notch. The last minute of freestyle material from 4:12 to 5:15 was brilliantly rendered, before slowing things down for an eerie close winding down to 5:37. The sounds remained clear, energetic, and expressive throughout for an exceptionally strong finish. The instruments layered together very nicely, the lyrics are very well thought out with strong delivery, and the production is generally crisp and clean. This was hugely expansive arrangement work, and nothing short of A-grade from 3 top names in the community that show pride in what they do. Props to Dan for working hard on this mix in the past few months and enlisting Jesse & weed in helping to bring it to what I genuinely consider superlative status. You'll loop it. And believe me, you'll love it. YES

http://www.zophar.net/nsf/tmnt.zip - Track 2 This doesn't sound terrible. The sounds are basic, but the production isn't bad. However, we have standards here. If everyone submitted remixes that clocked in at 1:23, 99% of them would be rejected for being underdeveloped ideas. That merits a NO right there. However, you also cannot fashion a remix simply by taking the melody, altering the instrumentation and then placing a new percussion underneath it. There was some freestyle-ish work from :33 to :48, but that was it. Everything else was the original melody plus new beats. We do not accept that type of material here. Since you don't seem to understand our submissions guidelines, feel free to read them sometime. NO OVERRIDE

http://www.tzone.org/~llin/psf/packs2/SaGa_Frontier_psf.rar - 216 "Alone" Good use of rain effects and reverb to give the track a solemn atmosphere. The melodic line you used at 1:05 is just verbatim with the source tune itself at :28. Though there are areas of originality, the structure ultimately holds too fast to the original. At least you get some light piano underneath to expand things at 1:57, but in any case, this is structured way too closely to the source. The tempo is identical, so it's potentially/likely ripped. Not a poor cover, mind you, but it's not what we're looking for according to the standards. Some of the samples, particularly near the end, could sound stronger, along with the piano solo from 2:42 to 3:07 needing to sound a LOT less mechanically sequenced. Work on naturalizing some of the sample use, add more variation in the percussion, bring up the volume levels a bit, and introduce even more original ideas to complement the source tune coverage. NO

http://www.snesmusic.org/spcsets/ct.rsn - "At the Bottom of Night" (ct-3-03.spc) Heh. Mid Night. Nah, wait... Things are pretty basic on the straightforward arrangement route for nearly the first 2 minutes of this 3 minute mix. I like the subtle synth work here, but initially didn't like the feel created by the vibes (or xylo) coming in at 1:27. They sound a bit more complementary a few seconds later. 1:54 had material placed in tandem with the source tune along with some decidedly more expansive arrangement right after that at 2:15. These promising ideas should have come in earlier. Though I liked the subtle arrangement here, really up the creativity on the first 2 minutes of arrangement with some additional ideas, and absolutely do what you can with the velocities and sustain to get things sounding more natural & expressive and make dynamics a positive contributor here. I'm a sucker for the source tune, sure, but I sincerely liked what I heard so far, LAOS. NO (rework & resubmit)