Liontamer

The 4:03-4:10 section was the only area where I felt things got too cramped, but it was brief. I actually thought the use of the failure jingle for the end at 4:28 was too abrupt; synth was generic-sounding despite the processing, and just didn't feel thematically connected to the rest of the track, if that makes sense. At the end of the day, that's more nitpick stuff. Once the update was made to the leads to not be so liberal as to be unrecognizeable, I was on board, and the production cleanup was a nice bonus. Great revision; now you're playing with power! Thanks so much for your openness to revisiting this, Tab, and I'm so glad to have you officially in the rotation here. Looking forward to your next submission too! YES

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OC ReMix presents Mode Seven: A Jazz Tribute to the SNES! November 7, 2022 Contact: press@ocremix.org FAIRFAX, VA... OverClocked ReMix today released its 77th arrangement album, Mode Seven: A Jazz Tribute to the SNES. The album honors several soundtracks from the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, the 16-bit platform originally released by Nintendo in 1990. Featuring 10 spirited arrangements performed by The OC Jazz Collective, Mode Seven is directed by OC ReMixer, multi-instrumentalist, and arranger Dylan "Wiesty" Wiest, and is available for free download at https://mode7.ocremix.org. Mode Seven includes an experienced roster of jazz musicians paying homage to the '90s most influential gaming system, arranging several themes from 10 SNES titles for big band and improvisational jazz, and follows up on the OC Jazz Collective's first album, Chronology: A Jazz Tribute to Chrono Trigger. Mode Seven was made by fans, for fans, and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Nintendo or any game companies; all original compositions are copyright their respective owners. "After the OC Jazz Collective's in-depth exploration of Chrono Trigger in 2016, I knew that the console which provided us with one of the most memorable gaming experiences of all time deserved its own treatment by the collective", shared director Dylan Wiest. Explaining the legacy of SNES while touching on Mode Seven's scope, Wiest elaborted, "After all, many series of equal stature to Chrono Trigger, such as The Legend of Zelda, Final Fantasy, Mario, and Metroid, all released some of their most popular titles on this console which would go on to define their respective genres." Mode Seven's selection of Super Nintendo titles includes: Dragon Ball Z Super Butouden 2 Final Fantasy VI F-Zero Killer Instinct The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past Live A Live Mario Paint Mega Man X Super Mario World; and Super Metroid. Beyond the album's extensive gaming influences, the OC Jazz Collective's arrangers were also stylistically inspired by musicians including Robert Glasper, Neal Hefti, The Jazz Crusaders, Hank Levy, Oliver Nelson, and Nate Smith. "The 'dream team' assembled for Chronology has grown in size, and new arrangers, musicians, and a representation of SNES titles both beloved and overlooked have all come together to create a fitting follow up to our first release", Wiest proclaimed. The album's cover artwork was also designed by Wiest, and includes lighthearted character designs by Sean "RurouniZel" Lozier that combine the OC Jazz Collective's members with 16-bit protagonists from the Super Nintendo era. "I think that the OCJC has upped their game to a whole new level for Mode Seven", Wiest affirmed. "With the level of musicality and meticulous attention to detail this ensemble brings, I hope that Mode Seven: A Jazz Tribute to the SNES will be as memorable as the console which inspired it." ### Preview it: https://youtu.be/pjzpj7be7gA Download it: https://mode7.ocremix.org Torrent: https://bt.ocremix.org/torrents/Mode_Seven_-_A_Jazz_Tribute_to_the_SNES.torrent Comments/Reviews: https://ocremix.org/community/topic/51803

Preview Mode Seven: A Jazz Tribute to the SNES: https://youtu.be/pjzpj7be7gA Download Mode Seven: A Jazz Tribute to the SNES: https://mode7.ocremix.org Torrent: https://bt.ocremix.org/torrents/Mode_Seven_-_A_Jazz_Tribute_to_the_SNES.torrent For many gamers, the SNES marked a golden age of video games and the soundtracks that accompanied them. For the first time, technology was available that was capable of producing games with vivid art, complex and captivating storylines, and music that could truly establish the atmosphere required to complete a fully engaging experience for gamers. Game developers were finally able to produce epic masterpieces on Game Paks that truly represented their artistic vision, as opposed to relying on the imagination of gamers to fill in the gaps left by the technology of previous generation consoles. Though the SNES served as a launching pad for the level of immersiveness video games would go on to provide over the next 30 years, it was also the pinnacle of the 16-bit era, providing gamers with one last glimpse of how far technology had come before game developers would go back to the drawing board to start from scratch in the 3D era of graphics. The SNES's relatively minimal, sprite-heavy graphics showed how vivid and imaginative artists could be with fairly primitive technology, and it has always amazed me how well SNES-era graphics have aged when compared with their 3D successors. Likewise, the SNES's SPC700 audio engine, which could only handle 8 distinct voices at any given time and up to 64kb of audio data, required composers to be extremely thoughtful in the choices they made. The phrase "limitation breeds creativity", is profoundly apt when it comes to the artists who brought us the masterpieces of the 16-bit era, which have gone on to inspire a sort of renaissance in recent years with the explosive popularity of 16-bit style games such as Shovel Knight or Octopath Traveler, as well as the world of chiptunes and music trackers. After the OC Jazz Collective's in-depth exploration of Chrono Trigger in 2016, I knew that the console which provided us with one of the most memorable gaming experiences of all time deserved its own treatment by the collective. After all, many series of equal stature to Chrono Trigger such as The Legend of Zelda, Final Fantasy, Mario, and Metroid, all released some of their most popular titles on this console which would go on to define their respective genres. While the initial groundwork for Mode Seven: A Jazz Tribute to the SNES began way back in late 2016, multiple circumstances including relocating across the country, personnel changes, the loss of my father (who bought me my SNES in 1996!), and a global pandemic delayed the release until 2022. While Chronology will always hold a special place in my heart, I think that the OCJC has upped their game to a whole new level for Mode Seven. The "dream team" assembled for Chronology has grown in size, and new arrangers, musicians, and a representation of SNES titles both beloved and overlooked have all come together to create a fitting follow up to our first release in 2016. Capturing a style of music such as jazz that requires such close interaction between musicians is no easy task when the musicians are seperated by multiple continents, recording their parts one at a time. However, with the level of musicality and meticulous attention to detail this ensemble brings, I hope that Mode Seven: A Jazz Tribute to the SNES will be as memorable as the console which inspired it. - Dylan Wiest (Wiesty)

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Super fakey instrumentation, particularly the bowed strings, though the piano sounded blocky as well. Yikes at some off notes at :24 with the strings, though it was brief. Lots on instrumentation changes throughout to keep the textures and presentation fresh. It wasn't the most cohesive presentation, but this works more than it doesn't in that respect. I liked the percussion brought in at 1:22; even though the kit sounded sequenced, the writing was spirited and helped make up for the lack of realism of the sounds. Yeah, this basically kept evolving in the same way, The sampled electric guitar at 2:02 would have been better with some doubling to not sound so fake and exposed. The transition at 3:02 was way too sudden and should have been a gradual shift; right now, it's just awkward. The percussion brought in around 3:23 wasn't bad but also didn't have synnergy. Just a strange chimera of instruments all the way through. The cymbals abruptly cut out at 3:45 instead of fading to 0; an effect on that to create a purposeful-sounding transition could have been nice there. This has a ton of character, which helps make up for a lot of obvious shortcomings with the samples here. The mixing's OK, and the quirky textures evolve in a way that never fully clicks, yet doesn't sound completely slapdash. It's an otherwise strong and dynamic arrangement with loads of promise here, Anthony. For me, the number of lesser issues going on (rigid-sounding sequenced parts, out of tune strings, some VERY abrupt transitions, no fully cohesive texttures) are adding up to me. Regardless, I enjoyed this despite its flaws, but am still feeling I need to hear something/several things tightened up to feel this was solidly above OCR's production quality bar. I'd love to hear some attempt made at addressing everyone's critiques, and hope Nah Tony is willing to say Sure Bro to some revisions. NO (resubmit)

I'm listening and this mixing doesn't sound right. Whenever the bowed strings and brass come in, the levels on those seem too loud and upfront, and then the guitar becomes very indistinct and lost in the background. Even the same for the little clicking hand percussion sounds, those were too loud as well. So the mixing's not optimal, as illustrated by the others. They're not wrong at all, but the arrangement is strong. Nice adaptation where the instrumentation feels so similar to the original, and you're thinking it's too close going from one electric guitar to another, but then you have the spaghetti western vibes and more urgency via the excellent percussion writing. Just because the mixing's not ideal doesn't mean it's not solid; I can hear most of the parts clearly enough aside from the fullest part from 2:28-2:40 when the guitar got buried, which was brief. Great concept, energy, and presentation from Daniel! Strong arrangement + decent & capable, but not ideal production... we ride. YES

Opens up super promising; I enjoy the instrumentation and soundscape, which sound plucky and clean. Wait, ooooh, what's happening at :17??? Nooooooooooo, this supporting/doubling line or whatever this is off-key, and it's LOUDLY off-key. Nooooooo, I wanted to pass this and that's a nightmare scenario already right there in every iteration of the verse. (3/16/23 EDIT: Rexy pointed out it's in the source, and yes it is, but it's quiet and more stabby & brief in the NES original, not mixed so loudly like this where it clashes, so massively pull it back.) Drums arrive at :35, and something about them's underwhelming, even though they're competantly mixed in. The bassline's good, but the main beat at the foundation of this plods; some off-beats and/or variations there would help that pattern not sound so bland. I'm 1:30 in, and while the sound upgrade's solid, I'm needing more substance here. OK, here's a dropoff with a transition to some sampled voices, the ticking sounds, then a nice restart of music at 1:47 to take us to the next section. The build was JUST starting to feel overlong, but then we got back into the source tune at 2:22. IMO, you could have extended this part at 2:22 for a few more bars and work in some variations instead of just going right back into the main melody at 2:34. Varying up the instrumentation of the lead would have felt like more substantial development and dynamic contrast. Still, I appreciated changing the percussion backing until 2:43, then adding some new countermelodic writing at 2:43 that interacted nicely with the melody and chorus. Since you were essentially rinsing and repeating the verses and melody at this point, my earlier critique definitely feels right; you need to vary up the presentation of melody & chorus in a way that feels less cut-and-paste, even though the additional writing on top of it was a positive step. More good original writing at 3:21, though this stuff was too loud over the other instrumentation and the soundscape quickly became too messy and cluttered. Changeup at 3:39 mirroring 2:22's, but again, feels too much like a cut-and-paste with other (good) new writing stapled on top. Such great promise here, and super fucking cool to hear a new submission from Tom 20+ years later. I'd love to see this posted in some form. If you're willing to revisit this Tom, and 1) adjust the off-key part by decreasing the volume on it, 2) vary up the drum writing (the core pattern not always being on the beat) and lead instrumentation over time, and 3) watch the mixing from 2:43-on once you adding in new original material to complement the source tune, this would be in great shape! Great source tune choice where I'm genuinely digging this concept. I hope you'd be willing to give it some further TLC. NO (resubmit)

Structurally opens very similar to the original, but with a bombastic orchestral rock approach that I'm digging. The supporting bowed string line at :17 was getting buried; it's not terribly so, but you don't get real synnergy and interplay between the bowed strings and guitar as a result. Nice changeup in the instrumentation and textures at 1:06. Though the brass samples weren't good there, they did have their realism issues mitigated by have some body via chorusing, being surrounded by the guitars and drums with solid stereo placement to not mud together. The brass was mixed well enough to not expose them to the point where you can't look past them once we move on from them at 1:31. Nice shredding/comping section at 1:33; kind of shocked to realize the track's not actually been running that long by this point; it really feels like a lot of substance and energy got packed into a short timeframe. Solid transition back to the source theme at 2:06 followed by soloing over the source tune. The soundscape remained too crowded throughout, but I'll take what's there, as I can reasonably make out the partwriting. The arrangement's all sorts of great; the intensity's great, and the structure of source/soloing/source+soloing flows nicely. The mixing not being ideal definitely pulled this back some, but if the source files went kaput, I'd still want this posted as is, and that clarifies the call for me. A solid arrangement with solid but not ideal production/mixing = we ride. Nice work, Matt, and good luck with the rest of the vote! YES

No hate on the source tune itself, but it's pretty different from the rest of the soundtrack, so this wouldn't have been the source tune I was expecting when seeing Symphony of the Night as the game. Good energy in the intro, though I'm not recognizing much from the source tune. Sampled piano at :36 sounded pretty exposed. Tera with the vocals arriving at :48; loved the chorusing at 1:15, though the vocal lines were fighting to be heard. The voice as an instrument was nerfed there and indistinguishable from the other instrumentation, so it was a case where you couldn't make out what was being said. I'm not saying the vocal lines need to be super clean and upfront, but the way these parts mud together undermines the track. That's different from understanding the lyrics, which is a nice-to-have but unnecessary, especially with the lyrics handy; vocal performance flowed nicely. That cruddy piano line there again from 1:39-1:50; no body to the sound and the timing's so stiff. New verse at 1:50 and I like all of the other instrumentation as well, it's just a case where the mixing's not clean enough (it doesn't need to be squeaky clean, just letting the parts be more distinguishable by not occupying overlapping frequencies. After the soundscape cleared up at bit from 2:46-2:56, it sounded like there was an unintentional buzziness connected to the guitar or bassline; it wasn't a huge gripe, but I also heard it at :12 & 1:14 as well as I listened through again. Definitely something that would be nice to eliminate. The overall performances are definitely strong; loads of energy in all of the performances with only the mixing and that one minor piano line dragging the presentation down some. 5:10-long, eh? Needs at least 155 seconds of observable source usage to pass re: the source tune being dominant in the arrangement per our Standards. Unless I'm overlooking some connections to the source's instrumental, it sounds as if the arrangement's instrumental essentially doesn't reference the source at all, leaving 99% of the source usage coming from the vocals. :48-1:39, 1:51-2:17.25, 2:20.25-2:43.5, 3:23-4:11 = 148.5 seconds or 47.90% overt source usage The majority of the arrangement seemingly is not invoking the source tune; if it's under 50%, to me it's not primarily a VGM arrangement, even though I enjoy it. If I'm missing a connection, please let me know and I'll be happy to revise my vote. If I'm correct on my timestamping though, consider adding in some countermelodic or other writing during non-vocal sections to briefly reference the source tune and nudge it over the top. The structure of the track itself wouldn't need to be touched in any way. Otherwise, in a vacuum, I enjoy and appreciate what I hear; the energy is great and the performances are strong, and everyone here feels the same way. The mixing's not ideal, but I wouldn't hold the piece back for that as is. DarkSim mentioned (and showed an imaged demonstrating) clipping. That said, I didn't hear anything hurting my ears or coming off oppressively loud, so I can't personally say the overall levels hurt this. I'm strictly a NO on needing more VGM source tune usage in the arrangement to make the majority of the track directly derived from the source tune. If the source files aren't gone, consider some of the production aspects brought up by the musician judges as well as throwing in some more references to "Nocturne" within the non-vocal areas. This certainly has a place waiting for it here with some tweaks to fully realize the potential. Nice work otherwise, Kevin and crew! NO (resubmit)

Mixed quietly, but I could hear everything just fine. Sample quality of the brass at :12 was blatty & weak, nothing had any power, and I was glad when they dropped out at :37; easily the outlier weak point amongst enjoyable instrumentation. The orchestration after that was strong, though I'm not digging the brass accents. I liked the stereo placement of the mallet percussion and drumming. While the textures, IMO, got cluttered at times, nothing was so busy to make the production a problem vis-a-vis the bar. String decay was exposed some at 2:33 & 3:05, but it's not the worst instances of that I've ever heard. Overall, a lovely intimate orchestral arrangement approach with beautiful personalization; Rebecca's percussion ornamentations in particular (bells, chimes, tambourines, etc.), are always strong and add a lot of character to her textures. Nice! YES

Ooooooooooooooooooooooh, the ratching up of the intensity around 1:00 was sick. This also sounds like you're invoking Pokémon Red's "Victory Road", even though it's obviously all arranging "Enter Pony", but that was a fun thread I couldn't let go of. Production-wise, nothing but p-p-p-POWER throughout, yet ultra clean. Hell of an arrangement, I love this. Let the pony run, folks. YES

Absolutely love the intro; sound design's awesome and the idea of slowing down the tempo's cool as well. Nice weaving in of other source tunes as well. By 2:00, I was wanting this to go other places, so thankfully at 1:59, the "Serris Battle" melody briefly arrived. IMO, this goes in one gear for too long, so I would have gotten to 2:39's section at 1:59 instead, but that's not a big issue. The contrast of the soundscape being so ultra-clean after 3:22 was odd for me; a different kind of padding would have worked better, IMO, and made the overall texture and tone of the track seem more consistant, but again, more of a personal taste thing as opposed to some sort of big flaw. Interesting concept, Jaime Anne, welcome aboard! YES

Opens up with some interesting production; appreciating the small, crackly sounds going on in the stereo field. Mix is definitely too crowded once everything comes in at :23. The backing guitars in particular just sort of add an indistinct distorted pad underneath, though once the main melody came in at :45, the backing guitar didn't hog up as much space in the soundscape. Love that bass work from 1:20-1:30; nice, meaty tone to it. The mixing on 2:35's section was nice and sharp until 2:47 (and that's not a complaint after 2:47, it's just showing how sharp it was when the electric guitars weren't in play. Such an awesome spin on Lena's material here. It's definitely not ideally mixed but I can make out the partwriting reasonably well, so it's a matter of looking at how much works vs. how much doesn't on the seesaw. The performances and arrangement are all sorts of good, and the other NO judges, while not wrong on the details are missing the big picture, IMO. This ticks every box we want. The production's not even poor, so I just don't get the broader issues. I'm listening on some Sennheiser HD497 headphones, so perhaps on monitors or in a car, there are other mitigating issues I'm unaware of. For my setup, however, it sounds strong. I've definitely been on my share of votes where I'm the outlier against something that passes, so I won't pretend that I've never been the bad guy. But this is all sorts of good; I have 0 reservations here. YES