Liontamer

I remember checking this out when it arrived at VGMix a short while ago looking for VGF Pimp Section material, and this was nothing like the quality of "Proxima Path" at all. Like Vig said, it's way too GM-ish and there's not enough cohesion going on with this one. I don't think it's quite as scattershot as he says, but it's still an earful. The first 3 seconds of the intro was one of the most jarring experiences I've ever had. It does get much better after that though. Unlike Dr. Fruitcake's recent efforts, this doesn't push the limitations of MIDI work at all. It's obviously light years beyond Jeff K. Random's work, but nonetheless this is racked with a lot of the flimsiness that subpar MIDIs are known for. If this was at least rendered with some soundfonts, I'd give this much more of a chance, because I certainly hear a lot of the style that made me enjoy Proxima Path. When Bloomer said that this was deceptively sophisticated, he wasn't lying at all. Maybe given more time, I'd come around to the compositional ideas presented here. But I can't lie; I really expected a lot more from Bloomer's follow-up submission and this isn't it. Though not something I'd ever envision the panel passing, the arrangement is actually pretty promising, but the overall mix isn't when it sounds like this. He'll bounce back with something better, I hope. NO

Here's the old decision if anyone needs to see if the various issues were addressed: http://www.ocremix.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=27280 Altogether, this has bits and pieces of both arrangement and voices from 5 games in the Megaman X series, and I liked how many layers of activity were going on at any given point in time, which may seem overwhelming to some. I first listened to this a bunch of times when Shariq revised and released this on VGMix (back when I was doing monster reviews), along with the source material and the first version of the mix. Pretty much all the areas of the mix that sounded like glaringly bad FL n00bery are gone and I don't feel there's the overall generic Fruity techno sound that the first version had, as there are more higher-quality sounds involved than with this production than with v1. Great use of the in-game voice samples with the break section from 1:48-2:06, BTW. Obviously, much more proficient and unique sounds can be done with FL as opposed to what you hear here, and I know that the origins of this mix are dated. Thus the foundations of this mix are much more of an indicator of where DS was at over a year ago talent-wise. But the energy is very upbeat, I felt the semi-medley structure of the piece was strong, and the melodic layering worked surprisingly well. I'm not much of a fan techno personally, and some of the sounds are basic Fruity sounds, but I liked how everything came together here. The whole ends up greater than the sum of its parts. YES

There's really not much else to say that hasn't already been said. The percussion's really generic, and Stray Cat's violin was really dry. I would have loved to have heard some effects on it to give it more depth. Like Coma pointed out, this really grated through my headphones as well. Once all the instruments start working together around the 1-minute mark, everything poorly melds together. I liked the idea of the transition into the Pingo & Stray Cat contrabass/viloin duet, but it worked in theory and not in execution. 2:48 was a welcome change of pace and the last minute or so at least closed this out much stronger than it began. No offense intended, but this needs a lot of polish. NO

Wow. I can't believe the Eternal Champions intro actually functioned as game music, because it's so damn bad. This mix, however, is nice. I've talked to Doragon a few times and I've heard four mixes of his, this one included. Nearly all of them had the obvious problem of not varying up the percussion. He definitely can't keep doing that and expecting his material to make it here. I know he's told me that he generally has a harder time working on creating viable percussion patterns, but he's gonna have to push himself and be willing to make that effort in order to improve his game overall (especially since he's basically got everything else already working). I was initially gonna vote in favor of this, but the percussion was bland and needed more going on in both variation and uniqueness, that clap in particular. It's literally just as uncreative as the percussion is in the source tune. One little thing I didn't like was how that loud "tss" led into the eerie/ambient break at 1:45. More importantly though, once you came out of that short change-up from the melody at 2:16, it went right back into the same groove only with some more ambiance underneath it. There's gotta be a little something more going on. One suggestion I have would be to bring up the levels of your countermelody for the second half, especially during the chorus; that's an easy way to add something more to the meat of the track. I'm surprised Malcos had a problem with the slowdown ending, because if you check out the source tune, it's a really nice reference to the way the Eternal Champions intro music ended (check it out). Really nice touch, bro. Personally, I don't even think you should touch that. On the plus side, the overall sound was excellent and I enjoyed a lot of the smaller sound effects and additions occurring in the background. Even though the percussion wasn't exciting, the overall atmosphere via these samples was beautiful and you're obviously headed in the right direction, Doragon. If this makes it, congrats, but there's more than needs to be done with this, IMO. If you decided to work a little more with this, I think you'd be that much happier with how it turned out. NO (begging for a resubmit)

As the new guy, I feel obligated to write something a little more fleshed out...but F it. As a guy who's had the fortune to see zirc make SoundTempest work and also develop his skills as a musician through CompoSTs and various mixes, I'm glad this YES was so easy. I'm so used to "The Trail in Concert" that it's strange hearing someone else arrange "Kingdom Trial" so heavily. The production's pretty nice and the Disco Dan/Triforce Majeure homage is great. Everything here really carries that grandiose level of energy and creativity. To make sure I'll remember it, you get my very first YES. [sniff, sniff] I'm proud of you, bro! Congradulations, Andy! This one's gonna make your name. Now you've just gotta top it... YES IT UP

I'm also overly familiar with the source material, and frankly Prot nailed it about following the source tune too closely. Well done genre adaptations are great, but if overhauling the original melody isn't in the cards, what about at least trying to vary up the material by working some original material at the 2-minute mark, right before the chorus? The last minute was excellent, save for the low strings at 3:59 which killed the flow at the end. The ending's gonna need something more to make it satisfying as well. I'd like to hear some more energy involved with this as the mix progresses toward the big finish for the last section; it doesn't have to be over-the-top, but until 2:52 there was no real movement or build. Luckily, I know DCT's more than capable of coming through with ideas that could hook this one up. Keep at it, bro. You & Gray are onto something with this. NO

I'm not suggesting that all the reverb has to go, but I think this mix would benefit more from NoWave being a bit more selective in what gets reverbed and what doesn't, along with the level of reverb. Toning down the reverb on those war drums, the chimes, or the strings for example would at least draw some attention to those instruments and make one feel that there's a little more going on in the forefront. The ideas here are certainly alright, and NoWave's gotten some mileage out of the massive reverb approach, but I have a problem where, when you reverb EVERYTHING, there needs to be something solid to grasp onto and listen to. The fact that that "something" is that piercing flute makes it that much more of problem. It absolutely has to be pulled back. On a minor note, I agree with Prot on the non-harmonic chimes in one section; when they were backing up some brief string ambiance from 4:19 until 4:36. Gray can pwn me about that later. The notes on the chimes are a little odd, but didn't bother me for the rest of the song. Overall, like I said when I pimped it for VG Frequency a few weeks ago, this was a solid track and I liked it, but while the feel is very mysterious, it does get repetitive by the time you reach 3:20 and then nothing new happens. Anything you could do to break the monotony there would be appreciated. If you want though, NoWave, just re-examining the production on this might be enough to get this passed with a resubmission. Don't throw in the towel on this one. NO

http://www.tzone.org/~llin/psf/packs2/ValkyrieProfile_psf.rar - 123 "Eternal Hydrogen Anxieties" I thought this was a pretty relaxing piece. Like Gray mentioned to me, this took a section of a "meh" original (Motoi Sakuraba's "Eternal Hydrogen Anxieties") and worked with it well. The arrangement was well thought out, IMO. One small problem I had with this were the piercing woodwinds at 2:03, 2:37, 4:45 & 5:06. Scale them back a bit at those points. What's important though is the overall work, which was very solid, but has need for improvement. The intro was excellent until the French horn joined in. The synth for it is noticeably weak throughout its use in the mix and doesn't add the energy or strength that it would obviously provide if it sounded more realistic. Because it doesn't sound natural in any way, it really stands out negatively compared to the rest of the mix. Some others had problems with the samples in general, but I felt the other instruments worked well enough so I didn't have a problem with them...when there were a few of them. Unfortunately, when K1 attempted to go out with a stronger 2nd half with lots of activity, the instruments just mushed together in the low midrange (3:23-4:38). He's gotta work things out so that everything sounds cleaner and generally occupies its own space. Great stuff so far on the arrangement side, but the production (while decent) is holding this one back. I'd like to see this get refined and resubmitted, as it would ultimately make Koelsch1 a stronger musician. It's close to being over the line, but I don't see as being there yet. It'll be nice to hear this one with improvements. NO (definitely resubmit)

I'm glad we got a nice bunch of entries for the Ormgas radio jingle contest. Myself, the other Ormgas staff, and some others judged things up this week and the winner was Neskvartetten with a cool Legend of Zelda 2 mix. Check it out below for the info. Now let's see if, for my own sanity, I can do some quick writeups for the week ending Saturday, July 17th: Ashane - Final Fantasy Mystic Quest "Red Cap Assault" [Dwelling of Duels: Free Month / VGMix2 #1828] All of the top four entries in last month's Dwelling of Duels compo have now made their way over to VGMix with Dan Liss's posting of this 2nd place FFMQ mix. There are some people who can't stand guitar mixes or the (allegedly undue) attention they receive, but, hey, I'm not a guitar remix mark, and I think "Red Cap Assault" sounds NICE. Mystic Quest's is one of the bastard children of the FF series and doesn't get much coverage, but there's no need to veer past this one at all. Beatdrop - Sonic the Hedgehog 2 "Strip Mine" [bit by Bit / OC ReMix #1214] Dain continues his work on the Bit by Bit remix album with this rough-around-the-edges version of the Mystic Cave Zone theme, a tune we heard covered by Kevin Sisk last week. Short and sweet, this one's raw energy along with some cool synth work on the chorus to give a different feel to the industrialized foundations. BD's made some excellent remixes so far out of the suggestions he's received from fans, so I'm of course really interested in what's going to drop next (i.e. DON'T CANCEL THE ALBUM, BEATDROP! OR I'LL CRY! DON'T MAKE ME CRY). Dennis Mott - "Glass Onion" - Feedback I like the guy, but Dennis sure can't sing. Oops. I mean... [salesman mode] ...check out Dennis with this VERY tongue-in-cheek Beatles cover and let him know how much you loved it. I know I did. [/salesman mode] Yeesh. Sure take balls to sing like that AND let other people hear it. Eminem f/DCT - Mega Man 7 "Stan (Shady Mix)" [http://www.vagstudios.com] Eminem f/DCT & Flik - Mega Man 7 "Stan (Shady Mix)" [http://www.vagstudios.com] - Feedback Duane Thorpe remains busy working on some hip-hop studio material, but a few weeks ago he released this tight blend of mainstream a cappella material with video game music, i.e. Eminem's "Stan" with a hip-hop beat of Mega Man VII's "Shade Man Stage." DCT's version of "Stan" follows in the vein of other blends of his such as his 50 Cent mix "In Da Club (Dark Sword Mix)", yet removed the chorus from Stan in order to make it fit better with the beats. That move though left some people going "Wut?", so along came Flik this past week with his own complete rendition of Stan on top of DCT's beats, which I enjoyed after a couple of listens (hey, it's not the same). Flik really gets going as he gets angrier and angrier throughout. Dope stuff on the hip-hop side by one guy with Jamaican soul and one crazy cracka. Fray - Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind "Fear Not" [OC ReMix #1216] Let's see what I had to say about the older version back for the May 22nd Pimp Section: After some retooling, Nate joins the fray (Holy shit, a lame pun!) at OCR with this well-arranged Morrowind piece, one that has weak samples, but more than makes up for it with over-the-top creativity. The freestyle section at 3:07 sounded a little reminiscent of some of Protricity's own energized solos. As Fray develops more, the sample quality and polish will come, but in the meantime, this is well-made work nonetheless. Though this possesses some style along with potential you can hear, this is a really a case of substance over style.Kaijin - Xenogears "Child of the Stars" [OC ReMix #1213] Tim Sheehy offers another softly-made Xenogears mix to follow up on May's "Momentary Emotion." If you know Kai's style, this is another remix in the same vein, dominated by strings and piano with a hip-hop style percussion beat. It didn't tread any new ground for me personally, but you don't care what I think, that's for sure! If Xenogears or relaxing music is your speed, then you've gotta hit it. Over and out. Koelsch1 - Valkyrie Profile "Blind Eternity" [VGMix2 #1396 / OC ReMix to-be-posted?] If I can give you the heads-up on an OCR-bound remix before the n00bs see it, I'll try and hook you up. Here's Koelsch1 makes his way to OCR with a very interpretive take on Motoi Sakuraba's "Eternal Hydrogen Anxieties." I myself was borderline against this passing, but I don't mean for that to take away from the obviously skills displayed by K1. Even if I felt this needed a bit more to be above the bar, this one's a keeper and represents some very lush orchestral work. Don't skip this one if you don't recognize the game. Koelsch1 & Sefiros - Sonic the Hedgehog 3 "Chillin' with Sonic" [VGMix2 #1693 (removed)] Frankly there are many cases where the mere title of a remix will tell you how n00b-ish you can expect it to be, so when I saw a mix that was very uncreatively called "Chillin' with Sonic" I was wary. When you listen to it, you'll clearly realize this isn't great. However, this is at least a decent collab with a minimalist approach on the IceCap Zone done via saxophone. The production here needs improvement, but this remix does at least create a fairly depressing/melancholy mood along with the very nice rainstorm sample that continuously cycles through the background. Even if you don't get that kind of feeling from it, this is a very nice track to loop in the background. This one would have been served better by having a more artistic/pretentious name like "As It Melts Away"; just anything more serviceable than "Chillin' with Sonic." - Wouldn't you know it, this one got removed for being a revision of any already-released track. Now you'll just have to enjoy the K1-less original by Sefiros. You can tell ME how that one is. L. Spiro - Super Mario RPG "Mallow's Opus" [VGMix2 #1873] There's a bit of rearrangement here, but I thought this shined as a beatiful sounding cover of Yoko Shimomura's "Sad Song" featuring a much more realistic piano lead and some haunting ambience alongside of it. This is a cool change of pace from Shawn, with a release that doesn't cover Donkey Kong Country 2 and tries some other source inspiration (good inspiration, too). It's not risky, but in a pinch it gets the job done. Makke - Lost Patrol "In the Air Mix" [AMIGAremix #107 / OC ReMix #1215] I just wrote about this gem last week, so let's see what I said about it then: The one other thing I wanted to say was that I'm surprised that Protricity was the only judge to recognize the Phil Collins homage in this mix. Are you kidding me, yo? [shakes head] C'mon, I'm half-black and even I know it.Neskvartetten - The Legend of Zelda 2 "Ormbossa" [Ormgas Jingle Competition] We got a lot of cool entries over at Ormgas.com for our month-long radio jingle contest, and the NES4 (or in this case, the NES2) managed to take the cake with this bossa nova jazz mix referencing Link's Adventure. We got some excellent entries from others like SgtRama (Donkey Kong Cereal!), Bladiator & 3rd place winner ESHbyESH, but I have to point out that nothing was funnier than Antonio Pizza's Final Fantasy I runner-up entry "It's Alright to Like the Prelude." In it's own way, it's a genuine indictment on how many goddamn people like that track. Props to everyone who entered the contest; thanks a lot for supporting Ormgas, the unofficial OCR radio station! OverCoat - "Jormungand" [http://rks.no-ip.com/~seattleovercoat] - Feedback Here's some more quality ambient synth stuffs from the kid with the long coat, the title of which is derived from Norse mythology. The mood here is a LOT more tense than some of the other forays Scott has made, and I certainly got a Dust Brothers/Fight Club soundtrack vibe from it as the track kept moving and really got going at the 5:20 mark. If you've got something morose and/or sinister goin' on and need background music, give OverCoat 11 minutes of your life. You won't regret it. OverCoat & Destiny - Seiken Densetsu 3 "Angels Dear" [VGMix2 #683 (removed)] - Feedback Too hot for VGMix, it's Scott & Helen, whose SD3 collaboration got the boot from this site this past week (since it was a revision of an already-released mix). Because of these unfortunate circumstances, OC asked me to pimp this mix out. Y'all are the beneficiaries of their misfortune, but have no fear! Destiny plans on re-doing the vocals in the near future, so keep on the lookout for an ever better version of "Angels Dear" to surface in the coming months. Rellik - "Thee Stylish Scalawag" http://www.tjhsst.edu/~alederer - Feedback On the original side, Adam comes at you with some very chill electronic/synth instrument action (with a great title too; when was the last time you heard someone use "scalawag?" Yosemite Sam?). This is very, very interesting material for a hybrid piece, almost something I could hear in a Volkswagen commercial or something similar. Well, shit, I don't know what else to say except that this is pretty sweet. This isn't for everyone, but Rellik's got my pick of the week. You've gotta check this one out for yourself. Star Salzman - "The Message" [http://www.starblast.org] So early in the week, Star goes, "Larry, check out my new song," and in the OCR channel comes up Star Salzman - The Message. I go, "Oh, are you trying to rap in this one at all?", thinking this could be some sort of homage to Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five. He says, "What are talking about???" Goddammit, bro, don't push me, cuz I'm close to tha edge. (Coincidentally, I'm tryin' not to lose my head.) In any case, what in the HELL is up with this? Star apparently smoked the good stuff as he came up with the most nonsensical WTF I've heard in a long time. Although I have to say, there aren't too many things funnier than hearing two harmonized Stars singing "cookies!" If you're a weirdo, stand right in line for this one. zircon - "Goofy Ghouls" [CompoST 24] Part Zombies Ate My Neighbors, part Ghostbusters, this dope lil' track was the winning entry of CompoST 24, as zirc provided a nice piece in the style of a "boy has to beat up zombies" game. This submission really hit the nail on the head in terms of the style, so ZAMN fans should get a kick out of this one. We've got a few interesting tracks on the work-in-progress side. The fan-favorite or eclectically inaccessible (depending on your tastes) ziwtra has some quality Terranigma WIPs that need your feedback, including a redux of "Blue." Check his WIPs out and let Youngjin serve you up a BIG heaping of breakbeats. Star Salzman is brewing up his best mix yet (and he'll definitely tell you that himself). Check out the new Xenogears work-in-progress, "Pillar of Salt", featuring a hybrid of both Dazil & Omen from the XG soundtrack along with two time signatures, 3/4 & 4/4, AND both Hebrew & Arabic lyrics. (The guy's ambitious, what can I say.) Taxing his computer's resources to the limit, Star aims to push the bounds of remixing and get you to kiss his feet in gratitude! Be sure to listen to the progress so far, as it's very, very close to complete; it's the right thing to do. [/hero worship] Children of the Monkey Machine fans, you have something to anticipate: zircon's been requested to send some music to the Weather Channel for potential use on the Local on the 8s weather forecast. If you've ever heard some of the Weather Channel's choices for music, you might understand that there are actually legions of fans who literally wanna collect everything the channel's ever played. (Protricity *cough*) It's almost as far-fetched as a bunch of Star Salzman groupies. Seriously though, many of you would be surprised at how much attention getting your music played on the Weather Channel provides, so good luck to Andy with this very unique opportunity. Thanks to exposure from SoundTempest (!) OverCoat's been propositioned with joining a Swedish music label Waerloga Records, a label focusing on (check this out now) "Dark Ritualistic Fantasy music." That's fucking awesome, I shit you not. I dunno if Scott's gonna take them up on their offer, but it's interesting nonetheless. In the race to get offered a deal by a label, OverCoat is currently beating 95% of the remixing community, 1 to 0. ;-P See ya next week.

"NO" More info next week...

As they say, link please? It's the blockbuster movie event of the summer! Choreographed by martial arts expert and best-selling exercise guru Billy Blanks, watch as Prot and Vigilante take their mutual hatred of one another outside the forums...and TO THE STREETS! (Disclaimer: VG Frequency is not responsible for your disappointment. What'd you expect? The Matrix?)

I'm glad we got a nice bunch of entries for the Ormgas jingle contest. Myself, the other Ormgas staff, and some others will be judging things up over the next week. Once a winner is decided on, I'll highlight what we collectively chose. Everytime I think I'm gonna be quick with the writeups for the week, I always find more stuff to say. The only way I could say less was if you paid me too. Let's sort through what was going down for the week ending Saturday, July 10th: Ailsean - F-Zero 1 "Flying Hachi-Roku" [Dwelling of Duels: Free Month / VGMix2 #1854] As part of the May/June Dwelling of Duels contest, Ailsean whipped up this homage to the anime Initial D (which I've seen part of and enjoyed in it's cheesiness), hence the title. This 3rd place finisher isn't a straight guitar track (though it actually doesn't sound like the cheesy 80's Eurobeat & J-tronica I've heard from the initial D series), but Sean pulls off some very cool licks in this remix taking on "Big Blue." The percussion's pretty plain, but that about the only thing I felt needed some added attention. This is more of a stylized cover piece, as per the general layout of the DoD compo, but one with the energy you'd come to expect from Ailsean for a source tune like this. alunimum - Dragon View "Apocryphal" [OC ReMix #1210] I dig aluminum's style, as he usually offers unique stuff when he infrequently releases material. This one's a wind and piano-centric piece with orchestral and electronic support as well. This one took me a couple of listens to get into, especially since I'm unfamiliar with the source material, but it's pretty cool, especially upon repeated listens, where you can get more comfortable with the structure and direction within. Ironically enough, this is aluminum's second OC submission, and both of them abruptly cut out at the ending. Someone's gonna tell alum how to create fadeouts. Not everyone likes fadeouts, but in this case, they're only your friend. Arkimedes - Lufia 2 "Tickling Clocks" [VGMix2 #1853] Looks like I've been suckered in yet again with the work of Arkimedes, as this one is my pick of the week! Jaron's back with another VGMix release, this time taking on the Lufia series. The composition is strong and Ark's now-trademark vocals are well-written per his usual. I thought the production could be tightened so that the vocals don't get buried by the music, but, for the casual listener, it probably won't bother you. With remastering, this could be OC ready. I'm a big fan of Jaron's current remix formula, so I'm always glad to see him active in the community. The others of you out there who enjoy Arkimedes' work can check out his brand new homepage over at http://www.jtwidman.com. Bladiator - Chrono Trigger "Woman in a Black Dress" [The People's Remix Competition 19] Karl Harmdierks displays even more improvement with this salsified remix of CT's Black Omen theme that took home yet another first place PRC finish for him. The tempo's a little bit too fast for the comparison I'm making, but I still got a little bit of that Tropico vibe from this, if any of you out there have played the quasi-Cuban equivalent of SimCity. This isn't as refined as say "Needles," since the soundset is fairly basic, but the arrangement is tight, and Blade takes Chrono Trigger in a direction that I've never heard before. The version available here has been retooled since PRC19 and features a stronger ending, and it's been submitted to the tender mercies of OCR, so best of luck as Blade goes through the submission process with it. Stay on top of things with PRC20 as several entrants attempt to mix Bladiator's challenging source tune choice from Max Payne 2! Carbunk1e - Rurouni Kenshin "Undanceable Waltz" (WIP) [The People's Remix Competition: Animation 3] You know, it doesn't take much for Japanese speech to sound ominous. The woman intro-ing this next recommendation could be saying "I'm just so happy to see you" and it sounds like some bad omen. Anyway, Anime Remix head honcho, Bunkie, managed to give a nice intro here via said ominous Japanese anime sample, and this work-in-progress develops into a very nice trance piece. But, alas, it's incomplete. Based off of the nearly two minutes so far, the foundations look in place for Carbunk1e to complete this mix and add to the burgeoning collection of mixes available at Anime Remix. As the only entry, this WIP was enough to give him the win for PRC:A3, but this is solid stuff nonetheless, and one you'll wanna follow if you're feeling the trance. Matt's choice of muzak from Azumanga Daioh is the next track that's being given the treatment, courtesy of PRC:A4. Daniel Baranowsky - Jurassic Park (SNES) "Before Time" [http://members.cox.net/systemaniac] Dan recently finished up the Jurassic Park mix that essentially came to life once he heard the source tune of Yoozer's "Isla Nublar Jam." This one features (OMG) real guitar, so while Dan did a great job faking it in "Agony of Obscuration," this one has some genuine geetar playin' for ya, featuring a harder edge thanks to some layered sections and a nice bass pad. I don't have a link for you, since I'm not sure Danny B wants it given out and he's away in California for a little bit, so just keep an eye out for it later. (And act very surprised when you see it. He'll like that.) debeerguy (Kevin "Lorenzo" Sisk) - Sonic the Hedgehog 2 "Dark Caverns Mystified" [VGMix2 #1323] Kev has some fairly ominous sounding synths going on in this electronica mix of the Mystic Cave Zone theme. There aren't too many liberties taken on the arrangement side until the mix is about 3/4ths over, which is pretty interesting, although I would have liked to have heard more rearrangement. Still, the sound choices here are pretty nice, creating quite the odd atmosphere, and making this an enjoyable release. I'd really like to see Kevin take more arrangement risks, and building future mixes more like the freestyle conclusion of "Dark Caverns Mystified" would be a welcome change of pace. He's gettin' there. Flik - The Legend of Zelda 3 "Kakariko Prom" [VGMix2 #1845] After contributing to the sick River City Ransom rap mix, "River City Rap," Chris Serani makes his solo debut on VGMix with this prom-music spin on the SNES's A Link from the Past. Featuring a joking story-style intro (and outro) hearkening back to the old-school days of Mustin, "Needles," and "Team Gato," this one definitely intros the right way and gets your attention. If you're a sap for Zelda music that you and a high school sweetheart can dance to, your prayers have been answered. Certainly a good debut from Flik, who's been mostly known for his directorial work for X-Strike Studios and "River City Rumble." Nope, he's not a one-trick pony. goat - Castlevania 3 "Rancid Purgatory" [unchosen Paths / VGMix2 #1848] Keep rockin' 'em, goat! Here's the latest release from his CV3 remix album (which you should be able to figure out the name of). Halfway through, we get some brief call-and-answer moments thanks to some guitar layering. All things considered, it's the heavy rock that you know and/or love. It's all good here, thanks to goat's high standards. This'll tide me over until he releases his remix of "Demon Seed" from the CV3 soundtrack. I prefer some CV3 tracks more than others, but the entire album so far remains strong, and is sure to impress. JigginJonT - Donkey Kong Country 1 "West Coast DK Island" [Gorilla con Gusto] Mr. T recently wrapped up his part for Gorilla con Gusto (which is slowly but surely heading towards completion) in the form of this 50's-era jazz piece rearranging "DK Island Swing." Of course, there are modern elements involved, as easily evidenced in the introduction, but the spirit and style are there in full force, and if anyone would know how to be faithful to the structure involved in this genre homage piece, it would be the Jiggy One. This is a very full-bodied effort, and yet another track that shows off the strength of Digital Coma's brainchild in Gorilla con Gusto, which continues to look good with 15 remixes now completed. LindsayAnne Klemm - The Legend of Zelda 1 "A Fate Preordained" [OC ReMix #1209] Hot off the heels of The Wingless & Destiny collaboration of the same theme, LindsayAnne finally hits OCR with her take on the perpetually remixed Zelda theme. Lindsay's the collaborative partner of fellow OC mixer Edgen Animations, i.e. Justin Durban, which I found out back in April when I first discovered this track here and played it on my show. (It's nice to be ahead of curve sometimes.) If you've enjoyed the lushly orchestrated Zelda mixes of Nixdorux & Unknown, then you've got no reason not to check this one out. The tempo stays slow and engaging throughout, so sit back and relax with this one. Hopefully LindsayAnne will stay involved with OC with future submissions, as she beautifully scores one for the ladies here! Makke - Lost Patrol "In the Air Mix" [AMIGAremix #107 / OC ReMix to-be-posted] This recently OC-approved mix is Marcus Nilsson's second contribution to both AMIGAremix & OC ReMix, though if you frequent the C64 scene, he's already an established name there. This homage to Phil Collins' "In the Air Tonight" is very well-produced and grew on me a lot with repeated listens. The lyrics seemed odd at first, since one is likely used to the note pattern of Phil Collins lyrics, but the minor-key vocal stylings sounded better and better over time, so that's just my personal disclaimer for anyone who's initially put off by the style here. I'm lucky I've had this for a few weeks, as I'm sure my enthusiasm for this one would be a lot less if I only heard this a couple of times. The top names of the European game mixing community have the best production anywhere, and this is another one of those excellent sounding efforts. Don't you have a thing for the 80's anyway? Aren't you a child of the 80's??? See if this one rekindles some old memories for you. Nixdorux (Nicolas Ferranti) - The Legend of Zelda 3 "Escape from the Mountain" [VGMix2 #1807] Nix's latest Zelda 3 piece is probably the most forceful orchestral piece of his that I've heard so far, and sounds a LOT more at home as some sort of PlayStation Final Fantasy cutscene music. The mix title didn't really fit the imagery I got from this piece, as I'd think something more frantic would be in order. Nonetheless, I'd personally say that (aside from the ending) "Escape from the Mountain" is Nicolas's strongest remix ever. I wouldn't put it as the catchiest of his works, as that's not the point, but then again, I suppose I have different standards than lots of other fans. Check this one out for some well-crafted militaristic Zelda action. Norrin Radd - Double Dragon 3 "Brett's Requiem ~ Flight of a Dragon" [Dwelling of Duels: Free Month / VGMix2 #1825] Norrin Radd recently came back to OCR after a long hiatus thanks to his skills at rearranging Guile's theme, which was the winning entry for the March edition of the live instrument remixing compo, Dwelling of Duels. For the free choice month of Dwelling of Duels, Norrin once again took 1st place with this medley from the high underremixed Double Dragon 3. Some games just don't get enough coverage. I think someone wanted to cover something from the Silver Surfer NES game, but I can't remember who that was. Maybe Norrin should check that out, given his handle. In any case, things start off slow for the first 1:20, and Radd left me wondering (ignorantly, might I add) why and how this mix managed to win out in the Dwelling of Duels. Suffice to say, this one greatly picks up in intensity and is a fine example of powerful guitar work. For me, it's not something that blew my mind, but the guitar aficionados will have nothing but love for the work and proficiency here, as virt and Ailsean can attest to here, so give it that look. Ork Estral (Nigel Simmons) - Super Castlevania 4 "Into the Corridor of Shadows" [VGMix2 #1493 / OC ReMix #1212] As I work hard to earn my weekly pay of $0 for the VGF Pimp Sections, let's check out what I said about this one from the May 22nd edition: Quinn Fox - Ghosts 'N Goblins "Arthur Enhanced" [VGMix2 #1829] Quinn's retired from the scene for a while, but he's still releasing some older material that had previously been available strictly at his homepage. As you can hear, the mastering isn't as crisp as other work you may have heard from Quinn, but chalk that up to age. This take on the familiar Ghosts'n Goblins theme music is pretty straightforward until you hit the 2:20 mark where Fox goes for a nice freestyle section that continues until the fadeout, leaving you wanting something more. Too bad, cuz that's all you get. It's a good trick too, because it worked for "Nial and Nowhere," his Phantasy Star 3 remix. This one's pretty repetitive, and Quinn'll probably tell you that himself, but this is a chance to peep some older, re-released material that you may not have been aware of. Sir Nuts - Ninja Gaiden 2 "Ashtar's Desires [VGMix2 #1837] Mike Molina indeed drops the nuts on this trancified take on the Parasprinter theme that guys like Silent, EgM & Kaijin have taken on in the past. A straightforward trance/piano cover eventually gives way (more than halfway through the track) to some solid freeform work that really plays around with the basic structure of the source tune while creating some new ideas. This one's been doing pretty well in terms of reviews at VGMix and, if you like trance, this'll do you right. I would have preferred a little more variation in the structure, so that rearrangement and remix sections alternated, but I can't complain, bros. Sir Nuts continues to step it up as one of the scene's most proficient trance talents. SnappleMan - Star Ocean: Blue Sphere "Killer Dokko" [OC ReMix #1211] Ever since Debotron requested that I play Killer Dokko on the radio show back in April, I've been keeping an eye on Andy Kotsamanidis, who's been getting more and more ready in the last few months improving his game. The WIP version of "Killer Dokko", available at VGMix, was a piece that had a lot of character, along with some chiptune-ish flavor, but wasn't yet ready for the "big time" so-to-speak. Once Snapple decided to add a little more meat to it, there was nothing holding it back from making it to OCR. Snap's gonna be working on some Castlevania material that's not necessarily going to see the light of day at OC, so if you like how he's rocks "Killer Dokko", you oughta keep your eye out on Gorilla con Gusto for his powered up DKC mix, "Thrash the Plank." Of course, his GrayLightning collab, "Distorted Star," is waiting in the wings of OCR as well, so SnappleMan is a name you'll be hearing a lot more in the coming months. I could go for a Kiwi Strawberry Snapple too. I'd swear he has that effect on purpose. trickwaters - The Illusion of Gaia, Soul Blazer & Terranigma "Geheimnis der Erde: I Der Anfang und ein Gebet" (a.k.a. 'Mystery of the Earth: I The Beginning and a Prayer') [VGMix2 #1785] Pat must make it on the pimp section 2 or 3 times a month, because he's always got something good released on VGMix. To be perfectly honest, I have no damn idea what could have made trick combine the intros from these three games, as I just don't see the connection here that other mixers make when they do muiltgame Final Fantasy medleys and stuff like that, so props to trickwaters for thinking outside of the box. For those of you who are familiar with Pat's traditional piano forays, y'all can enjoy a new angle on things, as this marks his first release of orchestrated remix material rather than straight piano work, and is a newly completed work rather than older material. The levels are a bit low, and the strings came off as noticeably unnatural beyond the 4-minute mark, but otherwise this is some bueno stuff. I'd say "good" in German, but let's stick to a language I know. ZhayTee - Metroid 1 "Kraid Adagio" [VGMix2 #1805] Finally, we're at Joe Toscano, who's got this low-fi Metroid piano offering covering the ever-popular Kraid theme. You probably aren't familiar with ZhayTee if you're not a longtime VG remix fan, since he only has one OC ReMix from just over 2 years ago. Zhay marks his VGMix debut with "Kraid Adagio" which isn't really there to break any new ground, but sounds nice nonetheless. And continuing with this week's apparent motif of not dramatically rearranging tracks until most of the song is over, Joe adds a little interpretive material 2/3rds of the way home. This mix doesn't take many liberties, but hey, you can't go wrong with putting your own cover spin on a classic. Definitely worth checking out. A bunch of remixers are getting together in California, including a handful of OCR judges. Rumor has it that they'll be conducting a summit on both world peace and "LOLz." Stay tuned to the OCR forums for more of the goings on with that. I'm a busy/tired man, so it's time to wrap things up. For this week, I'll stay off of the WIP front and hope some ideas develop into new releases for next week. Until then...um...keep on truckin'. Yeah, I think that's it.

Hope y'all Amerikaners had a good 4th of July long weekend full of illegal fireworks, lemonade and hot dogs. That's the American way. The jury's still out on what the Scandanavian way is. Oh hey there, folks. Do an Ormgas radio jingle for the contest above and win free stuff. Es bueno. Now let's see what was going on for the week ending July 3rd: Chad Seiter - "Whiskey and Lead" - [7th Serpent OST] Feedback A name non-OCR folks need to know is much more active on VGMix, and he's got a very professional sound. Could be because he has access to professional samples. Then again, it could be because he's, you know, an actual professional. Aside from professional video game and independent film scoring, Chad has one strong work at VGMix, the old but very VERY ambitious 2001 13-minute multiple-Squaresoft-game mix "Final Fantasia." After you impress yourselves with that, go ahead and "take the risk" on some of the original work Chad plugged at the VGmix Minstrel's Guild forum. My personal choice out of the three tracks spotlighted is the action-oriented "Whiskey and Lead" which is actually an original game music track for the upcoming game "7th Serpent," though you can go for the independent film piece "The Power of 4." Not an artist to miss, folks. Destiny - "Eldamar" [http://destiny-hikari.net] - Feedback Helen does double duty this week, first off with some original action courtesy the VGMix forums as well. I had three tracks to pick from, and they're all good, so I decided to pick the most accessible track. "Eldamar," is an original inspired by the Lord of the Rings series featuring unique Quenya/elvish lyrics. What that's all about exactly? Fucked if I know. My geekdom only goes so far. [/jab] You can always rely on Ms. Trevillion for lovely vocal efforts, so put this one on for size, and if you're not satisfied, there's the very relaxed "Dream of the Innocent" as well as your choice if you want something with tangible lyrics, "Will You." Digital Coma - Donkey Kong Country 1 "Gorilla con Gusto" - [http://dkcproject.ocremix.org] - Project Mixes & WIPs / Project Discussion & Feedback With 14 tracks under their belt, Digital Coma and his team of mixers are inching closer and closer to completing "Gorilla con Gusto," the Donkey Kong Country Arrangement Collaboration project. There are already incredible tracks available from established favorites like GrayLightning, Adhesive Boy & Vigilante, along with several tracks from remixing up-and-comers like Red Omen, Icy Guy & Hemophiliac that really pushed their current talents to the limit. For those new to knowledge of the project, GcG is created and organized by legendary tablas player, and all-around good fella Binnie Katti, known to lots of folks as Digital Coma. He's definitely a man's man, but the project contributors'll tell ya: do NOT cross his path, or he turns into an Indian tyrant with a huge anger management problem and the um...moxie...to back it up. Anyway, all of the unofficially completed Gorilla con Gusto tracks available at the link provided are open to tweaks and are thereby subject to change, so remember that before you mistakenly claim that I hooked you up with the inside connection. You know I'd never give you information of any legitimate importance! Double A Ron - "Freestyle Rapaway" - Feedback Aaron Comica threw out some more of his upbeat rhymes out last week to celebrate his 21st birthday. The production on "Freestyle Rapaway" is awful, so you'll either be put off by it or you'll be able to weather and listen to the song beyond the technical flaws. Double A offers a more friendly style of rap, hearkening back to the old school flavor of the genre. Of course, Aaron's a white Canadian, so that's not really...old school. Nah, it's not. The fact that this track sounds unrefined isn't too much of a deterrent, as it's actually from 2001 and Double A has only improved since then. Aaron plans to do a studio album release in Winnipeg in the near future that will obviously have tighter production. So take this primarily as an example of Double A Ron's rhyming skills..."direct from Canada, eh." Freemind - Morrowind "The Final Stage" [OC ReMix #1207] FM finally follows through with his first solo submission via Morrowind, and I'm always impressed by how many different styles Thanasis drops on us listeners, as his body of mixes and original tracks don't fit comfortably into one genre, or, if I wanted to be more accurate, four genres. For an mixer such a Freemind who really enjoys his hybrid pieces, I most enjoyed the Celtic overtones he used that I've heard in one other piece of his, though the various different instrumentations of the lead melody are what really sold me on it. I thought the drumwork could have been sequenced a bit tighter, but the overall package is strong and it's one that highlights already strong, memorable source material from Jeremy Soule. Gecko Yamori - Streets of Rage 2 "Infectious Oldskool" [VGMix2 #1767] Sweden's Dan Bärlin is the most prolific mixer on the American scene that's also a participant within the European scence and the C64 side of remixing. Gecko pleased a lot of people by dropping this C64/SID-chip inspired mix of Yuzo Koshiro's "Under Logic" on VGMix early in the week. What makes this mix even more special is that it the sequel of sorts of his already popular mix of the same theme in "SID of Rage." "Infectious Oldschool" marks Dan's effort to make this remix much more like the artistic vision he originally had when he initially attempted SID of Rage. Both mixes are highly enjoyable in my opinion, but there's a bit more polish on this release that makes it a must to check out, especially to compare the two tracks side by side. It's more than likely that you'll really enjoy it. JAXX - Chrono Trigger "Johnny Suck Pavement" [VGMix2 #1796] When guys like Mustin opine for the old days of the American game mixing scene, they're talking about mixers like McVaffe, Ailsean, Kaijin, and JAXX. Patrick Jacks is pretty elusive for one of the old-school legends. His last 3 mixes have been 7 months apart each, so oftentimes it's hard for fans to get their JAXX fix. Luckily Pat is back with a new CT mix, although those of you expecting a page out of "Lightning Star" or "Time Punk" are gonna be disappointed. That's your loss though, as JAXX instead lays it back with some chill acoustic guitar flows possessing a Spanish-style flavor, along with some vroom-vroom samples. Don't be one of those annoying n00b bastards that typecasts a mixer and their style; be sure to give this one the look it deserves. Kirbymixer - Kirby's Dreamland 3 "Birds of Dreamland" [VGMix2 #1765] Where would we be without Kirbymixer frequently tackling material from the Kirby series. We'd be in Hell or whatever your personal equivalent of Hell is (Catholic school), that's where. Some light woodwinds provide the metaphorical representation of the mix title's aforementioned birds in this very nice orchestral offering. The tone never gets too heavy, and there are some excellent gentle sections from Bas, along with some initially strange transition sections that work surprisingly well. This is a straight up medley piece that has a light air to it, but doesn't get too bubbly for us folks that hate, well, Kirby music. This is the part where DarkeSword kicks the crap out of me... k-wix - The Legend of Zelda 64: The Ocarina of Time "Ocarina of Seasons" [VGMix2 #1774] Dustin's back with a Zelda medley piece, but instead of going the route of Unknown & his "Artifact of Power" series with an orchestral style, k-wix has gone for a straight piano approach touching upon several well known Zelda 64 Koji Kondo cuts. The mastering leaves the high-end frequencies unattended, so the texture might feel a bit dry as a result, but this is solid work combining elements of the Ocarina of Time that so many gamers know and love with their great personal bias! Definitely one to keep and recommend to other Zelda fans. N-Joy f/Simona - Stormlord 1 "Seneca's Marble Pack" [R:K:O #2289] This one is my extra enthusiastic pick of the week! After pimping out DHS in late May regarding his collab with soon-to-be-posted OC ReMixer & R:K:O vet Makke, fellow member of The SoundWavers N-Joy has dropped a HOT new pop collab on R:K:O with the talented vocalist Simona. Though it was both on the C64 & Amiga platforms, I've never heard of Stormlord myself, but I do know that this is some kick-ass work that you aren't allowed to overlook whatsoever. Simona's lyrics are top notch, and (coincidentally) they're also in Italian. Don't let the language barrier dissuade you; they're very well produced regardless of the language. I don't know if "I-Pop" is much of a genre, but you can serve me up some more of this any time. Love it or hate it, The SoundWavers bring something unique to the scene that you'd be hard-pressed to find anywhere else. Ryan8bit - Dragon Warrior 4 "The Grief of Aktemto" [VGMix2 #1782] Just like JAXX, Ryan Stern is another guitar guru that hasn't dropped anything on the people in a while. And while the wait for Ryan8bit's newest release (2 months) wasn't nearly as long as the wait for JAXX's latest, Ryan's here to bring it to ya as well, with this DW4 mix that starts off with acoustic and acid guitar elements before adding to the background with some orchestral swells. And while this beginning also isn't the style one would be most familiar with Ryan's work, the halfway point brings out the electric guitar work that those OverRocked ReMix fans worship him for. A nice change of pace to hear two guitar rock mixers like Ryan & JAXX moving a but out of their traditional bounds, both in the same week. Shane Barber - Little Nemo "Nightmare King's Dream" [OC ReMix #1206] OC-newbie Shane Barber has already cut his teeth on the professional side, so this brand new Little Nemo mix has pretty nice mastering as compared to a lot of other tracks on the site. Here, we have a primarily piano-centric mix done in an upbeat, techno-ish dance style. The way in which the synths are used doesn't lend much "meat" behind the sounds per se, so this isn't like one of those thumping trance ReMixes you may know. Yet given how many elements are in play throughout the course of Nightmare King's Dream, especially the distorted synth providing countermelody, the sounds are very well distinguished from one another, and the low-end frequency areas also managed to be filled without drawing attention away from other elements in play. Shane has access to professional equipment, so this a great first-time OCR effort that has a lot of pluses on the production side, and as DJP mentioned in his writeup, this mix brings a more upbeat quality to Little Nemo mix coverage that hasn't been there before. Strike911 - Vectorman 1 "Oceania Robotica" [VGMix2 #1802] Strike911 is one of those guys that I've enjoyed hearing develop, since his work has been either hot or cold with me. New guys typically come in with weak samples and no creativity on the rearrangement side, so it takes a while for them to find their legs so to speak. Jase is gradually finding his way as he does a little bit of rearrangement here within "Oceania Robotica," but this mix of the classic Vectorman track "Tidal Surge" stands out much more to me as a successful genre adaptation. The samples for a techno track like this are very solid if you're familiar with the Sega Genesis classic game, then you probably remember that the source material in play here is minimal. 53 seconds minimal, in fact. Jase manages to carry the theme for nearly 5 minutes and while there aren't many stylistic changes as the song progresses, the strength of the material here makes this one that doesn't get boring. Definitely some quality work that has a chance to see action on the OCR judges' panel down the line once it's submitted, and one you should give a look if you remember how dope Vectorman was. The Wingless & Destiny - The Legend of Zelda 1 "Eutopia Pegasi" [OC ReMix #1208] My main man, "The Wingless" J. A. Burnett hollers back with a brand new Zelda mix thanks to a team-up with OCR's biggest female mixer since Injury, the engaging Helen Trevillion, who herself makes two appearances in the Pimp Section this week. You guys hanging around the VGMix chatterbox may have seen John pestering Destiny with messages like, "O Destiny, thy runnest away once again as I ceaselessly chase thine agreeable vocal chords." Well, anyway, it would be something more Wingless-crazy-sounding and less Larry-made-it-up-sounding. In any case, with all that chasing Wingle was engaging in, I thought to myself "If he ever actually gonna, you know, collab with her like he planned???" Which is why it was all the more surprising to see "Eutopia Pegasi" appear at OCR a few days ago. For me, this liberal, lush-sounding mix really functions a lot better for me as background type music, as it's difficult to grasp what's going in an airy piece such as this via active listening. Very relaxing flow overall, and one you can kick back to when you wanna slow things down. Xerol Oplan - "Loyalties" [Xerol's Quest OST] XO has got some more material out there for the in-progress game, Xerol's Quest, in the form of this newly-finished track, "Loyalties." For the moment, Loyalties will function as an event track, though of course plans can and do change. This composition features some very nice piano work, and I think you'll really enjoy this one when it shifts into a higher gear at 1:35, including a quick Final Fantasy crystal theme reference. For those of you that want a darker-sounding piece, check out the alternate version of "Tracheon" and see if that fits your style more comfortably. Xerol has Red Omen, Mythril Nazgul & Rellik on tap to help him with the music duties of Xerol's Quest, so be sure to keep an eye on the developments, at least on the music side that most of us are here for. For highlights on what's going down on the WIP side this past week (things are REALLY busy), allow me to list off stuff you may wanna check (deep fucking breath, please): Wintermute - Chrono Trigger, Mythril Nazgul - Chrono Trigger, GrayLightning - Chrono Trigger, Freemind - Secret of Mana, Sir Nuts - Ninja Gaiden II, Koelsch1 - Street Fighter Alpha, Strike911 - Vectorman, Mythril Nazgul - Kenshin (Anime Remix), DCT - Megaman VII/Eminem (yes, that's correct), Raven8t8 - original, Fusion2004 - originals, Reuben Kee - original remix, Freemind - original, Cuddly Pyramidhead - audio drama, DistantJ - Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Rexy - Sonic & Knuckles, Kadmium - Super Street Fighter II While zircon is on vacation, he's left a slew of original compositions that need to be judged at SoundTemptest. Register with the SoundTempest forums in order to cast your votes as fans as to whether various submissions by Shael Riley, OverCoat, Rellik & Unknown have what it takes to be legitimate original game music compositions. The People's Remix Competition 19 is in the voting stage. Mixing TO's source tune of choice, Black Omen from Chrono Trigger, this is one where a lot of people may be interested. Read the voting directions, download the contest entries, and send a private message to TO (via OC ReMix's forums), placing the entries in your order from best to worst. Who's gonna win??? That could be up to you. bLiNd finished his share of remix contributions to the upcoming Project Majestic Mix Trance album this past week, so everything is done from his side. Having just finished up his remix of Prophecy's Super Metroid mix "On Top of Jacob's Ladder," rendering the mix's project file took up 90% of his 2.4gHz processor. Now you're playing with power...and so forth. Along with Proph, SuperGreenX & FFmusic Dj, you know this album is gonna be quality for you trance lovers out there. The material could go to press with Stephen Kennedy & KFSS Studios by late August. You better believe that FFmusic Dj knows a lot more than trance. Though I know FF has got some excellent remixes in the works that go along with his most known style, Haroon has got things cooking on the original side via the chillout genre. After coming out of the gate with two chillout remixes of BT's "The Great Escape" this past April, Haroon has got a cool new WIP that's all his own. The initial results are good, and it looks like FF has found another genre to embrace. Hopefully, we'll see some finished product in the near future. SuperGreenX has got a near 9-minute original track in the words, and he assures me that it's gonna be hot, noting that it some of his best, most professional-sounding production work ever. Speaking as a fan of Danny's, this is definitely some powerful-sounding stuff so far, and one of his keepers in the vein of his original album, "Synesthetic." I can't wait to play this once I get back on the air. There's a bright future for SGX, and it could drop as soon as next week. zykO's current band, Absynthe, had a performance for the 4th of July in San Diego, California, along with Innerlimit. Hopefully, we can get some info on that for next week's Pimp Section. Meanwhile, you can check out weed's pimping of the event over at VGMix, OC ReMix & OneUp. Rayza won $12.50 at video blackjack recently. I'm proud of him! I think that was $12.50 Canadian though. Well, he did better than I did at the casino. (Ayako: "That's what you get.") Hope you had a Happy Independence Day! Let's do it again sometime.

Relatively light week of stuff for the week ending Saturday, June 26th, but I was busy as hell, so this all stayed incomplete on my laptop for a few days. Ah well. Better late than never, brothers and sisters: Arkimedes - Shenmue 1 "Dreaming While I Wake" [VGMix2 #1253 / OC ReMix #1205] I've been waiting for Jaron's latest OC ReMix to hit the site for quite a bit ever since it was pimped the the OC Works forums. This is some downplayed, yet unique light techno that a whole bunch of people have compared to Moby with pretty cool lyrics and occasional vocoding and delay effects that accentuate the vocals, which, as you likely know, flow more like spoken-word verses. This is an important mix, in my opinion, when it comes to expanding the styles of music that are covered by the game remix community, so you owe "Dreaming While I Wake" a listen simply based on that. Great stuff that could pass for a mainstream release. If Moby can do it, Arkimedes certainly can. Keep an eye out for his Soul Calibur VGMix, "A Different Kind of Hero," for more of Jaron's work that's similarly poised to make it to OC in the coming months as well. ArseAssassin - Kabuki Quantum Fighter "Take the Red Pill" [OC ReMix #1204] The name'll leave some scratching their heads, but now Tuomas Kanerva's made his mark on OCR. It's always interesting seeing people develop in different ways, as time leads to change and many have gone different routes to improving their mixing ability, whether that be VGMix1, the old-school IMC contests or the more recent PRC challenges. Double A's been showing his own self-improvement through the People's Remix Competition with mixes like the Kirby's Block Ball mix "Happy Island of Pink Fluffs" for PRC11 and the liberally-arranged FF Tactics mix "The 4th Dimension" for PRC13. Double A now makes the leap to OCR with some harder-edged Kabuki trance. It's not my cup of tea, so I can't BS anyone and give this my ringing endorsement, yet I know from Tuomas's PRC work that he's got talent that I often enjoy hearing. Be on the lookout for more quality stuff from ArseAssassin, as he become a name you'll (easily) remember. The Brothers Wogan - "Argh the Bees" [Mother's Day 2004] - Feedback For Mother's Day a little while ago, Solomon & Gwilym whipped up this insanely stupid and fun beat poetry. If you forgot to buy your mom a card this year, hook her up with this track from the rappin' Wogan bros. And don't mind their accents. Trust me, those are the least of your worries. debeerguy (Kevin "Lorenzo" Sisk) - Sonic & Knuckles "Machine Gun Hedgehog" [VGMix2 #1483] Here's the latest electrorock from Kevin that isn't gonna kick you in the face or anything, but does a great job of melding original composition work alongside the Act 2 Boss theme of Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles. When incorporated, the actual boss theme itself could have used much more on the arrangement side, but the combination of original and source tune lines worked very well. I didn't really pick up on why Kevin dubbed this "Machine Gun Hedgehog," but this is some decent stuff that caught my attention. mv - "Green Ashes" [http://home.no/mistermv] - Feedback Xaiver Dang knows how to create a relaxing, laid back vibe with a lot of his mixes, yet this new original track of his is something that's even softer and something I'd more readily expect to hear over at SoundTempest, as it sounds like a wonderful, suitable piece for running around within an RPG. mv says it's short and repetitive, but also that he enjoys it, which I figure is how most of you would judge this as well. Simple guitar and piano work is essentially what's going on throughout the short but sweet "Green Ashes." You know mv would never steer you wrong, so don't make the mistake of passing up this relaxing original work. Mythril Nazgul - The Critic "The Kritic" [The People's Remix Competition: Animation 2] Aight, so I'll level with ya: the track link doesn't work, because the mix is no longer hosted. And I wanted to hear this stuff so bad. So you're gonna have to settle for aluminum's 2nd place mix of the theme song of The Critic, "Theme from 'The Critic' (aluminum's Irresponsible Mix)." It's still pretty funny stuff though. PRC:A3 is already underway, so hopefully I'll be quicker on the uptake when it comes to covering that. I can't win 'em all. Damn, I wanted to hear that winning Critic mix. Y'all bug the hell out of Mythril until he comes up with the goods. Protricity - Zombies Ate My Neighbors "Neighburgers" [OC ReMix #1202] When Ari finished this mix back in May, he said that this was his best mix. The fact that "Neighburgers" doesn't come from Donkey Kong Country 2 like most of Prot's other mixes will likely lead most fans to disagree with the claim that this is Prot's best stuff. That's the bias of nostalgia for you. Of course, I liked "Forest Birdcussion" the best out of all of his mixes, but I can say that since I've never played either game. So why would Prot consider his newest OC ReMix to be his personal best work? For me, I believe it lies in the level of rearrangement. Listening to the source tune of "Boss Battle" from the ZAMN soundtrack, the mix follows the same structure for quite a while. But even here, the tempo is slowed down so that it would function better as a hard rock track, not to mention the fact that Ari gave this mix the EarthBound treatment in that he fashioned something a bit more melodic out of strangely sequenced source material. Nonetheless, comparing the mix with the original is necessary in order to really appreciate the effort made in dynamically rearranging the source material into what we have before us now. There are a lot of original ideas here beyond paying homage to Joe McDermott's stuff. Of course, I'm not Protricity, so I can't specifically tell you any or all of the reasons this is his favorite remix so far, but if you make the effort to compare Neighburgers with it's inspiriation, you may understand a bit about why he likes it so much. Maybe it's just the gigasamples. True, that's probably it. S.S.H. - Super Robot Taisen MX "The Watchdog of Hell" [http://www.ssh.ne.jp] Since there isn't too much going on with releases on the Remix64 scene, I didn't wanna leave everyone high and dry on some of the international flavor, so we'll pimp out some Japanese material instead. Live House S.S.H. released this mix in late April for the recent Japanese PS2 release Super Robot Taisen MX (a.k.a. Super Robot Wars MX in the States), and this one is some of their trademark upbeat synth rock style as opposed to some of their heavier live instrument work. As opposed to sounding like a heavily retooled arrangement in regards to instrument quality, this sounds a lot more in the style of in-game music. You'll understand the analogy completely once you check this one out. TexasRowan - "Lost Plain of Unforgotten Sorrows" [CompoST 21] There must not be enough Heaths making music, so, believe it or not, Unknown's little sister Rowan is also getting in the game with a quality original composition of her own. In fact, her take on a wasteland theme for CompoST 21 beat everyone else out, because Rowan's got it like dat. She's like a young prodigy, mind you, so I'm looking forward to hearing her release more material whenever that happens. The foundations are solid, so as she hones her craft and eventually goes for riskier, more ambitious projects, you'll really see her start to shine. Just why is the Heath family full of such capable musicians? It must be the genes. Or the Wheaties. You gotta eat your Wheaties. TO - Final Fantasy 8 "Dolletrocution" [The People's Remix Competition 18] Some judging delays have been holding up the momentum of both PRC and IMC, so the compos have been feeling the pinch. While IMC will be on hiatus until things get back on track, PRC19 is underway under the command of Mr. Barber. And why is that? That's because TO conclusively won PRC18 with this interesting hybrid piece that features an ethic-esque (see, I can make up words easily) wind pipe, some nice thick strings, shrill modulating electrosynths and his near-trademarked industrial percussion. I thought sections like the one from 1:18 to 1:41 needed more emphasis on the melody for the foreground, but the mastering presents a semi-lo-fi feel, so that's part of what you get with the complete package. Lee's selection of Chrono Trigger music for PRC19 is bound to be met with a large response, so be ready for some interesting things there. trickwaters - Dragon Warrior 4 "Seven Fantasies for Piano: I Overture" [VGMix2 #1715] I'm wondering why Pat hasn't submitted anything to OCR (that I'm aware of at least). trickwaters has released several of his older tracks at VGMix, including this first part of a 7-part series covering the music of Dragon Warrior IV. This piece is a pretty straightforward piano-driven effort, but one that continues to highlight trick's skills. At times, the piano felt a little dry, but this is simply a nice, flowing piece, as Pat continues to carve out his niche among other skilled pianists on the remixing scene. Nice stuff you should check out, and if you haven't heard of Pat's work before, this is certainly a nice introduction for you. The other tracks in this suite (as well as trickwater's entire body of work) is freely available at http://www.betterthanbach.com. Ubik - Adventure Island 1 "Tribal Warfare" [VGMix2 #277 / OC ReMix #1203] Brian Davis brings another VGMix joint over to OC with this hot breakbeat mix that left me scratching my head at first. When I thought about it though, this was kind of the reaction that I first gave Ubik's 2002 FF3 mix "The Dark World (Crystal Abyss Mix)" when I first heard it. The layout is strange, but there's an unknown factor that kept me from passing it over. You may have to listen to this mix several times to acclimate yourself to the structure here, but I think it's well worth it if you're a fan of them phat b33tz. Hot stuff. And an easy mix to show off to people who might like the d'n'b style, but aren't necessarily video game music fans. Unknown - "Sand in the Eye" [CompoST 7 / SoundTempest] Not forgetting the "other" Heath, Ty adds to his growing collection of tracks at SoundTempest with this quick shot of Middle Eastern flavor done in the style of a desert theme. Excellent ethnic feel that genuinely gives off a traveling throught the desert feel. Do yourself a favor and click the SoundTempest link so you can listen to all of Unknown's original works available at the site. Ty's body of work here is much more diverse than his OC ReMix work would suggest, so check them all out and listen to a skilled hand at work. zircon - Chrono Trigger "Calamitous Judgment" [http://www.zirconstudios.com] Pretty much anyone who's a fan of OCR knows of Spekkosaurus's CT remix "The Trial in Concert," which is a very high benchmark when it comes to touching the "Kingdom Trial" theme. I can't say I can recall anyone else ever touching the theme, but Andy here comes out swinging with his latest release. Spekk's treatment of the source music was much more of a laid back affair while "Calamitous Judgment" involves a strong but simple beat foundation along with orchestral and electronic elements. If you enjoyed Star Salzman's hybrid arrangement style with the Megaman 2 soundtrack with mixes like "Tickle My Wily" and "When You See the Flashman, Duck and Cover," then I have a feeling you'll really enjoy zirc's own approach, which means that you absolutely can't pass this up. zircon - "Face Off" [CompoST 22] zircon's also keeping up with his winning ways on the CompoST side with this dramatic fight theme. Someone's gotta put Unknown in his place right? Who better than SoundTempest's creator and founder. This is a quick, very up-tempo shot that's both serious and action-packed, all parts of a formula that make up a quality original game music composition. Very cool stuff from Mr. SoundTempest, and, at 54 seconds, certainly a piece that leaves you interested in the direction and wanting more. As I noted in my S.S.H. remix pimp, the European scene has been a little slow this monthsince R:K:O and AMIGAremix have been backed up with submissions, so you'll have to be patient while things get back on track. Rayza encourages any interested OC ReMixers to hit up BemaniStyle.com at http://bemanistyle.com/sims and check if one of their remixes has had a DDR-style stepfile created for it. Lots of mixers are already represented at the constantly updated database. The best way to search BemaniStyle's database is by track/remix name rather than artist name, so check it out and see if you're represented. Spyder, of "Electric Gear Solid" fame, has a very interesting original WIP, which from the looks of it is tentatively called "G5." If more progress develops on it, I'll definitely let you know. Inspired by the source tune of the recently OC-rejected "Isla Nublar Jam", Danny B has an SNES Jurassic Park mix in the works. Keep your eyes out. Vigilante's Donkey Kong Country 1 remix of "Aquatic Ambience" for Gorilla con Gusto just needs some final tweaks, but it's great work and finally something the breaks the stereotype of "no one's actually rearranges Aquatic Ambience." You'll really enjoy it when it finally comes out. After a lil' hiatus, Adhesive Boy hosted AB Radio this past Saturday, so I'm proud of my protege. Except that he's not my protege. And we hate each other. Hopefully, I'll be back on schedule for next week. Take it easy.

You've got to be fucking kidding me. I am suprised at this...jealousy of the talent displayed here. You don't think I would pimp a song that wasn't good, do you? Of course not! For shame.

I luvz you too, Dhsu. [hugz] And for anyone reading, any comments on what you liked or disliked from the Pimp Sections are encouraged. Who knows? Maybe I'm picking some real stinkers.

JigginJonT had the foresight (i.e. gall) to make sure that if I had my own forum at Ormgas.com I'd be open for plenty of the Larry-bashing that makes VG Frequency such an enjoyable experience for all. Register at Ormgas and drop by your insults at the official Larry Oji hate thread. Because I LOVE to hear what you bastards have to say. I hate you, Jon. And because I hate all of you out there so much, it's time to once again use some of my free time this week to look around the remix community for tracks so you don't have to. What the hell was I thinking? Let's take a look at some of what's good for the week ending June 12th: Blak Omen - Super CastleVania 4 "The Belmont Chill" [The People's Remix Competition 12 / VGMix2 #1145 / OC ReMix #1195] New Zealand's Henry Chong moves away from straight piano sequencing with this jazzy lounge take on the classic Simon Belmont's theme. I already knew this track was strong since it won PRC12, so I chose it as one of the tracks for my "Best Of" show (VGF #29) back in early May. The intro definitely is a sharp contrast to the rest of the mix, which isn't even a bad thing, but once you get past the rapid-fire bongos, it's smooth sailing from there. Another one of those CastleVania tracks that a welcome change of pace from all the Gothic and rock CV remixes out there. Cyborg Jeff - F-Zero GX "Dr. Stuard (Jeff & Toad Air Team Challengers)" [VGMix2 #1214 / OC ReMix #1193] This one was covered for the May 22nd Pimp Section, so I'll just quote myself for convenience: Though that YES Override subsequently didn't go through (nice try though ), everything else pretty much still applies. This has definitely gone over well so far with OC's listeners since its been released.Disco Dan - Blaster Master "Swizzle Swamp" [VGMix2 #1595] When he not busy teachin' the lil' chilluns, Daniel Cabrera has some time to create remixes that show he obviously knows a lot more than disco. It's just that "Proficient At Many Genres Dan" doesn't have the same ring to it (or maybe it would if his name was Peter). "Swizzle Swamp" is the 5th in Dan's series covering the NES title Blaster Master, and Disco's last VGMix release of his Blaster Master soundtrack remix project. DD's promises to have the rest of the Blaster Master project available at DiscoDan.org when the remaining few tracks are completed and he's situated at his new space. Whereas earlier releases like "Into the Blue" and "Direct Current Trance" have touched the synth/orchestral and dance areas, this latest one brings you on the hip-hop side, sounding a lot like a collab with DCT than a solo shot. So sit down and check it out. After hearing a magnum opus like "Triforce Majurate," maybe you need to slow things down. DistantJ - The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening "Wind Fish Enigma" [VGMix2 #1550] Cool stuff as DistantJ initially runs his intro over running river sounds and bird noises, moving into electronic stuff while retaining the birds for that little extra depth. As the countermelody came in around the 1 minute mark, I found myself feeling the mix more. The melody is simple but something one can easily enjoy, and its foundation kept the track fairly good as more elements came into play moving further along. J gradually transitions to more of a standard dance/electrosynth type lead and retains almost a minimalist quality there. Overall, it's pretty good stuff that caught my attention. The mastering could be a little tighter, IMO, and it's something he needs to work on in general, but, with "Wind Fish Enigma," Distant continues to show improvement with a mix that shows potential and sounds worthy of consideration for OCR. Doragon - Super Mario World 2 "Cavernous Muzak" [VGMix2 #1418] Perhaps Yoshi's Island's most remixed music, Doragon takes on Koji Kondo's "Underground BGM" in a trance/electronica style. Some of the stuff, primarily the percussion, needs to be varied up, but otherwise the arrangement is up there, featuring the source tune in a different style as well as the all-important freeform sections. I really enjoyed the stylistic and tempo changes throughout, which feature some slick transitions and (siempre bueno) chiptune action! Great job by Dorangon combining horns and strings with electronica for some tight work with loads of potential. Fans of McVaffe's "Crystalline Caverns" specifically need to give this a look so you can hear another style of coverage in action. Freemind - "Forest Rain" [Tales from the Forest] - Feedback Freemind will never do you wrong when it comes to his releases. In what Thanasis describes as a chillout/soul hybrid, a lot of relaxing elements come together, including bongos, a koto, laid-back bass, reverbed keyboard, a tiny bit of vibe action and much more including a nice sound sample of actual forest rain to close it out. Good stuff to sit back to and very loopable as well. Check out Freemind's consistently quality offerings at http://www.bands411.com/freemindlab. Joshua Morse - Mega Man 5 "Boss Battle" [Megaman 5, Dashed!] - Feedback Josh continues on with some nice laid-back covers of the entire Mega Man V soundtrack with the 18MB/20min "Megaman 5, Dashed!" In my opinion, MM5 isn't the most listenable soundtrack, as a lot Mari's tunes lack any overt hook or ear-catching memorability. Of course, it's hard to match up to the soundtrack of Mega Man II. Yet Josh does a great job infusing these tracks with his own flavor and making them pretty enjoyable with this brief, yet complete cover album, especially upon repeated listening (so don't simply grab and toss this). Morse's spin on the boss battle theme makes it here as my favorite of the album, but this has a wide array of good tracks so you may very well have your own personal, different favorite, such as "Stone Man" or "Gravity Man." Keep tabs on Josh's work, including his label, Dash Studio, at http://www.joshuamorse.com. L. Spiro - Donkey Kong Country 2 "Lava" [VGMix2 #1641] L. Spiro's back with the latest remastered cut from his DKC2 remix series, again going for more of a coverage approach while of course using some ideas of his own, this time with a mix of "Hot-Head Bop." This one uses reverb liberally and doesn't have much in the high-end frequencies, but the corresponding atmosphere Shawn's mix gives off is pretty surrounding at times. Replacing the original's lava bubbling for the occasional eerie vox and haunting styth lead, along with a nice piano, Spiro creates a brooding foreground that's somewhat offset by the presence of the percussion in the back. Mark Vera - Star Control 2 "Through the Angles of Space" [OC ReMix #1190] Jouni Airaksinen's latest OCR release is part of a group project to remix the entire Star Control 2 soundtrack. This, like all of Mark's previous SC2 submissions, is a track included in the open source fan project "Star Control 2: The Ur-Quan Masters." Vera and 3 fellow core mixers (including Riku Nuottajärvi, an original composer for Star Control II), collectively known as "Precursors," have been working toward remixing all 69 tracks from the original game. "Through the Angles of Space" mixes "Mystic Shadows" from the original soundtrack and includes both space and ambient textures for an overall airy, mysterious feel. There are a lot of elements involved that make actively listening to the mix worthwhile, but this functions excellently as in-game background music for the Ur-Quan Masters project. Familiarize yourself with Star Control 2: The Ur-Quan Masters via its project and Precursors music sites. Midee & prozax w/Dave Kellogg - Lifeforce "Tactile Freefall" [VGMix2 #601 / OC ReMix #1192] If you've never bothered to check out the soundtrack for Lifeforce, you should really snag the NSF for it. Many of Miki "Miki-Chan" Higashino's tracks are incredibly catchy and, like djp said in the writeup for this mix, many of Konami's songs translate well to rock remixes. This combination of the Stage 6 and Boss themes is an absolute remix masterpiece, much like Jason & Dan's prior OC release from Axelay, "Kick My Axe." This one's a shining example of how the remixing scene breathes new life into so much of the older game music material out there. Can't be overlooked. moonove - Shinobi "Dark Tortoise" [OC ReMix #1191] Thanks to Rayza, I was aware of this and played it on my show a couple of months ago, so I've been familiar with this one for a while. Short and sweet, Reynald Deliens provides us with some very relaxing material tackling Yuzo Koshiro's classic "Black Turtle" that stays fairly close to the source material yet focuses on a relaxed vibe. I know some people were complaining about this mix's direct posting at OverClocked ReMix, but that's why those people ultimately don't decide what makes it on the site. Reynald keeps it pretty chill with the many other tracks available at his site, http://www.moonove.com. Norrin Radd - Street Fighter 2 "Go Home and Be a Family Man" [OC ReMix #1194] I've heard this one back a few months ago and knew the mix had a decent shot at making it to OCR, which is why I was glad to see this excellent Guile mix posted this past week. Though the percussion is noticeably simplistic at times, the focus of this mix lies in the guitar, which goes for a straight cover of the source tune before finally getting into some creative freestyle sections and connecting it back at the end with hot riffs referencing the "Guile Stage" melody once again. Why GrayLightning didn't care for the name of this track beats me. If you're overly familiar with the backstory of Guile in the Street Fighter series, then this mix title is perfect. Along with Midee & prozax's "Tactile Freefall," fans of rock remixes don't need to look any further than Norrin Radd for their rock fix this week. NoWave - Secret of Evermore "Secrets Abound" [The People's ReMix Competition 16 / VGMix2 #1471] By NoWave's request, I'm offering up his PRC16 submission "Secrets Abound." Normally I take part as a listener and caste my vote on the entires like everyone else does. However, for that edition of PRC, I was unable to get the ZIP file of the entries in time and didn't have a chance to hear everything. It's good that NoWave hit me up asking me to check this out. This is a grandiose, even mystical-sounding, mix that's drenched in reverb (and some may have a problem with just how much reverb there is). The way everything comes together, I felt the remix title was very well-placed. One to check out for the Jeremy Soule fans among you, and a good effort from NoWave, much like his short MIDI-cover PRC11 entry from Kirby's Block Ball, "Pink is Not a Cool Colour, Man...." Omega Xi - "Omega is to Xi as Z is to X" [http://www.omega-xi.tk] - MP3 Mirror My pick of the week. (BTW, Xi is off to summer school!) Kristofer Dowing's best known to me as a fellow administrator at OverClocked ReMix's unofficial radio station, Ormgas.com, but he also has remix material available at VGMix and Xi's working constantly on exploring new ideas and fine-tuning his talent. Kris had me listen to this lengthy original track of his via a lo-fi Shoutcast stream a little over a week ago, and was really, really impressed by the intelligent composition and buildup throughout. The synth choices here are excellent, and this electronica easily carries futuristic space imagery. This track has passing stylistic similarities to material from OC ReMix judge and fellow ModPlug enthusiast Protricity, especially Prot's own powerful electronica mix "Savage Seduction." Xi's not yet a familiar name on the scene, but do NOT pass this up. Ork Estral - "The Coming of the Banshee" [Mostly Ghostly] - Feedback Nigel's at it again with his latest original. This is yet another beautiful, intelligent orchestral work of his with some occasional, subtle otherworldy overtones. I can't really say anything new about how much I enjoy his style, but I can say that you absolutely can't pass this up. Check out "Sorrows of the Devine," also released this week as well. Nearly every track available at Ork's webspace is a must-listen. Don't believe me??? Non-believer, you have much to learn. Rexy - Final Fantasy 7 "Chinatown's Future" [VGMix2 #996] Prominent VGMix reviewer Rexy has given her thorough opinions on literally hundreds of songs, so one would think that she has a firm grasp of what she would like to hear in her own potential work. "Chinatown's Future" marks Bev's very first release at VGMix, and displays a solid, though low-key, breakbeat rearrangement of Nobuo Uematsu's "Wutai." Though the percussion can be beefed up, along with the the melody and the support being made less subtle to the ear, this is some very promising work and one that I genuinely enjoyed, especially since I don't care much for the source tune. If you want to start releasing tracks at VGMix as a newbie, this is definitely a good way of going about it. Though she doesn't have readily available access to mixing software, hopefully Rexy will be able to hone her already developing skills with more material in the near future. RushJet1 - Mega Man 5 (NES & Gameboy) "Deep Space Dance" [VGMix2 #1576] RJ1 breaks off another chiptune style track with "Deep Space Dance," this time using both the NES and Gameboy versions of MM5. And while the percussion track obviously isn't straight out of the Nintendo playbook, neither is the SID chip countermelody used at the end of this mix either! Pretty straightforward stuff, yet something that you'll enjoy if you're a fan of those vintage sounds or the Mega Man 5 soundtrack. If you don't know the MM5 soundtrack well, maybe Joshua Morse's aforementioned album can make you a convert, and subsequently connect you more to RushJet's Starman mix (though the portion that covered the Game Boy's Uranus level was good as well). Rush has also got plenty of original and remix NSF tracks available at his site, http://rushjet1.2ya.com. Shael Riley - "Hats Off to Lobachevsky" [http://lobachevsky.homelinux.net/~sriley] - Feedback Enjoy this cheesy old-school-style blues ballad by Shael Riley as he croons his love for Lobachevsky, his file server, and might I add the hottest file server ever. I don't really need to say anything beyond that. Pass the cheddar. trickwaters - Final Fantasy 7 "The Cry of the Planet" [VGMix2 #1619] Pat Waters. FF7. Piano. 9 minutes, 14 seconds. If you need more than that, well, this 2001 remix was revised over time into what's now currently available at VGMix, and features 4 different FF7 source tunes. trick does a nice job of playing around with the structures of the original songs with the composition. This is an excellent (and at times, somber) medley piece, yet the transitions are smooth and subtle enough so that the medley approach doesn't merely come off as an overdone gimmick that all too many remixers use when tackling Final Fantasy series material. Clocking in at over 9 minutes and 13MB, you can virtually be assured that this will never see the light of day on OC ReMix, so if you piano remix fans don't want to miss out you've gotta make that move and pick this up. And if you have the stamina per se to actively listen to the entire mix in one sitting, then more power to you. Real utimate power. Unknown - "Call of the Horizon" [CompoST 6 / SoundTempest] Tying for second place in SoundTempest.net's CompoST 6 (sad themes) this past March, this original composition by Ty Heath made its way to the main site this past week as a mystic town/village style piece. An acoustic guitar, a flute and the piano all shine as the main melodic elements in a very appropriately constructed situational piece that's as high quality as any RPG music out there today. Let Ty create your game music. Pay him $. Yoozer - Jurassic Park (SNES) "Isla Nublar Jam" [http://www.deadamerica.org] - Feedback We've got a healthy dose of the Netherlands courtesy of Yoozer with this HOT Jurassic Park remix that SgtRama got me aware of. It's currently on the OCR judges' panel awaiting its fate, where, frankly, it will have to rely on the tender mercies of people like Protricity & Vigilante in order to make it. I don't believe it's chances of being posted are good, simply because of the repetitive nature of the percussion (1 break - 1 fill), but this is nonetheless an attention-grabbing mix with a lot of things going for it, especially the cool-sounding keyboard lead. Yoozer may be revising this with a little more time, so your feedback is greatly encouraged. Even though, in my opinion, it won't make it to OCR as is, this is a fun track you may really be feeling. DL it quickly and be able to say you've heard it. On the WIP front, 2 of zircon's are getting more and more in the complete stages: a Final Fantasy 2 shot (since that game doesn't get much coverage compared to others in the FF series) along with some River City Ransom st00f that fighting game combo video maker Mike Z enjoyed! Doragon's also got a nice electronica Battletoads & Double Dragon mix in the works as well. kuroikaze, everyone's favorite easily-irritable Japanese-speaking Canadian woman over at Ormgas, had been very, VERY critical of Spekkosaurus, with probably as much disdain as one could have for any remixer whatsoever. While a lot of people love "The Trial in Concert," she's probably the song's most outspoken critic. Spekk finally showed up recently to (calmly) address the criticism and give his side of how he views his OC ReMix work. Feel free to check out the thread (and register at Ormgas if you're interested in contributing your two cents on the subject). It's been kind of light on the "miscellaneous developments" side over the past week, but I take this as a opportunity to quickly escape and return next week. Comments are welcome. Be back here in 7, please.

Ormgas.com, OverClocked ReMix's unofficial internet radio station, wants YOU for its jingle contest, now underway and set to end on July 10th. We need artists, remixers and anyone willing to have some fun with a microphone to check out the contest and submit 20-to-40-second station identification style jingles, and if you're one of the top 3 entrants, you can clothe your body with hot OMG FREE Ormgas.com gear. As long as your entry is quality, you can potentially earn radio infamy along with other legends (like Liontamer) as one of Ormgas.com regular jingles, so be sure to check out more information at the OCR forums thread as well as the full set of contest rules over at http://oc.ormgas.com/news.php?extend.36. Antonio Pizza, SgtRama & Neskvartetten are already in the game with their own entries, and I encourage you reading this [Larry points at you] to consider submitting your own jingles in support of Ormgas while you get in the hunt for free, fashionable swag. Please don't delay. July 10th's the final deadline. Now let's see what was up in the remix community for the week ending June 5th. Kind of a lighter week this week, but, hey, I can't complain: analoq - Trigun "OMG Trigun" [The People's Remix Competition: Animation 1] First off, I wanna throw a Happy B-Day to Caleb, i.e. reelmojo, for his 22nd birthday a week ago Saturday. reelmojo has extended his concept of The People's Remix Competition over to AnimeRemix.org, where he and Mythril Nazgul oversee the recently created People's Remix Competition: Animation. analoq took first place with this cool piano/fusion hybrid of Trigun's "Not an Angel." Don't be fooled by the name, this mix isn't pure kwakery, even though it kicks into a higher gear from 2:30 until the end. Give this one your attention, and be sure to keep your eyes on these competitions. You'd be remiss if you also didn't check out Dhsu runner-up entry, the also-intelligently-titled "LOL Trigun", a dedication to analoq featuring an analoq voice sample! What were they thinking??? Stay tuned to Anime Remix's forums for the lowdown on PRC:A2, as the selection for the next contest is the theme song of one of the funniest cartoons ever, The Critic. Excellent choice! Arkimedes - Soul Calibur 1 "A Different Kind of Hero" [VGMix2 #1564] Jaron has got some hot vocalized mixes out already, with the more subtle Halo mix "Fall from Above (You Can't Stop)" at OCR & VGMix and the AWESOME Shenmue mix "Dreaming While I Wake" over at VGMix. Ark's latest work is sylistically like a combination of the two: harder electronic elements with particularly engaging lyrics. Soul Caliber doesn't get much coverage in the game mixing scene, so don't avoid this one, especially so you can check out a gradually more prominent name in the scene. Bladiator - Sparkster "A Midsparksters Eve" [The People's Remix Competition 17] Tackling DarkeSword's source tune choice of the SNES game Sparkster (since Shariq won out in PRC16), Bladiator offers up this piano-driven mix of Sparkster's theme that features some excellent hand runs as well as alternating support from both strings and woodwinds. While the synth string accompaniment in the foreground doesn't sound realistic, I felt Bladiator's overall sequencing and presentation was strong, and approching the end of the mix I felt some stylistic similarities to "Repose" from the Final Fantasy Tactics OSV. Good stuff that I feel is poised to win PRC17 when the votes are counted up and the final results are ultimately revealed. Dhsu - Mario Kart 64 "Rainbow Snowland" [ironMix Challenge: Limited Edition: Christmas in June / OC ReMix #1188 / VGMix2 #1578] David Hsu continues to improve and up his game on the 88-keys with his newly-posted OC ReMix, "Rainbow Snowland," which (as you probably already know) combines Kenta Nagata's themes from Rainbow Road and Frappe Snowland into a gentle, relaxing piece that you chill out and feel at ease to. GrayLightning is a big fan of it, and I believe the best indication of this piece's quality was that it passed through the OCR judges' panel with 4 straightforward YES's that all essentially stated "This is just an excellent remix." For fans of the original Mario Kart 64 music, this is a nice break from the norm with MK64 remixes that are always high energy. Props to Dhsu for really adapting the source material well. If you love piano, this is a no-brainer. JigginJonT - The Legend of Zelda 1 "Zelda Live" [http://pixelated.myrmid.com/users/jigginjont] OCR's jiggiest mixer one offers up a quick parody track based off of E-Claire's Mother remix "Okaa-san no komoriuta (Live at the Annexe)" which Andy and Claire claimed was recorded live. Since Jon didn't believe the crowd ambience sounded genuine from listening to it (and neither did DarkeSword, zykO, gaijin, Ailsean, Disco Dan, and zircon), JJT made his own "live" track a couple of weeks ago. Enjoy, folks. (So...is Claire fake too then? Hey, it was a natural question.) Joshua Morse - "Synesthesia" [Home Life EP] - Feedback Jazz/fusion fans are required to check out Josh's latest EP, as it features about 25 minutes of excellently crafted material. I've highlighted "Synesthesia" as my personal favorite of the album, but there are several other good cuts including a cover of a virt original MIDI, "Snorestop", and the intriguingly-titled "Cranberry Juice". Short and sweet, this EP delivers. zykO loves it. smh loves it. You love it. k-wix - Secret of Mana & Legend of Mana "Ballad of Mana" [VGMix2 #1569] Dustin Kulwicki moves a bit away from his trance leanings with this straight piano meldey covering tunes from the Mana game series. Thanks to some piano samples provided by GrayLightning, k-wix has upped the sound quality to provide a more genuine-sounding take on Hiroki Kikuta's work, including the very well-known "Angel's Fear." Though the dynamics need to be improved, this one's been faring well at VGMix so far, so fans of the Mana series are encouraged to check it out. Markus Schneider - Gem'X "Deliverance" [VGMix2 #1262] Mr. Schneider is already a very accomplished musician and has come out with quality game music both on the professional and remixing sides. You can hit up R:K:O or Remix64 for the majority of his remix work, or just check out his collab with Mahoney, "Sweet Games", for another example of his enviable orchestration talents. I don't know the music of Gem'X, but I do know that Markus uses some of the best damn samples out there. This man's been in the game for a while, and as usual, he rises to the challenge of having modern instruments realistically transform the earliest game music of old. Following up on Infamous's "Galway is God" from last week, "Deliverance" continues a short trend of mixers from the European scene debuting new material on VGMix, so get it while it's hot. Orchestral fans will love this well-crafted, emotive mix. Sir Nuts - Sonic & Knuckles "Run for Your Life, Sonic!" [VGMix2 #839] Mike Molina trances up the classic Sonic 3/Sonic & Knuckles boss theme in a older mix of his that's finally seen release at VGMix. Nuts does a good job of playing around with a minimal framework of melody for the first minute and a half before effectively connecting to the full melody and working along from there, before pulling back with a nice break at the 2:48 mark seguing into a short freestyle section and coming full circle. The progession is solid, and the original theme is, in my opinion, one of the catchiest game music tunes I've ever heard. A hot choice of source tunes and a well-constructed trance formula make this a nice choice in spite of it's age and the fact that Sir Nuts has stepped up his game since this was first completed. Star Salzman - "Temporary Insanity" [http://www.starblast.org] My absolute pick of the week; don't be a chump and not try this one. Star Salzman is one of the most talented musicians out there today, with some incredibly accessible original material, as I've already said before. In my opinion this is Star's best original work yet, and he himself was really pleased as he put more and work into this one. I don't normally silently sing along to tracks I hear, but I'll be damned if this musically intense ballad isn't like a 4 minute, 38 second perpetual hook. If you're familiar with StarBLaSt's Chrono Trigger mix "Temporal Distortion" then you'll immediately familiarize yourself with the synth lead here, so dive in. Ladies will be loving it, and if you're smart boys, you'll spring this one on your significant others. Yep, let Star help you get some! Star Salzman - Megaman 2 "When You See the Flashman, Duck and Cover" [VGMix2 #1203 / OC ReMix #1187] Much like "Tickle My Wily" did a few months ago, Star brings you another hot Megaman II mix that fuses dynamic orchestration and well-varied electronic elements into a synergetically stronger final product. StarBLaSt does a nice job of transistioning the synth lead into a pounding drumline that's subsequently joined by a mutitude of other instruments. A timely xylophone, thick strings, and rousing horns bring the power per Star's usual high standards. This was originally supposed to be rolled out along with the other mixes for the OCR4 mix flood, and with that said, "Duck and Cover" obviously brings with it the quality that places it on the level of the other 11 mixes which have marked the beginning of OC's new look. SuperGreenX, destructo & Aurora - Beyond Good & Evil + Chrono Trigger "Frame of Mind" [OC ReMix #1189] SGX & destructo bring Aurora into the picture with an awesome downtempo-like collab that I was very pleased to play a short while ago on my show, so now that it's available at OC ReMix, a lot more people will be able to enjoy this one. I also wanna give my congratulations to Aurora for officially becoming an OC ReMix! (Stay warm in the Great White North, sister!) The way destructo & SGX alternated sections with smooth transisitions rather than pieceing two halves of a song together really makes this a much more solid team-up, and you'd never know Aurora's vocals were recorded on a subpar mic. Thanks to the solid efforts from both destructo & Aurora, SGX has come out with a mix that's a move away from the norm for him and really does a great job of broadening his musical horizons. Nice work that brings destructo back strong with his second OC mix, while Aurora's mesmerizing voice places her as a female vocalist to watch. TO - "Electric Machine" [Original Remix Competition 2] After not gaining any headway the first time around, ReaktorZ0's second go at the Original Remix Competition was a success, spanning three forums and gaining some good attention. TO runnered-up in the contest to remix a ReaktorZ0 original MIDI with this powerful-sounding entry which some consider his best piece since he arrived in the community. ORC3 is already underway and hopes to prove as successful in the coming weeks, so best of luck to RZ0 as he works hard to build the compo up even further. Why did I forget to mention this last week? The Wingless and his design team at Abraxsis Design Studio have rolled out the newest design for TheWingless.com, The Wingless Dot Com - Genometh Edition, and, as usual, it's leaps and bounds over other artistic website layouts. The Unfinished section of the site has been taken down, and John is ready to complete work on several WIPs that have been on the shelf for a while. You know it's all good when The Wingless is involved so keep your eyes open for new Wing tracks in the near future. Adhesive Boy'll keep chugging along with AB Radio, so tune in every Saturday night during the summer, foo'. Shael Riley's got a cool PaRappa the Rapper WIP going, so hopefully the Crazy Crakaz will complete that one soon. Mythril Nazgul has a Shrek remix in the works for Anime Remix. This is obviously the best time to be working on something like that with Shrek 2 taking in more money in a week than some small countries do in a year. Disco Dan has released the 5th remix in his Blaster Master series over at VGMix. Since it was actually released on Sunday, June 6th, we'll be officially spotlighting it in next week's Pimp Section. Courtesy of zircon (THANK YOU!), I'm proud to be holding an actual physical copy of his new album "Phasma Elementum," which I pimped out last week as well! In case you missed it, and you like electronica, go sample some tracks and then buy the CD! DCT was proud to announce via the VGMix chatterbox that he's finished 2 songs for his forthcoming studio-produced release. As a proud member of the hip-hop community along with other extremely talented mixers like zykO and The Bronx Rican, DCT is sure to be dropping some severely hot cuts before the summer is out. After going through some VERY rough times this past March and being placed in a coma for a few weeks, Duane is back with a vengeance. His new age collab with GrayLightning "Journey to Remlia" is on pace to make it to OCR in a matter of months, and work continues on the mostly original hip-hop and rap work for the upcoming album. DCT could use your help though, so feel free to head over to TheBigShot.com and donate some dollars his way to show your very appreciated support. Star Salzman's body of work also gets a lot of attention, and thus he needs some help to pay the bills. Details are at StarBLaSt.org for how you can help him with bandwidth costs, and your options for helping him can snag you an exclusive CD or a vocalized cover of a favorite song of yours like only Star can do. (And he can do it hilariously.) Also on the album front, bLiNd continues to work hard on his share of Project Majestic Mix Trance. Many of you fans have already gotten several tastes of mixes Jordan has ready to go, including "Temple Trance MkII," "Industrial Fear," and the edited cut of "G-Storm," so sit tight because one of OCR's long-time masters of trance has got other great ideas from Secret of Evermore, Final Fantasy X and Secret of Mana ready to drop with PMM Trance's release later in the year. So enjoy this week's stuff. Drop some comments. Do Ormgas jingles! And see you in 7.

Remember, there's a lot of material to go through and you likely won't have time to check everything out at all, so at least take a few minutes to scan down the list and flag anything you'd be interested in hearing. For those of you interested in a broader awareness of the vast array of material out each week from the community, do your part by checking in with me each week as I run things down. Let's take a look at what we had for the week ending May 29th: Mazedude - Ice Climber "Snow Cone Heaven" [OC ReMix #1176] Kaijin - Xenogears "Momentary Emotion" [OC ReMix #1177] DarkeSword - Chrono Trigger "Through the Dark" [VGMix2 #838 / OC ReMix #1178] Daniel Baranowsky - Final Fantasy 6 "Agony of Obscuration" [OC ReMix #1179] analoq - Commander Keen 4 "man sieht sich galaxie" (a.k.a 'see ya, galaxy') [OC ReMix #1180] Rayza - Sonic the Hedgehog 3 "Sonik Elektronik" [OC ReMix #1181] Freemind & GrayLightning w/Digital Coma - Halo 1 "Mahabharath Highlands" [OC ReMix #1182] Protricity - Donkey Kong Country 2 "KRool Intentions" [OC ReMix #1183] Disco Dan - The Legend of Zelda 3 "Triforce Majeure" [OC ReMix #1184] McVaffe - The Legend of Zelda 3 "The Darkness and the Light" [OC ReMix #1185] djpretzel - The Revenge of Shinobi "Consent (Make Me Dance)" [OC ReMix #1186] I don't have time to really talk about any of the 11 mixes of the OCR4 remix flood at length (though I will say that analoq's was my personal favorite, AND, might I add, the only mix in the flood that received comments from a game industry professional [Commander Keen developer and current Midway Games member John Romero]). Overall, however, these remixes represent a nice cross-section of some of the top remixers in the community, and for those that argue that OCR current standards are leading toward alarmingly homogeneous remixing, take a listen to these eleven tracks in one session and try telling everyone that again. I primarily wanted to use this space to congratulate djpretzel and everyone who contributed tracks to mark this milestone for OverClocked ReMix. The construction of the new site is by far the most intelligent design yet, and the interface looks hot. Now that black OCR t-shirts are available, I'm proud to have been able to purchase one to help the site in a small way. (And thanks to djp & my bros in the judges' panel for getting VG Frequency added in the OCR radio links section as well as ravon for giving me my own forum within Ormgas.com!) computermage - Super Mario 64 "64bit Pathway" [VGMix2 #1538] Here's an interesting electronic take on "Koopa's Road" from relative newcomer, Michael Manriquez. Some of the percussion patterns are interesting, and there are some cool vibe-like effects as well as a ton of orchrestral stabs (and if you're a fan of the GoldenEye 007 soundtrack, then you'll really know what I'm talking about). I don't believe this track will punch you in the face per se, but you're bound to know the source material, so for all of you out there the mix should be a lot more accessible and easier to judge for its rearrangement strengths. If you have the time, this is worth a look. DarkeSword - Secret of Evermore "A Whisper and a Shadow" [The People's Remix Competition 16 / VGMix2 #1500] Shariq edged out Sir Nuts and took victory in PRC16 with this smooth mix of Jeremy Soule's "Collosia, Chamber 1," Darke's second remix done in 7/4 time following his Chrono Trigger mix "Blue Skies Over Guardia." There are some pleasing instrumental similarities in the lead to Quinn Fox's lush Phantasy Star Online mix "Unexplored Contact" that put this mix in good company. This one is pretty damn chill and not exactly what I expected, since it would be easy to do a more orchestral/string-based piece and call it a day. True to it's name, so-to-speak, you're not going to experience any huge crescendos, but it's from DS, so is there really a risk involved? Of course not. So what are you waiting for? This one shouldn't let you down. DHS f/Makke - The Great Giana Sisters 1 "Keep Da Scene Alive" [R:K:O #2268] DHS of The SoundWavers collabs with Makke on this trance mix featuring shoutouts to composers and remixers all over the SID-remixing scene. You may not recognize all of the names mentioned here, but this is one huge thanks to everyone who has helped the European game mixing community thrive. Anyone wanna take bets on when we get a song with the same type of idea from OC ReMix or VGMix? Digital Coma - Friday I'm a Fag [http://dc.cowten.net] Binnie Katti is back, this time with a soulful redux of classic material from 80s band The Cure. Don't mind the provocative title as you experience a mainstream remix here that makes liberal yet calculated uses of phasing, pitch-bending, and Binnie's own countermelodic vocal accompaniment. The unique musical style observable in remixes Binnie's worked on, like "Fowl Jive" and the recently posted "Mahabharath Highlands" shines brightly once again. DistantJ f/Shael Riley - "Moonlight Shadow" [http://members.lycos.nl/projectsofdamnation/mp3] - Feedback (and poll) Influenced by three different versions of the source tune of the same name, DistantJ is has a techno cover of Mike Oldfield's original tune with Shael on vocals. The mastering needs tons of work, and I mean tons. Fans of DDR who may be familiar with the song may want to still give this a work. Importantly though, there's a thread over at OC ReMix where you can vote on your opinion of the track and also provide suggestions on how to improve the track, as there's a fair amount of potential there if the mastering could be overhauled. djcubez - "Groove" [http://www.planetcubez.com] - Feedback Joe Lloyd lays it back with this chill-sounding FL Studio-created original work. I would agree with a lot of the feedback Rellik provided the track, in that there are many aspects of the track that need more polish and realism, yet the overall formulation is solid and shows a great deal of skill from cubez in consciously constructing a song strictly with the use of default samples. It takes a lot of effort to work within those limitations. Edgen Animations - Final Fantasy 6 "en Terra" [http://www.edgen.com] Nothing brings out controversy like a beatiful-sounding "Terra" remix being narrowly rejected by the OCR judges' panel. The popular source material carries a lot of weight with people, so it's easy to understand why some weren't happy with this remix being passed up, especially one from a professional like Justin R. Durban. The main reasons this didn't make it to OCR were because the a majority of the judges felt it didn't offer a dynamically different approach to orchestrating the Terra theme as compared to other mixes already at OCR and there were a few technical snags/pops heard in the submitted version. While the mix serves really to simply repeat the theme several times (in subtly different styles) and not heavily rearrange the original, this was nonetheless a beautiful submission that a lot of people will be interested in listening to. Freemind - "Wild Nights" [http://www.bands411.com/freemindlab] - Feedback This one's an original made in one night by OC's resident Greek god, Thanasis Kaloutzis, and the power of his keyboard. This one has a lounge-y, yet upbeat feel which you might actually find pretty cheesy, but it all depends in what you're into. Props also go out for the great variation in the drumwork, as well as the church organ, and the saxophone coming in at the very end (why so late on that???) Freemind's obviously got more refined works out there, but there's no reason not to peep this quickly made original and give FM some comments. goat - Castlevania 3 "Stained Glass Filth" [VGMix2 #1524] This ridiculously amped up mix of "The Beginning" from CV3 marks the second release in goat's solo project to remix Club Kukeiha's entire Castlevania 3 soundtrack, "Unchosen Paths." You should already know from experience that goat rocks. Nonetheless, you can prepare yourself to not only hear quality coverage of the source material with this mix, but also in-depth rearrangement and tons of original ideas. Based on "Stained Glass Filth", the outlook for "Unchosen Paths" looks nothing but promising. Stay alert with VGMix every 2 weeks or so as well as goat's homepage, http://www.powergoat.com, so you don't get left behind on this project's progress. Infamous - Arkanoid 1 "Galway is God" [VGMix2 #1532] Infamous has already been applying his craft on the European scene at R:K:O & AMIGAremix, and Infy brought some of it over this past week exclusively to VGMix. Electronic synths and effects, straightforward drums and beautiful layers of piano mesh together to create a track that holds up very well to active listening, but also creates a vibe you can just sit back and chill to. Don't be skeptical at about giving this one a look, since it'll likely surprise you, especially beyond the buildup and into the halfway mark. Israfel - Untitled [http://www.dovermusic.com] - Feedback The incomperable Mr. Dover decided to give fans a look at a symphonic/new age piece he composed in early 2003 intended for a documentary segment on a handicapped youngster. Instead of attempting to describe the short story regarding the composition myself, please visit the Feedback link provided for Mike's story behind this untitled track. Jared Hudson & Abram McCalment - Funky Basement Blues [http://www.hudsonstudios.net] - Feedback The title says it all with this one, so prepare for some funky blues. Jared & Abram have another live track that was actually submitted by Jared for a potential Berklee scholarship. Hopefully that all pans out, since Jared is likely to be there for the fall. (Jared's also happy to point out that he only needed one take to nail the drums you hear here.) This one's another field test of sorts for the duo in their attempts to be more proficient with studio mixdown techniques, but you're making a mistake if you think this is just a glorified sound test. Sit back, enjoy this pimped out jam session and let 'em know if it sounded sharp in your opinion. L. Spiro - Donkey Kong Country 2 "Mines" [VGMix2 #1541] For fans of remixes that stay close to the structure of the source material, L. Spiro's got a downtempo, soundscape-style mix from DKC2. This track is familiar to old-school fans of VGMix1, but Spiro has brought it out of the archives so to speak, and has remastered the track for re-release on VGMix2. Much like Protricity, Shawn Wilcoxen sticks mainly toward remixing tracks from this soundtrack, so, if you're into this one check out other DKC2 mixes of his available at VGMix, including one I really enjoyed myself, "Konkluded Epik." Nixdorux (Nicolas Ferranti) - The Legend of Zelda 3 "Account of a Hero" [VGMix #1527] Like Neskvartetten, Nixdorux frequently tackles material from the SNES classic, Zelda: A Link to the Past. Fans of Unknown and DarkeSword's rousing orchestral renditions of themes from the Zelda series will enjoy this 7+ minute medley, described by many reviewers at VGMix as gentle, dramatic and cinematic. This lives up to Nicolas's already high standards, as he strove to develop as complete an orchestral composition as possible. With loads of build and development, line up for this one, orchestral die-hards. OverCoat - Sonic the Hedgehog 2 "The Oily Gulf" [VGMix2 #1513] OverCoat melds Eastern sounds with militaristic percussion and his trademark distortion to give a very interesting take on Masato Nakamura's "Oil Ocean Zone." SOC also makes sure to throw in a fair amount of ambient background effects to spice things up and this mix is one where you can really pick apart the various layers of activity involved. Lots of people always tell Scott that he could go for less distortion, yet he'll tell you that that's part of his work's charm (or at least something away from the norm of what everyone else uses), and if you're into well-constructed liberally arranged work, you'll be feeling this one. Rellik - Spring in Rome [http://www.tjhsst.edu/~alederer] - Feedback Here's a quick shot from Adam Lederer, a.k.a. Rellik, that's part of an 11-track play score. This is a simplified demo of sorts that's merely here to give you a look at Rellik's vision of a Roman scene. Hopefully, we'll be able to get the full version of this track (which features more variation) as well as a few other of the pieces created for this score, this being a good start. Reuben Kee - Princess Mononoke "Piano Medley' [http://www.reubenkee.com] - Feedback Reuben's been in the game for a little while, but just broke onto OCR & VGMix with Shenmue piano medley "Reflections." Fans of pianists and piano sequencers can rattle off a long list of names of people in the community who specialize themselves with the ivories, and you need to check out Reu's work in order to familiarize yourself with another top name. His large body of work includes this Mononoke-hime medley which just emerged from the Works: Other forum at OCR, done at a faster-paced style than Joe Hisaishi's original work. Hopefully Reu will take the suggestion given to him in the thread and submit this mix over at Carbunk1e's brainchild, Anime Remix. trickwaters - Final Fantasy 1 "Prelude for Two Pianos" [VGMix2 #1519] You know the Prelude. You're definitely not a fan of this stuff if you don't know..."The Prelude." In many respects, Uematsu's classic FF introduction is the ultimate comfort food for game music fans, thus you're almost required by law to check out Patrick Waters 176-key rendition of the Prelude, created in 2001 and just released on VGMix. trickwaters is also the music curator at RPGamer.com as well as a student at the Manhanttan School of Music, so he's a student of the game on both fronts you might say. In addition to that, he's got a fucking hilarious blog up at his homepage, http://www.betterthanbach.com, so check that out for some fun and tons of others tracks. Unknown - "If This is to Be Our End..." [CompoST 19] Here's Tyler's winning original compositional conception of final level RPG music for SoundTempest.net's ongoing competition series. Ironically enough, Unknown didn't care for this piece and neither did some of the other entrants in CompoST, but despite that, it's still a brief, well-done piece, which only goes to show you that when artists go 'bleh' on their own work, sometimes it's safe to say "Ah, what do they know?" zircon - "Sandwise" [Phasma Elementum] - Feedback Andrew Aversa is a busy man. Despite already overseeing SoundTempest.net and making mixes for VGMix and OCR submission, zircon has been hard at work creating his first full-length original album, which was officially released this past Friday. Fans of Beatdrop's original album projects ("Operations" & "Final Energy") can look into this culmination of half a year's work as zircon forays into a vast number of electronica styles, one example of which is the track "Sandwise," which includes some Eastern musical influences (and wouldn't you know it, it even sounds F-Zero-ish). To sample more of the tracks available on the album, be sure to head over to http://www.soundclick.com/zircon. With zirc's best tracks being reserved for those who want to purchase the CD, if you like what you hear over at SoundClick then you're definitely poised to enjoy the rest of the CD, so don't be afraid to pony up that paper. zircon's always up to no good over at his homebase, http://www.zirconstudios.com. Neskvartetten's got a new website with all of their currently available remixes hosted. Fans of the NES Quartet or those who aren't familiar with their jazz stylings better move quickly to http://medlem.spray.se/neskvartetten to check everything out. An informal interview with group bassist Johan "Jois" Sundhage will be available at Ormgas.com in the next few days, and he had some cool things to say, including what new material the band plans to tackle this summer! Keep your eyes open for that! Digital Coma recently titled the Donkey Kong Country Arrangement Collaboration project, hopefully on pace to be completed before the end of the season. "Gorilla con Gusto" already has 3 tracks completed by GrayLightning, Dj_StarChild & SnappleMan, and is set to deliver at least 21 tracks spanning the entire DKC soundtrack. The limited release of the already-completed tracks has already served to get fans at OverClocked ReMix more excited at the potential of the project. Track the progress of "Gorilla con Gusto" throughout the summer over at http://dkcproject.ocremix.org. Sadorf vs. Midee was this week's big lil' thing over at VGMix, as Sadorf railed into Midee via the VGMix Chatterbox, purposefully got his remixes removed and got himself banned from the site. What was up Sadorf's ass? What did Midee do to insight the hatred of VGMix1's "legendary suck?" And was somebody behind the whole (stupid) scene happening??? (There's nothing like a little juvenile gossip, right? ) In case you didn't know, Shael Riley's little brother has a band, The Nylon Panted Ninjas. Check out their comedy stylings over at CafePress, where you can listen to some samples and/or purchase their very affordable album, "Monstro-CD." MaJIN_SaN's Donkey Kong Country 1 remix "Tsunami Ambience" is almost done and it's pretty relaxing. Sadorf's Sonic 2 Aquatic Ruins WIP continues to gather up steam, so I hope he keep working on it. Malcos has got a cool Shinobi WIP underway, "City Ninja." Kevin "Lorenzo" Sisk's got a Sonic & Knuckles WIP going, and Rayza had time to drop some comments. S&K is criminally undermixed, buy the way. Did you see those zircon remix WIPs I linked to earlier??? If you didn't, look harder. Adhesive Boy plans to broadcast his Shoutcast radio show every Saturday night while I'm on hiatus, so keep an eye on his OCR General Discussion thread for that. He's also got 2 tracks for "Gorilla con Gusto" that HE BETTER FINISH IN TIME FOR THE 2ND STAGE DEADLINE. You better Jack...or you don't wanna live to see next month! Questions & comments are yours to make if you want. Enjoy this week's selections/suggestions and I hope I'll see you back here in 7.

Quick question for anyone with free/unlimited webspace: Since I'm on dial-up, I can't host my old episodes on my college space. Can anyone help me out by temporarily hosting VG Frequency #23 & #24 for ravon? Sometime during the summer, I'm hoping to go with Dhsu's idea of doing occasional planned rebroadcasts of episodes #21-29 with Ormgas.com. Any help is appreciated!

With OverClocked ReMix 4 finally here, it's with great pleasure that I do my small part to promote the music of the game music remixing community beyond the tracks that you may be aware of. Week after week the artists of OCR & VGMix come out with material: some you may be overly aware of, some you may not be so aware of. By no means is this a definitive list of all of the good music out from this past week, but it's at least what I myself have been aware of. Please drop any questions or comments you may have my way on anything you see here. Let's get to pimpin' for the week ending on May 22nd: Cyborg Jeff - F-Zero GX "Dr Stuard 'Jeff n Toad Air Team Challengers" [VGMix2 #1214 / OC ReMix to-be-posted] Cyborg Jeff prepares to return in a big way to OCR with this high energy F-Zero GX techno offering that Protricity chose to give a very rare YES Override to on the judges' panel. Pierre (you mean his real name ain't Jeff?!?) makes good use of the occasional racecar sound effects and does a nice job of creating variation throughout the mix, even incorporating a brief SID chip solo at the 3-minute mark before adding the SIDtune very subtly into the background. Good development and high energy that F-Zero fans are gonna enjoy. Cyborg Jeff - Prehistorik "Prehistorik Mann" [AMIGAremix #103 / VGMix2 #1439] Here's another short Amiga remix from Pierre also featuring SID-chip effects. Wouldn't have minded hearing another iteration of the music, since it's so short, but this is a nice quick shot that's a lot more reminiscent of original game music. This one's an easily accessible mix and a track that's indicative in many ways of the style of the European/Remix64 remixing scene. DCT & GrayLightning - Astyanax "Journey to Remlia" [VGMix2 #1460] The Big Shot, DCT, collabs with GrayLightning on this new age/orchestral remix from Astyanax (also known as The Lord of King) that's a huge breakaway from DCT's normal hip-hop influenced style. Retaining a much more relaxed and somber tone, this mix is stark contrast to Protricity's old school take on the same theme "Danger in Remlia." After working with a more melodic, emotional feel for most of the track, things take a more energetic, militaristic feel with the presence of drums, prominent horns and later some low-sounding strings. DCT committed the lion's share of the rearrangement here, with GrayLightning coming in to add his own touches and embellish an already strong work. This high-quality effort has already been submitted to OCR, and looks like a strong candidate for approval, yet, in all fairness to DCT, does not indicate what he's capable of with his primary strengths on the hip-hop end of music creation. Once DCT gets some studio time, look for even more prominent hip-hop cuts to be dropped on the community later on with the forthcoming rap remix of DarkeSword's original jazz track "The Alleyway." For more information on that and other works of his, visit DCT over at http://www.thebigshot.com. Digital Coma - "King of PAIN" [http://members.cox.net/skaddi] Though he traditionally spends much more of his time in the community as a judge as OCR, Binnie also creates several diverse, high-quality tracks on the side, both remixes and original works. This is a brief demo cover of the classic Police song "King of Pain" that will be one of many tracks featured on a forthcoming full album release, "Vox of the Subaquatic Transcemeral Dimensions" (or "V-STDs" for short). Here Coma develops several harmonically layered and panned vocal tracks in tandem with Sting's own trademark voice to provide a very pleasing personal tribute to The Police that works the original song in lush new dimensions. You won't want to miss out on the work for this album as it progresses, as, throughout the course of the summer, Binnie hopes to complete the majority of work needed to spread V-STDs to everyone involved in the mixing community. Fray - Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind "Fear Not" [VGMix2 #1357] Another pending OCR submission just completed, this mix from Jeremy Soule's Morrowind is from mixer-hopeful Nathan Monteleone, aka Fray. Attempting to expand the out of the confines of the source material's genre, Fray starts this mix off in a trance/electronica style incorporating several different instrument/synth combinations, along with various melodic switchups. Fray's actually conducting a poll on whether "Fear Not" can make it past the OC judges' panel. If you're interested, drop your $.02 on on how YOU'D judge Fear Not's fate. Artists registered with SectionZ can check out more of Fray's stuff over at http://fray.sectionz.com. Gecko Yamori - Zool "Elektrorock" [VGMix2 #1466] Gecko hits VGMix with a nice synth rock take on the Amiga title Zool, featuring a nice electrosynth SID-style melody along with strong synth percussion and well-programmed synth guitar as well. GY's mix starts off with a lo-fi feel that eventually escalates into the electronic rock Dan ultimately ends up with. For a 3-minute mix, the song's progression seemed very quick, and if you're a fan of Gecko's work you'll find that the variation is good and the track seems to end in a much shorter period of time, a testament to how well Gecko can create fast-paced energy that engages the listener. Excellent work hearing GY add some rock flavor to his already solid list of predominantly electronic mixes. goat - Castlevania 1 "The Raven" [VGMix2 #451 / OC ReMix #1173] I'm sure people have punned off of goat's name enough so that the analogy may be a little tired, but nonetheless goat shows how much of an animal he is with another heavy rock remix from the Castlevania series. Though he'll be tackling the entire Castlevania 3 soundtrack for a larger solo remix project, "The Raven" is another high octane submission to OCR from the first CV game displaying goat's acclaimed guitar skills. Regulars at the OverRocked ReMix music links page and anyone that prefers guitar arrangements are gonna enjoy this one, while game music purists can enjoy some of the other elements involved as goat uses quite a number of in-game sound effects to add a little something extra midway through the mix. This one's yet another track that solidifies goat's status along with zykO, virt, Midee, prozax & Ailsean as a top name for guitar-driven remixes in the rearrangement community. GrayLightning - Final Fantasy 1 "AfterLife" [VGMix2 #1133 / OC ReMix #1174] Gray has said that many fans of his body of work haven't liked "AfterLife" as much as the rest of his remixes. That's not a way to prepare you for some sort of disappointment, but rather a disclaimer that GL's take on Final Fantasy's "Dead Music" is not his standard fare. Much like DJP called CotMM's "Pure Lands (Total Darkness)" something he could have envisioned as a 68030/GrayLightning collab, at some points "AfterLife" sounds more like a GL/Ziwtra collab than a Gray solo piece. Though retaining several ethnic musical elements and many of the hallmarks of GrayLightning's new age background, this remix is not the norm for GL. Therein lies the intrigue of this mix, as it's a nice change of pace for Gray, moving outside of strict new age/orchestral work and leaning more towards a techno/electronic style. Gray's been on an absolutely huge tear in the remix scene in the past year, and, with the consistently growing amount of work he has to show, that momentum's not looking to stop any time soon. Grey - "I Can't Sing" [http://pixelated.myrmid.com/users/jigginjont] JigginJonT's tentatively-named band releases its third track from their forthcoming demo EP, and this one is really high energy with funk undertones and a nice reliance on electric and bass guitars for the meat of the track's body. Of course Jon works all the time on improving his singing power and skills as Grey the band also develops further as a unit, yet this track uses its excellent lyrics and energetic flows to playfully poke fun at JigginJon's vocals with this funked up, tongue-in-cheek release that you need to pick up. A JJT-style offering wouldn't be complete without some quality piano work as well though, so there's a tight keyboard solo within the middle of the track that you definitely have to check out as well. Don't miss out on this or any of Grey's other recent cuts. Itopia - "Oblivion" [Means to an End] AmIEviL and his bandmates are back with another cut from their recent run of releases, this time featuring a different style of vocals. Oblivion's breathier vocals and the nature of the lyrics remind me vaguely of Alice in Chains and give off more of a grunge feel then their previous tracks. Though the mastering can be tightened up, Stefan Ajax and company have another solid release that's sure to please rock fans, and those curious to hear AmIEviL involved in a different type of musical setting. Check out the latest in Itopia's series of demo tracks along with the rest of the band's demo work over at http://www.itopia1.com. Jared Hudson - "A Summer Dream" [http://www.hudsonstudios.net] Jared's big into Joe Hisaishi's musical style and attempts to ape it once again with this melodic, orchestral piece. Going for something reminiscent of the "Spirited Away" score, this is a brief but very playful, upbeat and adventurous sounding track that you absolutely don't wanna pass up. I'd definitely love to see a longer version in the future, since I know Jared could easily play around with the current ideas here and go in some other exciting directions. This piece certainly bodes well for Jared's continuing efforts to gain a foothold in the professional music composition business, so swing by Hudson Studios and pick this one up, especially you anime or orchestral music fans. Leifo - Street Fighter 2 "Sagat's Theme" [http://www.leifo.com] bLiNd's frequent trance collaborator, Randy Oxley, has taken Sagat's theme, which has emerged as of late as popular source material for remixing, and has infused it with mad jungle goodness. Working outside his standard trance setting like he's used with mixes such as Chrono Trigger's "Timing is Everything," this time Leifo has pumped out a thumping (some could even say rave-able) Street Fighter mix that with unique rhythms and lots of power behind it. Though this is essentially a completed mix, Randy might be doing a few tweaks on this in the near future. Thus, if you have any comments, questions or suggestions for Leifo on this mix, feel free to drop him an e-mail at aismackdemhoes@optonline.netNOSPAM. Ork Estral (Nigel Simmons) - Super Castlevania 4 "Into the Corridor of Shadows" [VGMix2 #1493] Ork is back again with a very nice-sounding mix from the SNES classic. Ditching the Gothic music style found in the game, Nigel offers a well-developed orchestral (what else?) remix featuring little bits from the large range of symphonic instruments. There are some very nice builds and tempo changes throughout and the piece easily could pass as a wholly original orchestral composition rather than a Castlevania medley. Ork Estral always comes out with well-produced music, whether original or remix, and this looks (and sounds) like it doesn't disappoint. OverCoat - "Edge of the World" [http://rks.no-ip.com/~seattleovercoat] OverCoat works his trademark ambient ways on another original piece of his, this time using a keyboard for the melody of the piece. Some more attention to the keyboard dynamics would have really strengthened Scott's overall effort, yet this is still another one of Scott's quality soundscape compositions, matching up an understated, almost white noise background with a simple downtempo melody to create a relaxing atmosphere. In other words, the isn't "The Brinstar Beat." But then again, nothing's really like The Brinstar Beat. qaid (smh) - "a ditty" [box of sunlight ep] I wanna thank Gwilym for bumping the thread for this over at VGMix, otherwise I would have never been aware of this right here. Of course, that's also because Sam NEVER PIMPED THESE TO ME! Now is not a time for humility, boy. When you come out with good eclectic electronic stuff like this, you should be promoting it more. Whatever he's calling himself on a given day of the week, smh/qaid has a great group of tracks available from the "breaking windows ep" & "box of sunlight ep." For any fans of Shadow's original material as well as Ziwtra's remixes, qaid's stuff here offers some of the same attention-grabbing breakbeat and cutup techniques. "a ditty" is one personal favorite of mine, which is why I picked it specifically, yet there are lots of good tracks you'll find if you enjoy qaid's style like "bromine lullaby." Check out the tracks from both EPs at http://smhuse.no-ip.org:84/qaid. Quinn Fox - Gunstar Heroes "Redrun Green" [VGMix2 #1484] My personal pick of the week. Quinn's got a very distinct sound that I've always enjoyed a lot. He uses some of the same instruments as he did within "Mode Serpent" and "Vibe Victory," yet this remix is a much more up-tempo offering than you may be used to hearing from most of Quinn's OC mixes. Quinn somewhat downplayed how much people would enjoyed this one compared to the source material, but I personally didn't like the instrumentalization of the music from Gunstar Heroes, so this is a very welcome track. It's great to see Quinn working on new material, cuz you know it's gonna be good, so do not be stupid and pass on this. SEDUCTiON - Megaman 2 "Chillout" [OC ReMix #1175] This newly-posted mix is OCR's formal introduction to the chillout genre of music (another great example of which is FFmusic Dj's dynamic remix of BT's "The Great Escape"). SEDUCTiON's mix here is a really excellent example of some of the more straightforward genre adaptation remixes on OverClocked ReMix, taking "Dr. Wily Stage 1" and applying the source material in a style that you wouldn't be used to hearing. The guitar samples used within the mix even sound ABBA-like in their usage, and any real child of the 80s knows that ABBA had some great shit. Protricity didn't care for it, so, like djpretzel alluded to in his writeup, a good cross-section of fans can find Joni Anttila's spin here either hit or miss. Personally, I found this to be a very solid effort that you'll be more likely to keep and even refer to others, and the direct posting of the track by djp is a good indication of the quality you can observe from this one. Silent - "end of time" [http://www.soundclick.com/bands/8/thesilentresponse.htm] Yes, there are many tracks named "End of Time" out there. Jae contributes to the proverbial "glut" of them by coming out with his own track of the same name. Yet for those of you that enjoyed Silent's well-written lyrical remixes, like "Torian Love Song" and especially "In the Atrium," you'll be interested in this rock track featuring a small amount of electronic elements. If I understood him correctly, Silent isn't done tweaking some bits and pieces of the track for the near future. Check this one out to get a feel for Silent's non-remix offerings. As with Fray, artists registered with SectionZ can check out more of Silent's work over at http://silent.sectionz.com. SgtRama - Dr. Mario "Chillax Biatch" [http://www.musicv2.com/artist/sgtrama] Celebrating Doug Arley's 19th birthday early this past week, here's a quick old-school remix in honor of SgtRama himself from one of the old #occompo competitions, this one tackling Dr. Mario. Checking out Rama's music page, I scrolled down and saw the title for this mix, which is just one of the funniest fucking titles I've ever heard. If you liked the classic source music, "Chill", sit back for a minute and a half and check this one out. And if your ho starts yakkin' in your ear, tell that bitch to chillax! Tranquil Chaos - Eternal Champions 1 "The Eternal Struggle" [ironMix Challenge XVIII: Eternally Yours / VGMix2 #1474] Chad Hultgren has been pretty quiet on the remixing scene, with his last big victory in TimberWolf's IronMix Challenge coming way back in 2002 with his winning entry from IMC1, "Devil's Groove," remixing the well-known "Devil's Lab" from Final Fantasy 6. With IMC finally making it's big return earlier this month with IMC18, Tranquil Chaos is done layin' low. His next winning IMC mix effort comes from the legendarily bad (or great, depending on who you ask) Sega Genesis fighting game Eternal Champions. Taking on the introduction theme, this is a well-crafted, somewhat moody guitar-led mix that's way better than the actual game Eternal Champions ever was. Performed in an actual studio, this one's definitely a good look for rock mix enthusiasts. Unknown - "The Day of the Gathering" [CompoST 17] Unknown - "Song of Fury" [CompoST 18] Tyler is always coming out with solid original compositions for SoundTempest.net's CompoST competitions and yet again is victorious by successfully fashioning ideas that are evoke the feel of various in-game scenarios. Enjoy his driven, militaristic and serious vision of a heroes gathering theme for CompoST 17 in addition to his harder-edged idea of side-scrolling beat-'em-up theme music for CompoST 18. Xerol Oplan - "Streets of Tracheon" [Xerol's Quest OST] Helping to head up Level Ground Gaming, Xerol Oplan plans on having the original RPG, Xerol's Quest, ready for a July 2005 target date, so of course, among other things, production is underway on composing the music for the soundtrack. Xerol, Red Omen & Mythril Nazgul are on board handling most of the music responsibilities for the project, with "Streets of Tracheon" being XO's third completed and publicly released work for it. The track here is certainly a good fit for walking around a peaceful town and chatting around with townsfolk. Check out more info about Level Ground Gaming and progress on Xerol's Quest over at http://www.lggaming.com. Happy B-Day to BEATDROP this past Monday! Dain is an OLD OLD man! Check out loads of mixers and fans, many from the west coast remixing scene, gathering in Los Angeles last week for Final Fantasy: Dear Friends & E3 courtesy of Mustin over at OneUp Studios. GrayLightning has just completed work on Freemind's Halo WIP "Ancient Duel" over at VGMix, Protricity has a nice Gradius 3 WIP in the works, and Antonio Pizza's working his black magic (GET IT?!?) on FF6's well known Devil's Lab theme. Sir Nuts has also got a rare original trance work of his brewing on the WIP: Other side that you should search out. We also wait for the remixes and results of reelmojo's People's Remix Competition 16 and TimberWolf's IronMix Challenge 19. Hope you enjoy the blood, sweat and tears djpretzel sacrificed for the new design of OCR. OCR4 is looking hot! Have fun this next week enjoying the new layout as well as the many tracks offered up with tonight's mix flood!

When did this happen? Does anyone have any links to these, I'm interested in finding them. BT Update: I'm going to get my own webspace sometime this summer, probably by the end of June, so I'll have the BT tracker up for sure by July 7th. Hopefully the episodes that people already have will match up. Let me know if you've got a large collection and you're willing to seed so this can get started pretty quickly once the tracker gets up and running. Don't have links to those Jeremy Robson tracks, but if you use the search function of OC Works, you many find them. I'll come back to this later tonight and edit some links if I find 'em. EDIT: Final Fantasy 7 "Philharmonic Suite: Part II" Final Fantasy 7 "Philharmonic Suite: Part III" As for the collection of VGF eps for seeding, most of the eps should match up; sometimes I've done small ID3 tag changes on some of the eps, but hopefully that won't be a big deal; worse comes to worse, I could send someone 3 CDs of eps to start the seeding. Species would probably be the best bet for an initial seeding simply for having the episodes, though it could be a strain on his network connection. Don't you peeps forget this week VG Frequency Pimp Section (5/15) as well. Be sure to sample all of those tracks from around the community.

When the chips are down and bets are in... Sometimes you'll need a friend Someone that will be there for you... Someone that will heal all the WOOOOOOUNDS!

Since I don't have the pulpit of my radio show to promote stuff from around the community, I wish to encourage others to continue searching around the community for quality music. How much time I have during the week to find tracks (on a dial-up connection) will vary, but I'll do my best to stay active doing a short list each week of tracks I'd play and stuff going on in the community: Abram McCalment & Jared Hudson - "Spooky Ride" [Dead End Delivery OST - http://www.hudsonstudios.net] Following up on their collaborative efforts a short while with "Softly", Abram & Jared provide a short track for a campy horror movie. Tracks like these are always a good excuse for Jared & Abram to play around with new ideas and pull, as Jared would say, "a new feather out of our ass." In any case, this is a nice short piece with which the duo continue to increase their versatility and production skills. Crazy Crackaz - "<3 Jesus" [http://lobachevsky.homelinux.net/~sriley] Joecam, Shael and the Crackaz poke fun at Double A Ron for his moralist rejection of "River City Rap." [clears throat] What I meant to say is, the Crackaz have found Christ! Some of the choral parts are downright South Park. You'll know when you get there. I'm a serious Christian, but if there's one thing I also have it's a sense of humor. If you don't have one, don't bother folks. DistantJ - Sonic the Hedgehog 1 "Lava Twilight" [VGMix2 #1399] While the arguement about judging standards is nothing we haven't heard before, every so often a mix comes around that get the debate/flamewar active again. Formerly known as Sambo9000, J attracted a fair amount of attention/controversy over this mix's rejection by the OC judges' panel. Since that rejection, J has taken the mix and retooled it into the version now available at VGMix. Is this effort worthy of getting posted at OCR? You be your own judge. FFmusic Dj - Einhänder "Dawn" [http://www.ffmusic.net] I myself am not familiar with the music from Einhänder, but this one is 9 minutes and 25 seconds of awesome trance. Tons of energy and very danceable as well, this one would easily fit into a club set. You wouldn't know that this was derived from a game, and therein lies a lot of the success of Haroon when it comes to excellent genre adaptation. He's also got some other hot WIPs that should impress when he finally decides to release those. Since I can't play this one on the air, you're gonna have to wait your turn for this one, but hopefully you'll remember I mentioned this one when you finally check it out. Could we see an OC edit down the line? GrayLightning - Shining Force 1 "Armageddon" [http://www.funender.com/music/bands/422/music.php] Despite telling me that he was gonna focus a lot more on original work, GL's been really active on the remix front recently, with tons of good stuff. This is an epic, militaristic mix that Gray believes combines all of the elements and concepts of his most recent remix successes, including Dezoris Winter, Asian Twilight, and Phoenix Symphonic (if you've been lucky enough to hear that). The site won't lead you to the mix or anything, but it's a pleasent thought! Itopia - "Picture" [Means to an End - http://www.itopia1.com] Stefan Ajax's band has some quality demos now available at their site, including this one along with "Song III," "Means to an End," and "Set Your Mind." If you're interested in AmIEviL's mixes, give his original work a try, since that'll be where the majority of Stefan's musical energy ends up going now. In my opinion, "Picture" is their best offering in this batch of releases. Ork Estral (Nigel Simmons) - Secret of Mana "Return to Elysian Lands" [VGMix2 #1289 / OC ReMix #1172] As Digital Coma would say "Ork Estral...that name is really clever." The handle does fit though, as Nigel starts off with a melancholy/solitary aura, and moves back and forth in and out of more powerful crescendos that make use of his orchestral strengths. It's an energetic rendition of Kikuta's "Angel's Fear" that's likely to win over fans of other mixers like Unknown as well as Protricity and Russell Cox's #1 homie, Jeremy Soule. Protricity - Zombies Ate My Neighbors "Neighburgers" [http://www.public.asu.edu/~arasulin] Prot does a heavy electronic rock remix from the old SNES title featuring music by The Fat Man & Joe McDermott. Ari always does his best to fashion brand new melodic lines and freestyle sections within his mixes, and this one's no exception. There are some good twists and turns here, and the paranormal motif is apparent throughout. When this one'll see the light of day is anyone's guess, but if Prot doesn't hate you maybe you can get a 5-second sample of it. Actually, Forget I even mentioned this. Just head to Ari's site and DL Relics of the Chozo if you haven't already. That should keep you busy. EDIT: Ari Asulin is an ungrateful fgt. Rayza - Mystery Piece [http://www.rayza.net] If you know about this one, then you know. If you don't, then you've gotta wait. So wait patiently. "Electro Beat Beat Beat." Select Start - Metroid 1 "Kraid's Hideout" [OC ReMix #1171] Even though the strings are fake (right, Prot?), this is a haunting Kraid remix by a remix band that has been getting people's attention even before they finally hit OCR. If you haven't heard this one yet, be sure to check out a game remix band that, like mightcould/Motherbrain!, isn't a rock-related game remix band. Shael Riley - Megaman 1 "What Key Are We In, Cutsman? (Version 2.0)" [VGMix2 #148] Shael brings a WIP that was on the shelf for a while into the forefront with this one's release on VGMix. This one has a nice laid-back feel to start off with, but true to the mix title, the key switches up on more than one occasion. Much like his CastleVania: SotN mix "The Tragic Prince (Street Influence)," Shael gives you a number of twists and turns with this interesting hybrid piece. Sil (Jeremy Robson) - Super Mario RPG "The Mushroom Wedding" [The People Remix Competition 15] Sil won PRC15 with this festive, light-hearted mix that keeps in spirit with much of the music from the original game, narrowly beating out ReaktorZ0 and other more impactful-sounding entries to take the victory. Could this be the mix that Jeremy uses to get back onto OCR after parts 2 and 3 of the FF7 Symphonic Suite didn't make it onto the site? SnappleMan - Donkey Kong Country 1 "Kwak the Plank" [Donkey Kong Country 1 Arrangement Collaboration - http://www.inverteddungeon.com/SnappleMan] This one's a powerful, guitar-focused remix of "Gang-Plank Galleon" that's the second completed track for Digital Coma's DKC Arrangement Collaboration. The classic DKC final boss theme fits well with the energy Snap brings to the table, and although the website for the project currently sucks, it's not Snapple's fault. Visit it anyway...I guess. Better yet, forget the ugly DKCAC site and visit SnappleMan's site "SnappleLand" instead. Star Salzman - "Something Magic" [http://www.starblast.org] Starblast has been focusing more on the original side of his work lately as well, recently coming out with this pure pop ode to a special lady out there. Of course, "she" could refer to any number of other things though, such as a boat or a country. In any case, (closet) fans of Smashmouth may be feeling the vibe here, as Star further proves how musically adept he is when going for a mainstream feel. Star: "Now 'Something Magic,' I can see how people could easily be like, 'OMG, this is ghey.' The lyrics are rather fruity." With a ringing endorsement like that from the man himself, I don't think there's any reason you could have to NOT check this one out. zircon - "All the Weapons Are Foam!!" [CompoST 16] zirc always possess creativity & versatility whenever he enters SoundTempest's regular game music composition compos. For this one, Andy served up a quick and quirky rendition of a shop theme. As the man responsible for SoundTempest, zircon can always give you the layout on what interesting efforts are coming out of the woodwork as remixers ply their musical hand on the original game music side. zykO - Luigi's Mansion "The Anti-Ignorance (Thug 4 Life)" [VGMix2 #1445] Double A Ron wouldn't be very supportive of weed's latest rap track, but zykO cuts loose as the anti-ignorance, hitting the music from "E. Gadd’s Laboratory" one more time as he cuts down the haters. These are some hard rhymes, so keep the chilluns away. After weed said that he'd be taking a break from the remixing scene, don't mistake this mix as zykO coming back full force. It's more like a break from him focusing on original material, plus he can't just NOT respond to criticism. What kind of weed would that be? Full lyrics are available at VGMix. FFmusic Dj & zykO were just some of the members of the community who got a chance to check out the Final Fantasy music concert Dear Friends when it hit Los Angeles at the Walt Disney Concert Hall this past Monday. Check out the OCR and VGMix threads for more info on how things went down (and make fun of poor Tidus. Poor, poor Tidus). zykO & Mustin got to hang with Tommy Tallarico over at E3 this year. Tons of shit has been announced this year, so feel free to post about Nintendo's big plans and take part on the discussion on the expo within OCR and VGMix. JigginJonT is always a busy individual, so the chances that you'll be able to bug him about this are minimal. Jon may hurt me, but in any case he's got an AWESOME Mute City WIP going on right now. Just remember you heard about this one, because you'll most likely love it when it finally drops. Just something else to whet your appetite over the summer. When IS Adhesive Boy gonna come back with AB Frequency??? As I've already said on several occasions, DarkeSword is my official VGF All-Star. Out of 38 shows, he's appeared on the air of 11 of 'em. Damn, that's a lot of time on the air. DarkeSword's calls and the music of his I've played could fill up a 4-hour show of their own. Also wanted to say that I'm glad to see Beatdrop back on the OC judges' panel. It was definitely a shame when he stepped down a short while ago, but hopefully his energy and enthusiasm for the panel has returned to help the rest of the panel out. Thanks for coming back and being active when the system needs ya. (Dain is my hero!) If you're interested in me continuing updates like these every week (when I can), please let me know. In a way, it's partly in step with the monthly newsletter VGMix hopes to do. In any case, I hope you check out these various works and retain a broader awareness of the vast selection of muzak coming out from the community during the summer. Lots of quality stuff is in the works and OCR4 is closer than ever, so things'll be pretty busy. Also, if there's any interest in having Ormgas.com replay the high-quality episodes of VG Frequency (#21-#29), lemme know and I can ask ravon. Great idea, Dhsu! I couldn't say if he'd go for it, but that's certainly a novel idea. Feel free to drop any questions or comments within.