Liontamer

Hell of a source tune, Navi; this is probably my favorite Lena Raine compositionthat I've now heard. I love it and would love to hear it live in concert. This definitely could have been direct posted for sure, as it's referencing the source practically all the time either with the melody or supporting writing. Nice job giving this theme an otherworldly sound for quite a cool transformation. The geetars by Ryan first brought in at :30 were silky smoove while also effected. Holy shit, what a groove too, with vocal beats stacked on top of the kicks. At 1:28, everything dropped off, left with a lone pan flute-type thing with effects, then rebuilt with other lines gradually fading in. Then fuckin' warbles at 2:02, man, what??? Hahaha, I'm just loving this ride! It feels like this track's a living, breathing organism. I have no idea what lead to the sound design choices here, or what to call this genre, but it's super-creative and on point; you literally want to swim in this. At any point, this could have went super bombastic and it WOULD have made sense, yet Navi exercised restraint instead. Wow, awesome stuff, and a hell of a return here, in a remarkable collab with Ryan and Klopfenpop. Never be ashamed, stay proud of your old gold too; look at where it's lead you, with a track in the here and now that you can sincerely point to as legendary. May you continue to grow musically and feel creatively satisfied yet thirsty to explore. I genuinely cannot wait to hear what else you've got cookin', and I'm just extremely proud of you. This is pro work. YES

I was definitely unsure of employing the same sounds and timbre of the "Title" theme to start, but then heard how the "Stage 1" theme was adapted into that soundset, so I then understood the approach more and didn't have any interpretation concerns. At 1:08, some synths creeped in and got louder to reveal almost a Streets of Rage Remake-type feel. If it weren't for the slower tempo, I'd think this was SoR material. 1:59 added more writing into the background to escalate things; crowded but effective overall, then a pretty omimous dropoff of the saws at 2:23, followed by a downright scary rise in volume of the noise peaking at 2:48. The music ended at 3:00 and things capped off with an SFX-based finish. From a personal standpoint, I don't love the sound palette, but I damn sure respect and fear it. Aggressive and intense, nice job, Parker! YES

Track's only 1:45-long (aside from the stingers at the start and finish, which make great loop points when the track's put on repeat), so there's almost no way this could pass from a development standpoint; you need some more time here to flesh out the ideas. Sounds ultra-dry and empty as far as the sounds, but I love the energy of the writing. The orch stabs, geetar synths, thick beats, and various SFX are sounding good. I liked the subtle doubling of the melody from :47-1:00 Watch the core beat at :13; this pattern is super plodding and boring, . Literally copying this advice from another track wth the same issue: You've gotta keep in mind that no matter what other percussion is going on in your textures, if there's one element that's way louder and it's also super metronome-y (i.e. that kick), then the whole thing sounds thin, empty, and droning. The perc writing ultimately comes off lonely and barren there. The comping-style lead writing from 1:11-1:36 over the top of the source is completely the kind of creative original additive writing that meaningfully personalizes an interpretive arrangement, so that's well in the right direction. Aside from the beats being too loud with basic writing that caused a plodding feel, structurally, Michael, you have a solid arrangement concept. It's got a swift tempo and reasonable dynamic constrast throughout (again, undermined by the beats). It's really too bad that it's so short and that the instrumentation and production aren't dense enough, because these raw materials are fun. 1:01-1:10 was arguably the only brief moment where this soundscape felt adequately filled; you'll have to bring that level of density to other areas of the track. If you can build this composition/arrangement out further (about another 30-60 seconds somehow, without just doing cut-and-paste stuff) and employ effects to give your soundscape a fuller feel, you'd be flying high. NO (resubmit)

Is that what happened?? Because it doesn't look like that's what happened. I'm sincerely kidding around, I'm just trolling for more opinions. These judges... stinky slow.

Whoa, definitely a very hidden away unlock for me; haven't heard this theme in over 30 years, yet here we are. Thanks for turning over this nostalgia stone I forgot I had! Sounds at :06 seemed very muddy and abrasive in the build to the melody arriving. It almost sounded like rapid-fire punch SFX in the right channel at :07, it didn't make sense. Small thing, but an example of detail work being missed; the tick-a-tick-a hat writing at from :08-:19 was too loud, then when it dropped out, you hear how a bunch of corresponding sizzly noise abruptly drops out, leaving the soundscape super empty. I also hear what prophetik's saying about the imbalance between the parts. The beats shouldn't be what's cutting through into the foreground, relative to the melody and countermelody. The textures did grate when it happened, so watch it, but I really, really liked the layering/chorusing of the melody around :53 & :57-1:00, which also allowed for a melodic variation. Oof, VERY vanilla and plodding beats from 1:11-1:23; that was already a problem the entire way, just exacerbated in that section. You've gotta keep in mind that no matter what other percussion is going on in your textures, if there's one element that's way louder and it's also super metronome-y (i.e. that kick), then the whole thing sounds thin, empty, and droning. The perc writing ultimately comes off lonely and barren there. Dropoff and changeup into some brief Manheim Steamroller-esque stuff from 1:32-1:55; though it felt non sequitur, there was nothing wrong with it and the transitions were fine; I dug it. Though some piercing higher frequencies were there until 2:06, I liked the instrumentation ideas at 1:54 and 2:07; why that was all saved for just the last few seconds, I have no idea. Nice ideas for contrast, as well as a way to play with the textures and (for the latter) the tempo. Interesting finish at least, even if it seemed premature for the length of the track. Needs more appropriate mixing/balancing of the parts. Not sure what setup you have that's allowing you to overlook grating and piercing sounds, but it's hampering things. The drum writing has to become more sophisticated and cohesive; again, even if you have creative writing for some parts, a vanilla, plain core beat will sound boring and stagnant if all the other percussive elements aren't mixed properly and aren't reasonably audible. If you're able to rebalance this and make it sound cohesive, you could likely keep the length the same, but I think it would be a slog. As I've said before, I'm jealous of your ability to make music and hope you continue down your path. This isn't close to passing in this form, but your arrangement ideas are creative, so continue working on cohesive percussion/beat writing & mixing so that your track's foundations are stronger. NO (resubmit)

I don't inherently mind the droning pad, though I'll argue that the line in the source tune had a softer sound, so you don't get tilted by it, whereas I can understand it eventually feeling grating here. Definitely in agreement with the others that the arrangement isn't transformative enough. Static energy and instrumentation; it sounds like it should be a base for a much lengthier piece. LOAL at the overwrought fade-out, as the pad devolved into what sounded like a fly buzzing in the room and fading away. Not a knock on it, just a fun observation. Even if you kept the overall energy level like this, there are so many additive and subtractive ways to employ subtle variation; right now, what I mainly hear is the background line slowly getting louder and some light whoosing/warbling SFX creeping up, which is not nothing, but the sum total of that is not nearly enough evolution or dynamic contrast. A nice cover, no doubt, Shea, but we're looking for more aspects of interpretation and personalizing the theme to stand apart from the original source tune. NO

For DarkSim, this is just considered an arrangement of the DKC track, but we have a parent-child relationship in the database for the DK arcade theme and the DKC expansion of it. Super mechanical piano to open up and a muddy soundscape, neither of which bode well. The noise in the background until :41 just sounds like fuzz rather than anything purposeful, not even like ocean waves or rain, just white noise, which I didn't understand the point of. The saw lead fading in at :14 was pretty weak as well, as it didn't sound melodius and with timing that feels too locked to grid, plus the mixing needed to be sharper, IMO. When the beat came in at :41, I had to put on a control track just to ensure my audio wasn't messed up, because the piece sounded very distant. The saw lead is just so plain and the whole groove feels very static and plodding despite some overall good energy. Totally agreed that the gated saw action quickly got old and overused; just subtle tweaks there could spice up the presentation and keep it from dragging. The dropoff of the saws at 1:22 was good... a jarring change in the clarity with this dropoff though, wow.... dunno why it couldn't be that clean overall; you can still get dense and grimy with instrumentation, but not turn things into mud, yet the saws came back at 2:17 and that's what things turned into. I liked the piano line's mixing, though that was also rigid and too fake-sounding as well. I dug the bongos from :18-:41 & 1:36-1:49, mixing critiques notwithstanding. The saws came back at 2:17, and I looked up to see that the track was practically over. The way the ending unceremoniously cut off would certainly need to be fixed as well, if possible. Definitely an underdeveloped concept, but without some more appropriate mixing, less rigidly timed instrumentation, and further variation and ideas in the writing, this isn't ready for primetime. The other Js are much better at production critique, so take stock of everything they mentioned and see what you can agree with. It's a fun foundation though, so if the source files are still available, I'd see what else could be done with it. NO (resubmit)

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Sounds like a pure cover to start, but when you side-by-side it with the source, you hear how the supporting instrumentation writing's not copied over, so that's where the personalization comes from. The levels of the leads compared to other parts didn't bother me, but I understand why MindWanderer & prophetik pointed it out. Interesting that lots of stuff is played in live according to Logan, because some of the parts felt stilted, industrial style notwithstanding. For example, when the "BRRR" pattern from :00 is doubled by an electic guitar synth around :41, that part sounded too stiff. And I definitely was not a fan of the thin & exposed claps, but they at least fit in better within the first half (:00-2:23) while not at all during the transition into the second half (2:24-2:56) -- which was the track's weakest portion -- and again from 3:13-3:28. Also, the way the lead articulates from 2:56-3:13 & 3:59-4:17 was stilted, but the keyboard and comping stuff in between was strong. The first half's stronger on production and less on the arrangement, then the second half's stronger on arrangement and less on the production, so there's unrealized potential all across the board and it prevents me from immersing myself in this. I'd argue that the first half was produced in a more cohesive-sounding way, while 2:24-on had portions that felt more WIP like, mainly because of that flimsy clap. Would love this tightened up more (claps & electronic leads in the second half, and also tweaking the balance between the parts), but even if the level of polish was inconsistant, what's there gets it done and has "official arrange album" vibes all over it. YES (borderline)

Thanks for describing how the arrangement pieced together between the usage of the two themes. Once I read through, I was able to follow how you used each of them. I haven't read a single vote, yet I know these NOs are gonna be about the production, because this is muddy. There are some brighter elements, yet this feels like every higher frequency got cut -- there's no sharpness to this whatsoever. There's a padded line way in the back that does add some color, almost sounds like cymbals getting hit and purposefully muddied, or it's just a more ethereal, washed out kind of thing; sounds cool, though impossible to tell what it is. 2:24 was a pure cut-and-paste from :39; it was repeating a good arrangement idea in the first place, so I could see others not minding it (nor had anyone pointed out before me, after finally reading the votes), but to me, this was too much recycling despite the snazzy groove, so I'd love to hear what else could be done there to vary it up. Clean up the mixing some, and see what else can be done to vary up the presentation from 2:24 until the end and it's solid. This definitely should be posted in some form, and I hope to see it here, even if it's not this version. Very enjoyable, I'm just feeling like there needs to be another pass on the mixing at least, and some further variance for the last third would be more in the nice-to-have column. NO (resubmit)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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