Liontamer

Maybe groove bias?? YES Kidding, but people'll say it, so I'LL say it!

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Contact Information Your ReMixer name = Doffu Your real name = Shea Kennedy Your email address = Your website(s) = https://www.youtube.com/c/Doffu Your userid = 38479 Submission Information Name of game(s) arranged = Tetris Attack Name of arrangement = Getting Froggy Name of individual song(s) arranged = Getting Froggy Your own comments about the mix, for example the inspiration behind it, how it was made, etc. = After a friend got me into this game's soundtrack, I realized the endless potential for remixing. I decided to do a tibral remix of the song Foggy's Stage, crafting poignant sounds on both hardware and software synthesizers. I introduce a sort of electro-dance beat partway through the arrangement and cut a lot of the original song material resulting in a sparser structure with more room for subtle forms of modulation.

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jmr sent a tweaked version (link in OP) with the following comments: I saw one of the main complaints was the intonation on the theremin style NES triangle parts. Quirk of the hardware - the pitch gets kinda squirrely on that channel in the upper registers. I hit the triangle parts with some pitch tweaks in melodyne. For context, I knew that part was a bit flat but accepted it because it was a limitation of the hardware I chose, and that's a good chunk of the band's aesthetic. The album was intended to be a pseudo-live recording with no major edits or things we couldn't achieve on stage, so it was left as is. Outside of the context of the album, I'm completely fine with faking it. :-)

I hit up Weston just to be sure there wasn't something huge being overlooked. Here's his breakdown and comments: So yeah, that would basically put this is "enjoyable listen, but not enough source tune usage". Moar source plz. No worries, you didn't know, but now you know. Needs to be arranging the VGM source tune for at least 50% of the track's runtime. NO

I wanted to weigh in on some Standards-based issues just to clarify things. Any arrangement of a previous arrangement needs to stand apart from both the source tune and the initial version of the arrangement. This definitely does on account of this sound palette and much more dynamic contrast. I didn't hear any dissonance and didn't mind the lead at :22. The thumps first heard at :27 are too loud. The lead at :42 could have been louder, but I still followed and focused on the melody just fine until a different lead stood out more at 1:09. 1:44 cleared up the textures and had a more open sound; I really dug the guitar tone at 2:11 a lot and wish it would have stayed longer, but with the raising of intensity at 2:24, I'll live with it. There was a buzziness tied to the chip sounds that was adding a kind of white noise that was soft enough to not be invasive, but was also adding some unnecessary clutter. From 2:38-3:07, this shouldn't have been so cluttered, and that was definitely a ding against this, but I'm also not put off by only nearly 20 seconds being iffy. I'm more permissive than these guys on "dissonance" and having rougher edges to tracks. I didn't hear anything dealbreaking here and though this was a very well-personalized performance with some purposeful grungier sounds that still clicks just fine even if some mixing wasn't ideal. I'm not making the perfect the enemy of the good here, and this approach is cool with me. I don't think our production bar is so high for this hobbyist community that an arrangement this interpretive should be turned down; I'm disappointed at how close-minded the NOs seem and sincerely think the bar's being placed too high here. YES

I suggested Ronald submit this, so I'm glad he considered it. The arrangement is conservative but personalized enough for the rock approach (and the bookend intro and outro helped). I'll agree with the mixing critiques here, because the leads should be louder than the supporting chugs, and the bassline basically did disappear once the track filled out at :34. Right at :44, one of the guitar lines seems to have a lot of quiet but persistant buzziness; not sure what happened there. The drum writing's OK, but the main snare tone in particular obviously lacks body; if it had a denser sound, it would fill this out nicely. Not sure what was AVGN's stuff vs. EGM's, but they do work well together. The textures are decent, but there's definitely a lot of parts that seem to have overlapping frequencies, which is causing more clutter than I think was intended. To me, if this couldn't be revised, I'd still pass it, so that helps crystallize my decision, as the energy's solid, but it would only be a YES (borderline) on account of the mixing, and I also can't fault the others for wanting this to be cleaned up further. If this doesn't make it as is, I'd say consider beefing up that snare and mitigating that latent buzziness as nice bonuses, but if there's no appetite for that, just revisit the mixing (and/or message one of us for feedback on a revised mixdown), then send it through once again.

Now with 50% more Mario theme cameos, I see. We start with a 1Y handicap. YES

=== link to submission: --> <-- this track was made by me in Renoise, using: * Samples From Mars * Rave Generator * Mario Maker 2 samples === contact information * remixer name: jneen-collective * real name: Jeanine Adkisson * email address: * website: https://jneen-collective.bandcamp.com/ * forum user id: 38527 === submission information * game: Super Mario Maker for Wii U, Super Mario Maker 2 for Nintendo Switch * arrangement name: Mario Maker - Banned Wagon Mix * track remixed: Main Theme === additional game information: So for my first submission I said this was from Super Mario Maker 2 (Switch), but apparently the version there is an arrangement of the original theme from Super Mario Maker (Wii U). Truth is, this theme is all over both games, in the title screens, credits, and in Story Mode. Super Mario Maker (Wii U) version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bn60nAbieF4 Super Mario Maker 2 version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wy0nNf4zfsU SMM2 also has 8-bit versions and a Night Mode version. The mashup bit was inspired by the credits version in SMM2, where the B section of the SMB1 Ground theme is played over the main theme: https://youtu.be/3CUL1QJz91U?t=117 Mario Maker music was composed by: Koji Kondo Naoto Kubo Asuka Hayazaki Mario Maker 2 Music was composed by: Atsuko Asahi Toru Minegishi Sayako Doi === mix comments Original comments: this mix was originally made as a theme for the Banned Wagon Team, but we eventually decided to use a different track. it came out really well though, so i wanted to polish it up and send it in. bass parts are all original, the breakbeat is custom sliced, and i added a lot of space to the harmonic rhythm to let the d&b elements and a couple melodic flairs shine through. mastered to approximately -14 lufs, peaking momentarily around -11, but i can render the unmastered version on request. hope you enjoy! On new version: * Added some mix variations on the breakbeat in the first loop * Broke apart the drum pattern in the second loop and added ride cymbals and claps * Added an entire new section with a resampled and re-sliced breakbeat and Big Horns and quotes inspired by the credits version of the track * Tamed the bass quite a lot * Differentiated the ear-candy bits in the mix a little more, hopefully now they sound distinct enough to not slip into the uncanny-valley they were in before. * Slightly more aggressive mastering, still targeting the youtube guidelines - can provide unmastered as well. Thanks to Hemophiliac and all the other judges for your suggestions, they were quite helpful! And thanks a ton for listening ❤️ - jneen

Still in favor it, so we'll see how the others feel. YES

Original Decision LINK to resubmission: Notes: thanks all for your feedback! We worked on polishing up the track based on the judges' feedback. This version has an all new mix, quite a few timing polishes, and a few punched in parts (specifically my vocals at the end). Thanks for your (re)consideration! Joe --- Your ReMixer name: Newmajoe [arrangement, production, saxophones, toy piano, backup vocals] Other musicians: Michelle Dreyband [vocals] Sam Schwartz [Guitar, Mandolin, mastering]. Your real name: Joe Newman Your email address: Your website(s): https://joenewman.bandcamp.com/ Name of game(s) arranged: Super Mario Galaxy Name of arrangement: The Little Girl And The Star Name of individual song(s) arranged: Luma, Gusty Garden Galaxy, Rosalina in the Observatory. Additional information about game including composer, system, etc. (if it has not yet been added to the site) The lyrics are adapted from the in-game "Rosalina's Story" written by Yoshiaki Koizumi, the game's director. Link to the original soundtrack (if it is not one of the sound archives already available on the site) https://vgmdb.net/album/5411 Your own comments about the mix, for example the inspiration behind it, how it was made, etc. The arrangement was created for the Dwelling of Duels February competition, which was "Mario" month. I was inspired by classic "storybook readings" with traditional film scoring, much like Disney audiobooks. My three year old daughter is obsessed with these stories, and I jumped at the chance to compose something for her in this chamber style. (You might even be able to guess her name if you listen closely for some quotes in the arrangement!) My collaborators Michelle (vocals) and Sam (strings) threw themselves 100% into this project, and were involved at every stage of production. I absolutely could not have done this without them. Best, Joe

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What did you think? Post your opinion of this ReMix.

I'll pass by the fact that this isn't dubstep in any way; it is important to get musical labels right, but I don't care that this wasn't "as advertised" re: the genre. Sets a good mood, so the first 35 seconds are sweet, though it quickly becomes super buzzy and abrasive at :17. Synth at :47 was thin and shrill. At 1:00, the running line is thin here but a good sound, then neither the beats nor the melodic line at 1:08 have any depth (drum sounds like a plastic bucket's being hit). As is, the textures were buzzy and abrasive, yet thin. The choir vox accents from 1:16-1:24 got steamrolled and I only noticed them because I was actively listening. There's a supporting synth line from 1:32-1:58 that adds some tension, but suffers from the same overall problems (thin sample, crunchy production). Stiff and anemic lead at 1:59; not sure why you'd roll with this; drums still sound like a plastic bucket, and the shakers until 2:25 aren't bad, but I'm not sure what they're adding here when these textures are reatively barren. The instrumentation sounds better at 2:25 going back to the running line until the bucket-like drums (2:33) and bland synth (2:42) come back in. Didn't hear anything else of note going on until the finish, retreading some writing ideas with different sounds that were a little more creative, but still thin, shrill, and piercing (and ultimately didn't feel much different than what came before). I'll always enjoy renditions of this theme, so I'm glad you tackled it, Lucas. The instrumentation needs waaaaay more depth and sophistication, and the soundscape was too crunchy and distorted. Until there's depth and clarity, it'll be hard to realize the potential of the arrangement, and this isn't anywhere near fully cooked. NO

If you open a new tab and then copy-pasta the link into the address line, THEN the browser will DL it, but definitely unintuitive.

Quite the improvement!

For the source, the drum writing was super basic and the brass samples were pretty exposed, but it's an energetic theme; nice choice here. For the arrangement, the opening piano timing's very mechanical. OK, lots of parts are rigidly timed/looped. Smart usage of the source's intro line interpretively arranged and used as the countermelody for your arrangement at :29; very cool. The "ocean wave" first used at :13 seemed a bit gimmicky as it got used at :27, :42, and :55 (and more); sounds kind of bitcrushed rather than actual ocean, so it comes off more like an overused sweep, but I see how it's meant to work with the chiptune lead (and the arrangement title, of course). The drumkit writing at :15's actually more interesting than the source's (which was very metronome-ish there), but this kit had a flimsy tone, so the drums don't lend much energy or depth from 1:15-1:29 when the soundscape should have felt more filled in. Your textural variations are in the right direction, but -- particularly if you're not looking to extend the length of this barely 2-minute track -- consider other variations on the melody at :59 and/or 1:22. Otherwise, it feels like a mix-and-match looping of the different building blocks, too much cut-and-paste-style building of the track. For OCR's Submission Standards, a track this short shouldn't feel like it has a lot of outright repetition or the arrangement will be perceived as underdeveloped. Introducing other writing variations could move this in the right direction; just be wary of extending this without developed-enough and fluid enough writing to justify it; this pacing with these textures would definitely drag out as is. Some different padding or more active writing than just the current bassline could also help give this a more sophisticated and cohesive texture. Right now, the bassline tended to add what felt more like an indistinct low hum/drone that also added mud. The bassline's complimenting music that's very locked to grid, so the energy feels very stilted, though your drums and supporting chiptune lines help in terms of the energy level. No big deal, but some leftover residual noise came back in after the track faded to 0 at 2:07, so watch the cutoff. Though the other judges may have better insight, I felt the overall mixing was solid and I could hear the parts well aside from the indistinct bassline critiques. Very good potential here, Elijah. Other Js may be able to offer some suggestions on giving this a livelier energy and further writing variations; those seem to be the main drawbacks here. NO (resubmit)

Contact Information: ReMixer name: BurningMagma Real name: Elijah Wiencek Email: User ID: ocremix.org/community/profile/38331-burningmagma/ Submission Information: Name of game arranged: My Singing Monsters Playground Name of arrangement: Chorus of the Sea Name of individual song arranged: Water Island Additional Information: Composers: Dylan Cole, Sam Clark, Tom Meikle Link to original soundtrack: www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNgR45vm8cY Comments: I've been playing the original mobile game for a while now, and when My Singing Monsters Playground came onto the Nintendo Switch, I knew I had to do something. Then I wondered, "How could I make a tribute to my childhood?". ReMixing was my answer, so this week (as of writing this), I tried out mixing the Water Island theme. After messing around in FL Studio while having 8 GB of ram, I present to you "Chorus of the Sea". -BurningMagma

Usually, Guillaume's timestamps line up and make sense, but these were a couple of seconds off, so it threw me off. The "Unrest" sections were harder to make out. Liberal, but I groked it. YES

Great energy at :33 with the melody prominently arriving after the more subtle build. The mixing's very lossy-sounding, and I'm not sure why, though 1:14 seemed to allow some more high-end frequencies through. Back to thick beats at 1:35, and this is mixed in a very muddy way. Yeah, it's just staying like this the whole way through. This soundset is beefy, but the mixing is very muddy. I'll need some time to wrap my head around the source tune usage in the arrangement with the rhythmic changes; at the very least, I'd love a source usage breakdown from Trevor explaining what's referenced where. For now, a timestamping is kind of moot point, because the mixing kills this regardless of the arrangement and musicianship. MindWanderer said "after listening to it several times, I realized there are accompanying synths that are almost completely drowned out, like an arp at 1:36-1:57", and that's definitely right. Nearly every section sounds muffled, like a fan recorded this on a bootleg tape. If you can fix the mixing, and the source tune usage is confirmed solid in terms of dominating the arrangement, then I'd love this posted in some form. Amazing energy here, Trevor; definitely don't drop it if it doesn't make it as is. NO (resubmit)

If we run into a track where the music is effectively obscured by vocals or spoken word, I think there'd be a discussion. For this, I don't think one would argue that's the case here. The music's always plainly audible and there are also areas where there are no vocals with the VGM arrangement. A long time ago, we removed two ye olden Counter-Strike subs for being original compositions + in-game SFX, and we had a ye olden Diablo sub that was just an original composition with sampled in-game narration on top. We're a game music arrangement site, so if someone submits an original composition that included game-sourced script/copy, that's not a VGM arrangement.

Opens and closes sampling the "Item Room" theme, but it's brief and a bookend technique. A simple but interesting soundscape to start. A wholly original line comes in at :31 (it does sound Brinstar-y, MindWanderer's right). "Norfair" arrives at :51 with a very fake-sounding brass sample that lacks depth. Some minimalist beats arrived at 1:13, then the texture filled in more at 1:33 with some variations on "Norfair". All the brass, even layered, sounds very thin and mechanical; I'd argue it's not a viable lead as is since it'll never sound organic. Texturally, this is still too thin, and arguably doesn't fill out until 1:54 when a denser padding line came in. 2:14 continued filling in more, and you can hear how the track tries to evolve, but the blocky timing and relatively thin textures still drag out. I liked the change in the lead at 2:40-2:48; it could potentinally get tired after a while, but works there in terms of varying up the sounds. Some light electric guitar chugs entered into the picture at 2:49, followed by it doubling the lead at 3:05, then handling the countermelody at 3:15; very creative way to keep that part involved yet have it regularly switch roles. At 3:25, we were back to the thinner textures, and this is just too relatively thin for too long to work, even though the effort is noticeably there to vary and build these textures. To me, the brass leads should be replaced. When expanding out the sounds, one would think the rigid timing would still work, but it's currently not. Would any musicians Js familiar with minimalism be able to offer Grant some production tips to help this sound more cohesive? NO (resubmit)

Good catch on the theme cameos. I'd already noticed the latter one, but wasn't listening closely enough to catch the very well-integreated "I Love Lucy" theme. Nice! It's only 15 seconds of non-VGM cameos, so no problem re: the Submissions Standards. As far as a story narration, I can't recall another ReMix in that format, but I'll check. To me, it doesn't really matter one way or the other. If you eliminated the spoken word entirely, you have an interpretive enough, developed enough VGM arrangement, so anything else is a bonus. As far as Michelle's delivery, I don't see what the problem is. Maybe XPRTNovice may have some tips as a pro VA, but everything's reasonably emotive and strongly delivered, IMO, and the delivery involves a brighter and more forceful style while employing plenty of vocal variety. Without being able to hear my tone due to this being text, it'll sound like I'm saying there's a low bar on this kind of performance; however one would feel about this narration, it's more than capable and rising above any reasonable hobbyist performance bar. I'd rather not nitpick this, because none of the performance is a drawback vis-a-vis the Submissions Standards, just the mixing.