Liontamer   Judges ⚖️

The source tune's the epitome of basic, which allows a LOT of flexibility and additive composition to supplement the source tune here. Loads of dynamic contrast here within a higher energy approach, and the source melody and/or backing chords are practically always in play. The vocal sampling was pretty simple; one could argue it needed more variation, but as a non-lyrical sample, it added some character to the piece. At 4:52 & 5:25, the arrangement was noticeably retreading some things; nothing that was hugely harming this as an overall listening experience, but it could have used some additional ideas or variations to stay fresh. Sure, you can go after cut-and-paste stuff here, but I wasn't bothered by it enough to timestamp when the overall approach is so expansive, personalized, and substantial. Man, nothing but a textbook example of making a barebones original into your own. Nice work, Alexey! YES

Negatives first: I feel the drumming doesn't always have synergy with the other instrumentation and should also be pulled back. The opening with the dull-to-sharp transition from :07-:09 didn't work as intended; it seemed too fast/sudden. Regardless, the overall lift here is impossible to deny. More dynamic and more cohesive for sure. Nice work, gents! YES

:10 opens with a pretty upfront electro lead, and the soundscape's already cramped, so the backing chords are getting drowned out; pull the lead back. Takes until 1:11 to get the main melody; not inherently a problem, just noting it, but you've essentially just got 60 seconds of melody for this brief piece. The ending also doesn't resolve in any meaningful way. I think the sound design's sufficiently personalized, so I could actually live with the arrangement being this short. It's on the edge of what I'd consider fully developed, but it's there. That said, you definitely could get another 30-90 seconds of exploring some additional ideas from the source or just variations of the existing arrangement ideas. But I wouldn't say there's not enough substance just because it works with the main melody briefly; all types of arrangement approaches are welcome. Production-wise, yeah, I'm not sure why the mixing's so grating/abrasive, but this could be toned down without undermining the sound. This is loud, but texturally this still feels thin. I don't think you need to change the arrangement, but the production/mixing could use another pass with all of the feedback in mind. Really cool source tune choice, and you know I dig your stuff, bsolmaz. Don't be discouraged from resubmitting this one just like you did with the Mega Man 4 piece; you're an extremely capable and talented contributor. NO (resubmit)

2 NOs from a Lucas track, eh? Hmm, proph and MindWanderer are pretty tough; let's see if I agree. I dig the acoustic guitar opening. Synth lead at :28 definitely feels out of place, and the soundscape for this metal section until 1:06 feels both thin and imbalanced; both the guitar and lead synth have energy but lack a depth to the sound. It's not poor, just not ideal. I'm also getting tired of the drums pretty quickly, but they have energy, so I'll live. Change-up of the energy at 1:27 was interesting. The woodwind at 1:35 was panned too far to the right, which was definitely bothering me on headphones; good performance though. The drum rhythm was odd until 2:00, but I wrapped my head around it and it adds character. Yeah, the overall execution isn't the smoothest, but I'm not hearing anything broken about the arrangement, just some production deficiencies and some unorthdox notes/moments that are worth noting. But they don't pull down an otherwise spirited and creative collab to a point where I feel this needs another version. The bar ain't THAT high, this is a pass for me. YES

Really looking forward to hearing this, as I'd never heard of the game or soundtrack before. The way the backing instrumentation was mixed from :42-1:04 was muddy/indistinct, but I'm not sure why. The layered synth leads from 1:03-1:17 were pretty vanilla-sounding. Then from 1:17-1:59, you don't have a good sound to the lead because the levels essentially remain fixed at the same volume throughout AND the timing's too mechanical-sounding. Shifts over to a brass lead at 1:59 that sounds extremely fake and exposed; same with the string synths doubling the melody underneath, so you've got lots of parts in the uncanny valley that also sound relatively thin. Yeah, it's a pretty solid sound palette, especially the backing instrumentation, but the writing doesn't work sounding so robotic like this. As electronic as the original sounds, it doesn't sound so rigid in terms of the timing. I like the tempo, pacing, and overall sound palette, so IMO you don't need to redo the arrangement itself, but humanizing the the timing and employing more layering underneath the leads would help mask some realism issues with these sounds. Very promising stuff, Charles; even if you've moved on from this one, I hope you continue submitting and would love to see you posted on the front page! NO (resubmit)

Intriguing sound design and extremely creative arrangement approach per Michael's usual. Thanks for the source usage breakdown, which is always beneficial to have and leads to quicker judgements. 1:39-2:15 is super crunchy; it definitely is too much so, even though I like and respect the intention behind it. Count me in the conditional camp too; without some sort of tweak, I'd be a NO. I think there's a way to pull that effect back some, keep it very similar, but not be as abrasive. YES (conditional on production adjustment to 1:39-on)

Really dig the sound design of the opening. Stays melodically conservative, but it's nice and foreboding, and as others said, the arrangement approach gets more additive on top of the source tune in the second half. Bowed string articulations were briefly exposed some around 1:04, so just watch for stuff like that, but the sample quality's more than solid and what's here is used well for a supermajority of the track. 1:55-3:00 has some pretty tame percussion and bass work come in, and the textures don't click here. IMO, the snare shouldn't be as soft of a tone and the bass should be sharper and more discernable. I enjoyed this for the most part, and it does come together nicely. Making some production adjustments to this area would make this solid all around. Looks like it'll pass as is, but something for the future if so. NO (resubmit) EDIT (9/16): The revisions don't address my issues with the drum textures not clicking and the bass writing getting buried, so my vote stays the same, but everything else remains strong. I know a lot of folks will enjoy this!

Quick co-sign. Beautiful stuff! As a twin myself, I always enjoy when ReMixes have fraternal twins on the site. YES

For the negatives first, I could have definitely done with some more variety on the core beat; regardless, it did have some good heft and energy to it, so it's not like it was a mixed bag, but some variations or more audible fills would have been nice. The key change at 5:31 wasn't bad but also felt unnecessary. That said, pretty seamless and spirited treatments of these themes, and the levels didn't bother me in any way. Love it, bros, good to go! YES

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The mix was submitted without an original title, so djp was kind enough to hearken back to OCR days of old when he would personally name generically-titled stuff. Now we have a Spanish translation of "Castle Hustle" that's Sir_NutS-approved for accuracy!

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We love when music is focused on and celebrated within video games, so we're honored to team up with the devs and PR crew behind the new French indie title A Musical Story! And to help support OCR, there's a gorgeous custom Guitar Hero controller currently auctioned on eBay, featuring the art of A Musical Story! The auction wraps on Wed. March 23rd, and we’ve got 5 bids already -- DON'T MISS OUT! Bid and/or share, knowing the funds will go to a good cause – OCR's 501c3 organization, Game Music Initiative (EIN: 81-4140676). Thank you! Custom Guitar Hero controller, featuring the art of A Musical Story! 100% of the proceeds support OCR! • https://www.ebay.com/itm/125206049627 Get in for this one-of-a-kind custom Guitar Hero controller before the auction ends on Wed., March 23rd! ----------------------------------------------------------------- P.S. Tell 5 friends to tell their 5 friends! Be sure to check out A Musical Story, from Glee-Cheese Studio & Digerati, on all of the major storefronts! • Android / Apple / Epic / GOG / PlayStation / Steam / Switch / Xbox A Musical Story is a rhythm game set against a 70s backdrop. Explore the memories of Gabriel, a young man trying to come to terms with his situation through the connections to his musical memory. Rekindle Gabriel's memories with rhythmic button presses in time with the music... P.P.S. Listen to the soundtrack of A Musical Story by Charles Bardin & Valentin Ducloux (Inspired by the music and artists of the 70s, e.g. Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix, and Led Zeppelin!) Purchase A Musical Story's OST! 26 tracks! • Amazon / Bandcamp / Epic / GOG / Spotify / Steam

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Many thanks to Michael for the comprehensive source breakdown. Was able to follow along easily with the structure. Weird track? I jump een it, son. Good stuff going for a creepy vibe. What's not to love? YES

Unlike proph, I didn't have a problem with Rebecca giving the source's unwieldy melody and percussion more of a fixed structure; IMO, that gave this more focus. No problem with approaching it this way. I also didn't have a problem with the vox humanization; it sounded realistic and fine to me; anything fake or stilted can be attributed to an otherworldly sound, but hey, being a non-musician heathen, maybe I'm just more permissive of something potentially sacriligious here. Hmmm... really odd mixing. The kalimba (or whatever this initial lead is) is so much louder than the flute and vox in places; it's not wrong, per se, but the balance among the parts feels weird. It's a subjective thing though; I'll get over that. The real killer here though: 1:21-1:43 essentially sounded like a cut-and-paste of :05-:27, then the vox from :27-1:08 was basically copied from 1:44-2:25. That's not to say effort isn't given to having the track and textures evolve; it's a cool track. But, IMO, the copy-pasta of the kalimba and vox parts like this ends up being too much wholesale repetition in the grand scheme of things. If you're willing to vary those parts up somehow, this would easily get my vote. I hate to potentially offer disjointed feedback when you look at what the 3 of us have collectively said. I didn't really agree with the others' core issues and found my own, so if you choose to revisit this, I feel like you're in a choose-your-own adventure scenario. I always enjoy your stuff and trust your judgement. That said, this concept with more development and variation within this length of time would be all systems go with me. NO (resubmit)

Opened up sounding pretty cramped on first blush, but this sure has a lot of power, and I'm able to make out the different parts well enough. Nice chaneup in the textures at 1:15. Great treatment of the theme; melodically conservative but an extremely personalized and well-designed sound palette, along with great dynamic contrast employed in the arrangement. Ah man, basically a cut-and-paste of the buildup from :12-:24 again from 1:21-1:33 with a little more texture to it, then :24-:49 wholesale repeated from 1:33-1:58. Damn, that's a shame. Vary up 1:21-1:58 in some subtle but substantive ways and this would be a shoo-in for me. Very minor thing, José, but somewhere after 1:59 into the fading finish, there's something causing a light pop every bar until the end that would need to be fixed/removed. Nice work otherwise! Right now, it packs a lot of punch, and I'm not even bothered by the volume. No hate from me if this passes as is, as I can understand the case being made, but there's just too much unvaried repetition for such a short piece, IMO. NO (resubmit) EDIT (7/19/23): I just needed some variation for the final section instead of the pure copy-pasta. Awesome; really appreciate you taking a look and adding in those subtle countermelodic lines for the final verse! It's those subtle touches there, where it's not a drastic overhaul, yet it's just enough to give a different feel for the finish. Nice work, José! YES

Opening synths and beats sounded kind of generic, but have a solid sound, with good delay effects to create a nice texture and and density to the soundscape. I liked the soft original countermelodic stuff going on underneath the melody as soon as that started (you finally hear it isolated from 1:44-2:00). The ticks & glitching stuff supplementing the beats was a touch that subtly created complexity around some pretty simple percussion. Oof, the string articulations and sustains from 2:17-2:51 sounded brutal and beginner-ish; man, why??? :'-( Need some additional or different effects on there to help mask the fakeness of the sound. There's a pretty obvious quality disparity, and one that's harder for me to look past. With such a texturally thin C64 source, putting some meat onto the instrumentation and adding original composition ideas goes a long way in presenting it in a different way. I agreed with MindWanderer and XPRTNovice about the strengths of this arrangement and how it evolved & didn't feel overlong; props for being able to do that in a pretty low-key and understated way. I'm going to be the bad guy; I'd love/need to get an updated version with non-shitty string samples. I asked myself, can I live with that part not being addressed if it weren't possible, and my honest, nitpicky-yet-sincere answer is NO, so I'd love to hear a resubmission or adjustment to this so that I could vote YES. Strong stuff otherwise, Marek!

Lots of light crackling from 1:04-1:21, mostly heard on the beats from 1:12-1:21, and it didn't sound purposeful. Strumming in the background from 2:22-2:39 is out of tune. The ending is indeed sudden, but the last guitar note trails off, so while it might not satisfy everyone, this is an acceptable resolution to me. Aside from that, I actually though the structure was fine and fit an interesting and unconventional sound; once you listen through to it several times, the textural changes feel pretty chill and smooth. IMO, this evolving style doesn't need to change, and I would have gone YES if this were just about enjoyability. As far as DarkSim saying the track wasn't bright/hopeful enough given Juliano's title, why allow the arrangement title to influence your perception of the track? If it were called "Olivine Ennui", maybe you wouldn't question the permissibility of the tone and energy. The title's not relevant. However, and here's the wrinkle... I was coming up pretty light in terms of hearing the "Olivine Lighthouse" theme referenced in this piece, so I'm either overlooking something major or I'm the only one paying attention to the source usage. I'll list what I had and would appreciate another J verifying or debunking what I heard. The track was 2:57-long, so I needed to hear the source tune in play for at least 88.5 seconds for the source material to be dominant in the arrangement. :28-1:04, 1:30-1:46.5, 1:47.5-1:48.25, 2:22.5-2:38 = 68.75 seconds or 38.84% overt source usage Unless there's something major I'm missing or another source tune also being invoked, I don't see how I could pass this due to a lack of source usage. I'll reserve judgement until someone else clarifies their POV on source usage. But other than the off-key background strumming from 2:22-2:39, the performance and structure of this was fine and I think the arguments that it was too disjointed are both off-base and closed-minded. Spin it some more, this is transformative, this is cohesively structured and presented, this is fine. But I need me some more "Olivine" identified in this to get on board. EDIT (5/3): Seems like no one's able to ID more source usage, so I'll also side with the NO votes (but happy to revise my thoughts if there's more identification of source usage that we overlooked). I hope, tibone, that you'd be willing to revisit this one; I dug it!

The Good Ice! You don't even belong here, Good Ice. I'm not even going to listen to this. Watch this... YES OHOK, gotta listen first. Hold up... Agreed with Joe in that you don't need to reinvent the wheel, this'll do just fine. I wasn't bothered by the kicks, but maybe it's because I was on headphones. Nice and chill. YES

Definitely digging and the vox and other instrumentation to start. The sampled electric guitar from :25-:51 sounds pretty fake, but it's initially mixed in a way to mitigate (albeit not mask) the realism issues; less so from 1:27-on; the same exact issues are still there, but once the Zeal melody is dropped out, it's hard not to focus more closely on the guitar and be as forgiving about the robotic tone & sound on the second dose. About 1 minute in, the core beat felt repetitive, but we had some textural changes at 1:22. A-ha, at 1:25, I immediately hear how this started getting NO votes. The splashy drums and overall drumkit sound don't fit this new age-y soundscape, IMO. Weird, fake, behind-the-beat, robotic-sounding, exposed string samples introduced at 2:21; it joins in at a super-blaring volume that also didn't make sense. The strings sustains are probably the worst offender production-wise. Yeah, there's no synergy with this instrumentation beyond the first minute. For the final minute in particular, there's not enough care put into whether the textures sound cohesive, and there's nothing to melodically focus on, at least until 3:09, though the guitar also quickly veers into noodling/comping territory. The piano at 3:09 also sounds very fake; another instance where it sounded complementary in the background (from 2:29-3:09), but then was later more exposed as mechanical (3:09-end) and came off much worse. From 1:25-on, the Zeal theme's also very deemphasized here; that's not inherently a problem, but there's also no melodic direction for most of the rest of the piece. It may be too subjective, so take it or leave it, but consider making the Zeal line more audible for brief moments and/or varying the instrumentation of it in places to ground the arrangement and give the track more direction & dynamic contrast. IMO, you need to either have richer, more realistic sounds for the guitar, bowed strings, and piano OR mask/obscure the issues better when they're isolated or used more in the foreground. Then it's a matter of making sure all of the instrumentation clicks together with the proper tone and balance for everything, which is more difficult, but worth the effort. This has some YESs, but I'mma firmly be right here in the NO (resubmit) column, and it's not a close call for me. There's so much good energy in the arrangement, you're going to think I hate it due to the criticisms. This has so much potential, but the execution's very messy at the moment. C'mon, Harlem, let's see what more you can do with it!

You're gonna feel I dislike your work in a blanketed way. There's genuine skill, but the current mixing/production is needlessly killing this off. The vox at :24 genuinely stinks; it's both quiet AND extremely fake-sounding, so it doesn't add anything. Theme kicks in at :40. The source countermelody is in my left ear (only) from :58-1:15, but it's extremely quiet and slightly behind the beat. From 1:32-1:42, the panning stuck out as being too wide; there was a lot of mud (powerful mud, but mud) that was just blaring in the right ear, but none of that was in the left, so you've gotta watch the balance there. The vox at 1:42 again had an odd quality of being distant and quiet, then it cut off in an unnatural way at 2:00. Anything you can do to improve the vox realism and depth would benefit this piece. Guitar panning was too wide again from 2:09-2:27 (and continued like that during the denser sections, where the cymbals were also panned far right until 3:10). The arrangement's creative and solid, and the final couple of minutes has the epic orchestral metal feeling down pat, Jean Marc, but I'm sincerely not understanding why the mixing and panning's like this at all. From 2:28 until near the end at 3:55, the entire soundscape is just cramped and everything turns into mud. Maybe it's because I'm listening on headphones rather than speakers/monitors, but while the arrangement and energy are all sorts of good, the mixing still needs another pass from me; too much descends into being indistinct for too long. NO (resubmit)

I asked Woody about a possible louder version and he feels it's dynamic enough, just FYI.

Having voted on a few of Neon X's pieces now, he's got a formula of sorts for his stuff -- i.e. melodically conservative but personalized genre adaptation bookends with a more interpretive middle -- but it's fairly effective. That said, the copy-pasta of :23-1:07 from 2:10-2:54 was too much repetition without variation for a relatively short piece, IMO. This piece was less interpretive than his past ones, and I thought the copy-pasta hurt it. No less energetic, and a case could certainly be made that the genre adaptation is substantial enough to survive a ding on repetition and thus a lack of development, but I'm not there. Really awesome so far, and if you're willing to see what other variations and techniques could be employed to differentiate 2:10's section from :23's, then this would be an easy call, even if it were just several more subtle things; anything varying up the instrumentation, melody, rhythm, and/or tempo could be a welcome evolution without feeling like you have to overhaul anything. See what more you can do, Neon, but nice work thus far! NO (resubmit)