Liontamer

Submission Info. Game Name: Super Mario World Arrangement Name: The Cursed Tower Original song name: Sub Castle BGM Song Link: Comments: Highly influenced by noisy instrumental post rock with a touch of hardware synth. The mix, however, is a bit smoother than for example "Not for want of trying" by Maybeshewill. A song which was a big inspiration for the piece. Contact Info. ReMixer name: AQ64 Real name: Arvid Karlsson email: userid: 35896

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Right from the get-go, holding fast to the original's tempo and structure is going to be a tough sell. The melody coming in at :25's not much of a stylistic difference from the original, nor is the bassline or the mallet percussion. The steel drums are an additive component, but just accent things. The beats were changed a little at :47, but this still doesn't feel like a substantive enough expansion/arrangement to meaningfully stand apart from the original. Seemed like 1:16's section was going to transition to some sort of radical change-up and there it was at 1:26, albeit briefly until the melody returned on sequenced steel drums at 1:41. The backing here's different, but by 2:25 it winds back into more of the cover territory. The steel drums and bowed string samples sound very fake and exposed throughout and just don't do enough to downplay the lack of realism with the sounds. There's nothing inherently wrong with the track concept, Fabian, but to me, it doesn't employ enough of the aforementioned arrangement/interpretation techniques for me to pass this for OC ReMix. It just feels like most of the additive instrumentation here doesn't really change the fundamental instrumentation or mood of the source tune, so it doesn't stand apart enough from the original song with this level of interpretation. If you feel you need to stay in the same rhythms and tempo of the original song, it may just be a matter of changing up more of the instrumentation. Effort's taken not to be just a cover, but it's essentially a MIDI (including all of the supporting writing being copied verbatim) and then some light dressing/additions around it that don't have much synergy due to the imbalance production/mixing that was pointed out. NO

Right from the start, this was pretty muddy, so see what you can do about restoring some high-end clarity to this. Nice samples and instruments here to flesh out the sound of the theme. But... it's obvious from the start that this is a rock cover and practically all of the part-writing is identical to the source aside from tweaks to the percussion. The rhythms, tempo, notes, and loop points are all the same as the original, so this doesn't do anywhere near enough to stand apart from the source tune as a unique or personalized enough interpretation. Excellent cover, Jean-Marc, it just falls outside the scope of what we're looking for. If you want to hear some covers that stay melodically close to the source BUT also stand apart more from the original VGM, check out: https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR02194 https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR02628 https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR03042 https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR03234 https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR03329 https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR03558 I do hope you submit something else in the future; your performances were strong, and we always want more game representation on the site. That said, there need to be more elements of arrangement and interpretation in line with the Arrangement aspect of OCR's Submissions Standards. NO

Right from the opening, the instrumentation's in the uncanny valley; the sound quality's more than serviceable, the tones are all solid, but you can tell it's all sequenced, particularly the piano and especially the brass. All throughout, you pick up on issues, e.g. the exposed decay of the brass at 1:02, serviceable but blocky piano from 1:55-2:03, high strings with no decay at 2:19 and an even worse instance at 2:30, string samples at 3:07 for the last notes being super exposed. Nice backing string writing at 1:48 for the transition into the crescendo; the bowed notes gave a different feeling to the source's countermelody. From 2:03-on, when the track's supposed to swell up, the fakeness of the samples stands out more, and the sequencing sounds more rigid while the samples, particularly the woodwind and strings feel flatter than they should. The drums also sound anemic compared to everything else, so there's 0 synergy with that part and everything else. I'm underwhelmed by the production, but the samples are decently used; it's too bad the last third of this exposed the parts even more than the rest of the track, but the sound quality's solid enough. The arrangement was also solid, with a good orchestral adaptation including lots of part doubling, accents, and original countermelodies. There's a lot to criticize, and you could easily argue that it adds up to a NO (resubmit), but with the arrangement/presentation being interpretive enough and the production being serviceable, I think this gets by. I could see some NOs, and I wouldn't be mad, but I don't want to make the perfect the enemy of the good. YES (borderline)

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Great source tune choice. It reminds me of Tim Follin's Lemmings soundtrack for PSP in some ways, and I could listen to an extended loop of this all day. The arrangement was 3:56-long, so I needed to be able to hear the source tune in play for at least 118 seconds for the source tune usage to "dominate" the arrangement. :01-54.5, 2:51.5-2:58.5, 3:06.5-3:13.5, 3:22-3:53.75 = 99.25 seconds or 42.05% overt source tune usage I'd definitely count the electric guitar notes from :24-:54, since that's just a segment of the melody. Yes, it does sound "generic," but that's explicitly derived from the source tune, generic-sounding or not. The ambient droning from 1:33-2:19 changes notes around 1:55, 1:59, 2:06, 2:12 & 2:16, and could be related to the vox line that's behind the harp at the very beginning of the source tune, but that's not something I'm readily able to match up. Even if I could, it wouldn't necessarily convince other judges that the source tune usage was dominant in the arrangement. So, for the entire middle of the song, I wasn't making anything out I could direct connect to the source tune. If MindWanderer or anyone else can point out other explicit connections that I missed, that may put it over the top for me. But as is, I can't get behind this either on source usage grounds. It's either too liberal or too original, and I'm a stickler on the >50% source usage line, because this is a VGM arrangement website and the Submissions Standards say "The source material must be identifiable and dominant," which leaves less room for ambiguity like this. In a vacuum, this is a solid song, but without the source tune connections being more in use or at least more apparent, I'm a NO for now. If's it just a matter of referencing the source tune during the middle sections, that's easy enough to incorporate. NO (resubmit)

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For titles, "Sepulchre Soirée" sounds awesome. I'm really glad Kris submitted this, and I'm also proud of the job Mike/Flexstyle did in marshaling this effort; the VGMO award was well-deserved, and we're always in it to pair up the OCR community with composers and developers. OCR being an integral part of Danny B's start as a musician and his emergence as a modern legend among VG composers is part of what makes the community a special place. Onto the track, it's a small thing, but the 90s "WHOO!" at 1:52 sounded incredible, because the effects on the trail-off seamlessly blended into the instrumentation, and the sound seemingly lasts all the way until 2:05, maybe even longer! Such a sweet touch. For all of the arrangements on CotND: OverClocked, there's the unique challenge of holding fast to the tempo and skeleton of the source tune while presenting your own personalized version. Changing up the instrumentation and more importantly the textures and dynamics of the piece was the main avenue Chimpa had available to her to stand apart from Danny B's version, e.g. the stutter steps of the original vs. the dropoff with padding for 1:02's section, and the more steady percussion patterns in the original vs. more variations in Chimpa's take. I'm not at all surprised she was able to do this so effectively, and her work on this soundtrack was an important reason why I roped her in for an arranged piece for the soundtrack to A Hat in Time when OCR was asked to contribute to it. Give this lady some more pro VG gigs, she'd knock 'em out of the park. YES

There were some very light pops/deformations from 1:18-1:24 that I hope can be removed with another render. Lovely work and a great way to transform the source tune via these instruments coupled with original supporting writing. Textbook display of skills from Rebecca. YES

I agree with MW that this can come off as relatively basic, but the genre adaptation here was solid, and this was produced reasonably well for the first part. Not sure why the kick from 1:48-2:19 had no high end, but it detracted from the texture as a result because it occupied the same frequency range as other parts; then again from 2:33-3:36 with the melodic synth also sounding lossy and distant. OK, now hold up, if this is going to be an extended issue, I'd rather this was a conditional YES upon some mixing refinements, because from 2:33 until around 3:50, you have this lossy sound to the track once again; it's just too much. Sharpen up the soundscape and you'd have a full YES vote, but I need to stay conditional YES on this for now. Good arrangement, and let's make sure the production is reasonably clear enough.

I'm not sure the drumming style from :19-:58 works here, like slower machine gun drums, but basically the same intensity (though bouncing around the stereo field). Same at 1:36, the backing writing sounds very thin, so you're left with really energetic leads but relative emptiness behind it. At 2:14, again, the snare work plods. I like the treatment of the source tune and feel that's not a question here, but I'd also like to hear some musician Js better articulate what's not clicking here -- and one could argue this gets more right than wrong, so I'm not inherently against this passing -- but I thought the areas that felt empty or plodding because of the drums (:19-:58, 1:37-1:55, 2:14-2:53, 3:12-end) added up to drag this down to a more borderline case for an otherwise solid rock arrangement. NO (resubmit)

ReMixer name: Mark Shell Real name: Markus Szelbracikowski Website: http://markshell.art.br User ID: 35768 Name of game(s) arranged: Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest Name of arrangement: Thorns in The Sky Name of individual song(s) arranged: Stickerbrush Symphony Link to the original soundtrack: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J67nkzoJ_2M My own comments about the mix: The idea was to make a Joe Satriani-like rock instrumental track out of the original song.

For the source tune usage, I needed to hear the "Mute City" theme for at least 125.5 second for the source tune usage to dominate the arrangement. :00-:15, 34:25-1:12, 1:33-2:10.5, 3:25.5-4:03.5 = 128.25 seconds or 51.09% overt source usage Once the drums were brought in at :04, the soundscape got crunchy for a moment. There doesn't seem to be synergy with the instruments being used, not that what's here is broken, just not ideal. The beats in particular didn't really fit for me, and the faux electric guitar chugs were pretty fake-sounding, though they had a decent tone. It was subtle, but good job varying the drum patterns during the second iteration of the verse at 1:33; it keeps the expansive feel, but prevents it from being repetitive. 2:10.5 starts the original writing over the simplified chord progression of the original before dropping out the vague source tune at 2:32. Jeez, the 2:43's section was way too repetitive; after a few bars, at 3:04, this needed something to break up the monotony. 3:25 brought back the source tune, though at 3:30, it essentially sounded like a cut-and-paste of :34's section; not major repetition, so not a major crime. The final guitar riffing at 4:03 petered out for the finish just when the ideas were sounding promising for more material; definitely a let down, and I think Sebastien could have gotten more out of it. It's not the most polished and cohesive arrangement, but it's also not borderline for me. The interpretation is still well done, expanding the instrumentation and (for the most part) effectively working in original sections. There are some instrumentation tweaks I would have done, as well as a stronger resolution for the end, but it's ultimately not a big deal, and even the faux guitars were used reasonably well. Let's ride! YES

Download link: Contact Information Your ReMixer name: overflow Your real name: Sebastien Skaf Your email address: Your website: http://sebastienskaf.bandcamp.com/ Your userid: 23598 Submission Information Name of game(s) arranged: F-Zero Name of arrangement: Break City Name of individual song(s) arranged: Mute City Link to the original soundtrack: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBuXfcFKAlo Source Usage The first 40 seconds or so leading up to the drop is just a buildup riffing on the main chord progression, from there until about 2:20 is more or less a faithful arrangement of the original track. After 2:20 I get into a synth solo and a breakdown, and then it's back to the tune again one more time until the end of the track. Overall I didn't mess with this one too much, but I think it's heavy and fun and recognizable to fans of the original. Thanks!

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I heard some light pops from :05-:06 that need to be fixed. Despite the structure holding very fast to the source tune, there's clearly an effort to create a different sound and mood to this rendition; I don't know if that's enough to have this pass OCR's arrangement bar in 2019 though. Also, the soundscape's got a fair amount of mud/clutter caused by multiple parts in the same frequency range throughout the entire piece. :41 & 1:09 are essentially cut-and-paste's of :13's & :27's sections with some extra shimmering sounds behind them. The 1:41 section was very nicely done, and had sinister vibes to it. At 2:15-long though, this deserved more development. It goes well in the right direction just in terms of personalizing the sound, but something this brief can't have wholesale repetition, or it's underdeveloped. Once you get to :41, do something more and/or different from :41-1:41. Cleaning/sharpening up the soundscape is also possible without disturbing the lush qualities of the production choices you've made. Good base here, Matthew. NO (resubmit)

Contact Information Your ReMixer name: MJ Your real name: Matthew James Your email address: Your website: www.soundcloud.com/matthew-j-travis-groneman Your userid (number, not name) on our forums, found by viewing your forum profile 35396 Submission Information Name of game(s) arranged: Final Fantasy VI Name of arrangement: The Duality Name of individual song(s): Terra/Tina/Opening Theme Additional information about game including composer, system, etc. (if it has not yet been added to the site): Seems well known. Link to the original soundtrack (if it is not one of the sound archives already available on the site): Seems well known. Your own comments about the mix, for example the inspiration behind it, how it was made, etc: Like many this was the soundtrack that solidified video game music as more than just a companion to visuals but as an artform in itself. It lead me into a melodic direction with my future DJing career. I was always stagnant about attempting to cover/rework this as I felt it obviously wasn't needed and had been done to death. So I had figured Id just give it my electronic touch that would make it relevant to the music I enjoy and play out during gigs or hear from artists I champion.

For a medley, the transitions were good and the song had a cohesive structure. Though the presentation was stylized nicely, the sequenced guitar sounded very thin, and the attacks sounded extremely unrealistic. The drumwork wasn't uncreative, but that also sounded thin, so despite the good effects on everything, the overall texture felt empty behind the foreground. This is a clear case where the arrangement was an easy pass, but the production's a solid NO. It may involved obtaining more realistic-sounding guitar samples, but you may be able to flesh out and improve the sounds you're already using. I'd love to hear the musician judges' feedback on how this could be pulled up. Good base here, Fabian, and you've got half of the equation satisfied. Again, on the production side, you've got good effects to mostly fill out the soundscape, but the lack of realism with the tone and timing/attacks hurts the guitar, while the drums are too thin. NO (resubmit)

Dear madam / sir, I attached a .mp3 music track to this email as a submission to OCRemix. The details: My ReMixer name: The_Music_Channel My real name: Fabian van Houwelingen my email address: my website: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeFchHie5MideLEy7PXD8Sw my userid: 35492 Name of the game arranged: Final Fantasy 7 Name of arrangement: FF7 Rock Medley Name of individual songs arranged (list of six): 1. Birth Of A God (focus of the track) 2. J-E-N-O-V-A 3. Hurry! 4. Main Theme 5. The Prelude 6. Opening Theme Original game is on 1st generation Playstation, original composer is Nobuo Uematsu Links to the original soundtracks (list of six, same order as above): 1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVZBHTN_ZuU 2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--ijjuvQMW8 3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iokdpH60bQM 4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zib5Il3bc20 5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woWYNof6VRo 6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1Ig_VOaoAo I had this idea in my mind for a long time, trying to merge several different musical motifs from different FF7 tracks in to one coherent rock song, with a clear beginning and ending. Emphasis is placed on the first two original tracks (Birth of a God and J-E-N-O-V-A). I hope you like it. Thank you for your consideration, Yours sincerely, Fabian van Houwelingen

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HEY THANKS FOR YOUR OPINION ON THIS REMIX!, a.k.a. this area’s for ReMix comments & reviews, so provide some of that.

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Muddier than I thought necessary in the intro, but that quickly dropped in and out at times, so you could tell the effects were purposeful. The sequenced drumming brought in at :29 didn't sound bad, but over time, the tone sounded too perfect/exact at each hit of the core pattern, which exposed the sample and took me out of this by 1:05; no round-robin built into the sample dragged this down, so if that's not at all available, hand-tweak these beats to humanize the sound. As is, that core backing pattern sounds too repetitive/unvaried to me. Other judges may argue the rest of the arrangement makes this a pass, but the auto-pilot drumwork is pretty overt throughout, so it's a dealbreaker issue for me. We'll see if I'm being too cynical about it, but I don't believe so. If other Js agree and this doesn't pass as is, you know what to address, since the actual treatment of the "Moon" theme was creative and well-handled. Good base here, Sebastien. I know you're more than capable of improving this one to be an easy call. NO (resubmit)