Level 99

Hey, considering it's worked once already, who knows. Maybe it's just been the wrong approach the whole time to get us off our asses

Eighteen million and TWO projects, my friend. That makes all the difference in the world. Gotta give people some time to take it in and even see the request, duder. If people are looking for some new tunes to give a shot, they know to look here....or you could just challenge us that we're unable to remix it and, as a result of luck and chance, 7 people will try to do THAT ONE SONG.

Holy crap, i just scoured that site, Anapan. That's quite a collection. Gonna help me lots! DANKE!

Noticed a typo on their schedule. Says y'all are up for an 11:30 pm Sunday panel. Miiiight want to contact someone to fix that, since that puts it technically 7 hours past the closing ceremony.

You do not fight your battles against will alone! I AM FIGHTING WITH YOU! We resist together. Or we submit and just do one track for the both of us. Or not.

Ugh, why have I learned how to resist temptation only now, when the vision is so clear in my head?! I'll have to restrain taking a claim and wish everyone who gets on it the best of luck. That being said, I can clearly hear some definite genres this can be done in: * 8-bit chiptunes-y (*cough*halcprotodomewillrock*cough*) * folk acoustica * METULZLOL * ambient electronic * driving rock I tip my hat to you, sirs and madams, for taking one playful jab at our ability to remix and throwing it so far as to make a whole album dedicated to proving that claim wrong.

This is one of the earliest rock remixes I remember hearing on OCR. And of a game that is sorely underremixed (well, now I know what game I'm pitching for remix tunes on next OCAD). Anyways, Rize, I'd love to see you come back and touch this one up again. Still a classic example of what rock remixes can do to game melodies. And it's aged pretty well, if I may say so. Doesn't sound as top-shelf as it may have used to, but it is still very listenable. Guilty fact: this remix is what inspired me to learn pinch harmonics in the first-place.

Ah, I haz can questions for Mr. Tommy: Ask him if how he feels about the transition of the industry from chip-produced music and sounds towards the more open-recorded formats. How does he see it affecting the use of music in games, and where could it possibly go from here? I'm interested since he has moved through the transition from chiptunes composing.

Part 2 of my album review (apparently, there's a 15,000 character cap and I hit it with a little over half of my review): Mazedude – Dead Raggening: A slow-starter of a song, and I’ve never known Mazedude to rush to make his musical point, so I’ll go with it. Very layered soundscape with some very nice delay effects. It’s hard to describe this song, other than being slow and almost malevolent-sounding in its progression. The key switch was cool. This was definitely enjoyable, although not something for every day. Almost feel like this should be on a Silent Hill soundtrack. The one riff in it reminds me a lot of the Requiem for a Dream soundtrack. Nice one, Dude of Mazeish Intent. Nutritious – High Seas: This is Nutritious where I think he shines most, right up there with VHD and bustatunez: orchestral work. This could easily be a DKC2 segment in a Fantasia movie, as this moving and dynamic piece is completely expressive and results in vivid mental imagery. From the same person who unleashed a free soundfont based on squidfont, I expected nothing less. This dude can take samples and arrange/process them to where they shine like diamonds, so when he has better samples…well, that just ups the ante. Great work, Justin. Very enjoyable and great expansion on the source. Skrypnyk – Exit Row: I keep expecting that dude from Police Academy to make bird noises the moment this song starts. It quickly fades from a jungle environment to some superbly chopped drums. The processing on those drums is ridiculous, and I very much approve. It actually reminds me a lot of Boards of Canada, or Aphex Twin (the less psychotic-insane stuff). This takes a sweet spot in my heart, just because of the genre and how well it is executed. Effective use of stereo effects to make me feel like this song is very ethereal. Awesome song, and foreboding at the end as well! Sixto – Pickin’ Out the Fleas: RAWK! Sixto = rawk. That’s basic math for you. Sixto + some brass splashes = rawkinger. If we still had training montages and had a movie made for DKC2, this is a must-have for it. It lays about equally half on the all-out wankery and half on subtle variations and harmonies. This is great. Once he gets his hands on the eleven rack, I’d say that the rest of us guitarists are in for even STIFFER competition than we already have with this beast on the axe. Damnit, Sixto, why must this be so awesome? Joshua Morse – Bramble Reprise: While I understand everyone’s obsession with Stickerbrush, granted it’s an incredible song, I think it’s a bit overhyped. That being said, however, Mr. Morse does 197% justice to it and takes it into the upper parts of the atmosphere with a moody and gorgeous ambient-and-jazz approach. The clean guitars are orgasmic, and the other instrumentation is perfectly selected. Everything sounds great, and the bits of synthy fx are well placed. Disc 2 is extremely strong, and this song is a perfect example of why. Sole Signal – Castle Crescendo: a hard act to follow Joshua’s Bramble Reprise, but I actually feel the flow from there to here. The strings and low buzz bass, along with the high chimes feel like it almost is a continuation of what was used in the song right before it. It is clearly different, and the style varies to become a tense orchestra-meets-electronic song. It has a lot of drive behind it’s pacing and tempo, so the mix really feels like it’s going somewhere. It feels like the final stretch of a journey, just barely missing the mark of sounding like another montage song. Nekofrog, Brandon Strader – Monkeys Disarm Their Kremlings: Oh, it’s THIS mix. The one from DoD last September. THIS one! I have to say, that if they wanted to capture the essence of brooding metal kremlings with their gutturally vocal king being very overtly vocal about their hatred for the simian protagonists, they nailed it. Except for that recorder part at the end. This is a mix from neko where I really, really enjoy the guitars, as they aren’t too showy, and Brandon’s vocal…umm…abilities, actually feel like they belong. It does get a bit bland every now and again with how long the verses and choruses go on. It should have stopped before the recorder outro, though, as that really feels like it was slapped on and doesn’t quite fit. If this song had to be taken in this direction, then this is the best it could have hoped to be, and commenting on a genre that I’m not the biggest fan of, that’s a big compliment. David Wise feat. Grant Kirkhope and Robin Beanland – Re-Skewed: And THIS one. The one that Taucer and Wes have been drumming up since it was started (they kept the secret pretty well, too, so that was quiet drumming until the big reveal). David Wise, game composer and now a remixer, bringing his rare buddies on the guitar and flumpet. You couldn’t ask for more approval of fan work than having the original composer do one himself and set it right beside the rest on a project. While it doesn’t expand that much on the original, it is a pitch-perfect revision and upgrade for it. Remixing one’s own music seems to have the potential to be difficult, considering there is attachment to the original melody. That being said, this rocks. Hardcore. The live instrumental performances on the sax, flumpet, and guitar are stellar. Production is, as would be expected, excellent. Everything about it shows the love for the music. Kudos for making many fan-lings happy. Final thoughts: I’ve discovered that, as I work more and more with artists on the site, and grow more and more as a musician myself, that there’s something similar to the uncanny valley effect in regards to musical knowledge and critiquing. The more you know about the how-and-why something sounds good or bad, the more likely these things will stick out to you in almost-perfect songs. The better a song is, the more small issues can be glaring and obvious, but they are only much more present if you know what you’re looking for. If I seemed harsh on any of the songs, besides my opinion on aesthetics and genres, then it is only because of how truly good this album is, as a whole and as individual songs. There wasn’t a single song that I genuinely couldn’t find something to like, though there were a few that weren’t exactly my thing. On the whole, though, this is a major accomplishment for the remixing scene, for the people involved, and for OCReMix. I’ve definitely found a lot to love, and even the vocal haters will be very likely to find a song or two they enjoy. The sun can’t be shinning any brighter today.

This man is literally one of my close twins. I have picture proof (will edit in later). Happy birthday to a crazy sweed who's also an amazing person and incredible musician.

Aww, they edited out our entire subject of the overweight lady. Oh well, can't blame them, as it didn't have that much to do with Pokemon. Nerdy Show is always a fun time to be had. Those...whadyacall'em...ganguro girls are so freaky. Editing and lotsa stuff as soon as I can get to it. I feel like the stock market right before the bubble burst *HIYO!*

I said including, not exclusively including. There are a few other unlabeled thumbs in there.

Fucking sexy, happy, and amazing. 17 thumbs up, including the severed thumbs of proto, halc, and willrock.

o_o why are you losing inspiration on all your songs? also, why do you post here when your orgy members are the only ones with feedback, you jerky brit? <3

I made something just for occasions like these (big album releases and whatnot), inspired by one particular reviewer jerk. It's called "gohito's prayer". And it goes like this: "Dear Remixing Entities.../sarcasm Let us not ruin this like we apparently ruined FF7./sarcasm Let us not taint the music with our lame originality,/sarcasm for we are not the original composers/sarcasm and are not worthy of ruining the music we so love./sarcasm No non-fitting chords or bad sample choices. /sarcasm Just cookie-cutter revisions./sarcasm Learn to make the good remix/sarcasm and stop doing it wrong./sarcasm Amen."/sarcasm You can highlight the prayer for additional effect.

Well, you're definitely entitled to your opinion, mr. blanket. In fact I think one of the positive points about something like this is how it can polarize people. Some see it as sheer camp, other's can abhor its existence. In either case, you gave it a listen, and in the end, I guess that's what music intended to be: listened to. Now, if you'll excuse me... *fap fap fap*

Hey, y'all should be posting in the reviews thread whenever you have some final feedback. http://ocremix.org/forums/showthread.php?t=28220

DKC2 – Serious Monkey Business reactions (beware, I nitpick random things and this is not attempting to be unbiased, just my response to the songs): Disc 1: Djpretzel – Sturm und Kong: One of the strongest opening tracks to an album I’ve ever heard. The introductory orchestral composition is foreboding and tense, with the two-note strings keeping rhythm while some other instruments play chilling lines of the melody. All comes to a head when it switches to synths and dancey drums…but wait, the orchestra is still there. I am in LOVE with the French horns used, above all else. A great balance of digital textures and classical instruments. Production quality is top notch. This soundscape is complex and sounds meticulously planned, though there were a few parts in the middle where I almost got bored. Things changed enough to keep my ADHD interested, though, which means one thing: Great work! Joren de Bruin – Simian Soiree: Jazz lounge intro piano teasing the main chunk of source. I’m not sure how I feel about using an electric bass here, when the drums and piano sound so much more chill. I guess a standup would have been more my preference, but the playing and processing here is still good. It doesn’t sound like it doesn’t belong, and plays the parts well. Once the ensemble backing and electric guitar come in, the piece really starts to come into its. The acoustic guitar is gorgeous. A great adaptation of the source to a new genre and style, all while keeping it fresh with plenty of original spice. BAM! Sax could have been a bit better, but it’s not bad. Ross Kmet – How Krool Went Insane: chimes and stereo-panning effects bring it in as the bass and other instruments take their time to really get going. The chimes and epiano sound very fitting, and the lead synth feels like a love-it-or-hate-it choice, though I enjoy it. When the chopped stuff comes in with the wah hits, it starts to drift from what I enjoy. It doesn’t stray too far, and when it goes back into the main progression I don’t mind. During the later half of the song, I started zoning out. This one’s pretty unique, also pretty chill. The ending FX hurt my ears a little though. OA – Party’s Over Here: I swear I facepalm every time I hear the intro to this. This is so cheesy that it not only loops around again to be not cheesy, but it goes even further again back to being unbelievably cheesy. Nice rock-synth party song. Splashes of violins mixed in with the synth lead and the distorted guitars. One can tell it’s an OA song from that specific synth lead. Crisp drums, and all-around good production, which is what I’ve come to expect from him. Ending is a little bland, and….A FADEOUT!? MAAAAN! Nuh uh. Go back and fix it. And while you’re at it, tell that happy chick to lay off the valium a bit (read: I enjoyed this song quite a bit). Patrick Burns – Rare Respite: Wow. The piano is outstanding for an opening, I really wish it went on longer in that manner. Even if I can’t get my way there, though, what you do have after it is phenomenal. This is exactly what I envisioned as an arrangement for the jig, and it’s pulled off great. The piano is great throughout, and those acoustics are…I’m pretty speechless. You even had creaking planks on a ship. The choice of instruments, the playing, the production. I have to say this is my favorite song from disc 1. I really can’t think of anything negative, and it kept my attention throughout. Even if I try to nitpick, I can’t find anything to nitpick. And even my personal preference about the piano was fulfilled, bringing it back at the end with even more well-placed environmental sounds. FANTASTIC! AHHH! Hemophiliac – Tetanus: His skill in orchestral composition is quite great. It shows here that he knows exactly what he's doing. The opening oboe hooked me immediately, and once the snare section comes in, I’m fully immersed. An uplifting and adventurous-sounding piece, my only real qualm is when the synthetic sound is brought in. It ruined the warm soundscape that had been developed a bit, but it doesn’t ruin the song (just brings it down a notch for me personally). The ending piano is superb, especially the notes with the dissonant strings behind it. This is still a winner of a song. Nutritious – Old School: Not my favorite Nutritious piece, but still a very good one, and a lot different than what I’ve heard him do before. Very synthy, very 80’s, and it’s awesome regardless. Even the strings played sound almost disco. Not much else to say in regards to feedback on this one. Production is good. Bustatunes – Monkey Merengue: great epiano, and…is that a marimba? These instruments are stellar. Lounge-style with great string reinforcement. Hand percussion work in the middle is a nice touch. I could listen to this on loop while enjoying a martini talking to a saucy waitress. Busta impresses very much with this song, which I can’t do justice to with words since I am not that familiar with the genre. I’ll close with saying that this feels like it should be performed by a live band. Zyk0 – Token Up: Nice rotating leslie on that organ, good tone on the guitar. This is a smooth adaptation of one of the most recognizable DKC-series songs to the freestyle approach it seems built to do. I’m not that big a fan of the middle section as that guitar wankery feels a little off to me, but other than that, this was enjoyable to an extent. Female voice to the right was a good choice. Production is good, but the drums seem just a bit too quiet in comparison to the guitar. That hand percussion needs to be bumped to say the least. There were a few guitar bits throughout that seemed a little sloppy, but I’d associate that more with your chosen approach. Not really my cup of tea. The song is also a bit too long. By all means it’s not a bad mix, but I was left a little disappointed. Joshua Morse – It’s a Jungle Out There!: Ah, now this is interesting. Some various hand drums, really has a DKC feel. I don’t know how I feel about that metallic instrument (I don’t know what it is, but it’s for most of the beginning part, stops at :54). Regardless, cool choices for instruments. The flute is great, another smooth lounge jazzy arrangement in-total. Zyk0 – The Apes of Wrath: Ah, now I like this a lot more. This one feels very chaotic with the drum-guitar playing. That cool organ from the other song is back (or something that’s very close). I really enjoyed this one, and don’t have much to say besides some of the timings threw me off. Got the effect of “wrath” conveyed very well, even without going screaming metal. Rocking. Also the length of this one is more digestible. Djpretzel – Welcome to the Funky House: SHAFT! That’s all I gotta say. Donkey “Shaft” Kong. That’s the total vibe I get from this, especially with that talking guitar-style synth. Not as flashy as Strum, but still well put together, and very enjoyable. It’s a funky house, indeed. Don’t have much else to say. I could be a jerk and say “whoa, it’s too minimal and doesn’t change up enough” but that would just be rude. This fits the desired style very well. Fishy – Beneath the Canopy: This is definitely a runner-up for my favorite song on the first disc. I don’t think this could get any more Pink Floyd-esque without actually infringing on one of their songs. Great lead guitar tone, and the backing pads do a great job fleshing out the mellow soundscape. Guitar performance is standard Fishy (read: AWESOME!). There’s a reason this guy is going to school for music, and it’s hard to not see why if you listen to his songs. Drums are kickass and don’t overplay at all.The addition of the section with primarily strings was a great touch. Overall, nice rockwork. Ending piano is like a cross between DKC2 and FF. Me likey very much. Nicole Adams feat. M.J. Ault and Starla – A New Place: Nicole did a great job adapting the melody for vocal performance, and this duet is near-orgasmic. Performances from both vocalists are out of this world, and the production is top shelf. The guitar is a nice touch, too, both electric and acoustic. This song flows incredibly well, and it reminds me a bit of a more synthy Fleetwood Mac. Drums get a little repetitious at one point, but I’m constantly distracted by the vocalists so it’s not a big deal. Wonderful way to end disc one. Disc 2: Zylance – Roller Disco: *dances* Even if this doesn’t expand that much on the original, this is an absolute fun song to listen to. Disco + video game music = unbelievable cheese, especially when pulled off with a combination of authentic disco flavor and newer “retro” sounding digital instruments thrown in. Zylance (Zoola) definitely achieves here, and the musical inclusion of pitched monkey SFX is great, especially as an homage to how it was used in some songs of the original soundtrack. Nice energy and fine production. Wish it was longer, had a better ending, and went a bit farther with the arrangement. Still fantastic. Prince of Darkness – This Chase is Haunted: *stops dancing and facemelts to the floor*. Tony, you magnificent bastard. This is so kickass. My only qualm is that the lead is a little out of tune at one point or another during the song (very slight, I guess I can only hear it because I’ve had similar minute issues with tuning myself). That’s about it, other than that, this mix hits you in the face like a freight train and keeps going for miles of guitar and synth wankery. This man is crazy, and this song is crazy awesome. Utter rocking out in this one. Bustatunez – Paleolithic Park: Well, after picking my melty face off the floor from the last one, moving on to…John Williams? This is essentially John Williams on DKC2 tunes. Bustatunez has a range so versatile and unrestrained with what he can do musically that I am always impressed yet rarely surprised. This song, however, surprised the pants off of me and had me imagining running from a T-Rex the entire song. This symphony is 100% believable. Either he got the money to record with a live orchestra, or he has mastered symphony sample libraries. I could believe either one. The phrasing and articulations are impressive to the point of jawdropping. This is my absolute favorite song on disc 2. Patrick Burns – Rhumba Rumble: Hand me a tropical umbrella drink served in a coconut shell with some synths thrown in there! Island groove fused with some cool digital stuff here, and it’s so happy chipper during the first section that I feel like the sun’s going to shine through the walls. Then funky…with a wah’d guitar and some organ ditties. Mr. Burns, my hat is off to you. The Kong’s better open a beach resort and have this as their theme song. Flickerfall – Us Monkeys Together: Flickerfall is a powerful force. Does this count as synth pop? It’s got synths, it’s pop, so I’d say yes. The Chinese vocals make me feel like I’m listening to the next big thing from the eastern countries. Amy, Vinnie, great work here. No negative feedback whatsoever. This thing was stuck in my head from my first listening months ago. When a song has the listener so hooked they start singing in a language they don’t understand, you KNOW a song is good (I like to call it “99 luftballons syndrome”). Diggi Dis – Club Klubba: I be diggin’ dis, Diggi. For some reason I’m reminded of what horror punk would sound like if they decided to become club artists. Must be the chord progressions. Nice motifs splashed throughout, and an adequate, albeit standard, club sound pervades this rendition. Enjoyable, but not really standout to me. This feels very middle-of-the-road, but is by no means bad. Another Soundscape – Swamp Gases: Ever since Daijiru (Too Hot for Clothes), every single song I’ve listened to by Anso seems porn-y in some way, shape, or form. The BPM here is very softcore-style, and the synth choices actually kinda feel dirty. OR maybe it’s just my mind playing tricks on me. Standard Anso style, which is always a pleasure to listen to, as it is varied and well-produced. Cool beans, dude. Zyk0 – Backwards Room: The opening reminds me of Marilyn Manson’s contribution to the score of the Resident Evil movie. Very unsettling. The song, as most from zyk0 for this project, is very unique. I can’t say I’m a big fan of the vocals or some of the instrument choices, but it’s still catchy for some reason. I can’t put my finger on it, but I really like this. Bizarre, to sum up. Bizarre but listenable, for the most part. Some of the FX hits and loops are a bit corny, and the drums get old quickly, though. The song also feels long, just like the first zyk0 song on the other disc. Geoffrey Taucer, José the Bronx Rican, and Hale-Bopp – Trapped in the Minds: Great mix except I’m not a big fan of the distortion used by Taucer. That’s more an aesthetic opinion, though, and this mix shines very brightly despite that. The drums could have been a bit stronger during the chorus, I feel. The rapping is fantastic, as well as the chorus vocals, and the arrangement itself is A+. Definitely can tell the differences from the DoD version, and this one is a world improved in many areas. Tepid – Crystal Swamp: I’ve been a fan of Phil’s since back in the VGMix 2 days. This is a great relax electro version, and I can tell this is Tepid just from the way it sounds. The production is great, the variation in sounds and tempo is awesome. Everything sounds great. I got nothing else to say about it. Virt – Dance of the Zinger: What a way to make a comeback! I have to say, on a small personal note, that one of the most satisfied and happy feelings I’ve ever had as a musician was after the DoD announcement this year when Jake runs up to me yelling “what the fuck, man? WHAT THE FUCK?” and then gives me one of the biggest hugs of my life. Anyways, getting back on topic, Jake may have changed his physique drastically (this man looks slim n’ trim these days) but his musical skills have only exponentially increased. This feels like an anthem, and I’m quite afraid to drive to this song for fear of it making me want to speed like a madman. My second favorite track from this disc. The mesh of calm sound instruments, like the piano and strings, so seamlessly with the buzz synths, swelling pads, and awesome drums…highly impressed, I am. The arps were the icing on the cake. Someone get me some glow sticks! Rest of Disc 2 here.

It's out. Finally. TA-DA! Big moment. Go download.

CONGLATURATIONS!!! http://dkc2.ocremix.org/ WE HAS A DKC2BABY!

So apparently, #ocad is registered at ETG and i can up the user cap. We'll have it in #ocad this saturday, NOT #ocremix

Too bad I deleted it already! It'd be rude to post all these in the project thread when they really belong in the review thread.

This is the greatest song in the history of mankind, and I'm glad to know the identity of the Scuba Divers. Careful, folks: make music that's actually "music" and I'll reveal your identities! I actually really appreciate this song a lot. Reminds me of the kind of stuff I love hearing on OLR, and back on VGMix 2.0: distinctly camp music that is listenable. Kudos, Divah's. Also the testament to how white this is is that Larry is the blackest person on the mix. We all know exactly what that means, and it's kind of horrifying. Edit: DAMN YOU, SHAUN! Get off my brainwave.

Do I dare post my review of the songs on Disc 1...before the album is even released?!? >_>