DragonAvenger

I enjoy how chill this is. There's not a huge leap from the original, and that's what is really holding this track back from the site. There are a lot of new parts and little changes to make this really chill, but we need more expansion on the source. The use of panning really fit well with the Soundscape (get it?) you were going for, and I think it added some nice character. Regardless, I think our lovable Swede is going to enjoy this. NO (resubmit)

I really like the idea you have behind this. I think the melody works pretty well in a Latin feel. I especially like when the melody first comes in. There are a few issues arrangement-wise that I think need to be addressed. My main issue is the guitar solo at 1:32, which is pretty much close to the source, but I think doesn't quite fit what's going on in this arrangement. I would lean towards altering it to better fit the style and give yourself a little more creative freedom. The main source riff seems to get used a lot as well, and starts to wear a little thin after a while. Some melodic variation would help that. The big stuff is in the production. The instruments aren't the greatest sounds, but for the most part they are used well. I'd say the beginning sounds a little thin overall, and it wouldn't hurt to have a little more filling up the soundscape. The wind instruments overall are set wayyy back. They sound like they are 100 feet away from the guitar, bass, piano, and drums. They need a little more presence, especially when they are holding the source melody (~2:20). They do a lot of background work, but they still need some presence to help bring the track to life, especially if the trumpets are ripping that high. I think you're on the right track here, just needs some fix-ups. NO (resubmit)

It's one thing to recruit for a project, but when the thread starts to become the place that the project is being run, or seems to be run, that's when it's an issue. We want to keep things moving, as it were, in that particular forum so everyone's requests can get seen.

I can see how you wanted to take this track and make it more extreme. The vocals are a step in this direction, and there is a lot of added percussion (double-bass pedal, anyone?). I have to say though, that this is holding the same problem I had with the NiGHTS track. The source is there, but it's being so obscured by A-some balance issues, B-some added notes to the chords, and C-some extra 'chugging' on each note. I'm not saying that either B or C is necessarily bad, but somehow this combination makes the song not sound very much like the original. If I didn't recognize the lyrics, I would have not made the connection to Otherworld on the first listen. A possible solution is to work into the more obscured version by playing a little closer to the source and adding new elements as you. The bass needs to be heard a little more clearly overall. The vocals to drums balance is pretty good. Personally I'm not feeling the guitar solos; they feel a little off-kilt to me, but I am not a guitar player, so hopefully one of those judges will ring in with some ways to improve that. I think this needs some work, especially in balance and clarifying the source a bit. NO

Man, when I first opened this up, I was excited by the total funk of it. I think, as Larry said, that the instrumentation is pretty solid, and while some performances feel a little mechanical/awkward, that that aspect is passable. What's getting to me is the lack of development on the themes, and the transitions between songs. This is definite medley-territory, but each song is more an individual cover mashed with other covers. I'll echo Larry again, I'd love to see a track that has less themes, but more development per theme. NO (resubmit)

Larry hit everything I was going to say and more. The idea holds some promise, and it is really an interesting take, but the lack of humanization in the mix is really bringing it down. Along with that, while there is some expansion in the theme by making it a fugue, there actually wasn't too much expansion on the actual 10-note jingle which is played the same rhythmically and at the same tempo every time as well. Right now this isn't really cutting it as is, but it's a fun idea! NO

I find it kind of amusing that they reused the Goron City theme in this game. Regardless, i like the sort of down-tempo feel you have for this, and I think the arrangement is a fun listen. I like the solo that you had on the xylophone and the counter-melodies it had as well. Things felt a little repetitive towards the end without any instrument changes (either instruments dropping in our out) or dynamic changes, etc. It would have been nice to have something to change the pace around. I think the production needs some work. The low end in particular feels very unclear, and it's a shame, since the bass-line is one of the key parts of this track. Also, a lot of the instruments feel a bit mechanical. In some instances it actually adds a little charm, but some instruments like the flute could use a little more humanizing factors. I think that this is close, but I'd really like to see the production especially get touched up. NO (resubmit)

This is some nice work. I think the only tiny issue I had was at first it felt like the vocals were a little quiet compared to everything else, but after a second listen I didn't notice at all. Lyrics are great, and performances all around are very good. YES

I like what you did with the style here. This isn't a huge leap from the original, but there are a lot of subtle touches that add a lot to this overall. I am personally not feeling the voice clips, but I think it would be different for someone who has actually played the game, so I'll give them a little bit of leeway. I am a little worried about the length of the overall mix. There wasn't that much melodically to work with from the source, and I think there are a fair amount of things that you did do to this to keep it interesting, but after a while it starts to wear on me. I think this could have had more emotional power if there had been about a minute taken out of it. I'm noticing that the drums especially get pretty repetitive with the loops. I would have liked to have seen more variation and time taken to really personalize the drums. Along with that, the piano feels very mechanical. In it's own way it works with the mix, so I'm not going to totally fault it, but it would have been nice to have some velocity changes in the quieter, more emotional sections of the mix. I will say that the transitions for different sections were done very well. I think the production overall is pretty clear, and everything has good support and sound throughout. The various effects that you use, like the reversed voice clip lead ins add a nice touch. I think this, while it could stand some improvement, is good enough to pass as is. The other judges might have more issues with different things than I did, good luck with the rest of the vote. YES

Happy tasty birthday!

Before I start - Thank you for the break-down. Huge time saver here. There are a few things that I like that's going on. First off, I was wary at the 7 minute mix that you threw at us, but it honestly does go by faster than I would have expected. Listening to the sources I wasn't impressed by them, but you did a good job of making them interesting overall. There are a few sections where parts are way over exposed, and could use a little more padding in the background, which will also help with some production stuff I'll bring up later. Also, I will say that the near-minute of original writing you have in the middle is a bit too long, and could be shortened/reference the source more, but I enjoyed the arrangement overall. The drawback here is the production. Overall things feel very mechanical. This isn't as much of an issue in the dance sections, but when it gets to the more classical sections, it is very noticeable and takes away from the atmosphere. This is especially true with the exposed parts like the oboe and guitar. Along with that, the samples overall are not the strongest. Again, during the dance section they don't seem as bad, but this would sound so much better if you could get your hands on some upgrades. If not, try to focus on writing smart so that things don't show their weaknesses as much. On the same note, the brass is especially not cutting it for me, but I'm biased. I think it's got a good start here, but the production is the big issue. Get some fixes done to that and I'd like to see this one again. NO (resubmit)

I want to conditional that the baby cries be removed from this song, and from existence, but....I can't really do that... I think that Halc's improvements made the source show just enough, and added that bit of variation to push it over the edge. Chip solo is nice, as always, and the bigger source reference at the end really helped out. I still would have liked the guitar to make more of a connection, but I can live without it. YES EDIT: Thank goodness for no more babies! YES

Not much to add to what Shariq said here. I love how this starts out, I was immediately into it, and it held me to the end. Nice work with the tension throughout. Percussion is really nicely done as well. YES

Pretty easy answers on this one. Titles can be in other languages: There is a Pokémon mix that is in Japanese if you check the 'To be Posted' list. No problem on having songs in other languages. I know Jill(Pixietricks) sang a song in Japanese, and if I remember there is a song in French as well. For both, it would probably be good to include a translation for us less-than-multi-language people. Other than that, shouldn't be an issue.

Love the lyrics for this; not overtly nerd, but plenty of references throughout that we all know exactly what they're talking about. The background is really nice; it's one of those times where less is more in terms of arrangement. My one small gripe is that I wish the harmony and vocal line was a little tighter together on things like releases, but that's a problem I have myself. Great stuff. EDIT: Mouseclick FTW. We should start a club.

I liked the idea you were going for here, but unfortunately I think this comes up short. In terms of arrangement, it takes over a minute before I heard anything really relating to the source. It was just too long for the song to establish, and I would cut that roughly in half. The source comes in with two runs of the A section, then there is a bridge to Liberi Fatali. Honestly I wasn't feeling the entire LF section; I felt there were some notes that weren't sitting right harmonically. After that section is back to Movin' which is pretty close to how it was introduced. Now is your chance to really do some fun stuff with the melody or add some cool things, I'd love to see you take advantage of that for the second time. The ending is abrupt, but it does it's job. I was totally expecting some awesome percussion when you mentioned that you play drums, and I thought they sounded good, but i'd like less loops and more of your own programmed ideas. You can use them to really bring the track more alive. The entire song sits way low throughout. I would like to hear more (and there was some which was nice) high end stuff, maybe some counter melodies, or other harmonies up there. Along with it being low, the processing to make the gritty sound is also making everything indistinct, which is overall hurting the track in my opinion. It feels very unclear throughout. You've got to strike a balance between the two. I suggest hitting the WIP forums for some ideas on how to add to this track and bring some balance and new ideas. You've got a good idea here, but it needs some work before it's going to shine. NO (resubmit)

"Has a spoon fetish"

It's a birthday! Don't let it flee, or you won't get any experience points.

Going to agree with Shariq here; there is a lot of good part writing in here. It took me a few listens to pick out the theme in a few places I didn't hear before. I think the arrangement is pretty solid overall, although the minute (approximate) of pretty much original material could use some source reference to really make things solid there. The drums are definitely the thing that sticks out to me the most. I'm not really feeling the sounds at times, especially that sort of kick-drum feel Darke mentioned. The entrance at 1:24 is what gets me the most; it just feels so...out of place because of the drum sounds. I'd say overall things feel just a bit mechanical, and it would be great if you could add some humanizing factors to this and really bring it to life. I'm on the fence with this one, but I think the changes will really help, so I'm going to give it a NO (resub)

Happy birthday!

This isn't an essay, nothing like Stevo's submissions of old. I like what you've done here. It's light on source, true, but it doesn't feel that way because of how it comes back to the source often. Overall I like the textures you have going on here. The piano feels a little bright overall to me, but it might be more high register than the actual sound. I also like the subtle panning you have going on at times. I can't wait to hear some longer subs by you, dude. YES

First resub: http://ocremix.org/forums/showthread.php?t=30230 Halc reworked some things on this. source: