OceansAndrew

I wish the acoustic guitar was a little louder in the mix and had a slightly larger reverb trail at the beginning, but I am really enjoying the moody electric arpeggio. The mood changes up and the lead playing there is really nice; very expressive and confident, while still maintaining the pensive atmosphere. I think there could be a touch more variety in the arpeggio throughout, but there is a lot of care in mixing it up, and the atmosphere and mood is really solid here. There's a tiny bit of overcompression in the cymbal hits when things are full on rocking, but overall I feel it's a minor detriment to a song that otherwise has a ton of character. I'm on board! Yes

Great to hear some love for this source; it's a great one. There are some good filter effects and the risers in the transitions are nice; The beat feels really generic, and some of the synths are also pretty standard fare. It does have an oldchool demoscene sound to it, with a pretty basic subdivision in the beat and while the breakdown was a mixed bag for me (i loved the choir patch and the expansive soundscape, I thought the dubsteppish modulation was a bit underwhelming in the low end), The filtered bridge right after was cool. A lot of the lead sequencing felt pretty stiff to me as well, where every note was equally emphasized, and it lacked a good deal of melodic character due to this. I think this is the biggest issue for the song. There is a lot of attention to detail in adding parts and layering sounds effectively, as well as transitions and structure, but the beat feels plodding and is so devoid of syncopation it feels pretty cheesy. There is some nice rhythmic comping in the synth though for some texture, so it's not too blocky, but it is leaving me a bit underwhelmed. This has a feel of really classic OCR songs from the early 2000's, which is pretty cool, but I think it needs to evolve a bit further for me. This feels too simplistic, though other judges may disagree. No, please resubmit

the test isn't how good of a musician people are; it's how well they understand where the OCR standards are at, and how well they can articulate where in relation the standards are with the submitted piece. It is a very specific skillset, and it is definitely not easy to find people who qualify. Everyone who tested for the position was legit, and remain legit regarding music.

except everyone who passed the test is a judge right now, with 10ish people who didn't make the cut.

This is a nice step up from what I am used to hearing from your solo work, so nice work to continue to improve! The sounds chosen were pretty solid and yes, campy, but the song had charm, and it was silly and fun. The arrangement was pretty solid, and the instruments chosen were good; Dat Darkesax! I think the synths and samples need a bit more humanization, they are pretty stiff, and while part of it adds to it; a little swing in there would really help the samples feel more natural. The drums overall could use some humanization as well, especially some of the cymbal hits in the middle, where they sounded super similar. A slightly higher end sample library would help that automatically by giving you a solid round-robin. Mixing balance was fine, the soundscape has some meat to it, and the section at 1:00 is really nice where the bass takes the melody, and the sitar comes in. The mix is pretty short at less than 2 min, but it pretty much says what it needs to and gets out. I think some further variation would help the length a bit, as it doesn't develop a ton, but it's fine overall. Ultimately I think this is close, but the humanization is an issue for me; i'd love to hear it fixed up a bit and resubbed, because I think the song is fun. No, please resubmit

Funny that not even Dave is eligible for this for another 6 years. XD

Not really sure about the mixing on this compared to a lot of Sixto's other stuff, but I think overall it's over the bar on both production and arrangement. Some section it felt like the guitars overall were overpowered by random synth elements (1:18's left panned synth for instance), and the piano was buried so far that I didn't even notice it the first listen through. The arrangement is solid, with a lot of variation and personalization, and I love the dark snare sound, as well as all the chip stuff. Needs a bit of tweaking to reach the level of polish of your other stuff, but it's still well above the bar for me. Yes

dammmn this is mixed hot; way loud! The piano is lacking high end, is pretty mechanical, and is buried a good deal in the mix. I do think that the first and last issues are connected, as it'd carry more with some high end sparkle. The other judges were not joking when they mentioned a lot of mud, this really could use some cleaning up. I think the arrangement is good and above the bar, but there are enough production concerns that I am more comfortable having this be revised. Giving the piano a bit more high end and cleaning up some of the low mids is a great place to start. Humanizing the piano lead a bit as well would also be nice. Besides that it is sounding good, I look forward to hearing a resubmission! No, please resubmit

I really enjoy this, but I am not hearing much more source here than Vinnie. It's a very good inspired-by sounding song, but the connection is a stretch in several parts. The recording was fine, and the performance was pretty good, but with such a low percentage of dominant original source, it's not meeting the OCR goal. No

Getting a nice Ziwtra vibe from some of your synth choices, so nice work pandering to my individual tastes. The arrangement is pretty solid, with a lot of nice dynamic shifts and flourishes, and though it was a bit on the longer side, the variation throughout kept it very interesting. There's a little bit of Willrock in there too, which is nice. The tempo change was well handled, but im not really sure what the intent behind it was. I'm not sure how it fits the theme, I guess. Still sounds nice though! Yes

A little bit of stiffness in the sequencing, but everything else was on point in a pretty big way. he three choir notes were nice for the huge build, but a little silly thinking about it. I think giving them a little more to do in some of the quiet sections would have been nice. Overall very solid stuff though, nice work! Yes

This is really fun, it really goes to show that the solution to anything is throw more money at it! YES (also, the arrangement is great, and the sequencing is pretty solid.)

I do think the rhythm section could afford to come up a bit in volume, and some of the transitions were lacking, but overall this is really well played, pretty well arranged, and while the live combo sound isn't for everyone, this is really excellent and accessible. WHat would hve made this an easier sell to the judges overall is improving the transitions and having it sound like a single track. The return to Evergreen was a nice bookend, and the solos are excellent. I do think that Larry is a grandpa, but his opinion is valid. Still won't stop me from voting Yes.

judges have been judging before now, just didnt have enough votes to closet things out, yo

Let the dreamcrushing commence! <3

well they arent ordered by preference obviously, but oftentimes #1 happens after #2... >_____>

I basically am copying Darkesword's vote exactly here. The sound is really nice, and it's played well, but there is almost no arrangement to speak of besides being played on a new instrument. I'd love to hear some more creativity put into this, because the sound is really nice, and the source is great. Expand on it without getting too repetitive, and give it another go, please! No, please resubmit!

I really enjoy the treatment and synths used here, but i agree that the lack of a low end is hurting the track overall; crank that bass and sidechain it with the kick so we can feel it! I think the beat itself was too repetitive as well, and could have kept the same loop if there was something beyond just simple subdivision in it. The beat was layered, but the layered bits were so basic that it almost didn't matter. You need to have some surprises in there, even if you hypothetically just copypaste the beat from measure 1 to the end. I think the arrangement needs a little more juice as well. THe song feels like it plateaus and then just coasts. There are some breaks and builds, but there isn't really anything that is exciting me. There are some nice moments, but they are spread very thin, and while it actually is pretty close to the bar, it comes up short for me. No, please resubmit

There are some big sections where it just doesn't feel lined up with the super robotic drums. The snare sound especially is not good and sounds weak and super distant. The kick sounds flabby, and the snare sounds like it is in a different room. The solo was pretty good, and overall the playing was solid, when it was on-beat, so there are some nice parts of the track. The arrangement felt personalized a bit, but not by a lot; i think some extra harmonies and original ideas mixed in with source would be good. No, please resubmit

The first year is always the most intimidating for sure, and my tip for first year friends is that you just need to be assertive and invite yourself along with the crew. I'm happy to chill with people all the time unless: 1. I am trying to sleep 2. I am trying to get quality time with Deia 3. OCR staff stuff I can't speak for everyone in the community, but I am pretty sure that is the general feeling of most people in the OCR crew as well, so just invite yourself along for the ride. My first MAGFest I went out to dinner with a huge group and at the time I didn't know who most of them were, but it was a great time to get to know them, and it was great.

People kind of mill about, see panels, play games, buy merch, etc. The OCR group itself is so big that there are constantly shifting mini-groups all weekend, since getting food with 40 people in an area that is already packed with 10k visitors is ridonk. Often I am tied up with staff panel and OCU obligations too, which is balls, but I DO IT FOR YOU GUYS. <3 I am personally going to try to organize an OCR pool party this year, but I need the schedule available before I can pin down a day and time. I need to get my blue visor and hawaiian shirt first though... >_>

seeeeeeeeeeems legit!

I really enjoyed the arrangement on this, but the sound balance isn't where it needs to be yet. SOme of the synths are a little too piercing, and with some EQ shaping they'd be in line, but a decent amount of work needs to happen to this to pass. I'd check intot he individual crits the other judges have given, and run it by the workshop crew as well to get the bolts tightened a bit, because the arrangement was really fun and cool. No, please resubmit

That kick is way too compressed and boxy, it sounds weak, and the snare isn't a ton better. The arrangement overall is pretty solid and the guitar playing is loose but generally on point, but the production of the drums is pushed so far that it is crushing everything else. I think adjusting the drum sound a lot, cleaning up a little the guitar tone to be a bit more audible and less smeary, and see how the headroom is sounding when the drums are backed up a bit. I'd love to hear a resub overall. No, please resubmit

Happy 14th you sullen teenage website, you! Thanks to Dave and the staff (especially OA) for keeping this crazy thing running, and here's to 14 more years at least!