Emunator

I totally see where Jivemaster is coming from on his vote, but I can't say I've reached the same conclusion. While it is true that most of the lead elements are quieter in the mix, I got the impression that the rhythm guitars were kind of the point here. The main objective here seemed to be transforming the Bombing Mission riffs into an unapologetic onslaught of rhythmic fury, and everything else felt secondary to that goal. None of the lead motifs ever stick around for more than a measure or two, but the rhythm guitars were deliberately placed front and center for most of the arrangement, so I'm inclined to judge this on the merits of what you chose to highlight in your mix. By that standard, this feels pretty damn successful. Your guitar tone is one of the heaviest I've heard in recent memory, the drums are extremely well-recorded and performed (special shoutouts to the bone-rattling toms in the introduction) and the overall production feels on-par with a professional metal track. Not sure how this one is going to swing, but I sure do hope to hear this one hit the front page. Good luck with the rest of the vote! YES \m/

There's no shortage of Golden Sun remixes to have graced the site lately, but what harm could one more do? Let's see what you've got here. Right off the bat, I'm loving your piano tone and the subtle string articulations. You're clearly working with some powerhouse sample libraries here, but you've wielded them to great effect. As things progress, you continue to develop a lush soundscape that transforms the Elemental Stars motif into something stirring and transcendent. The high string legatos particularly gave me chills, and the use of kit drums along with orchestral percussion was unexpected but very cool. This is a short arrangement, but what you do in a limited time is actually staggering - this would feel right at home in the extended cinematic trailer for a hypothetical big-screen Golden Sun adaptation. Extremely professional sounding take that should be right at home on our site. Fabulous job! YES

Wow, this is a stunning pallet of instruments! I've only ever heard your work in context of others' arrangements, but you're definitely no slouch yourself! Though this never strays far from the original source, you took it in a decidedly more meditative, new age direction, sacrificing some of the source's staccato playfulness in exchange for something far more plaintive. The rhythmic interplay of the piano and marimba, along with an array of soothing string and pad tones, sets the stage perfectly to support but never overpower your dynamic flute performances, which of course are a highlight! Assuming the rest of the panel agrees, I'm looking forward to finally seeing you make your solo OCR debut. Nice work! YES

Yessss. I know I can always count on Faseeh to lay down high-energy electronic bangers with just the right amount of smooth. This is no different - the mix of various organic timbres with a pounding D&B beat makes for quite a satisfying soundscape. The live guitar adds an appropriate level of expressiveness to the melody. Conceptually, this feels quite natural despite taking some detours off the beaten path, so great work there! If I had to ding this track for anything, it's that the elements in the track feel largely unglued from each other. I feel that stronger compression overall would help flesh out your mix. The levels, as Joel alluded to, also feel imbalanced to a certain degree - I found myself wanting to hear more in the way of high-frequency percussion as the track went on to ramp up the energy level, and the guitar lead feels relatively quiet compared to the rest of the track. In general, it doesn't feel like you're fully optimizing the space you have in the mix. That said, I acknowledge that I might be judging this by a higher-energy standard, whereas something like this might be totally appropriate when viewed from the lens of a liquid D&B track, for example, where negative space is a staple of the genre. To answer your rhetorical statement from the submission letter, I think this could have been even more of an unapologetic banger, but what you have here is still quite enjoyable and I'm okay signing off as-is. Nice job! YES

This reminds me of UV Sir J in the absolute best way. I thought I had this arrangement pegged from the first minute, but you managed to throw something unexpected in at every turn, and I couldn't help but smile as I listened through and heard everything you had to offer! I always found the original Ecruteak theme to be somewhat melancholy, but this amplified a level of playfulness I didn't know was there! The vocal harmonies at 1:15 were a standout moment, and I can't go through a vote without mentioning that kickass guitar solo that follows. The rest of the arrangement retreads many of the same ideas, but never in a way that overstays its welcome, and finds a lot of ways to keep it fresh til the very end through additional layering and some clever cameos. I disagree with Joel about the clashing notes - I think that's just Pokémon music. As someone familiar with this source, it all sounds like it's the way it's supposed to be. I definitely do agree, however, that the master track is pumped pretty hard, which causes some of the drums and cymbals to really work the limiter hard. That said, there's no true clipping anywhere to be found, and although the mixdown is crunchy, I can still hear everything I need to and the frequency balance seems fairly level. Next time, I'd advise using a less aggressive mastering chain, but this clicks in its current form for me. Good luck with the rest of the vote! YES

I have voted NO on most of Karol's recent submissions mainly due to the weakness of the lead guitar, so let's see where this one lands. I'll get the negative part out of the way first - the lead guitar still sounds very unnatural here. I'd go so far as to say that it doesn't always register as a lead guitar at all due to the way that it's sequenced - it somewhat fits the role of a lead synth, so in a strange way it kind of works better here, I think? Aside from that, the rest of the track is mighty strong! Immediately, I'm noticing that there's more in the way of instrumental variety, which goes a long way in offsetting the weakness of the lead guitar. The harpsichord and piano are a great foil to the traditional metal instruments. As usual, the rhythm guitar sounds much more natural. I'm especially captivated by the drums here, which are easily some of the best I've heard from you to date! Exceptional use of fills. And Jivemaster is right, that cable buzz transition was choice! I still think you have a ways to go before you're going to be fooling listeners with your lead guitar sequencing, but the rest of this track is so strong that I think it edges over the bar for me. Excited to see where you go from here! YES

Lovely source, one of my favorites from Skyward Sword! Your arrangement checks all the right boxes, there's some excellent rhythmic variations and expansions over the original source. Unfortunately, the sequencing and sample dynamics are simply not cutting it in its current form. There's a rigidity to the whole performance that is quite evident in the velocity layers, note timing, and note sustains. It starts off noticeable but not too egregious because most of the notes are played at a lower velocity range, but as your part writing becomes more energetic, the sequencing issues are amplified. I'm not much of a pianist myself, but for example, take a listen to the left-hand rhythms starting around the 2 minute mark up til 2:35. The notes all seem like they are played at the exact same duration and intensity each time, and they sound like they're nearly maxed out at the highest velocity. It comes across very aggressive and unnatural. The biggest issue, however, is the fact that nearly every note sounds rigidly quantized to the grid, where a live piano player would have a more natural cadence and would never be able to hit every note perfectly on the beat. I'm not saying it's impossible to successfully sequence a piano solo such as this, but given the resources available in the community, I think the path of least resistance, if you chose to revisit and resubmit this track, would be to find a live pianist to help bring this arrangement to live. There are a number of talented individuals in the OCRemix or Pixel Mixers Discord channels that might take an interest. If you were to tackle it solo, a good first step would be to revisit the timing and velocity of your notes and re-introduce some of the imperfections that a live pianist would naturally include in the performance. Great arrangement, but the sequencing doesn't cut the mustard just yet. Thanks for the submission! NO

I remember being borderline on this when I evaluated this as part of the BadAss project, so let's see how I'm feeling with a more critical ear. The mixdown sounds good here, the volume level is much more appropriate for the genre, though I agree that it needs a bit more compression overall. Weirdly enough, I'm not feeling as much of an issue with the brass as Larry, even though sample quality and sequencing is usually my sticking point with Rebecca's arrangements. There seems to be some deliberate articulation going on with the breath of the instrument, and it elevates the level of realism even if the tone of the sample sticks out somewhat poorly. 1:04 was probably the biggest offender but I honestly didn't feel like it was that big of a deal. The flute sample was also not exceptional, but there's enough tradeoff between the different instruments that it never lingers on a weak link for long enough to be concerning. All the auxiliary instrumentation is good in my book, so that's not a concern. I wish there was a bit more to grasp onto here, but upon re-evaluation, I think it's solid enough to pass muster, even for a short arrangement. YES (borderline)

Agreed with Brad here - the mixdown is not doing your strong arrangement any favors. Everything feels squashed and lacking in clarity - the high end is totally scooped out and there's also weirdly a huge dip around 500Hz in the master track. I think this needs to go back to the mixing stage to achieve a more even frequency balance (and see if you can knock out those crackles that Rexy mentioned - good ear!) and then look at your mastering chain to see if you can give this a bit more room to breathe. The performances, arrangement, and sequencing are excellent, I have no major issues with any of that, but the mixing here just feels flat and lifeless. If this doesn't make it, I do sincerely hope to hear this back again! NO (please resubmit!)

This gets an emphatic hell yes from me! I've heard this at various stages of development and, although it doesn't feel fundamentally different from your original concept, it's amazing how much all the little tweaks and additions have made this track shine. It's easily one of Justin's strongest-produced tracks, and the fusion of rock, orchestral, and synths captures everything I love about his music in a single package. Let's get this posted! YES

I liked this! There's not a dramatic level of expansion going on, but the heavier focus on wind and string instruments gives it a unique character compared to the original. All of the instrument articulations are solid, and the live wind performance from Greg is compelling as always! I don't have much to say here, but it's just over my bar. Good luck! YES (borderline)

The groove here is so GOOD. I loved this one in its WIP stages and the final product is even stronger There's really so much going on here, you never hang on one idea for too long and never seem to run out of new directions to take the arrangement, either! Rock solid stuff, Bev!

I have such a deep appreciation for what you did here Julien. Our community is, of course, full of artists who are passionate about their craft, it's rare that we see a submission where the concept behind the arrangement is so deliberate. I mean, I can't think of any other submission in my time as an evaluator that has come with multiple pages of PDF documentation! Everything else aside, I commend you for your effort and creative vision. I initially had a hard time wrapping my mind around this, but I think Brad used the perfect word to describe what's going on here and it helped me understand what you were going for: asymmetrical. There's a level of beauty that can be evoked by mashing together such disparate styles that couldn't have been conveyed if any of these individual musical ideas were fleshed out into their own track. It's imbalanced at times, but by design. The ambient synth sound design, skull-crushing metal riffs, and old-school dark techno synths all contribute to something that feels much greater than the sum of its parts! Very happy to welcome you aboard to OCRemix! Congratulations. YES

This track met my (admittedly high, given the artists involved) expectations on all fronts. This is a balls-to-the-wall arrangement that seamlessly fuses three thematically-related sources into a totally cohesive end result! The guitar performances - obviously the focal point of the arrangement - were quite strong across the board. By now, I can spot a Sixto guitar solo from a mile away and it will NEVER get old for me. Overall, I'm loving what you guys did here! I will admit, I was a little bit scared by the waveform but was pleasantly surprised to find that everything was cleanly mixed, none of the leads were buried, and the overall master was pristine and punchy without hurting my ears. Ending was pretty abrupt, and the synth patches did feel somewhat lifeless compared to the really strong guitar tones, but nothing that's a dealbreaker by any stretch. Nice work gents! YES

I LOVE THIS. The original source tune was intriguing to me, but always felt more or less neutral from an emotional standpoint. With your remix you managed to bring out some absolutely beautiful harmonies and create this rich chord progression that feels familiar and comfortable, and yet entirely recontextualized. When the un-processed piano comes through at 1:43, it's absolutely sublime; like a ray of sunshine hitting just the right angle during golden hour. Despite being built from essentially just a piano and various noise samples, you've managed to paint such a vivid, lush picture full of so much color and emotion. I strongly agree that this is one of your best works, and one that I will be coming back to a lot in the future! YES

This is insane!! One of Leandro & co.'s best tracks to date as far as I'm concerned. Great work everyone!

Right on Michael, this resubmission does a great job addressing my writing and mixing concerns with the original submission while also expanding on it in a few unexpected ways! I've always appreciated your pallet of different throwback sounds that transport you directly to a specific moment in time. It's not mindblowingly technical, but this fusion of different SEGA tunes was always strong on a conceptual level, and is now even more solid from an execution standpoint as well! The Emerald Hill sections get a little on the busy side, but overall this is clicking much better than before. Really happy to see this one back on the panel, thanks for sticking with it! YES

Good stuff, everything in here is clicking nicely! Production is tight, there's certainly an appropriate, if subtle, level of interpretation over the original, and the live performances add some extra flair to push it comfortably over the bar. You never sit too long on a single lead instrument either, which keeps this fresh at every turn. YES

There's some really creative ideas going on in here, and is a lot more unique than we typically see from first-time submissions. This shows a clear level of ambition that I think is absolutely commendable! There are definitely a few areas of concern that need to be ironed out on the production and performance side. First off, the mastering on this track is painfully loud at times. For example, the synth SFX that is used continually throughout the intro has a high resonant frequency at around 8kHz that spikes WAY louder than the rest of your track and is painful on the ears. That absolutely needs to come down in volume and have some EQ cuts applied to minimize the harshness of that sample. Overall, I think Rexy and Jivemaster both did a great job of breaking down the issues with the overall master - you need to bring the levels of your instruments down across the board to leave a bit of breathing room in the mix - right now it's just too loud and overcompressed. The drum sounds and the guitars don't mesh together from a mixing standpoint. Your guitar tone is more on the ethereal side, but the kick and snare drum are fairly dry, and the cymbals sound like they were recorded in an entirely different space. Overall, it sounds like you're routing through a completely different mixing chain for all of your instruments and even the different components of your drum kit. While this isn't inherently a bad thing, one approach you might consider is creating send tracks for effects like reverb or delay, and routing each of your instruments through that bus at different levels to give it a greater level of cohesiveness, then you can go back and add creative effects as needed. Compressing your drums together could also help glue them together. Across the board, there seem to be issues with note timing on this arrangement, which I'm not going to retread but I will fully support what Jivemaster wrote. If you're not already playing with a metronome or backing track, I highly recommend doing so, since right now the performance is way too loose to fit properly. Please don't be discouraged - I genuinely appreciate your approach to this remix, and it's clear that you are both talented and creative, but the technical side of things definitely needs some refinement. Best of luck with your future submissions! NO

I'm grateful for this submission and the talent that it represents, both in Rebecca's arrangement and the quality performances put forth by every artist involved. This must have been a monumental undertaking, but the effort was undoubtedly well worth it. It's hard to pick highlights, but if I had to name a few, the harp duet and the choir of voices are some of the standouts to me. Truly though, there are no weak links in terms of performances. The trove of live instruments featured here mitigates any of the sample quality issues that may have been present in Rebecca's past submissions, and even the production and mastering quality feels like a step up from previous submissions as well! The transitions between each source are solidly executed, which keeps this from ever feeling like a patchwork of different musical ideas that were stuck together at random. Overall, a stellar effort from everyone involved. Bravo!! I am hearing a number of rendering pops throughout this export however, and it marks a singular nitpick in an otherwise solid track (such as 0:05, :15, :22, :25, etc.) It would be fantastic to get these ironed out if we can. I don't hear as many of them as the track progresses, but it was noticeable enough in the intro to call attention to it. YES (conditional on fixing pops) EDIT: Changing based on LT's feedback, which I agree with - it would be lovely to get those ironed out but this track is way too good to not pass if those can't be resolved!

Simple, but effective! (I wrote this without reading Rexy's vote but realized afterward that she used the exact same verbiage to describe this track, so I'm leaving it! ) This arrangement, although it doesn't blow me away with its technicality, serves up a very pleasant multi-instrumental jam that takes the chiptune source and adds a ton of layers of color and tone to really highlight the laid back vibe that was always present in the original. It does a fabulous job of setting the scene! The assists from Gamer of the Winds and Chromatic Apparatus are very expressive and add a level of emotional depth to the arrangement. There were some times when the instruments got in each others' way, and I also didn't feel like the drum tone or writing was particularly effective for this style. The marching band rhythms on the snare around 1:50 felt particularly out of place for me. The acoustic guitar rhythm to start the track was fairly basic and didn't capture my attention at first, but it sits very nicely with the rest of the instrumentation once it comes in. I just would have liked to hear something a bit more organic and adventurous to start the track off. Not perfect, but the strength of the adaptation, choice of instruments, and competent mixing puts this comfortably over the bar for me! YES

Michael, I'm awestruck by your approach to remixing, in the very best way. I have no clue how you hear a source like this one and end up with this result. It's a testament to your one-of-a-kind approach to remixing and your fearlessness as an artist. This track is challenging to grasp, but equally rewarding for those who give it a chance, especially on repeat listens. One aspect that particularly stood out to me was the contrast created during moments where you briefly let up on the glitching, such as from :56-1:28 or during the excellent spoken word section at 2:42, where you simply let the notes decay naturally. It gives context to the sonic madness that surrounds it, and also helps craft a more structured, dynamic arrangement. This stylistic choice makes the track all that much stronger as a complete musical statement to me. One of your strongest efforts yet, Michael! YES

This is a lovely, dynamic take, just as I've come to expect! Your piano tone is lush and full-bodied - the contrast between the deep rhythmic notes and the twinkly right-hand arpeggios plays well to the strengths of your piano sample. I appreciate how you were able to work different elements of the source into something cohesive and entirely your own. I'm going to be honest - I wouldn't have called out anything about overcompression on this track had it not been pointed out by other judges. I can hear what others are talking about, but I don't think it warrants a conditional vote by any stretch either. This sounds perfectly passable in its current form to my ears. Great work! YES

Remixers: Chimpazilla, Emunator Name: Torchlight Game: Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (primary), Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask Sources: Lost Woods, Shrine, Zelda's Lullaby, Final Hours Artist Comments: Chimpazilla: Torchlight marks Wes's and my third collab together, and I believe it is our best so far. I sent Wes a wip of BotW Lost Woods combined with the Shrine theme that I had started two years earlier and he loved it enough to begin expanding on it right away. We both added elements, motifs and percussions along the way. Wes and I work so well together and we often seem to share a brain while working. Wes commented to me that the mix is so cohesive that listeners would not be able to tell who did what. I replied that, honestly, even I can't remember exactly which of certain elements were mine and which were his! I believe we came up with a mix full of feels and magic and I hope listeners and BotW fans will enjoy it! Emunator: Kris did a great job covering the backstory behind this mix, but I have to stress just how seamlessly this track came together, despite the fact that our collaboration was handled 100% remotely. From the moment I heard her original WIP, which flawlessly married the Shrine theme and Lost Woods piano riff, I knew this was destined for greatness! Using a mixture of ingame sound effects and a myriad of other ambient sound design techniques, I aimed to develop that concept into a narrative arc inspired by Breath of the Wild's gameplay. Along the way, we bounced stems back and forth to gradually flesh out the soundscape, and I used some new string libraries recently acquired from Spitfire Audio to write a dramatic final climax that incorporates elements of the Final Hours chord progression from Majora's Mask. I'm particularly proud of the final build from 4:05-4:35, which should be recognizable to anyone who's played BotW. I've had the concept of using the Stasis rune sfx as a sound design technique floating around since I started working on this track, and finally found the samples I needed to execute it in the 11th hour! To say this has been a fun and rewarding collaborative experience would be an understatement, and I'm confident this won't be our last time working on a remix together!! Source breakdown: Lost Woods 0:00-2:28, 3:19-5:20 Zelda's Lullaby 0:24-1:14 Shrine: 1:14-2:28, 2:28-3:19, 3:19-4:34 Zelda's Lullaby: sprinkled in from 1:41-2:26 and again from 3:47-4:07 Final Hours: String chords from 2:53-4:44

This track features some excellent synth design that does a great job of expanding on the original sound palette, although the arrangement plays it very close to the original source material as far as writing is concerned. Not necessarily a bad thing on its own, but when viewed through the lens of OCR's standards, a little more interpretation would go a long way. The bigger issue though, as the other judges pointed out, is definitely on the production side. Although your synth choices are really well executed, the production overall feels pretty flat and lacking in dynamics. Larry nailed the two biggest issues in terms of low-energy drum writing and samples as well as many of your synths stepping on each others' space in the frequency range. I would also add that you could probably draw a little more energy by adding an exciter or some addition saturation to some of your instruments - there's just a lack of bite to many of your instruments and I think this could be a lot punchier overall with a different set of master effects. I definitely enjoyed this in a bubble, but there's some things holding this back from the OCR bar in terms of production and arrangement. Keep at it! NO