Emunator

Nutritious literally covered just about everything I wanted to say about this track. The guitar is a strong center point and is pretty well performed, but the supporting instrumentation is bringing this down. The piano, the clap, and the keys all sound like they were pulled from a General MIDI soundbank, which doesn't really do justice to the rest of your arrangement. Your soloing is also pretty ambitious, but the performance timing isn't always the tightest when you get into some of the fastest runs. This applies to both the guitar solo and the brief organ solo too. Lots of really cool stuff going on here, I like your drum and guitar writing and was really getting into the arrangement, as well. There's still plenty of stuff that needs to be addressed but I'd like to see this one come back our way again. NO (resub!)

This kicks ass

Definitely overdoing it on the reverb here, and the overall song ends up sounding very muddy and lossy. There's definitely a way to pull off the ethereal sound you're looking for, but there are other ways to go about it. Adding in atmospheric pads/textures and easing off the reverb would make this sound much more naturally fleshed out and pleasing to the ears. Some other nitpicks: the piano writing is pretty cool at the start, but the phrasing gets repetitive as it goes on. By the end of the track you definitely need to consider changing up the part writing for that instrument particularly. The piano sample itself sounds boxy and lo-fi, I'm not sure how much of that is due to the reverb issues but if you have access to other, softer-sounding samples, it would be worthwhile to experiment with the sound itself. Honestly though, despite my negative reaction to the mixing and sequencing, you've got some solid arrangement ideas that really come together when all of the instruments are active. There's a lot of work to be done on this one, and honestly I feel like it would take a total production overhaul to pull it off, but it's definitely doable. I'd like to see this one again. NO (resub)

Yikes. The articulation on your strings are very unnatural. I think the samples themselves are alright, but they're played in the exact same way each time which becomes very noticeably fake since they're present throughout the whole arrangement. Honestly, I don't feel like this track really stands up as a remix of its own. You adapted Green Hill Zone really well, and I admire you for the concept you've executed with the multi-part arrangement, but if we're judging this track on its own, it doesn't really develop enough in my opinion, regardless of the production/articulation issues. Sorry! NO

I hate to say this, but after listening to this again I'm really starting to hear what the other judges are saying about the drums. Pete, I know you can write some sick drum grooves but this time around, I feel like the drums are almost too complex for their own good and never really settle into a groove that jives with the rest of the track. It's a more ambitious approach, and in a bubble they sound really nicely written, but in context of this song they're kind of all over the place :\ Also cosigning with the EQ critiques brought up by Vinnie, there's a distinct lack of mids throughout this mix that causes everything to feel very unnaturally balanced. Unfortunately it's making it hard for me to get into this mix, which is well-arranged and well-adapted but ultimately too thin-sounding and lacking in groove to pass. Sorry if I'm coming across as more critical than in my original vote. This is definitely an improvement from your original submission, but reading some other judges' opinions has brought to light some stuff I didn't consider before. Good luck if you choose to resub! NO (resub!)

Since you recommended solo piano, I wanted to draw your attention to this official arrangement, in case you're not familiar with it: This source is pretty great

The percussion here is really repetitive, and since it doesn't change up as you transition between different sections of the song, it feels like you're just cycling through a series of musical ideas instead of actually building an arrangement with dynamics and progression. Your chimes and transition sfx are way too loud, too. Truthfully, it's hard to judge the potential of your writing here when the percussion is drowning it out so much. Vig is right, that needs a complete overhaul before the other elements of the mix can really be looked at more closely. Try mapping out your arrangement in terms of the energy you want to convey so you can rewrite the percussion accordingly and get a dynamic curve going with your orchestration. NO

Jesse nailed it. There's a lot of low-end muddiness that needs to be EQ'd out. This'll sound awesome when you get the mixing figured out, but it's not quite there yet. Not much else to critique, your performances rock hard and the solos are AWESOME. Fix that mix. NO (resubmit!)

Totally agreed with the gentlemen above. I won't beat around the bush, this is pretty messy and in serious need of some polish. I think the core concept of the remix is okay and works reasonably well with the source, but your production is not so hot. Larry and Cain got pretty granular with their feedback, so I won't go into as much detail here, but there's a few things that bothered me that I'll reiterate. The synth-vocal dubstep synth sounds really cheesy... I hear that sound used in dubstep from time to time, but when the sample plays exactly the same way for an entire melody line, it sounds super-corny. I don't really know how to put it delicately, but those sections felt way off the mark. The other wobbles were sequenced much better, but unfortunately the mixing in those sections was probably the most problematic. The bassline definitely needs more breathing room. Given the original source you're working with, I think the detune effect on your synths is pretty appropriate. Some of the other glitching effects felt over-the-top and dragged on for too long, as Fishy said. Sorry, I'm not really feeling this one. Interpretation-wise, this seems okay, but the mixing needs a lot of work before this will be ready for posting. NO

For being your first foray into the genre of dubstep, this is really solid and doesn't fall prey to a lot of the same issues that plague newcomers to the genre. Your wobbles are well-synced and actually keep the momentum going instead of making the track feel too disjointed. The synth-centric 4-on-the-floor sections are classic Sir_NutS material and keep the track varied and interesting. Very engaging writing and sequencing makes up for any blandness in the sound design itself. I dig it, not much else to say. I thought the "sour" notes that Larry pointed out were fine. Maybe not the best-executed pitch bend, but it doesn't sound accidental to me, either. If anything, the stutter at 2:57 felt clunky, but I could just as easily see other judges not having a problem with it. A lot of it is subjective, I guess. Either way, the questionable moments are isolated and don't really have any impact on the track overall. I'm down with this. YES

Totally hearing the Rob Dougan influence on the intro. Once this kicks in, it gets into a really sweet groove with the rest of the track building tastefully on that foundation. Clearly, a lot of creativity went into this arrangement, and considering how quickly you had to put this together for the compo, this is a surprisingly polished, fleshed-out idea. The voice clips weren't sitting right with me, personally, they don't gel perfectly with the soundscape and feel a little low-quality, but that's a minor issue. The track is super-solid overall, I'd say it's some of your best work to date YES

Absolutely gorgeous. I've been a huge fan of this one ever since I heard it on your Soundcloud. This arrangement definitely has the feel of a cover song, but the expressive live performances and occasional breakdown/deviation from the original keep it lively. The flute solos, particularly, fit fantastically into the arrangement and keep the Stickerbush Symphony vibe going while injecting some much-needed personalization into the song. The backing performances on the guitars, too, are lush and emotive. For the record, I too thought the drums sounded fine. You're definitely one of the most talented up-and-comers on the site, please keep sending more stuff like this to us YES

If you'd described this concept to me in words, I'd have been extremely skeptical about how well it could possibly work. However, you guys clearly went above and beyond the call in adapting this song to dubstep... TONS of little details keep this one fresh all the way throughout, and your use of sound effects and fills keep me enthralled as the track develops. Love those piano runs and other orchestral elements, too. Color me impressed, guys. I honestly don't even feel like this track would benefit from a longer runtime, I think you adequately touch on a lot of ideas and reach a satisfying conclusion in 2 minutes and 20 seconds. Not a single second seems wasted. Love it. YES

The production here is extremely lush, I can hear Flexstyle's mixing prowess all over this Lovely arrangement, too, it's surprisingly short but still very fulfilling. Vig is right on the money about the mechanicalness of the piano and strings when they're exposed. Once the beat kicks in and there's more layers on top of each other, the strings are not a big deal at all, but the sequencing on those instruments is a sore spot, for sure. Normally, I might send a track back on that reason alone. But here I feel like the whole package is so strong, and since none of the acoustic samples themselves are terribly egregious, this one still falls comfortably over the bar. To be sure, this could benefit from another pass at sequencing the strings and piano, but neither of those hurt the listening experience so much that I would reject the track on those grounds. Your mileage may vary, but I think this is good to go. YES

Man, this caught me by surprise. It's rare that we hear from a newcomer with this solid production/arrangement chops, but you've definitely got them. This mix features a very unique flavor of metal that I haven't really heard before... the clean guitar breakdowns, the unique drum tone, and scattered orchestral elements demonstrate a lot of creativity in pushing your arrangement beyond the typical metal template that gets used so much. This track was extremely refreshing to me as a listener. Source usage is tricky here, but the liberal approach seems to be very deliberate, and not simply the result of negligent arranging. It toes the line, but after many side-by-side comparisons I feel comfortable signing off on this. Great track!! YES

I've been mulling this one over for a long time... each time I listen, I feel like I come away with a different opinion on whether or not the overall mixing is enough to bring this down into Resub territory. Ultimately though, I feel like this could benefit quite a bit from being cleaned up - I'm not going to rehash timestamps since Larry already covered that quite well, but the mixing aesthetic, even if it was intentional, feels overdone to the point that the track comes out sounding muddy and dull. Not very many complaints on the arrangement/writing, I think with cleaner mixing this vote could definitely swing the other way. NO (resub!)

Totally agreed with the rest of the opinions here; this one shows a lot of promise at first, but the bulk of the arrangement does not demonstrate the level of interpretation I look for. The performances add an inherent level of personalization, but when the arrangement is this straightforward, it's not enough to put it over the bar. Lovely piece, but it's not a fit for OCR's standards, IMO. NO

I still remember when the three of us played this at my house That was a super-fun night, I can't even remember whether it was you or DarkSim that introduced it to everybody. Not much more I can say aside from what I left in my judge comments, but this mix will always remind me of that night! So glad to see this on the front page, mate

I don't really have time for a super-critical listen but I just wanted to say that I loved this in the DoD compo and have been listening to it a lot since I dl'd it there Don't take this as judge-approval that it's a-okay for submittal necessarily, since I haven't checked it out with my critical ear yet, but as a casual listener I loved this. By far my favorite piece from you!

Just wanted to chime in here too, I've already told Kristina personally but this is a fantastic mix, probably the best I've heard from either party involved. This is one of the last games I ever expected to see a remix from, too! Love it, you two!

Really killer arrangement, this would absolutely be passable on the merits of your writing, but the other two judges are correct that the quality of the piano sound doesn't do justice to it. In my opinion, I think the sample you're using would be passable in other contexts, but due to the very aggressive nature of the writing, it draws attention to some of the flaws and limitations of your sample and makes them much more apparent. The extremely short decay/sustain on most of the notes leaves your mix feeling hollow. During the parts where you have more sustained notes on the left hand, it pads things out better. I honestly don't know what to recommend here, this is a very tricky piece that most piano samples just wouldn't be able to handle realistically. There's a part of me that thinks you might be able to get away with your current sample if you just finessed your sequencing more and toyed with the decay/release settings on your sample. Hit up the workshop too, maybe one of the piano virtuosos there will be able to give you more detailed feedback on what you can do here. NO (resubmit!)

Going to just chime in on this one quickly... lots of great ideas in here, as I've come to expect from Brandon's arrangements, but this time around I feel like the execution sounds sloppier than usual, mostly on the mixing side of things. However, the guitar performances also feel loosely timed and lacking in energy to me. Re-recording some of your solos and lead parts would help, as well. Lots to work on but I don't think it's beyond your capabilities to bring this up to par. NO (resub!)

Damn. I LOVE this track in a bubble. Banjo-Tooie is such a great underrated game, and your instrument performance, sequencing, and sound selection is perhaps one of the most perfect ways of capturing Grant Kirkhope's quirky style that I've ever heard. But yes, it's just too much a cover of the original song. I'm keeping this in my personal library for sure, and I hope people track this down and get to hear what Leandro has done here, but it's not for OCRemix. Sorry! NO

This mix creates a lot of space and tension. I love how delicately you crafted your buildup to the point where your track finally reaches full intensity. This is bombastic, extremely well-mixed, and dynamic. The fadeout is definitely not an appropriate choice for this mix, though. I'm not nearly as anti-fadeout as a lot of judges, but in this case I'd agree that it just doesn't work. This track would have been much better with a proper, climactic ending, but I can forgive it since the rest of the material is rock-solid. Good stuff! YES

I loooove this source, but it's very hard to do justice to. I will say that, right off the bat, you captured the energy and intensity of the original quite well. The opening transition into the main melody was a great idea that was not executed very well, IMO. That transition lacks a lot of impact, perhaps adding some sort of crash or tweaking the timing of your filter would make it feel... bigger, for lack of a better word. You use a similar effect later on in the track a couple of times, but it just doesn't feel effective. You need to work on making your moments of impact more Lots of very dynamic writing throughout the track, nothing ever clashes or seems too busy. That guitar solo kicks ass and jives well with your synth lines, and your own solos immediately after are also awesome. Definitely going to agree with OA on the kick situation too - the jungle-esque break usage that you've got going on isn't bad, but I feel like another thing that's holding your song back from having a greater punch is the lack of any dominant kick, too. That alone wouldn't be a dealbreaker for me, but the transitions need some work in my opinion, so I'm going to opt for a resub on this. Good luck with the vote! NO (resubmit!!)