Nutritious

Yeah, the straight timing on the beat vs the swing style of the rest really threw me as well. It's mileage will likely vary depending on the listener. Cool instrumentation. Nice part writing and interplay. Pretty weak ending as Larry mentioned . Still, I can groove with it YES

Thanks for the heads-up Shariq. Gonna download this and try it out tonight. Looks sweet.

People kept telling me I looked like "Larry Oji" so I had to figure out who that guy was.

Honestly, I don't think this is an issue of samples, but more how they're being utilized. For example, I suspect the brass mudiness is due to the part writing in those specific sections. Also, the sequencing of the brass leads at 1:20 is making for a really choppy sounding section. The woodwinds at 2:15 sound pretty dynamically flat as well. Just guessing here, but it sounds like you may be using EWQLSO. If that's the case, you can help your partwriting a lot by automating the mod wheel for any dxf samples, which will change timbre and volume for better dynamics. Even if it's a different sample library, you can always automate part volume levels to improve dynamics within parts and make a huge difference. Glockenspiel is hitting some loud resonant frequencies at 2:32. I'd pull it back quite a bit, especially because it's normally situated behind the orchestra. A lot of the louder hits, and especially at 3:00 & 3:45(!), there's a ton of distortion from clipping/pushing compressors way too hard. Gotta either scale back the levels and balance it better or look into your compressor settings to figure out why it's being squashed so much. I'd also definitely heed Andrew's advice on working on the piece's overall flow. I know this focused a lot on needed improvements, but you've got a good start here for sure. Don't give up dude NO resubmit, please

Honestly, can't really add anything to what's been said. The arrangement and performance is spot on, but the production setup is killing the piece . I sincerely hope you can get this ironed out as I'd love to see this on the front page. NO resubmit, please

Yeah, I'm definitely digging this take on UNATCO. I was a bit meh on the intro build. The beat work felt a bit plodding and unsupportive of the track until the change around :45. Once it kicks in, though, it's grooving together much more nicely. Nice interplay on the lead synths between the source lead and counterpoint. Very cool modulations on the bassline underneath everything. Reverb was a bit on the heavy side overall, but totally understandable given the 80's synthpop feel here. Reviewing my previous vote on this, you've done fantastic work addressing the issues brought up last time. YES

Yeah, cool production work for sure. Unfortunately, as palp said, this is really repetative. It's like you've got a solid chorus idea, then framed the whole song around builds and drops from the same sequence (I'm only about halfway through listening so far and it's already overstayed its welcome). Don't get me wrong, it's a solid idea, but this needs to be fleshed out quite a bit more beyond the single melody idea: be it using the b section of the source, adding a bridge section, original writing, etc. Great start, cool beats, needs expansion/less repetition . NO resubmit, please

I was a little worried on the samples and sequencing hearing the glock & pan flute lead. However, strings are supporting the background nicely, if pretty minimally and the piano sounds good to my ears. Flute doesn't sound great, even at low velocity, because the timbre doesn't change at all. Piano performance is spot on as usual . Very delicately handled dynamics and emotive playing are the big winners here. Source arrangement is clear and creative, getting great milage from a relatively short OST> Ending really didn't resolve that great with the piano and the sound effect sounded tacked on to me. Still, minor gripe in what is an enjoyable listen. Nice track here, keep working on your production chops YES

Hey, this is some catchy stuff here. I'm not sure what Turkish Disco entails, but I think I like it. Yeah, gonna echo the samples/sequencing issue. It gets especially noticable on exposed quick note runs like :35, :53, and the aforementioned piano section. In some instances (strings) it's both a sample issue as well as sequencing work, but sometimes it's just an issue of more attention to velocities and writing details (piano) The acoustic guitar entrance was sweet. I really wanted it to stick around longer . This is a case where the arrangment and part writing really overcome the sequencing and production weaknesses. YES

I'm basically going to echo the 3 previous votes here. Fix up the balance and the odd 1:35 section and I could roll with this. NO resubmit, please

Yeah, right off that piano is sounding pretty dry and, if not really narrow, then fully mono. Some stereo separation, reverb wetness, variation on velocities and maybe some gentle eq dips in the 2khz range may help here. The beat pattern is a little basic, but it can work if there's some variation or a complimenting part to keep it from being overly repetative. Fortunately, we do get some beat glitching and additions to help here. Piano gets pretty repetative after a while, so I'd heed Larry's advice on that front. Beat drop off at 3:25 was a bit sudden. I think the transition could use some smoothing - the sudden drop can work in the context of a loud section dropping to a very quiet one (a pretty specific effect that can turn out really cool). However, here it's a loud section followed by a moderate section with some similar instrumentation, so it's in that kind of unhappy medium between calling for a smooth transition or a quick drop off. Long paragraph for a single minor point I know, but looking at details like this is a great way to improve your craft . Sounds like some distortion due to either overcompression or clipping whenever the kick lands at the same as some hits or other loud parts. The kick has is pretty thick tone, which may need to be eq'd down to make room for other parts. Parts of the song like 1:42 & 2:59 are getting really busy and crowded with several instruments trying to take center stage up front. Work on balancing things so the listener can focus on the important parts and let the supporting roles take a back seat. Good base here, but some production issues & repetition are holding this back. Keep at it NO resubmit, please

Lovin the intro. Mood +1. Sweet, funky bass synth. Doesn't stray too far from the original structure when the initial bass & lead kicks in, but this evolves really nicely over time. Piano interlude was a good idea and sounds really nice contrasting with the dryer beats and bassline. As a matter of fact, the overall progression was really intelligently handled here to keep it fresh. Great synth palette here as well. On a few minor gripes, it sounded like the clap/snare was a bit on the weak side. Also gonna agree with Larry that a longer fadeout would've been better. Little tip: not sure what DAW you use, but in FL I usually draw a double automation curve for fadeout envelopes. It basically resembles a backwards "S" so the sound fades to about 40% fairly quickly, but then more gradually fades from there to 0%. Way to stick with it. Really love this track. YES

Not much to add here. Cool combination of sounds here and the track is well thought-out and constructed. Work on varying up velocities or perhaps the sample attack to try smooth out the rigid sequencing. I can hear where you've used reverb to help a bit here, so it's not completely exposed. Overall good stuff. I'm now sufficiently chilled. YES

Ahh, C&C. This game really brings back memories for me. Gonna preface my vote by saying that I've been listening to this track on and off for the past week, so expect a lengthly vote with my accumlated thoughts. Nostalgia +1 on the intro. The background voice sample will resonate with fans of the game since cutscenes with news broadcasters is a common theme in the series - it doesn't bug me at all here. Cool evolving pad as well. I think the first miss is at :50. You've got this cool intro building up, the drums drop off completely for a measure to set up for the theme to drop... but then everything sort of just comes back at about the same energy as before. 1:11 does bring in some heavier drum work for a couple measures, but I never felt like the track got to the energy level it should have until perhaps 1:48. Could be just my opinion, but it would be much more effective if something like 1:48 came in right at :50, with the repeating source pattern right up front. 1:22 could then be used as a breakdown section to pull back from the heavier 1:48 section. Without some sort of contrast after the intro, it feels like it's plodding up until this point. Drum work is sort of a mixed bag for me. I feel like I'm hearing parts of 3 different kits at play here: the up front stereo panned hats, the synthetic/dry/distorted snare (and later kick), and the distant boomy reverbed kick & crash cymbals. Not saying acoustic & synthetic elements can't co-exist, but in this case they're all occupying different spaces in the mix (near/distant, dry/reverbed) and really could use some unity somewhere in the middle. The solo noodling at 2:49 didn't sit well me actually. The mood and writing felt all wrong TBH within the context of the song. The transition out of it at 3:08 was abrupt as well and the section here really just felt like filler to me. If it was me, I'd cut 2:49 - 3:19. 5:47 felt a bit long for the ideas present as we get some of the same ideas rehashed a couple times (albeit with some changes in beats and some additional textures). On the positive end, I'm liking the synth textures and gritty feel you've got here. Very creative ideas here with complete changeups on the kit to give contrast between sections like 3:19 & 3:50. Source is all over here and gets some nice personal touches. I think the more I listen to this, the more it's growing on me. Still, I'm with DA as I don't think this one's ready quite there yet. Dude, you've got the chops for this, though. Good luck with the rest of the vote NO resubmit, please

I don't normally post in this thread, but it's been a while since any judges chimed in, so why not Yeah, Jordan, we actually had a lengthly, in-person discussion at Pax regarding the points you brought up as well as other ideas for speeding up the process. We're actively working some of these ideas and making changes to improve how we're doing things. From what I've seen, soliciting guest judgements wasn't as much because of inexperience as it was for a very specific situation with the song (for example, a very niche genre). As far as I know, we're not closed to doing it, but logistically I don't think it would speed things up. As for your other question, yes, having a source breakdown is a huge help for me personally. Also, I wouldn't say submitting your "best" works as much as doing your best to bring your song to it's fullest potential and submitting it when you feel it has a good chance of passing (vs. "I know this won't pass but I decided to submit it anyway..."). I don't have access to do this, but I don't think you'd want me to be updating the thread anyway . You'll likely need to bug Larry or Deia if they don't see this post here.

Intro was a little drawn out and was already getting a bit repetative by :55. At :55 and 1:19, & 1:37 a new element gets added each time, but the underlying track is still pretty much static. The drop off at 1:58 is a welcome change, but something changing up earlier would've helped. Piano is really distant in the track, especially considering it's holding down a good portion of the source melody. It could use some velocity variation as well as right now it's pretty robotic sounding. 3:24 the track FINALLY kicks into something that's really exciting to the listener. I'm all for long buildups before the main part, but with this much repetition, I was starting to lose interest up to this part. The last third of the track felt like a rehash of parts already covered before. Again, not to beat a dead horse, but I'd recommend on focusing on song progression to cut back on repetativeness and keep the listener engaged. I know it's considered a sort-of ambient dnb track, but so many of the parts are bathed in reverb and delay, they're all overlapping sonically, which makes the mix really crowded without much definition. As Larry mentioned, there's a lot of source here, but much of it is pretty conservative in the interpretation from the original. More personalization on the source tunes would be a positive. But yeah, sweet beats. Cool synths. This really is a good track, it just needs some more love. NO resubmit, please

Yeah, this really is a rockin' (no pun!) cover dude. Excellent production and performances. But, as has been mentioned already, this is too conservative for what we're looking for at OCR. Would LOVE to hear something from you that's more interpretive on the site! NO

Nice track here, Brandon. Performance is pretty loose, which is kinda the norm for Brandon's tracks. It doesn't really detract stylistically from the song, IMO. I agree mixing could be cleaned up a bit. There were several sections that were quite busy, which would benefit from some levels adjustment and/or eq cutting. Still, overall, the execution is there. The arrangement is well thought out and directionally, the track always drives forward to the proceeding section without ever feeling like it's plodding. Really liking this, well done. YES PS, I swear I listened to this source a while back, perhaps in IRC for Larry or something. It reminds me of the song "Once Upon A December" from the movie Anastasia, especially in the way it resolves the phrasing. No idea if that's at all related to what you guys have in mind, though.

Beats started feeling repetative a about a minute in. Except for the occasional fill and a couple parts in the last third of the track, they basically stay the same for the balance of the song. Sometimes that's not a big deal, but I feel like in this style you should have a lot of room an options to change things up and keep it interesting. It felt like there should be a little more contrast in the bigger sections like :44 beyond the rhythm guitar part playing underneath everything. This sorta ties into the crits above about the beat because altering the pattern can make a big difference in raising or lowering the energy level. I could totally hear going to a half-time pattern (kicks on beat 1 & 2.5, snare on 3) or at least altering the kick timing at points. Honestly didn't read Larry's crits until after I wrote the above, but it looks like we're tracking pretty similarly on this one. I've heard some of your other stuff, Argle, so I know you've got it in you! This is a very cool arrangement and solid in many ways. It just needs some of the late-in-the-game polish and it'll shine . NO resubmit, please

Man, Larry really nailed the crits on this one. I'm just going to share some of my additional thoughts. The distortion was a little too intense for me as a listener and to be honest, it sounded more like unintentional clipping or an audio issue rather than an effect. I guess that part of it is more a subjective crit, but at the very least I'd recommend toning it down. Gonna also agree on pacing, as the 1:35 section really went on for too long, despite the fact that it's intended to be a gradual build. I think condensing that section would actually improve on the effect of what you're going for here (the tense buildup to sudden, mysterious drop off). You've definitely achieved the mood you set out for with the track and there's good stuff here. Keep at it! NO resubmit, please

Hmm, I can't access the ocr link to the track. Not trying to be a pain, but since I'm getting these at work, can someone look into fixing the judge link? EDIT: OK, got a working copy now. Since this is a split one, I'm gonna write down my thoughts before reading anyone elses. Not really feeling the energy from this intro. The kit lacks punch and sounds a bit dry and the arrangement is pretty spare here. At :49, the energy raises a bit, but the guitars are sounding distant to me, which is undermining their effectiveness. 1:36 sounds like it should be intense because of the drum writing, but beyond that, the other underlying parts remain pretty much the same. There's really not much variation in the guitar performance through 2 minutes in. After that, there's a pretty nice atmospheric break, which establishes a bit more mood. That's followed by what's essentially a copy-paste (which some slight variation) from the 1:36 section. So, reading above, it looks like I'm landing somewhere between Larry and Vinnie. It's super unfortunate that a lot of this is due to recording limitations, rather than more conventional production issues that can be tweaked. Good luck on the rest of the vote, guys. NO resubmit, please

Sounds like a fun little project. It may be helpful to share a style or feel that you are looking for as well as examples of themes that are similar to your vision. Also, you may want to mention whether or not/how you plan to credit whomever contributes.

Wow, yeah this is really loud. Things don't really show signs of overcompression, probably because this is a relatively sparse arrangement so there was more room to push the levels. On listen #2, though, I'm getting some ear fatigue, so be careful there. Tight performances here. Creative change ups and phrasing. Good variation on the drum parts and very cool fills. EQ-wise, things felt a little gutted in the mids/low-mids, especially in the kick. I understand the decision both genre-wise and for production purposes, but I think there is still room to have things filled out in the requency range withough muddying up the piece. NOTE: I just left this for a couple hours and came back to it and it seems even louder now with fresh ears. Pretty sure my consumber grade headphones are boosing some mid-high frequencies even more than usual, which is making this almost painful at normal listening levels. I'm YESing this, but it might not hurt to ask for a version with more reasonable levels. YES

I get this random Secret of Mana vibe from the strings in the intro. Hmm, while I hear what Cain is saying about the harmonies not matching the original, I more view it as creative interpretation rather than being "wrong" per se. That said, I heard a bit of clashing between the string stabs and the bells on the lead on a few of the chords. Not a big deal to me, though. I really wanted the break at either 1:16 to be much bigger and fuller as I think it would've been more effective. Even just adding some string harmonies to fill it out probably would've done the job. 2:22 and 2:28 transitions were a bit jarring to me. Seemed like something you'd have in a wip as a placeholder until you've figured out how to handle the changeover. Beats aren't super awesome fantastic, but they do the job of driving the tempo to keep the energy level. Strings & keys/bells are sounding nice throughout here. Arrangement is a fresh take on a pretty well-covered source, so props there as well. Overall, a bit of room for improvement to take home for next time, but good stuff here. YES

Yeah, this could definitely use more development beyond the ideas already here. Having a better overall direction for the piece so that it logically progresses instead of rehashing the same ideas with a few synths or minor changes thrown in would really help. Concept is very cool and this is firing on most production cylinders. Warning, minor nitpicky point: sometimes it comes off as a bit empty on some of the mid range frequencies at parts of the track (3:11 - 3:38 improved in this regard though). Maybe on more element (a pad or something) to fill out the soundscape in other parts would help in this regard (ex. 1:00-1:32, 1:55-2:08, etc). Synth choices & uses were definitely a positive here as well. Yeah, gonna agree that the vocal/game samples in general didn't feel like they added much to the track. Up to you whether or not you want to keep them. Great start though, this shouldn't been too hard to get over the bar. NO resubmit, please