Eino Keskitalo

Well, game development workforce isn't organized that much. It is not unimaginable that (any) creative personel did receive royalty share from hit products. VA people are organized apparently, so they have the leverage to put this forward.

Yeah, I wouldn't stress about samples. When I say "production approach" what I'm thinking it's not just the base sounds, as it mixing and performance. Stop me if I'm talking about my ass, but the 32-bit game orchestral style is rather dry in mixing & rigid in sequencing, and putting care to mixing/processing the sounds, and working on the sequencing to create a lively, dynamic performance, so to speak, goes a long way. And even if you did get more expensive samples, they still won't mix and sequence themselves - I understand that you'll have to seqence specifically for each library you use anyway. There's plenty of great-sounding orchestral mixes on OCR made with cheap/free samples - you'll just have to sequence for them and keep their limitations in mind. Mind that I know just about nothing about making orchestral arrangements, or even 32 bit era soundtracks, so take that as you will - I'm also not evaluating here if your arrangement has or hasn't careful mixing and lively/dynamic sequencing - it's just a good point of view to look at the piece in regards to OCR standars, from what I can tell. Hope this helps rather than confuses.

Nice stuff! I like the violin as an instrument choice here, it adds something unusual, yet fitting. I'm a sucker for jazz/prog violin! Good adaptation. I'll have to try to give this a closer listen. I did feel like the melody could adapt itself to the chord changes more.

Yup, the atmosphere is really nice. The bell-y/mallet-y thing coming in at 0:26 is way loud/bright in the mix. I think you could bring it down a couple of notches and it'll still be nice and upfront in the mix. There's something off with the harmony of the mallet at 0:32-0:45 (maybe the notes at 0:37 & 0:44). When I listen on repeat it starts to make sense, but on a first listen it sounds quite off and I tend to think the first impression is the "correct" one. I like the weirdness of the harmony at 0:46-1:00. There's nice variation in the more ambient textures, but around 1:13 I feel like the mallet has dominated long enough, kinda wish the lead would change. Writing-wise the change at 1:13-1:27 is great, it pulls the steadiness of what went on before into a new direction. 1:27-1:40 seems unfocused and directionless, the figure coming out at 1:34 seems strange playing on top of the other material. Overall in the first two minutes the pads seem to have some harmonic components here and there that don't line with the rest of the writing? 1:56 the overall vibe is really cool. The arrangement from there on is actually quite lovely. Some of the bell-ier tones, I guess the mallet & the new steel-drum like stuff, feel too bright & a bit too much on top of the mix. There's something off in the backing notes, I can't tell which instrument because the sounds are a bit strange, which I really like actually. Overall the structure feels scattered, the ending kind of tapers off, which is a cool effect in itself but overall the structure feels unsatisfying. I don't think it necessarily needs *that* much tweaking; evening out the mixing & dealing with the unfocused 1:27-1:40 would help a lot. Need to also check out what the pads are playing & how it fits with the rest of the tune. Lots of crits but I really like where this is going, the mood is great and there's a ton of potential.

Wow, a weird, cool, minimal & (practically) short source.. challenging stuff!

Very nice work! I'll co-sign what Kat said. As for submitting to OCR, looping is likely a no-go. Sounds like it loops around 2:00. Writing an ending sounds like a good idea. Two minutes is on the short side, but with an ending I feel the piece would probably feel like a complete whole. I'm no judge, but I would say you have plenty or reinterpretation already otherwise, with the rhythms & feel of the parts et cetera. Also, the production approach may make it more difficult to meet the OCR bar for production, but then again there's stuff like a posted mix made with Korg DS-10 if I recall correctly, so I don't think it's impossible. So I'd say arrange an ending & ask for a mod review Nice work in any case!

Will already said it's not him. I just don't think he's being truthful. Nice of you to cover for him. I just don't understand why.

Eino Keskitalo Beautiful Bloody Bats (Dark Necrobat in Gate's Laboratory [X6]) We are Many, We are One (Boomer Kuwanger in Gate's Laboratory [X6]) Tortured by Dreams (Flame Stag in Gate's Laboratory [X6]) Maverick Astley

One-line reviews. Experiment - Really digging this, especially the sound & the weirdish distorted square? lead, only the bass seems to be playing a different tune at points. Apart from that I like the strange feel. You Know The Game - Vote for change. Vote Maverick. Vote Astley. Tortured by Dreams - Nice combo of black metal cheese and synthy synth cheese. Lots of variation. I do feel it was on the same gear throughout (even with the drop and all), but I think it was all right in the end. I appreciate the time sig change in the drop. The writing in the drop, mainly the bell-y synth was kind of unfocused. Generally the arrangement could've "gone somewhere" more for my tastes. Overall tons of ideas & creativity, unexpected combinations & enjoyable journey. Myth Lab - Admit it, it feels good to rickroll. You did this just to do that. What's with the H in Astley anyway. Anyway, solid stuff. The chord progression in the instrumental part brings a nice sense of movement to the arrangement, the brief synth solo is very nice. I appreciate WillRock's effort, nice that you chose to leave it like that, embracing the process et cetera. Reminds me of OCR Talkback, which I miss. We are Many, We are One - super digging the sound & deliberate pacing. The structure doesn't sound fully realized, starting and ending quite abruptly. Good stuff though. A change in chord progression at some point was very effective. Beautiful Bloody Bats - cheezy listening sounds, but some dark vibe in the arrangement itself. Lots of room left in the mix, nice, it works. Some off-harmony stuff on the e-piano around 1:20? 1:48 the melody comes in really well. I quite like this, kinda meandering but doesn' seem to lose the point. Gate's Secret Dream Lab - interestingly similar to previous track. Much more defined structure & full sound in comparison. Make for a fun segue. There's a couple of chords really off here and there. Otherwise I really like what I hear, nice full sound with good leadwork, good flow to the track. Really need to double check those chords. Lost Chemistry - strange fade before 1:00 mark, seems to kick off only afterwards. Lacks a bassline. Feels like it could use one. Weird harmony 1:50-2:06. I like the overall sound & the driving beat & bell/epiano riff. Out of Time - punk-metal feel, I appreciate! There's a bit where the chords & melody doesn't quite work together (0:47-0:48 & 0:56-0:57) though I like what you're going for. Mixing is murky/unbalanced, structure feels incomplete (I don't mind that it's short) and I think I get what you mean with the title, I still enjoyed it!

One day I'll learn to not be over-ambitious in compos.

Totally got a FFIX kick going, thanks in no small part to Worlds Apart (but also saw a FFIX suite in a VGM orchestral concert last week).. it'd be fun to participate.. so much fun stuff to do, so little time, but MnP is always good for trying to do something fast and not worry too much (just subbed my two-day effort from MnP037, the Xenon round) so we'll see!

hahah, a curveball of a source. Can't wait to hear the results. Sorry for your loss Trism, hope you'll be alright.

I expected the link to take me to a certain video on YouTube.

Eino Keskitalo Flight of the Peacock (Cyber Peacock in Observatory Hall [X]) Go Ahead And Jump (Vanishing Gungaroo in Observatory Hall) Disco is NOT Dead, Disco is a Giant Metal Seahorse (Toxic Seahorse in Observatory Hall [X]) Maverick Astley

Hoping to find the time to check it out asap! Ditto on the music.

Y'know Esperado, you keep getting better and I've always liked your stuff, the earliest PRC stuff I heard included. Don't worry, just keep at it, it's worth it. And I'm completely selfish in saying this.

Really cool arrangement. It has a narrative feel, it flows and develops in a manner that is quite captivating and enjoyable. Plenty of twists and turns. Only the ending is so sudden that it feels even lackluster. The final chord is reached suddenly, and it feels like a coda would fit the arrangement (returning to the bell-y stuff from the beginning, for instance). The source material is obviously there, this is decidedly Shovel Knight, not just compositionally but also in the feel, it's suitably dramatic. And while clearly recognizable, it's really creatively used with all the twists and turns. Production-wise, it has a very 90s workstation / 32 bit / early Redbook audio soundtrack feel (though with beefier overall sound). It works quite well. Bass could be punchier at times - sometimes it feels like it's a blerpy synth that doesn't quite cover the base. In those occasions, the drums feel a little exposed. They're a little mechanical, but I think it works in the general style of the arrangement. In the "dramatic synth organ parts" (can't timestamp right now..) the overall soundscape feels a little cheap. Otherwise it holds together. Leads sound great, expressive and versatile. Good work, can't really give production mixing/advice, but I would do something to the ending. Looking forward to the finished track!

I'll check this out for sure!

Been digging Fxsnowy's tunes on SFRG lately, and this one too is a delight. What Liontamer said - soundscape more delicate than thin - resonates with me. I like the tempo alterations, the sample retriggery-jiggery and the playfulness here in general. Good fun!

..he's gonna get TUBED

Really cool source tune. Can't wait to hear what Jorito comes up with with it! ..and everyone else as well. : - )

I get what you're saying about the music speaking for itself, but aren't you saying here that some people are better (or "better") at recognizing source usage anyway? So, a source breakdown can help with bridging this gap (I know it does it for me, definitely saves me time going comparing between the source and the arrangement). I make the final judgement if it's valid usage in the end anyway. Music should speak for itself as far as pure enjoyability of the piece is concerned. But there are other aspects where analysis helps me appreciate it more in several possible ways: references (incl. VGM arrangement), meaning or background/context of lyrics, production techniques, story behind the composition/circumstances of how the piece came together, etc.. Music is never without context & there is no "pure" experience of music. edit: Not that I didn't agree what you're saying about two of my favourite ReMixer's work..

There are many ways to arrange a piece, and in my experience as a listener it's not always all that obvious. For example, changing keys/modes or chopping up the source to elements and reshuffling them, or something like that is not always easy to pick up. Then a source usage breakdown can really help to spot what was done. Often times I go "a-ha!" and it clicks for me, and I hear the connection. Sometimes even afterwards I go "nah, I still don't recognize the original here". Either way, because the main thing to base your voting in this competition is how both sources were arranged together, source breakdowns from the arranger can really help. Of course, this doesn't necessarily have much to do with how enjoyable the music is (to me personally) or how technically competent it is, though I'll admit those things do influence my voting. I'll basically figure out the contenders for my top 3 based on do they arrange the themes together well enough (including how well they "flow" together and if they're free of "harmonic mistakes" resulting from combining the sources), then if it's particularly clever from the arrangement perspective, they're likely to place higher, but from there on I'll just pick the tunes I liked the best. Even if the track didn't really arrange both (or either) of the tunes together prominently, I might still enjoy it musically but I wouldn't vote for it.

I kinda miss this show! Good current topics I'd love to hear about: MAGFest Classic 2015, The Sigma Fortress Remix Gauntlet and Worlds Apart.

Here's a no-brainer deal, this game is PWYW in this week's Humble Weekly Bundle! https://www.humblebundle.com/weekly