Chernabogue

I enjoyed the panning in this remix, the back and forth with those muted plucks were so cool.  I really enjoyed the somber mellowness of this.  Definitely a unique style compared to most of what I see on OCR.  Great job on this!

This feels VERY fitting for plants vs zombies instrumentation and arrangement wise.  Are you sure this isn't ripped straight from the soundtrack?  That harpsichord was great, this remix is great!  Great stuff.

I'm happy to announce a couple of staffing changes here at OCR. First up, I wanna welcome @Hemophiliac to our Judges Panel! Hemo's been putting in the work for the last few years as one of our Workshop Evaluators, and has also stepped up in the past few months to handle a lot of the visualizers for the remixes you see on our YouTube channel. He's an active presence in our community and has a lot of helpful advice in the Workshop. We're glad to add him to the panel. Look forward to getting some fresh new NO votes on your tracks!
Speaking of Workshop Evaluators, a few months ago we retired our Ready for Review process in the Workshop because we felt that it was a cumbersome extra layer of evaluation prior to submitting to the Judge's Panel. Our Evaluators did a lot of great work over the years but we're retiring that role. In it's place, we're introducing our new team called Sages! Sages are active artists in our community who'll be in the Workshop giving feedback on remixes, posting tutorials, and coming up with their own ways to revitalize and energize the Workshop. Our three new Sages are @Xaleph, @pixelseph, and @paradiddlesjosh!
We're glad to have some fresh faces on staff, and I'm personally looking forward to seeing what these folks have in store for us.
-- DarkeSword

We're sad to share that ReMixer Daniel "PirateCrab" Woodyer passed away yesterday, Apr. 26th, at only 30 years old, surrounded by his family. He would have turned 31 next month.
Daniel was one of the BEST metal performers in the game music arrangement scene. He contributed 10 pieces to OC ReMix since his first from Sonic the Hedgehog 2 nearly a decade ago, and participated in several community efforts including Pixel Mixers, Shinesparkers, one collaborative performance for Dwelling of Duels, and a pair of OCR albums: Castlevania tribute Vampire Variations III as well as Jet Force Gemini: Mizar Attacks!
He will be missed and will live on through his music.
Rest in Power, Daniel. ?
* https://ocremix.org/artist/12706/piratecrab

SynaMax's "remixes" were essentially re-creations of music from Metroid Prime, going as far as using the same hardware as Kenji Yamamoto. AFAIK, he wasn't doing the same type of interpretive, from-scratch arrangements that we do here. That may have factored into Nintendo's decision to contact him specifically. I haven't seen any instance of Nintendo contacting any other artist, so it's hard to agree with "Nintendo is going after remixes now."
There's always the danger of a company like Nintendo coming down hard on fan communities. If Nintendo issues takedowns to us, then we'll have to figure out what to do when that happens. OCR very specifically doesn't allow submissions that sample the original game audio, but that might not mean much to Nintendo's legal team. There's an argument for Fair Use, but that's a legal defense that you present to a judge or jury, not a response you give to a Cease & Desist.
As far as being concerned about being able to listen: once something is posted to the internet, it never truly leaves the internet. There are remixes that have been removed from this site that you can still download at various places. Nintendo has issued C&Ds against things like AM2R (the incredible Metroid 2 fan-remake) and you can absolutely still find those projects without too much effort. If Nintendo wants to play legal whack-a-mole, that's on them.
When it comes to the music you'd like to remix and arrange: do what you want. Remix the hell out of Mario and Metroid and Zelda and Kirby if those are the soundtracks that inspire you. Even if the worst happens and we can't feature them on OCR anymore, that shouldn't stop you from making something.

@begoma I've been in contact with Brandon and we hope to put things behind us, make this the best album possible, and release something both OCR & he will be proud of - given that it's the third leg of a trilogy he started, I thought we should at least try to make this happen, and @Rexy has been helping make that possible. Right now mithius is working on some epic material that I know will elevate the final result - I still hope to release this year, and we'll be discussing timeline soon.
So, short version: Not dead, trying to work with Brandon to make something happen, stay tuned.

Okay, after a lot of discussion and planning, we're most likely going to rebrand this album, change the theming and set up a new album thread with the new Album title soon. More words to follow. Chances are, the tracks you all have been working on may still work with the new theming, but if not, I'm sure can be retooled to fit easily enough depending on what you had planned to begin with. I'm going to get the final OK from @djpretzelbefore proceeding forward though. Hang tight - we might still revive this album yet, but it won't be in this aged project thread.

Very sad news to share that ReMixer Justin Lassen passed away yesterday, Feb. 22nd, due to natural causes. He was 39 years old. There's a GoFundMe that's been established to help his family pay final expenses. If you're financially able to, please consider supporting it.
* https://www.gofundme.com/f/remembering-justin-lassen
Along with being a multi-decade career musician, we just posted his debut ReMix from Earthworm Jim this past December, and he participated in two community albums from the BadAss series.
Rest in Power, Justin.
* https://ocremix.org/artist/17920/justin-lassen 
 

Preview BadAss: Paragons & Renegades: https://youtu.be/708w691V51w Download BadAss: Paragons & Renegades: https://badass-pr.ocremix.org Torrent: http://bt.ocremix.org/torrents/BadAss_-_Paragons_and_Renegades.torrent  
It's been a long time. 4 years since BadAss 3, and 7 since the last time I had a hand in directing. It's about damn time, and I'm proud to present the newest in the BadAss line, Paragons & Renegades: A BadAss Heroes Album! It's finally here, you guyses! To commemorate this occasion, I'm gonna tell you a secret: I first started BadAss to have a different sound and tone when compared to what OCR had been putting out to that point, at least in overall style. Much as I loved all the albums to that point, I wanted something meaner and darker; I had just come off of The Dark Side of Phobos and wanted more of that while at the same time not being tied down to a single game, so we joined up with KNGI and made it so. The making of BadAss 1 and 2 were some of the most fun moments I've ever had making music & I look back fondly on those days. We made some kickass tunes, but I like to think it was the friends and memories we made along the way that make these albums good & I think that's pretty kickass!
When Pieter and I first started planning a hero-themed fourth album in the BadAss line in 2019, the only goal we really had was to have fun. I can't speak for Pieter, but I missed having fun making music. I'd been doing contract work composing & sound designing and I was getting burnt out by it all, but I remembered those days making BadAss 1 and 2 and how much fun it was. We were experimental & I think the tracks that come out of a BadAss album show that. So, we started BadAss Heroes if only to be experimental, to let the music guide us, and to just have fun. A lot has happened in the world since then, and so have my reasons for working on this album. This is a hero-themed album & maybe we can all use a reminder to better days when defeating evil and being a hero was as simple as loading up a game and pressing a few buttons. It's become harder to see the better days, and even harder to see the heroism in the world. My hope is that this album leaves you energized, feeling badass, and most importantly, with some good-ass memories. And, hell, if we can inspire a little bit of heroism in you hardcore style, well, that'd be awesome too!
- David L. Puga
 
Welcome to Paragons & Renegades: A BadAss Heroes Album! A true spin-off from the main BadAss series focusing on heroes this time around and having two discs with their own feel. Why not a BadAss: Boss Themes: Volume 4? Well, as I wrote in the album write-up of BadAss 3, I had been working non-stop on BadAss since its never-released spiritual predecessor, Crescendo to Chaos. BadAss 1 was really an experiment for us (I was just an assistant director then) and so was the music. A genre-style album, not focusing on a certain soundtrack, born from the KNGI community almost more than from the OCR community… it was new in many ways. In BadAss 2, I think David really found his niche of genre and we made it even rawer and focused than the first one. With BadAss 3, I took over as director and had my own staff without David. It gave me the opportunity to grow more as a director and give it more my (genre) niche and vibe: more eerie and more bombastic - more like a movie soundtrack. After that, I felt like the trilogy was complete and I did everything I could with the BadAss formula. But David and I (and others in the project threads) always teased each other with "Well, one day there should be a GoodAss…"
And that day has come! We're going back to something new, something fresh. Bringing different genres to the mix, having a new focus, being able to welcome new and additional mixers to the BadAss family and trying to figure out how to make something work all over again... It was the fresh energy I needed to direct another album, this time with David beside me! It has been a difficult one-and-a-half years for me (i.e. medically speaking), so making the time to work on this album and make a mix for it was very challenging for me this time around. But it has been a great experience slowing down and picking up again with David picking up when I couldn't and vice versa. In the end, it was really fun doing this as it felt like two buddies making something new! And since GoodAss isn't a great name, and since we went for a separation of genres (bombastic and/or more peaceful on disc 1, and way more aggressive and raw on disc 2), this is: Paragons & Renegades! And who knows, perhaps there will be a Paragons & Renegades: Volume 2 in the future?
- Pieter van Os (Pavos)

Amazing! I can't wait to listen! I'm so honored to be on this album, the Badass albums are my favorites and being on one is a dream come true!

It's released you guys! Go check it out at https://badass-pr.ocremix.org!

I hate to double-post myself, but there is some big news regarding album development.

This album trilogy has had a history of collaborating with the Dwelling of Duels, and so, September 2020 is the OC ReMix Crossover FF3 Month!  If you main a live instrument, go check it out - if you take part and you decide to send it to OCR's submissions queue, the evaluation will get fast-tracked.  Any track from the game can be chosen, though there are still some uncovered spots on the OST (including some not even listed in the OP) that would be nice to have some representation.

Talking of which - during this past month, @bluelighterhas made claims on not one, but two tracks!  He has finished his take on "Crystal Tower" (with added usage for Tower of Owen), and is wrapping up an arrangement of "Ancient's Village" at this current moment.  I am delighted to have a talented classical-inspired arranger jump in!

If you're a potentially interested arranger, you're more than welcome to send a PM to me here on the forums or in the OCR Discord if you'd like to make a claim yourself outside of the DoD event.  I wish all participants there the best of luck, and hype for some great tunes! x)

In the interest of moving forward, and also because this album is kinda coming back from the dead (or at least purgatory/uncertainty), I'm suggesting the following title:
Final Fantasy III: Resurrection
...to kinda gel with with the FF1 & FF2 albums, so it's "Random Encounter, Rebellion, Resurrection" - a trio of R's.
If anyone feels strongly that this title is poo and/or has a better idea, please chime in!
Also, the album has been added to the project consent form - please sign ASAP!

Since my fiance had to go back to her home country,  I've been getting some serious cabin fever.
 
Thankfully, though, the airport has finally opened back up again so I've been able to resume what is one of my favorite solitary activities.  Got a nice pic today, so I thought I'd share.
 
 
 

Trailer time!
 
 

Long time OCR member and album contribution veteran @Dj Mokram has officially joined the project, taking the Pyramid source. 
It's really nice to see this album coming together with a mixture of old skool remixers and some of the newer contributors to the site. I've been lax with my weekly updates (mainly because I'm not entirely sure what day it is half the time) but I'd like to thank everyone who's joined the album project so far as well as those who have taken the time to just check out this thread. Let's see what the coming weeks bring!

Sorry to hear about those of you who are having a rough time.   

I've been fortunate to be able to work from home, so it really hasn't affected me too much. 
As far as the extra time at time home goes. I've been doing some recording and a lot of woodworking.   My girlfriend and I got engaged while she was here visiting for the past couple months too, so now I'm going through the visa application process for her so we can get married in the U.S.  

Though you wanted your orchestration to sound menacing, I honestly felt a lot of bounce with the rhythms, and you might've unintentionally retained the goofiness behind that source - which is not a bad thing at all!  The interpretation's great - melodically straight-forward, but the theme adapted well to the style, and you have some manipulations with the opening on the strings at 0:15 (hard to hear thanks to the flute focus) and at 1:58.  I also appreciate the attention change to the male choir at 1:14 as a middle point between similar renditions at 0:29 and 2:13.  However, like everyone else, the problematic delayed syllables (1:16, 1:23) stuck out like a sore thumb.  That's something a five-minute fix can resolve.
The production values got me thinking hard about this one over the past few months since I first heard it in the queue.  The balance is on point - all volume levels are appropriate to the instruments' roles, and with how the male choir got presented at 1:14, I appreciate it being a background part for the other two theme run-throughs.   Truthfully, I would've preferred it getting cut from them both entirely to save some breathing room, but it's your call.  There's also a part at 1:43 where the strings and female choir play, but the similar frequencies caused them to bleed together.  It's something that'll be nice to hear get addressed, but no big problem if it gets left alone.
I also thought carefully about the articulation throughout.  Usage of these is an excellent example to demonstrate realism in an orchestrated backdrop, but the amount of staccato on display is very peculiar.  Can a live woodwind or brass player make so many short stabbed notes consecutively?  Possibly, provided there is room to breathe.  It's a non-issue in the theme variations as there are some half-second gaps for a virtual player to draw air, but the intro at 0:15 feels so constant a live flute player would struggle under those conditions.  It's still not a dealbreaker, but more of an observation and something that I hope you can look out for with future orchestrations - which at this point the overall quality has significantly improved over time.
Having said all this, I feel it's good to go - but provided the delayed syllables get fixed.  Regardless of what happens, I hope you've learned a lot from this experience, Alex - and I'm game to see where your orchestrations go next!

[EDIT: 2020/05/06 - I spoke with Alex this morning and learned that he lost the project file in a hard drive crash not long after he released the EP.  With there being a year long gap between release and addition to the queue, it feels rough to go through judgment without seeing it coming.  These things can't be helped, unfortunately, and as I can't see it on the front page as is, I'm going to have to flip my vote.  I still stand by what I said though - these orchestrations have really improved in quality, and I hope I get to hear more examples in the near future.]

NO

I did this a few years ago. Hopefully you enjoy it!
 

Hello tous le monde.
I'm looking for a soprano vocal, a horn and a violin players who will be intrested to be a part of this Golden Axe Tribute track.
https://youtu.be/ouKja1PAd4M
chears
jmabate
 
 
 

Necrobumping this one. Dear staff, has anyone expressed interest in reviving this one? If not, would it be possible to have the accepted mixes posted? A bit frustrating to see my mix standing in the judge thread for almost 5 years lol (Same goes with other "dead" projects too.)

@Chernabogue This one won't be revived, so absolutely, we can proceed with posting the approved mixes. It seems like there are three, total, and we might go for a mini-flood. Thanks for bringing it to my attention. Feel free to tag me directly if you feel like things aren't being dealt with.
We will prioritize this, based on how long it's gone unattended.
I'll be closing the thread; we're working on reviving some other projects, but can't do that for all of them. Thanks to @Chimpazilla & @timaeus222 on the time/effort involved in this - COULD have been awesome, but the disruption w/ Brandon and subsequent loss of momentum mean it petered out.

Necrobumping this one. Dear staff, has anyone expressed interest in reviving this one? If not, would it be possible to have the accepted mixes posted? A bit frustrating to see my mix standing in the judge thread for almost 5 years lol (Same goes with other "dead" projects too.)

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