Palpable

AmR ][ Aaron M. Rigby 28922 The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time Serenade of Water (System/Game already data based) (Song Archive URL- N/A) Hello OC Remix! I can't believe there is a site out there for this stuff!!! I've been doing this for years and thought I was the only one who did this with Video Game Music. I've been arranging VGM since 1996 when I first started sequencing on my PC using an old app called MIDI Studio 4 (Windows 3.1). I've been a hardcore gamer all my life, used to get in trouble in grade school for reading my NES game instruction/guides in class. I made an arrangement of Serenade of Water because I felt it would be challenging as a arranger/producer/engineer to turn those 6-7 note melodies into an approx. 3:30min songs. I started on serenade because it is my personal favorite from The Legend of Zelda - Ocarina of Time, though I am a fan of Requiem of Spirit in terms of the "warp type" songs. I have plans to rearrange all the warp songs from Ocarina of Time. This session was created using Logic Pro 7.2 & mixed using ProTools 7.3. -- rig1015 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.zophar.net/download_file/12209 - (63) "Serenade of Water" An expansive take for such a short source tune. It slows the piece down to a glacial pace, adding some pads for a lush atmosphere and short original sections that piece together well. I'm definitely liking what you did here, Aaron, but I thought it needed to change more. Those falling arpeggios get used so much - by the end of the song, I've heard them too much. It's difficult with a source tune this short because you do want to keep a tie to the original, but you also can't repeat too much. I like the addition of elements as the song progresses, but because you keep intact what you're already done, it gets a little stagnant. I might suggest switching between using the melody and the arpeggios as your tie for some variety. Production was nice, not much to say there. If you can make this more varied, I could see it passing. NO (resubmit)

The artist should be considered The University of Toronto 10 O'Clock Big Band, but The Runaway Five will get an associated credit since several members were involved - LT Contact Information: ReMixer name (band name): The Runaway Five Real Name (band members): Brendan McElroy, Brendan Swanson, Alex Goodman, Matt MacLean, Brent Mah, Spencer Cheyne Submission Information: Game: Super Mario 64 Song: Bob-Omb Battlefield Remix Title: Big-Band Battlefield Additional comments: Arranged by: Brendan McEroy (April 2009). Performed by: the University of Toronto 10 O'Clock Big Band: DIRECTED BY: Terry Promane, Rhythm Section - Brendan McElroy (Bass), Tyson Kerr (Piano), Mack Longpre (Drums), Alex Goodman (Guitar), Trumpets - Matt MacLean, Ryan Brower, Jesse Malone, Marie Gaudy, Trombones - Steve Ward, Robin Jessome, Aidan Sibley, Josh Bird, Saxophones - Taylor Cook (Alto), Brendan Cassidy (Alto), Rob Christian (Tenor), Dave Rubel (Tenor), Anthony Rindaldi (Baritone). This is the only recording I have of this arrangement and it may have some clipping, etc. It's a pretty decent recording for a handheld recorder so hopefully it suffices. Also, there was some quality loss as I tried to make it fit the size req for submissions. The past few submissions have been denied based on a limited amount of source track present. Hopefully this fits the req. It's a little hard to recognize but the intro is straight from the source track as well (the second half of the melody). I also added a shout chorus featuring a bunch of other Mario melodies. I hope you all like it! A four horn arrangement of this piece can be found on our myspace as well! Brendan McElroy The Runaway Five www.therunawayfive.com www.myspace.com/therunawayfive2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ http://www.zophar.net/download_file/12246 - (05) "Super Mario 64 Main Theme" Very close to direct posting this one, but figured depending on how you count it, it could be just under 50%. Here's my breakdown: 0:00-1:40 - melodies and chords 1:45-2:25 - chords 2:27-2:47 - original chords (not counting this) 2:47-3:22 - chords 4:35-4:38 - ref 4:40-4:41 - ref 4:44-4:46 - ref 4:51-5:04 - ref (counting the silence - it's part of the song!) 5:08-6:28 - melodies and chords Just counting the first and last sections and the references puts this at 199 seconds / 389 seconds (chopping off the last 5 seconds of silence) = 51.2%. Giving them credit for the chords puts it well over the line. I loved the job they did with this and it's my favorite Runaway Five piece yet. The key changes in the B-section were risky but interesting, and the laidback bar atmosphere of the recording adds mucho charm. Gotta love the guy ordering something halfway through the song. Awesome work, you all! YES

Your ReMixer name: Main Finger Your real name: Jesse Gregory Name of game(s) arranged: Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Name of individual song(s) arranged: Mystic Cave Zone Name of ReMix: Carnival Cave Several years ago I submitted an OLD version of this track. I never saw it get to the judges. Either it got lost, or it got rejected and I didn't notice. Either way, that is all moot. The song has been reworked a lot since that submission. This is the final version of the song whether it gets accepted on OCR or not. I very recently released my new album Mode7 (for free download) on MainFinger.com and I need to move on musically. The album took waaaaay too long to make due to the fact that I had a very crappy computer. I mean, the latency issues on this computer were so bad that if you hit a note on the midi controller, it wouldn't actually play the instrument for about a full second. And even if you were just doing sequencing, even a mild amount of synths and effects channels would literally bring my computer to its knees causing me to have to export often just to hear what the section I'm working on even sounds like without chopping out. I have finally upgraded to a new computer thankfully, but the majority of this song was made on the old one. When I was making the solo, partway through I just started thinking of Herbie Hancock's "Rockit" for no apparant reason. This resulted in a short little Rockit homage at about the 2:32 mark. I even recorded a little vocoder clip for that part like in Rockit, only mine is me saying "Robotnik". I hope somebody picks up on this. Anyway, hopefully you guys enjoy it. It would be nice to be able to get a song on the site that isn't from 2002. I'd like to think I've made at least some improvement in the last seven years, afterall. But oh well, no hard feelings either way. -Jesse "Main Finger" Gregory ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://project2612.org/download.php?id=37 - 10 "Mystic Cave Zone" The song plays with the structure a little and adds some original sections, but I thought the overall mood and instrumentation was similar and most of the parts come from the original. Though it sounded good and was well put-together, it felt conservative and too much like a sound upgrade. I would have liked to hear some more drastic changes to the approach. I did get and appreciate your little "Rockit" reference. Could see others hearing this as a more personalized arrangement than I did, we shall see. Good luck, Jesse! NO (resubmit)

Diotrans and I are gonna have to pass too, I'm afraid. There's just too much going on in September. Have fun everybody!

OCR doesn't sell the albums, but we do give some out, which is in line with the site's policy about keeping the music free. In addition to the trivia contest mentioned here, we've given out some copies of the album at conventions. That's probably the best way to get your hands on one - come to our panels! There are a limited number of copies, of course, so no guarantees.

The Vectorman mix shouldn't be the only one that made you realize the diversity of games on the site - 4 of the last 6 mixes were the first mix of that game on the site. Lots of underrepresented games show up here, along with the super-represented ones.

* The Prophet of Mephisto * Bradley Burr Submission Information * Tales of Phantasia, As Time Goes On (original tune) * new title is: as time goes on (same formatting) * no additional info needed for the site. * you've got the original through the site and through zophar's domain. * notes: i originally started this mix by taking the arpeggiated background synth and the melody (in the strings) and seeing what i could create out of them. i knew i wanted to do something with vocals, and i knew i wanted it to be more in the laid-back instrumental vibe i've been writing in lately. so i booted up my funk machine (also known as virtual bassist) and started writing. after i had the drums and bass laid down, the rest of the track came together pretty quick. i tried to not change the melody at all - something i prefer to do with all my remixes - and instead tried to fit my words to the music already written. it was a really different experience composing with vocals, since you have to worry about stuff like text stress, vowel placements, etc. i recorded this in my dorm room (which is why it sounds so hollow) right before the deadline, so there's some vocal irregularities that wouldn't normally be there (i was a little sick at that point). i'd fix them, but i've grown attached to the sounds i made before, and am loathe to take them out. the sax solos were done on tenor, alto, and soprano saxophones. it should be obvious which is which. the lyrics were specifically written to be what some people call 'crossover' lyrics - meaning that they can have both a spiritual meaning as well as a general, non-religious one as well. you'll note that i tried to fit phrases from the game into the lyrics, the most notable being 'as time goes on'. someone complained that my name for the track was unoriginal, but i honestly couldn't see myself calling it anything else. that phrase really fit the entire piece, in my mind. again, i am loathe to change it. also, no anal rape references! i'm one foot in the door already. or one foot out, depending on how you view it. * i used virtual bassist, virtual guitarist, addictive drums, guitar rig 3 for both the guitars and my voice, ueberschall's elastik and liquid instruments vsts, and NI's B4 II. great organ, that is. fantastic. i also used some of FL's vsts, notably the Love Philter for the guitar gate. i recorded in audacity and mastered in FL 7 or 8, can't remember which i had at the time. i used melodyne to make my voice sound like i wasn't a dying cat (at that point, i was hoarse enough to sound like one, too). * lyrics: as i wait in the moonlight my thoughts tumble without sense i long for you in the twilight i need your touch, i need your presence oh, where are you when I need you, more and more, every day, as time goes on you are love to me why hast thou forsaken me i love you with all my will my heart cries out to be with you all of my days oh, where are you when I need you, more and more, every day, as time goes on you are love to me enjoy! feel free to leave the website up in the rejection thread. BRAD ----------------------------------------------------------------- http://snesmusic.org/v2/download.php?spcNow=top - "As Time Goes On" (top-205.spc) C'mon Brad, no original title? Don't make us call this one "Brad Is Dumb" or something. I could see people calling this one conservative since the vocal follows the melody for most of the song, but the constant flourishes on the sax and the inspired jazz + oscillating guitar backing track gives this a very different feel. I thought there was enough change there that this stands apart, and the original bookends are nice too. Great, unique sound on this one. YES

ReMixer Name: Sockpuppet5 Forum userid: 27176 Games Arranged: Donkey Kong Country Donkey Kong County 2: Diddy's Kong Quest Sources: Kanon's Klaim (Also known as Mining Melancholy) - Donkey Kong Country 2 Life in the Mines - Donkey Kong Country Donkey Kong Rescued - Donkey Kong Country 2 ReMix Title: Life in the Shaft Lane Link: This is my first submission, hope I'm doing this right... This was originally a ReMix of Kanon's Klaim with a brief cameo from Life in the Mines, but I extended it into a 3-source ReMix. It was made entirely with Reason 4. Geoffrey Taucer helped this ReMix out a lot by giving some great advice on how I could improve it. ----------------------------------------------------------------- http://snesmusic.org/v2/download.php?spcNow=dkq - "Mining Melancholy", "Donkey Kong Rescued" (dkq-10.spc, dkq-28.spc) http://snesmusic.org/v2/download.php?spcNow=dkc - "Life in the Mines" (dkc-12.spc) I liked the arrangement ideas and effects here and the song has a good direction, but production-wise this could be improved a lot. The samples aren't that great, especially the guitars, but humanizing the sequencing on the piano would help too. On those repeated notes, it sounds very stiff. The song is also a little muted, and the piano and drums could use more upper-frequencies to cut through the mix. Drums should be brought up in volume in the mix and some fatter samples would add life. On the arrangement end of it, you could stand to change up the backing pads and drums more. Those play the same way nearly the entire song. Overall, some good ideas though, a promising start. It's up to you to improve the production on this to make it reach its potential. NO (resubmit)

Definitely a nice tune, solid drumming, but a lot of this didn't sound sourcey to me. Someone want to do the dirty work and find the connections? - P Hi, Submissions! Long time... chumble spuzz Marcellis Wentz This is my latest VGM arrangemt, from SMB3 and Mario 64, of the Underwater Theme from SMB3 (with quotes from the Underground Theme, Toad's House, and Warp Zone from SMB3, and Dire Dire Docks from Mario 64). All by Koji Kondo, if I'm not forgetting anyone. Unfortunately, I'm mysteriously unable to upload this to my personal website (frustrating), so I've attached the .mp3 to this email. I came up with the idea for this mix after listening to The Bad Plus's magnificent cover of Chariots of Fire (mostly the incredible drumming). Also, I've always liked the bass work in the Newsboys song Reality, so that was another inspiration, though much less obvious. This was definitely the most challenging arrangement I've done to date, but I know I'm happy with a song when I accidentally loop it 30 times before I know it. Hope you dig it. -marcellis

Contact: ReMixer Name: MattInc Real Name: Matthew E. Waldman Submission info: Game arranged: Panzer Dragoon Zwei (Sega Saturn) Song arranged: "The Great Ravine" Link to original soundtrack: (I'm not entirely sure what you mean by this, but here's a list of songs from the album) http://www.soundtrackcentral.com/cds/panzerdragoon2zwei_ost.htm Original source: Comments: Hey all! I recently got into the Panzer Dragoon series. Upon playing the first game, I just HAD to buy the second one. I started playing, and by the time I hit the second level, I fell in love with the music. Sure, it was completely synthetic, but the compositions themselves were unlike anything I have heard in a game before. Upon beating the game, I decided to arrange my favorite track, "The Great Ravine." Throughout this year, I have worked on this piece off and on. Just recently, I picked it up again and decided to add a lot of changes. I can say I am very satisfied with the final product and the changes I have made to it. If you have listened to a lot of my original pieces, you'll notice many familiar elements in this piece. In this, I tried to make the melody itself more prominent, as well as evoke more of a tribal sound. All in all, I hope you will enjoy this piece, and thank you for listening to it! (Please note that this remix plays at a lower key than in the original.) -Matt

That's basically what the people who made 9 did. The movie was supposed to come out next year, but they changed the name so that it would get released today. * This may be made up.

I'll go ahead and close this one, I listened to it with Larry and we had the same thoughts. I like the song, but too coverish for OCR. Sorry Dale! NO

I had an AMAZING time at PAX meeting old friends and new. It was heartbreaking having to split the time there between seeing people, seeing the con, seeing the city, and just relaxing! I easily could have spent a week there. Big thanks to everyone who attended the panel (even if you're just lurking), and it sounded like the people at PAX liked it, so hopefully it will be the first of many PAX appearances to come!

Happy birthday to my favorite judge! Don't tell the others I said that.

Happy birthday guys! Keep being awesome.

Hmm, I didn't hear Still More Fighting in this, but the uses of the other tracks were apparent and were used almost everywhere besides the intro. I thought it was a great pairing of Pendulum's style with these tunes. Your synth work was pretty cool here, you deserve to be proud! I will say that the guitar felt upfront compared to the other instruments at 0:57 and each section with that motif. I might have pulled that back a little, made it less present. Like OA, I also thought you could have done more in the bridge, but it served its purpose. It's still a very nice track! YES

I know some people gave you guys flack about this track, and Larry's last comment is uh accurate, but it's actually really well put-together. Love the concept, love the beat, had the song in my head for a while. I'm glad this song was made. YES

I hope the fact that they won't resubmit isn't a factor in your decision. It sounds like it might not be, but I think it's unfair to judge on that basis.

This hews awfully close to the original, it's pretty much a more lush version of the source. I caught two places where the melody deviated, but otherwise, there wasn't anything new here. Sure, your background sounds nice but it's got to be more interpretive than this for OCR. Even the mood is similar. It also needs to be less static; consider dropping some of the background elements for a few measures, or changing up the pads and percussion you use. The instrument that first enters at 0:15 is hard to hear and something that cuts through would suit the song more. The distorted synth lead at 0:40 is a little better, but a little too harsh for the gentleness of the rest of the song. Overall, I felt like this was put together hastily once you established the nice groove. It runs on cruise control, as Larry likes to put it. It needs more variety, more deviation from the source, and more time spent on making the sounds work together. NO

Your guitar playing is really nice, and I thought the intro was pretty cool, felt a little interpretive with the slowness of the take and the second guitar part. But the meat of the song is pretty much straight cover with a solo at the end. Way too short - with a 48 second intro, this feels like it stops before it starts. I think you could throw some extra sections in there that combine parts from the source with parts of your own. Drums definitely not cutting it here. Another Soundscape summed the problems up perfectly. I think you have it in you to make this meet our standards, and I'd love to see another go at it. NO (resubmit)

Oh yeah, blitzball, god. That was such a joke. After watching my friend play a few matches (a few of the hundreds he would eventually play to unlock Wakka's ultimate weapon), I vowed to play the minimum number of games I needed to to beat the game.

Very good idea to overlay the two themes. I thought the arrangement was very pretty at times. It's a little flat though, and while some of that comes down to the production, but I thought this was at odds about what it wanted to be. The clap groove was sparse and minimal, but the rest of the production suggested something denser. I would probably replace that clap groove with something heavier and less repetitive, because it didn't work for me. And please center it too. Sequencing on the lead and piano could stand to be less rigid. I thought there were whole sections of frequency missing from this. Needed more lows, needed more mid-highs. Kick could have been fatter to fill those lower frequencies (and might want to tone down the reverb on it, that just muds things up). Yeah, we sort of ripped you a new one here, but the basic arrangement is quite nice. Don't forget that. If you can get over the hurdles with this, this could be something great. NO (resubmit)

Some of the detours taken in this were pretty cool, and I like the way you introduced the main melody. It was not that adventurous an arrangement, but a solid one. Would have liked to hear the B-section in there somewhere since it's my favorite part of the song (if it was in there, I missed it), but the plays on the intro were written well. I thought the production wasn't strong. The percussion is definitely not getting it done because the samples are weak, like you pointed out. In the 0:31 section and after when you switch to a breakbeat rhythm, the snare sounds thin. Even in the straighter 4/4 sections, the kick makes up some of the power but the clap is still thin. With a beat that clicks, the repetitiveness isn't as big a deal, but some additional percussion layers might help on that front, if you can work them in. The synths take up too much of the room, and sections like 0:31 and 3:11 are way too busy, you can barely hear the drums. I think you need to spend more time on the EQ and levels, comparing to some other songs in the same style. I like the ideas but not really the execution, sorry. Your Lux Aeterna song with diotrans sounded a lot more balanced production-wise so I know you can do better than this. NO (resubmit)

I'd say make a version of this for us without the sampling, or at least maybe just cut the sampling at the end. It didn't add a whole lot to your piece, which was a very slick version of this weirdo Vega song I've never heard before. Brass and strings sound nice and tempo changes worked well. The guitar would have been nicer live, but it still gave this the Spanish atmosphere you were going for. My only criticism is the production seemed a little cramped and it was hard to hear some of the synth work. It might have been improved by using less elements at a time or spending more time on the EQ, but as is, this is fine work, Justin. Let's close this but make sure the final version has less sampling involved. YES (conditional)

I liked 10 a fair bit, but I never played 7 or 8 so I can't compare to those. (10 doesn't hold a candle to 6 though.) It was better than 9 or 12, and way way better than X-2. The battles move quickly, possibly best system in the series, the story and characters are good, and the graphics are real nice in some places. Voice acting is mixed (John DiMaggio adds a LOT, love that guy) and the linearity of the game was disappointing. Wasn't a fan of the soundtrack either, I remixed the only song I really liked from it haha. I'd say the game is still worth playing through.