Flexstyle

Crisis averted! I was about to feel old but also rest easy in the fact that other people would have felt older.

I own an MPK49, and have thus far been really happy with it. Akai makes really good gear, but so too does Roland. I know that's not incredibly helpful, but for what it's worth, I like my MPK.

Oh man, I really love what you've done with this track. Unlike Chimp, I really enjoyed the source tune, but I like this even more than that. That solo at the end was so good, my only crit is that I wish the song had continued longer than that. Beautiful, expansive soundscape, and a fantastic treatment of the source material. YES

Man, I was all prepared to be a jerk and CRUSH THOSE DREAMS FOR GOOD...and then I listened to the track and discovered that it was actually pretty cool. Dang it! (seriously, that whole pity party thing isn't a good look, though.) Anyways. I honestly have no problems with the snare, I really like the hyper gating on the strings, and I feel like this stays pretty fresh throughout. You guys sure we're listening to the same track? The stabs of wubbles are neat, I feel like I'm engaged throughout, and honestly the mix is pretty solid to my ears. Yeah, the drums are pretty sparse, but that doesn't bother me in the context of the song. And, like was said already, this is a cool arrangement overall. Let's keep this one alive a bit longer! YES

The ending doesn't really bother me at all, honestly. I feel like the note fade is fine. That said, there is a distinct lack of bass in the first 1:30 of the song, which I assume probably wasn't intentional. Aside from that, the arrangement was definitely up to standards, the mix was otherwise very clean, and I dig the energy. NO RESUB but seriously get that bass in there and this is a YES from me.

There's a plucked, harpsichord-y synth that hits around 2:28 or so that bugs me a little bit because it sticks out of the mix kinda badly. The rest of the song, though, is so good that I don't think I could let that be a dealbreaker. Past that, I really dig the arrangement and the atmosphere, and honestly the interplay between vocals and guitars really doesn't bother me. If that plucked synth could be fixed before posting, that would really help, but other than that no issues here. YES

Words fail. Can I just leave it at that? Oh, I can't? Okay. I do agree with it being a bit quiet, as I definitely had to push the volume on my computer a bit to hear it properly (and, as an aside, I'd be willing to do a slight mastering job on it if you're willing to trust me with that wav file), but that's not a dealbreaker. Otherwise, it's an imaginative, artistic, well-crafted piece of video game music that I am absolutely thrilled to stamp my approval onto. YES

Aww yeah, this track! Like Chimp, I hadn't actually heard the sources before I took a listen to them this time, and again, like her, I "get" the song so much more now. This is a fantastic arrangement, and I love the way you've melded the organic and synthetic elements together. The groove is super tasty, Ergo's guitars are on point, and this thing needs to just get on the front page already. so much of my YES

I guess kinda going along with what Emu said here--this isn't some kind of massively breathtaking arrangement, but it's competent, uses source throughout, and is well-mixed. I dig. I'm also a fan of the chirpy percussion to go with the chirping birds, if that makes sense...I dunno. Anyways. It's good, I like it, no complaints from me! YES

I would be all over this. Sounds like fun! Hopefully it's *after* I get everything set up in this new apartment.

I've recorded voices for an open-source game in a car before. Makes theoretical sense at least, since you're... _blocking out sound _recording in an area that doesn't have many right angles _in a well-padded area Seems legit to me. Maybe I'm way off.

I heard a rumor that it might be replayed one more time very shortly....

I met you at the DoD listening party, yo!

Don't worry, Monz, I'm carrying the melodica torch this year!

Cheers guys! Yeah, I will definitely have physicals of this at MAGFest, so you can definitely grab a copy there as well!

I would just like to point out that the "genteel" melodic synths (not the brassy stabs that appear throughout the song) in that ending part were actually OA as well. The man is multi-talented!

You will see a collab from XPRTNovice and Flexstyle in here, continuing my now-yearly tradition of entering only during MAGFest month!

I'm just going to link to that last post whenever anyone asks me how to improve their mixes. Well said, Rozo!

I'm getting SERIOUS Jamiroquai vibes out of this one. Super delicious stuff here!

The news is that I currently have 11 full final tracks, and about another five promised to me this week. I'm hoping for 18 tracks total, and there were a total of 22 claimed, so hopefully I'll have everything in my back pocket by the time MAGFest hits. Album release date isn't set anywhere yet, as that's up to staff, but I should have everything ready for them by mid-Feb, counting artwork.

I just wanna pop in here and say that the Shure SM7B is a fantastic mic for voiceover purposes, especially since it tends to be MUUUUUCH better about rejecting background noise than any condenser mic, yet still has a great "deep" sound to it. I've used it to record in a noisy room with several computers going, etc., and couldn't tell that they were there at all when I listened again on headphones.

This is it, folks--this is the first artist album I've released officially since 2011. As you may know, I've been staying busy--released a remix album, an original soundtrack, and a collection of all my video game remixes in between now and then. Of course, I've been busy here on OCR as well, not to mention the fact that I completed my bachelor's degree in that time span. This album has several original songs, and also includes several remixes I've done for other artists over the past few years, and they've graciously given me permission to use these mixes on my album. These artists include Benjamin Briggs, Jamison Randall (TheGuitahHeroe), and more! I've also been given the opportunity to work with gifted visual artist Edward Dennis (Final Fantasy - Random Encounter visual artist), and he's done some truly fantastic artwork for the album. In order to showcase this fantastic package, I'm shelling out for high-quality CD digipacks, rather than the low-end generic jewel cases I've used for past albums. Additionally, I'm having the album design done by a friend of mine who's been in the music industry for decades, and the quality of this package will be the highest I've ever released. This all means that this is the most expensive album I've ever put together, but fear not--the CD will cost you, the listener, the same price as I've always charged for them in the past! Ten dollars gets you this gorgeous package, as well as digital downloads in any format you like from the Bandcamp page. It does, however, mean that I'm first releasing a preorder, hopefully in order to recoup a few of my costs. If you want to support but don't want to order the package and pay for shipping, do not fear! The digital album will be available as always, as well, and that will also ease my financial burden in putting together this labor of love! Even if you can't (or don't want to) buy this album, could you consider sharing the link below with your friends? I could use as many eyeballs on this project as I can possibly get, so even a Facebook post is incredibly appreciated! You can preorder this new album, Perfect Getaway, at https://flexstyle.bandcamp.com/album/perfect-getaway. Did I mention the release date is my birthday?

Search for Flexstyle and you'll find me.

Get on in here, yo! Welcome aboard!

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