Gario

Seems like we're pretty much in unison about the ending and vocals being an issue, even if whether it's passable or not is in debate, so I sent the artist a request to fix that ending specifically while mentioning the issue with the vocals. Here's hoping for a fix.

I like Rebecca's work, and I LOVE FF6's Dancing Mad, so I was expecting to get blown away by this one. I hear what this was going for - the more heavy use of operatic soloists in this coupled with the more reverb-heavy setting does make this sound like it's trying to hit something like a live opera performance. I won't hold it against this mix, but opera really does fall flat when the lyrics are taken away. Neither here nor there, though. Concerning this arrangement, I think Rebecca calls one thing out right away correctly - it plays the source too safe. One of her greatest strengths - her orchestration skills - seemed hampered by this as a result, which is a real shame. Many parts share similar instrumentation to the source, with a few parts layered on top (like the aforementioned soloists). The overall mix is too quiet. Stacking it against other orchestral arrangements from OCR (and from Rebecca herself) it sounds far quieter than it should. On a different note, though, I do have to commend the laughing at 6:02 - it sounds absolutely great, and is a suitable replacement to the classic Kefka laugh. These things really add up over a nine minute arrangement of Dancing Mad. As much as it pains me, I don't think I could pass this as it stands - it does need to take some more risks to stand out from our current roster of Dancing Mad arrangements, and the levels do need to be raised. It's a tough source to handle, and I give my praise for this arrangement for tackling it, but I'm going to pass on this. NO

RebeccaETripp Rebecca Tripp http://www.crystalechosound.com/ ID: 48262 Game(s): Final Fantasy 6 Song Title: End of the World Suite Songs Remixed: Dancing Mad (all movements, because apparently I’m a masochist) Comments: Here’s a link to the song on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqrqwtxcdHY Maybe it’s a bit too close to the source, but I figured it still couldn’t hurt to send it. I tried to take it in a more operatic and less rockestra direction, haha!

Jesus, can't believe I missed this one in the inbox - a Contra Hard Corp remix? And a freakin' good one, to boot - the production values on this are great, and the style is so obvious for this game it's shocking it doesn't have more arrangements like this. As much as I want to give this track unending praise, it does have a few shortcomings. Notably, this does feel pretty repetitive. Any section that repeats over and over does tend to have subtle builds that make every repetition slightly different as they go on, but I'm not going to lie - the repetition seemed excessive, even considering the style. Might want to have someone who's more into these genres (@Sir_NutS, maybe?) to say if this is just a thing that happens in the genre. The piano part could use more reverb on it (sounds distractingly dry), but otherwise the track nails it everywhere else. I'm not QUITE going to chalk up the repetitiveness of the arrangement to style, but I will acknowledge that it has something to do with it. It does everything else so damn well, though, that I'm still willing to give this a solid pass. YES

Remixer Name - Black Ace Real Name - Alexey Bakhmetyev E-Mail - cjblackace Website - www.blackace.ru UserID - 34929 Name of Game - Contra Hard Corps (Sega Genesis) Name of arrangement - Maximum Contra Overdrive Name of song - Contra Overdrive Game info - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contra:_Hard_Corps Original track - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwCf8w-9vGs Release Date - 05 November 2017 Nuts edit: original track link is broken, and it was broken since the time it was posted, IIRC (I listened but did not vote right away then). Here's a good link:

Remix: Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azA7YbrYn5k Collaborators: Smooth4Lyfe (vocals), Brothadom (lyrics) Remixer: HoboKa Description: We did an RnB/rappy remix of the underground theme for Soulblazer. Brothadom wrote the lyrics, but I found his vocals to be wanting, so I wound up hiring Smooth4Lyfe to do-em up for me. And man, can Smooth4Lyfe rap AND sing!! On a sadder note, I think Brothadom was very upset at this revelation and blocked me. I hope he's doing alright... Regardless, whether or not this collab-mix passes, can you guys drop him a line and tell him I've got some moneys for him?? I owe him for the time/effort at least. PS, if anyone on the panel is up for doing any potentially needed finished mastering touches, can you PM me? I'm open to paying for the service too. Thanks!!!! best regards, -Alex

Hi ! There is a remix of the Lullaby for Mergo (Bloodborne) for big romantic orchestra. (all with spitfire audio's vst) I wanted to compose in many styles while maintaining both melodies from the original track, so I tried some orchestral techniques of William Walton and John Williams. I expose the main theme with the harp only then non-fonctionnal harmony helps to stretch it ; I abusively use of melodic cells to do this. I'm really happy with this remix so I send it to you. Regards ------------------------------------------------------------------- Remixer name : Ophanin Real Name : Mathieu Deltour User ID : http://ocremix.org/community/user/34572-ophanin/ Game : Bloodborne Song title : The Children of Yharnam Original song : Lullaby for Mergo

Beautifully produced, wonderfully performed. I can definitely hear the issue others have with the track sounding like a continuous build to nothing. I'm not necessarily going to fault the artist for it - that's one way to write minimalist music, after all - but I will add that because of it the song won't be for everyone. If you're looking for music with direction and an end goal, this isn't going to satisfy. For me, though, the repetitious writing that continues to slowly build off of itself is soothing. It's something I can listen to without thinking about it, something that I can do work to without stopping to listen to anything in particular. In the right mindset, it's a neat experience. Not for everyone, and not something to put in on a whim, but when it's the right mood for it the track nails it. It's different, and it adds another flavor to OCR's library. I dig it. YES

Oh, this is really good stuff. The direction you took it was perfect to get nearly four minutes out of such a short source - breaking up that arp in the beginning, then expanding on the source in a more recognizeable way later. It has the effect of making the source almost obvious on a second pass, even though it was elusive upon a first listen. I love it. It's up to you, but have you considered sending this to OCR? I'd love to hear it there, if you're willing.

Read the other comments (kind of riding on them a bit, even), and I agree nearly wholesale - the track utilizes too much repetition, and the soundscape is very static. Mindwanderer's note on the SFX is an interesting one, because he's right - they're used in the beginning (to great effect, for the most part). I've heard you use a lot of SFX in your prior work (like your Flashman remix), so I agree with his assessment: either utilize them more throughout, or cut down on them in the intro. I thought the drums were balanced well enough, personally - it IS DnB, after all - though I'll admit right now my headphones don't pick up the best bass right now. Nutricious and MindWanderer are probably correct that the bass is overly heavy, but I don't think it sinks the track on it's own. The repetitions and lack of variety in the soundscape (drums & 1/4 duty cycle squares throughout, baby!) gets my ears tired pretty quick on this one, though, and that's particularly what swings my vote on this one. So, more consistent use of SFX (either more or less), balance the EQ distribution so it's less bass dominant, break up the repetition and make the soundscape more varied. Yup. Love your stuff, so I hope to hear this one come back to us! NO

Submitted Track: Contact Information: Your ReMixer name Kylok Your real name Kyle Okaly Your email address Your website http://www.kyleokaly.com/ Your userid 32955 Submission Information: OCR Album Project: Skies of Arcadia: Arcadia Legends Name of game(s) arranged Skies of Arcadia Name of arrangement Undervalued Name of individual song(s) arranged Valua City Performers: Vocals: Bree (no OCR account) Track Notes: I've never played Skies of Arcadia, so I was hesitant to contribute to this album when I was contacted about it, but after listening through some of the OST my decision was pretty quick. There are lots of great themes in here, and the wide array of instruments and styles give it a lot of remixing potential. Valua City stuck out in my mind as an interesting track to remix because of how slow, sullen, and almost ambient it feels at first, but then how it gradually builds to something that feels more driven and hopeful. I've been recording lots of "ooo/ahh" vocals lately for a few different projects, so that approach immediately came to mind for this, and I think it fits pretty well with the general vibe of the piece. One of the most interesting shifts in the original track for me was the entrance of the percussion, so I emphasized that shift a bit more in my remix. I also tried to keep the instrumentation minimal, partially to evoke a sort of hopeless emptiness... and partially because my previous (and first!) OCR contribution ("Thick Jams") had... a lot going on.

Contact Nmydzig & Metal Knight Karen Robles http://nmydzig.blogspot.mx/ 34878 Submission: Chrono Cross Time's Scar Chrono Chross Time’s Scar / Yasunori Mitsuda Chrono Cross / PS One https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J46RY4PU8a8 Synth, Flute .Bass and Drums : Nmydzig Guitars : Metal Knight Support : www.patreon.com/Nmydzig Facebook: www.facebook.com/Nmydzig Bandcamp : nmydzigmetalknight.bandcamp.com Finaly we did it, our proyect of Videogame music has begun.

It was inevitable for this day to come - a FF6 track named after the suplexing of a train. This certainly has a few good things going for it - the sequencing is pretty good, and that arrangement really does a good job playing with your expectations. A good example of how to handle precise repetition occurs at 1:11 - 1:30 (a copy/pasta of 0:02 - 0:21): moves just like an earlier section, but then it swerves hard against one's expectations. I preach that there ARE some good uses for copy/pasta, and you present a good example here of doing it right. The production on this unfortunately buries the good; the master track sounds like there's a heavy compressor and heavy low pass on it. There's virtually no highs that come through on this, and pumping from overcompression sound like it's happening in quite a few places. On top of that, the overall mastering ends up sounding pretty quiet, to boot. The performances, sequencing and even mixing sound acceptable, but it's all hidden underneath some poor production at the end of the day. I like what you did with the track, since it's something that plays with expectations. The heavy of production issues, though... take off anything on your master track, and redo the lowpasses and compressors that are in this so that the track doesn't sound like it's playing underwater. The fixes aren't trivial, but I think there's something passable under all that (since you DID submit this, and all). Good luck!

It was inevitable for this day to come - a FF6 track named after the suplexing of a train. This certainly has a few good things going for it - the sequencing is pretty good, and that arrangement really does a good job playing with your expectations. A good example of how to handle precise repetition occurs at 1:11 - 1:30 (a copy/pasta of 0:02 - 0:21): moves just like an earlier section, but then it swerves hard against one's expectations. I preach that there ARE some good uses for copy/pasta, and you present a good example here of doing it right. The production on this unfortunately buries the good; the master track sounds like there's a heavy compressor and heavy low pass on it. There's virtually no highs that come through on this, and pumping from overcompression sound like it's happening in quite a few places. On top of that, the overall mastering ends up sounding pretty quiet, to boot. The performances, sequencing and even mixing sound acceptable, but it's all hidden underneath some poor production at the end of the day. I like what you did with the track, since it's something that plays with expectations. I can't justify passing something with this heavy of production issues, though - take off anything on your master track, and redo the lowpasses and compressors that are in this so that the track doesn't sound like it's playing underwater. The fixes aren't trivial, but I think there's something passable under all that. Here's hoping to see this again with some fixes! NO

Remix Name: Ultimate Train Suplex! (The Decisive Battle from Final Fantasy VI) Mixer Name: iDeceive Name : Eleazar Garza Molina Mix Description: FF6 has always been my favorite game of all time, and this boss theme my favorite. I always found this theme to be highly mixable and always wanted to do a mix of it, I thought why not go back to Uematsu basics and make it a headbanger with a bunch of solos with a little violin in the mix as it is my favorite instrument.

I hear dissonance in the track, but everything I hear is inherent to the source - there's all sorts of passing tones and such in the original. I don't hear any NEW dissonance in the arrangement that sounds out of place. Zelda's lullaby is similarly dissonant, if one listens closely - it's kind of a thing with the LTTP soundtrack, strangely enough... I'll also be the first to say that dissonance doesn't inherently mean it's bad or wrong, as long as it's resolved well. Those are my thoughts, anyway.

I've been on a heavy FFV kick lately (currently doing a second run, this time natural-chaos-Krile variant), so this comes at just the right time for me. One of the under-rated themes from this soundtrack, too - I can't say I don't appreciate this submission. The orchestration is up to your normally high standards, and there are some cool arrangement ideas to help this stand on it's two feet (cut-time for the first iteration of the track to open, then regular time with more sweeping instruments as an example). Before moving on, I should emphasize that your standard orchestration is really good orchestration - people should pay attention to how you utilize different timbres to keep things interesting throughout. The humanization is as it should be - I could nitpick a few string entrances in the beginning of the track, but at this point it could be personal preference. The high strings could be mixed better, though - when they come into play, they're underwhelming, especially when compared to other lead instruments (such as the oboe). It's not bad, but it's underwhelming. If the strings can't be realistically louder it's not a bad idea to do something like doubling with flutes (a classic Hollywood trick to make high string sections stand out better). Solid work regardless - it captures the ethereal atmosphere of the source wonderfully. YES

RebeccaETripp Rebecca Tripp http://www.crystalechosound.com/ ID: 48262 Game(s): Final Fantasy 5 Song Title: Fearless Ruler Songs Remixed: Unknown Lands (World 2) Comments: Here’s a link to the youtube video:

I like the breakdown - even thought it was a great idea. I simply believe it was just dragged out too long, is all - breaks the sense of flow the rest of the track has. Glad I could help!

Oh my, I do like this. I'mma like this a lot. Of course, I do love me some psytrance, so that helps. Oddly enough, I was writing up a comment on this before the mod review tag came up, so I was already halfway done. Might as well go whole hog now and give you my thoughts on this for the panel, eh? EVAL The arrangement is really interesting - while the texture is damn iconic, at the same time it sounds so different from the source when it either doesn't utilize the theme or uses a subtractive rendition of it to the point of neigh unrecognizeability. Personally, I think that's a great approach, and that transition between the minor/major portion is powerful. For OCR? That could be a different story - with many of the source references in the first third of the track being very subtractive references to the source this could be approaching too-liberal territory due to how much non-source space the track utilizes otherwise. There's an argument to make for this either way, so I can't predict whether it'll get hit for being too liberal, but it's veeery close in that regard. If you like what you've got regardless (objectively it's still good, regardless of OCR standards), I highly suggest giving some solid time stamps of where the source is used to help us make the case that there is indeed enough source, particularly portions that are not the more obvious moon texture. Judges aren't perfect at catching subtractive source usage (just look at their review of my Jurassic Park arrangement - still a little sour 'bout that one, the source was there, dammit!), so a little help identifying where you used it could go a long way in getting this posted. It's a different panel since that track was rejected and the folks there are quite good at catching source, but I've been personally hit by this years ago so I'd rather you avoid a similar disappointment. The section at 4:05 that takes the theme into half time takes quite some time to get through. It's a good idea, but it lingers for too long - it simply left me waiting for it to finish by the end of it. Past 4:35 it could've came back in regular time again, or do the whole section from the source in normal time to keep the length as is (so the build can remain as is). As it stands the section lingers for too long. I like the production on this - clean beat (standard psytrance stuffs), with some dirtier synths on top when it really comes together. The ending few seconds, while it sounds intentional the clipping/limiting artifacts from the synth at 6:51-6:52 is pretty distracting. I suggest toning down that EQ envelope to avoid that, or alternatively use another EQ device on that synth to simultaneously lower said EQ envelop manually just for that instrument. Either way, a fix there would only help you, however you approach it. Otherwise, lovin' it. I think this has a good chance at passing regardless - it's just too cool and unique to ignore - but to better your odds be sure to send a timestamp of source usage for the judges, and perhaps take another look at that slower section in the middle. Fixing the ending artifact would be great too. Awesome work!

Giant of Babil! Great source, one I personally think is under-represented overall. Simple as the arrangement is, I think it fits the source perfectly, and the little touch of extending the opening like you did does wonders for it. The mix is pretty quiet, and sometimes the textures pop out a bit too much (like at 0:55), but I think this sounds pretty cool overall. Thanks for sharing!

Well, I'll say this first (before listening to what we've got) - if your style is to make something very conservative in the beginning, then expand on it later after establishing your material, I'm all for it, and so should the rest of the judges. Of course, pending on how much you expand on it, how long it remains on the very close source material, etc., counts toward whether it's stylishly different enough from the source for the panel, but that's what the eval process is all about. As for the rules for or against the sound effects, the only hard rule against them is that we can't take anything with Square-Enix sounds in it - everything else is all good. Another more obscure consensus is that SFX shouldn't alone constitute the source reference in an arrangement. Though rare, that issue does pop up periodically. Neither of these issues apply to this track, though, so no worries. That all being said, let's get this thing goin'! EVAL As far as production goes, this is quite good. The overall soundscape is clean, the mixing is solid, and there's no clipping/limiting artifacts/overcompression that I can spot. You've got some production chops that I can respect. As far as the arrangement goes, I do hear some differences coming in past the 1:30 mark (some nice counter-themes in the background - I think I hear some Zelda's lullaby there, even), and the addition of the pan flute was perfect. The material past 3:18 was particularly good, and blends with the original source quite nicely, to boot - wish there was more expansions like that in there. Aside from that, though, the similar instrumentation, the otherwise close adherence to the source and the similar pacing do still make this a pretty conservative arrangement. It's not a STRAIGHT cover, but it's still quite close throughout. It's a tough call, since there ARE some cool directions taken on this later in the track I think the combination of the same overall style and themes would still push this into the 'Too Conservative' category for OCR, as it stands. It's very close to what we'd be looking for, though - past the first iteration of the source (to keep with your mentioned style), if you integrated more of the Lon-Lon Ranch and Kakariko Village themes into the body of the arrangement, or added your own flourishes to the Lumpin' Pumpkin theme past that point that would push this past that conservative mark. It's still a great arrangement, and I'd argue it's close to being something you can submit, but it's still on the conservative side. Hope that helps!

EVAL Oh, never heard this source before (haven't played Skyward Sword)... That's a pretty cool, calming source. The direction you took with this is clever, and it fits very well. The production is very well done, and you've got the chops to match. A few points: at 2:06 the higher lead is a half step too high, clashing with the chord prior pretty hard. It's the same as the doubling at 1:56, but the harmonies cause it to clash. Not a deal breaker, but it's something that you'll likely get called out on. The end of the recording retains the release on your guitar, which sounds like an artifact. Not sure if that was intentional or not, but it'd sound cleaner if that part was edited out. Not too much else to say on this one - it's in pretty good shape otherwise. If you sub'd it now it'd likely pass, so by all means send it our way. Nice work on this one!

Er... I wanted to get this done, but I got a sudden job which took my whole weekend. What can I say other than I never saw it coming~! ... Also thought we had 'til NEXT week, so this is a bust on my end (Sorry!). Looking forward to the submissions to this one, though!

Yeah, while it's in the submission instructions as a part of the 'Arrangement' section, I could see how someone could miss that part about Square-Enix sampling being forbidden. Without going into TOO much history, it was enacted during the great FF6 album kickstarter debacle in 2012. Fun times, fun times... As far as recreating the samples, it IS technically possible to use that legal work-around by recreating the instruments from scratch in a synthesizer (one artist took another similar route in this remix, actually recording something that mimics that hollow bell sound from Chronotrigger's future area's theme), but utilizing a soundfont would be a no-go (since soundfonts generally sample from the source itself - no Square Enix SFX means NO Square Enix SFX). The level of work to recreate these synths, rewrite the parts AND convince everyone else (OCR and Square, most importantly) that these were created from scratch and were not directly sampled would be astronomical, for something this extensive. I love OCR and all, but I don't think they're worth that effort, lol.