Gario

Oh look, is Gario abusing his Judge's privileges and posting music on the panel again? I think he is! Remixer Name: Gario Real Name: Greg Nourse E-mail: UserID: 18482 Games Arranged: Castlevania: Dracula X; Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin Name of Arrangement: Burning the Clocktower Song(s) Arranged: Dracula X: Stages 1 & 6, Portrait of Ruin: Gaze Up at the Darkness It's funny, I think this is one of my favorite tracks I've made to date (created for the 2016 Castlevania compo), but I always felt like some of the arranging in this was a touch 'slapped-on' so I didn't submit it. Listening to it again and I think I was an idiot; the transitions are freakin' fine and the source usage makes sense, what the hell. Urgh, stupid hyper-critical self analysis. Anyway, this is probably one of my favorite soundscapes I've designed to date, with the organ and e-piano supplementing the old-school 'Moog' style synth lead. It also just so happens to be TWO of my favorite Castlevania themes coming together (The compo I did this for happened to pair me up with the first stage of Dracula X, and I chose the sixth stage on my own), so how could it NOT come out as a solid track?

Awesome, it's great to see some fresh, Nutricious music. His style is always really awesome, with the faux-orchestra and the harder hitting drums underneath. This pulls that style off in spades, and when things are really going it's solid. I see this is something to get him jump-started back into music again, so I definitely give it credit for that, but it's not his most polished work. The instruments don't quite sound as humanized as I've heard him make them before - strings have dynamics but no sense of human articulation, which is distracting. Everything sounds like a downstroke, which makes every note sound overemphasized. This isn't really a realistic orchestral piece so I don't tend to count it too much against this, but it'd still be nothing but an improvement if the 'real' instruments were more realistic. The production quality is quite good in this, even if the mixing is strange from time to time; synths sometimes pop out too far in front of the mix (like at 1:20 for example). The synths are a bit vanilla, but personally I like 'nilla synths when they're blended with other elements (like guitar and strings), and the drums are still really juicy. They sound like they hit a groove and drone from time to time, but they do change up in pace and style from time to time so it's not a pervasive issue. There is still a great little arrangement here, but there are quite a few little things that I notice could've made the experience better; it's a close call for me. I'm leaning on giving it a YES since I still find myself bouncing to that beat, but I could see this swinging the other way, too. Best of luck on the rest of the vote! YES

Urgh, Ghetto Lee Lewis. This is the guy that whenever I see him in a competition I always (foolishly) think "Man, I'll get him this time!"... and every time he produces something absolutely amazing and utterly crushes me. I'm very surprised he hasn't submit anything in fourteen years, since he's shown that he's an amazing remixer over the years. Glad to be able to listen to one of his more recent outings on here because it's as amazing as usual - the balance of instruments is perfect, the production is tight as hell, and the gradual build from subtle to intense is perfect. The only real complaint to this is that I wish it were longer, but in all honesty that's more of a stealth compliment than anything. Amazing work, and I'm glad to see you pushing some more of your tunes on here again. Looking forward to more of your album being put on here, too, since it's all really good! YES

Well, this is pretty unrelenting, with a strong beat and some really in-your-face... xylophone work? I like it. The arrangement is pretty well done, with some pretty cool layering of two sections of the source toward the end to really make it stand out. The arrangement takes mostly an additive approach - taking the same thing and layering more and more complex instruments on top of each other. It's basic, but when it breaks away from that pattern things stay well paced and interesting, save for a pretty close repetition at 1:52 - 2:05 (There's a pulse in the brass that's different and a fill, but it's not noticeable enough of a change to distinguish it from the last iteration moments earlier). Fun fact: put this on loop in your player and it loops frickin' perfectly. Not sure if that was intentional, but I thought it was a cool touch. The ending, while cutting off, sounds like it does so intentionally, which doesn't bother me too much. The production is a bit hit or miss throughout - it's such a dense arrangement that it does indeed get crowded. There aren't many compression or limiting issues, though, which is pretty surprising for a track this dense. The brass that is used at 1:24 sound pretty mechanical, though, and they don't blend well with the rest of the track to boot. A pretty strange choice, and one I think the track would've benefited from using something more appropriate to the genre. Strange instrument choice and crowding aside, I think this one is pretty cool. I can see some concerns with the arrangement getting static over time, but with the significant breaks that occur and the track's relatively short length I don't feel that's too damaging a concern. I think it's within our bar, so nice work on this. YES

Bass Dichter #34771 Submission info: Undertale Break Ya Bones Megalovania Original: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcoqR9Bwx1Y Remix (private download):

MP3 (new): WAV (new): Link (old ver) MP3 (old ver): Nutritious Justin Medford 16520 Life Force Thunderbolt (Stage 05) Well, this one took a while... Started in 2017, put on self-hold for 3 years, then I finally fix it up (sorry for the delay guys ). The original NES track is awesome, but unfortunately too short. I can still remember going to a friend's house in elementary school to play & beat this game, Konami code assisted of course. I originally planned a relatively straightforward orchestral DNB take on this, but the end product really fell short. Looking back, I'd gotten way too locked into recycling the same ideas and sounds across a lot of my music. After stepping a way for 3 years (!), I finally came back to producing and am very happy I did. The end result got more into classic synth/cinematic territory blended with my original ideas and a lot more/better guitar sequencing. Hope this one does the trick and also that I'll keep the music train rolling.

Oh hey, I remember evaluating this a week or so ago - neat. The fact that I can hear the thematic elements as clearly to the front as I do is a good sign that you took my advice to heart, which is certainly an improvement. You may have overcorrected at 0:42 - 0:57 since the lead punched through the arrangement a bit too much, but overall I think this hits a good place as far as mixing and production quality goes. The pacing issue that I had earlier also seems to be fixed, too; your additional drums really helped keep the track moving. Just wanted to mention that I did catch and appreciate it. I think the mixing has a few moments that are a little wonky, but overall I think this is a really cool and wholely original approach to the source. I'm digging this a lot, and I hope my peers agree it should be up on OCR. Nice work! YES

Ooo, we're going with a more classic approach - straight up, unabashed four-to-the-floor trance, even with those layered saws toward the end. The sound design works, but I do feel many of the instruments are pretty vanilla (especially the layered saw that starts at 3:51). The production works well enough, though I do hear some overcompression that occurs when everything comes together. To be honest, this sounds like a classic OCR track from ~2008 rather than something that is normally produced here today. It's a close call, since the crowding that happens in the track is certainly an issue, but I think it edges past our bar with the nice pacing, the expansions on the theme present and the overall phat beats. I suspect this'll be a close call overall, though, so if this doesn't pass pay attention to the crowding that happens in busy sections, and don't be afraid to use less trodden sounds for the sound design. YES

Personally, I thought the source was handled absolutely wonderfully - rather than having it be obvious every moment, it instead takes the source's shapes and textures and transforms them into something else (while still being distinctly 'Zelda' and 'Overworld'). The timestamps MindWanderer uses are great for the obvious moments, but I'm hearing source at, for example, 0:28 - 0:35, with that arpeggio reharmonized in the horns, and at 1:05 - 1:35 using the strings to play the Overworld theme completely reharmonized and slowed down. Stopwatching the really subtle stuff is tricky since I'd have to go into a high degree of detail on each part, but this isn't a case where it's even a close case of source usage. It's not only good on that front, that's an area that I've seen few arrangements on OCR match in terms of execution. However, the concerns on humanization of the instruments are absolutely valid. While the dynamics are well handled and the sample quality is solid, the accents are often mechanical, using the same levels of swell for each note. It's not as noteable when the brass and woodwinds take control of the arrangement, but for the strings it's painfully obvious it's sequenced. As far as dynamic variety, I think this track hits a sweet spot on it. Orchestral music naturally has these loud and quiet moments, so that really helps drive the realism home on this. This is how you correctly write orchestral music; I don't get to this day people's suggestions to 'correct' this whenever it comes up. Overall, the humanization is my largest concern, and while that's not a small issue I don't think it drowns the absolutely high quality this arrangement has at every other level: the arrangement, the orchestration, the production, etc., are all superb. I'd much rather see this posted than not - while not perfect, I don't think this is below the bar. YES

I wanted to highlight the level in Donkey Kong Country in which the lights (and presumably power) to the factory are switched on and off. So this remix goes back and forth between high energy and darkness. The beginning of the track is more like walking in and the whole place is asleep, then someone hits a power switch somewhere and everything springs to life, with even the firey oil drums having their own rhythm. But that soon fails, only to come back on briefly and then sputter out again. Anyway, it was one of the levels I think of when I think DKC. When I was about eight years old, this level (and the cave level with the elevators after it) was the bane of my existence. I spent hours making blind jumps into pits. I got to the point where I’d just get the song stuck in my head for hours on end. One of the major musical themes of my childhood. I hope I did it justice. - Ben Original theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v18pEFQb3EM Link to mix: Remixer name: 744 Real name: Ben Brownlee e-mail: site: sevenfortyfour.bandcamp.com forum userid: 34405

Name: CrimzonWolf777 Title of Arrangement: Terror Plant Name of Game(s) Arranged: Donkey Kong Country Name of Song(s) Arranged: Fear Factory Comments: I really couldn't think of a clever title for this, so I went with Terror Plant because power plants and I imagined what Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong would feel like being two monkeys in a factory (haha). As far as inspiration, I really like trance music. Hearing the original song, I really felt like it screamed of a trancey (is that a word? lol) type feel. So this came to be. This is actually my 3rd take at making this song. My last take was back in 2009.

Crisp recording, interesting interpretation, great relatively unknown source. It definitely went in a completely different direction than the source, and it's something very different from our normal fare here (almost sounds like a religious Japanese ceremony), but I like it all the same. It reminds me of the classic Zelda Heineken arrangement on here that was done with all blown bottles. It's pretty darn good, and the limitations you set for yourself worked well, this time. Nice work, and good luck with the rest of the vote. YES

This one took me by surprise; the beginning sounds pretty conservative, even mimicking the source instruments, but then things start taking shape and developing into something more interpretive. At 0:46 I let out a small 'Whoa.', and if you get that outta me you know you have something pretty cool on your hands. The arrangement is conservative, but the pacing and additional textures help it shine, and some subtractive arranging in the middle help keep it distinct enough as the track goes on. The reliance on similar sounding synths used throughout is both a blessing and a curse; they draw the track closer to 'too conservative' territory, but at the same time when things break away the impact is far greater. The approach has it's flaws, but the impact it had on me definitely justifies their use, for me. The pacing in this is a bit slow, with long subtractive sections dragging a bit too long. I like those sections (like at 1:44 & 3:40), but they do drag after some time. Not a big deal overall, but something to pay attention to next time around, since it makes the track sound pretty static as the sections grow with little change. Overall I think this is great, though, with the positives largely outweighing the negatives, and some of those negatives even growing into some positives. Nice work, and dream on, littler Squitter. YES

Name: CrimzonWolf777 Name of Game(s) Arranged: Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest Name of Arrangement: Squitter's Dream Name of Song(s) Arranged: Forest Interlude Comments: This is definitely one of my favorite songs from DKC2. I really loved the way the melody just sounded. So I tried my own take on it, and gave it a bit of an R&Bish sound to it. As far as the title: Take Squitter, doing what he loves the most, in a place where it seems like a dream, and BAM! Squitter's Dream. haha

Rebecca's been getting better with the humanization overall, and her arrangements are getting better every submission, but I'm less impressed with the offering this time around in terms of humanization. The strings all have the same articulation/swell in the attack, and they're very often the centerpiece of the arrangement (particularly in the first minute and a half of the track), but even the woodwinds have this mechanical articulation throughout at various points. The arrangement is still really cool, though, with that choral part past 2:04 and some interesting harmonizations to boot. The orchestration really makes it sound much more majestic than the source. It's a tough call, but I know you can improve the articulations significantly, if any of the other submissions you've sent lately are any indication. It's close, and honestly I could still see this passing, but those articulations really throw me off, especially toward the beginning. Humanize your string and woodwind articulations better and this would be a musical force to be reckoned with. NO

RebeccaETripp Rebecca Tripp http://www.crystalechosound.com/ ID: 48262 Game(s): Final Fantasy 9 Song Title: Garnet’s Love Songs Remixed: Garnet’s Theme/Dagger’s Theme Comments: Here's a link to the track:

Haha... What is this, and why haven't I heard a version of this source like this before? It's perfect. You nail the style of this one, and the production is solid to boot. The performances are good, too. The drums are pretty clearly sequenced, which is easy to hear against the excellent recordings, but it doesn't take much away from the performance at all. The arrangement is a hair conservative, but the style is juicy, and the solo elements toward the end more than make up the 'personal interpretation' element for OCR. Love it, let's get this out the door quickly, it's just too good. YES

ReMixer name: Mighty Bear 7 Real name: David Bergeron email address: website: https://dbergeron1992.wixsite.com/creative user id: 33274 Submission Information Name of game: Super Castlevania IV Name of arrangement: Tema de Simón Name of original piece: Simon's Theme (Dance of the Holy Man) Additional information regarding the original piece Composer: Masanori Adachi; Taro Kudo System: SNES Release Date: October 31, 1991 Link to original soundtrack: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWMN91gMD_4&list=PL79DA330B8AE4C836&index=4 Comments about the mix: The idea for this remix came from an arrangement I made for an ensemble that I play in (The Greedy Echoes). The original version combines edgy rock organ and busy drums with hot funky rhythms. The way the composers create momentum by frequently pushing the beat is the same as the style of Songo and can also be heard in other latin styles. I attempted to make an arrangement that brought the feel of the piece back to it's possible origin, and what may have inspired the original composers. Arranged/Mixed/Produced by David Bergeron (Mighty Bear 7) Trumpet by Austin DiPietro Saxophone by Theodore Hogan Violin by Stu Kennedy Bass by Martin Schiller

Hello! I’d like to submit a compositions for acceptance to OCRemix. I am a current remixer with two tracks already accepted. Remixer Name: LindsayAnne Pepper Real Name: LindsayAnne Pepper website: https://soundcloud.com/lindsayanne-pepper Submission #1: Destined- a Legend of Zelda arrangement While I understand this is on the long end of many submissions, I hope that you will please consider it. Throughout the Legend of Zelda series history, the main story line is “princess Zelda gets captured, Link goes on a quest to defeat the evil and save her.” Many times throughout the games, a romantic connection is hinted at but never determined. In Skyward Sword, this was especially noteworthy. This symphonic composition was written as a romantic expression of what could be if the story continued after the credits roll. Their two themes are explored in various ways, sometimes apart, sometimes together, as well as hidden throughout. Flute solo parts are performed by myself, and I was lucky to have Brooke Ferdinandsen perform for the oboe parts. I thought she added beautiful depth and emotion to the piece. I hope you enjoy! ~LindsayAnne Pepper

Hello! I’d like to submit a compositions for acceptance to OCRemix. I am a current remixer with two tracks already accepted. Remixer Name: LindsayAnne Pepper Real Name: LindsayAnne Pepper email: linnypepper@gmail.com website: https://soundcloud.com/lindsayanne-pepper Submission: Zelda’s Legend This symphonic piece is primarily an arrangement of Zelda’s Lullaby, found in the Ocarina of Time. Her theme is presented throughout in many ways, sometimes prominently featured, other times hidden beneath the melody of the main series theme. Reflective, sweepingly romantic, delicate, and somber at times, this piece is a journey on what made Zelda’s character into a legend. Enjoy!! ~LindsayAnne Pepper

Your ReMixer name: JohnStacy Your real name: John Stacy Your email address: Your userid: 33075 Name of game(s) arranged: Super Mario Bros. 3 Name of arrangement: The Journey Never Ends Name of individual song(s) arranged: Ending Your own comments about the mix, for example the inspiration behind it, how it was made, etc. This was originally started for the Smash the Record EP, but that lined up perfectly for the Insaneintherain Jazz Challenge this year, so I produced it for both (with a youtube video for the challenge). I've done a lot of performances of this source tune before, but they were all fairly close to the original style (as Latin, or a beguine for instance). This time I went in a different direction, trying to do it in the style of something Jerry Hey would appear on. I've recently discovered the magic that is Jerry Hey and his horn section. I used 2 trumpets, 2 french horns, and 2 trombones, which is similar, but replacing the tenor saxes with horns and adding a bass trombone on the bottom. I experimented with mic placement and saturation attempting to capture a similar sound to theirs in the 80s and 90s. Although I missed the mark, I did produce something I am very proud of. I've learned that a lot of music is playing to your strengths and making the best of what you have. I would have liked to have done a vocal track, but because of the time constraint I couldn't find a vocalist fluent in the style, so I just did it as a french horn solo because that was my best bet. So I present my arrangement, The Journey Never Ends.

ReMix: Multi-Track Drifting () ReMixer name: Hylian Lemon Game arranged: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks Song arranged: The Final Exam (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iY9ta4i_h-4) Comments: When I was deciding which track to arrange from this game, I was initially considering the on-foot overworld theme. That train of thought was derailed when I played Kirby: Planet Robobot. The robobot armor theme got my gears turning, and I had an idea to couple the melody of Spirit Tracks’ train tutorial with a kind of F-Zero rhythm. It can be hard to gauge how well a track will hold up when you engineer such a dramatic change like that. Not to toot my own whistle, but I think the style ended up being a pretty good fit. I temporarily ran out of steam when Breath of the Wild came out, but I just told myself “I think I can” and kept on chugging. I’m sorry for everything you just read. I’ll have to conduct myself better in the future.

RebeccaETripp Rebecca Tripp http://www.crystalechosound.com/ ID: 48262 Game(s): Final Fantasy 6 Song Title: Snowy Pines Songs Remixed: Main Theme Comments: Here's a link to the track:

Damn, it really helps to have played through the game when it comes to evaluating FFX music - I'm almost done with my very first run of the game (y'know, sixteen years after release), and it turns out it's pretty good, with some solid music to boot. Anyway, I wasn't privy to the last decision on this, but this sounds about as human as I can tell - the dynamics are excellent (which the prior decision acknowledged), and the push and pull with the variations in the tempo helped give it that slight 'Chopin' feel. If the concern before was that it wasn't human enough, I think this will satisfy that requirement. There are a few moments (1:45-1:46 & 1:58-1:59) that sound blocky and uncoordinated, and a few moments toward the end where the bass sounds like it causes some overcompression, but overall the issues I hold don't overshadow the general quality of the arrangement and performance. I'm glad you came back to this one - you tend to take our resub requests seriously, which is something that I appreciate from you. Good luck with the rest of the vote, and thanks again for sending this back to us! YES

Previous Decision Remixer name: Bluelighter Real Name: Guillaume SAUMANDE Mail: ID forum: 21840 Game & Songs: ff10 & The Daughter of the Summoner - Someday the Dream Will End Interpreter: Guillaume SAUMANDE (piano) Composer: Nobuo UEMATSU; Masashi HAMAUZU Hey, Here is a new version of my piano arrangement! There are more rubato than in the last on. I feel the result more emotional Enjoy ! Breakdown : Daughter of the Summoner 0'00: intro 0'12: Melodic Line 1 1'20: ML2 Someday the dream will end 0'00: ML3 0'24: ML4 1'05: ML5 (similar to ML1) Arrangement 0'00: from intro of daughter of the summoner: repeated high notes imitating the xylo. Arpeggio by left hand start a little after 0'31: ML1 with arpeggio 1'12: ML2 soft 1'23: ML3 Ternary rhythm for left hand. Hesitating tempo 1'40: ML4 Still in ternary. Louder, more animated. The culminating point of the arrangement! 2'10: ML5/ML1 soft part, to contrast with the precedent one. High arpeggio 2'26: ML2 with rhythm well marked, louder 2'58: outro. Similar to intro, but softer.