Gario

I was looking for words to put the issues down, and I think MindWanderer got it down - with such a short source, it doesn't develop it enough, which leaves it sounding like it's repeating over and over again. Really more an issue with using a short source, but the fact is that it was your choice, so you're responsible for making it sound interesting and varied. The piano is certainly too muffled to be able to hear it once the synths come into effect, and the synth that's used throughout is very plain. I like the use of portamento, though, to give the synth some sliding flavor, but it's not quite enough to mask that you're using a basic trance lead throughout the track. Get some variety of samples and synths, design a synth or two, give us something that makes the track your own, as right now the sound design is very plain. The SFX aren't used too poorly, but MW is right that they shouldn't be used in leiu of developing the music. I will note that it's strange to hear the different levels of quality from the different Sonic sources - you can really tell when the voices are from something like a Sonic television show and from the video games. It's pretty disorienting, actually. Overall, there's little to keep the interest of the listener for even two minutes throughout. When picking a short source this is always a risk, so you must be extra vigilant in really developing the source in such a way where it doesn't repeat the source over and over again. Best of luck, and keep this in mind the next time you approach such a short source. NO

MindWanderer pretty much hits it on the head: static arrangement, liberal interpretation of source (that bass isn't source, nor is the improv - I checked). The drums are also very repetitive, but that ties into the whole 'static arrangement' part. Also, there is no ending - just a quick fade, which really just leaves us hanging. It's a lazy vote, but there isn't much to add. Listen to MindWanderer on this and you'll be solid. NO

Honestly, I've got to take the opposite approach from my esteemed colleague and say the authenticity and crunch from the hardware sounds absolutely great contrasting against the crisp guitar work. That was one of the features that really pulled this track together and made it into something new and interesting. I suppose it's not for everyone, but I dig it. The production, where it's not purposefully coming from the Namco 163 hardware (very interesting tidbit, by the way) is otherwise spot on, so it's very much apparent that it's a stylistic choice. I mean, we don't hammer on Mazedude for this amazing remix that technically has terrible production values, as it's utilized purposefully and artfully. Similar deal here, in my opinion. The arrangement is a touch on the conservative side, but the change in style and pace is enough for me to give it a moderate pass. It takes it into enough directions in the soundscape to keep it fresh, for me, but it is a touch on the conservative side. Going to point out that the piano is utilized in the beginning of the track (at 0:34 - 1:03), so it's indeed a bookend. This preps the listener sufficiently for the ending, as well, so I think it was handled exceptionally well. Drums are good, but I felt the track put too much low pass over it, which makes it sound dull in the background. It's understandable on the one hand, giving the other instruments their space, but on the other hand the drums remain hidden in the background a bit. Letting some highs through would've made them punch through better. Nitpicks aside, though, I thought this was great. I'd be happy to see this get some front page lovin'. YES

Megalovania, such a neat track overall (though admittedly doesn't fit the Undertale soundtrack that well, lol). Not a bad choice to give a crack at a cover, I'll say. The drumming is very interesting, in that you really change up the beats to keep things fresh. The relatively wet recording causes some conflict with the other instruments, though, since it makes the accompaniment sound like it was recorded in a different room. If you record, record dry and match whatever reverb levels you desire. If that's not an option, match your reverb levels in the other instruments to what you have in a recording. Overall, while accurate, the soundscape sounds hollow and empty, and the instrumentation sounds mechanical (especially the piano). There's melody, there's bass, but there really isn't any harmony filling out your space, so everything sounds unfinished, and the sequencing of instruments sounds like it's a skeleton of what you want to accomplish. As far as a cover goes, you've replicated the source accurately, which is good (no notable wrong or sour notes). You simply need to flesh out what you started - give it some harmonic meat, give some humanized life to the fake sounding samples, etc.. It's not a bad starting point, though, so keep at it!

Man, when it really gets going (0:43) it sounds really good. The choice to slide that main theme really adds something unique to the track that's just... tasty. While it takes a while to get off the ground, it's easy to follow, and damn if it doesn't have a ton of meat to it. The production could use some work, as the instruments do fight for space, especially among the synths and drums (like at 1:01). The heavy reliance on reverb throughout in the synths and drums limits where you can take the track. Leave things wet, but not THAT wet, and you'll have more space to mix and balance the track. The drums have a lot of strength in the right places, but be aware that the toms are mixed pretty close to the front when they don't need to be. The guitar is well placed, and honestly it would serve you well to utilize it a bit more often throughout. It both would prep the listener for it better when it takes them tasty licks, and it would give the soundscape some more variety (as it IS a touch on the static side). The arrangement itself does suffer a little from sounding copy-pasted for the last portion. The guitar does some things differently, but it doesn't take that feeling away. Give some more variety in the synthwork and drums in these portions, it would help alleviate this issue. Love it, though, and I think it has potential to go from a good track to a really great track with some cleaning up. Best of luck!

Ages ago, I requested Jurassic Park 2 remixes for the PRC, with a little success (thanks, Sir_NutS!). You can check out one arrangement of the Dark Jungle here. I agree, certainly a great, under-represented soundtrack. The ambient nature of the soundtrack makes it tricky to approach, but the material there is nearly all gold.

Some details can be found here, but the short end of it is that Brandon requested his music be removed from OCR due to a conflict between them. Fortunately, the album is under a different contract agreement entirely so you may still enjoy his music on there, but not individually on OCR. It's a shame, but there isn't much we can do about it.

I third this challenge; the music from the series is amazing. It's great to hear the arrangements that Atlus came up with in Arena and Dancing All Night, but it WOULD be great to hear some substantial OCR arrangements pop up before the P5 release.

Oh shit, a name drop. Can't say that doesn't swell my ego at least a little. ANYHOO! Going to concur on the static nature of the arrangement. What is happening in the soundscape isn't necessarily bad (though the synths are a bit plain, especially the delay'd saw synth), it simply doesn't change very much. 0:44 - 3:25 has virtually all of the instruments doing all of the same things, save for the drums dropping out periodically (which helped, by the way). Drop out instruments, bring in a fresh synth, use a synth in a different manner, etc.; anything to shift the soundscape around, the better, as it gets tiring listening to the whole track. The arrangement is fine - it covers the source well enough, but it has a nice build-up, and overall the sound design is pretty different from the source. The production is adequate, though the lead at 1:19 sounds pretty hollow. It could use some layering or distortion to give it a more complex EQ range (and therefore some more presence). A few other instruments are pretty plain (like the other lead and saw synth, as mentioned before), but in addressing the static arrangement issue you can make what you have work. It's not bad - I enjoyed it quite a bit. It's just not there yet. Hopefully you'll find the advice helpful - good luck! NO

Definitely with MindWanderer on this one - strange source, but it's definitely there. Some of the strings are mechanical; the attack swell on it is unrealistic. Probably not for everyone, but definitely a pass in my book - It gets some real mileage with the abstract source. I personally like it, though - kind of reminds me of NIN, for some strange reason. Great work! -- EDIT (04/14): Hmm... Okay, looking at this again with an open mind after Sir_nutS mentioned it in chat, I'm really having a really tough time identifying the source on this. The bells in the background seem to be a clear source connection (0:00 - 0:16), but the additional material does not seem to connect to the source in a meaningful way. I think I was caught up with those bells connecting with the source and didn't vet the sources properly. If anyone else can find the source connections I'll flip my vote right back, but I can't justify my initial YES on this upon a closer look (even looking at the OTHER source, which I neglected to include). It's a shame, because I really enjoy this track on it's own merits. NO

Yeah, it's DEFINITELY pretty conservative, though it does play with some of the elements. While I agree with my fellow judges that this is really conservative, I'm not 100% sure this is TOO conservative - there are some changes to shake things up past the 1:34 mark, namely using that motif to build continuously into the source looping point - as repetitive as it can get, it DOES represent a sizable break from the source. As Sir_NutS points out, the vocal clips are used pretty spectacularly, and I especially enjoyed how they were used to bookend the track. The mixing is a bit of a mixed bag (pun may or may not be intended). Some of the elements really just shoot out of the mix (like the vocal clips in general, and the square at 0:32). These things should match the levels of the mix better overall. This is a tough call, but if the mixing was perfect on this OR if the arrangement had some more interesting diversions from the source I'd consider passing it. Those two things together inch it away from a passing vote on my end, but I think it's close. Do send it back our way! NO

Well, THIS was an interesting approach. As yet ANOTHER person who didn't evaluate it the first time around, I'm coming in with some fresh ears. I really like the arrangement and general soundscape - it takes something filled with cheese and silliness and turns it into something darker, more foreboding - I dig. It takes some time to really get to the source material (1:09 is when it's prominent), but that didn't bother me too much. The ending fizzles, but I wouldn't call that a deal-breaker - it lets the music ring, and it closes off all the musical ideas that it was presenting well enough. Not the best, but certainly not grounds for an immediate NO. While I like the soundscape, there's a bit of an issue with it being static. The pads that hold throughout the track really wears on you over time, as it really doesn't change. Listening to this all the way through is pretty exausting for that reason - don't be afraid to drop out that pad from time to time, to give the listener a break, and to help keep it fresh when it comes back. The overall mix also has an issue where the leading, interesting elements don't come through very well, as the pads really take up all your space. Mix the pads down a bit, bring you melodies to the front, layer, etc. There's quite a few ways you can improve your mix to bring things out properly, so be sure to do that. I think it's close, but not quite. Another pass on the mixing and taking another look at the pad and you'll be good to go. A suggestion, too: if you're resubmitting, I highly recommend putting that in the title of your e-mail! We look at those immediately, if it's in the title. NO

Huh, this was borderline liberal? There was a lot that clamped this down as relating to the source for me, especially the harmonies that follow the source precisely. The small snippets of actual theme does bring it all together in a pretty tight manner. I also notice a whole lot of segments that pull from the source that are not included in your numbers up there (2:28-2:30, 2:36-2:37 have a direct yet truncated relation to the source, for example, in the piano and sax portions). Otherwise, I thought this was a pretty tasteful arrangement. Really nice acoustic guitar (though it is a little tinn-y), great little background piano and pads, and that sax is oh-so tasty. The lighter choices for the percussion really brings it all together in a manner that just works. I for one would've been happy as hell to hear this in a real smash game's choose your character screen. Awesome work! As Larry pointed out, though, this DOES need a new name, due to naming conflicts from a prior submission on OCR. YES

Link to remix: ReMixer name: Sleepycoaster Real name: Orion Guan Email address: Website: https://www.youtube.com/user/AquariusCyclone userid: 33419 Game arranged: Sonic Rush Adventure Arrangement name: Blazing Through the Haunted Ship Name of arranged song: Haunted Ship Act 1 Composer: Mariko Nanba Game info: Published by Sega, developed by Sonic Team and Dimps for the Nintendo DS only, in 2007 Link to OST track: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ikxxwyI2oI Comments: I started this remix because I thought Blaze the Cat is the best Sonic character, and once I finished it, I realized I was 100% right. This is a remix of Haunted Ship, the stage almost everyone picks Blaze for, since at that point you have just unlocked her and there are many shortcuts that only she can nab. A few months ago, I sat down at my computer in my PJs and thought that this track needs about 50% more action. I wanted to depict a princess doing something about the local robot pirate problem. What would that sound like? This remix is my best guess. I upped the pace, put in some Sonic soundtrack tropes like slap and wah guitars, and spliced in Eggman's machine-like percussion style for some sections. The hand percussion got amped because that tends to happen in the Blazy Mixes in Sonic Rush. Not much more to say, other than weird stuff started happening when I was close to finishing this remix. Some effects would disappear, the tempo began to fluctuate between playbacks, and I had to render it several times to get it to sound like I planned for it to. I think my project file might be Haunted.

Prior Decision ReMixer Name: Tonalysis Real Name: Jeff Morrow Email: User ID: 31683 Name of game(s): Beatmania, Dance Dance Revolution Name of arrangement: Epic Steps Name of original song: Sync Composer: Outphase (Taku "TaQ" Sakakibara and Takayuki "dj Taka" Ishikawa) Link to original: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-UxUJ6P8nU Link to remix: Comments: Frequently, fans discover artists through OC Remix. In my case, I discovered OC Remix by first discovering zircon through Pandora. After learning the basics of how to use FL Studio, and taking a few lessons from zircon himself, I decided to try my hand at remixing. I'm a long-time DDR fan, so I decided to pick my favorite DDR tune as my first submission. My goal was to take the track and make it even more epic. Thanks for considering my remix. EDIT: this is a resubmission based on previous comments by OC Remix judges

Contact Information Your ReMixer name: Smooth4Lyfe Your real name: Joey Ofori Your website: http://www.youtube.com/smooth4lyfe Your userid (number, not name): 33213 Submission Information Name of game(s) arranged: Sonic Mania Name of arrangement: Club Sonic Mania Name of individual song(s) arranged: Invincibility Theme from Sonic Mania Link to the original soundtrack: https://youtu.be/UUMIfExEcSs Your own comments about the mix, for example the inspiration behind it, how it was made, etc.: Love the theme, so I wanted to make a club/EDM variation of the track. I do a lot of EDM tracks. Smooth4Lyfe Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/smooth4lyfemusic YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/smooth4lyfe CDBaby: http://www.cdbaby.com/artist/smooth4lyfe NOTE: If accepted, this CANNOT be posted until it's confirmed that the track is in the game after its release.

Hi OC ReMix staff, I'm submitting the following remix. It will be commercially released on Sept. 15, 2016 on Materia Collective's "FALLEN" album, but I have permission to submit it here. Artist byline: Sauraen (feat. Rugal) ReMixer: Sauraen, , Community #27167, Artist #13854 ReMixer: Rugal, , Community #19463 Game: Undertale (2015, PC/Mac) Remix Title: For Good! Original Composer: Toby Fox Songs Arranged: His Theme, Hopes and Dreams, SAVE the World, Last Goodbye, Final Power Comments: The remix is attached. It's also available at , and will be un-privated once the album releases. Enjoy!

Remixer name: Marshall ArtEmail: Website: http://marshallart.bandcamp.com/members: jmr (Jeffrey Roberts), streifig (Mikhail Ivanov)Remixer name: Jer RoqueEmail: Website: http://www.jeremiahroque.com/ Song title: Long Way to New Home Sources: Undertale - Another Mediumhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLsuam9o9BA Undertale - Waterfall https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v712NiVK5uY Undertale - Core https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDuEWw648jo MP3: FLAC: *THIS SONG IS SCHEDULED TO BE RELEASED ON AN UNDERTALE ALBUM RELEASED BY THE MATERIA COLLECTIVE. ESTIMATED RELEASE DATE IS SEPT 15 2016. DO NOT POST THIS SONG PRIOR TO THIS ALBUM RELEASE.* When we found out that Doug Perry was organizing an Undertale arrangement album for the Materia Collective, we jumped at the opportunity to be a part of it. I first played the game earlier this year at the insistence of Mikhail, Cory, a couple friends at work, and pretty much the entire internet. RPGs are very hit or miss for me, but Undertale's unique battle system and quirky branching storyline hooked me quickly. I'd consider it one of my top-five favorite video games. We started this track with the goal of combining three themes with a common motif; using Another Medium (streifig's favorite) as a base to mix in elements of Waterall and CORE. Mikhail handled the bulk of the song arrangement. On top of recording 6 distinct guitar tracks, he even sequenced some of the chiptune elements used in the CORE parts (the lines of who is the chiptuner and who is the guitarist in Marshall Art continue to blur in the most wonderful way possible). The chip sounds, in addition to the NES's 2A03, use the Namco 163 expansion, a memory mapper chip with wavetable synth used in a dozen or so Famicom games. Because of the way the chip multiplexes its multiple audio channels together, it has a characteristic high-frequency noise which worsens depending on the number of channels used. Some low-passing and notch filtering was used to reduce the noise in the mix but it is still somewhat apparent... deliberately. If we wanted a perfectly clean sound I don't think we'd be using chiptune hardware. Mikhail's arrangement of the Waterfall sections which bookend the song called for a piano, and while I was able to craft some decent chiptune approximations with the N163, there's no substitute for real human playing. We invited our friend (and past collaborator) Jer to tickle the ivories, and on real short notice, he delivered the parts you hear in the final song. Endless thanks to him for that! Enjoy! All the best, -Jeff / jmr Marshall Art

Six syllables, man. If you're going to Haiku, Don't muck the attempt!

Note: I discussed this with DjP, he agrees with the overall consensus of the judges here - the track sounds like multiple tracks on the same sound file, so either the arrangement should be handled more like a single song, like Kris observed (without distinct pauses), or separated into four submissions and handled as four different tracks. I'm sure this can be discussed further in the future if a more cohesive variations form track comes into play, but in this case it's a closed deal.

The guitar parts do sound dissonant - he applies power chords to the lead, which causes conflicts with the harmonies all around it. I very much do not recommend applying power chords to the leads at 0:34, as it creates painful dissonance. The acoustic guitar playing the arpeggios in the background also sounds like it's in major in short spurts, which REALLY clashes with everything being in minor above it, so watch your key clashing. I had little issue with the runs at 1:38, though - they're just wankin' some scales. Nothing wrong with that, other than being a scale wanker. Reading the analysis from MW, I think it's accurate - it's a little bit lacking in source, as it stands. The performances are not bad, the production isn't bad, and when it's not playing that kind of lead it's actually pretty catchy. But yeah, those leads reeeeally hurt the viability of this track, and the lack of source pushes this out of OCR territory.. I think the arrangement has potential, but some of the note choices should be re-evaluated. NO

I loved it when I heard it in the WIP boards, and I love it here. I hear none of the (slight!) issues I had with it in eval, so it's a pretty darn easy pass, in my book. It's conservative, but man does that Hollywood orchestral flair really shine in this. The title will likely need... well, a title, but I think he'll be able to come up with something. Great work! YES

Not going to lie, this one caught me off guard. The beginning has some very exposed, mechanical instrumentation, but when 0:30 comes in MAN, it has some delicious big band jazz goin' down. The subtle approach in the beginning works great, arrangement-wise, and when everything is playing at once it sounds pretty convincing. That's on the arrangement side, that is. The parts that are relatively exposed in the beginning do give away that this isn't a real performance. The clarinet, for example, whenever it holds a note it just plays it straight. No vibrato, which makes it sound hollow. These are less an issue when everything is together, but with long notes this is still a problem (like at 0:58 - those long notes are pretty unnatural). As an aside, while it isn't TOO quiet, I will mention that there is a lot of room in your waveform that could be utilized if you use some limiting. There is one or two spikes that peak, which limits your ability to amplify the track further, that limiting would fix right away. It's not a HUGE deal, but it would certainly finish off your track better. This is a tough call, since the orchestration is absolutely great, and the arrangement, while short, is tastefully crafted. The mechanical instrumentation, especially when exposed, is a problem, but I'm not 100% sure that's enough to justify a NO, as it's really only notable when it's exposed. I can see the shovel swingin' either way on this, but I think I'll give it my blessing. If it doesn't pass, though, pay attention to the humanization of the exposed sequenced instruments. YES

Remixer name: Zoned Real name: Hans-Kristian Arntzen Email: Website: themaister.net User ID: 27745 Remix Title: Inspector Bawz Game: Final Fantasy VI (III US) Source: Strago's Theme Comments: So this is a very, very different track to "Silence Before Repentance", a track I made which starts to feel like ages ago. I used to make EDM way back, moved on more piano-heavy music, but I've tried to back into the same creative loop I was in back in those days, because I had a lot of fun with it. While jamming I "accidentally" found Strago's theme, but after messing around with it, I found that it kinda works with a dancy groove after making the first bass line, so I had to make a fun dance tune out of it. I tried to keep it fresh by mixing up the rhythms. I wasn't quite sure if I should submit this as there's more EDM remixes of FF already than you can shake your stick at, but I think the source material choice should make this an interesting listen. Cheers, Hans-Kristian

Sheesh, this is a large sounding piece. The orchestra really feels like a professional recording in this case - the space, the dynamics, the orchestration, and the overall soundscape is absolutely great. You do some great work with the humanization in this, and the fact that you really utilize the full orchestra just adds so much to the overall impact. I'm not sure I hear the bowing issues that Larry is at 1:12, but if there are small humanization issues they're nearly non-existent. As I've done the source checking prior on the WIP boards, and since the timestamps are there for everyone else, I don't think I need to check again - the source is there. One thing that I get a kick out of is that this just oozes with the style of Strauss and the Blue Danube. Getting compared to the king of waltz is no small praise - excellent arrangement. The production is really solid. There still sounds like there's a lack of upper EQ, which does impact how clear it sounds overall, but it doesn't hurt this piece too much. Really great stuff! YES