djpretzel
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Posts posted by djpretzel
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Absolutely love the synth brass leads on this - just the right analog warmth, buttery, uses the range well... melancholy meditation on some absolutely stellar source melodies. Feels like a different vibe than many of @Hemophiliac's other works, but absolutely clicks.
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16 hours ago, Nase said:
checkout this remix tho!!
no one can do it betta!
Never gave this one the time of day, for some reason, which is weird in retrospect since I like Alex Kidd AND Shinobi...
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3 hours ago, H36T said:
I'd like my name to be changed to "H36T" please! Though my first submission will always be immortalized haha, I like this shorter version. Pronounced "heat" btw haha.
Got it!
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Extensive vocoder... and it's NOT @Jorito?!?
So much fun! The sax solo put it over the top, for me, but the whole thing is just a blast. The glitching/record stops at the very end are a little less 1970's/disco, but very much in keeping with the mix title, and the hook reminds me a little of Daft Punk's "Get Lucky". I was coincidentally JUST playing this (gorgeous, creative) game, and while I will always remain a dog person, it's a unique & extremely well-done experience.
Amazing to think that composer Nurykabe had a Faxanadu mix posted wayyyyyyy back in 2009; time flies!
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Superb debut from @suikun - I have Pianoteq AND the SWAM plugins, and I haven't been able to get them to sound nearly this good
I'd love to see a project file or screenshots of some of the automation curves; as he writes, physically-modeled instruments are like a double-edged sword in that they can do anything you tell them to & are more flexible than sample-based alternatives... BUT you have to know what to tell them to do! I think having a background actually playing violin must help; I find the SWAM brass instruments more intuitive, probably because I played euphonium. At any rate, this sounds excellent, and is exposed & articulated in ways that require and benefit from such flexibility. The verb/space adds realism and unifies the three instruments, and I love the super-high sustain note. I've been an evangelist for physical modeling for a long time, and while they're not cheap, Modartt & SWAM represent the state of the art. I think eventually we'll have an AI layer that can add artifacts and increase realism even further, or a hybrid approach that also employs samples in some form (technically the SWAM flutes do this, on the attacks) - it's all very neat stuff, and I love to geek out on it...
Speaking of geeking out, for the life of me I can't read this mix title without thinking of TNG's "Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra"
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Fully embraces the wubs; I dug the arsenal of Serum-style basses being fired in succession, and the overall attitude is HEAVY but also slick. Great stuff!
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The guzheng solo here is sublime; great mix, but also a great ad for ISW's library! Would love to hear @DDRKirby(ISQ) continue with the lofi-jazz & Asian influences!
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@Liontamer did the writeup but I had to chime in - so creative & unique! Lovely lower viola part that hit me like a cello, had to double-check the credits, but of course the thing most will latch onto is Joshua's vocals/vocalizing; really neat stuff, reminded me of Bobby McFerrin (High praise! he's done a lot more than "Don't Worry Be Happy"!) - interesting concept overall, loved the intro strumming (which reminded me of "Iguazu" from the Insider soundtrack), and the whole enchilada applies a very acoustic, folk, "organic" incantation to Metroid's contrasting stark, electronic, sci-fi universe. Precisely the type of mix that's less "obvious" and less likely to be made, which are the ones I tend to gravitate towards - kudos to all!
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I've emailed the artist requesting a unique title.
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On 5/17/2022 at 9:51 PM, Emunator said:
You got where you needed to go eventually
This. At two minutes in I was in the NO camp, but it eventually sold me. This is one that takes the full listen to appreciate; over the duration, I think the artist incorporates enough evolution & interpretation. I would have preferred the first third to be a little more engaging - more contrast, more drama... just "more" in general - but after that we go from borderline to "hey, I'm digging this" territory, and we basically stay there. It's close, but it's a
YES
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In the interest of progress, I'll weigh in and I guess my vote will count twice / be the deciding factor.
I enjoy unorthodox production and, well, this is that. I can certainly see it rubbing some folk the wrong way or "sticking out" on a playlist, but I don't find the issues (volume shift on initial drop, etc.) deal-breaking, and I suppose I find them a little more subjective. I'd usually rather listen to something that surprises me and justifies that surprise with some creativity & unexpectedness, and I feel like the arrangement and sound design both deliver on that promise and help support/"explain" some of the less orthodox production choices. We look for certain things w/ regard to production, but there are always gonna be some arrangement ideas that demand lo-fi, or a "garage rock" sound, or any number of similar permutations where "polish" isn't really the point, and in those cases we have to ask whether what's here works for us. It doesn't, for some judges, but it does for others, and it does for me, so I say let's roll with it.
YES YES
(X2 DJP YES DECISION-SPLITTER COMBO BREAKER)
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- That's a heck of a gear list; jealous a bit!
- Everything here is good, but the ambient intro and break are, to me, the "differentiators" that make the mix stand out more, along with the unexpected-but-welcome turntablism. The ambient choir pad right at the very beginning reminds me of the music they play in Dredd when people are taking slo-mo.
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First off, my apologies to @Jorito for sitting on this; I mistakenly assumed he had also contacted the panel. Glad this revised version can finally see the light of day - it's catchy, well-produced synthwave/pop, and the edits made do a lot to mitigate what I felt was a vocal that didn't quite match the rest of the track. I'm a bad-but-enthusiastic singer, and just to be clear my own Lunar mix would NEVER pass the panel today. I think this newer incarnation of this mix lands in a much better place, and while the panel did pass the original version, I would have veto'd it in that form, whereas now I'm on board. Good stuff!
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Beautiful mix! I actually got "Stairway to Heaven" vibes on the intro, perhaps due to the renaissance-style melodic motif & recorders. So much to love, from the mixed woodwind and brass instrumentation to the singing/choir to the oscillation between intimate & epic. French horn stands out with a solo that conveys the richness/tone of the instrument, but really everyone involved delivers, in spades - these types of things are insanely difficult to pull off & make work, so I'll echo @Liontamer's tip of the hat to coordinator/arrange extraordinaire, @Jorito. Bravo!
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@evktalo Only familiar with the Genesis version of this game & its music, so this was... interesting! The source is nice enough, but I do love the less fanfare/celebratory and slightly darker direction you've taken it in, without changing the major key vibe. Lovely sound design with lots of different textures; bass slides in particular stood out. I have some very specific feedback that you can take or leave, of course:
- While there are elements that are cross-panned or spread out, all of the melodic leads seem center to center-left. Having at least one melodic lead (flute, one of the synths, etc.) panned center-right might make the "melodic lead space" a bit wider/dispersed, in a good way? Could also open things up to leads occasionally overlapping/harmonizing while remaining distinct. Just a thought.
- The backing synth line that fades in at 1'06" sticks around all the way to 1'35" or thereabouts, with the same straight sixteenth-note pattern; wondering about dropping it out for 1-2 bars and differentiating those measures as a break and/or modulating filter cutoff or something else to give it more movement/evolution over time?
- The switch to double-time might benefit from a longer dropout & gradual rebuild or something else to differentiate the two sections, since the same basic sounds are being employed. I think using the same sounds is fine - it sounds good at both speeds - but something more elegant & deliberate to facilitate/bridge the jump to double, maybe?
Good stuff, as always!
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14 hours ago, Antonio Pizza said:
NiceWorkCoin has me HYPED!
Any plans to accept SakaguchiGil, FreshGreen(s)backs, or AybabtuZigs?
All the Zigs were already launched (for great justice), so that's a negative.
Our lawyers have unfortunately informed us that we would need specific contracts consenting to sale of digital assets as RFTs, and also that RFTs "aren't actually a thing," so with many regrets we've had to withdraw these bold plans.
The ALL POLKA ALL THE TIME thing is still on, though
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@zircon That's your call obviously but if you've checked the markets, Zircoin has already tanked this morning after our announcement. I don't think it will recover.
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OC ReMix Announces Bold New Crypto/RFT Direction
April 1, 2022
Contact: press@ocremix.org
FAIRFAX, VA - OverClocked ReMix today announced the immediate availability of all featured OC ReMixes as RFTs, or "Re-Fungible Tokens," in a bold move to embrace the latest technology, regardless of its apparent benefit to artists and listeners."There's been a lot of hostility towards and criticism of NFTs, especially from the creative community," writes David "djpretzel" Lloyd, President and Founder of OverClocked ReMix. "I'm an artist myself, and I think I know what the problem is - you can't funge NFTs. I've tried, but it's right there in the name, and I think that what most artists and listeners alike are looking for are tokens they can not only funge once, but repeatedly." Lloyd maintains that many of the perceived weaknesses of NFTs are mitigated by addressing this limitation - "Once you can funge over and over, and you've got that critical refungibility angle down, that's when the dynamic synergies and the Web 3.0 start to shine," he enthused. Environmental concerns about whether all this funging might expedite climate change and hurtle humanity ever faster towards living on an uninhabitable heat-sphere of death are unfounded, Lloyd says, because "this is all probably a simulation, anyways... and Web 4.0 will fix it."
OverClocked ReMix will start accepting cryptocurrency immediately, to facilitate this shift to an RFT-based marketplace of digital web 3.0 content assets. Instructions are available on all mix pages. Ethereum, Bitcoin, and NiceWorkCoin will all be accepted from the start, with additional cryptocurrencies to follow.
There are no plans to support Zircoin, now or in the future.
- derezr and Geoffrey Taucer
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@duskvstweak Basically agreed on all points. I could be additionally unkind (to myself) and say that most of the site feels a bit outdated, too, but the homepage is a good place to start.
Step 1 is updating our site navigation to be responsive, which I've sat on for far too long. Hoping 2022 is the year.
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@RANDOMDUDE222 We actually built it ourselves, using Unity, so there's nothing *exactly* like it out there. Just as an aside, since someone else asked, we can't open-source it since it uses a bunch of third-party assets, and it's also very specifically tailored to our own needs. That being said:
- https://store.steampowered.com/app/1026380/Overture_Music_Visualization/
- https://www.image-line.com/fl-studio-learning/fl-studio-online-manual/html/plugins/ZGameEditor Visualizer.htm
Those are a couple other options, and if anyone else knows some good alternatives, please share!
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I'm personally bummed animeremix didn't catch on, but I did have a lot of fun on the three mixes I did there... that being said, we've got a laser focus on VGM at OCR, to such an extent that we're pedantic enough to not allow the Wii menu music since it's *technically* not a game, but part of the operating system
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Production is phat AND fat, with some buttery-smooth synth brass & bass, and generally I think this instrumentation is rock solid & absolutely suits the source.
The arrangement is equally intuitive, and perhaps TOO intuitive - this is definitely a relatively conservative arrangement that leans on production enhancements more than gobs of original writing or harmonic alterations. What's here & additive is good, but there are also extended swaths that run parallel to the original, more or less. I would have liked to have seen a bit more addition and alteration in the arrangement department, but I concur with the above that it meets our standards in this regard, and from a pure joy/funk/production perspective, this is ace.
YES
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2 hours ago, Damashii!! said:
What's the ideal cutoff date to gather and release everything? By Thanksgiving latest I can guarantee salvaging from a dead hard drive (or completely redoing/rebuilding) TWTTTop
@Damashii!! I'll talk to Brandon and see how things are going on his end; very real possibility that Thanksgiving time frame will work, and would be awesome to include your work.
We sent some emails your way, trying to make sure everything's okay. Let us know what's up, and also I have a spare PSU I can send you, if it helps.
OCR04427 - Donkey Kong Country 2 "Watercolours"
in ReMix Reviews & Comments
Posted
I particularly liked the layered/distant choir, here; it blends nicely with the pads and creates an ambient oasis, but you can still make out individual articulations and voices and details, and it's quite striking; a lesser choir sample would have worked, given the usage is masked/blended, but I sure am glad we got this one instead - elevates the mix.