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Dj Mokram

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Posts posted by Dj Mokram

    Mega Man X3 - Blizzard Buffalo Stage (The Frozen City) ReMix: "Sorrowful Bellows ~ An Ode for a Winter's Night"

    in Post Your Game ReMixes!

    Posted

    There's not much that can be added on top of the stellar critiques you've received so far, and I won't bore you with technical FFT analysis and stats. Imma just tell ya how I feel about the arrange, and of course take it all with a bucket of salt cuz I'm nobody and this is just my unimportant opinion. 😉

    It's refreshing to hear a take on 'Blizzard Buffy' that isn't the usual fast paced EDM or Metal. The 'meandering' nature of the piece is part of the charm, and I believe you've achieved a cohesive wintery aesthetic coherent with the theme of the album. The slow building intro and winding outro, on top of setting up the scene properly, also showcase an eye for worldbuilding and composition. As someone who both partake in and appreciate the work that goes into an audiodrama, I give ya props for going the extra mile and adding Buffy's stomps and groans to add context to the arrangement in a way that surely fits this 'filmscore' interpretation.

    Now let's talk address the elephant in the room, 3 times heavyweight champion: Mr Glockenspiel. While a fitting instrument choice to an Xmas theme, it has been processed in a way that boosts its natural resonance beyond what a human ear is designed to contain 😋. It may or may not be due to the sample itself, but I suspect toning down the salad dressing on the ol' glock would remedy this small, if pivotal inconvenience. 

    One thing that would greatly help this remix stand out, especially in regard to the genre you're going for, would be to work on strengthening bridges between parts of the track. The piece as a whole proves you've got the arrangement chops to make this a hit. But each transition feels like an afterthought, almost as if you were ice skating from one part of the source to the next. It's never jarring, but if you put the same care/thought into them as you did for the intro and outro, this could truly elevate the whole song. 🎹

    The bombastic middle section from 2:35 onwards sees the return of our favorite superhero, Captain Glockenspiel, which once again shatters my heart by dancing without a care on top of an entire orchestra that is trying its best to convey the source material. It's a bummer because you've clearly put all the stops for this part, and imho this is legitimately well done. But that repeating leitmotiv on glock should be a background dancer, not the vocaloid Diva it's trying to impersonate. I'd also push the thunderous percs back slightly, as they seem to impact overall dynamics, and to let the orchestra breathe so the source melody can properly dominate the soundscape during the fulcrum point, one of the only instance where the audience can hear your interpretation in an uninterrupted sequence.

    The last section before the outro features a kick that's (I'm guessing) intentionally simulating a heartbeat and its acceleration as the piece/fight reaches its conclusion. It feels estranged and anachronistic to the rest of the conventional orchestra instruments. Also its overpowering the lows, as any Trap kick should, except in this case the sample's character is clashing with an already busy composition while trying to compensate for the orch lows you didn't write. Otherwise, that section is a wonderful way to wind down before the outro. 

    All in all, this is a captivating arrangement that confidently tells its story in a brave yet understated way. It only needs a little more love to reach its full potential, and I'm confident you'll get there in no time, with all the great feedback from remixers and staff alike. Gambare VQ! 👑

    Genuine concerns regarding AI generated music

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    12 hours ago, 100_PERCENT ROEMER said:

    With generative AI, it's just a matter of time before AI algorithms utilize AI generation to self-produce "music" without human prompting. This "music" will then flood the internet faster and farther than any human could possibly produce, even with an army of spambots at their disposal.

    Why pay someone and wait when you can get something "good enough" with auto fill? A real bummer for those who rely on commissions to make ends meet. When people talk about "AI stealing their livelihoods", it's a legitimate concern.

    I'm fine with AI replacing monotonous labor in a factory. I'm NOT fine with AI replacing human artists. It's simply too 1984 for my tastes.

    Quoted for emphasis.This is pretty much a reality in the web/dev sector already.

    Now with voice cloning, music industry majors won't hesitate to copy-paste an artist voice and generate a fictional appearance to broadcast to billions for 1/100 of the cost. Fake AI-fluencers are already fooling hundred of thousand of 'perfectly sane' human beings.

    Likewise in the game industry. None of the execs cutting massive corners, firing humans in droves mass-exodus style, will think twice about pushing a button if it can instantly generate an entire game's soundtrack (or a full game, period) for a fraction of the cost/time it would take a philharmonic orchestra to do so. And they will still sell it full price. And people will still buy it.

    TLDR: let's all enjoy the 'good times' while AI drinks up the oceans and turns the planet into a giant desert, for fun and profit. 🤣😭

    Knight'n'Grail(C64) vs Ninja Gaiden (XBOX) - Ninjan graali

    in Post Your Game ReMixes!

    Posted

    Opening both the 2012 and 2024 versions side by side in an audio editor, you can tell from the waveform data alone how much extra effort had been poured into this remix for over a decade. Let's listen! 🎧

    On the prod aspect of things, I ran analysis with a Blackman-Harris function, both 128 and 512bins on linear and logarithmic scale, to positive results. Spectrum analysis didn't make me fall off my camel either, you've got nice stereo separation and likewise no alarming RMS. However I counted more than a 150 clipped samples throughout, which might be related to that enthusiastic -12.23db LUFS integrated with a 6LU loudness range (accounting for DC offset as well). Either slightly limit your master bus output just to be safe, or keep rocking the '0db sample peak' lifestyle. Up to you. 😉

    Arrangement-wise, there's been massive improvements in texture, sound choices, dynamics and overall balance from your 2012 original, pioneering mashup. Melodies are less muted, the mix sounds clearer throughout and the soundscape is so much fuller now. Imho, your greatest success here is instilling new life and movement into the piece, making this revision much more engaging to listen to. 
    Case in point the first section from 0:15 to 1:00, where the industrial percussions have increased in presence and intensity compared to the 2012 version. But conversely, the source's melody is also more prominent and distinct during that part, which creates an interesting contrast, rather than an irritating dichotomy. The second section from 1:15 has undergone a shocking transformation, where the melodic material used to timidly defer to the classic Roland drum kit, but is now emboldened and confidently riding shotgun with the rhythmic bed from 1:32 to 2:05, before the eerie, melancholic twist of the original remix metamorphoses into an array of decisive stabs complemented by surgical percussion hits, which now makes the 2:05-2:38 section hugely more climactic. As for the ending section from 2:40 onward, I applaud the pivotal choice to swap instruments for the lead which confers it an exotic yet contemporary quality, meshing beautifully with the thunderous drums in this dreamy yet tangible soundscape.🤩

    There's a lot of subtlety and detail about this arrangement that people hopefully will notice and appreciate. Like in spite of the whole remix being centered around a repeating leitmotif and written with a singular sound palette, you can distinguish the theme associated with each source in relation to its time period and cultural inclination. Which to this day remains a testament to your ability as an arranger to assimilate material from different sources, then interpret them with both cohesiveness and distinction. I can still revell in the care that went into creating this ambient/industrial tribute with delightful Deus Ex influences, yet I also realize that such flavor might not suit everyone's tastes, and might be looked down upon in some leet circles...

    In any case, it's wonderful to see you revisit and reinvigorate this old work in such an elegant fashion, so many years later. I can only commend your diligence and consistency in the pursuit of this ideal, in the spirit of Ryu Hayabusa. May this labour of love capture the judges' hearts and ears, just as it captured mine back on Game Duels. This truly made my day, thanks for sharing this Eino. 🙏✨

    Phantasy Star II - "Restoration" Mega Drive +/Arrangement Album

    in Post Your Game ReMixes!

    Posted

    7 hours ago, BONKERS said:

    Started being able to block out Mystery again
    https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VZS8C3dnf9L46ycFCKCD6jgrgfobjV9s/view?usp=sharing

    It's so inspiring to see you've still got the resolve to go forward with this project despite multiple setbacks. Hopefully you've recovered and are feeling better. 

    Great sound upgrade that preserves the late 80s, early 90s rock aesthetic, complemented by a well rounded mixing/prod. Looking forward to hearing more.

    MnP 115: Super Mario Galaxy (Wii) - Buoy Base Galaxy

    in Competitions

    Posted · Edited by Dj Mokram

    Just my opinion, but I don't think there's anything wrong with either of those 2 new rules you suggested. Stopping at the 6th gen makes the compo more inclusive in regard to skill ceiling, sound quality and VST/libraries requirements. PRC is already dedicated to lesser-known games, which means that if you went with popular VGM instead, it'd make both compos complementary rather than a challenge not to step on each others toes every round. ;)

    Bit of advice tho: if you're gonna helm any kind of community event, it is literally your job as an organizer to plan for a successful turnout. Starting with (and I've said it a few times already) advertising your compo to make sure there is participation. In the age of Discord servers, especially when contestants come from the same artist pool in a buried forum subsection, relying on the same 3 people to carry every event, year after year, isn't realistic. Everyone's interests shift, as do life's priorities and even enthusiasm has limits.

    Paths Less Travelled Volume 2: Secret of Evermore

    in Recruit & Collaborate!

    Posted

    On 7/16/2020 at 5:56 PM, Meteo Xavier said:

    I'm not sure how it's only now come to your attention.

    Yeah, that'd be my bad. Was talking with Trism and he mentioned a slowdown in the recruitment, so I alluded to it maybe being affected by "the allegations", unaware that he and Dai didn't know about it. Trust me, the last thing I wanted was to derail the first OCR project I'd gathered the courage to join in seven centuries. So sorry guys, send all the tomatoes my way. :cry:

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