docnano

Gorgeous. Perfect to listen to after a long day.

Chris: Thanks for the suggestion. I love the second theme as well, and I'll keep thinking hard about whether I can develop it a little further. And I'd love to do another collab with that violin of yours. ProtoDome: Heheh, thanks. I have to say, though, you run circles around me in the realms of creative electronic music and multipart mixing in general. Emunator: Yeah, I'm not sure how the judges will like the amount of source. It has influences throughout, but is often heavily interpreted. In my next iteration I hope to bring out certain rhythms more to tie everything a little more closely. Tydin, Swann, I appreciate the feedback. I've been working hard on this one, and now I'm encouraged to polish it up and submit ASAP!

Been working on a piano remix of this classic theme, taking heavy cues from Debussy and Ravel (especially Jeux d'Eau). Still a little rough in parts, but the basic idea is there. Source:

This one really grew on me. The acoustic bluegrass sound is really hard to achieve with samples, but you did a great job. For the most part, the different instruments play off each other very well. The fiddle sample is not terrific, but you really made it sing with the slides and doubling. The mandolin sounds too much like a Greek bouzouki, but that's a hard one to duplicate. And I'm jealous of your banjo sound, I couldn't find a very good one. Nice work! We're getting a little closer to some "serious folk" music on OCR, hillbilly jokes notwithstanding.

Thanks for the suggestions! Here's version 2. (link removed) I've bumped the tempo up to 125, added articulation (esp. in woodwinds) and more dynamic shaping to the phrases, as well as some ensemble chorus effects and reverb to make the overall effect more convincing. Also shortened the attack time on the brass/horns to make them less squawky, more crisp. I'm still thinking about adding a dedicated trumpet voice as well as a bassoon, but it depends on whether I can get them to sound good. Sample quality still a major issue? If so, can anyone suggest free/cheap alternatives? I'm not keen on dropping hundreds of quid on sample libraries at the moment. :-\

It's about time we had some Lolo 3 love on OCR, so I made a Sousa-esque march based primarily on two themes from Lolo 3 -- the main level music (first strain), and the overworld theme (trio). The second strain is a development of the little jingle you hear when you get a power-up such as a bridge or hammer. Source: (2:11) Main Level Music (3:16) Overworld Music Things to improve? Enough source? Original enough? Worth submitting with a little more polish?

This feels like the VGM equivalent of Finnegans Wake. I could spend weeks or months trying to understand it. Not light listening, but I can appreciate the effort and arranging prowess that went into it. Great job, though it makes my head hurt.

I love the delayed doubling of the clarinet melody by the piccolo around 2:50. This is very SOM-esque, yet realized in a fresh way, and a brilliant example of bringing out elements from the OST as Bahamut mentioned. The piece is constantly changing, almost spastic at times, but never to the point of losing focus. Very nice!

Absolutely gorgeous.

I love this kind of jazz, and this is one of my favorite remixes in recent months. I wasn't sure it would work for this theme, but I think you pulled it off. The harmonic choices were good, the tone warm and fuzzy, the development of the theme nice. I'd like to hear that melodic line get a little thicker and/or more ornamented in places. But overall very nicely done.

The new WIP is here. Lots of changes: - Chris recorded a live violin to replace the synth I had in earlier versions. There is still a synth in a few places, but we're working on it - I modified the filters on the mandolin to hopefully sound more realistic - The string bass is louder and the whole sound hopefully a lot rounder - More rhythmic and harmonic interest around 2:07-2:15 - Lots of minor cleanups on the various parts, and some icing here and there Still some work to do, but any comments or suggestions are appreciated!

I hear you -- working on a track for months without soliciting feedback can drive me crazy, even if it's not quite ready for prime time yet. I applaud you for sharing at this stage. This is a pleasant mix, pretty well arranged, and certainly evocative of the source (not a bad thing!). However, the fact that it doesn't stray too far from the original source could pose a problem for the judges should you submit it in the future, so I'd encourage you to explore more variation -- rhythmically, harmonically, instrumentally. I like the variation introduced at 2:10; more of this and other similar ideas would be great. Varying up the tempo could add some nice drama. Some dramatic ritardandi between some sections would be nice (e.g. leading into the section starting at 2:10), as well as more subtle changes to shape melodic phrases. I think this is an under-utilized technique in many remixes on this site, and is especially important for orchestral works. The flute playing the melody is really nicely expressive -- volume changes and vibrato are well used. You might consider changing up the melodic line a little bit when it comes back around, or giving the lead to another instrument (or even some sort of duet). At 1:20, the spiccato (?) strings sound pretty good, but they clash with the legato strings. Maybe decide one way or the other, or switch one of them to a different instrument set. This section could use some (light) woodwinds, maybe? Also, what about adding some more mid-range tones to the string parts in general? Finally, I'm not really feeling the transition at 3:00. It seems like mellow, ALL OF A SUDDEN LOUD, then mellow. You could try introducing this (and the next section) more gradually, or explore other transitions. I hope my suggestions aren't too overwhelming. This is a good start, and you should definitely continue working on this. I've been working on one remix off and on for over a year now, and it's still evolving...

I have a fetish for IV-iv resolutions, so this is ok in my book.

Thanks for the thoughtful comments, guys! I had turned up the treble on the percussion and mandolin to get a more "crisp" sound, but it sounds like it was overkill. My apologies for any incidental hearing loss... It doesn't sound too top heavy on my crummy earbuds, so I guess it's time I looked into some decent monitoring gear! Chris: I hadn't thought of slowing down that section at 1:03 (my general vision for the track has been "keep on truckin'"), but if subtly done, it could be brilliant. I'll see what I can do. I also agree that the section at 2:00 could be more interesting, so perhaps I'll introduce some more rhythmic variation on the bass steel string guitar, and percussion.

@Daybreaker the link I posted was the same song (or parts of it) from A Link to the Past, which I think is the origin of that theme. Funny that we arrived independently at adding the same source.

...aww, no other feedback? Don't y'all let the bluegrass qualifier scur ya 'way... you might like it more than you think!

Damn, I had just typed a lengthy reply and when I went to submit, I was logged out. All is lost. Anyway, here's the gist: - Nice arrangement and harmonies. It's clear you spent a long time on this! - Phrasing could use some work, especially solo instruments (cello, piano, sax). Let me know if you want an example for piano and I can record something using your material. Solo winds and strings are, unfortunately, trickier to simulate. Some extra reverb on the sax and cello might help fool some people's ears. - More dynamic contrast from section to section would be nice. Think about which sections should be really quiet and smooth, and which sections should be loud and epic, and exaggerate those differences! - I think I detect some tempo changes in there, but you could milk them some more. For example, really draw out that buildup to the gong/tam tam hit at 4:16. And mega crescendo here. - Mallets are a little plunky in beginning -- I'd use unbroken octaves or even single notes. Maybe also bring it up an octave. I enjoyed it, thanks and good luck!

Hey, I really like this. The addition of the organ at the end was a nice touch that tied it back to the original. I particularly enjoyed the three-against-two part with the organ. There's generally good variety throughout, and it seems polished to my (unpolished) ears. It does sound like a lot of the same thing harmonically (simple source, as you said). You might break it up by dropping the drums temporarily and doing a legato section, maybe with synth strings playing a different theme. For instance, a lick from the Hyrule Castle theme (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQppjFksfxM) could sound good. Something with a bit of major chord in it? Other than that, all it needs is a little icing.

Yeah, for the mandolin I had to take a picked steel guitar sound and play with the frequencies a bit. There are free soundfonts but I haven't heard any good ones yet. I'm looking for a "Chris Thile" sound. I'll keep looking... or does someone know how to play a mean mandolin?? Thanks for the feedback! UPDATE: I modified the filter on the mandolin to make it sound sharper and hopefully more realistic.

This is a bluegrassy remix based on a common theme from one of my favorite soundtracks of all time. This is my first near-final remix, and also my first foray into bluegrass. I don't routinely listen to the genre, but for some reason the idea popped into my head and I ran with it! A few details: Voices are all from my S90ES, except for the nylon guitar, which I snagged off of HammerSound. Sequencing, recording and mixing were done in Ableton Live Intro. I applied frequency filters to the fiddle and mandolin to make them sound right (to my ears). Although they're all digital instruments, I've worked very hard to get an organic sound using expressive dynamics and articulation. I've taken this about as far as I can go right now, and am eager for some feedback. Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abTeHCBz2_Q

I recently got an S90ES -- I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. I'm a newcomer to remixing myself, but I have a background in classical piano and played percussion in wind ensembles and orchestras, to let you know where I'm coming from. I really like the mixture of gothic/organ sounds with heavy-hitting rock drums and sprinklings of orchestral pizzicati. The song has a nice "feel" that is distinct and has the potential to really go places. Here are a number of suggestions, in no particular order: - The piano has nice expressiveness, but you could make it more expressive with some tasteful damper pedal throughout. It doesn't have to be heavy, just enough to tie the broken chords together. Or, if you must have your staccato, add some reverb. - The arrangement sounds a little muddy in places, for instance around 1:50-2:00. You might try moving the piano up an octave or two (this goes for MANY sections in the piece -- at least give it a try), and maybe back off on some of the boomier sounds, unless you are specifically building towards something. - You use a lot of 4-bar phrases that could benefit from more shapely dynamics. For instance, gradually increase the organ volume (especially that deep, deep foot pedal sound) over the first three bars of a phrase, then back off a little for the last bar. Rise, fall, rise a little further, fall slightly... and BOOM! That idea. Just make sure to start low enough to give yourself room to build. - Rhythmically speaking, you could try introducing triplets here and there for variety, say, at the end of certain phrases or in piano arpeggios. All in all, it's a good start!

Heh, for a second I thought I was listening to a Christian rock station. I think that crowd would gobble this up, stylistically and perhaps lyrically. I'm not familiar with the source, but the mix has a catchy chorus and a pleasant ostinato on bells (or piano?).

Nice mix, I like the variety in the percussion and the thought you gave to the song's structure. I would like to hear more varied articulation, especially in the lead marimba, which sounds a bit robotic to me, as well as more dynamic contrast overall. For instance, you could start Shiva's dance (a brilliant idea, by the way) a little quieter and thereby have more room to build.

WTF!?!? I don't like rap much and these lyrics are particularly immature, but hell, it's HILARIOUS. The themes are woven subtly but to good effect throughout. Against my better judgment, I think I'll add this to my library!

You've come a long way, sir! It's a real inspiration to newcomers like myself to compare mixes like this to your newer fare. Still, this one does have a lot of character.