Chimpazilla   Judges ⚖️

Looking at my previous vote, it seems my mixing crits have all been addressed. This sounds much better balanced. This render seems to be a premaster, it spends most of its runtime around -5db peak, and only ever hits -2.3db peak at the fullest section. I'd be glad to do a master on this if desired. Regardless, this is enough production improvement for me to pass it as-is. Nice little personalized cover of one of my favorite Zelda tunes of all time. YES

This is my first time hearing this mix. Those are some fast triplets starting at 0:12! They sound just a bit clunky and rushed as proph said. I like the alternating-octave triplets at 1:27 and the doubled-octave triplets at 2:25, both of those sections flow more naturally to my ears. Overall this sounds competently played and is very pleasant to listen to. YES

This is the coolest idea ever, I LOVE this concept, so super groovy. But I have to agree with proph, it's coming off as simplistic due to the blocky-as-heck, stuck-to-the-grid piano sequencing, and uber-repetitive drum groove. It does feel like the arrangement is lacking something more going on in terms of an occasional countermelody or backing texture, as it's the same instruments and patterns again and again. Even some soft pad chords here and there, with some movement or very light gating on them, would add a lot of interest and groove to this. But the piano lead and also chords simply must be humanized a bit for it to sound natural and groovy. I also feel that the mixing could be done differently to get this more impactful, the bass needs to be a bit more present, and the kick sounds very quiet in the mix, so perhaps the low end overall could be brought out more, which could even be done in the mastering stage. There should be something more going on in the highs, there's the tiniest hat pattern I've ever heard, almost too quiet to hear. The main problem here is the stiff and repetitive sequencing, primarily piano and drums. Additional instruments, patterns, variation, ear candy etc. would also go a long way to making this sound much less robotic. I'd love to hear this again though! NO (resubmit)

Opening piano is very stiff and robotic, every note the same velocity and hitting right on grid. Ditto with the cello, there's no legato flow, and when it ends, it stops cold which is totally unnatural. The piano arp goes on and on after that, with nothing on top of it, until the guitar, cello and drums kick in. The cello stops dead again at 1:42. Adding elements like bass, guitar and drums is the right path forward for this arrangement, this is what we look for, unique elements and writing together with recognizable source. This mix has a long way to go however, to be postable on OCR. The instrument sequencing is really rough and unhumanized. The best part of this mix is when the full soundscape starts up at 1:13, even with the stiff sequencing, this part is good and developed, but it's over quickly. Other than that brief section, the rest of the arrangement is much too conservative to the source song for OCR. And no need to render an extra minute of silence after your track, that should be trimmed prior to submitting. There are some great ideas here, and nice mellow vibe. But the writing, arranging, sound choices and mixing will all need to be improved. I agree with proph that a great place to start is our Discord workshop channel. NO

Making a full track just for LFO practice.... color me interested! I love the bouncy synth pattern right away, and the reese bass that follows at the drop. As the arrangement moves along though, I'm waiting for something new to be introduced, other than additional drum elements or tiny synth patterns. The energy basically stays static once established. This arrangement is so close to the source tune that it feels like a cover, at least up to the breakdown at 1:20. The synth and drum elements are all similar, and the drum groove is basically the same as in the source, even the vocal bits are so similar. At 1:20 there's a breakdown and finally some writing variation happens, with the bass going upward, I love that! Then the faux geetar comes in with some kind of original lead writing which I really like. It sounds prominent enough until 2:00 at which point the geetar is still there but now it is mixed so far into the soundscape that it's more of a texture than a feature. From 2:00 until the end, what is meant to be the lead, is it the bass? The source tune is leadless, which is fine in-game, but I feel like this remix would greatly benefit from having some original lead or motif writing over the top of it, especially from the beginning up until the breakdown. That would add interest and help mitigate the repetitive feel of that first 1:20 of the arrangement. The mixing isn't too bad, other than the low end of the bass being somewhat unfocused. I recommend using a monomaker for 125Hz and below, as that range is currently stereo-spread somewhat which makes your low-end lose impact. The upper buzzy end of the reese bass sounds great. I'm very curious though, what's up with this sharp, narrow extreme cut at 10kHz? Overall, I love this concept, but the arrangement feels too conservative for over half of the piece, as well as being static and repetitive. I think some additional lead or motif writing especially in the first half would really spice this up, personalize it and separate it further from the source song. I'd like to hear it again with more personalization added! NO (resubmit)

Very interesting production style here! The heavy reverb and the flutter and wow over the whole soundscape puts me right in the middle of the mall in the middle of the 80s. Very cool! I do agree with proph that this reverb sounds cold, almost icy, perhaps it's too crisp? Is this a plate or spring reverb perhaps? It has a metallic feel. The reverb lacks warmth (hence the coldness!). The amount of reverb is fine, as this is what was intended, but the character of the reverb could definitely be more pleasant than this. This isn't a dealbreaker for me, just an observation. Heck, maybe I'm at the mall in January and it's snowing outside. What is a dealbreaker for me is the repetitive nature of this arrangement. First of all, it plods. The energy of the piece stays the same from beginning to end. The drum groove is exactly the same all throughout the piece, even with the kick being dropped out here and there, the snare and hat patterns never change. I do appreciate that the lead instrument changes throughout the arrangement, but the bass, plucks/mallets, backing elements and vocal clips are the same from beginning to end and it just feels so repetitive to me. Some variation in the soundscape elements, writing, and drum groove would greatly improve this arrangement. The source is definitely plastered like, all over this, so we're all good there. I love the concept! But the repetitive/static nature of the arrangement, instrumentation and writing are blowing it for me. NO

Yeah this isn't lo-fi, it's just EQd harshly at 3kHz and it sounds muffled. Emunator can definitely provide better advice here, and explain the process, but proper lo-fi involves different types of processing, EQ and saturation than just cutting off the top end. There are entire plugins dedicated to lo-fi production. The first one that comes to mind is LO-FI-AF by Unfiltered Audio. The arrangement is very conservative, and although it has some nice adaptations it could really use more personalization and variation. The instruments and drums all sound very robotic and stiff. The piano especially needs some humanization. The writing is very repetitive and the energy is static throughout the piece, with no breakdown and the drums play all the way to the last section. The same patterns play over and over and in combinations but they never do anything interesting once established. The ending is brief and disappointing. As for mixing and volume-balancing, I can't even comment on it in its current EQ-obliterated form. I agree with proph that our Discord workshop channel will be a great place to get further advice and guidance on this one! NO

The guys have covered the issues well. This is a cool Blade Runner/Vangelis vibe. It morphs and changes as it moves along, and the filter movement is appreciated and cool, but the arrangement actually feels very repetitive; once the instruments and vibe and soundscape are established, there is very little development happening after that. I would have loved to hear another lead sound take over for a section, or have something else added somewhere, and perhaps the arp dropped out for at least one section just for a sonic break. But this is cool and dreamy and just verging on cyberpunk. So I agree with the sentiment that "this could be more, but what's here is enough." The mix feels just a bit mid-low heavy/muddy. The master is limited at -1.1 which seems like a very odd hard limit. The master is loud but not overcompressed. Ok, I was all set to vote YES (borderline) on this, but I think I'd love to see at least one more opinion on the arrangement feeling hella repetitive first. I'm feeling like I'm pressuring myself to vote YES due to "onevoteaway" and that's not good, so I'll wait a bit. ?

This is super conservative to the source tune, maybe almost too much so, but I appreciate the little countermelodies and additional textures added. The guitar is performed well. It's a nice, yet straightforward, arrangement. I agree with proph about the mixing, it's very dense and very low and low-mid heavy, giving the overall mix a muddy and sometimes boxy feel. I agree with him that some EQ is needed, to remove unwanted lows/low-mids and rumble from the non-bass instruments, vocals and drums, as everything is piling up and clashing in the lows and low mids. Having all these lows in everything also has the impact of stealing your mastering headroom. You'll have an easier and louder master after taming the instruments with EQ, as your limiter won't have such a huge task of smashing everything down. As it stands, this master is being pushed very hard, and also the limit of -2db seems very unnecessary. You can even see on SPAN how the frequencies are heavily skewed towards the low mids, with the high mids and highs severely rolling off by comparison. This is not a good overall balance for the track. I took this snip at exactly 2:13 in the mix. There are so many instruments playing at that point that everything sounds jumbled up and indistinct. I'm very borderline on this because part of me feels it could post like this. But on repeat listens, I feel that the mixing really does need to be addressed to make this completely passable and enjoyable to listen to. Please clean up the mixing and send it right back to us! NO (please resubmit)

Hey Argle! Nice to see you submitting again! Alrighty, let's see what we've got going on here. Cool moody source tune! And I love the idea of combining styles to make something new, that is something I also really enjoy doing whenever possible. I love the slow-burn atmo intro to the remix, and the beats when they come in. I really like this source with a 4-on-the-floor beat! This arrangement is really great and thank you for the source breakdown. I like how you worked in the various parts of the source motif and chords and made them your own, and I love the big hits in the outro. I have to agree with Larry, this could be Sofa King HUGE if the beats were heavier, thiccer, way moar lowder. This is a great beat, and the kick sound works really well. I do hear the sidechaining but only on the bass (maybe some of the lower synths too?). This mix feels like it could be a midtempo EDM track to me. In a mix like this, ideally everything should get some measure of sidechaining in varying amounts, including leads and percussion loops. I want to hear that deep dent in the soundscape when the kick hits, I want it to make me feel slightly dizzy in fact, and I want the kick (and the snare) to punch me hard in the face. I feel like overall, the low end is too weak, and the result of that is the midrange is kind of screaming. This effect is most notable starting at 1:24. There's a ton of awesome distortion on the midrange synths which works really well here, but without a heavy beefy low end to counterbalance it, it sounds screechy. Dance piano sounds somewhat stiff, but not a dealbreaker. Mixing crits aside, this is a great arrangement and I dig it hard. Let's go. YES

Oooo, tough one. This arrangement is great, performances are great, but as the other Js have mentioned, the mixing is a problem. It's odd because the track sounds well enough balanced overall. There are enough lows, mids and highs. But it sounds.... so off. I think what has happened here is that the instruments have been EQd in such a way that all of their low-mids have been removed. This includes the vocal. So the guitar, piano, and vocals all sound unbearably thin and anemic. Any mid-highs and highs on these elements have been hyped, or they sound hyped as a result, causing the overall mix to sound almost painfully bright. The vocal should be the star of this mix, but due to being harshly EQd like this, the vocal melts into the soundscape and becomes lost (among several elements all screaming in the same frequency range), causing me to be unable to understand the lyrics. It's a shame because this really is a well executed arrangement, but the mixing is putting it under the bar for me. I suggest re-balancing and mixing this from the ground up. Start with just the bass and drums, then add in one element at a time, making sure the elements don't compete in frequency, but also not EQing them into oblivion. NO (please address the mixing and resubmit)

I also voiced my thoughts on the NO Show and I agree with my fellow Js that the sax parts, most especially the tenor sax, sound way too dry and upfront, just right in my face due to lack of any kind of reverb. The saxes don't sound like they are in the same space with the piano, bass and drums at all. However, this arrangement is great and so are the performances. The sax recording and mixing could surely be better, but I am going to guess most casual listeners will not notice that, and will only notice a very cool and jazzy arrangement of these three sources that is quite well done. YES

I have found it impossible to remix anything from any Xenoblade source as the music is too detailed and perfect, and the arrangements are complex and usually long. This one is no exception. One day I'll try one! Maybe! This arrangement starts out super strong and stays balls to the walls all the way through. The first 30 seconds are VERY conservative to the source song, so I was initially concerned, but after that point the remix arrangement took off in some amazingly creative directions. All of the performances are excellent. The ending is anticlimactic and ends on an odd note with no resolution, and that is disappointing, but other than that, this arrangement rocks so hard. The strings from 0:31-0:46 and again from 2:30-2:47 sound alright as a pad, but would be better with some automated swells to make them sound more natural and real. I love the pad at 1:31 so much, the cool jazzy vibe in that section up to 2:00 is a highlight for me personally! The vox in the next section are really nice too. The guitars and drums and flute are all awesome. This is a truly excellent take on this complex and beautiful source song. The production is good, things are very well balanced and mixed. The master is a bit dull though, and could have used a touch of harmonic exciter to bring out the sparkle. YES

This original is wild and great, and I can easily see why jnWake approached it, it's already in your style, Wake! (edit: my bad, Wake is just a performer on this mix and not the primary, but it does sound like a source he would remix, so my comment stands!) The remix is vibrant and varied, fast-paced and crazy, and super well performed by all involved. The mixing is pretty good considering the density of the soundscape. The low end feels a bit loose and indistinct, while also being a little too loud. Lead guitar and keys get buried in the busiest sections. I wonder why it was mastered with a ceiling of -3db, that seems excessive. But it sounds clean enough. Interesting vocal outro, although it feels a bit tacked on since it is the only time in the track that there are vocals. But this arrangement is exciting and fun! Let's go. YES

Really nice combination of these two themes. The various instruments go well together. The vocals are well performed and mixed. Nice combination of psytrance and guitars and vocals. The plucks in the intro are excellent, as are the little bits of flute and strings that follow. I'm sad that there isn't a proper outro, but this arrangement is otherwise top notch. YES

Very cool arrangement using both of these sources, and an excellent synthwave soundscape. I agree the choir pad is just a tad muddy but works well enough. I wish there was a bit more sidechaining on things, especially that pad, it would give it more groove, but ok. The master is quite loud, hitting -7.7db RMS but I don't hear any issues. Really fun treatment of these two sources and the arrangement stays interesting and detailed all the way through. YES

Right from the jump, this master is way too loud. There is no reason for a mellow/jazzy track to be mastered this loud and it has no dynamics as a result. I do love the jazzy-vibed concept of this mix. The drum groove is a particular highlight! The piano performance is excellent. The instruments and drum kit all sound ok to me, and the volumes sound well balanced, but I do hear the clashing that has been mentioned in a few sections. From 0:09-0:23 the reverbs and delays are running together leaving a mush of clashing soundscape trailing behind the fast piano playing. You may not need this much delay in the mix. There's a harmonically awkward turnaround happening at 0:59, and the overlapping reverbs and delays are making it worse. I agree with the guys above me, the mixing needs a cleanup. In addition to taming the reverbs and delays, some EQ work is suggested. Make sure there aren't lows in your piano or other supporting instrumentation playing/conflicting in the low-mid bass ranges, and I agree with XPRT that the bass could also use some EQ to remove some low-mids. On the reverbs (and delays), make sure lows are EQd out also. These mixing fixes should clean things up nicely. I don't agree with the guys though on the drum mixing, I find the balances of the drums fine if not a bit quiet in the mix! I think the drums are fine as-is. Awesome concept and remix! It just needs some mixing love to keep things sounding crisp and clear. You may also want to turn down the final limiter gain also for a more reasonable master volume (something more like -12 to -11db RMS, the mix currently hits -7db RMS), although the EQ changes we have suggested will most likely give you more mastering headroom anyway. Please do these things and let's hear this fun remix again soon. NO (resubmit please)

This is indeed a straight cover, for the most part. The instrument/genre adaptation does count, but musically it is a cover, which can be fine as long as there are personalized sections added in, like an original breakdown and/or another big section with more variation on the writing or pace or something. While not required, some kind of longer and more purposeful intro and outro would also help this arrangement shine. As proph said, what's here is fun! It's short though, arguably 2 minutes is not enough time to get the ideas across in a prog-rock piece. On the production side of things, the drums could come up a bit in the mix, the snare and all the hats are very tame and weak with minimal highs, kick could punch through a bit better. I think things are balanced fairly well other than that, although at times the lead guitar comes in too loud, such as at 1:18 and again at 1:46. I also agree with proph that I'd like to hear a bit more bass in the mix. NO

Ah, I remember this first Zebra2 lead patch, it is called "avien" and it is still gorgeous! What an interesting arrangement here, I agree that the three sources go together super seamlessly. I really like this varied and unique arrangement and soundscape. The chord progressions strike me as just a bit awkward here and there but it all mostly works and sounds luscious. I love all the changing time signatures, I'm a sucker for varied time sigs in a piece, it helps to keep things very groovy and interesting all the way through. Production and mastering are on point, let's go! YES

This is excellent, it sounds to me like John Williams himself put this together. I am beyond impressed with this. I wish it was longer, as proph mentioned too. The mastering could be just a hair louder than this, it only ever hits -1.6db peak and I think the mastering limiter could have been pushed just a couple of db more, but this is a nitpick. The production here is unbelievable; someone really knows how to get the most out of samples! What sample library is this? It sounds really super good to me, really competently crafted piece. I hear bits of the source songs, having done a cursory (read: half-assed) source check. I assume the source use passed proph's timestamping...? As long as there's enough source use for OCR, let's get this amazing work up on OCR stat. YES

I just voted on the lovely Part 1 of this Sky Medley so here I am for Part 2 which is equally lovely. This one is pretty sparse at some points! Again there is the heavy panning of elements which I am definitely not a fan of, especially heavier elements like a full choir I hear only on the right, my brain expects to hear the choir centered and in the back. This extensive panning feels very unnatural to me. The transition into City in the Sky is super smooth! That is a really weird tune, I love it but I have not found a way to remix it myself. I really like this version of it. Like Part 1, this is a beautiful and delicate medley of these themes, and it is very well executed and arranged even if I'm not a fan of the severe panning. YES

I love all of these Zelda tunes and they are handled so delicately and intricately here. The transitions between the sections are very smooth. All the instrumental performances are gorgeous and competent. This arrangement has a lovely whimsical feel. I do wish some of the percussion was a little bit louder, the hand drums sound so distant and in the back of everything. I agree with Brad on the panning, I am not a fan of severe panning, I would prefer that some elements sit slightly left or right if need be, but not ALL the way left or right. That is the only part of this arrangement that I'm not loving, it feels artificial to me, hearing one instrument only on the left, and another only on the right. The panning feels especially awkward when it is a heavier element like a full choir or deep string pad sitting all the way to one side. Other than the panning, this is a beautiful romp through the wind and sky themes. YES

Those drops are waaaaay too loud, coming in with zero signaling, suddenly nine decibels louder than what came before. That right there is enough of a dealbreaker to sink this mix. I loves me a good loud kick, but holy heckballs this is absolutely ridiculoud. The arrangement should have soft sections followed by buildups, hinting at what is to come, you don't want your listener to leap out of his chair hearing these drops. There are no builds here, just the soft sections and then WHAM my ears are raped. The sections are repetitive within themselves, with nothing too interesting happening once the patterns are established. I think there great ideas here though! I'd love to hear more melodic development, I don't actually hear the source motif anywhere, I think adding that motif plus some variations over the repetitive sections would greatly add interest to the arrangement. As prophetik mentioned, the arpeggio that appears here and there in this arrangement does not really match with the melodies and harmonies you have going in the other instruments. It certainly does not hold water trying to act as a lead. In that final section, the faux-hardstyle, that vocal bit is amazingly too loud also. So this entire mix needs a volume balance as a starting point. But yeah, resist the urge to try to win the loudness war here! There is no need for that, and it's much more jarring than it needs to be. NO

This arrangement re-imagines the Animal Crossing Wild World Title music in a more instrumentally dry and straight ahead manner, taking rhythmic inspiration especially from the original Animal Crossing Title music for N64/Gamecube. Featured is MIDI arrangement and recording only created in Bitwig Studio. The overall structure of the original track is maintained, yet lengthened. Instrumentation is changed and does not vary throughout. One of the key features of this track is the unison marimba/electric piano melody, separated by octaves. The melody is then harmonized at key points in synchrony with the rhythm section. Then it returns to unison until the next point of synchrony. At 1:25, we see a chromatically colored, original solo of the marimba/electric piano lead with bebop inspired phrasing over one chorus of the song. At 2:35, we get a glimpse of an abrupt ending... and then we continue until the final point of suspension. The original ending of suspension is kept not only for preservation, but to evoke the feeling of "the world keeps moving on." I feel the original composition is playful, but melancholic, and is preserved in the arrangement. It's a tune that's close to many and reflects life and the people you meet. Games & Sources Animal Crossing: Wild World - Title Screen Platform: Nintendo DS Release Date: November 23rd, 2005 Composer: Kazumi Totaka Original composition:

"Sell It To Me" (Twilight Princess - Malo Mart) Chimpazilla - featuring Emunator (additional sfx) and RallyCat ("sell it to me" vocals) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ On the road through Castle Town, I see a flashy store. I pass by this place every day. It tempts me more and more. Today I got my courage up, and entered through the door. Inside this shop it's brightly lit, with colors not from earth. The items here are priced so high, too dear for what they're worth. The salesman wears a freaky grin, and cannot hide his mirth. The truth is this: I want it all. Everything I see. One item here, above the rest, inspires greedy glee. I hope that I can prove my worth, so he will SELL IT TO ME! Humanity has one main goal, and that is to survive. We are consumed, all day and night, with how to stay alive. But once our basic needs are met, for what else can we strive? We like to think we're civilized, with matters of the heart. We focus on the finer things: music, science, art, But with those lofty goals achieved, we're left with Malo Mart: A place to shop until we drop, forget all of our cares, Consume until we breathe no more, just purchase all the wares And hope the god of earthly wealth will answer all our prayers, For shopping is the thing we do to drown out all the pain Of living in a forlorn world for which we have disdain, But with enough possessions, we don't feel so insane! So, sell it to me, sell it to me, lest I should go to hell. Sell it to me, please sell it to me, I've served my purpose well. Sell it to me, sell it to, sell it, sell it, sell... ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Malo Mart 0:48-1:21, 1:29-1:35, 1:37-2:07, 2:26-2:58, 3:07-3:38, 3:41-3:45 = 196 seconds Castle Town 1:02-1:04, 1:11-1:13, 1:51-1:53, 1:59-2:01 = 8 seconds Total source 204 seconds, track is 238 seconds, 86% source use ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This may be the weirdest and darkest track I've ever done. All the dissonance is intentional. The sugary-sweet major-scale Malo Mart against the minor/horror backdrop is totally intentional. The ridiculous reverb mushing into a hellscape against the sharp percs and sfx is completely intentional. And I am utterly obsessed lately with heavy Reggaeton drum grooves. As usual, Emunator brought the sauce with an extensive personalized "splice pack" of excellent sfx. Every stem he provided has been used in the track. At the last minute I convinced RallyCat to record himself whisper-wheezing "sell it to me" which was the final piece of the puzzle to complete the track. Halloween release requested if deemed appropriate this year.