Chimpazilla   Judges ⚖️

I agree with all of XPRT's points here. The arrangement itself is good, with good arrangement dynamics. The instrumentation is on the soft side all the way through, which isn't quite working. For example, from 1:06-1:38 you have a heavy kick and bass along with a shuffley-patterned synth and heavily sidechained pad, all of which sound great, but they never seem to kick into full gear and do anything interesting. I can hear this in my mind with some varied percussion and sfx, filtered elements coming in and out, and ear candy making that section really memorable, but as it stands it feels very plain and anticlimactic. Same situation from 1:48-2:21. The drum pattern never changes, and the simple bell lead takes the energy of those sections way down for me. XPRT said it well, it feels more like a sketch than a finished piece. I do think this has a ton of potential though, but the soundscape is very sparse and it just needs more interesting elements especially in the two heavy sections to keep the listener engaged. The volume balancing is mostly adequate, although leads are too soft and quiet. The simple percussion in the track is all in mono. It sounds like no mastering has been done as the track never goes louder than -1.6db peak. The drumless sections sit around -6 to -8db peak which is very quiet indeed. The track lacks any highs other than the snare and hats, no synths seem to have any presence in the highs at all, making it sound lifeless. I would love to hear this again with the sections more fleshed out! NO (resubmit)

Those first two hits made me JUMP out of my chair, like for real. Wow! Got my attention there. The soundscape quickly builds into one of the most epic soundscapes I have ever heard. I love the triplets that everything is playing. The mix is a wall of sound but the mixing is clear enough to hear everything. The guitar work is phenomenal in this arrangement. Oh when the tin whistle comes in, that's a great contrast, love it. The mixing sounds very good considering such a dense soundscape, things are well placed in the soundstage, although I agree with XPRT that the guitar solo is on the quiet side (which is a shame because it absolutely rocks). My biggest nitpick is with the brass that begins at 4:18, the attacks on the patch are not keeping up with the fast writing so that sounds uncanny and behind the beat. I also agree with XPRT when he said "This thing is an absolute fucking banger." It is indeed! Truly excellent track, let's go. YES

I think Wes explained things perfectly here. This is a nice arrangement, but the sound choices are very simple and the production sounds dated. The trap hats are indeed too repetitive (one loop repeated all the way through, no fills or variations) and too loud/dry. The arrangement is laid out very well and has good dynamics, including an intro, verse/chorus, breakdown etc. The drum writing and sounds/processing is probably my biggest dealbreaker, same as it is for Wes. The repetitive drum writing is taking the energy of the track way down below where it should be, and that's a missed opportunity for a very groovy track to exist. Another way to introduce tons of groove is by sidechaining the kick to the instruments in varying amounts (basses and pads get more, plucks/leads/percs get less). I don't hear any sidechaining in this mix whatsoever. At a minimum the bass and pads should get some sidechaining. Again this isn't a dealbreaker in and of itself, but it's a missed opportunity for groove. I think the drum sounds and programming alone are enough to request a resub, so that's what I'm going to do. You've gotten some great advice in this thread, so I look forward to hearing this again with improvements made! NO (resubmit)

This is another tough one for me. I do hear some guitar amp noise, but not enough to be dealbreaker for me. This is a lovely piece, it is definitely ambient, but I find it to be boring. I hate to say that, but nothing incredibly interesting or emotive is happening here for me. It's just the same pad chords repeated, with bits of guitar motif coming and going, and a buzzy synth that doesn't seem to fit with the rest of the soundscape. This plays more like a movie cue to me, for a very simple scene, and not a standalone arrangement. I guess I would like to hear more development than this as the piece moves along. It this arrangement sufficient for OCR, I am honestly not sure and I'd like to see another opinion. ? edit 10-23-24: Listening again now, and the amp noise is bothering me since it is so audible when the lead guitar plays. But my main issue remains the same, it's a nice piece but it just doesn't develop enough as it is currently. NO

There is certainly enough source here, the arrangement is fairly conservative, but this is a great arrangement. There are so many ideas here, so much ear candy and variation in sounds and processing. The mix is full of energy and interest. My only issue with the arrangement is that the sections tend to get too long and repetitive, with the same idea being repeated over and over. 3:09-3:35 for example is the exact same writing all the way through, within a larger section playing the same motif over and over in somewhat varied ways. There's something about the production that I can't entirely put my finger on. There is a ton of very hard panning which I don't care for, especially when it is heavy instruments like basses being panned wide. The instruments (other than the guitar) sound very simplistic and vanilla, and there is minimal processing, very little reverb, and the whole mix sounds almost painfully dry most of the time. I am more borderline than proph on this one, because the arrangement is generally so strong. The mixing isn't terrible, things are volume-balanced just fine, but there is something off about the production for me. I'm not ready to commit either way yet, I would like to see another opinion or two. edit: I'm flipping to a NO because the other opinions verify what I was feeling. I do hope to hear this again with improvements made! NO

I'm in agreement with Brad and Wes. This is a significant improvement. The elements are clearer, most especially the vocals. It's still crazy crowded and fast paced, and I also agree this snare isn't the best snare sound ever, but this version gets it over the bar for me. The guitar solo is a highlight! Cool, fun stuff here. So good! YES

That source tune is weird! Does it have timing issues or is my brain broken? The snare seems normal but the kick seems to be having a seizure? I'm with Wes on this. The sections of this arrangement do get rather repeaty as they move along, but the sections themselves don't repeat verbatim later in the track. There are a lot of fun changeups, instruments, ear candy and sfx. I do think more could have been done within each section to spice them up, some extra or replaced element every eight bars would do it. I dig the synth guitar, it adds to the cheesy vibe but it has been programmed and mixed very well. I find it totally appropriate. And I'm an absolute sucker for great vocal clips. Fun stuff! YES

I had actually not heard this one before, and that really speaks to how productive Wes has been lately! Sips River is such a lovely source, and this track is amazingly written and performed. I was all set to YES this and call Larry an old man, but as I neared the end I found my ears were hurting from the heavy-handed mixing and slammed master. I actually reached out to Wes to offer my final mixing services. I do feel that even with this vision I could get it a little bit cleaner, but he shared his inspo track with me and cruelly forced me to skip ahead to around 4:30 in the video. I was all set to tell him that this Sigur Ros song was "wall of sound" yet mixed more cleanly than his, until I got to that point in the video. He asked me if I liked it, and I had to honestly answer, no I don't. But this was his INTENT. Ok, ok. I was already leaning toward a yes because this mix is good enough for OCR's bar even though I don't like this mixing style. So I am going to yes it, the arrangement and performances are too good not to have posted on the site, but dangit Wes, stawp it already with the walls of sound! YES

Cool track! Great mashup of these sources as the guys have said. The mixing is what I would expect from a song in this genre, and the mastering is just right. You definitely nailed the brief you were attempting to do, but sadly I have to agree with Larry that it's too much "Damage Inc." I had a similar issue with a collab I did with bLiNd a few years back that was based on NIN's "Closer" and it sounded way too TrentReznorish and therefore it was rejected (but man was it cool! Jordan had replicated the kick and that bass sound to perfection). I'd love to hear this again with the "Damage, Inc." sections un-Damaged (it would be an easy yes), but as Larry said if that compromises the vision we understand. NO (resubmit)

I think the concept of this is awesome, it's upbeat and groovy and I love the sfx and vocal clips. But my fellow Js are correct that the execution isn't there yet, this needs a lot more polish, varied drum writing, varied instrumentation, varied/interpreted lead writing, more interesting backing/countermelodic elements or padding or chords or something, and a complete mixing overhaul. The synths sound very simple, vanilla and unsophisticated. I agree that our workshop forum and Discord server will be helpful to get more feedback on how to proceed. I definitely hear promise and creativity here. Everyone starts somewhere, carry on and let's hear this or something else from you in the future! NO

Agree with prophetik, cool vibe and idea but this isn't enough arrangement and it sounds too similar to the source song for too long. The voiceovers in the intro are hilarious but I don't think they add much to the arrangement since they are completely detached from the main body of the arrangement. The sounds used are very simple and vanilla, and the drum groove never changes once it is established. I do like how you included bits from the LoZ intro theme starting at 1:22, and the horns, organ and synth vamping near the end are great, if there could be more of that kind of thing throughout the piece, that would sure be fun! The mixing is adequate if not very interesting; the volumes are balanced well enough. If there has been any mastering applied, it's super quiet. I see the loudest peak of the track is -1.5db and most of the piece lives around -5db peak. Primarily, the arrangement is too simple, repetitive and similar to the source song (at least until the final 20 seconds). I do like this vibe quite a bit though, and I'd love to hear it again with the arrangement fleshed out quite a bit more with proper arrangement dynamics and a lot more variation and interest added. NO

The mixing sounds WAY better now, thanks for taking our advice. I don't hear that overly sizzly high end now, and the lows are present and full. The mastering is appropriate and not overdriven. My only remaining complaint is that the kick is way too loud, heavy, and thumpy. While this would probably be an easy fix, I'm not going to send this back again for that, and it isn't dealbreaker for me. I think we have entered pass territory with this version. Good luck with the rest of this vote! YES

Definitely an industrial bitcrushy vibe which is extremely cool. I think the production sounds great; all distortion is intentional and as Flex said mixing and mastering are ace. However I agree with my fellows that this arrangement really constitutes background music and not a proper song arrangement, at least for OCR. The guys explained it well and in more detail, so I'm just co-signing. I enjoyed listening to it though, excellent vibe track and very well produced. Do more please, make a proper arrangement with leads and melodies and more instrumental variation and this will go on our front page. NO

I'm gonna co-sign what my fellow Js have said; they went into significant detail on what the issues are, and I agree with all of what they both said. The piece meanders and draws out the melodies enough to disconnect it too far from the source song, and the writing steps all over itself melodically in many sections. Also, the attacks on the strings being identical and too long really reduces the realism of the piece. Getting better-sequenced samples (with keyswitching, ideally) would definitely help, but I think the arrangement itself pulls too far away from the source song to be considered postable on OCR, although it is a lovely original or inspired-by arrangement. NO

Definitely conservative, this arrangement sounds and feels very similar to the source. Even the beautiful vocal is verbatim to the source song. So this feels like more of a cover than a remix. This is a nice, lush soundscape, but even one minute in, the mastering does feel very overdriven, with everything the same volume and I can hear that the top end of everything has a crunch on it from overcompression. If you haven't, make sure that all your instruments have their lowest lows EQd off, so that there aren't any unnecessary low-low and inaudible sub frequencies causing you to lose mastering headroom. The RMS value is -7.3 which is rather loud for an orchestral piece, but even that can be fine if it sounds clean... but it doesn't. Mastering a full-soundscape piece like this one, pushing the limiter this hard gives it an unwanted "wall of sound" effect and eliminates the lovely dynamics the piece should really have. Although this is lovely, the arrangement is very repetitive; it sounds like the same loop played three times (intro, build, chorus) with the second iteration acting as a breakdown, and with drums over the final third. That's too much repetition, on top of the arrangement being overly similar to the source. There are some personalizations, but for me they are very minimal. The other two Js may feel there are more personalizations than I can hear. At a minimum, the mixing needs work, most importantly volume balancing and using EQ to remove unnecessary lows and inaudible subs, and the mastering needs to be dialed back so there is no audible overcompression. Some more personalization on the source would also help overcome some of the repetition in the writing. NO

In my original vote on this track, I heard the potential and also the amount of love, effort and detail that went into the production, but I felt that there were too many ideas thrown in at any given time, and a lot of the parts sounded so random and didn't mesh well together, and it was exhausting to listen to as a result. It doesn't help that the source song is somewhat odd melodically. But VQ had already received some excellent guidance from the Sages to help her uncluster this arrangement, and then she reached out to me for further advice. It already sounded much better to me, but I was able to help her get it mixed even a little bit better, and then she had me master it. I think it sounds significantly better and I can now appreciate the vision that she originally had for the piece. The positive aspects of the sound-design and writing all shine through now without anything being overshadowed, and I really like it! And others will as well. The result is a dreamy, groovy, Eastern-themed soundscape that sounds really full and open yet loaded with fun details and ear candy, telling a story as it moves along. I love the vocal clips! Just a great track. Thank you for your trust, VQ, and this was fun to work on with you! Good job! Definitely "Chimp-approved," let's go! YES

I loved this game too, so much. I have actually never attempted to remix anything from the game, I don't feel like I would do the themes justice, they are just so good as they are! I also really love Colony 6 and Colony 9, but my personal favorite tune from the game is Gaur Plain, I just sit and stare and drool when entering that area and that theme plays. For this remix, I must concur with Brad that this is a great concept to reimagine this theme, but it isn't working in several regards. The synths are very simple, vanilla, and definitely out of date. The writing is super simple and often repetitive, and the drums are on autopilot. The arrangement would need more dynamics, varying the drum beat between sections will help a lot (even just adding an extra percussive layer like a shaker loop could help with that). There are places where major and minor occur together and that doesn't work at all. The first instance of this is from 0:32-0:35. At 0:35, that chord is a total mismatch between major and minor structure. Brad explained the issues extremely well. I agree that the workshop is going to be a great place to get advice on how to move forward with this arrangement and any others you've got going. The workshop here is a great place to start. NO

This is lovely. I do agree with most of the little nitpicks mentioned by the other Js, some of the violin attacks are slightly awkward, the violin is mixed a bit loud as are the guitars when they come in, the performances feel almost too loose at times, but it feels so real and organic, completely charming, it makes me smile. Great combination of instruments. Really nice personalizations on the theme, super nice work. YES

What a great time signature to remix this in! You're right it does make it sound very energetic and cinematic. This is really well done, the instrumentation is handled extremely well. The arrangement is terrific, full of dynamics and storytelling. Many textural changes and varying levels of intensity throughout the piece. This is wonderful, other than being too short (I want more!). Nice work. YES

The vocal sounds very heavily Autotuned, which is fine/dandy but I agree with proph that the tone is unpleasant, it is overly midrangey and grating and the lyrics are way too fast to be understood so it sounds more like a texture than a true vocal line. I also agree with prohp about the drums being on autopilot, and the sounds themselves are weak or are mixed way too softly to be heard properly and so they lack impact. This is a very heavy and high-energy soundscape, but the instrumental elements never change throughout the piece with the exception of the short bits of (excellent) guitar work (which could be mixed better, why is it totally mono?). The track sounds repetitive due to these factors (same instruments, same energy level, and autopilot drums), and it also feels somewhat fatiguing to listen to because there are elements playing in the same frequency range for the bulk of the time, to include the high end of the synths together with the vocals which have a lot of grating highs due to their processing. I really like the gating at 2:37, even though initially I thought something was wrong with the render or with my computer playing it back. Using the gating again at 3:04 felt just a bit cheesy since you had just done it right before, and nowhere else in the track; using a different effect right at the end would have been better, maybe a tapestop or something, but that's just a personal nitpick. I love the concept of this remix, but I feel like the arrangement is just a bit too repetitive, and it needs re-balancing (most especially in the drums so they can be heard), and the vocals somehow need to be less grating and not constantly compete with the other similar frequencies in the mix. NO (resubmit)

This instrument palette is utterly lovely. It's a tricky source tune to remix, but I hear it clearly here. Production is clean as heck. I don't actually have too much to add to what the guys have said, but I admit to also listening to this in a meditative state; it's really very good and very well done. Love it. YES

Very heavy soundscape right off the bat, but it's full and rich, and everything is balanced really well. What a fun, upbeat little tune! I love the vocal clips. The breakdown at 2:25 was a welcome respite from the heavily compressed soundscape, followed by some nice original noodling and then... it's done? The ending is rather abrupt and the whole thing is too short, but if that's my biggest gripe that's not too bad. I like it! YES

Just to be very clear, the mono aspect was not the reason for my NO. Although I disliked the mono-only soundscape, of course that's not a reason to reject, but I felt that the arrangement was too repetitive.

I have no problem at all with this arrangement being varied enough from the source tune, due to the total genre adaptation and the tempo and vibe differences. Very cool genre to do with this source! I hear what Emu is saying about the low end, it comes across as weak and nebulous. The lowest lows could have a monomaker applied (like 125Hz and below) and compressed, and that would tighten it up. I also agree with him that the snare is on the loud side and the snare's lows have been over-emphasized, making it stick out against the other drum elements and instruments. I also agree with Emu about the energy management in the arrangement, it does feel like it idles in "intro mode." After the actual intro, at 0:13, it feels like the exact same writing and instrumentation as it moves forward, only with a slow drum groove added. The drum groove stays the same until the breakdown begins at 1:21, and it feels like something is missing somehow, energetically. Then at 1:48, the same patterns begin again, same drum groove, same writing, the only difference I hear is a higher-octave guitar lead has been layered over the lower one, but the writing is the same, the backing guitars, bells, and the grungy arp thing are all identical to the first section. This second section would be a good opportunity to introduce some new sounds or interpreted lead writing, varied backing elements, etc. At 2:54 we get the first drum variation in the whole piece, and it sounds great, it builds and builds until 3:48... at which point we are at the outro. This is an odd arrangement. I am going NO on this, not as Brad has due to being too conservative (it IS, but the genre adaptation and slow pacing are enough for me), but for being too repetitive both in writing and instrumentation, and because the arrangement itself does not flow well; energy management is very awkward. NO

Luscious soundscape right away! Ok so it's a halftime groove, cool. The bass sounds great, I love the lead synth and the square backing synth too. Nice vocal padding, and I really like the chord variations. I agree with both my fellow Js, the track is too long for what it offers, because the feel of it is so repetitive. The drum groove never changes, once established, and I believe that is the biggest factor in sinking it. The arrangement needs some energy variation, which would include some variations on drum writing here and there, some fills perhaps, and for sure at least one drumless breakdown lasting at least 16 bars, building back up into your main groove for another full section and then outro. You've done a great job with the lead instruments and writing, and the solo is lovely. It would help if you varied the backing pad sounds at some point too, bring in something with a different flavor (and/or add some sfx, sweepy sounds, etc.), to highlight the changing mood of the piece (once you've varied the drums). This is so solid already, the mixing sounds great, it just needs more arrangement (drum groove, backing instrumentation) variation and this will be golden. I love it, please revise it and resubmit it! NO (resubmit)