Chimpazilla

It does sound great! But yeah, this arrangement is much too simplistic, conservative and repetitive for OCR. We are looking for re-interpretations of the source songs, with variations and original ideas added, proper arrangements (intro, build, verse, chorus, breakdown, chorus, outro etc.). This sounds like a fun romp through the original song with a beat added. If the original song was ripped and downtuned, I can't exactly tell, but if so, that cannot be included in an OCR arrangement. I actually really like this concept and direction, just needs more personalization for OCR. NO

The intro choir does sound quite fake which is unfortunate. It plays a lot throughout the piece. Ideally, this choir patch should be replaced with something more natural if possible, otherwise perhaps just lengthening the attack on the patch for the longer notes would improve the feel of it. There is so much going on in this soundscape. I get that black metal is a wall of sound, and mostly I can handle that, but here as the other two Js have pointed out, it feels like too much, and there is no way to mix this many midrangey elements in a way that everything is audible and not painful to listen to. This is more of a problem in this arrangement because you are actually trying to convey source-material motifs and melodies over this mid-heavy soundscape. Each writing part (leads and countermelodies) is very complex so it's a lot to take in, melodically. As the guys said, it's hard to make sense of what's what. When the quiet breakdown begins at 3:00, it is very welcomed, and I find that my ears are actually ringing from the previous section. Then that fake choir begins again. This choir sample has got to be swapped for something a little more natural, since it is playing such a prominent role at the breakdown. As Wes said, when it is buried in the backing elements it works a little better, but for me that is primarily because it does not sound like a choir when it is buried, but it sounds like another instrument. Other than that, the breakdown is lovely! As for the source use, Emu and proph could not quite make sense of what was playing where, and I certainly can not either. A timestamp of the source use would be much appreciated, but I agree with the guys that somehow the actual writing has to make a bit more sense, and that can only be achieved by stripping back some of the elements playing in the heaviest sections, and making sure the countermelodies aren't overwhelming any lead writing by being too busy rather than supportive. The track is mastered VERY loudly to the point that I *almost* hear some pumping, it's just on the cusp for me. The final limiter has been pushed hard. It's a bold, ambitious arrangement, really awesome arrangement ideas and the overall track dynamics are great. This arrangement can totally work if it is mixed a bit better and the source melodies are more clear. And I do hope the choir can be improved since it is so prominent in the mix. NO (resubmit)

Sounds so huge right away, I love that! Awesome sound design here. Arrangement is full of interest, various unique sounds and timbres, and ear-candy. The bass is so badass. Excellent mix of these two themes. I love the vocal snippets. This arrangement has a smooth yet spooky vibe. The master is loud, clean and confident. Such an easy vote. YES

That source tune. That Seinfeld bass patch! Haha! That's a VERY silly source tune. I like the bass much better in the remix. There's a great shuffle to this writing. I like the fake brass! It's cheesy but it works. Really nice groovy jazzy bluesy guitar performances and soloing here. Drums sound good, elements are well balanced. Overall mix is well produced, mixed and mastered. Super fun listen. YES

Huge mix! Map theme intro, followed by a very conservative playthrough of the Hu Lao source material. The guitar work is excellent! The production sounds great. Ooo I like the little stutter transition. I like the little interlude. Fantastic soloing! Cool proggy keys. I really like this arrangement despite its being so conservative. Each source is very clear to hear. I could almost see this getting a NO for being so similar to the primary source song, even including the little water drop noise and the stutter transition. The genre is the same so one could argue that this mix constitutes a sound upgrade, but it's a GREAT sound upgrade, wicked soloing, and the inclusion of the other two sources pushes the arrangement over the bar for me. YES

I agree with proph, really solid rock ballad. The guitar performances are great, vocals are wonderful and the singing and tone are gorgeous. The vocal could stand to have just a tad more processing because it sounds a bit up-front, but wow what a vocal performance, and it cuts through really well. I also agree with proph that the overall mix lacks some lows. Regardless, I love this. Really nice work! YES

This is produced extremely well. I agree with the other Js that the vocals are quiet, and hard to make out against the grunge guitars, which could be corrected by notching the guitars at the fundamental vocal frequency, and/or lowering the guitar volume slightly, whenever they both play together. I don't find this to be a dealbreaker though. The instrumental and vocal performances are extremely good. What an awesome arrangement. I love the little time-sig shifts. 6/4 intro, jumping right into (I'm not even going to try to name the time sig, I count 8-7-8-8, then it changes again to ??? and then 4/4 and then ??? and it all flows so well and sounds so goodl). Yeah, this is a bit of a medley, and the section in the middle is vastly different from the rest of the piece. But I like that kind of thing! For me, it still flows well and tells a unique story. It's a prog-rock opera, and I am totally onboard for it. The more I listen the more I like this. Let's do this. YES

This is one of the few Zelda games I have not played. (I know, the horror!!!) Yeah the intro has no source, and it's long, but it's super duper cool. Plenty of source once the intro is done. Production is great, I expect nothing less from Gaspode. Great interpretations of the melody, tons of detail and ear candy. I love the bright synths and heavy bass and meaty kick. Good stuff! YES

The piano is the star here, wowza that's a cool performance! Drums could have a tad more presence, and bass tone isn't the best ever, it's slightly mid-heavy, but it surely gets the job done. What an awesome arrangement of a very silly little tune. You gave it such a new vibe with attitude and class. The only thing missing is some soft audience atmo that would be nice throughout the piece. I feel like I need to summon the waitress for yet another cocktail. YES

How is it that I have not heard this one yet???? If Wes shared this wip with me (and he probably did at some point) it was much less developed. Wow, what a huge opening. I love that Deadmau5-esque huge synth. Oh god, here comes the evil Macarena for sure, no one can NOT hear that!!!! It's freaking excellent. The instrumentation is some of the best I've ever heard, the production is perfect. So much detail. The growly bass, dang. Those whispery vocal stacks. Evil, and groovy!!! This is crazy good/evil. This is something I'd expect to hear from NIN after Trent and friends had a night of dropping acid and summoning demons. And now I'm doing the Macarena in my chair. Good lord.... YES

Awesome direction to take! But I agree with my fellows, the soundscape sounds too muddy and lossy overall. If the backing pads are going to be fuzzy/distorted, the leads should be clean so they can soar over the soundscape, but they are distorted too so everything kind of mushes together. The arrangement works well enough, but there isn't much in the way of arrangement dynamics, because the energy stays roughly the same throughout the piece, mostly because this heavily distorted soundscape never changes, so it becomes fatiguing after awhile. If the backing pads dropped way low or out completely at any point, that would provide more arrangement dynamics. Even with the timestamp provided, I cannot hear the source connections. Perhaps someone with more familiarity with these sources can hear it more easily. I feel like the source represented here has been very heavily interpreted, and often little two-note motifs are being counted as source (which is fine to do, it just makes it harder for me as a judge). I'd love for Larry to take a listen to see if I'm massively missing it, Larry's our source-o-matic around here. But regardless, the mixing issues are holding it back for me. NO

As with all of the VQ tracks I have evaluated, I can hear and feel how much care and attention to detail went into this. As with the other submissions, there is a story behind the arrangement, the instrumentation has been carefully selected to convey a specific mood and tell an evolving story. There are so many textures, sfx and ear candy, and the arrangement never loses interest. This one is actually mixed rather well I think, compared to previous submissions. (Although as with the previous submission I voted on, something has gone wrong with the mastering because it is hitting peak 2.4db, and it needs to be limited at 0db maximum). ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Before I write what I have to say next, which I wrote six days ago, I need to say that the Shinobi source song is problematic for me, in that it contains unpleasant dissonance, clutter, and lack of melodic contour in its lead writing. Weird-ass source, imo. I'm having a harder time busting this remix for doing similar things as the source is doing, but here goes. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The problem I am having, as with previous submissions, is that there is so much going on at once, and quite a bit of the writing sounds extremely random and often out of key too, which ends up sounding awkward. The track starts out fine up until 0:25, at which point the flute is already conflicting with the main arp, vocal patterns, and kettle drums. It's several different patterns at once, and none of it makes sense together. This problem persists throughout the piece. The worst section for me is from 2:30-2:52; the patterns are so varied harmonically as well as rhythmically that the entire section is just confusing. I don't even mind the fuzzy timbre at 3:27, I kind of like it! But the arp patterns conflicting at that section is what ruins it for me. For musical writing to make sense to a listener, lead motifs should have some sort of motivic or harmonic contour, meaning the notes don't just bounce all over the place. Also, countermelodies, arps, basslines and supporting patterns need to interplay with each other in a way that makes a cohesive soundscape, and that is not happening here. In a previous submission, Larry described the problem as a "lack of melodiousness.." I hate to say it, but that's the problem here as well. I hate to come down hard on this. There's a lot to like about the track. It has a great ethnic flavor and energetic vibe. The combining of the sources is well accomplished and the arrangement has great dynamics. The attention to detail is off the charts. The mixing as I said is even working well enough (although please use a final limiter, set to 0db maximum). But the mismatched harmonic, melodic, and rhythmic patterns are sinking it for me. Ok I am listening to some Glitch Mob tracks to try to understand what's being emulated here. Wow, their stuff is really unique, full of varied patterns and sounds. The difference is that even though they are really pushing the envelope, the patterns ultimately make sense rhythmically and harmonically even when many of them are layered together. This would be a tough style to emulate, it's a very ambitious undertaking for sure. In all honesty, and please take this in the spirit of helpfulness, I suggest you select a much simpler source song, and approach a remix in a much simpler way, so that you can learn about melodic contour, harmonies, countermelodies, rhythms, and keeping the soundscape more simple, with elements placed purposely and never randomly and never too many at a time. Don't be afraid to cut out ideas that aren't working, even if you spent time on them! Eventually you do get used to doing that! Your arrangements are already VERY good, they just need refining at this point. NO

It sounds "primitive" because it's jungle! Haha! Nah, I hear what MW is saying, the synth patches are indeed on the weak side. The bass is huge and awesome (and I love the varied types of bass processing, distortion and bitcrushing), but it sounds overblown because the other synths do not have a similar level of beefiness and badassery. Even the snare is falling a little flat for me, it should be smacking me in the face and it isn't. The other issue is that the master is UBERLOUD. I'm seeing -4.8RMS which is like, louder than Skrillex loud. The bass is surely causing that; it probably needs to come down a few db and also be EQ'd to make sure nothing below around 25Hz is coming through. Everything else about this arrangement rocks. The two sources are seamlessly combined, and the energy of the piece has awesome dynamics. Plenty of details and ear candy. The writing is varied and cool. The drum writing is great and the filtering transitions are excellent. I do find this to be a layup, even if I think it could kick harder with better synth patches or processing on the synths and snare. YES

As the others have said, there's a ton of personality to the wind parts in this arrangement. It's a very light and fun concept. But it's falling short for me as well. There isn't much going on here besides the various winds. There is no bass instrument or lows to speak of, other than the kick drum. The drums are comically quiet, and also the pattern being played is extremely quirky but also repetitive, so the energy of the piece never changes from the first moment to the end. The drum pattern really needs some more variation. To me, this sounds like an extended concept wip and not a completed product. The wind performances are great though, I don't believe they need to be changed. But it should be mixed better. The flutes are too loud and also shrill, and as I said the drums are way too quiet. Some kind of simple bass accompaniment would really help, at least during the big choruses. Even just a sampled standup bass playing on one and three would do the job, as the winds are already playing busy patterns. Here's an example I slapped together quickly. I really like this cute concept and the performances are great! It just isn't quite there yet, production wise. I don't think it should take too much to fix it up. NO (resubmit)

This is luscious and super well produced. I love the lo-fi feel and all the flutter and wow. You completely nailed the vibe you were going for: slow and lazy, relaxed, meditative, playful, hopeful, nostalgic. Love it, nice work. YES

I agree with the NOs unfortunately. This is a super cool track, everything about it is great, the arrangement, instrumentation and performances are stellar! But it was mixed inside a potato I think. There's no bass presence, and what is left is all midrange and it's all competing to be heard. Drums are comically quiet; the kick has no low end so it is barely audible. Snare is super quiet too. Hats and crashes may be ok. The track seems to lack any kind of mastering, and the peak is -2.2db which is unnecessarily quiet. Awesome arrangement. Gonna be a great track to post on OCR, after it is mixed and mastered properly. NO (resubmit)

Loud-ish sharp panning bells in the intro. This is a nice, soft, chill reinterpretation of this source. I'm listening to this after proph assisted with the solo, and what I'm hearing here sounds just fine, guitar performances sound good. I'm not sure I would call this synthwave, it's sort of a hybrid but it works. Drums could be mixed a touch louder. Arrangement works well, this is nice; enjoyable listen. YES

I know this source like the back of my hand, and yes the motif is hugely obscured in the first half. Larry's timestamp did help, but I can clearly hear the notes being played, in a totally different way from the source; the emphasis is on a different note than in the original (up until 2:13 at which point the source motif playthroughs are more straightforward). I generally love Michael's work and this track is no exception. I love the sparseness and the interesting sound design, as well as the reversed bits of motif. As Larry said, fun little audio experiment. I'm on board. YES

This may be the grooviest 8bit original tune I've ever heard, holy shit. Ok on to the remix. Beefy kick right out of the gate, blowing my ears in, in a good way. Retro sound palette for sure but it sounds great. Oh man, this beat hits hard. Love it. The production on this track is ace. Unfortunately, I have to agree fully with Mind Wanderer. The repetition in this arrangement is too egregious. I cut the track in Cubase at 2:16 and layered 2:16-3:25 over the section of 0:00-1:16, and they are identical, with two exceptions: the intro of 0:00-0:15 is double the length of 2:16-2:23 (with clap entering halfway through), and there are a few extra notes written into the lead writing at 3:02-3:10 compared to 0:53-1:02 (with the same lead instrument as before). That's a very tiny amount of variation. I soloed each part back and forth multiple times and could not find any other differences. Darn it, I really like this track, but that's too much repetition. I'd love to hear some real variation introduced into the second half, enough to distinguish it from the first, then this will get my hearty yes vote. Guys, we recently voted NO on a track by bLiNd for overuse of repetition, even after he went back and made subtle changes that just were not enough variation because what he changed was the exact same type of sounds. This track is even more blatant repetition than that track was. This one should not be getting YES votes at this time, just my $0.02. NO (I really dig this, please vary second half, and resubmit)

Opening vocal is lovely, just a hair off pitch but just barely. The main vocals both male and female are similarly not perfectly pitched and they sound quite dry too (although I suspect they are not dry), and Cyril's vocal sounds strained, as MW said. The vocals also compete badly with the guitars. This could be fixed by finding the vocal fundamentals and notching the guitars at that frequency gently, along with raising the vocal volumes and lowering the guitars somewhat. The guitar work is excellent. Drums are good but mixed a bit quietly. The arrangement is really good, although it lacks a proper outro, ending cold instead, which is awkward. The mixing and production could definitely be better, but the arrangement, performances and creativity here win the day. YES

Lovely interpretation of these source tunes. I agree that the slower pace reveals the beauty of these themes more than the in-game version. Piano performance is impeccable and the sample is beautiful and full of dynamics, reverb is tasteful. Excellent arrangement, and the piece resolves beautifully. This one's a winner. YES

Co-signing on what the guys said above. Great sounding guitar work here! Panning is way too wide for my taste. Drums are too quiet in the mix, as is the bass. The arrangement is too simple, too straightforward and way too short. Ending is a cold, unnatural cutoff. This seems more like a concept wip than a finished product. I agree with Larry and Brad that DoD would be a great place to refine your arrangement and production skills. I'd love to hear more from you in the future, in terms of a fully-fleshed out arrangement, because as Larry said the musicianship is most definitely there! NO

Xenoblade Chronicles is one of the few games besides everything Zelda that I played all the way through and invested many hours into. The OST is all sorts of amazing. This is a strange combination of instruments. The bass and the drum kit seem like they want to be 80s, the synths are ??? and then there is live guitar and trumpet. I think this odd combination could work, but as Larry correctly noted, the mixing is not working. Drums: The kick is so weak and almost inaudible and there is no sidechaining to allow it to come through. The snare is audible but tame/quiet with no meat to it. The hats are audible but the pattern being played is so simple and robotic that it is distracting. Synths: The whistle synth sounds so vanilla and with no nuance. It has a fake-sounding vibrato that enters too quickly, so each note is ending with the start of the vibrato which sounds so unnatural. The spacey pad has a similar issue; it is a sound that develops over time, and with each new note it retriggers, giving an awkward stop/start effect. The synth beginning at 1:42 is too loud and cuts through too well, and it doesn't seem to fit with this soundscape so it sticks out, and the solo writing is sometimes off-timed and it gets a bit noodley as it moves along. The solo ends on a weird note, as Brad and Larry both pointed out. Live instruments: These sound great! But the trumpet seems to compete with all the other midrangey stuff playing at the same time. I suggest you find the fundamental frequency of the trumpet, and notch the pad, guitars, and even the bass at that frequency gently by a few db. The trumpet will shine if you do that, even without raising its volume. The guitar work sounds quite nice, but is mixed rather quietly. Bass: You've got a simple eighth-note pattern playing, then a quarter-note pattern, and back to the eighth-note pattern before the outro. Nothing wrong with that per se, but that writing is on the plain side. While not a dealbreaker, I'd sure love to hear the bass do something a little more interesting and emotive, not so simple and robotic, and not so busy. Arrangement: The overall arrangement works just fine. Some of the transitions are abrupt, like at 0:26 when the beat drops, there is nothing signaling it, it just starts. Oof. At 2:49 you have the hat pattern as a transition, and that works well enough there. But the transitions are on the weak side. Mastering: Seems adequate, a bit loud but not overcompressed. Overall I think the arrangement is there, but the mixing needs an overhaul, at the very least. Make sure leads can be heard (but not too loud), make sure drums are punching through (using volume and sidechaining). Make the patches you are using sound more natural (i.e. the whistle vibrato and spacey pad retrigger point) Doing just those mixing fixes will go a long way towards making this work. NO

My issues on this resub are the same as the previous version, there is just too much going on and it is disharmonious. There are arps on top of arps and a lot of this material is not in the key of the song. The arps are played by very loud bells with a ton of high end frequency so the disharmony is very prominent. 2:11-2:31 is still very crazy to my ear. This is a tough situation. As Hemo succinctly said, the arrangement and concepts are the stars here. This track has so many interesting details and maintains interest all the way through which is amazing. So many ideas are here, so much attention to detail. The creativity is off the charts! But there are two problems, one is that there are too many ideas going at any one time, the arrangement feels overstuffed. The other problem is, as Larry said, there is a lack of melodiousness. The disharmonies that exist in this arrangement are numerous and severe, and it is concerning that this is not obvious to the artist. I agree with Larry, Zack or Wes could offer help to strip back this arrangement to the parts that work, and add supportive arps or countermelodies (when appropriate, being careful not to overstuff the arrangement) that don't clash with the key of the song. The volume-balancing and mixing seem to be working well generally. I'm not sure what happened on the mastering side of things but this file is hitting 2.8db peak. It at least needs a final limiter to keep it under 0db. NO

I have voted on this twice already, and both previous times I found the writing too sparse, simple and mechanical. and the soundscape was extremely sparse. Also I noted that the track had no mastering and came in at -6db peak. There has been quite a bit added to the piece in terms of instruments, textures, padding and sfx. This is a huge improvement. It still feels very sparse but now it sounds purposeful and with enough going on in the soundscape to retain the listener's interest. This arrangement isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea, but this resubmission gets the job done. The track now has some mastering or at least a final limiter on it. I see that a new version was uploaded to remedy some clipping. The master is still very loud for this style of music, but I don't hear any clipping or overcompression artifacts. YES