Chimpazilla

The arrangement works, and I appreciate the dedication to the FM concept in the soundscape, but I'm afraid I agree with my peers. The problem for me is that EVERY element is getting the same kind of distortion, pitch bending, LFO action, so it sounds like a wall of these effects rather than something cool, as it would sound if only strategic elements got these effects, and not every element. There can be no contrast in a soundscape where everything sounds so similar, and it is fatiguing to listen to. It is very difficult to mix something like this in a way that each element is audible. It is all mushing together into a wall of unpleasant sound as they compete to be heard in the same frequency ranges. The mastering is also odd, it is super loud while having a fairly low peak ceiling of -1.5 Props for the ideas here! I recommend scaling back on the effects, and let a few non-effected things come through, for sonic contrast. NO

MW is right, wow everything is dry. I don't usually care for animated gifs but that one conveys the feeling well. Other than that, I feel like the samples are used well enough, other than the high strings sounding impossible during the faster runs (i.e. 1:55-1:59), and mostly when they are exposed. Although not perfect, there's nothing dealbreaker for me with the samples. I agree with Larry that when the drums first come in at 0:42, I'm blasted straight to the 70s by both the tone of the drums and the writing and rolls. The kit really does not go well with the rest of the instrumentation. The arrangement is a winner, I love it. I really like the gentle piano outro. Mixing and mastering are adequate. YES

That's a huge sound right away, drums and everything. Some kind of drumless buildup would introduce the material better I think, it can be short but just a buildup to the drums. When the drums come in they sound very quiet and tame. I don't hear any sidechaining on any element, so the drums aren't cutting through, and the musical elements don't have any groove with the drum patterns. I like the instruments and sounds used here generally, but this lack of groove makes the soundscape very flat. Oh I like the sirens! Almost every element used in this arrangement is sitting in the same frequency range. Without sufficient mixing and effects (stereo placement, EQing to allow fundamentals to come through, strategic reverb to place things forward or back), everything is competing to be up front, making this a wall of sound. The bass sounds lovely and low, but I can barely hear it. Larry and Brad both nailed it that the leads are competing in writing, which is exacerbated by the flat mixing. There should only ever be one primary element playing lead at any one time, and other elements (backing chords, arps, or countermelodies) will need to be strategically placed further back in the soundscape. Elements can take turns being the more up-front element/lead, but when you have multiple up-front elements, it causes a cluttered overly-busy soundscape that is hard for the listener to follow. I agree with my fellow Js that there are too many unpleasant mid-highs and highs in the mix overall. It's fine to have one or two elements with distortion on them, so they stand out, in the context of the entire mixing process. But when everything feels too crispy, the whole mix becomes uncomfortable to listen to. Whether this occurred during mixing or mastering, it needs to be dialed back quite a bit. That ending does not work. The reverb tails are so long that when the chord changes it clashes with the previous chord that is still playing, and it becomes a disharmonious wall of sonic mush. This concept could work, but the reverb from the next-to-last chord would need to be almost completely finished before that final chord plays, to avoid the disharmony. A safer bet would be to have your final chord be something that fits with the key of the preceding chords and writing. The arrangement is great, very creative combination of these two themes! The issues are almost entirely with mixing. I think you've gotten some great advice in this thread, and I hope to hear this again with the improvements made! NO (please resubmit)

The intro strings/pad sound lush. That lead synth is really nice, but it is bone dry and lacks any kind of filter movement or other effects that would give it needed interest, and it feels like it is right up front and in my face. The backing synth stack also feels very dry and could use filter movement, and reverb would push it to the back where it needs to be. The piano is super rigid and un-humanized as well as dry. Because every element is dry, it all is competing in the soundscape and everything sounds like it is trying to be up front, when only the lead should really be that up front. The drum writing is super simple and repetitive, and the drums are mixed without any reverb, without any impact, and without any effort to put them in their proper places in the soundscape. Also, there needs to be some sidechaining done so that the drums can be audible over the soundscape, and also to give the arrangement some generalized groove; at present it is totally lacking in that regard. Easy fix with some gentle sidechaining on several elements (bass and pads at a minimum, and possibly every element in varying, gentle amounts). Mastering is on the tame side; much more could be done to add a touch of sparkle and depth while bringing the overall volume up somewhat (not too much!). I actually think this arrangement is really nice! There are terrific writing and instrument variations and the elements work well together. But it needs a mixing overhaul, strategically adding reverb and effects to put the elements where they should sit in the soundscape and to add interest. Drum writing could have some variation easily by adding a shaker or percussion loop at different sections, to vary the energy up and down as the arrangement moves along. Piano needs humanization, as well. I hear a lot of promise in this arrangement, and I hope to hear it again with the improvements made. NO (resubmit)

Just to clarify (and I should have done so in my vote), I do not mean that a more abstract source tune can't qualify for remix treatment, just that it makes it much more difficult to do so in a way that people can perceive as a remix, and it ends up sounding like an "inspired by" rather than a proper remix as a result. I suppose actually timestamping this might make the difference here. I admit I am relying on my feelings of it being too abstract overall, and I'm in agreement with a timestamp at this point.

The master seems to be brickwalled at -3db peak, which is odd right away. That initial sound is not pleasant, and not even interesting as a device, it just sounds disharmonious and also too highly distorted. The lead starting at 1:24 is a much nicer sound but it is mixed very quietly in the soundscape and also feels like it has a touch too much distortion on it. Most of the synth choices in this mix are not great individually or in combination. The arrangement itself isn't bad, honestly. The synths would need to be changed out to more pleasant ones. As prophetik said, the arrangement noodles along throughout most of it, without any motivic elements for the listener to grab onto. A track of this length needs to justify itself with some more solid musical ideas, and they need to change and expand as the arrangement moves along so as not to become repetitive. Interesting ideas presented, but this will need much more work in sound design and writing. NO

This mix is lush, haunting and beautiful. I love the distant textures and delicate sfx. The mixing and even the mastering are working well. I love the addition of the digeridoo in the final section. This is a delightful listen. However, I am in agreement with my fellows that this source tune, similar to the "Cold" one MW linked, does not truly count as an arrangement on its own. This is one of many musical themes in the game that is meant to be more of an ambiance than a proper tune. BotW and TotK both use this musical device throughout the games. This makes the creation of a remix out of said material extremely difficult and problematic. I do hear connection to the source as I listen through, but the remix does not feel like an arrangement any more than the source does. I don't feel that timestamping it would help; even with EnoughSource™ this arrangement is going to sound like an "inspired by" rather than a remix. I'm loving it nonetheless! NO edit 2-8-24: The timestamping and another listen to this helps me. I feel like there is enough source. I still think it is much more difficult to remix these ambient/abstract sources, and just for the record I have this problem with all such remixes, from whomever submits them. Gaspode submitted a "Depths" mix recently that I had the same issue with. Just takes a bit more time and effort to identify it. YES

"Phonk?" "Witch House?" Even "meme music" is a new term to me. I guess I'm really out of the loop and not up to speed on my subgenres, sub-subgenres, and sub-sub-sub-abyssally-deep-subgenres and straight-up joke-genres. That said... I really dig this remix! Groovy with a creepy vibe. I like the instruments and sounds, the phat beatz, the full/deep low end, the wide open feel of the soundscape. I am not a fan of that thing taking the place of a snare either, Larry. I get that it's the style/genre/meme/joke, it is purposely distorted, and that can work sometimes but it just sounds like a comical sfx more than a drum element, and it's dry so it sticks out of the lush soundscape more than I'd like. Mixing works fine. Mastering is on the loud side but not overblown. The arrangement and source interpretation are great. The ending though... where is it? There's no outro, it just stops. Gosh, I don't like that. Why not do a few bars of cooldown and some kind of final sound or chord? Even so, I think this passes and it's a super cool and fun listen. YES

The intro sounds promising, but there's a riser that starts at 0:16, it only goes four bars which isn't long enough to build the energy there, and the final beat is silence which isn't signaled in any way, and it is sloppily done (perc loop still playing until final beat, should stop sooner) which sounds very awkward and more like a rendering error than a transition. When the drop hits at 0:23 it has no impact because the same energy and beat were already established in the preceding buildup section. The plucked instruments have not been humanized so each pluck is the same which sounds mechanical. This is extremely evident with the instrument playing at 1:28 because each pluck happening on beat four is way too loud. The same instrument is playing the lead starting at 1:53, and the lack of humanization is really jarring. The core drum beat plays the same thing through the entire arrangement, although there are good variation loops that come and go. The energy of the piece never changes once established so it doesn't have good energy dynamics. The arrangement is on the conservative side, with all leads playing the same writing as the source for the most part, with notes left out here and there rather than added to or varied. There are multiple similar drum-only parts. There is no outro other than a quick drum flourish. Great concept and great start here, but needs more attention to writing, sequencing and arranging to be a proper full arrangement from OCR. Love to hear it again with the changes made, though! NO (resubmit)

I absolutely LOVE this concept and how huge this sounds in the big wubby choruses. I truly hope this will be completed because I want to hear it and throw it in my favorites list. But it isn't ready. The samples used are very weak (piano, brass, strings, vox). Those really should be replaced as they are so integral to the piece. Everything is mixed super hot and abrasive; there is no need for everything to have this much distortion. It makes everything fight for presence in the soundscape and makes it all feel crowded. Some elements should naturally float to the back and be less prominent, some should be loud and proud in the front. That will give you a more 3D mix. The bass and wubs are AWESOME. The drums are sort of weak. I can hear the kick ok, but whatever you have layered on top of the snare is not a good sound, it isn't dubsteppy and just sounds like a high-end "smack" sound, you need a solid dubstep snare to carry it. Both kick and snare need to be loud, cut through well, and you need good heavy sidechaining (on the bass at least, but also on the other elements with lower gain reduction amounts so it doesn't pump). Speaking of pumping, the overall mix is pumping and not in a good way. The master is smashed to smithereens, while still coming in at -3db peak, which is not good at all. Your ceiling should be more like -1 to -0.5db, but you need to mix this in such a way that you don't have to overdrive your master compression/final limiter like this. My primary suggestion to get a huge mix and clean master is to lower your master input gain by at least 5db before you even begin to write. In this type of mix you could lower it up to 10db, I do this often. This simple tip will allow you to mix at the higher end of your faders without ever hitting 0db during writing/mixing, which will allow you way more headroom for more creative mastering when it's finished being written. I agree with Larry that this is half an arrangement. On top of that, the two big sections that are here are too similar, there needs to be some more variation between the two. Following what you have here, and after varying the two similar drops, I feel the arrangement needs a nice drumless breakdown and another big section, with even more variations in sounds and/or writing to vary it from the preceding two huge sections, and then a proper outro. That would be my recommendation. I love what's here but this is a wip, please finish it! NO (please fix up and resubmit)

This is incredibly loud, especially since there is almost no content below 130Hz. Due to no lows, all the other frequencies sound overhyped. The mix sounds boxy as well as overly crispy. It is a dense soundscape, so the frequency overlap of elements isn't helping things mixing-wise. I agree with Larry that the string and vox samples are particularly weak. I think both should be replaced, I doubt there is much that can fix them on the mixing side. The drums sound like they cut through too much because it's all highs. If we could hear/feel the lows of the kick, it would sound different. But all the lows are cut out. It's like the entire mix has a severe low-cut on it. Why? The mastering sounds loud and abrasive. This may be partly due to the lows having been cut out of the mix, but I also think there's too much saturation on everything and the final limiter is being driven unnecessarily hard. The arrangement is good though! And the guitar performances are solid! I think the writing and arrangement are interpretive and transformative enough and I really like this piece in that regard. NO (replace strings and vox samples, mix such that lows are audible, tame the mastering, and resubmit)

Ooooo cool concept for this source! No intro, as Brad said, opens right up into the source material. I like the concept for this a lot, but it is loud and cramped right from the start as Larry mentioned. The intensity has no chance to build which is a lost opportunity for arrangement dynamics. All the sounds used throughout the track are there from the first moment and although there are additions as the piece moves along, the core elements never change. The lead never changes, and this lead is somewhat abrasive while not doing anything too interesting other than some delayed vibrato. Some filter movement on an LFO would be nice. To keep this interesting, varying the lead between sections would be a good idea. Either do something different with the lead in terms of effects or writing, or have another lead take over for a section or two. The mixing isn't too bad overall, but the lead feels really wide, too wide, and seems to be a little louder on the right (or is this just my ears?). The lead can be wide but needs to have at least some presence in the center, the lowest part of its fundamental frequencies for sure. Wide highs on a lead are always nice but it feels disconnected from the rest of the track when all of it is stereo-spread 100%. The mastering is way too loud. The waveform is a sausage and it is clipping like crazy, the master limiter is being overdriven massively. As for the arrangement, it needs a bit more work to add interest. A buildup intro would be good, doesn't have to be more than a few bars but we need something to introduce the piece. The sections here are basically the same writing, making one section more original writing-wise would be good. A proper drumless breakdown somewhere in the middle would be most welcomed, followed by the fullest section, then a cool-down and/or outro. There is no outro here, it just stops. This all sounds negative, but it is a really good start I think! Cool vibe and concept, just needs more finesse to make it a proper EDM arrangement. Hope to hear it again! NO (resubmit)

I like this, it is very epic and well instrumented and performed. I have no issue with the buzzy synth. But WOW those spoken vocals are loud! Like, jump out of my seat and hit the ceiling loud. Also, at 3:37 the lead guitar is very loud, too loud. Then at 4:14, the acoustic guitar comes in comically loud too. My thoughts mirror Brad's almost exactly. I really like this track! Great arrangement. But for me, those volume balances are a dealbreaker. Elements need to be leveled better so they don't stick out this far out of the mix. Mastering seems fine, even the mixing is fine, it's just the volume balancing that needs to be revisited. This is more of a fix than would warrant a "conditional," but I think it still should be a pretty quick fix. NO (fix volumes and resub, please) edit 11/4/23: Vocals are still loud, but the balance is now a lot better, and the vocals now fit better into the soundscape. YES

I have to sadly agree with Brad that there isn't enough arrangement here for a full remix. The instrumentation is nice but it is really just a cover up until 2:44 with minimal additions to it. The additions brought in starting at 2:44 are very nice but that should have happened somewhere around the one-minute mark. As Brad said, the first 68% of this mix is too conservative; basically a cover. Then, just as things are getting interesting and it feels like the soundscape is still on full blast after the big section, there's a fadeout. Even dropping a few instruments out after 4:06 would feel like an ending is coming, but all the instruments are still playing as they were in the previous section, during the fadeout. I am one of those people who feel that fadeouts are disappointing generally, but sometimes they work. Here, it just doesn't. There is a lot of repetition in the writing. The drums sound good but they play the same thing over and over once they begin. I also agree with Brad about the cello having the over-consistent vibrato making it obviously fake, although I do like the sound of it and I also like the note slides. The instrumentation is nice, but I'm with Brad, too much of this arrangement is the original source tune. NO

This is really cute and upbeat, and the instrumentation is full and lush. What a happy little arrangement! I can tell that sampled instruments were used, but I don't hear anything jumping out as too uncanny to work in context. As for the mixing, I don't hear the lows being a problem as MW and Emu did, and I do not hear low or low-mid mud. The drums are on the loud side, especially the snare. The snare does have a ton of lows in it, which may be adding to the muddy feeling Wes has about this mix. The high end is indeed shrill, but not dealbreakingly so. The master is super loud though, coming in at -7.8db RMS which is in EDM territory, and the peak is set to 0db which often times allows clipping to come through (not sure why?). I would recommend turning the final limiter down so the RMS value is more like -11 to -10, and set the ceiling to something more like -0.5db or even -1db. That said, the mixing is not dealbreaking to me. I like the track and I'm going with it. If this version does not pass as-is, I suggest lowering the drum volumes (especially the snare), taking lows out of the snare, and reducing the master limiter gain somewhat and lowering the overall ceiling too. YES

I just talked to Jordan, he asked about this and I told him the vote was going south due to the repetitiveness. He is going to make changes to it right away and resub before this even gets closed out. Hold further votes until then please. Edit: He made the changes already and the OP has been updated with a new link.

Wow, I am torn on this one. This arrangement is really well performed and sounds great! Although I agree the bass could have more presence and could sound more distinct, as it is now it seems like it is almost loud enough but the low end feels nebulous and unfocused. But man, this arrangement follows the source tune almost note for note on every instrument. As DS said, the drums are the most rearranged element in the mix, the rest is verbatim other than a couple of minor flourishes at the end of phrases. That is REALLY conservative. This is essentially a well-performed cover of the source song. The genre has been modified, but that seems to be the only change from the original source tune. The key is the same, the tempo is slowed down ever so slightly. So, genre change plus very minor tempo slow-down. Our standards say: "MORE THAN ONE" of the techniques is the key phrase here. Does this count as "more than one?" Is the complete genre re-imagining of the source tune enough? I think sadly I have to agree with my fellow Js who feel that a cover is not enough to be a ReMix. I'd love to hear it again with something in the arrangement changed, added, a breakdown in the middle, a unique guitar solo etc., that would be absolutely amazing! I would request also that the mixing be addressed to bring out the low end a little more clearly. NO (resub with a little more originality)

Definitely a medley, but I agree with MW that it flows well enough to sound cohesive. I also agree that the realism isn't perfect, but it works well enough for me. I don't hear anything jumping out as too awkward. That "lawn sprinkler" thing is weird though, and the rain stick is annoying to me, especially since it is hard-panned to the right. I do not like hard panning, generally. I am enjoying the sweet forest atmosphere and birds. This is a lovely romp through Hyrule forest and I recognize every source, they all fit perfectly with this theme. The instrumentation is well-varied, whimsical and lighthearted. The mixing is working well, and the mastering is closer to what I would consider normal than Rebecca's previous submissions. My only real gripe is that rain stick, why did it need to live loudly on the right side? If this mix doesn't pass as-is, I would request that the rain stick either be replaced (at least a few of them), and/or mixed more quietly and centered. Other than that, I really like this one. It holds my interest all the way through and feels very good to my soul! YES

Interesting anecdote: My husband Steve was in a band called Mariah in high school, waaaay back in the day. Steve played guitar, they had a drummer named Mark, and the bass player was John Middleton. John now goes by Johnny Lee Middleton, and he is still the bass player for the Trans Siberian Orchestra which was an offshoot from his other band called Savatage. They all still keep in touch. Johnny Lee has the interesting side-hobby of beekeeping. As for the remix: Oh yeah, I can hear the TSO influence! Gentle intro, busting out into some truly excellent guitar playing. Elements are balanced really nicely. The soundscape is often quite full, but all elements are audible. I'm loving the varied and interesting 6/8 arrangement and competent performances, wonderfully full of emotion. Terrific stuff, let's go. YES

Intro is so simplistic, but when that beat comes in I'm hooked! I love how weird this sounds, and aggressive. The soundscape is varied and sounds harsh, in a wonderful way. I love the crushed lead that starts at 0:50. The saw lead that follows sounds great. I love how the vocals come in sounding soft and sparse, as the soundscape fills in around them. Great arrangement, interesting piece, lots of lovely detail, holds my attention all the way through. I love the distorted piano in the outro. Mixing and mastering sound appropriate. YES

The texture feels muddy at 0:44 due to the wide saw lead playing over a soundscape of elements all playing in a similar range. I'm not a fan of those wide leads but it works well enough here. This arrangement is full of varied textures and instruments. And Damage drums! They sound great. I agree with Larry, that hard-panned thin guitar is unfortunate but it plays briefly. I love the music box when it appears. This does sound like a cinematic cue and tells its story well. The mastering is on the heavy side but never crosses the line into overcompressed for me. YES

This is really cool, so many interesting elements and lots of changeups throughout the arrangement. Great groove, dynamics and energy. It's a long arrangement but maintains interest all the way through. Mixing is wide and spacious, elements are well balanced, mastering is appropriate. The male vocal sounds a bit thin and dry. My only mixing suggestion for a mix like this is to sidechain every element in varying amounts. For example, group all plucks for sidechaining together, add a compressor and give them no more than 6db of gain reduction, fastest possible attack and release, ratio of 2:1. Same with leads, vocals, pads, even perc loops, group them and sidechain somewhere between 3-6db GR each. Bass of course can have much heavier sidechaining (and it sounds great here). This is just a tip for an even groovier mix next time, you'll be amazed at what a difference it makes. This is fun, let's do this. YES

The intro sounds fine to me, the samples are used well enough. After the intro, I can't really comment on the orchestral elements because I can barely hear them over the rest of the soundscape which is super dense. The kick is quiet and the snare is way too loud by comparison. The kick is so quiet partially because it has no lows. There is such a lack of lows in this mix and that causes the higher-frequency elements to stick out in a piercy way. There is distortion on top of distortion, on more than one element here. The chug guitars sound like they have a phaser on them or something? It sounds like a robotic/metallic burbling sound and it is very distracting, especially since so many elements are playing in the same frequency range. This is exhausting to listen to. The highest-frequency elements like the high percussion and even the top end of the snare sound very crunchy/sizzly. I'm not sure what could have happened with the mastering, but the peak is hitting 2.4db. The master will need limiting to 0db at the least; I prefer -0.5db or even -1db. The arrangement is great as my fellows have pointed out. The sampled instruments are working well enough, in my opinion. But the mixing will need to be fixed. The low end of the mix will need to be audible and the highest highs toned down. The snare is too loud compared to the kick and everything else. The guitar distortion will need to be brought under control and if there's a phaser on them please remove that. I also recommend doing some strategic EQ work to make room for each of these elements in the mix. NO (fix mixing and mastering and resubmit)

Ok so this track will have to be re-imagined as an instrumental in order to fully work. I really loved these sampled vocals and I essentially built the track around them. I thought it worked well enough, as did the three people (all musicians) with whom I shared the track before I paneled it. But if there's any doubt about the vocals working for everyone, I could never be happy having this released. Thanks again Brad for your kindness and your efforts to help me with this. I sure wish it had been an easy fix! At some point I will give this another go as an instrumental. I need a break from it first. Anyone wanting to collab this with me, let me know! But for now, let's clear this out of the queue. judge-self-NO-override

Alright, guys. *removes Larry's dagger from back* No more voting on this until I decide if it is fixable. I'm going to work with Brad since he's the boss at this stuff. If there's a fix, awesome, and I'll essentially resubmit it. If not, it's gonna be a judge-self-NO-override. ON HOLD (plz no more votes for now) Edit 9-15-23: Brad was kind enough to make some edits to the primary female vocal stem, to bring the notes into the proper key, but unfortunately the pitch-shifting kind of destroyed the melodic contour of the vocal line. Clearly, the vocals will need to be deleted altogether and another idea added in, perhaps something instrumental. Gonna have to think about this while it stays on hold for now. Thank you so much for your efforts, Brad!