Chimpazilla

Update 7/12/16: Marc has sent me a new version with improved mixing. His mastering was on the quiet side, so I mastered it more and sent it to him. He approved of what I did, so he sent me his unmastered wav so I could master it up right. Here is the result (wav and 192mp3). I still feel like there are structural improvements he could make to his track and we have discussed them, but this track is sounding mighty good now. I think Marc will do big things at OCR! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ previous decision Remixer Name: shaboogen Real Name: Marc Losper Email Address: UserID: 33244 Game arranged: Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers Name of arrangement: An Enjoyable Face Remodelling Song arranged: Cammy stage theme Link to original: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WGXCbfo3JY As I stated previously, The Cammy theme has always been my favourite in all of Street Fighter. My goal was to create a version of the song that suited both my own sensibilities as a lover of funky and fun electro and still encapsulated everything that I loved about the original song. With regards to the original judge's decision, the prevailing feedback seemed to be focused on the arrangement (specifically the lack of variation in the drum pattern) as opposed to the production quality itself. To address this, I did spend some time focusing on producing a more ambitious arrangement. I added a new percussion line that changes at various points in the song in order to add more interest. I also modified the original B section into a full breakdown, preceded by a small half time section in order to break up monotony. (I'm unsure whether or not the voice samples to open and close the track are allowed. The rules don't specifically state they aren't, but obviously licensing is tricky. These are easy enough to remove if required) Although there wasn't a great deal said about the production itself, on reflection there were a lot of things that were below par so I went back and cleaned up all the synths and EQs along with giving the track a fresh master. The new version (to my ears anyway) has significantly more clarity and allows all the sounds more room to shine through and should hopefully deal with any issues with regards to shrill-ness or mud. To be a little clearer, I was a very new producer when I sent my first tune through and I know now that it was very premature in my development. Hopefully, these new changes bring the tune more in line with OCR standards. Thanks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WGXCbfo3JY

What a cool take on such an odd non-melodic source. I like it a lot. I feel like the whole mix, and the drums in particular are a little more lo-fi than they need to be, but I assume this was a purposeful stylistic choice as it comes from original lo-fi samples. It's amazing what you did with those samples. Regardless of my feelings about this much lo-fi-ness, this works for me. YES

Remixer name: Marshall ArtWebsite: http://marshallart.bandcamp.com/members: jmr (Jeffrey Roberts), streifig (Mikhail Ivanov)Song title: But You're Still HungrySource: Chrono Trigger - Ruined Worldhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HhLHfUTD90MP3: WAV: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqJV1tkBbKk Here's Marshall Art's take on yet another melody-less source, this time from Chrono Trigger. It's one of three songs we made for Chronicles of Time. (For anyone reading this who lives under a rock, it's a massive 5-disc fully-licenced Chrono Trigger tribute project. It was on the front page of iTunes next to Taylor Swift, so you know it's cool.) As per our usual, everything you hear in this song is a single NES (2A03 with VRC6 expansion) and umpteen layers of guitar. I'm particularly proud of the drum sound I was able to pull from the NES (which under normal circumstances is only able to pull of a single, lo-fi sample at a time), and I've gotta hand it to Mikhail for crafting the dreamy, shimmery guitar chords which carry the song. Couple things which I want to point out in the interest of full disclosure: - The melody played by the triangle wave channel at 1:38 is loosely based on the bass line from Lab 16's Ruin, which we also covered for Chronicles of Time. - The dissonant bell sample heard at the end is recreated from the original Korg M1 sample and not ripped from the SNES game. I know how picky a certain company is about sampling from their games. If you're not convinced, listen carefully to the original SNES song and you'll hear the quick echo effect that I didn't recreate because I failed to notice it until long after our version was done. Part of me still wants to go back and fix that... - The guitar at the end is "inspired by" the intro of Deftones' Pink Maggit. I feel like it's fair to call 14 notes in a nearly 6 minute song an "extremely limited" reference, but I'll leave that for you all to judge. All the best, -Jeff / jmr Marshall Art

This is super cool! I'm loving all the drum pattern changeups, especially the breakbeat/crazy breakbeat near the end. I feel like the mixing could be a little better, the whole track is a bit bottom heavy and some instruments and drums (snare) could have some lows removed and it would all sit better. The leads and also the backing saw are a bit plain, but it's all used really well. I love this arrangement. There's copy pasta going on here, but there are differences added to the final section to differentiate it from the previous iteration, mainly the heavy gating of the saw (which would be so much cooler with some effects or modulation on that dry timbre) and dem breakbeats. Count me in. edit 2/20/17: I still like this track, it sounds good to me, my assessment and crits still stand. However, I was not aware of Lunar, I hadn't heard the track until now. This remix clearly seems to be a careful remake of Lunar, following VR's "making of" stream, then adapted to the Pokemon source. The remake is well done, I must say good job on this! But ultimately it does sound too close to Lunar for me to give this a pass for OCR. Switching to NO

Contact Information Remixer name: Kamex Real name: Erick Nunez Email Adress: Website: https://www.youtube.com/user/GreatGabite?&ab_channel=Kamex Userid: 32509 Submission Information Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Explorers of Time/Darkness/Sky "The end of a Journey" Temporal Tower Soundtrack https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hSrrXJkHjQ&ab_channel=dialga328 This track is what I'd probably consider one of my best works. I was always a huge fan of mystery dungeon music and I'm happy to be able to express my love for the soundtrack through song. Especially this one as it is the last dungeon in the main game, ending your journey which is why I tried to give it a more sad tone to the arrangement. The original had more of a motivational kind of tone, one that says "let's save the world!" but for this remix,I had it more focused on the fact that you cease to exist after completing the deed.

ReMixer Name: DusK Real Name: Dustin Branscum Email: Website: http://www.itstartsatdusk.com User ID: 24328 Game: Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns Arrangement Name: "Mordrem Stomp" Song Arranged: "Heart of Thorns Theme" Platform: PC Composer: Maclaine Diemer Release Year: 2015 Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtvnP91PDfQ ReMix link: Comments: This is a remix that I created to surprise ArenaNet with when I go down to Seattle next week -- which probably means that, by the time this is posted, I'll have just celebrated the first anniversary of that trip :D. I decided to just straight up heavy the hell out of this source. Not a whole lot more to it than that; A lot of this track is simply me taking liberties with the structure and having fun setting the chord progressions and melodies to metal. I contacted two people in secret to get feedback on this mix and neither got back to me. However, I feel pretty confident in this track. Here's hoping you guys dig it!

I love Lavender Town with it's odd, eerie and unsettling harmonies. It has so much potential for many different types of remixes. The intro and outro synth is piercing. The synths used throughout the mix are quite vanilla sounding with minimal processing or effects for added interest. The motif is played many times verbatim. The main thing I hear in this mix is the potential for a cool trap beat, but it never appears. The beats here are very plain 4x4 kick pattern, the percussion samples are weak. The drop at 1:26 could be so huge and powerful, with some killer trap kick patterns and pitched 808 snare. I'd love to hear it this way! I suggest you look into it, you've already got a good sub bass going in that section. Anyway, I think it's a good start, the arrangement structure is solid enough, but as it stands the mix is just too plain, in writing and timbres used. NO (resubmit)

Remixer: Martin H (Woohoo Chant) I hope you guys like it

The intro sidechaining is too heavy, even for me, especially on the lead bell timbre. The beats all through the mix are quite simply written and with bland timbres with no delay or anything to add interest to them. The lead sidechaining is again too heavy starting at 1:34, it becomes disorienting. The breakdown at 1:34 is not terribly interesting; doing a drumless section with more/different sounds/sfx etc. would go a long way toward breaking up the arrangement. The lyrics are interesting, the vocals are ok but the processing is very static all the way through the track, it would be nice to hear them processed in a different way here or there, some harmony added, or the occasional verse center-panned to contrast with the wide reverby vocals. Let's see what other J's think, but I'm leaning towards NO

Contact Information:ReMixer name: ladyWildfirereal name: Elizabeth Carterwebsite: https://soundcloud.com/ladywildfire, https://www.facebook.com/ladyWildfire/, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9uzIBogkhkGxjFBzMMNfwg userid: 11659Submission Information:Name of games arranged: Castlevania 3, Castlevania: Curse of Darkness, Castlevania: Symphony of the nightName of arrangement: VampireName of individual songs arranged: Abandoned Castle, Entrance, Warakiya Village Lyrics & Source Usage: (Abandoned Castle) (Warakiya Village) (Entrance) (bell intro) sirens are calling enticing my darling captured in my trance don't keep me starving every night we all go out to play and dance the night away until the morning sun don't you want to be born again living forever, your new life begins move to the beat set yourself free we can dance til the end of the night your blood smells so sweet and now i can see that you're wondering if this could be right we'll stay here together we'll be young forever don't be afraid dear nothing to fear when you're having the time of your life (synth lead 1) (synth lead 2) driven by hunger no sense of danger sinful adventure we live for the pleasure every night we all go out to play and dance the night away until the morning sun and when you hear the beat the party never ends who'd ever want to be human again? so move to the beat and set yourself free we can dance til the end of the night your blood smells so sweet and now i can see that you're wondering if you'll miss the light we'll stay here together we'll be young forever darkness will take you so don't be afraid of the shadows that dance in the night so melt into me my kiss is so sweet and i promise you won't feel a thing one day you'll see our love will grow with the power the darkness can bring we'll stay here together we'll be young forever i hold the key to life never-ending as long as you stay here with me

I really like the concept for this remix, the idea of adding additional/different chord progressions, it gives the source a totally different feel. The arrangement is cool, source is evident, the rhythm guitars and drums fit nicely. The track has an 80s flavor to it with the synths and guitars combined. My big issue with this track is that it sounds so overcompressed to me. I don't hear distortion but the dynamics are very flat. At 1:28 for example, every instrument sounds the same volume and the drums sound so distant and tame when I think they should be loud and proud. The synth leads throughout the mix are the only element that I hear occasionally mixed toward the front, rising up from the background here and there. The intro piano is mixed very much upfront, so I was actually surprised when the soundscape flattened out completely at 0:33 when the drums started up. Cool ideas and arrangement, you'll get my YES after another pass at the mixing/balancing/mastering. NO (resubmit, please)

ReMixer Name: Glubglubz Real Name: Anthony Amorose Game: Sonic 3 Arrangement: Lakeside Racing Song: Azure Lake Zone I always thought this song was a bit under-appreciated. My favorite aspect of the original is the upbeat melody mixed with the driving rhythms underneath. I wanted to further push that contrast by adding chunky guitars and punchy drums, while keeping the melody feeling very synthesized. As much as I like the original, there were some elements that I knew had to be changed. First and foremost was the chord progression (or lack thereof). It had become apparent early on that, no matter the length of the song, it was going to feel very static unless I departed quite heavily from the source material. The other element I needed to change was how simple the structure was in the original. I used that as an opportunity to have fun changing the intensity from section to section. Thank you for you time and consideration, Anthony Amorose

This is a fun, lively source, one that I personally would find difficult to do justice to in a remix because it is already so complete and full sounding, nice motif and full soundscape and lots of nice detail. I've never heard of this game. The remix starts out so sparsely and very quietly, and remains sparse and quiet throughout half the mix. The soundscape sounds its best fullness-wise starting at around 1:50 but all the instruments are competing for volume such that it sounds like a mushy wall of sound, albeit a quiet wall of sound. The writing is very stiff and quantized throughout the mix. The total silence at 2:16 feels awkward. That whole next section goes back to sparse and quiet. The section from 3:18 to 4:34 is overcompressed to the point of clearly-audible distortion and pumping, that entire section is WAY too loud, and the compressor is working overtime. The piano hammering away at 4:03 sounds so stiff and quantized. I like the orchestral concept for this source, but to really do it justice I feel like some of the sparser areas need a little more detail. The mixing also needs to be improved so that the instruments each have room to be heard in their respective frequency spectrums without competing this much. The humanization needs to be improved, particularly on instruments such as that exposed piano near the end. The biggest issue of all for me is the dynamics throughout the track, the quiet parts are painfully quiet, and that last section is clearly overcompressed and distorted. I wouldn't mind hearing this one again, but at the very least not until the mixing, balancing and mastering has been addressed. NO (resubmit)

Contact Information ReMixer name: Lukedoc321 Real name: Luke Dougherty Email: User ID: 32317 Submission Information Name of game arranged: Steins;Gate Name of arrangement: Converging Fates Name of individual songs arranged: Gate of Steiner Steins;Gate is a visual novel that was first released for the Xbox 360 on October 15, 2009. The original game composer was Takeshi Abo.

Not much to add to what the two gentlemen have said here. The arrangement is really creative and shows some real skill, but the soundset kills this dead for OCR. I never heard of Milkytracker (had to Google that just now), but may I suggest you get a proper daw, because I'd like to hear more from you, just much better produced than this. NO

Awesome concept, these two tracks go together nicely. There is definitely an audible distortion at 1:49. The track is a nice start but ultimately I'm finding it too short and undeveloped to be a standalone track on OCR. The arp pattern is so simple, I'd love to hear the timbre you're using with some modulation or filter movement on it to give it interest as it goes along through the track. The first lead sound is pretty weak and unexpressive, actually the second one is as well. The arrangement ends just as it should really be getting started. At the point the mix ends, I'm expecting a buildup into something wicked-cool with badass drums and a great bassline, and some unique writing. I can hear it in my head! I say take what you've got here back to the drawing board, and make it a fuller and more complete track, and let's hear it again. NO

Bump. Someone help me here. Thanks.

I like the heavy drums in the intro. Is the guitar sharp? My ears don't hear that. I like the tone and the reverb on the acoustic guitar. I agree with Mike that the drums are a good contrast with the acoustic guitar. The section from 2:09-2:40 slowed things down a bit for me though, since it is the same material from the intro, I would have liked something different or additional there to set it apart from the intro. That's my only complaint about this arrangement. I like the pitch bends in the section starting at 2:40, and the heavy chugging that begins at 3:44. Overall this is a good moody trek through this source material, it's produced well. I like it a lot. YES

Wow what a cool combination of sounds and styles! It remains chill even with the heavy wubs. Source well represented with tons of fun interpretation. This is so creative. I also happen to love wide panning sounds, and heavy sidechaining. I agree that the sidechaining on the lead is a little too deep and long, a short shallow sidechain on the lead would work better. In my own mixes I sidechain everything (except percussion!) but in varying amounts, bass/pads super heavy, leads and backing elements more lightly etc. Super fun track! YES

LOUD. Visually, this waveform resembles a sausage in the most profound way I've ever seen. Listening, the bass and drums really get melted into the background under the lead saw and backing saws. I don't hear any overcompression artifacts, but the track has zero dynamics and is exhausting as a result. I have to agree with Gario that for the most part this is a wall of sound and a lot of your cool details are being lost in the din. The arrangement is conservative in the first half, and varied more in the second half. The arrangement is good and interesting. Lots of fun details and ear candy. I think I have to throw it back for one more pass at the mixing and mastering so it isn't so overwhelming. I'm looking forward to hearing this again, though! NO (resubmit please)

There's something so unique and mystical about your style, Rebecca! Your songs just keep getting better and more interesting. You really capture the vibe in the remixes you're doing, with all the bells and mysterious plucks and stuff. I like it. I would have liked some kind of original intro before the main motif dropped, even just some sfx to slowly set the mood, but this is just an opinion. I love the way these timbres have been used, the soundscape is similar to the original but with more bells and details going on. The instruments have been humanized very well and I like how the melodies have been sort of haphazardly tossed one on top of the other, it feels very relaxed and natural and it works well for this source. The mix has a ton of reverb which works for this soundscape. It doesn't sound too muddled to me. The track appears not to have been mastered though, coming in at -4.5db peak and -19.4db RMS, some more volume would have been nice, it doesn't have to be super loud but a little louder would be good. Ultimately though, I'm not sold on this particular arrangement for OCR. The motif is played pretty conservatively five times, and the writing in between is very loose and noodley. I think this arrangement is perfect for a "let's play" or similar on Youtube, but I don't find it to be a workable arrangement for a standalone OCR track. I feel like one or two of the motif sections could be replaced with something original that has a little more structure, maybe in a different key or something, to break things up. That said, I am really enjoying this track. NO

Nice arrangement and cool sounds! The arrangement is conservative but never gets boring, lots of nice little variations. A little more sonic variation (extra/different timbres) would have been nice, though. "Perfect" at the end is SUUUUPER cheesy. The track is mastered good and loud, I don't hear any overcompression. I will agree with Gario that the bass is too wide, which causes it to lose impact and the low end sounds sort of indistinct. I can barely hear what melody the bass is playing. The wide/quiet bass will cause the rest of the track to master too loudly by comparison, and I see a reading of -6.9db RMS so it's quite loud. If this were my track, I'd mono the bass below 200Hz and boost the volume a bit so we can hear the bass highs better too, and low-cut any pads/synths that may be competing at 200Hz and below, then master the track again with a slightly lower limiter gain. This is a nitpick though, and just some advice for next time. Cool track. YES

Definitely not trap! Big Room House is the correct genre I think. Trap kick beats are much more complex than straight 4x4, and trap tracks are slower tempo than this, generally, afaik. Some of the timbres in this mix are too hot/crispy, and some of the balances could be better. At 1:15 that first call and response section, the two synths are mixed so differently and the second one is too loud. I agree with Gario on that point. I can hear why Gario said the drums are mixed too far in the back, they do sound quiet to me as well, but I believe it is caused by that one synth being too loud. This genre relies on huge hot/crispy saws, but this one synth being too loud is what makes it feel TOO hot/crispy for me. I love how the sfx are used, I'm a big fan of game sfx in remixes. I like this arrangement a lot but it bothers me that both verses are 100% copy-pasta, every note and every sfx duplicated exactly. I guess this is par for the genre though, but it bugs me. Just some little bit of variation between the verses would have been nice. Even just replacing the ending laugh with something else would have helped a lot. The intro and middle breakdown writing are very good. The buildups are good. The complete-stop transition at 2:00 is awkward as heck, though. I really dislike straight copy-pasta. However I think this is a track people are going to like a lot. I'm giving this a borderline due to the slightly-off mixing and the blatant copy-pasta. The copy-pasted sections represent 43% of this arrangement. The overall arrangement is good enough that I'm going to overlook my typical "no copy-pasta" stance this time. YES (borderline on copy-pasta)

FIREballs, of course I meant FIREballs. Bowser throws massive fireballs. What kind of balls did you think I was referring to? Oh THOSE balls? Now you're just being gross and inappropriate. Yep I changed that one note so it fit with the chord progressions I was doing!

Some kind of update by July 1st please. This is ridiculous. Just send SOMETHING by July 1st. If I get nothing, tracks are getting reopened for new claims. Either that or this album will just be cancelled which would be a shame!