Chimpazilla

The track is mastered within normal limits and nothing is clipping. That said, Larry's comment about overall volume is valid and I suspect it sounds too loud because the leads are really loud, dry, and in-your-face. I think I hear some good wubs way in the background but the lead and drums are crushing them totally (or, am I imagining them?). The breakbeat does get repetitive, and I agree I'd love a lead change-up. Even so, the arrangement is good, this is a fun track, I like it. YES

The guitar playing is absolutely luscious in this track. The female vocal is good, but it is mixed slightly dry and up front, so any off-notes are emphasized. My biggest issue is how completely conservative the track is. Just like the source tune, it is guitar and vocals only. The lyrics are the same, the entire feel is the same. As nice as this is, it's too similar overall for me. NO

This is a great sounding track as I have come to expect from timaeus. The source is simplistic, and I'm finding that the remix interprets the source a little more than I'm comfortable with, so that other than the chord progressions, I'm not really hearing this as a remix of the source, despite timaeus's extensive source breakdown. The track sounds great and is an easy pass given enough source, but I'd like to hear a couple more opinions on this before deciding. edit 2/5/16: If the source use is ok with Wes (who played the game a lot) and with Larry, then it's good enough for me! YES

Wes covered the issues really well in his vote. Everything sounds overcompressed even while the soundscape is quite empty. I'm seeing -8db RMS even in the sparse intro, so I know the whole track is too loud. The track does rely on the same loops over and over and the writing is simplistic and repetitive. The guitar lead is indistinct, buried, and totally lacks impact. Mixing-wise, I recommend you remove any mastering plugins, and take every fader down to zero and start bringing them up one at a time, paying attention to how much volume each element needs. You'll need to learn how to use eq to carve out room for each instrument so the frequencies don't clash. Our workshop might be the best place to get some advice. The ideas here are solid, you just have to work on your execution. NO

Track could be mastered easily 3-6db louder without squashing anything, but what's here works fine. I just love hearing someone play piano this naturally and easily. Piano tone and reverb are just right. I love the little unique interpretations here and there, the varying mood and attitude. Bravo! YES

Yeah those vocals though. Haha! Larry's right, they sound a bit stapled on, perhaps because they are dry. That "huh" is worse to me than the "hey heys." Some of the synth choices sound a bit generic to me, but you've written really well with them. The arrangement is dynamite. Really superduper personalization of this theme, while keeping it recognizable. Nice work, fun listen. YES

Wes really covered all the issues here. The sounds are really sweet, but the track is just too repetitive both in writing and instrumentation. Once the groove is established, it never changes. There's no leadwork to grab on to (not that a track NEEDS a lead in order to pass, but in the case where the backing is really repetitive, unique leadwork would really help to freshen it up). I'll add that while that Lex Luger transition sound is cool, it is overused here. My personal feeling is that unique transition sounds should only appear ONCE in a track, twice maximum and only if they sound very different from each other (either done differently, or appearing at very different points in the track). Any more than that and you are really overusing the sound. A final thought, your track really has no intro or outro, the groove just starts at the beginning, and at the end it just ends. The track sounds like a super cool concept wip that never got fleshed out. I'd love to hear it again, more personalized and filled out better. NO (resubmit)

Co-signing with the two gentlemen above entirely. They covered all points. NO (resubmit)

Wow, this is indeed sick! Superduper performance skillz on display. I sadly have to agree that there isn't quite enough dominant source use. My main issue is the section from 1:52-3:04, I only hear a teeny bit of Saria's Song in that section. Interestingly, that whole section reminds me of the Potion Shop theme, could you have been going for that? I'd love to hear this with either more Saria throughout that section, or make that whole section the Potion Shop. As it stands though, this is fairly close at 46% (I'm finding Larry's count really accurate) but I have to go NO just based on our standards. I hope to hear this again! Honestly if it were to be confirmed that the middle section was intended to resemble the Potion Shop theme, I would YES this. It does bear resemblance. NO (resubmit)

I've heard it too. I agree this is one of your best pieces so far, Wes, the atmo is phenomenal. For my money, I'd like a little more leadwork, some motif to latch on to, something that appears frequently throughout the piece. But what you've got here sounds really very good!

Wow this is interesting and good. I'm loving the mixed time signatures and interesting syncopations. This is really well crafted. But ultimately it is much too original. With a source such as this one, it would be really difficult to get a remix that references the source material enough for OCR's standards. Here's what I can timestamp: 0:00-1:02 vocals (backing easily identifiable) and the two riffs from source (62 seconds) 2:13-2:41 the vocals again, the music here is harder to identify with the source and the time sig here is 7/8 (super cool but hard to identify as source unless just the vocals are enough source but I'm assuming they aren't) (28 seconds) 4:22-5:00 the riffs from source (38 seconds) Total is 128/300 or 43% but only if the middle section is counted. I think this falls too much on the original side for OCR. I enjoyed this though, really creepy and really well produced, hope to hear from you again. NO

I agree with Jivey about the vinyl effect in the intro, the repeated loop point in particular is distracting. Once the oboe begins I'm not as bothered by the tone as by the rigid sequencing. The track, and especially the intro, is really sparse, so the rigid sequencing sticks out. Later, the drums and then also the piano and harp are extremely rigid. I like the ideas presented here, but the humanization has a long way to go before it's ready for primetime. As for the arrangement, I have to agree with Andrew that the arrangement sounds repetitive, especially the two passages with the drums. The lead writing varies between those two sections, but the very plain and repetitive drum pattern and the same piano and harp background make those two sections too similar for my liking. The most important thing I would recommend working on with this track is getting your instruments to sound humanized. Make sure the piano and harp notes aren't all the same volume and practice moving them slightly off grid (without making it sound sloppy). Make sure woodwinds have appropriate breathing breaks between phrases. Make sure the drums don't sound robotic, add variations and fills. It's a lot of work to do it right but it really pays off if you learn how to do it. NO (resubmit)

Wow, this sounds very good right away. I like the metal interpretation with the swing from the source. The recording and mixing are very good. The other two judges are right, the arrangement is very conservative. I'm less bothered by how conservative it is, and more bothered by the large amount of copy-pasta. 0:23-1:27 and 1:48-2:52 are identical with only the drum pattern changed between the two iterations. I layered them together to be sure. Also, the render cuts off before the end of the final note and its reverb tail. NO (resubmit)

I think we need a source breakdown for this track. I started one, can anyone jump in and help me complete it? Much appreciated! 0:00-0:07 original intro 0:07-0:55 endless sorrow 0:55-1:22 endless sorrow 1:22-1:41 1:41-1:55 1:55-2:47 the place I'll return to 2:47-3:12 the place I'll return to 3:12-3:32 endless sorrow 3:31-3:46 - Dunno source name, but I know it's in the ending at least (Deia) 3:46-4:04 - Bittersweet Love 4:04-4:15 - Bittersweet love 4:15 - 5:04 Melodies of life 5:05 - 5:36 - 5:36 - End Bittersweet love After 4:15 I'm pretty lost. Help meh. Edit this post if you can help. Thanks.

TEN SOURCES? AIN'T NOBODY GOT TIME F' DAT. LIKE SERIOUSLY. No way am I going to go through that many sources and check the little bit of timestamp description (source timestamps? remix timestamps?) written underneath each one of these Youtube videos. Not gonna do it. Na Ga Da. Just nah. Now, if you want to write this out into a proper source breakdown list, in one paragraph, with nice timestamps for both the remix AND the sources, I may check into it. Or not. This almost makes me think we should have a limit on the number of sources used in a track. Not quite, but close. Mike, I have to assume there is enough source here. Please confirm. Badass track. YES (assuming source use)

Brent has the mixing file on this track. Hold up on voting on this until he and I talk about this. Hey Brent, do you want to take a look at the mixing issues that have been brought up? Then I can take a stab at re-mastering it if you'd like, I have learned how to master much better since I've been taking lessons from bLiNd, it might make a good improvement here. Let me know.

I have heard this track develop from a very early wip and it's great to hear it in it's final version. I initially had issues with some of the lead timbres, and I still don't find the main lead to be super strong, it is very thin and it is competing with a beefy background, but the writing and glitching really give it personality. The timbres (leads and mallets) are clearly baby-friendly but the processing is badass. The transition at 1:46 isn't the strongest, the track fades to pure silence before the soft breakdown, some kind of transition or downsweep would have helped. The breakdown builds back up very nicely to the final epic section. The wide saw lead is not my favorite sound, honestly I dislike wide saw leads generally. The idea works, but in my experience wide saw leads have to be processed so carefully so as not to sound cheesy. Luckily this section is brief. The glitching in the final passage borders on being too much... but it works. Overall, I still really enjoy this track and I think others will as well. YES

What a great intro, what a great concept. I agree with Wes though, there isn't quite enough development for this to be a complete, stand-alone track for OCR. I'd love to hear this further developed though, what is here is quite engaging. NO (resubmit)

(Haha, my mind read the title of this song as "Frosty Bitches," omg that's hilarious.) This is great! The saxes are mixed too dry and upfront, but I'll live. Guitars sound great. Accordion! Nice performances all the way around. What a fun idea to arrange this source like this. I agree it's a great holiday mixpost, you even outro'd with some fa la la la la.... LA LA, LA, LAAAA

The low bass is somewhat out of control (gets too loud around 90Hz), needs some eq and compression to smooth it out. Cool arrangement though, great use of the vocal clips. Fun detailed work throughout. Fun listen! YES

Wow, what an arrangement. Is that a bit of Midna's Lament I hear starting at 2:34? Just a hint? Nice. The electric guitar is quite a surprise when it arrives, but it sure keeps things interesting. I agree with the other judges about the lack of realism in some of the samples and articulations, but the arrangement and creativity in the writing gets the job done for me. You did quite a lot with just the simple melody, and I love how you also included a bit of the main Zelda theme. Nice track! I'm so sorry about your friend. YES

I'm not sure how "holiday" this mix is, the ocean sounds don't exactly scream "winter wonderland" to me, but whatever. This is a lovely remix! It is conservative without being too coverish. The acoustic guitars sound really wonderful. The choir gives this an Enya feel. The arrangement gets a little bit repetitive, but the evolving textures and instrument changes keep it fresh enough for me. I feel like the mixing could be improved just a little, but this is working well enough for me as-is. Really sweet mix. YES

Chimp note: Ryan has labeled this as a holiday mix. I'm not sure how holiday it sounds, but it's lovely, so maybe? Hey OCR! Here is my latest submission which is a rerecording of the track I did for the OCReMix Christmas Album Vol 8. The source is Icy Waters from the Aquaria OST. Remixer Info Garpocalypse Ryan Davis Garpocalypse.blogspot.com ryandavismusic.blogspot.com Submission Information Aquaria Prayer For The Azure Waters Aquaria-Icy Waters Aquaria was the first Indie-game I played which made me realize that everything that was great about games so many years ago has been making a comeback with indie game developers. I've always felt a connection to the soundtrack as much of it is very similar to the music I was listening to by one of my favorite composers, Ed Van Fleet, which I listened to a lot while I was growing up. For this remix I wanted to take everything I loved about the Aquaria OST and give it a few personal touches. Special thanks to Brandon Strader who gave me insight on processing acoustic guitars. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaSsrLSmX8k

Name: Alex Shtokalko Remixer: HoboKa Source: Earthworm Jim_Whip Your Head Composer: Tommy Tallarico YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zW6lYmuDc8k Description: Did a funky electronic, mostly conservative remix with lots of 90's feels. It is a bit on the short side, but I feel that it's just long enough to be a worthy candidate. What do you guys think? ---------------------------

I LOVE this idea. But Wes is right, the execution isn't there. The main arpeggio is so plain and simple, the square-ish synth itself is simple and unexpressive. Wow, that first lead is unexpressive too, and the backing arp keeps going. Everything is dry as a bone. The sidechaining is good, though. I think this idea holds a ton of promise, it just needs more polish and probably better sounds. At the very least, that lead sound needs to be better. Some variation on the lead writing would go a long way to making this arrangement more personalized too, right now it is verbatim to the source and very repetitive. I'd say take this opportunity to up your production game, really make these sounds pop, get some good advice on mixing, add variation to the writing and arrangement, and I'd love to hear this again! NO (resubmit)