Chimpazilla

Oh my goodness, I think I can hear everything clearly now, wow nice! Yep, I see that timaeus was the right person to ask for help on this. I'll admit that this track isn't really my cup of tea, I still find it too busy for my taste, but I gotta give credit here, the eq cleanup is significant and I think the mixing is actually working now! With this many elements and the speed of the writing, that is no small feat. Achievement unlocked! YES

Contact Information > ReMixer name: HeavenWraith > Real name: Antanas Palaitis > Website: http://www.heavenwraithmusic.net > Forum user ID: 50325 Submission Information > Game: Touhou Fuujinroku: Mountain Of Faith > ReMix Name: Temple of the Omnisword > Original Name: Native Faith > Original Author: ZUN With huge help from Timaeus, the track received a thorough EQ surgery and sparkles more than ever.

It still sounds like sequenced piano, but this is MUCH better. The sample sounds improved, even if it's the same sample as before. I still dig this arrangement! The note volumes are much better now, the timing is still a bit stiff, but I think it's getting the job done well enough now. There's just a bit of resonance in the sample when you listen to it loudly, but it seems that most piano samples have this issue, at least I'm finding that to be the case. I'm not sure what can be done about this, does any other judge know? The jump in volume at 1:53 feels awkward and fake, like I can tell it was automated up and that bugs me a little bit. Anyway, I'm going to vote yes this time, and here are my words of praise from the previous vote: Well I am loving this arrangement! I love that you started off in 4/4 and then at 1:38 you switch to 3/4. Ah, I just love mixed time signature tracks. You really did justice to this little source. The transitions are smooth, and the interpreted sections are really lovely. The writing gets almost a bit too original sometimes, but always comes back to identifiable source. At 3:02 it's back to 4/4, smooth as buttah. NICE. YES

previous decision ReMixer name: Deedubs Real name: Mike DeWeese Email address: User ID#: 52934 Game arranged: The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening Arrangement name: Home is Where the Hearts Are Song arranged: House Source: The general consensus on my original submission was that the arrangement sounded far too robotic. It was funny to open the project again after 10 months and see just how lazy I was with the quantization. I went through the entire track and did my best to make the quantization much less rigid using the randomize function of Cubase, as well as manually changing the timing and/or velocity of just about every note. I also put much more automation on the tempo. Hopefully everything sounds much more humanized, and hopefully I didn't overdo it and make it sound clunky. There were also some comments about the sound of the piano being too muffled, and understandably so. I've learned MUCH more about mixing since the original submission, so I stuck with Cinesamples Piano in Blue and replaced the reverb with a much subtler one, changed the mic positions a little, and did some EQing. As I continue to work on my ear, hopefully these changes achieved a much more even tone. Finally, there's a slight melody change at 2:21. Thanks again!

Are rondos out of the question? I'd appreciate a list of the themes used, but I hear quite a lot of the main theme and I assume from what Deia said that the rest of the arrangement consists of source tunes. I actually like this arrangement and I find it cohesive as a whole. I totally see what Deia is saying about it being medley-ish or like a rondo, but it seems ok to me. I like the production, with the exception that the snare is panned too far to the left and the brass too far to the right. The samples are used quite well, strings and piano sound particularly good to me. The source writing is very conservative but I like how the themes interweave, I love the instrument choices, and the track has good flow and dynamics. Unless it can be pointed out to me why this arrangement is not ok for OCR, I have to go with YES

I agree with Justin that the intro is too sudden. But wow, nice mood! I hear plenty of source. The bass is boomy, it could use some eq to tame the wild lows and then some compression could be added to smooth it all out. The lead guitar also has just a bit too much in the low mids. I love the distortion and the raw feel of this. Nice mix of sounds, I don't even mind the panning, it is working well here and creates a very cohesive soundstage. Drum kit sounds good and appropriate. Nice arrangement, nice performances. Works for me. YES

Great soundscape established right away, those bass stabs are terrific! You nailed the low bass presence you were going for. The backing pattern is not identical to the source but close enough. I'm hearing enough source overall. Production is sounding good to me but I don't like the snare, for my taste it has too much body, it pokes through too strongly and also sounds quite dry. I think some delay would work well on that snare, and a little eq to remove some mids. I'm finding the snare distracting. I like the rhythm guitars together with the synth pad backing, and both are audible. The lead guitar isn't fooling anyone of course. I wish the lead guitar was switched for something else for one verse at least, or that you had modulated it or effected it in some way. I'm not in love with this lead timbre and it sounds dry and very up-front. I'm finding some repetition in the arrangement. For example, 0:35-0:55 is identical to 1:18-1:40, and each of these two sections is two repeated ideas. I wish there was something different between those two parts, an additional timbre, different writing or some effect added. While the lead writing does vary from verse to verse, the writing is quite similar, and it sounds more similar because the same timbre is used each time with no modulation. I do like the filter effects you used as transitions, although at 2:34 it almost gets too sparse, that is a good opportunity for some other kind of transition sound to be added. I wish you had used an alternate snare during the breakdown from 1:40-2:02. The snare sounds even more distracting to me during that part, and that would have been a great opportunity to add some sonic variation to your drums, and maybe some more drum writing variation too, as that section is mostly just kick-snare-kick-snare. I think the soundscape is good and the arrangement is working even with the repetition of ideas. I do have some issues though. I'm actually going to withhold my vote until I see what others are saying. edit: Just to be clear, my repetition concerns mainly relate to the non-lead sections in between the melody sections. I believe those two sections I mentioned are identical (someone correct me if that is wrong). The lead/melody sections are similar, but they have just enough variation to work. ?

Kudos on combining these two sources quite seamlessly, I especially like how you combined them together starting at 2:54, it works well. There is quite a bit of personalization on these melodies, but I always hear them. The only part I can't quite give credit for is the chip arp which you say is playing the descending string pattern from Lulu, I think that's a bit of a stretch. Other than that, I'm good with source use. You've used quite a few crunchy timbres in the track, but I'm finding everything audible and well mixed. I like the leads, they are expressive and you've done some tasteful panning. I really like the writing and sound choices. My big gripes here are that the drums get repetitive and so does the backing arp, giving the track a samey feel overall, but I'm not finding this to be a dealbreaker. Another big gripe, the ending is a letdown, it just stops. Other than those things, the arrangement is good, mixing is getting the job done, bass is clear, everything is distinct. Cool track, nice work. YES

ReMixer & real name: Eino Keskitalo e-mail: forum id: 20708 Names of games arranged: Final Fantasy X & Final Fantasy XIII Name of Arrangement: Katumus Names of individual songs arranged: Lulu's Theme, Hope's Theme Sources: Lulu's theme: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMfx-PRNino Hope's theme: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNtglfbpRXE MP3: FLAC: This track is originally from the second round of the Final Fantasy Crystal Clash competition. As always, it was made in Renoise. The title means "remorse" or "regret" in Finnish and refers to the lack of sleep during the competition. FFCC was my first tournament-style competition and it was quite a ride, it was very cool, if exhausting, to make it all the way to the finals. I used the music I made for this project: https://github.com/evktalo/kiigame as the sound template for the track, and went on to use this track as the basis of Kaikuluotain, my Game Boy Batman piece (which eventually came out on Legacy) - I think all these sound quite different in the end. I've been trying to learn reusing previous tracks for new pieces, actually, and now that I think of it, the bass drum and one of the snares are the same as in Clockwork Groove. Mission accomplished. Many thanks to Riversound, timaeus222 and Chimpazilla for extremely useful feedback during and after the competition. The structure, harmony and mixing was greatly improved thanks to these people! Thanks to Pleiade for encouraging feedback and the opportunity to listen to the track on a couple of different sound systems. Thanks to XPRTNovice for the mod review, and Brandon Strader for running the compo & general enthusiasm & comments! Source breakdown: The piece is based on the Lulu's theme, with the melody of Hope's theme pretty heavily appropriated to fit. Lulu's theme usage is pretty straightforward. 0:00-0:12 no source 0:13-0:19 Descending background string plucking from Lulu from 0:00 on the background 0:19-0:33 chord progression (arpeggio) + melody from Lulu A part 0:15-0:19 (just the first two bars) 0:34-1:03 Hope melody from 0:00-0:33 1:03-1:11 no source 1:12-1:40 full Lulu A-part 0:15-0:40 1:40-2:10 Lulu B-part from 1:09-1:36; heavily altered Hope melody from 0:35-1:08 comes in at 1:55 2:10-2:24 Descending string plucks from Lulu on the background 2:25-2:54 The first Hope melody (even more altered) 2:54-3:09 The 1st Hope melody with Lulu A-part melody 3:09-3:23 The 1st Hope melody (even more altered) with Lulu A-part melody 3:24-3:55 The 2nd Hope melody with Lulu A-part melody here and there 3:55-> Lulu A-part that's all, cheers!

Just to be clear, I am in fact aware that the "when one hears such sounds" comment was meant to be derisive. Sarcasm mode was definitely engaged!

We got a very nice substantial update from Rexy, her track, in 7/4, is progressing nicely! Clem also has done a bit more work on his/my collab and I'm very pleased with it. This album is dragging along long enough that even timaeus has done some improvements to one of our completed and already approved tracks (sounding even better now, T!). Other than the above, no one has checked in with me. Come on guys, how about some updates? Let's get this album completed already! I still need to reach out to Laura Shigihara, and she may have forgotten about this by the time I do... I'd like for that not to happen. Please guyz??? Wips? If you want off this album, no worries, but please do let me know. Thanks! Beware... I will now begin reaching out to the stragglers... privately. *menacing chord*

Great stuff here! I'm a sucker for disco, and this is modern and super groovy, I'm loving it! Really well produced, sounds great. Time Machine is my favorite as well!

Yeehaw!!! I just love the Blue Ridge Mountain sound going here with the geetars and banjo!!! The performances are all wonderful. Ok so right away, I don't like the wide panning of the two guitars, they are too loud and the wide panning makes them not sit nicely in the mix. The lead that starts at 0:21 sits much more nicely in the mix. Yeah the two wide panned guitars feel awkward to me. Wow, banjo solo starting at 1:16! The banjo is much too quiet here though and it sounds like a backing element, leaving the section of 1:16-1:53 sounding leadless. I'm not sure I hear enough source overall. 0:57-1:53 is all soloing but I hear the backing chord structure. 1:53-3:10 seems wholly original, am I missing something? Most of the second half has no source from what I can hear. Still, very cool concept. I'd love to hear this again fixed up! NO (resubmit)

Song title: Six Days in the Mountains Game: Duck Tales (NES), Himalaya level Your ReMixer name: Mutherpluckin' B Your real name: Henrik Lidbjörk Your email address: Your website: mutherpluckin-b.com Your userid: 10308 Cheers

This could possibly have been a DP. The plucked string samples sound a bit stiff, most noticeably in the intro, but I'm not sure how one would make them less stiff with this type of writing, therefore the samples are used really well. The arrangement gets repetitive with that motif over and over, that is my biggest complaint, but the instrument set is fantastic, as is the supportive writing. The woodwinds in particular are a highlight. I wish the track had been mastered just a little louder, but it has lovely dynamic range. Really enjoying this overall. YES

ReMixer name: Tuberz McGee Real Name: Callum Kennedy Email: My Website: tuberzmcgee.bandcamp.com My userid: 4416 Submission Information Games Arranged: Final Fantasy VII Name of Arrangement: "Honour, Pride, Green Tea" Name of individual song(s) arranged: Cosmo Canyon, Cid's Theme This mix was a fun little ditty I honestly did over a year ago and never submitted maybe I was just lazy I don't know and I'm honestly writing a godawful run on sentence so I'm sorry about that. But yeah, I'm really into Eastern Ethnic Instruments like the Shamisen, Erhu and Guzheng (to the point where I own a Shamisen and Erhu(too bad I wasn't confident enough to actually record the parts in to layer them with my samples lel)). I felt like these two sources really lent themselves to that ethereal sound and decided to finally sub this mix. That's pretty much it mang.

I get your concerns totally Deia. However, I find that it is that arp that ties the track together and keeps the source present even during the solos. I love this track, it is mellow, groovy, detailed, and cohesive even with that many people involved. Each solo is unique and super well done. Could have just been a DP. Favorites folder. YES

I hear a lot of cool electronic ideas and effects in this track. Lots of sounds competing from 0:25-0:49, nothing stands out as a lead. I do like how the ring sfx is used VERY subtly, that really works. Nice sweeps and good timbres used overall. Mixing is working well enough. Leads could stand out a bit better. I'm not sure how I feel about the sidechaining of the lead from 1:16-1:40, that sidechaining blends the lead in with the background unnecessarily. Piano chords sound very stiff from 2:05-2:30. Despite lots of instrumental changeups and lots of effects, I hear the Green Hill Zone theme verbatim soooo many times in a row. The writing is really conservative throughout the entire track, making it sound repetitive despite all the diverse sounds used. I feel like some interpretation on this melody is required, somewhere in the track. Repetitiveness is a problem for me. 3:08-4:48 is an exact copy/pasta of 0:50-2:30 in writing and instrumentation, with a couple of extra elements and sweeps applied in the second half. I can layer them and they sound like one track. Some would say that the addition of the other instruments and sweeps and filters in the second half is enough variation, and I understand that but it doesn't feel like enough variation for me, not with the source melody never changing. That second half is a great opportunity to change the lead writing and do some variation or some soloing on top of the basic background chord structure which will remove some of the repetitiveness and really make this track exciting! NO (resubmit)

Contact Information ReMixer Name: Prower Real Name: Jordan Ale Email Address: Website: https://soundcloud.com/officialprower User ID: 53206 Submission Information Name of game arranged: Sonic The Hedgehog, 1991 Name of arrangement: Feelin' Green Name of individual song arranged: Green Hill Zone An Electro remix of one of my favourite VGM songs. My inspiration comes from my love of STH music and EDM in general. This was arranged in Fl Studio and has a range of different elements, including sound effects from the original game! I'm quite new to producing and I'm open to constructive criticism on my arrangement. Thanks! -----------------

ReMixer - RoeTaKa Name - Alex Roe Email - UserID - 9374 Games Arranged - Demon's Souls Arrangement Name - Abandoned by God Songs Arranged - Maiden Astraea Game info - Demon's Souls Composers - Shunsuke Kida Systems - Playstation 3 Comments: Maiden Astraea is a very popular song for Souls fans and the character herself is one of the most interesting in the game. The original song has some cool polyrhythms and those are really fun to listen to. Like my last Demon's Souls remix I took a more cinematic approach and made it like a journey -- and a little more emotive! I have no idea why I decided to use a recorder during the build ups, that sound really got to me for some reason.

I adore Twilight Princess, but I hadn't realized how awful the fake vocals are in that theme until now! Haha! Your version is so much nicer! I like the oboe lead, the sample is used well enough. Between 0:49-1:05 , the oboe lead and flute countermelody end up stepping all over each other, though. I like how you wove Song of Storms in, although the piano there sounds a bit stiff. Requiem of Spirit following with the bell is very nice. Nice use of choir samples. I like this overall. I wish you had changed up the violin chord progressions even just once, but the melodic variations of the leads gives it enough variety and the arrangement conveys emotion well. The violins are sounding a bit loud and up-front; a touch less volume and more reverb would put them better in the soundscape. Still, this is lovely! YES

To OC Remix. As I've said before, thanks so much for taking the time to build and sustain such a fantastic resource and community of video game music lovers. Because of the site, I have discovered so much great music and so many immensely talented people. Around 3ish weeks ago, I submitted an orchestral Gauntlet remix and after receiving some encouraging feedback on the forums from Chimpazilla, I wanted to submit [my re-polished Zelda remix. I recently began playing Legend of Zelda - Twilight Princess again, and I was so moved when I heard the Spirits' Theme that I pushed myself to take an honest shot at performing it. I hope that I did the original justice. The song interweaves a few of my own themes as well as two themes from Ocarina of Time. I hope it satisfies the standards of the site. All the best! Kyle Preston Contact Information Your ReMixer name: The_Wizard_Lakmir Your real name: Kyle Preston Your email address: Your website: http://kylepreston.com Your userid: 53921 Submission Information Name of game(s) arranged: The Legend of Zelda - Twilight Princess and Ocarina of Time Name of arrangement: The Other Side [] Name of individual song(s) arranged: Spirits' Theme (Light Spirit), Song of Storms, Requiem of Spirit

I'm in love with this arrangement. I'm in love with this piano, in terms of how well it is played, the unique chord structures, the tone, the dynamics, the reverb and the mixing. I'm in love with the violin harmony and writing and soloing. What I don't love is the electric violin tone. I know that you feel your recording setup wasn't optimal and that you ended up compromising on the violin tone, and unfortunately I agree with you, and these two timbres don't go well together. But dang, so much win otherwise. Mastering could be a bit louder. Gonna go with 7/29/15: With a heavy heart, I'm switching from yes to no. What a shame, the recording of the violin just ruins it. Absolutely everything else is dynamite. Sadface. NO (resubmit please if possible)

Hi OCRemix. Here's a link to my remix. I've also attached it to my email in case y'all don't like Soundcloud. ReMixer name: Savino Real name: Will Savino Email address: website: https://soundcloud.com/will-savino/ userid: 53881 name of game: Chrono Trigger name of arrangement: Duet for the End of Time Name of song: Chrono Trigger Composer: Yasunori Mitsuda Everything else: This theme has been so many different ways, thanks largely to its beautiful harmony which works in any style. I like challenging myself, so I decided to completely start over and reharmonize the entire tune in a jazz style. That main opening riff is so malleable that it could fit over a number of different harmonic landscapes. This allowed me to give a much different feel for the first and second statement of the A Section. Once I had the arrangement done, I enlisted the help of my friend and bandmate Jamie Sandel for his expertise on the electric violin. With our very meager DIY studio setup, it was hard to make the violin sound very full, so we just embraced it for its sharp, nasally quality. I thought the duet setting was very appropriate, as it gave a pretty personal tone to the theme, which jives well with the character driven narrative of the game. Let me know if you need anything else. Thanks all! -----------------------------

I hear the source use just fine here. The track is lacking in lows other than the deep timpani, but I really like that deep timpani, it is very ominous (and it is probably for the best that there is nothing down there competing with it!). The track seems to be mastered very quietly, I think you could have raised the limiter just a teeny bit more. The use of samples is good though, and the writing is good. I really like the faster violin passages such as 0:20-0:24 and 0:51-0:57. The drumming is exciting and appropriate. Good dynamics throughout the track. The vocal samples are reminding me of The Omen, in a good creepy way, especially starting at 2:44. The vocals almost get too groovy from 3:07-3:18. Vocals might be a touch loud after 2:44. Nitpick: from 1:37-2:11, you tend to rely on slow whole note patterns with not too much else going on, most notable at 1:48-2:11. I think something else could have been added there for much more creepy impact, like some wind or some kind of sound effect. Good crescendo into the outro. Overall, I like it! YES