Chimpazilla

Ping pong delay doesn't bother me in the least, on headphones or speakers, so I will NOT be a two-second NO. I like it, in fact! Thank you Larry for doing a source timestamp. Ooooh, DnB breakbeat time! I love that, and the vocals are cool. What is this bass doing, wow! I love the completely varied breaks being used, they sound so different from each other in a good way. The main breakbeat is mixed well, as the shuffle is completely audible and with great presence. Everything is mixed well in fact. I'm loving that 303 that starts at 1:49 and again at 3:12, nice and squelchy. This track is mastered extremely loudly, hitting -5.7db RMS, but I don't hear any artifacts. I think it would be easier to master if the sub-30Hz frequencies were cut out (I'm looking at you, pitchbend bass). It's a busy mix, but I hear everything just fine. Lots of fun ear candy and textural variations. I hear the piano at 4:02 just fine, mostly because the tone of it is so different from the buzzy sounds making up the rest of the soundscape. I find this mix weird and cool and fun! YES

Intro is nice, retro synthwave, but without sounding dated. That filtered drop at 0:38 gives me chills, I love it! The theme then filters in and by 0:57 the soundscape is gloriously full and lush. I love the tape stop at 1:15 and the syncopation starting at 1:17. I find this to be a full and fantastic arrangement of the two sources. Some additional drum fills or variations would have been nice, and the mixing and mastering could be even brighter, fuller and more 3D in my opinion, but what is here is working well enough. This is an interesting and varied arrangement, even with keeping the soundscape mostly the same all throughout the track. YES

That extreme panning is a dealbreaker. The instruments are panned too hard left and right. You can create a more cohesive soundstage with gentle panning, and even better by just EQing the instruments so they don't conflict, and/or making some instruments more narrow and others wider in the soundscape. There are phase-cancellation issues with this track and the correlation meter is pinging to the left more often than not. I believe this is the result of the extreme panning of instruments. Bass is panned so oddly. I hear the top end of it (and some of its mids too) on the right, but the lower/mids of the bass are sitting wide in the soundscape which sounds super weird. Bass needs to absolutely be mono below 150-200Hz so you could start your mixing fixes by applying a monomaker to the bass sound below 150Hz and pan the entire bass 100% in the center. Also, the writing in this arrangement is very simple, verbatim to the source, and repetitive. The section from 2:26- 3:26 is a full minute of the exact same thing with nothing new added or removed. The main sections are repeated verbatim. The same instrumentation (and panning!) is used all throughout the arrangement. The arrangement goes on way too long, considering it is so repetitive in writing and sound choices. The entire thing is too conservative to source with very limited personalization. The instruments sound robotic and blocky, most especially the pizz strings but the guitar and mallets as well. The drum groove does not change by much, ever, once established, so the arrangement has the same energy all the way through. I love the ska concept! But this arrangement needs much more work in writing, adding variations and personalization, humanization of sounds, and mixing/panning. NO

Cool source, and I like this arrangement quite a bit. I'm not clear on why Larry hears the intro as lossy; the elements playing in the intro are lows and mids and the soundscape has a old-skool feel. Once the main saw lead enters, however, it really feels sonically shocking. That lead is very aggressive, and it seems to be the same lead sound used frequently, at least in the last few submissions from you that I have voted on. I see that the entire track has been low-passed starting at 10K and there is zero content above 15KHz. If I had to guess why this severe low-pass was applied, I would say that the lead sound was so abrasive that an EQ fix seemed useful. I think in a case like that, the lead should be replaced with something that fits the soundscape better, or at a minimum EQ that lead sound and/or apply other corrective measures to the sound, or apply effects that make it more pleasant to listen to. The high end of all the percussion is completely buried under a wall of fuzz coming from that lead and also the countermelodic instrument. I can hear why my fellows are using the word "fatigue." That severe EQ cut on the master is destroying all the lovely presence that the instruments could have, so that explains why the mix lacks highs while also being super abrasive. I'd like to hear this mix again with that lead tamed or replaced, the master EQ cut removed and the percussion elements cutting through a little better. NO (resubmit)

Now that we have the correct mix to judge, let's go. Source is now clear as day! Super interesting sound palette and easy-going spacey vibe. I can almost see this theme working for the final part of the game where Link and Zelda chase down the demon trains in the Dark Realm. In fact I think this arrangement would fit even better than the actual theme the game used, which in my opinion always felt like it didn't fit with the rest of the OST. Production on this mix is terrific, cohesive and interesting arrangement, love it. YES

This sound palette and production hold up really well for a ten+ year old mix! I really love the sounds, creativity and energy of this mix. Short but sweet; I wish there was a breakdown and other full section after that, maybe introducing some new material, but what's here is getting the job done just fine. YES (Funny aside, Eino has another track on the panel just now, and initially he sent in this song but labeled wrongly as the Spirit Tracks mix he was trying to submit. I spent a little too much time trying to hear the Spirit Tracks main overworld theme in THIS arrangement, until I realized he made a mistake! It all makes sense now.)

I love this so, so much. Hard-hitting techno, tons of detail and ear candy, and variation in sounds used. Soundscape has that "empty yet full" feel that I love. I agree the leads could have been just a touch louder, but I get why they aren't, I suspect it is a stylistic choice to keep the soundscape feeling empty and hopeless while focusing on the core groove. The soft vocals add just the right creepy atmosphere. This is a very strong arrangement and I dig it maximally. YES

Oh. My. GOD. That sub bass. Turning my entire studio into a subwoofer in the best possible way. Mastered so loud but it sounds just amazing. It isn't always easy to get deep bass like this working well, where it is both audible and felt, without artifacts or mud; very well done here. I love the slow, easy, ethereal vibe of this and all the little timbres coming in and out, the spacey pad going on in the background, the varied percussion (snappy snaps, sharp shaker, rad djembe licks), luscious strings, the filtering on the saw lead fading in and out (waaaaay out, to outer space even) of this soundscape, trippy bells/vibes, intimate guitar, the vocal that fades in at the very end. Awesome mix of drier and wetter sounds and use of white space. The arrangement is full of variation in writing and sounds while maintaining such a consistent and cohesive soundscape. Easy yes. Yes please. New favorite for me. YES

Dark Souls is one of those OSTs with motif-light and more atmospheric tracks, so I'm super glad the guys above me did the heavy lifting. And by "the guys" I mean Larry. Thank you Larry. Wow, this source is in 9/4 time signature. The remix works perfectly as a more upbeat 6/8. I love everything Michael does and this is no exception. It feels like his musical ideas come out of a forbidden realm or dimension where crazy yet groovy angelic/demonic beings reside. I always love Michael's use of glitching, stuttering, and obliterating of sounds, coupled with softer more organic sounds. This mix is more tame than others in terms of heavy glitching. The timbres used are so interesting and the piece maintains my interest totally as it goes along. The vocal motif is super creepy and ethereal and contrasts with the more electro/industrial sounds well. Mixing is great. The outro with the glassy synth crossfading into an non-humanized musicbox-sounding guitar is a weird, perfect finale to this piece. YES

Is my brain broken, or am I on Candid Camera, how does this mix resemble the Spirit Tracks overworld source song in any way? I have played this game infinity times and I know every note and nuance of this source tune, and I can't even detect the slightest connection of the remix to source. Somebody help! Edit: Clearly this is not the right song. I have messaged Eino for the final version of the correct remix. Edit 6-12-23: Link has been updated with the correct track.

Whoa, a Castle Crashers mix! First one ever on OCR. This theme is seared into my brain from the years my son played this game when he was much younger. What a nice reminder of a pleasant time! Adorable game, violent, bloody, and cute. Bloody cute? On to the judging! Mix opens with pad and super-wet dance piano. At exactly 0:12, and again at 0:26, the chords are very awkward. The pad notes at those timestamps will have to be altered to make those chords work. At 0:27, the saw lead jumps right in full blast. This sound is balanced well enough when the drum and bass groove kicks in at the drop, but here in the intro, it sounds so loud and sharp like a bunch of angry bees. I think a better approach would be to start the lead writing there with something on the softer side, and fade that sound out as the saw fades in as the drop approaches, then bam full-force with the saw lead. Or, simply filter in the sound so it isn't so sharp right away. It is a very aggressive sound and feels too heavy for the intro. Once we are into the drop, it sounds/feels more balanced although this saw is still loud. The bass is mixed on the quiet side by comparison. There are some awesome growls that I'd love to hear more prominently, and all the vocal shouts and crowd noise is very hard to hear over this saw. I love the vocal bits but they should cut through better. I like the variations in the lead writing, and the countermelody added starting at 2:26. The arrangement here is fine, plenty of source as well as personalization. I would have liked some other lead to appear at some point in the piece to break up the monotony of the soundscape, but what's here works well enough. I'm not a huge fan of the complete dropoff of the lead down to piano-only at 3:00, that feels rather abrupt. That final crash sound is very cheap and tinny. The render cuts off before the reverb tail finishes and that will need to be fixed with a re-render. I actually really like this mix and I think it is close to passing. At a minimum, those two clashing chords need to be fixed, and the render needs to include the reverb tail. Although not a dealbreaker, I think changing the lead sound in the intro to something less irritating and fading that out while the saw fades in for the drop (or, filtering the saw sound in) would be good. (NOT required though). Also it would be nice if the saw was brought down enough to allow the bass and vocal bits to come through. (also not a requirement) NO (please resubmit after fixing chords and rendering entire tail)

Larry messaged me asking if I had sampled the source material, I guess I didn't realize how close that intro sounded to the source. I recreated it by ear using a harpsichord patch. (Notice the source bongos aren't in my intro!) @XPRTNovice The lyrics are about substance dependency, hence the "potion" theme.

(vocal level raised slightly as requested) Remixers: Chimpazilla and ad.mixx Game: Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds Source: Witch's House ReMix title: "Potion" Potion lyrics Potion source use Chimpazilla comments: (Shameless Self-Panel™ here) I adore the game "A Link Between Worlds" and I have played through it multiple times. I really love the Witch's House theme because it is simple yet haunting. I wrote this beat, keeping it on the simple side, with the intention of having someone rap or sing on it. The person I initially sent it to pulled out due to life circumstances, so the beat gathered dust for two years. Aaron and I had begun working together so I sent it to him, and he loved it. The lyrics he wrote for it are just right; he wrote about struggling with addiction which is appropriate considering the "potion" theme. I think Aaron has an amazing voice, and his ability to write both lyrics and unique melodies impresses me more with each song we work on. Aaron is also a fabulous producer, and he is a joy to work with. Expect more collabs from us! ad.mixx comments: This song was particularly fun to do. When Chimpazilla sent me the beat, I was a little intimidated because I typically don't work a lot with straight hip hop beats. I'm more of a pop-centric singer, and it took a while to get anything written for it at first. However after working on it for a bit and getting that first chorus down, the mental block opened up, and I think I ended up writing some of my best stuff both melodically and lyrically. Kris has an amazing ear for production and song structure, and it was almost relaxing letting her take over on that front, so I could focus more intently on vocal performance and production. She creates some absolutely killer beats, and the instrumentation really vibed well with the vocals in the end. I want to do more collabs with her, as I think this may be the best thing I've collabed on. I really hope y'all enjoy the final product as much as I do. Expect more.

Name - Michael Hudak Song arranged - Ice Cap Zone from Sonic 3 Name of my ReMix - Taiga/Tundra My Bandcamp - https://michaelhudak.bandcamp.com/album/polar Ice Cap Zone has a lot going for it, from the bassline, to the main melody, those repeating chords, and the twinkling arps. Just a great (maybe timeless at this point) tune, and great utilization of the Genesis' sound capabilities. This version is deconstructed, with no more than two of the elements that make the original great playing together, so some people aren't going to like it. It was satisfying to pull the original apart though. This goes on a journey that starts in a snowy forested area and ends in the midst of a freezing, endless tundra. Lots of granular clouds attached to reverbs attached to more granular clouds in the ending. "Ice" has connotations of shimmering, stabbing, glossy sounds, and "snow" feels more smeared, more diffused...I wanted to combine those two idioms with this piece. Part 1 has the chords being played by a pad, and then the bass and randomly resonating strings play the melody. Part 2 has the "trees" playing the chords, and the cold, stuttering sound plays a modified version of the bassline. Then a flute comes in with the top line again. Part 3 is the chords and melody, diffused, detuned, and distorted. I think the source is pretty simple to hear so I'm foregoing a timestamp breakdown this time, but thanks to the judges as always.

Whoa, ok this is the type of mix I really like, aggressive and weird. The synths and sfx sound amazing. The two sources mesh together seamlessly into one cohesive arrangement. I do wish there was a little more difference between the two builds and between the two main drops. Although I hear subtle variations in writing, backing elements added as it moves along, the sections veer dangerously close to being too repetitive since the sounds are the same throughout the piece. I agree with prophetik that a huge combined section would have been super exciting. I think it even could have gone one more round with another build and something completely original added (new sound, or new writing) for good measure. But, what's here is too awesome! YES

I'm writing this without reading anyone else's words first. Fade in, not my favorite but it fades in quickly. I'm not sure what part of the source is referenced by this arp playing all the way until 1:00. Synth at 1:00 sounds somewhat vanilla. The melodic lead writing beginning at 1:00 sounds hard to follow without a beat. I'm not sure how well this writing translates from 3/4 to 4/4. There are some sour notes in the section 2:01-2:09, I believe the notes are being played by the pad. This is a very full soundscape and at the busiest parts things sound rather mushy and unfocused. I recommend very carefully EQing all lows out of everything that isn't kick or bass, and make sure your reverbs aren't playing in the low frequencies. Most of the melodic writing doesn't make much sense to me. The source is written in 3/4, and the melody makes sense in that context. This adaptation to 4/4 does not do a good enough job at maintaining a workable melodic contour, and it ends up sounding melodically random and noodly. Final fade out happens during a busy writing section with no resolution to the ideas. A proper ending would be preferable, or at least a fadeout after many elements have stopped playing and only the kick and bass still playing, for example. NO

The opening dance piano at 0:26 isn't the best fit with the choir, a darker piano might fit better. The drums don't sound too bad to me other than the weak percussive thing playing snare/clap, but the saw lead beginning at 0:43 (and filtering in a few seconds before that) is sooooooo buzzy. I don't feel like it makes a good lead sound, at least not by itself; it is nebulous and annoying. Perhaps it could work as a background layer with something else being the primary lead sound, something more focused. The shift at 1:58 is extremely abrupt as the arrangement changes instrumentation and groove, suddenly there's a swing pattern. It feels completely disconnected from the rest of the arrangement. Then at 2:30 the swing goes back to straight 4/4 beats and I like the writing there because some original writing ideas are happening, but that saw does not carry its weight as a lead at all, leaving that section actually feeling leadless. Back to the source's melodic writing which is fine but adding another sound to play lead would make a huge improvement. Then the track ends abruptly and with no closure, just full-blast energy down to zero with just an impact, not a total dealbreaker but disappointing and the final element leading me to a NO

This is a lot of unique arrangement out of a short source. Lots of new interesting elements added along the way. Good writing variation. I agree a solo or dedicated lead would have been nice somewhere, but what's here is very cool. It is mastered on the loud side but I don't hear any artifacts, mixing is good. YES

He also completed (and I mastered) an excellent track for the upcoming Super Sonic Racing album.

This is an interesting, evolving arrangement. The soundscape is very cool and captures that 90s industrial house vibe well. I agree about the drums being on the weak side, especially that clap, ooof. I also don't care for panned elements, especially drums (I start wondering if my other ear has broken) and I agree that some of the leads are on the quiet side. But this arrangement gets it done for me. The two sources flow really well one into the other. Nice work. YES

Ok I'm confused, this was produced on a desktop DAW and not on a phone app? The January resub mentions a "real DAW" but doesn't say which one. Is it the desktop version of Caustic 3, because it sounds mostly the same to me if I am remembering the original correctly. I think MW explained the situation very well. I agree with him on every point. Although this version is improved over the original submission, it still sounds very dated due to the phone software being used. The synths sound late 90s early 2000s to me. The drums are weak and the wide-panned snare is distracting. I still really like this arrangement! But I think this would sound so much better done on a proper DAW with real synths. A bit more synth variation wouldn't hurt either. The arrangement itself works just fine and I still think it is very impressive to create such an arrangement on a phone app and headphones. Are they at least real headphones and not ear buds? I hope you can update the sounds because I'd like to hear this arrangement again. NO

Initial impressions: This starts out verbatim to the source, midi-rip style, and quickly transitions into a full orchestral soundscape. The arrangement is more of a medley than a remix arrangement. I agree with my fellow Js that the primary issue is the samples used. The attacks of brass and strings are causing the fast runs to mush together because the attacks are too slow. I think the instrumentation is very good here but the samples need to work with what was written, so using a keyswitched sample is probably a good idea. I don't think it is far off from being approved, but at MW said, in a mix that relies this heavily on orchestra sounds, the patches have to be working a bit better than they do here. NO (resubmit)

Hello! Attached is my first submission for OCRemix; please let me know if any additional information is needed. Polytonal Nicholas Jackson nicholasjacksonmusic.com 37519 The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages "Oracle Calling" "Opening Movie"; "Title Screen"; "File Select Screen" This is the first part of an upcoming album I am releasing! I will be submitting arrangements of each track from Oracle of Ages as they are completed. I was set on combining moments of chiptune aesthetics with a full orchestra to truly capture the sense of wonder and immersion within this game's soundtrack. especially for this opening piece. My full album will tell a complete story as the game unfolds, combining certain tracks together when the narrative allows. Thank you!

Your ReMixer name: Pixel Pirates Your real name: Tobaunta Torkelsson & Fredrik Vinterstjärna Your email address: Your website: pixelpirates.nu Your userid: 37469 Name of game(s) arranged: Castlevania Name of arrangement: Vampyric Pixels Name of individual song(s) arranged: Vampire Killer

I hate to add a second ? to this thread, but I feel just as MW does. This is an amazing performance! But, of WHAT, I have literally no idea.