Chimpazilla   Judges ⚖️

Hi OC ReMix Judges, I submit the following remix for your consideration and enjoyment: Work-in-Progress thread: http://ocremix.org/forums/showthread.php?t=46113 (Additional revisions were made based on feedback from Theophany, halc, and other OC ReMixers through private messages) Link to OST: ReMixer: Sauraen Email: OC ReMix Forums Userid: 47320 Game: Xenogears (1998, Square, PS1) ReMix Title: Final Convergence Original Composer: Yasunori Mitsuda Songs Arranged: Stars of Tears, Small Two of Pieces ReMixer Comments: Just as more than a few characters converge into two beings at the end of Xenogears, half the original soundtrack converges in this orchestral/celtic remix of some of the greatest songs from Xenogears. Songs referenced (22 out of 44 on the OST): 0:00 - Aveh, Ancient Dance 0:25 - Stars of Tears / Emotions [Overworld Theme] 1:25 - My Village is Number One (uilleann pipes) 1:29 - The Sky, The Clouds, and You [Chu Chu's Theme] (glockenspiel) 1:33 - Singing of the Gentle Wind (flute) 1:48 - Bonds of Sea and Fire / Leftovers of the Dreams of the Strong (horn) 1:56 - Flight / Gathering Stars in the Night Sky (brass) 2:04 - Shattering Egg of Dreams (strings, low whistle) 2:34 - Small Two of Pieces (uilleann pipes shredding) 3:22 - Faraway Promise / Small Two of Pieces A Theme (glockenspiel) 3:43 - Back to Sleep V1/V2 (harp) 3:50 - The Wounded Shall Advance into the Light / Pray for the People's Joy 3:57 - In a Dark Sleep / Small Two of Pieces B Theme 4:13 - Lost... Broken Shards (flute, glockenspiel) 4:28 - The Treasure Which Cannot Be Stolen 4:58 - Wings (uilleann pipes) 5:02 - Ship of Regret and Sleep (glockenspiel) 5:06 - Dazil, City of Burning Sands Software Used: REAPER, EastWest/Quantum Leap Complete Composers Collection I hope you enjoy this arrangement. Sincerely, Sauraen Star of Tears: Small Two of Pieces:

This is a great sounding mix with tons of details, and I'm liking the mix of Brandon's and Drew's styles. Great soloing by both gentlemen. The percussion doesn't change much and ends up sounding somewhat stale after awhile. Also the arrangement is pretty straightforward and I'm a little tired of the same verse/chorus as they are played so many times. Overall though, super cute mix that's fun to listen to. YES

Heeeey, I am sorry to do this to you guys twice in a row, but-- Could you please judge "Kirb Your Enthusiasm" from the Milkyway Wishes album? It was a collab between halc and myself. I thought he was subbing/adding to panel waaaay back in the day but it seems like he never did, and I really dig the song and consider it a really powerful collab between the 2 of us. Hopefully there'll be more collabs to come. We both worked together on the arrangement in FL Studio and I recorded some lead guitar for it. It was a ton of fun to work on and I still think it's awesome. Maybe ask halc for his side of the notes, or there SHOULD be existing artist notes that we wrote at the time of the album. They should be out there somewhere.. Thank you!! http://milkyway.ocremix.org/ Hopefully I have something fresh for you in 3 weeks!

It is also good practice to spend time making little 8 bar loops or 30 second "idea pieces" or just to practice a technique, something you have heard of and might want to try, or if you just want to play around with some samples or plugins. Often I get inspired to write a whole track if some idea I wanted to just mess with ends up working and sounding good.

This is the first song I heard from Brent... and well... I'm just gonna go ahead and quote myself, as it still holds true:

Quick thoughts... this mix sounds great. I'm loving the details and the super low growly bass. It is mixed very well. My big issue with the track is that it sounds quite samey throughout. The source motif is super short, and it is played here each time the same way using the same lead instrument. The chippy arp plays in a similar way throughout the track. The drum variations don't quite make up for how samey the rest of it sounds. If I jump around throughout the track, other than the intro and the dubstep breakdowns, I can't really tell where I am. I'm not sure how much this bothers me yet. edit 2/11/15: So Jivey and Emu agree with me about the arrangement and overuse of the same motif. Gotta have just a bit more variation. I do hope you will resubmit this because the concept is great! NO (resubmit)

Contact: Luke Chiwalker Luke Barden https://www.facebook.com/LukeChiwalkerMusic userid: 23642 (additional contact) Mastered by: Timaeus222 userid: 39971 Submission: Super Mario World Fortress of Wreckage: Sub Castle BGM Comments: I was in a pretty dark mood. Something about the sound design creation process for neurofunk basses and the fast tempo of drum and bass is somewhat of a cure for said mood. Now, what melody and progression would be better to fit than the Super Mario World castle theme? With the augmented 4th jump in the first chord change and secondary diminished 7ths and dominants leading to an almost classical resolution to the minor, it is a terrifying and fitting melodic structure for such a dark style of music. I imagine this song narrates a new fortress atop the northern waterfall of the vanilla secret area: It's been a hard journey for Mario (and Luigi...maybe) scaling that mountain that was cut off by the game developers. With no map, and as it begins to get dark and start to rain, he comes upon a large fortress and reluctantly decides to enter. What he finds inside is too disturbing to describe. But I will say there are hideously distorted versions of the monsters he has often encountered, along with some new faceless creatures. With a cap full of anxiety, he manages to make his way through the fortress as he always does. There are no Reznor; the finale of the fortress is a convoluted and warped pathway that leads outside, where it is still raining with a ray of sunshine coming through the clouds over the donut plains. Thank you for considering my submission! --------------------------------------

I'm going to agree with what Wes said 100%, he nailed it. This sounds great, a bit stiff but well produced. You nailed the vibe. But yeah, it is two nearly identical playthroughs of the same material. If you could give the second half something completely unique, a totally different lead, some chord variation, instrument variations, anything... it would make a full arrangement. A proper ending is always a plus as well. I'd love to hear this expanded! NO (resubmit)

I think there is a lot of promise here, as Wes said, it's a great start. But it is just too repetitive in every way. Six minutes is much too long unless you really vary some things, writing or instrument-wise. I suggest cutting off at least two minutes of what you have here, and see if you can make variations in texture, writing, instrumentation in what's left. A soft or drumless breakdown would really help and give the track some dynamics as well. The mixing is indeed muddy, all the sounds mush together in the middle of the frequency range. Gotta work on balance and equalizing the sounds so they have their own space. Lots more work needed, but again a decent start. NO (resubmit)

The track stays mostly at -3db and I don't think it needs to be that low, I suggest pushing the limiter so the track sits closer to 0db for more impact. Like Wes, I also really like the varied instrumentation and I think it works. Even the sampled brass works (because it isn't trying too hard to sound real), and I especially enjoy when it transitions into dubstep/chippiness. I'm wondering why there is so little in the low end, it seems you've steeply cut off everything lower than 70Hz so there's a whole range missing that would really add to the soundscape. As it stands, it sounds unnecessarily thin. The drums are very weak and also dry. Let's hear this with a kick and snare with more meat to them. I like the hats and other percussion but it also sounds overly subdued. Lots of fun details in this track, it is enjoyable. Looking forward to hearing this back with just a few production tweaks! NO (resubmit)

The dynamics issues I had have been fixed, the volume discrepancies are now nicely dynamic and not distracting. All the positive stuff I said in my previous vote still applies. YES

The writing does sound stiff... this still works but I agree about adding some tasteful reverb so everything isn't so dry. It definitely has an old-time feel, and the samples support that. But yeah, a bit of reverb staging will help a lot. Wes is right about the rigidly-sequenced drums, especially the cowbell. Honestly I'd love to hear this track mixed with a bit more intensity in the highs and lows, it isn't necessary but might give the track more impact. There is definitely some distortion in the section beginning at 2:44. Ease off the filter just a bit there. That bit in the middle is definitely familiar. Please tell us what it is so it can be counted! (if/when you resubmit) NO (resubmit)

Justin covered the issues super well here, and thanks Justin for the source breakdown. I'm going to agree that the drums are very weak and the sounds are generic. If the drums were huge (good layered samples, placed well in the soundscape), that would make a tremendous difference... but as they are, they are just limping along, quiet and center-panned. The lead at 0:20 is totally underwhelming. The synth guitar could work, I'd love to hear some more effects on it to add interest. The entire low end needs a rebalance, as Justin said, remove the frequencies below 50Hz and spend some time defining the fundamental of the bass and sorting out where the bass and kick will sit in comparison to each other. I do think the drums are the biggest issue causing the track to lack excitement. Also, the speedup section at 2:40 is an opportunity to add even more surprises and excitement, instead of the same instruments doing double-time. I hope you'll consider doing some more work to this track! NO (resubmit)

I had no issue with the production the first time around, and I have no issue with it now either, it all still sounds great. It's the structure I have trouble with, and my thoughts on that haven't changed, so I'll just quote myself: I'm so sorry, I love nearly everything you do timaeus... but this one just doesn't work for me. Good luck with the rest of this vote, maybe I'm the sole outlier. NO

I really liked this song when Shaun first submitted it, but it had some harmonic issues and smeary pads. He was able to correct most of those problems, but what I hear now is that his cymbal transitions are very sloppy. He sent the revision to me and I mentioned this to him, and I even sent him a library of cymbal transitions that I made myself, for which he thanked me. But it seems that now he can't open the file at all. Before I vote NO on this resub, does anyone have any suggestions for him on how to smooth those transitions out, given that the file won't open? Or, anyone think that the transitions aren't that big of a deal? edit 1/12/15: Shaun was finally able (after hours of work with his soundcard) to open this file. He will be sending a revision with the cymbal transitions fixed! Please don't vote on the track until this is done. edit 1/15/15: Shaun sent me the revised track today and WOW it sounds so much better! It was already a great track with just a few production and harmonic issues to sort out. He fixed the issues and tightened everything up too, and added a few more surprises. It is truly a dynamite track now! Very clean, very danceable and groovy, fun varied arrangement, good dynamics. Recommended! YES

previous decision ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ edit 1/15/15: Booya! Thanks for your patience. Replaced all of the reverse cymbals. And tuned the kick. And a few other lil volume things. Used one of your rev cymbals. The big one you hear in the track. Cheers, ~Shaun ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hey Kristina, Good news and bad news. The previous link: Is going to be the last version of the track. The damn project freezes my computer no matter what. I won''t be able to tweak anything else. Been trying for the past week or two to get it to open with absolutely no luck. Would you be able to throw that back on the panel? Thanks! Hope your holidays went well. Cheers, ~Shaun __________________ Hi www.sonic-elements.com Cry: Sazh:

Contact Information Username: timaeus222 Name: Truong-Son Nguyen timaeus222@yahoo.com Website (constant WIP but publicly available; should be used as official website): http://tproductions.comeze.com/ http://soundcloud.com/timaeus222 ID: 39971 Submission Information Games: Mega Man 7, Mega Man V (GB) Remix Title: Involuntary Planetary Motion Console/Platform: SNES (MM7), GB (MMV) OST Composers: Mega Man 7 - Yuko Takehara, Toshihiko Horiyama, Makoto Tomozawa Mega Man V - Kouji Murata Sources: Attached MP3's. Composed in FL Studio 11. Remix: Here, VBR1, and here, WAV. Comments: "This combines Saturn's Stage from Mega Man V (GB) with Junk Man from Mega Man 7 in a hardcore DnB/Electronica style. My personal favorite part is in the breakdown section at 1:29. I dunno if anyone noticed this, but this part of Saturn's theme sounded a bit like a certain -skyward- pop single by Demi Lovato... *nudge* It took a while for me to land on this fast-paced energetic style, but I got inspired by the first sound you hear. Believe it or not, I was ALMOST going to do techno for this. Almost. But I didn't (sorry, technomanga fans! :V). I kinda felt like this mixdown was unavoidably difficult because there was bound to be a LOT of midrange content. If your track sounds muddy for some reason and you feel like you've EQed everything well enough already, you can try forcing some elements (that don't need to be stereo; EX: kick/snare, electric basses recorded in mono, etc.) partially to mono to save stereo space. I think that helped here when I was reworking this after the compo; just don't overdo it! :)" Extra info: I spliced the sources together kinda weirdly, omitted some (seemingly unimportant) notes in the last bits of the Junk Man source to make it not sound awkward for the fast tempo, and had this obligatory all-original section near the middle (partially resembling something from Chrono Trigger, which apparently I keep accidentally writing without thinking about it! D:<), so I figured I'd do a source breakdown. 0:00 - 0:18 = Original 0:18 - 0:23 = Saturn (0:03 - 0:16) 0:23 - 0:52 = Junk Man (0:07 - 0:12, 0:12 - 0:22, 0:22 - 0:32) 0:52 - 1:16 = Saturn (0:03 - 0:16) 1:16 - 1:29 = Original 1:29 - 2:06 = Saturn (0:16 - 0:38, 0:03 - 0:16) 2:06 - 2:43 = Junk Man (0:42 - 1:02, 0:12 - 0:22, 0:22 - 0:32) 2:43 - 3:16 = Saturn (0:03 - 0:16) Saturn Junk Man

Contact Information ReMixer name: ladyWildfire, mr_n00b real name: Elizabeth Carter, Kunal Verma website: https://soundcloud.com/ladywildfire, userid: 11659 Submission Information Name of games arranged: Sonic Chaos (Game Gear), Sonic the Hedgehog (Game Gear) Name of arrangement: Smooth Dream Name of individual songs arranged: Aqua Planet Zone, Scrap Brain Zone Comments: This song is from Round 3 of the 2014 Sonic Zone Remix Compo. It's a special remix for me because it's the first time I've collaborated with one of my best friends from college. It's also one of the few remixes I've ever written that wasn't in a minor key. One of my favorite things about the remix is that it's somewhat like a duet between my voice and his guitar. I also enjoy the ending section when I remove most of the effects from the two lead instruments; it becomes a more intimate moment, just two friends jamming together. The original title was going to be "Variations on a Friendship", but that was from an earlier edition that wasn't as cohesive as this one. Aqua Planet Zone Scrap Brain Zone

I have to admit, I prefer the first version. The changes you made seem kinda quick and dirty... tweaking it for the sake of compliance. Ultimately though, it does bring the track into compliance. It sounds very good overall. The swing section is absolutely awesome. YES

Hi OCremix team, This is my remix of subtune 11- Wrath Of The Demon (Requiem Remix) for the c64. It was originally composed by David Whittaker, Steve Douglas and published by Readysoft in 1991. My remix been inspired by Vangelis notably his El Greco album. Hope you like it enough for it to be released on OCremix. Later, Martin Dodd

original decision Alright, just a quick lil resub. Most issues have been fixed now; the snare is a touch less in-your-face, the cinematic drums have a touch less treble, and the harmonies have been mostly adjusted. I kept the structure as is, BroA, sorry! The source breakdown has changed, and I've tweaked the writeup a bit (This last sentence doesn't really need to be in the tagged comments; it's just a note. Oh yeah, and yay, the breakdown percentages add up to 100% this time! ). Merry judging! -------- Welllllll now, this was written quickly! I didn't really have more than two or three days total to work on this for the Final Fantasy Crystal Clash, but I'm still happy with this result. It has that Diggi Dis Wild Arms sound I was going for, plus some big cinematic drumwork in the middle, with this being one of my most organic mixes to date. Also, fun fact: the name was inspired by Calculus and Inorganic Chemistry (Crystal Field Theory + Gradient Vector = Crystal Gradient). At first, I didn't exactly feel up to the challenge of mixing two seemingly incompatible sources. When I heard Edward's theme, I was quite literally raising eyebrows and wanting to flip tables. It's just a harp playing two super long arpeggios, and I found the implied chord progressions to be all over the place. I chose Penelo's theme with the hope that its chord progression could be re-adapted to fit most other sources. Fortunately, though barely, I was able to tweak some things and make this work with Edward's eccentric harp song. I think you'll find that the chords I used are very specific. It was down to the wire with this one, and I literally wrote and mixed the last three-fourths of this arrangement on the last possible day I could have had time to do anything (Saturday), but I'm glad this idea came to fruition. Source Breakdown: 0:00 - 0:22 = Penelo 0:22 - 0:39 = Penelo 0:41 - 0:45 = Penelo 0:51 - 0:54 = Penelo 0:56 - 1:11 = Edward 1:11 - 1:26 = Edward + Penelo (Sine Wave, subtract last 5 seconds from Edward) 1:28 - 1:45 = Edward 1:45 - 2:01 = Penelo 2:06 - 2:10 = Penelo 2:11 - 2:19 = Penelo 2:19 - 2:32 = Penelo 22+17+4+3+15+16+4+8+13 => 102/152 secs Penelo 15+10+17 => 42/152 secs Edward There are overlaps, so these percentages are with respect to the entire track. 67.1% Penelo 27.6% Edward - Timaeus Penelo Edward

link original decision Revision: http://lemon.revasser.net/Sakit%20Chills%20Out.mp3 Old version for reference: http://lemon.revasser.net/Sakit%20Outdated.mp3 ReMixer Name: Hylian Lemon Game: La-Mulana System: PC, Wii Composers: Takumi Naramura, Houryu Samejima Arrangement title: Sakit Chills Out Songs arranged: Giant's Rage, Giant's Cry Comments: This track was originally rejected for following too closely to the source for the first minute and a half (thread: http://ocremix.org/forums/showthread.php?t=48591). I've done some fiddling to personalize the melody, and here we are. No changes beyond the 1:26 mark. Original comments: As far as I can tell, no one has submitted anything from this game, so it's about time someone did! I started this arrangement in 2013 after playing the game for the first time, and the kickstarter for La-Mulana 2 motivated me to finish. Giant's Rage and Giant's Cry are two of my favorite tracks from the game, and they're essentially based on the same motif (which is also used to introduce most bosses), so why not stick 'em together? And why not throw some swing in there for good measure? If someone reading this hasn't played the game, give it a look! It's hard, it's confusing, and it's a blast. I recommend the remake. Sources for easy reference: Giant's Rage (original): Giant's Cry (original): Giant's Rage (remake): Giant's Cry (remake): I kind of drew inspiration from both versions of both tracks.

Haha yes! Guilty as charged. TP and OoT are my two favorite games for so many reasons. There's just nothing like Zelda. I was amazed too at how much different it sounded in 3/4 and with the Midna backing, while still playing the exact notes from the Saria source. The sources I used really do interweave very easily. Thanks you guys for your kind words on this! I'm glad it resonates with people.

AMEN TO THIS. Also, to get better at piano, break out my old flute and attempt to play it, improve my production in Cubase, do more remixes, do more judging, try to get the Plants vs. Zombies remix album completed! All this while trying to be a more patient and loving person.

1. Shulk (we can definitely do this!) 2. Midna 3. Knuckles