Chimpazilla

I love this concept! I love the chords immediately. The crackle effect though, it is a very short loop that repeats over and over perfectly timed to the grid so it sounds completely unnatural. Was this intentional? To me it just sounds bad. For a lo-fi track, if you're going to have crackle going over most or all of it, it has to be super subtle and has to sound real. I'm loving this vibe, but the arrangement is under-developed at this point and it sounds repetitive. The drum groove almost never changes, giving the piece a very static energy dynamic. The arrangement needs a few more writing ideas and arrangement variations, perhaps some new and different instruments as it moves along. There is no outro or any kind of resolution to the ideas, and even the little wind chime and sfx at the end is cut off too early. I like the vocal, coin and bird sfx although they are too loud and up-front. Overall mixing and mastering are adequate. NO (resubmit)

This is definitely an improvement, but as Larry said it still sounds very stiff and blocky. I still hear a lot of disharmony. Examples are 0:53-1:06, and again at 2:00-2:10 and again at 3:06-3::15. I don't hear the bass super well because it is mixed quietly, but when I really focus on it, I often hear the bass playing very randomly and not in tune with the rest of the instruments. Quite often, the bass is playing a pattern that is too fast and chaotic to be supportive to all the busy writing on top of it. 1:21-1:49 is a good example of what I am saying. Also as Larry said, the percussion does change now and then, which is good, but it isn't quite enough because the energy level of the track stays roughly the same all the way through. I don't think this snare sample is very good, it is very heavy and overly snappy and it dominates the drum groove all the way through. Perhaps changing the snare sound for something softer in the softer sections would help. The hats all hit at the same velocity every time they are playing a fast pattern, which sounds unnatural. The writing in the track is verbatim to the source writing although a few instrument changes occur throughout the piece. Essentially this arrangement is just three playthroughs of the source tune. The Bowser laughing at the end is a cool choice! But yeah, I agree with Larry that it sounds too exposed, and it is obvious that it repeats over and over. Some kind of morphing effect over the laughing would be very cool. And just as with the previous version, the render cuts off before the track and all its reverb/effects are finished ringing out. Lots of improvements on this version! Still not quite there, though. NO

Michael Hudak and BotW? That's already a "yes please" from me before hearing it. Wow, I love the lush and intricate soundscape and the slowed-down motif. This arrangement captures the dragon them so well. I agree with Larry about the moods captured: sadness, quirkiness, solitude and loss, but also a sense of bittersweet freedom. I feel like I am floating in the sky while listening to this. BotW and also TotK are all about the magical, emotional feel of solitary exploration of the vast realm of Hyrule, and this mix captures that feeling to perfection. YES

Ooooooooooooo. This is some truly excellent psytrance! Tons of variation in writing, sounds, energy, beat, vibe, transitions, breakdowns and drops. Mixing and mastering are top notch. The arrangement of the two themes is seamless and creative. But does it pass the stopwatch test, that would be the only issue. Psy by its nature does not have a lot of motif, and the motif tends to be on the subtle side. Assuming there's enough source, super easy pass from me. Really nicely done track, I'm digging it. My timestamp attempt: 0:42-1:09 I don't recognize this, is it Terra, altered? 1:12-1:27 Terra 1:27-1:33 Under 1:40-2:07 Under (filtered in) 2:17-2:36 Under/Terra call and response (so well done!) 2:49-2:53 Under 2:56-3:00 Under 3:15-3:19 Terra (first three notes of the motif, and then reversed) 3:30-3:57 Terra (final part of source) 3:57-3:58 Terra 4:04-4:05 Terra 4:07-4:08 Terra 4:09-4:37 Terra Total source use in the remix is 164 seconds, if that first part can be identified. Track is 306 seconds long (which includes silence at the beginning, and drums/bass-only outro). So 54% source, if that first part can be identified. Can another J identify the source from 0:42-1:09? YES (if enough source)

Was it the room-correcting software left on during render? I have made that mistake myself. (In fact that mistake is SO easy to make that I decided to ditch the room-correcting software and apply treatments to the room and re-calibrate my ears instead.) Low end still sounds a little anemic to me, but this is much mo betta. I still think a little touch of multiband compression below 125Hz would be super nice, but this gets the job done. I still love the track! YES

The master is driven hard indeed, and the track does not have a lot of dynamic range as a result, but I don't hear any overcompression artifacts. But still, -8db RMS is fairly heavy-handed on the mastering side these days now that we've realized the futility of fighting the Loudness Wars. For a three minute track, I feel like the intro goes on too long before the lead motif begins (0:00-1:02). The intro is a very slow build, with elements being added one at a time. The guitar that starts at 0:15 sounds very fake and stiffly sequenced (although I love the reverse transition!). The vox starting at 0:23 sounds weak; I get the gimmick but it is more comedic than cool. At 0:30, the sound playing the arp is very vanilla with no effects on it and isn't doing anything too interesting. At 1:01, there is a combination lead consisting of steel drums and a flute, and both of them sound stiff and fake. 1:33 is the bridge section of the source tune, and in the remix, a similar string patch is used to the string patch in the source. I feel like this string patch (and also the one in the source) are too slow in their attacks to keep up with the fast writing and it ends up sounding awkward. This could be fixed easily by layering something with a faster attack right over the strings. There is a ton of creativity in this arrangement, lots of instrument changes, sfx, filter transitions and additional ideas as the piece moves along, full credit is given for that! I love the bassline throughout the track, super creative writing for that bassline. I wish the bass sound had quite a bit more beef to it though. I also wish there was a section with the lead writing personalized, or a lead solo, or something to break up the verbatim source-tune motif writing. My favorite part of the track is the lead starting at 1:56, finally a lead that has a bit of movement to it! It needs to be louder, stick up front a little more and perhaps have some light reverb on it. Most of the instruments in the mix sound like they are very dry. You've actually done a very good job placing the various elements in the soundscape, with some things more center-focused and other things like arps sitting widely in the stereo field. Excellent work on that! Careful with autopanning though, as it can make some people dizzy especially on headphones; keep autopanning instruments from panning too widely and/or too fast. The ending is abrupt, short, and disappointing, but not dealbreaker. Wes is correct about sidechaining. I can't tell what if anything in the mix has sidechaining on it, perhaps the bass does? I can't tell, but he's right that sidechaining most of your elements in varying amounts throughout a track like this will let your kick punch through well, and will give the entire arrangement much more groove. If you're going to do this, the bass should get the largest gain reduction (somewhere between 6-10ish db GR), then plucks and leads and even percussion loops should get less gain reduction (like 3-6ish db of GR, in varied amounts so it isn't all the same), all with a very fast attack and release setting. Sidechaining like this will also allow more overall headroom for doing a clean mastering job, as it stops things from competing for volume and frequency whenever the kick hits. All of that said, sidechaining (or lack thereof) is not dealbreaking my vote on this mix. Just like with Wes's vote though, my vote reads like "death by a thousand cuts." I want to emphasize that there is a LOT to love about this arrangement! So much creativity going on here, and it is a fun, upbeat arrangement. For me though, the cheap/vanilla sounds, stiff sequencing and lack of reverb and/or other effects (delays, filter movement on the leads, etc.) is killing it for me and making the arrangement lack finesse. These sounds, sequencing and effects would have gotten the job done back in the day, but not in 2023. I hope you will work on this more though, I'd love to hear it again with improvements made! NO (resubmit)

That is exactly what I'm saying, Gario! Ironically, additional sidechaining will help clear up any unintentional master pumping. That two-octave lead is the worst offender, to my ears anyway (plus it's loud).

I love the heavy kick and deep sidechaining on the bass right away, but when the first lead comes in at 0:13, I can barely hear the kick anymore. That lead (or, two leads, one an octave higher than the other) is way too loud and has zero sidechaining (or, not very much sidechaining) so it is just dominating the soundscape, drowning out the percussion and backing arps. At 0:41 there is an additional lead sound added, that one is nicely wide and heavily sidechained so that's good, but overall the combined lead is too loud and feels pasted on top of the soundscape instead of nestled into it. It is actually a bit fatiguing to listen to in this condition. It doesn't help that all the leads used are very heavy in the high-mids. The piano breakdown is lovely, although it feels almost too sparse following such a busy section before it. I wish the breakdown had just one or two extra elements in it like maybe a percussion loop to keep it attached to the rest of the material. Not a dealbreaker, just a comment. I wish a few more varied timbres had been used to keep this mix interesting, as the writing is on the repetitive side. An instrument changeup, primarily for the lead, would have helped. This is very borderline for me and I'm actually fine if it passes as is, but I feel that the leads are just too loud and too dominant, and that one lead (or the two-octave layered lead I mentioned) needs a touch of sidechaining (or, more if there is some now) to tuck it into the mix better than this. The mastering sounds fine to me, my issue is mostly with the volume balance of the leads and the level of sidechaining of the leads. So, the other votes are saying "too much sidechaining" and here I am asking for more sidechaining. I honestly think that what Gario is hearing as a "static mass of pulsing sound" is not from master overcompression but from too-loud and under-sidechained leads! Call me crazy, but that's how I hear this! NO (resubmit, borderline)

I am very familiar with this source, being a diehard Zelda fan myself, and having played thousands of hours of BotW and now TotK, in both of which this song is featured. Both games contain a lot of sources that are quite ambient, and this source is no exception, but it does have just enough motif to make it easily workable to remix. What an interesting take on this source! So many unique sounds in this remix, is that throat singing? Holy cow I love it. The throat singing is loud and surprising but it gives me chills. The instruments used in this arrangement are so cool, what an interesting vibe, so many different feels all in one package. It still feels deeply spiritual and floaty, yet groovy. I love the unique off-timed drum groove. Mixing and mastering are fine, although the master is on the loud side but extremely clean. Great mix of distorted and clean sounds, providing excellent contrast throughout the arrangement. Plenty of source in the arrangement; that arp is almost always audible, and the lead motif is played beautifully with lovely and appropriate instruments. I really like the personalization of the writing that starts at 1:49. I'm really enjoying this! YES

The mixing and balancing work well enough, although the overall master is on the quiet side. I am hearing tons of harmonic dissonance though, throughout the piece there are areas where notes seem to clash, at least to my ears. The drum sequence does not change once established, the level of energy stays mostly the same, the writing seems to be mostly copy and paste, and the instruments are the same all the way through, giving the piece a repetitive feel. Is there more to the track, because this render cuts off very abruptly at 3:19, with no type of cooldown or outro, it just cuts off cold. More work to do on this one in terms of writing, removing disharmonies, adding variation and interest to the arrangement, and rendering the entire track including any outro. I do like this concept though! NO

Drums are very weak, especially the kick as Brad noted. I'm not sure I understand what is being portrayed in the first minute, I cannot connect it to the source tune. The guitar is super loud and dry when it comes in. The mixing needs a lot of work and mastering seems nonexistent. I can't recognize the source material at all; I would need to see a source-use breakdown before I could really comment on that, but I don't hear it in a cursory listen. This arrangement comes off as extremely loose and noodley. This concept could work, but it needs to be mixed much better than this, and the source connections would need to be more apparent. Edit 11/9/23: Listening again with Promise source. I finally hear the motif from the Promise source, starting at 2:16, played suuuuuper quietly on a piano or plucked instrument way in the background. The motif lasts from 2:16-2:48. After that, from 2:48-3:20 I hear the arp pattern from Promise(reprise). From 3:20-3:52 I think we are back to Promise. From 3:56 to we are back to the section 2:16-2:48 but without the source arp, so I don't think we can count that as source. After that, all the way to the end, I don't hear any more source. So if the source has truly been deconstructed and put back together, it has been done very stealthily. I still think the drums sound weak, and the arrangement is very noodley and not mixed well. Still a NO

All the changes I asked for in the first round of voting have been made, and Brad did a great job helping, but I sadly have to agree with MW and Wes that the first minute of this track blows the whole deal. The rest of the track works great and sounds amazing. But the vocal in that first minute sounds so forced and so awkward and unnatural, and no amount of pitch correction or mixing is going to fix that. I don't know what to suggest, but it just doesn't work. I'm really sorry. Perhaps MW's and Wes's suggestions can be put to use. I suspect there will be listeners who cannot get through that first minute to get to the remainder of the track, which is a shame. Wes explained the situation perfectly, in my opinion. NO

"Default FL Keys" yep, sadly it sounds like that, super mechanical, tinny and expressionless. The intro goes on too long without adding anything else to build up to the next section. Kick sounds great when it enters, but the piano playing those blocked chords is too simplistic. The bass sounds good but it is hard to hear over the arp and piano, and it is struggling to play the lower registers clearly. This section goes on way too long. At the 2:00 point I am really hoping to hear something else besides the arp and blocked piano chords. You have entire LONG sections that, once established, do not do ANYTHING else. At 3:00 there's kick and clap, and really good sidechaining on the bass. But it's the same exact arp and piano chords. At least changing the patch playing the arp would have helped here. This is another LONG section that, once established, continues without any change, nothing new to add interest. At 4:00 there is a new element added, and long overdue. I like this pad-like element, but it sure would be nice to add another element that could play over the top of it like a proper lead, because thus far there has not been a lead of any kind. This would be an opportunity to do some soloing or even add a motif or melody from another source, optimally from the same game or franchise but could be from another game or franchise, or could be something original that you write. The ending cuts off before the final note finishes playing. This track is twice as long as it needs to be to convey the ideas, each section needs to be cut in half unless you have something super interesting happening during that section. At present there is nothing interesting happening during any of those long sections. The same arp and piano plays all the way through and both of those sounds become stale in the first minute. This is a good layout for a track but it isn't complete. It needs to have many more unique ideas to keep the listener engaged. Sometimes even with good writing ideas, it can be clear as you're working with it that a section is too long and needs to be cut in half, so you may need to do that while thinking of ways to add interest to each section. Great start, just needs more (ideas) but also less (length). NO

I like that triplet groove! I also hear no sidechaining, which is a shame because the mix lacks groove as a result. I really like the synth choices. I believe it sounds more muddled than it would otherwise due to the lack of sidechaining. Although it IS a dense mix with a lot going on in similar frequency ranges. Sidechaining all of your elements, in varying/gentle amounts (heaviest on bass, next heaviest on pads, but you can also sidechain plucks and leads, I even sidechain my percussion loops lightly for mixing clarity), will glue this soundscape together, it will allow your drums to be heard better, and will add 100% more groove to the feel of the piece. The writing is repetitive, which is a shame for such a short mix. You're dropping an outro on us, just as my mind was wanting to hear a proper drumless breakdown, followed by a buildup and one more huge section before a proper outro. This feels like half a song, to me. The render cuts off before the final sfx has finished playing, that needs to be fixed. All that said, I DIG this so far, it just doesn't sound complete! Please do some strategic sidechaining, you'll be amazed at how much groovier it will be. And if you can extend the song, while not repeating anything wholesale, that would be excellent. Changing out some sounds as the track moves along would also go a long way toward breaking up the repetitive feel. I hope to hear this back! NO (please resubmit)

That initial chippy synth has some autopan on it that is disorienting to me right away, it is so wide and the rate is super fast. The drums, bassline and backing synths are very rigidly timed. I hear that off-key chord Larry mentioned. I think both Brad and Larry covered most of what I would also say about this track: the sounds are simplistic and robotically timed, and the writing is repetitive. The drums are stiff other than the drumrolls which are actually quite good. Most of your elements are sitting in the dead center of the soundscape so much that I actually checked it in mono, and I can't tell that much of a difference other than that auopanned synth and some reverb here and there. That's a missed opportunity to utilize more of the soundscape to make a 3D mix. Intro and outro are pretty much bookends. The solo is a very nice touch, you'd do well to add even more writing personalization throughout the piece. I feel like you have a solid start here and you may want to drop this into our workshop forum for further feedback and advice. NO

Wait just a second, let me grab my brain from off the floor, it fell out just for a sec..... Alrighty. WOW. Insane sources, yes. Stupid amounts of detail in this remix. Awesome arrangement. I agree with the dudes that the drums are louder than the rest of the soundscape so they obliterate it now and again, and sometimes the mix is so crowded that, well, my brain falls on the floor. Still, YES

The arrangement works, and I appreciate the dedication to the FM concept in the soundscape, but I'm afraid I agree with my peers. The problem for me is that EVERY element is getting the same kind of distortion, pitch bending, LFO action, so it sounds like a wall of these effects rather than something cool, as it would sound if only strategic elements got these effects, and not every element. There can be no contrast in a soundscape where everything sounds so similar, and it is fatiguing to listen to. It is very difficult to mix something like this in a way that each element is audible. It is all mushing together into a wall of unpleasant sound as they compete to be heard in the same frequency ranges. The mastering is also odd, it is super loud while having a fairly low peak ceiling of -1.5 Props for the ideas here! I recommend scaling back on the effects, and let a few non-effected things come through, for sonic contrast. NO

MW is right, wow everything is dry. I don't usually care for animated gifs but that one conveys the feeling well. Other than that, I feel like the samples are used well enough, other than the high strings sounding impossible during the faster runs (i.e. 1:55-1:59), and mostly when they are exposed. Although not perfect, there's nothing dealbreaker for me with the samples. I agree with Larry that when the drums first come in at 0:42, I'm blasted straight to the 70s by both the tone of the drums and the writing and rolls. The kit really does not go well with the rest of the instrumentation. The arrangement is a winner, I love it. I really like the gentle piano outro. Mixing and mastering are adequate. YES

That's a huge sound right away, drums and everything. Some kind of drumless buildup would introduce the material better I think, it can be short but just a buildup to the drums. When the drums come in they sound very quiet and tame. I don't hear any sidechaining on any element, so the drums aren't cutting through, and the musical elements don't have any groove with the drum patterns. I like the instruments and sounds used here generally, but this lack of groove makes the soundscape very flat. Oh I like the sirens! Almost every element used in this arrangement is sitting in the same frequency range. Without sufficient mixing and effects (stereo placement, EQing to allow fundamentals to come through, strategic reverb to place things forward or back), everything is competing to be up front, making this a wall of sound. The bass sounds lovely and low, but I can barely hear it. Larry and Brad both nailed it that the leads are competing in writing, which is exacerbated by the flat mixing. There should only ever be one primary element playing lead at any one time, and other elements (backing chords, arps, or countermelodies) will need to be strategically placed further back in the soundscape. Elements can take turns being the more up-front element/lead, but when you have multiple up-front elements, it causes a cluttered overly-busy soundscape that is hard for the listener to follow. I agree with my fellow Js that there are too many unpleasant mid-highs and highs in the mix overall. It's fine to have one or two elements with distortion on them, so they stand out, in the context of the entire mixing process. But when everything feels too crispy, the whole mix becomes uncomfortable to listen to. Whether this occurred during mixing or mastering, it needs to be dialed back quite a bit. That ending does not work. The reverb tails are so long that when the chord changes it clashes with the previous chord that is still playing, and it becomes a disharmonious wall of sonic mush. This concept could work, but the reverb from the next-to-last chord would need to be almost completely finished before that final chord plays, to avoid the disharmony. A safer bet would be to have your final chord be something that fits with the key of the preceding chords and writing. The arrangement is great, very creative combination of these two themes! The issues are almost entirely with mixing. I think you've gotten some great advice in this thread, and I hope to hear this again with the improvements made! NO (please resubmit)

The intro strings/pad sound lush. That lead synth is really nice, but it is bone dry and lacks any kind of filter movement or other effects that would give it needed interest, and it feels like it is right up front and in my face. The backing synth stack also feels very dry and could use filter movement, and reverb would push it to the back where it needs to be. The piano is super rigid and un-humanized as well as dry. Because every element is dry, it all is competing in the soundscape and everything sounds like it is trying to be up front, when only the lead should really be that up front. The drum writing is super simple and repetitive, and the drums are mixed without any reverb, without any impact, and without any effort to put them in their proper places in the soundscape. Also, there needs to be some sidechaining done so that the drums can be audible over the soundscape, and also to give the arrangement some generalized groove; at present it is totally lacking in that regard. Easy fix with some gentle sidechaining on several elements (bass and pads at a minimum, and possibly every element in varying, gentle amounts). Mastering is on the tame side; much more could be done to add a touch of sparkle and depth while bringing the overall volume up somewhat (not too much!). I actually think this arrangement is really nice! There are terrific writing and instrument variations and the elements work well together. But it needs a mixing overhaul, strategically adding reverb and effects to put the elements where they should sit in the soundscape and to add interest. Drum writing could have some variation easily by adding a shaker or percussion loop at different sections, to vary the energy up and down as the arrangement moves along. Piano needs humanization, as well. I hear a lot of promise in this arrangement, and I hope to hear it again with the improvements made. NO (resubmit)

Just to clarify (and I should have done so in my vote), I do not mean that a more abstract source tune can't qualify for remix treatment, just that it makes it much more difficult to do so in a way that people can perceive as a remix, and it ends up sounding like an "inspired by" rather than a proper remix as a result. I suppose actually timestamping this might make the difference here. I admit I am relying on my feelings of it being too abstract overall, and I'm in agreement with a timestamp at this point.

I know if timaeus submits a track he's going to include a detailed timestamp, not that there's ever a doubt with his arrangements that there is enough source use. Thanks timaeus! Great intro, the bass does sound awesome, solid and huge right away! Lovely lead sounds, bells and plucks, and I'm loving the off-beat drum groove. The mix has a luscious, full feel. Mixing is great, mastering is appropriate although I suggest lowering your ceiling to -0.5 or -1db to avoid any possibility of clipping. Great mix of the two sources, totally seamless. I'm not a fan of fadeouts generally, but it works here since it is faded out after drums and leads have been dropped out. Fun listen! YES

The master seems to be brickwalled at -3db peak, which is odd right away. That initial sound is not pleasant, and not even interesting as a device, it just sounds disharmonious and also too highly distorted. The lead starting at 1:24 is a much nicer sound but it is mixed very quietly in the soundscape and also feels like it has a touch too much distortion on it. Most of the synth choices in this mix are not great individually or in combination. The arrangement itself isn't bad, honestly. The synths would need to be changed out to more pleasant ones. As prophetik said, the arrangement noodles along throughout most of it, without any motivic elements for the listener to grab onto. A track of this length needs to justify itself with some more solid musical ideas, and they need to change and expand as the arrangement moves along so as not to become repetitive. Interesting ideas presented, but this will need much more work in sound design and writing. NO

This mix is lush, haunting and beautiful. I love the distant textures and delicate sfx. The mixing and even the mastering are working well. I love the addition of the digeridoo in the final section. This is a delightful listen. However, I am in agreement with my fellows that this source tune, similar to the "Cold" one MW linked, does not truly count as an arrangement on its own. This is one of many musical themes in the game that is meant to be more of an ambiance than a proper tune. BotW and TotK both use this musical device throughout the games. This makes the creation of a remix out of said material extremely difficult and problematic. I do hear connection to the source as I listen through, but the remix does not feel like an arrangement any more than the source does. I don't feel that timestamping it would help; even with EnoughSource™ this arrangement is going to sound like an "inspired by" rather than a remix. I'm loving it nonetheless! NO edit 2-8-24: The timestamping and another listen to this helps me. I feel like there is enough source. I still think it is much more difficult to remix these ambient/abstract sources, and just for the record I have this problem with all such remixes, from whomever submits them. Gaspode submitted a "Depths" mix recently that I had the same issue with. Just takes a bit more time and effort to identify it. YES

"Phonk?" "Witch House?" Even "meme music" is a new term to me. I guess I'm really out of the loop and not up to speed on my subgenres, sub-subgenres, and sub-sub-sub-abyssally-deep-subgenres and straight-up joke-genres. That said... I really dig this remix! Groovy with a creepy vibe. I like the instruments and sounds, the phat beatz, the full/deep low end, the wide open feel of the soundscape. I am not a fan of that thing taking the place of a snare either, Larry. I get that it's the style/genre/meme/joke, it is purposely distorted, and that can work sometimes but it just sounds like a comical sfx more than a drum element, and it's dry so it sticks out of the lush soundscape more than I'd like. Mixing works fine. Mastering is on the loud side but not overblown. The arrangement and source interpretation are great. The ending though... where is it? There's no outro, it just stops. Gosh, I don't like that. Why not do a few bars of cooldown and some kind of final sound or chord? Even so, I think this passes and it's a super cool and fun listen. YES