Chimpazilla

What he said, me too. Sorry! Recommence circlegeeking.

It does have that circlejerk vibe to it, doesn't it.

We thought it would be easier to use songs that already have lyrics and that most people will be familiar with. Anyone is free to write new lyrics or sing the existing lyrics. That said, if this goes well, we may do another round of this compo, using VGM tracks, where *writing* lyrics will be part of the compo, in addition to *singing* them.

Again for emphasis, these tracks are going to be quite diverse and may seem like they are locked in to a particular gender or style. This is where you really need to get creative! Do whatever you want. Be funny if you want. Do a rap song over a ballad. If you feel the track isn't singable by your gender (and beware, some of them WILL be like that), do something completely different with it, make up different lyrics or whatever. As long as what you do still fits the vibe of the song and makes a cohesive track, and most importantly, showcases what you are good at! This is going to be so much fun, I'm so excited for it to start!

The songs will be very diverse, in terms of vocal style, range etc. This first track is primarily for fun and to get things started. Later tracks will be a little more "serious." Keep in mind, you can sing the songs any way you want to. Also, you don't need to sing every round, since it is non-elimination. Just do the ones you want! There will be some tracks that may be more male-vocal friendly, and some that may be more female-vocal friendly, and many that will be easily singable by men and women. But all of them are opportunities to be unique and fun.

I feel like this could work, consolidated on OCR, as long as the database for Workshop ReMixes was kept separate enough from the Official ReMixes, and labeled clearly. Also, I suggest adding another labeling category for workshop threads: in addition to "wip," "mod review" and "finished," add one more thread classification to indicate a mix the person feels is ready to be in this database. I'll try to think of a new term that works. How would adding the track to the database work? Would the mods maintain the database, and add the tracks to it themselves? Where would this database reside? Or, will this just be a separate forum for threads containing such remixes? Questions, questions. Also, what kind of QC will there be for these mixes? Will they need to adhere to OCR standards, and who will check this?

...maybe... XPRTHungNovice?

Anything goes. Will is looking for real singers, but who knows what may come of this? Put your thinking cap on and come up with something unique and cool.

Oh man, this track feels new to me each time I hear it. The vibe is so dark and painful. Luckily most of the ear pain has now gone away. Funny, the track almost feels like it NEEDS to still have the ear pain to be complete. But it is definitely easier to listen to without it. YES

I believe Will will say you can do as you like and just have fun with it. Keep in mind, he is actually looking for vocalists to work with on real projects going forward. Anyone interested in working with Will on future projects as a singer might want to keep their performances as real and unprocessed as possible (meaning well-mixed and gently effected, but not over-processed). The "popular vote" winner may end up being different from who he reaches out to as potential singing collaborators. Whatever happens though, it is meant to be FUN! I personally can't sing, but maybe I can record my cat...

That is one beefy kick. It may be the beefiest kick I've ever heard. I love it, so much. It's probably too loud, though. Unfortunately after I've really started grooving with this kick and a terrific bass groove... what follows is a rather wimpy choir patch which is indeed sounding behind the beat due to it's slow attack. This choir is acting as a lead for awhile, until it is joined by an equally tame faux flute thing, then back to soft choir for a bit, then a breakdown already? Ok here's the buildup... waiting for something epic... generic saw lead, ok. More choir and into yet another breakdown. At 2:35 I like the lead best so far, but it still feels very meek and tame and I'm expecting so much more based on the unbelievably cool kick and bass groove that's still going. At 3:20, super soft pad. At 3:34, more soft choir. Where's the epic lead work? The instrumentation in this mix feels so unbalanced. The other big issue in this track is that the writing/arrangement is very repetitive. The verses, breakdowns, buildups and drops are all incredibly similar, with the writing in each section being super simple. There are three of each and they are nearly identical to each other. The part at 2:35 is really the most unique and best section imo, but the rest is just too similar. The section from 3:04 to 3:34 is just way too sparse. You've got a really thin sounding rimshot break before some of the drops. I'd recommend removing those completely as they add nothing to the drops. Take them out and push the drops up by that one bar where the rimshot break was. The track seems to be mixed pretty well. My main issue is the repetitiveness of the three sections of the track (3 verses, breakdowns, buildups and drops). A bit of more varied writing would help keep it interesting. I also feel that some more exciting lead timbres would really make the instrumentation match better, and maybe a wicked solo section somewhere. This song could really be so epic. NO (resubmit)

Interesting intro idea, I like it, although when the mix begins at 0:15, those first few notes feel way too loud by comparison. The intro idea is cool but the execution isn't quite there. I'm not hearing "lossy" per se (maybe it's because of that 8-bit snare and white noise bursts?), but what I do hear is that all the timbres seem to be competing for frequency space, and many of the timbres could use a high-pass to cut out some low frequencies that are conflicting with the bass. With this many similar timbres at once, each one needs to have it's own frequency space, and they can't all have the same volume. The flute synth sounds just a touch too realistic to fit in as a synth, and too fake to be real, and it's lost in that fakey middle ground. That bit of string backing has the same issue, although it is less pronounced since the strings are a backing and not a lead. You've got some unique writing ideas. I love glitchy stuff, but I think it could have been pulled off with a bit more finesse by using it a bit more sparingly and without the panning. I'm not a fan of fadeout endings in general, and I always think it is a better idea to end a track on some resolving chord, at a minimum. NO (resubmit)

I like the lo-fi intro too. When the bass enters, it is too loud, too mid-heavy and the writing is WAY too busy to fit well with the lead writing which is also busy. Only one element at a time should be that busy, either bass or lead but never both, as they are competing for focus. I agree with Larry about the strings starting at :56, that timbre with it's slow attack completely takes the energy out of that section, because it is so exposed. The drum writing is quite repetitive and the kick is too loud. The clap/snare is very simple and plain both in timbre and writing, and gets old fast. This track suffers from extremely repetitive writing, despite some attempts at interpretation. You will need to do some melody writing variation to keep things fresh. Changing up the lead instrument in different sections will also help a lot with repetitiveness, as would adding in some unique chord progression ideas for at least one section somewhere. NO (resubmit)

There are definitely some mixing and balancing issues here. Each instrument sounds like it is playing in a different room. The snare starts out way too loud, then the entire drum kit seems to fade into the background. The drum writing is repetitive and the kick is relentless. The rhythm guitar is mixed way too loudly and seems to want to take the lead at times, I'm often confused about what the intended focal point is. Everything competes for volume and for space in the middle of the frequency spectrum. The track has very little in the way of dynamics, but oddly also seems too quiet overall. The writing/arrangement is also very repetitive despite some soloing going on. Ending the track with that relentless kick still firing really doesn't work. Lots of work to do here, still. NO (resubmit)

This is a really nice sounding track, lots of cool little details, fills, vocal fx, filtering, great sidechaining. Nice full soundscape. I like the soundchoices generally. I think the drums and percussion sound pretty good. The clap is ok but you could make it a bit snappier and add some great delays to it every so often for fun. Larry is right, the arrangement feels underdeveloped, and this is the biggest issue holding the track back. The track is repetitive, and I understand that trance can be repetitive, but you've got a couple of sections that sound very copy/pasta. Some variation on the melody, lead timbre, backing, even the chord progressions the second time around would improve that situation, as would some additional variations in percussion and some more fun fx. The ending is a disappointment... at 2:24 there is another buildup, and I'm expecting the track to open up super wide and just tear it up but the song just... stops... You really do have some great sounds going and the mixing is quite good. You just need to vary the arrangement and writing so it doesn't sound so repetitive (same verses, breakdowns, and transitions). I think some kind of resolving ending would also help a lot. The intro is really unique and well written, kudos on that. NO (resubmit)

Dayum. 7/8. Dat's cool. Yeah bring the piano out a bit more, separate the sounds somewhat with eq. The simple drums are fine imo. I love it, finish it!

Jake, you never cease to impress me with these huge soundscapes full of lots of awesome little details. Track sounds great, wonderful dynamics between the different sections.

Really super nice mix, guys. It's very relaxing, and detailed, and your talents combined beautifully here.

I hope you had a great day today!

Still has to go through album eval. Bar will be *slightly* lower, though.

My two are done and subbed already. Use 'em. Remember though, tracks will still have to pass album eval to be included.

Yes you can use my two tracks.

Yay, Damage drums! I love 'em. Very cool arrangement on a great source. I feel like the entire track has too much reverb, that could be dialed back quite a bit, especially for any leads. Also the reverb can use a lowcut, it is bordering on muddy. The strings are noticeably fake in timbre and sequencing but it doesn't bother me terribly. Andrew might be right about using a more ensemble patch to thicken the timbre a bit. I think all the instruments need another pass at the eq, I'm hearing a lot of low-mid mud in the bass and lower instrumentation, especially noticeable in the low bells, low pizz strings, and the guitar. I'm hearing borderline overcompression in the heavy portion before the outro. Make sure you aren't overdriving your limiter. NO (resubmit)

Andrew is right about the piano, the low end is muddy and there is way too much reverb. The dulcimer doesn't sound as dry to me as Andrew thinks, I think it sounds pretty sweet... it might sit better in the mix once the piano's reverb is turned down. The strings are indeed weak and unhumanized (need some kind of volume swells), and they are also too loud. I think just adding volume swells might take care of the "too loud" issue. Agreed the drums are pretty flat and lifeless, you could do with some better samples or just better mixing, and a few fills here and there. The drum kit seems to have been high-passed. Nice key modulation at 2:56. The ending is quite sudden, maybe that last piano bit could be drawn out for just a few more bars. The writing is pretty simple overall, but I think the arrangement works well enough, with some mixing fixes. I believe (after several listens) that there is enough source. NO (resubmit)