Chimpazilla   Judges ⚖️

I love this mix so much! I love the combination of sounds, the big filtered saw bass blast from "Depths" together with bells and mallets and the breakbeats. Lots of ear candy, attention to detail, a few reverses here and there. The composition is great, mixing and mastering are on point. The foreboding vibe of the depths is captured perfectly here. This mix is really well produced. It is a wonderful listen! But... aside from the big "Depths" bass blast, and the use of bells and mallets, a few piano notes, and the occasional trilly flute from "Dive," I cannot recognize any source. I really want to YES this but I can't make out enough source. Interested to see what other Js can come up with. So far here is what I come up with. At 1:45 there is motif from "Dive" (0:09 in source video), this is the first identifiable motif I come across in the arrangement. At 2:45 I hear motif from "Dive" (0:17 in source video) At 2:52 there is a four-note bit of motif from "Dive" (0:23 strings in source video). I know there are more snippets in here but they are cleverly buried. The bass plays a motif here and there (for example the section starting at 0:55) but I can't tell if it is from either source or original. I am absolutely a super strong YES on this if we can identify enough source. ? edit 1-11-24: With the breakdown gaspode provided, and reading Brad's words below, I am in agreement that the source is represented quite well enough, especially given that the primary source "Depths" is so non-melodic. I would be so sad if this mix didn't make it onto the site for the reason of "not enough (melodic) source." I'm giving this my blessing and can't wait to see it posted here. YES

Chris said I should recuse myself from voting on this resub, since I stuck my nose so far into the production of it. I will honor that, but if you guys think I can vote, my vote is a hearty YES. I made an error when I listened to his original submission. Cubase decided to be evil and put the wav into "musical mode" without asking or telling me. Having not heard the piece before, I had no way to know that the speed was off. As a result, I heard it too fast, comically so. My comments in the vote reflect this. Listening to the original at the correct speed, my vote would still have been NO, however, but not as strongly so. Chris reached out to me to clarify something I had said in my vote (not even related to my error in playback speed!). We got to talking, and we came up with some ways to improve the sound of his piano and reverb. Doing a fully-sequenced solo piano piece is very difficult to get right, but he persevered with the humanization, which was hugely improved with the new piano patch and revised reverb. He did a great job I think! Then I brute-forced him to let me master it. I think the result is miraculous. The composition of this piece is glorious. I listened to it infinity times while working on it with him, and each time it brought emotional tears to my eyes. He filled the arrangement with such beauty and emotion, and his humanization work pushed it well over the top. The combination of themes is absolutely seamless. It was a joy to help him get this arrangement sounding its best and I appreciate Chris's trust so much.

I love this arrangement, and the vocals are a wonderful addition and they make this interpretation of this source so completely unique. I think the instrumentation is great. I love the total vibe change at 1:58. My issue is the mixing of the vocals and also the guitar when it is playing lead. The vocals are too loud when they are more exposed such as when they first appear at 0:23. The vocal is totally in my face for a couple of reasons. The most obvious reason is the vocal is too loud when it is exposed. (When other instrumentation accompanies the vocal, the volume seems more reasonable). The other reason is that the vocal tends to be heavy on mid-lows. In the intro, there is heavy emphasis from 250-500Hz and it feels uncomfortable. Also, the reverb on the vocal needs to be low-cut, the reverb lows are adding to the over-emphasis of the lows in the vocal stem. The male vocal is also too loud and has the same mid-low issue. At 2:15 the female vocal is singing a very low note to accompany the male vocal, adding to the effect. The lead guitar at 2:25 is also too loud and wow the lows are emphasized. The guitar playing is awesome, but it is drowning out the backing elements nearly completely. I wonder how much this mid-low problem has to do with the lows in the reverb; perhaps simply low-cutting the reverbs across the board will help (along with balancing the volumes of all leads against the backing elements). I think this is a lovely arrangement with well-performed guitars and vocals. Mastering seems fine. But it needs another pass on the mixing and volume-balancing of the leads (guitars and vocals) against the rest of the soundscape. That'll do it for me! NO (resubmit)

Listening to the source tune, I love the changing time signature and bouncy vibe. Definitely does not sound like a boss theme, let alone a final boss theme! I'm not a fan of the initial bowed-string soundscape, but I love the bells, and the full soundscape when it opens up at 0:31. The instrumentation is solid yet reserved, great vibe. Mixing is clean and the soundscape placement of the elements is on point, nice and 3D. Really excellent mixture of instruments and textures. The arrangement stays completely fresh as it moves along, with new grooves and bits of ear candy, while always representing the source material well. This arrangement never loses my interest as it moves along. Even the very fullest sections are mixed well even while (probably) having too many elements playing. The guitar work is truly excellent. Drums are just right. So much creativity here, all very well executed. I love this so much. Quick edit for a final thought: now THIS sounds like a final boss theme! ;-D YES

This arrangement is all kinds of amazing! It is full of feeling, variation, lovely details and embellishments. But the piano sample is thin and tinny, and the playing is so gridlocked, mechanical and lacking in dynamics; I have a vision of a player piano rolling along in my mind and that is not good, unless that was the planned concept which I'm sure it was not. In addition, it seems like this beautiful piece would benefit from being played much more slowly. That would also help detract from the mechanical feel. Ideally, the pace of this piece would speed up and slow down, if this is live-played (if it is all sequenced, there isn't much to be done except apply a tempo automation which will 100% not sound natural). I admit I am not sure if this has been live-played, and I can't see anything about that in the writeup. It sounds sequenced to me, which is terrible in the case that this WAS live-played. It seems there has been no mastering applied to this file, and no final limiter. The wav slams over 0db again and again, peaking at 3.6db, and I hear the unfortunate crunching when it happens. Needs a final limiter applied, and gently so. Love the arrangement so much, but the piano and mastering needs to be fixed. NO (resubmit) edit 12-19-23 after this closed out: I'm a fool. Cubase imported this wav in "musical mode" meaning the file played too fast for me. How shameful. That's why I heard it like a player piano, stupidly fast and extra big-ass mechanical. I still would have voted NO, but not as strongly or obnoxiously as I did above. I've already apologized to Hemo, but we've been working together on his resub for several hours and the resub is going to blow everyone's doors in, it is so so good.

I don't hear any overcompression artifacts either guys, but ya gotta admit this is a weird waveform!

This is not a good looking waveform, it is brickwalled with over 6db of headroom. Why oh why? I have not heard the original submission so this is my first hearing of this arrangement. Nice sounding bells right away. The lead bell is very loud when it arrives at 0:18, compared to the bass and drums. At 0:54 it is just bass guitar and drums, and the bass sample sounds very simplistic, dry and exposed all by itself. Having some backing element or some kind of sfx or just another element to add interest to such a simple section would have helped add interest and nuance to that part of the arrangement. I like the buildup that follows, with the reverby bell and filtered-in vox choir. The Christmas bells are lovely! Although all the bells are so loud against the bass and drums. The drums are mixed quietly, the samples are simplistic and the writing pattern is repetitive. The kick is barely audible over the bells. The mixing here really isn't ideal, the volume balancing is not good and the bells feel disconnected from the bass and drums as if they are not part of one track. I see in the previous vote that the Js had a problem with repetition. I haven't heard that versions so I can't compare but this version is also quite repetitive. Not quite dealbreaker repetitive for me but right on the cusp. I think I need a few more playthroughs to decide if repetition, simplicity, unbalanced mixing and the strange brickwalled mastering are passable or dealbreaking. ? just not sure yet Edit 12-19-23: Larry's vote reads as a clarification of everything I was hearing and feeling. I re-read my own vote and I share his thoughts exactly, and my vote needs to be a NO (resubmit)

I feel like there are some disharmonies here and there, just enough to bug me. Examples: 0:32, 0:51, 2:11-2:31 (what is that arp doing?), 3:23. Really there are too many instances of harmonic dissonance to count. I also think the transitions between mismatched chords are not smooth and they feel very clunky harmonically. The bass and also the primary bell arp are causing this for me. I would be very interested to see what @prophetik music has to say about this. Brad, am I hearing this wrong or do you agree? The bassline's writing is very busy which doesn't work well under so much other busy writing, and the bassline writing is aimless as well and often the notes are out of key. The bell arp plays continuously and loudly during a lot of this arrangement, and it eliminates any possibility of hearing a lead when it plays since it is so up front. All of this busy and disharmonious writing is bugging me after two full playthroughs so far. The soundscape is nice, but the mixing isn't great because everything wants to be upfront so the mixing lacks depth while still sounding clear/clean. The arrangement is generally good. But since the instruments stay essentially the same throughout the arrangement (and with the busy writing) it feels repetitive to me after awhile. Most of the time I'm not hearing any dedicated lead (not that this is absolutely required, but it makes the mix disjointed to listen to, and I suspect this is more to do with mixing than writing). This soundscape and writing is just too random and noodley for me, and the disharmonies put the final nail in it. I love the concept, but I think more attention needs to be paid to which element takes the focus at any given time; there is just too much competing to be heard throughout the majority of the arrangement. NO

This is a lovely cover, but yeah it is a cover until the three-minute mark as others have pointed out. After 3:00 it is entirely original, making this an awkward arrangement for a remix. The little bit after the fakeout ending is really not needed, imo. The guitar playing is beautiful although I agree with Brad about the tone, it is a tad sharp. I also agree that the hammer-ons sound like errors. I really like what's here, but the arrangement is too conservative for OCR. NO

I haven't heard of Nujabes before; listening to some of his tracks on Modal Soul now. His style is heavy on smooth jazz, simple/repetitive drum loops, lo-fi production, piano loops. The production sounds so minimal and dry to me, feels very flat. I get the aesthetic, but I gotta say I'm not a fan of it. Ok on to the remix! Wow that's a warbley piano. The piano playing is fantastic, I love the interpretation, but it is really making it hard to pick up on the source song. And this is a source I know extremely well (too well, it is an earworm). The source motif is more implied than played. I can definitely grok the source from 0:00-1:04 and 2:19-2:43, even thought it is super sparse. From 1:10-1:55, this section is 100% interpretation, and while the playing is ace, I get no recognizable source in that section. So that works out to 53% source, if all of the sparse motif is counted. This is going to be a tough sell. I understand the vibe you were going for, now that I listened to a few Nujabes tracks. But a simple, repetitive beat paired with an unchanging backing soundscape played in an energetically static way typically does not pass on OCR, unless other elements of interest are added. This is a very simple and repetitive arrangement. The snare is so dry and upfront, and the piano sounds like it is playing in another room. The piano playing is very good, the piano sample and its effects are on the odd side. I will be interested to hear other opinions on this. What happened at the end? In the middle of playing, with no slowdown or resolution to the ideas, the track just... ends. This is a dealbreaker for me, even if I overlook everything else I have mentioned. I'm not really sure how to suggest improvements, since this was such a specific vibe being emulated. For me though, this arrangement is not developed enough for OCR. NO

Opening bass sound is super simplistic, and there is minimal other stuff going on at the same time, so it is exposed. I like the beefy beat when it hits, but the drums and synths are sounding really vanilla. The arrangement, as others have mentioned, is generally good. But overall the soundscape is just too simplistic. The drum samples are really basic, and the drum groove is repetitive when it plays. Also, Wes is correct that the pacing of the piece is off. The groove pattern of the drums would suggest that something bigger is coming, but it never delivers. The melodic writing is either completely verbatim to source, or it is noodley, with nothing much in between, making this arrangement melodically awkward. Brad is right that the arrangement is missing countermelodic elements, pads, or any kind of fleshing out of the textures, and this lack gives the arrangement a repetitive feel. There are moments of disharmony, such as at 2:25, when the tails/reverbs of the previous notes mush into the next section. The glitching is awkward when it appears. The glitches are not signaled by anything before they start, and because they happen abruptly they sound like rendering errors rather than a cool effect. I can see why Larry gave his YES, a lot has been done with very simple synths and sounds, and the arrangement works well overall. But ultimately, with writing and sounds this simplistic, it isn't enough for OCR in 2023. NO

That's. A. BIG. Kick. So big. So, so big. WHAT DID YOU SAY you'll have to speak louder, this kick is just so so big. I mean omg, what a big kick this is. Did I mention the big kick? Those are some huge saw stacks. So many frequencies. All of the frequencies? Master is LOWD. Sounds crispy, but could be all the saw frequencies? There are so many of those. They are a little hyped in the high-mids which hurts my ears a little. The mixing could be better. A lot of these huge saw sounds are overly shrill, abrasive, as Larry pointed out. The volume-balancing is fine, but some of the shrill could be tamed and I'd be a little happier. The arrangement is stellar, the mixing of these themes is terrific. The writing is great. Lots of fun little variations as the piece moves along. A little repetitive here and there, but not dealbreakingly so, for me anyway. I love it. And huge kicks are the best kind of kicks. YES

(Listening for "first hit of the kick sounds way out of time") That first kick hit is on the "two and." It's not out of time, and does not sound out of time to me. Interesting choice, adding some nice groove. This isn't the greatest kick sample though, it is so low, adding mostly sub content to the soundscape and missing any kind of top end that would make it cut through better. Other than that, I think the drum writing is fine. I like this sweet little tune. I do agree that the trombone doesn't make the best lead, perhaps the flute would have been preferable, with the trombone playing countermelody primarily, instead. I like the piano/bell combo. The arrangement of the two themes is really nice. The mixing is not ideal, to be sure, but not dealbreaking to me. If this does not pass as-is, I recommend replacing the kick with something that cuts through better, and make sure to EQ it so it isn't too sub-dominant. The other Js have also made some very good observations and suggestions. But for me, it works well enough as it stands now. YES

The mastering is on the loud side, coming in at -7db RMS (and looking like a waveform sausage), but I don't hear any overcompression artifacts. This is a DENSE soundscape. Lots of elements, as the other Js have pointed out. It is tough to mix a track with this many elements. It is way too busy for my taste, but it sounds like it is mixed as well as possible, considering how much is going on. This mixing is not ideal, but not dealbreaker for me. Absolutely epic mixture of these themes, arrangement is terrific. Guitar performances are wonderful. Choir is a bit overbearing after awhile, but fits well. YES

Cubase and SPAN are telling me the peak max is 1.9db, so something has gone wrong with the final limiter in the mastering of this track. I don't hear any artifacts, though. This is a tough one. The guitar and piano performances are very good. I love the concept. I'm not in love with the lead synth because it doesn't quite fit with the rest of the instrumentation in my opinion. Overall, the track is produced well. The drums are on the tame side, and the kick is barely audible. There is something off about the energy of this arrangement for me. I agree with MW that the arrangement doesn't seem to know what it is doing as it moves along. I agree with DarkSim that it is rambling at times, and he also said there's a restraint feeling to the production. I feel like there's a restraint feeling to the arrangement as well, like reining a horse to walk when it really wants to run, if that explains it. None of my crits are dealbreaker for posting this mix on OCR, but I'm not as enthusiastic about it as would be ideal. YES

I hear what Larry is talking about with the synth mixing being a bit odd, they are definitely high-mid heavy, causing it to feel "shrill yet lacking sharpness." But I'm not having a problem with that. Everything in the mix is super clear and clean. All the sounds go together perfectly. Master is loud but not overcompressed. The kicks sound good to me and they cut through well. Sidechaining on everything is just right. I love the engine-sound intro, setting the mood immediately. So many fun sounds and sfx in this arrangement! It is super fun to listen to. I wish it were longer, a nice drumless breakdown followed by another busy section would be really nice, but what's here is too good to pass up. YES

Very simple, short, repetitive source tune, which is fine but often makes remixing difficult. Not impossible, just difficult. I hear why Larry is giving credit to this remix, the approach is very creative, cool and moody. I like the evolving textures. But I have to agree with the NOs that this arrangement isn't developed enough to qualify as a standalone musical piece. It feels like a four and a half minute intro with no substance ever appearing. I like what is here, but it is overly simplistic and it feels like a substructure and not a fully developed song. NO

Very good blending of all of these sources, using OoT Forest Temple as the backing and glue. Mixing is a little low-heavy, and I'm seeing a peak max of 1.0db which is odd but I'm not hearing any artifacts. Good use of sfx. Very nice emotive arrangement of the varied forest themes! YES

Ooooooo I love this soundscape right away, nice and beefy! It is a little low-mid heavy though, could use more highs and presence. I appreciate Larry's timestamp so I can just comment on the mix itself. The vocal is great, and mixed nicely up front, I feel like it could have some lows EQ'd out however. Her vocal has just a bit of mid-low boxy-ness. Sax sounds great. Awesome 80s-ish synthwave interpretation of this source. I'm not a fan of fadeouts but this one is handled well enough. YES

The mixing could definitely be cleaner, the mid lows are indeed very dense. I think this is a fabulous arrangement, although I have a complaint that is going to be a bit hard to describe. The drum groove is upbeat and dancey, but the music is not, so it is giving me an odd feeling of disconnectedness. The music itself has very little groove, although the drums are suggesting groove. Maybe if the bass were mixed more audibly it would help because I think the bass is playing a groove pattern that compliments the drums but it is so quiet. The strings and piano are very loud, and they have no groove (and no sidechaining, which would have definitely helped) so it just sounds like a flat wall of sound. The strings are in the uncanny valley and they are so loud, but sequenced well enough to get the job done. The live instruments are played really well although the piano sample isn't the best and the bass is mixed too quietly. The guitar performance is excellent. Mastering is on the loud side but adequate. I completely disagree with Brad that the problem is with the mastering; the problems all stem from the mixing of the track. This arrangement is over our bar but I'm pretty borderline on this due to the substandard mixing and the odd groove issue I have described. I'm pretty sure the issue is 100% due to the unbalanced mixing. But the arrangement and concept carry this for me. The guitar and theramin solos are highlights. YES (borderline)

There is more than just detuning going on, there is some flutter and wow, and it is very heavy and feels disorienting especially since it is so exposed. I'm going to agree with Brad that this is unpleasant to listen to, but I respect the concept. This soundscape sounds like it could appear in a 70s sci-fi movie like Logan's Run. There is definitely an audience for this esthetic. For what this is, it is done well. No outro, just a cold stop. I am not a fan of this type of non-resolving ending to a track. This arrangement is conservative to the source as Brad mentioned (at least until the 3-minute mark after which I am losing the plot), but I don't find that to be a problem as everything has been modified so much. It is certainly not a cover! This is a weird one. I am not going to reject it on those grounds though. I'm not sure what to think of this one yet, I'll be interested to see a few more votes first. ?

File downloaded fine for me. Wow right off the bat, directly into the writing with no kind of intro, the soundscape is established and everything feels separate. The bass as Brad said is fundamental-only and has no synergy with anything else. The piano is washed out and delayed with a very fast, stiff delay, and the drum kit is loud, dry and up-front. This soundscape stays exactly the same until 2:24 when a plucked instrument joins in which is welcomed, but it seems to only be adding further noodling to the arrangement. The bass is just playing the same thing again and again and again, same for the drums. The piano and this pluck are just noodling away and not giving me anything motif-like to latch on to. Everything is playing at around the same energy level and it just sounds frenetic and lacks any kind of structure. I'm five minutes in and nothing interesting has happened and I am wishing it was over already. Seven minutes of this? The pluck drops out at 6:26, with no resolution to its writing pattern, it just stops cold. Ok at the seven-minute mark here is the strangest outro I have ever heard. The drums and piano stop abruptly and the bass pattern continues alone for a quick fadeout. That was straight-up obnoxious, sorry to be so blunt. Nice little noodle, good vibe, but goes on way too long without providing anything interesting. Mixing is inconsistent and disconnected. Seems like a good concept wip for a more detailed arrangement, but surely not ready to stand alone on OCR. NO

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