jnWake   Judges ⚖️

A chamber medley of dungeon themes, interesting! This one starts pretty odd, with the "Sanctuary Theme" being played by a clearly high passed string section but it's suddenly stopped by some voices that I can't really understand besides a "play it properly", so I gotta assume the intro is some kind of joke/bit. Anyway, after some metronome hits the proper arrangement starts. It's not high passed anymore but it still sounds fairly dry. Arrangement starts with "Dark World Dungeon", first pretty recognizable but by 0:56 there seems to be a lot of original material on the highest sections while the source is mostly present on the lower strings. On 1:25 the source usage becomes more evident again and there's some fun modifications of the main bass melody to adjust for the "atonal" writing. A new section begins at 2:03 with a string playing a simple F#-G-B "arpeggio". I can't really place this as coming from any of the sources, however some of the bass movements seem to be referencing the original Zelda Dungeon Theme (very clear at 2:19). Things continue in a similar fashion with a return of the 2:03 "arpeggio" and the original dungeon theme (or variations of it) played on different parts of the string section. A new section begins at 3:13 with material that I can't directly place as coming from the sources (a F#-A#-C-C# arpeggio) but there's glimpses of the sources (on bass at 3:19 and 3:23 for example). A solo lower string plays a Dark World Dungeon melody before the track closes with a quick chord progression from the entire ensemble. On the arrangement side this is a very interesting piece. It's quite transformative, taking the sources and playing around with them a fair bit while also adding a lot of extra stuff on top. There's some writing that seems to be original but by my description above there's more than enough source in here to meet the OCR standards. My only nitpick with the arrangement is that the 3 main sections (0:37, 2:03 and 3:13) feel a little disconnected, but it's not a dealbreaker. I'm not super hot on the "joke intro" either, as I don't feel it has any real pay-off but it doesn't really hurt the piece. On production, I feel it's a little dry. It's been pointed out by some this is appropiate for chamber music so I'll just point this out as a personal preference thing rather than a true negative. You did a great job with the VSTs, they sound very convincing even if some articulations or note releases reveal the truth. There was clearly a lot of care put into the sound of the ensemble and it shows! Overall, this is a great tune. I'm not sure really what's the point of the intro joke, but the arrangement that begins after that is pretty impressive and deserves being on the front page! YES

Wanted to start by saying I really love the enthusiasm I get from the write-up with the lore mentions and all! K, this one begins with some strings and pads setting some ambience, with some melodies based on backing strings from one of the sources. I like that the strings sound appropriately synth-ish to give the space vibe. At 0:55 some dark synth bass hits, teasing the main riff of the same source. At 1:25 the beat drops but, sadly, the bass itself seems to heavily drop in volume/presence so we’re left with a surprisingly soft soundscape instead… I’m really missing some more oomph in here, be it some punchier drums, some distortion on the rhythm synth, more bass, anything! A lead guitar joins a bit after and we then move to a different section, with a new riff on synths. There’s a few repeats before we move to a new section at 2:45. There’s some neat bits of sound design in all of these sections with the pads that sweep over the track, I dig that. On this new section we get some atmospheric build-up again, with melodies of the other source on strings. 3:45 continues this, now with some actual bass which is sadly very soft in the mix. On the arrangement side this is pretty good. The medley nature could be argued against it but you do a good job of transitioning between sources and the genre is cohesive all the time so the source A → source B structure doesn’t really bother me. I also like how you shift between more atmospheric sections and more energetic ones to keep it varied. Sadly, I don’t think the production is letting this shine, mostly because the low end is very lacking. There’s basically no bass on this track and that is a bummer since you’re going for a very electronic vibe, which really needs a good bass (as an example, look at how the sources you picked approach it!). It’s extremely noticeable on the first major transition since you use a very loud distorted bass to introduce the first energetic section (1:25) but then basically drop the bass from the mix so the energy levels drop heavily. Drums are also nowhere nearly as energetic/punchy as the writing is asking for. The synths doing the main riffs are also super soft. Those riffs are asking for something dirtier. Finally, I think the lead guitar is also a little dull sounding. On the bright side, I really like your work with strings and pads, they sound awesome and there’s a ton of small details on the sound design that I loved. Overall, I think this needs a second pass on production to get posted. To really nail the vibe you're going for you need to improve the bass and drum mixing as both are very lacking in power, we need that "oomph! As a “tip”, I looked at the EQ of the track and you can notice how the lower frequencies only really activate when the kick hits. Moreover, if you grab an EQ and boost the lower end (around 100hz) you’ll basically hear no bass instrument. NO

You surely picked a challenging source with that Ninja Gaiden theme… After listening to the other 2 sources I have honestly no idea what to expect from this! K, so we begin with the arpeggio from the Ghost Castle source, I like the patches used here. There’s a brief tease of Ghost Castle melody before some percussion elements enter… Here things get tricky since you shifted the arpeggio somewhat unexpectedly to 7/8 (or /4? Whatever). Soon after, the melody from the other Knight ‘n’ Grail joins and I’m surprised that it actually fits well! A similar vibe continues until 1:16 where we finally get a clear presence of the Ninja Gaiden track. The mix gets a little busy here, I assume because of reverb or similar effects. I like that you somehow kept the Ghost Castle arpeggio as background despite the change in chords. Focus returns to Ghost Castle around the 2 minute mark until there’s silence and a neat transition at 2:40, which continues the Ghost Castle melody actually. I wish the bass was louder on this entire section, it feels very subdued in general. Eventually, the title melody returns and eventually the song ends. I feel the ending is a bit anticlimactic, after 4 minutes I was hoping for something more interesting but it kinda just stopped. On the arrangement side this is pretty cool, you do a great job mixing the sources, especially the 2 from Knight ‘n’ Grail. Ninja Gaiden is much less present but I’m not really surprised since that source is extremely odd. I also like that you changed the time signature for your own personal touch, something like that quickly makes the cover “your own take”. Structure of the arrangement also flows well, slowly adding more regular percussive elements and using recurring themes in a smart way. On the production side I think you nail it for the most part, although there's still some issues. I generally enjoy the sound choices in here and there’s clearly a lot of care put into how the soundscape evolves. The moody percussion in the first minute is neat although arguably a little loud. As something to look for in next mixes I think the reverb/delay (whatever you used for ambience) is coming too hot and loud into the mix, which creates a lot of mud and some slightly ear piercing moments. The mud is very noticeable in the Ninja Gaiden section since the guitar arpeggios generate a lot of it. Another issue I found was the bass, I felt I couldn’t really hear the bass but after looking at the EQ curve there’s actually a lot of bass so… I dunno, maybe you didn’t find a bass patch that cuts through the mix well. Consider layering additional patches for this instead of simply pushing the current patch harder. Overall, this is a pretty cool track! I really like the arrangement and although I think the production could be improved (basically, control the reverb/ambience mud and fix the bass), I feel it’s good enough to pass. Like Josh, I decided to come here and split the vote! YES

Ah, Kirby boss themes, my beloved. The world needs as many remixes of them as we can get! For reference, I’m gonna refer to the track as having A, B and C sections on the review, each section representing the main 3 parts of the source’s loop (in order, naturally). Chiptune arpeggios to start, following the source’s A chord progression. As far as I can tell there’s no arpeggios like this on the source, so this is a neat start! Some pads join in quickly and then we get a hint of the main melody on a whistly synth around 0:20. We get hints of a build-up here but it instead leads to another build-up at 0:40, with a bassline following the chord progression until, finally, the beat drops around 1:01. Drums go into some sort of breakbeat pattern while a synth repeats the A melody. On this section the mix is a little muddy. We then move to the B melody on a different synth, with a less busy soundscape now. Section C hits next, in a section that feels a little calmer because of a simpler bassline. After a transition we get various repeats of section A, first on chiptune, then with the “busy soundscape” and then as a reprise of the intro until the song ends. On production I’m a little mixed as this feels unbalanced. Main example is the 1:01 section, where the main synth is completely overshadowed by the drums, bass and pads (partly because it starts at a lower octave). However, there’s also lack of balance between sections as, for example, the one at 1:21 is kinda randomly much lower energy with both bass and drums being super low in volume. At 1:42 the bass is once again super loud and this all creates a very unbalanced soundscape. On the other hand, I do enjoy the sounds themselves, I like how the drumkit sounds in general (although a beefier kick wouldn’t hurt), the synth leads sound good, as do pads and the synth basses. Arrangement is pretty close to the source, I think all chord progressions are kept the exact same from the original, as are the melodies. However, I think you added a lot of your own touch with the instrumentation, like the breakbeat drums and small details like the chiptune arpeggio in the intro. That said, there’s definitely space for more personalization like, for example, adding some flair to how the original melodies are played (especially the section A melody that is played like 5-6 times during the track). Overall, I don’t think this one currently passes the bar, since production issues hold it back. I really hope you're able to go back and fix those for another attempt as this track is great! NO

I'm a new judge so I haven't been here for the previous versions, which means I come with 100% fresh ears! This starts with some choirs and a church organ doing the main melody of the source before we get a quick drum transition into a more electronic vibe at 0:13. Around 0:28 a new melody enters, which as far as I can tell doesn’t come from the source even if it’s similar in style. At 0:42 we get the B melody from the source on electric piano while a synth bass follows the original’s chord progression. We then get a reprise of the intro before another electronic break around 1:08. Around 1:23 a synth plays the A melody again and then some sort of synth solo follows. 1:47 has a breakdown similar to 0:42, changing the lead to a synth now. We get another intro reprise for the end, closing with the D major/minor progression from the source. On the production side I have some mixed opinions, I think you did a pretty good job with some of the basses and pads, especially when you added extra effects to make them feel more alive. However, the same isn't true for other elements like leads, which are often very basic sounding. Percussion I'm mixed on as well, kick is somewhat punchy but the snare doesn't really cut through the mix well. Drum writing is generally very basic (mostly kick on 1 and 3, snare on 2 and 4), but I did like the fills you added every once in a while. On the arrangement side I'm not sold at all. There's no issues with source usage, as it's evidently there for most of the track. My issues are with the structure of the arrangement, as it constantly shifts between energetic parts and breaks, never truly building up to anything. Similarly, it constantly shifts between sections A and B from the source but never truly expands on any of them. As a result, it feels like a collection of reinterpretations of said sections more than a song that flows between different parts. Overall, I think this needs work on both production and arrangement fronts. On production, focus on sound design of the less sophisticated parts, they could really use a level up. On arrangement, try to imagine the song having a clearer direction instead of simply moving between A/B melodies/moods. It'll end up sounding more cohesive, which is its main flaw. NO

One of the most fun collabs I've joined! After Emunator sent me an early WIP I responded with a ton of bullshit improvised over it and, shockingly, a lot of it actually made it to the final product. My favorite part is (surprise!) the piano solo around 2:22. I wrote the first half, Emunator wrote the second and I did the final recording, so it was actually a co-written solo, which I think is super cool!

Sharing the ones I've uploaded since my last post: I'm gonna share 2 additionals that are on the To Be Posted queue so they'll count eventually!

Figured I could share the stuff I used in my latest track, most of it is stuff I use in other tracks as well. I'll highlight those that haven't been mentioned (I think): Drums Addictive Drums 2. Battery 4. Basically, I start with AD2 sound and then layer some extra stuff from Battery 4 to enhance the kit. I also use Battery 4 stuff for transitions. Synths and similar FM8 Massive/MassiveX Plogue chipsounds for chiptunes. (Here!) Effects Guitar Rig for distortion on bass, guitars and keyboards. ReEQ for EQ, it's a free JS plug-in that has nice functions like side/mid EQ. (You can find it here!) OTT. TAL Reverb. (Here!) Ferric Saturator. (Here!) kilohearts suite (limiter mostly). Melda suite (saturation!). isotope Ozone for mastering. I also use a lot of libraries from Komplete 8 for stuff but I'm a bit lazy to list them all...

Awesome work by minusworld, it was one of my favorite tracks from that DoD month. As a fun fact, it was also the track that made me notice minus' work, which led to us working together the next DoD month!

Hey! I love that you used it for your animation reel! As Liontamer said I published the remix on paid music services so it probably got an automated claim... which sucks tbh. I see you changed the vid already but if there's any way I can help with the copyright claim just lemme know. Meanwhile I'll look at why it got an automatic claim, I don't really want people to be unable to use my published stuff on their own videos or anything. EDIT: Got in contact with some soundrop people and they don't work with vimeo so this is very weird. Do you happen to have a screenshot or anything from the copyright claim?

Your social media powers are too strong haha. EDIT: Lmao I checked and one of the comments was even originally in Spanish. Truly a tamer of lions.

This one got posted fast haha, always nice when that happens! I'm very proud with how it ended up, collaborating with Emunator worked out great and it was super fun. The writeup on the mixpost page has this line as a quote: "Hehe, there is always room for new things, even for the most "overcovered" themes. The 2 tracks go surprisingly well together, don't they?"... I'm fairly sure I never said that haha, was that Emunator?

Wow at the album you linked in the description Larry, it's ridiculous. I can definitely understand the comparison between that and this remix haha.

I mean, OP doesn't mention "basic prompts" or anything of the sort, it just mentions prompts. The "simple" part was by me 😋 There's really 2 points in the OP, one is about the ethics of how the models were trained regarding artist consent and copyright. I'm not sure if OCR's stance would be the same if the models were "ethically" trained or if, for example, a user trained their own model only on songs they made or something like that. There's a second point about the "interpretation" aspect of AI generated music, the "human touch". I think we simply disagree here, I don't think current tools provide much "human touch". Even if Suno allows for more than "a simple prompt", the "human part" is still a low percentage of the finished creation. Of course this could change with time and how the technology evolves but it's my stance on what I've seen of current technology. In the end, it's up to the community to decide how it approaches these things. I think it's fair if OCR decides it wants to focus on music that is created on a larger percentage by the "human touch" and, of course, policies can change over time as technology evolves.

I mean, the rule discussed in the OP is pretty specific, regarding websites like Udio, which are quite dubious (ethically) in how they were trained. OP is not banning all uses of AI in music and points it out clearly. This is not about being technology myopic and saying "AI is the devil" or something silly like that. This isn't about "you can't use tools in music" or anything similar either. For example, I begin all my mastering from Ozone's "smart master" function, which uses AI. I don't see the point in this honestly. Sure, a big percentage of stuff we use in music is, to some degree, a black box (like, I have no idea how an EQ actually does what it does), but the difference in how much control I have between those plugins and (today's) genAI tools is night and day. Although I don't know exactly how my VSTs generate the notes that they generate, I tell them what note to play and I usually have control over a decent amount of the sound properties. With genAI you don't have control beyond a prompt and stuff like modifying an output is basically impossible (with today's tools at least). As for more complex prompts like what you're saying... I dunno, it seems like a technology so completely different to what the OP is discussing that I don't think bringing up it as an hypothetical makes much sense really.

The difference is that when an artist uses paints that Da Vinci used, they're deliberately choosing how they do it. Training and then using an AI is a complete black box where you don't control the output at all beyond a simple prompt.

Echoing the question about the playlist actually existing... In case it does, I can add a few of mine:

Nice seeing this posted. I agree with the judges comments about the timings on the intro, I had a hard time adjusting the shuffles to a degree I was 100% satisfied. I kinda just left what satisfied me the most haha. I don't like to complain about judge comments too much, but this one left me so confused: Like... what?! The track even has a guitar solo near the outro. It must be the weirdest comment I've gotten from an OCR judge. It's a live solo played on the keys, I don't see how that's anything weird or unusual at all.

There’s a mistake in the writeup post, what I said in the submission was: “For better results I recruited Hakstok to play bass and Lucas to play brass. Lucas then, in turn, contacted Gamer of the Winds for the woodwinds and that ended up forming a pretty neat team!” Somehow it got copypasted wrong in the writeup!

I started the arrangement with a jazz fusion style on my mind, but prog rock started winning as I added more sections. I’ll take a look at the piano tone the judges mentioned. I’m using NI’s “The Giant” which has a variety of possible sounds, but I’m intentionally tweaking it for an aggressive and bright sound. I probably overdid it haha.

Featured again hehe, nice! I see some judges weren’t that fond of the synths but what can I say, I love ‘em. Jazz-ish stuff with synths is dope in my book.

Nice to be back on the front page after a while! Thanks to my collabers for their great performances on this. For those who read the write up, I strongly recommend the Frost* original song that inspired this remix, it’s phenomenal... as is Frost*’s music in general.

I actually do it a little different from what's been shared here. I tend to start by trying to figure out the bass (the root notes at least) and from there get the chord progression and key of the song. In my opinion, you get a lot of useful information from a song from just this. Melody is important of course, but a ton of VGM songs tend to play around the chord notes so, once you know the chords, the melody comes easy. When it comes to actually writing a remix, I tend to learn the song and then just sit down and improvise. It helps if you have a predefined idea, like, "make a metal cover", but usually just playing around with the melodies and chords is enough to trigger some inspiration.

I've uploaded 2 more tracks since my original post, hope you like 'em: #6. Castle - Pre-Boss #7. Castle - Boss Any feedback is appreciated!

This one: https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR04084