jnWake   Judges ⚖️

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

I did play it actually! I even made a remix for the OCR album. It's one of my favorites and I hope it gets ported to modern consoles at some point.

Thanks! Umm... the premise? Well, in terms of gameplay I imagine a precise action platformer kinda like if Celeste and Mega Man Zero had a baby. In terms of plot, I imagine the game would kinda reveal the details slowly but at the beggining your character wakes up in a prison, they find a weird pendant/thing that speaks to them and gives them powers that let them escape the prison. Outside, they find the people have been "stopped" (I imagine something like everyone looks like a lifeless husk, lacking their soul or something like that) and head to a nearby castle to find the people that were responsible for it and see if they can save the people. More shenanigans would happen later ofc, with plot twists and stuff haha.

Hey! I haven't posted here in a long time... Anyways, I recently started a project of making my own OST for a game that doesn't exist (ideas exist in my mind but I'll likely never do it haha). So far I've uploaded 5 tracks: #1. Intro - Meant to play alongside some intro cutscene of sorts, maybe with some battle and the aftermath. #2. Menu - Meant to be funky menu music. #3. Prison - Meant to play on the introductory level, which takes place in a creepy prison, hence the music being calm and somewhat eerie. #4. Prison Boss - Meant to play when you battle the Prison's guardian. #5. Castle: Garden - Meant to play on the first proper level, so it's adventurous and fast paced (mostly). Hope you enjoy! Any feedback is appreciated, though the mixing and production aren't meant to be super polished as I'd rather compose tracks than produce them at the moment.