Souperion

I appreciate the feed back, Eladar. I've long since stopped working on this, but it's good to have more of an idea of how to make instruments sound more alive. Thanks, and good luck with your piece going to the Board!

Liking this new draft, Souperion. I like the harp at the lower registers during the early sections better, and another new detail I'm fond of is the extra harp part that's harmonizing with the original one at 1:08 now. It's a small change, but to my ear it sounds much richer than before, to the point where I wish it would go on a little longer. The more touches like this you can include in your tracks the better - interesting harmonies and counterpoint can do a ton of work in elevating your arrangements and stirring emotion in your listeners.

Listening to version 2 and 3 back to back, I have to say the velocity and note placement changes are pretty subtle and aren't making a huge difference for me. I notice them here and there though and what you've done does help. To expand a bit on what I said before about humanization - there's a lot of other elements to it besides velocity/timing of individual notes. As an example, if you're crafting a MIDI-driven distorted guitar performance, pitch bends at the starts of certain phrases for emphasis and satisfying vibrato on the tail end of your sustained lead notes can be really impacting. A thing that's helped me a lot with learning how to humanize MIDI stuff well is to look up a bunch of Youtube videos of people playing the instrument in question live. Listen and watch real closely to the many techniques they use to vary up their performances, and you might be surprised how much you end up noticing that you never did before.

It comes to my mind now that I wish there were places you could add glides or vibrato on your leads for interest but to be honest, this might not be the right piece for it. Your flute lead is pretty synthy and might not lend well to such flourishes. Keep all this in mind for future pieces though; it's good stuff to think about when you're still writing your parts and deciding on instrumentation.

The vibraphone sounds good sample-wise and I wouldn't say it's out of place, but I'm also not sure it's bringing everything to the table that it could be. For instance from 1:17 to 1:48 it sounds to me like it's often mimicking the non-sustained higher string notes pretty closely and I find that I want the strings/vibraphone to be better-differentiated in their roles. I can't say I'm noticing much delay on the vibraphone either, I think that may be getting lost in the mix. Some EQ work to create more space to hear the nuances or simply exaggerating the delay effect might help if you want it to be more apparent.

Finally, something Rozovian mentioned to me recently on my Volcanic Glass thread might be helpful to you. It's not necessarily productive to spend too much time refining a single piece. I'm going to be wrapping up Volcanic Glass as soon as I can and submitting it so I can get a judge panel review and see what I learn from that. The reality right now on the OCR WIP forums is that official evaluator reviews are very rare due to lack of staffing/time, so you might consider wrapping this up and submitting it soon now that it's been a few months. In the meantime you could start another piece and put everything you've learned while working on this one into practice from the beginning. Just some food for thought.

Best of luck!

Sounds a lot more natural now. I can't think of anything that needs more humanization. Does the vibraphone start at 2:21? It sounds okay, but gets better with higher notes. The genre would be orchestral, in my opinion. I can't think of anything else right now. Sounds awesome! Very fitting for the setting.

Update Patch #3!
This is my attempt at humanizing the track, including both note velocity and placement. There's some more arrangement work too, including the harp's introduction and some more contrast in volume. And I've started conservative efforts with panning.
Right now, the concerns are thus: am I on the right track for humanizing this thing (is it making a difference, sounding better); is the vibraphone working (is it's delay satisfying, is it's timbre itself cohesive with the piece); what the heck genre would this even be; and what else am I missing?
Thanks for listening!

It certainly feels a fair bit more alive and less stock-like. I'm noticing some jarring notes here and there, especially during the first minute and a half. I'd suggest looking over where you are putting the emphasis (extra velocity) and balance it out ever so slightly. I'm still an amateur at the craft myself, and there are a LOT of subtle nuances to figuring out how to make a piece like this feel living. But I think you are on the right track. Try making the emphasis variation a bit more subtle to avoid those blaring parts (EX: right at 38, the high note, right at 44, right at 49.) If it still feels like the particular part needs some emphatic statement, try making it a chord or some other ornamentation. Study some piano solos for ideas. I'd suggest a few: JJT's The Flood Plain, Jormungand's Dark Star Scherzo, and jdaster64's Cocoa 'n' Cookies.
You're getting somewhere with this, keep at.

For all the people lurking along: we just cleared our final deadline and have a total of 29 completed tracks now! Next steps are getting these tracks mastered and then package everything up and send it over to OCR staff for the next steps later this month.
We'll keep on updating the thread with further info as we go along. Stay tuned

Never thought I'd find a cover of this song, especially such an energetic one! I can make out the source very clearly, and the synth(s) used for the melodies are captivating. The piece is crisp and spritely, with plenty to say in 2 short minutes. I wish it was longer, but it does feel finished at its length. Very nice work!

It's a little tough to gauge an idea's viability with just a midi-esque demo, but I think that the stylistic concept alone merits an attempt. Give it a shot, you've got an interesting idea here!

Well done to you and the Materia Collective. Always felt that this piece needed more love. Your additions fit in smoothly and keep your stated intent. The arrangement is comfortingly similar to the original, which only magnifies the alterations and innovations. Nice work!

Stunning. Just stunning. The original underwater theme always had a waltz vibe to it, but to hear it brought out so fully and artistically is a real treat. The introduction, every single transition and ornamentation, all while clearly tied to the source, it's brilliant. I'm awed by how organically it flows, continually changing but true to it's form. Excellent, most excellent.

+2 Paragon! And can we just appreciate that this was made using reaper?
Okay, jokes aside. I enjoyed the somewhat gentle intensity of your cover. It isn't as open and spacious as the original, but I appreciate the condensed atmosphere. And I'm a sucker for choirs. The guitar (lead?) threw me off a bit, though, I'm not quite sure if it blends well with the rest of the piece. Throwing in such a lead for the part seems like a good idea, so keep working with the concept. All in all, I enjoyed the piece, good work!

I'm happy that this piece is pleasing and progressing! For those of us who love Golden Sun, here's some good news: Tsori is leading an official OCR tribute album, the news of which inspired me to try making this remix. The album might make it out by the end of this year, so join me in restrained shouts of joy.
Light_of_Aether: thank you very much! This does indeed use EWQLSO Gold. I'll be taking a look at 3:30 to see about a gentle low range inclusion there. So far, this is the only Golden Sun piece I'm working on, but I hope to try Garoh or Kalt after Deep Winter is complete. You flatter me by asking, though.
Eladar: Thanks again for spurring so many of these updates! I'll be looking at the harp intros, smooth that out some more. I hope to get this evaluated again, so in-depth work will be in order.
Thanks for the feedback, I hope to make this arrangement worthy of the love Golden Sun deserves.

Is it possible for the internet to have too many Aquatic Ambiance remixes? I propose that it cannot. More importantly: wow. Smooth like polished brass, it breathes easy, and flows freely. The general feel of your piece is consistent, but it's ever changing with with that flute and sax just doing their thing. Very nice, all around. 

A revised version of Deep Winter is ready for critique:
I included a double bass ensemble, widely interspersed through the piece to enhance the lower frequency aspect of the arrangement, as well as treated the deep synth pad with increased velocity/volume and more parts. The synthetic music box was replaced with harp samples, which I think deals with the shrillness and dissonance of the former (about which I had doubts from the beginning, actually.)  And I replaced synthetic wind sfx with real free samples.
In the effort to variate the piece more, I made some some arrangement alterations: The original 1:47-1:54 was replaced with a slightly longer section featuring lower tones and a variation of the 2:04-2:20 segment; the original 2:45-3:00 backing part was replaced with a faster, higher part that persists until 3:14 (this was an attempt to reduce the population of the ostinato that was prevalent in the last two minutes of the song, since I like the motif but want to keep it from dominating the piece as it has); and the extra echoes on the backing violins were removed from 3:32 onward, hopefully treating the decay issue in the end.
Gentle attempts were made to treat homogeneity of intensity and volume, as well trying to add more humanization of note velocities. As an amateur at the task, though, I’m opting to wait for in-depth efforts against mechanical playing until I’m confident in the arrangement. I hope you enjoy this new version!

Well, let me first congratulate on building this from scratch. Your time investment shows, as well. It's somewhat relaxing, yet plenty active. The echoes are nicely done, without muddying things up, and the synths are crisp and clear. Your style and treatment of it reminds me of the Megaman 11 sound track, to be honest, but is decidedly Sonic material. Nice work!

I deeply appreciate the feedback, Eladar, and that you've taken the time to make it easy for a layman to understand. Now, I'd better get busy, eh?

Hey Souperion! I love the Golden Sun soundtracks, and I'm glad to see you're shining some light on them here (heh). You mentioned in your post that you felt you might be out of your league with EWSO/Sytrus, so I figured I'd do my best to give you a detailed breakdown of what I think is working well so far and what could be improved. This ended up being kind of a huge writeup lol, but I hope some of it helps!
GENERAL THOUGHTS
The mix is clear, and I don't find myself struggling to differentiate instruments. So you've avoided muddying things up, which is a good start.
I find the piece a bit thin and lacking in richness though. I think this is because frequency-wise I'm hearing mainly mids and highs. You seem to have a low synth pad at times (heard most clearly right in the beginning) but it's pretty subtle. You might try beefing up the low end during the busier sections (e.g. 1:16 to 1:40) with a deep cello/doublebass ensemble or something similar. Go for slow-moving progressions with a low attack/gradual buildup on each note, and see how that sounds.
Overall the playing style is fairly mechanical. Your voice selection is good - lots of bell/mallet-type instruments which create a nice wintry mood - but these instruments always seem to be hitting right on the beats and with the same velocity each time. In an orchestral style like this, more humanization is often preferable. Give some notes a stronger emphasis (i.e. higher velocity), while others can be quiet, understated, and/or slightly off the beat to sound more natural.
COMPOSITION/ARRANGEMENT SPECIFICS
From 0:36 to 0:44, you've got some nice melodies on what sounds like a music box, and I like where things are going here. But starting at 0:44 I'm detecting some dissonance between the pan flute and the music box (esp. during 0:54 to 1:04, after which the dissonance seems to clear up). I can't be sure without seeing the notation, but I think what might be happening here is that you're using different scales for the flute/music box progressions, so they occasionally play notes that are out-of-key with one another.
The flute sounds close to the original song during this section, so I think the best way to address this is to revisit what the music box is doing and explore some progressions that sound more harmonious with the flute. It'll help a lot to know what key the flute's playing in, if you don't already.
Moving on to 1:32 - the strings and other instruments are working well together here, and I'd say this is the strongest part of the piece. It's richer and has some pleasing harmonies. I'm less fond of 1:47 - 1:54 - the sense of completion at 1:49 seems a little abrupt and flat, and what comes after (until 1:54) strikes me as a bit underdeveloped. I might say end on the note at 1:47 instead - draw it out with a faded sustain, which would then flow into what you have at 1:54 to complete the musical thought more succinctly. (You might end up needing to trim out a few seconds of the song to make something like this work, but with a total length of 4:17 I'd say you're safe to shorten it some.)
At 3:14 - the swifter, descending progressions here and the way the strings jump upward in pitch for a bit before releasing at 3:33 works nicely. It's a good change of pace, an effective variation on the original piece, and the breathing room for a moment afterward helps with the song's pacing. I'd like to hear more stuff like this so the arrangement surprises me more and seems less homogenous.
For instance, there's a repeated musical phrase (an ostinato, more or less) that you first introduce at 1:58 on the music box, and the specific rhythm of this ostinato becomes a bit dominant throughout the second half of the song. It goes away at 2:20, but the strings pick up a close variation 8 seconds later. It's absent during 2:44 - 3:00, but returns again from 3:00 - 3:14. Then it's back at 3:40 and persists nearly until the song ends.
So due to this, I came away from the song feeling like the progressions during the second half relied a little too much on the timing of that ostinato, and exploring slight variations on the pitches involved with it. I think your relatively sparse instrumentation is part of what made that stand out to me. It's a fine phrase to use and repeat from time to time, but I'd take a look at some of the sections mentioned above and explore different phrases you could provide for that background rhythm. Or maybe eliminate the ostinato entirely in some of those spots, allowing the piece to flow in a different way for a while.
From 3:33 onward I like how the piece wraps up. The final staccato string notes that start at 4:02 sound clipped to me though - like they haven't been allowed to fully decay. This is especially noticable at 4:06 through to the end. I'm not sure if this is something about how your reverb is set up, or maybe to do with your original instrument samples, but perhaps you can hear what I mean.
So to sum up: arrangement-wise, what I'd like to hear is more build + release, more contrast in the pacing, more moments where I can anticipate what the piece is preparing to say and then be pleased by what's ultimately said. I think the best example you have of this now is 3:14 to 3:33. More humanization (velocity variation/less consistently precise timing) would also provide dynamism, and I feel like some extra low-end richness (cello/doublebass ensembles here and there?) would help as well.
Take my suggestions with a grain of salt though. Sometimes you can identify a problem in a piece and provide a solution, but that solution doesn't work so well in practice. You might find other better answers once you head back in.
Good luck with the next draft!

This is good. The use of organic sounding bells/percussion alongside synth nicely captures both vibes you set out for without keeping them too separated. You give the track enough time to warm up, while keeping it from boiling over. Heat jokes aside, the progression of dynamics is engaging and the piece has plenty to offer the listener. I sure enjoyed it, nice work!

Has it really been 15 years since this came out? I remember being enthralled by this mix years ago, and it has failed to lose any of it's original luster. It's earned an eternal place on my playlists, an remains a musical inspiration. A triumph, DarkeSword.

I applaud this innovative approach to the classic. It gives me Earthbound vibes at times, and the performance is surprisingly supple. The inherit warm feeling of the french horns makes it somewhat relaxing, despite the nicely done musical tension and dissonance that made it feel very organic. A triumph for Chrono Trigger, for video game music as an art median, and of course, to the mixer. Well done!

Never played Goonies, but now I'm wishing I did. Upbeat, cheerfully, and quirky. I actually like the synth flutes: they don't try to hide the synthiness (that is now a word), but embrace it in a way that compliments the rest of the instruments. Speaking of instruments, you've got a nice variety of sounds in here, and by spacing them out (not having them all playing at once), it keeps the texture of the whole thing flowing while keeping the same overall vibe. As far as I can tell, this is a pretty good, pretty fun piece. Nice work!

**NOTE:  Most of the discussion is taking place on a Discord Server, but regular project updates and claim/track status will continue to be posted here**

Well, it’s been suggested a few times before, but this time it’s for real! 
Let's make it happen!

Project Concept
Golden Sun and Golden Sun: Lost Age, two games each representing half of a larger story, took gamers on an incredible journey through the rich and varied world of Weyard.   Golden Sun saw you charged with the noble quest of preventing the destructive powers of Alchemy from being unleashed upon the world.   Lost Age turned the tables as players found themselves in control of the first story’s antagonists, desperate to restore this ancient power.   This story of discovery, exotic locales, forgotten histories, hidden motivations, heroism and desperation, was beautifully embodied in Motoi Sakuraba’s incredible soundtrack. Though it was well received by critics, Golden Sun never enjoyed the popularity of some of its other JRPG bretheren.  Nevertheless, it continues to have a dedicated, and well-deserved fan-base.   With the 20th anniversary of Golden Sun’s release coming up in in 2021, there could be no better time to bring this series and its music back into the light!    
Project Director: TSori

Art Director: Orioto

Sound Designer/Masterer: bubblepipemedia

Web & Logo design: djpretzel

Remixers (credits on the album):
Alex Hill (1)
bluelighter (2)
bubblepipemedia (1)
Chernabogue (1)
Chris Amaterasu (1)
Damian Nguyen (1)
Daniel Romberger (2)
Deedubs (3)
djpretzel (1)
, DS Music (1)
Eladar (3)
fxsnowy (1)
GameroftheWinds (4)
Ganaé (2)
Glejs (1)
GuitarSVD (3)
HanktheSpankTankJankerson (1)
Jake Kargl (1)
John Stacy (3)
Juke (1)
Luxu5 (1)
Matheus (1)
, Nathan Madsen (1)
Ophanin (2) 
P2 Sue (1) 
Pavos (1)
RebeccaETripp (2)
Reuben Spiers (1)
Rozovian (1)
Sam Dillard  (2)
Siolfor the Jackal (3) 
SirCorn (1)
Spygirls [Anny & Zini] (1)
StormSkuggan (4)
tibone (2)
thebitterroost (1)
ThirdKoopa (3)
TSori (6)
Vylent (2)
Wolfman1405 (1)
744 (1)



Performers (Primary instrument underlined): 

Chromatic Apparatus - Cello
Deedubs - Piccolo trumpet, Trumpet 
Earth Kid - Harp, Piano, Vocals (female), Hammered dulcimer, Recorder, Ethnic percussion
GameroftheWinds - Flute, clarinet, oboe, tin whistle, shakuhachi
GuitarSVD - Ehru, Classical Guitar
John Stacy - French horn, Alto, Tenor, & Bass Trombones. Trumpet, Flugelhorn, Euphonium, Tuba, Alto clarinet.
Piano Game Knight - Piano
SirCorn - Alto sax, Tenor Sax, Electric Bass
Psamathes - Vocals (female)
Siolfor the Jackal - Electric Guitar
Sixto - Guitar
TSori – Trumpet, Flugelhorn, Tin whistle, Melodica

Other Assistance:
John Stacy - Mixing, Arrangement
TSori - Sheet music transcription
Finished WAV Evaluators:
MindWanderer
 
What We Need
(ripped from OOT album thread and Arcadia Legends album thread because if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it)
·         Arrangers/Remixers to conceptualize and complete remixes. This is where the bulk of the work will be!
·         Performers who are experienced with any type of instrument and have a high-quality recording setup.
·         If you're interested in contributing to one or more of the above areas, please get in touch with me.

Claiming
All remixers wishing to claim a track should PM me and/or post in the thread.  We'll go from there. Once a track is claimed, an initial WIP deadline will be set. Deadlines are explained in more detail below.  Be sure to check in at least once a month so we know you haven’t fallen off the edge of the map (see what I did there?).

Genre Guidelines
There is no basic genre one should adhere to when remixing tracks for the album but rather focus on a genre that would bring out the best in the track chosen. That gives remixers a lot of leeway in remixing a song the way they want with final product approved by Album leadership. Vocals in songs are also okay if implemented well. Using multiple source tunes from the soundtrack as fine, as long as the primary focus of the remix is on the core track list. The ultimate organization of the album will be done in such a way that "tells a story". Its my hope that a wide variety of remix styles will reflect a "journey" through a varied world. 

Collaborations are highly encouraged!
Also, the intent is for this to be an official OCR album, so remixes must meet the appropriate standards.  We have 3 OCR judges who have volunteered to be evaluators for completed remixes in order to ensure those standards are met.

Deadlines  *UPDATED 4/29/19*
 
Given the quick pace with which everyone has been doing their remixes, the following NEW deadline structure is being instituted

We are shooting for a release before January 15, 2020.  All finished WAVS will be due no later that November 1, 2019. That should give us enough time to master and go through the release process with OCR.

An initial WIP will still be due one month after your claim date (unless it runs past the final deadline). It just needs to show that you have started working so we can be confident that you intend to finish!

Missing a deadline without communicating with the project director (for a month or more) could result in your claim being dropped!  That said, life happens and we want this project to be the best that it can be! Stay in touch, and we will make it work!   I'll be reaching out to everyone every 2 or 3 weeks to just check in too.  

Lets see if we can get this album out to the public in less than year!


The Track List/Claims *UPDATED 4/29/19*
Golden Sun/ Lost Age has an ENORMOUS soundtrack.   For that reason, we’re focusing on just the first two entries of the series and excluding Golden Sun: Dark Dawn.  If you’ve got an overpowering need to get something from Dark Dawn in here, PM me, we can talk bonus tracks, but let’s keep the focus on GS and GS:TLA
Even with Dark Dawn excluded there are nearly 100 tracks in the soundtrack.  I’ve tried to reduce it down to something more manageable, and now that we have a respectable number claimed, with WIPS, I am opening up claims  on all remaining tracks.   We will get as many as we can before the final deadline.  

Track Claim & WIP Status (37)
Bold Gold- Finished and Mastered Track - 37
Bold Green - Final WAV submitted (EVAL/APPROVED/MASTERING) - 0 (0/0/0) 
Cyan - Finished Arrangement submitted - 0
Blue - Significant WIP submitted -0
Purple - Initial WIP submitted - 0
Orange - Claimed Track, no WIP yet - 0
Red - Unclaimed Track


Claim Tracking Format
Source Tune - Claim: XXXXX - Title: XXXX - Genre : XXXX - next deadline: XXX XX, XXXX
  Claimed Track List 
(Tentative order to be finalized after all tracks are submitted)

Disc 1: Valiant Pursuits
1.The First Book - Claim: Sam Dillard - "Golden Sunrise" - Genre: Orchestral 
2. - An Adept's Home - Claim: Ganaé - "D-Lay On" - Genre: Orchestral
3. The Elemental Stars - Claim: Sam Dillard -"Within the Stars" - Genre: Orchestral
4. Saturos & Menardi - Claim: Bluelighter  - "Hand of the Fire Clan" - Genre: Orch. 
(Feat. John Stacy & Chris Amaterasu)
5.  Page One - Claim: ReubenSpiers - "Starting a New Chapter" - Genre: Acoustic  
(feat. Gamer of the Winds)
6. Hopelessness - Claim: TSori  - "Angarian Vigil" - Genre: Flamenco Ballad
(feat. guitarSVD)
7.  - Battle! [Isaac]   -Claim: Third Koopa - "Isaac's New Shot" - Genre: Rock
(feat. GameroftheWinds, guitarSVD, tibone, StormSkuggan)
8. Mysterious Caves - Claim: RebeccaETripp - "Echoes in the Gloomy Caves" - Genre: Orchestral
(feat. GameroftheWinds)
9. Alone - Claim: Ophanin - "Variations on Intrepidity" - Genre: Classical
10.  Forest's Requiem - Claim: RebeccaETripp - "Sorrow of the Forest" - Genre: Chamber
(feat. GameroftheWinds)
11. Wintery Imil  - Claim: P2 Sue - "Winter Winds" - Genre: Flute Ensemble
12. - Mercury Lighthouse - Claim: ThirdKoopa - "Mercurial Mechanisms" - Genre: synthwave 
(feat. Eladar)
13. Battle! (Saturos) - Claim: TSori -Title: "I'm Golden, Son" - Genre: 70's Cop Show Theme
(feat. Daniel Romberger, HankTheSpankTankJankerson, John Stacy, Siolfor the Jackal, StormSkuggan, tibone) 
14. Angarian Journey - Claim: Pavos - "Back to the Fields" - Genre: piano/orch.

Disc 2: Shifting Perspectives

1. SET SAIL! Through the Karagol Sea - Claim: Deedubs - "Smooth Sailing" - Genre: Bossa Nova
(feat. TSori)
2.  Tolbi  - Claim: TSori - "Streets of Tolbi" - Genre: New Orleans Brass Band 
(feat. Alex Hill, Daniel Romberger, Deedubs, John Stacy, SirCorn, thebitterroost)
3. Venus Lighthouse - Claim: ThirdKoopa - "Hope in 8" - Genre: Jazz Combo
(feat. Damian Nguyen, DS Music, Jake Kargl, Jay Kim, Nathan Madsen, TSori, Wolfman1405)
4. The Second Book - Claim: StormSkuggan - "Another Point of View"- Genre: 80's Rock
5. Little Madra - Claim: fxsnowy - "Madra Mania" - Genre: Disco
6.  Garoh - Claim: GuitarSVD - "Reflection of the Wolf Moon" - Genre: Far Eastern Folk
7. Air's Rock  - Claim: Eladar - "Riding the Desert Winds" - Genre: Orchestral Fusion
8. Full Speed Ahead - Claim: Deedubs - "To the Open Seas!" - Genre: Orchestral
9.  Yepp's Song - Claim: Siolfor the Jackal - "Watery Grave" - Genre: Metal Sea Shanty 
(feat. bubblepipemedia)
10. Aqua Rock - Claim: 744 - "Freshwater Nightmare" - Genre:  Darkwave
11. Gaia Rock - Claim: Ophanin - "Djinn Rounds" - Genre: Orchestral
12. Ruins of Lemuria - Claim: bluelighter - "At the End of the Road" - Genre: Piano solo 

Disc 3: Unfathomable Motives

1. Jupiter Lighthouse - Claim: Glejs - "The Dance of the Anemos" - Genre: EDM
2. Agatio and Karst - Claim: StormSkuggan - "Treason Deserves Death" - Genre: Metal
3.-Walling Forward with Determination - Claim: djpretzel -"Going Down the Line" - Genre: Glam Rock.
4. Magma Rock - Claim: Siolfor the Jackal - "Moltencore" - Genre: Metal
5. Frozen in Prox - Claim: Chernabogue - "Cocytus" - Genre: Orchestral 
6. Mars Lighthouse - Claim: Rozovian - "Martian Arts" -  Genre: Synthwave 
7. - Doom Dragon Battle, Sorrow and Regret - Claim: Eladar - "Unholy Miracle" - Genre: Gothic Fusion Rock
8. The Final Beacon - Claim: Vylent - "Heart of Stone" - Genre: Anime Intro
(feat. Luxu5)
9. Freezing Kalt - Claim: Juke - "Warmth in the Cold" - Genre: Orchestral 
10.  An Adept's Home - Ganae -"D-Lay Off" - Genre: Piano Solo
11. - The Golden Sun Rises - Claim: Vylent & TSori - "What I Want to Say_하고 싶은 말" - Genre: K-pop 
(feat. Spygirls)



 
 
Claims Closed
  
Story / Special Event

         Having Fun (NEW)      There Goes Briggs! (NEW)       A Little Friendship (NEW)       Ready for a Challenge (NEW) 
 Colosso Starts! (NEW)        Sol Sanctum Erupts (NEW)        Place your Bets (NEW)  The Angarian Journey
Dungeons
       
     Tundaria Tower     Inside the Great Gabomba    Desert Heat

Towns
    Happy Towns      Alhafra    
  Kalay       Oriental    Drums of Daila     The Royal Palace     
   Yallam      Mystical Shaman Village      Apoji Islands

Hero Battle Themes
      Battle! [Ship]

Caves
Cavernous Shadows        Crossbone Island

Boss Battle Themes
Battle! [Boss]         Battle! [Colosso]      Battle! [Fusion Dragon] 



  

***Project Update - January 27, 2019***
I will be posting project updates like this on the 27th of every month (and likely more often).  I decided I would do the first one as soon as we had a track claimed by someone other me.  Thanks to Ganaé, now we do!  Darkesword has also graciously offered his services as an evaluator once the WIPs start coming in.   I've lengthened the WIP deadlines a bit.   Also, in regards to track claims i plan to cut any unclaimed tracks 5 months after the original post was made. That's June 15th of 2019.  Hopefully they will all be claimed well before then, but if not, I just don't want the project to end up dragging on and on because a couple tracks are still open.        


***Project Update - February 2, 2019***
We are picking up some momentum now!   It's my pleasure to welcome GuitarSVD, Ophanin, ThirdKoopa, Sam Dillard, and Glejs as remixers, as well as EarthKid, Sixto, and Guitar SVD as performers, and also Orioto as our art director!  I have been talking with several other ReMixers who are making their track selections now.  I expect we've got  quite a few more claims right around the corner!  (not bad for two weeks in!) 


*** Project Update - February 6, 2019 ***
Well it's only been 4 days since the last update, but there has been so much happening in that 4 days its warranted. We now have an album title!  Golden Sun: A World Reignited  will breathe new life into the Golden sun franchise just as the elemental lighthouses did into Weyard. We also welcome remixers: Bluelighter, Deedubs, pu_freak, RebeccaETripp, Rotten Eggplant, and Silent Ice.
Rotten Eggplant will be taking on the mastering role for the album Deedubs and Joseph Jung have also joined the album as performers We have had 16 of 36 tracks claimed and  6 WIPS submitted.We are building some incredible momentum and the first few WIPS are nothing short of fantastic. Look out OCR, Golden Sun: A World Reignited is headed your way!


*** Project Update - February 17, 2019 ***
This week saw a bit quieter progress as everyone has settled into working on their tracks.Even still, we have new WIPs from Bluelighter as well as my collab track with guitarSVD.  We also welcome thevorace to the project with his claim of the Doom Dragon theme. That's 17/36 tracks claimed with more on the way!

***Project Update - February 27, 2019***
We welcome 3 more remixers to the project:  djpretzel, Chernabogue, and StormSkuggan!  djpretzel has also taken on the role of web designer for the project!  That is all staff positions filled as well as 20/36 tracks claimed.   Both boss battle grab bag slots have now been filled, so the boss battle claims are now closed until further notice.  They will be re-opened after the remaining 16 tracks have been claimed. More claims to come!
 
***Project Update - March 11, 2019***
Two months into the project, and the WIPs are steadily rolling in.   Reuben Spiers has joined the project, bumping up the list of claimed tracks to 22/36.  Ophanin has also submitted our first completed remix, which is awaiting final evaluator approval.  We're moving steadily forward! 
  
***Project Update - March 19, 2019***
WIPs continue to trickle in steadily and we have two new claims!   RebeccaETripp has claimed a second track after finishing her first arrangement, and we welcome Sbeast to the project with a claim of Mars Lighthouse!   I've also renumbered the tracks to account for a combo remix of two of the core tracks and changed a couple of the names to match those currently listed on OCR.  Only 12 tracks left on the core list.  If you're reading this and thinking about claiming a track, there's no time like the present!!
 
***Project Update - March 27, 2019***
Another big week as several more fantastic WIPS have been submitted!   The first large collab is coming together behind the scenes.  Stay tuned!  We also welcome 3 new remixers to the project, fxsnowy, Juke, and Starphoenix.  That brings us to 26 claimed tracks, 18 of which have already had WIPs submitted! Only 9 unclaimed tracks left.  Get 'em while they're hot! 

 
***Project Update - April 6, 2019***
Alright, folks, we are now up to four finished tracks submitted!!  FOUR!!! Not even 3 months into the album.    Huge salute to Ophanin, Sam DIllard, and Deedubs for putting together some fantastic remixes, and really starting to give some shape to this album.  We've got several other tracks close to completion and many more not far behind them.   Keep up the good work everyone! 

 
***Project Update - April 18, 2019***
It's been a little while since the last update.   There's not a whole lot new to report at the moment, mainly everyone is still churning away at their remixes.   We got Initial WIPs from both Chernabogue and Rebecca E Tripp (on her second remix for the album no less!).  It also sounds like we have at least two more finished remixes in bound in the next couple of weeks.  Keep an eye out for a deadlines/ claims restructuring (as well as a couple more source tunes)  in another week!    More updates to come soon!

 
***Project Update - April 29, 2019***
It'Apologies all,  I was traveling for work and missed my usual 27th of the month update.   This one is BIG though!    First of all, things are progressing very well.  we have 27 claimed tracks, and 25 with WIPs of some kind submitted.  Wow.  There are 5 complete, evaluated, and approved tracks , with a few others not far off at all.    In fact things have been moving so smoothly and quickly that I've done a bit of a revamped to our claims process.    ALL remixes now have a final deadline of October 1, 2019.   I think it's very doable and it will allow us to get this album out THIS YEAR.    I will still hold the current tracks to any checkpoints they have before then.  Future claims will have a 1 month initial WIP deadline, but other than that, just the final deadline.   Tracks will be added to the core list as they are claimed.  Lets see how many we can get finished by October 1st  (I'm hoping for 40).   Additionally ALL grab bag tracks are open for claim again. I have also add a few NEW ones. 

 
***Project Update - May 27th, 2019***
It's been a while since my last update. Life is busy these days but the project is continuing to charge forward!  744 has joined the project with a complete remix.  That plus the remix guitarSVD and I have just completed bumps us up to 7 finished tracks.  Orioto has also provided our first complete piece of art work as well as a concept drawing for the album cover and ideas for a third piece of artwork.  Several remixers have submitted further developed WIPs and we continue to be on pace for an October final deadline.   There are a lot of tracks still claimable above.   Join the party!

 
***Project Update - June 17th, 2019***
It's time for another update, folks!   Chernabogue has sent us complete track #8 and there are more coming!   Deedubs, Ophanin, and Vylent have all jumped back in with another claim, brinigng the grand total up to 30!  Can we make it to 40????  There are plenty of great tracks left!   Also, I am pleased to announce that "Golden Sun: A World Reignited" is now an OFFICIAL OCR ALBUM PROJECT.   Look out!  The Golden Sun is rising!
 
***Project Update - July 1st, 2019***
Whoa!  I completely forgot to post on the 27th.. I also forgot to call my dad on his birthday, but that's neither here nor there.... ANYWHO, we continue to take small steps forward on an almost daily basis.  This is going to be a big month.  There are a lot of tracks coming up on completion, the album cover art too!   I'm pushing hard to recruit a few more remixers as well.   I'd really like to see us get up to 35-40 tracks total.    Also, We can't have a golden sun album without all the lighthouses claimed, right??   So, if you haven't claimed a track, jump on in.  The water's great!   If you have claimed one and you're close to finishing, think about grabbing another.    Our final deadline for Finished WAVs is in 3 months!! (wow that is coming up fast), and we're still on schedule to deliver a great album this year!     
 
***Project Update - July 5th, 2019***
Whell this update has come quickly, but we've had a big week!   First of all Chernabogue an Stormskugan have given us our 9th and 10th complete tracks!  We also welcome several new remixers! moonbike has claimed "Battle {Isaac] (finally, someone did), P2 Sue has jumped on board with a claim of "Wintery Imil", and Mordra will be giving us some Metal action with an arrangement of "Battle [non-adept]".  Additionally, Stormskuggan has claimed his second track on the project, "The Second Book" (coincidentally enough), and I, in a moment of uncharacteristic productivity, was able to put together an arrangement of "Tolbi" yesterday. We also welcome new performers, GameroftheWinds, Piano Game Knight, and Psamathes.  "Golden Sun: A World Reignited" continues to CHARGE forward to the October 1st deadline.  Watch out OCR;  this album will be here before you know it!  

***Project Update - July 14th, 2019***
Bluelighter has given us our 11th remix AND 35th claim.   We've also seen significant progress on a few WIPs including the album artwork this week!
***Project Update - July 29th, 2019***
Bluelighter's latest claim became our 12th finished remix this week (that was fast!), followed closely by #13, Vylent's take on "The final beacon".  That's over a third of the currently claimed tracks!  Several others are nearing completion and there  are whispers of a couple more claims to round out the album as well.  Our October 1st deadline draws closer, and the album just keeps looking better and better! 
***Project Update - September 1st, 2019***
After a bit of a hiatus, as I moved across the U.S. for a job, We are back up and running.  Not that anything has stopped while I was otherwise occupied.   Orioto's album art is driving towards completion.    Significant progress from Eladar, Stormskuggan, RebeccaETripp, and one of my tracks as well.   Not to mention the addition of Rozovian to the project, with a claim of Mars lighthouse.    Final deadline on WAVs is one month from today.   Let's keep pushing!
***Project Update - September 6th, 2019***
Due to several messages I've gotten from individual artists, I've decided to push the deadline for the project back one month to November 1st.   Let's make sure we dont have to push it back any further.   keep at it everyone!   we're getting close!!!
 
***Project Update - September 23rd, 2019***
It's been a busy past couple of weeks on the album.   Bubblepipemedia has joined the project as our new mastering engineer.   He's got some quality work to his name and I'm thrilled to have him on board.  Orioto has just completed our album cover art!!!! with a logo designed by djpretzel!!!   Our website and trailer are also underway.  Eladar has given us our 20th finished track for the album, and there are more coming.   We're into the final stretch now guys!  Finish those tracks and we'll have incredible album for the OCR front page soon enough.

 
***Project Update - October 3rd, 2019***
29 Days Left!!

***Project Update - October 13th, 2019***
Alright, folks, we are in the final stretch!  We've got 19 days left til our final deadline on all tracks.   We're still at 20 completed tracks but there are at least 10 more that are imminent.   Almost all of the remaining tracks are showing significant progress towards completion.  Our mastering engineer, bubblepipemedia has made major strides this week in creating a model for our mastering to follow and We've already got 5 tracks fully mastered and approved with several others right around the corner. Album artwork is complete, the website is underway, and we are getting started on the trailer as well.  We're in good shape for this deadline and the goal of delivering a high quality album from initial post to release in ONE calendar year.   If you aren't already, get hyped!  Golden Sun: A World Reignited is sounding great!

***Project Update - October 18th, 2019***
2 WEEKS REMAIN!!
That's right, everyone, our final deadline is fast approaching.   To be precise, the final deadline will be 12:00 AM November 2nd U.S. Pacific Time (UTC-8).  Please have your final tracks uploaded and submitted to me by then.   They do not have to have been evaluated yet.  Tracks that are not ready by then are very likely to be dropped from the album!

That said,   We still have quite a few tracks unfinished but they are all nearing completion!   Let's get them done!

If you have finished your track, I still have a few things I need you to do:
1. sign the consent form on our club page and let me know when you do (or if you don't know where to find it, message me)
2.  Send me your artist commentary for each of your tracks.
3. If you had collaborators, please send me their names (as they should appear on the album), and let me know what instrument/role they played on your track. 

***Project Update - October 25th, 2019***
1 WEEK

no pressure....
 
We've been making a lot of headway the past week.   We still have 13 remixes that have yet to be submitted, though most of them are very close.  Let's finish this strong!   Also be sure to sign the consent form and let me know!
 

***Project Update - October 27th, 2019***
ReMixers, don't forget to sign the Consent Form.  If you did any collaborations, please make sure all your performers have signed it as well!!
5 more days!
 
***Project Update - October 28th, 2019***

Thanks for the laugh, Eladar

***Project Update - November 2nd, 2019***
Ok, our target deadline for final remixes has past!   Overall, good show everyone. There was a sudden rush of remixes in the last few days taking us up to 30 tracks submitted!!
7 tracks have yet to be turned in.  6 of those are extremely close to completion.  I have heard near finished WIPs of each and all of the remixers involved have been in regular communication. I'm confident they will all be finished before we have a chance to get through mastering the others that have already been submitted.   We will send in the album as soon as all submitted tracks have been mastered (which means those that have extensions right now could still get left behind if they take more than a couple weeks.  Keep at it!).    2 tracks were dropped from the album, Jenna's battle theme , and the Non-adept battle theme.  Hopefully both of those remixers will be able to finish their tracks sometime in the future and submit them to OCR independently.   

If you finished your remixes by the deadline, thank you very much!  It makes a HUGE difference going forward to have all of those turned in for evaluation.  If you have an extension, no worries, just keep going!.   Over the next week, everyone can expect me to be contacting you about:
-Signing the consent form
-artist commentary
-credits for collabs

Great work everyone,  we have a fantastic album here and it is nearly finished.  Let's push through the last few steps!!
 
***Project Update - November 11th, 2019***
Here we are , one week, after the deadline, and things are looking good!  This week we have had several more remixes get through initial evaluation.   We had 6 remixes that were given brief extensions last week.   2 have been submitted and a both approved.  The next 3 are all extremely close to being finished.  Bubble pipe media mastered 7 more remixes for us this week, giving us more than a third of the album completely finished.    The documentation for submission to OCR for eval is also very near complete.     We could very reasonably submit this album in the next week or so.  We have some mastering left to do, and a few tracks that are still being adjusted based on evaluation.  So if your track has yet to be submitted or is still needing a bit of rework, let's push on through to the end.  The finish line is within sight!   
 
***Project Update - November 18th, 2019***
Well, everything is still looking pretty great!!  We are up to 19 mastered tracks and more are approved and waiting to be mastered!.   We have only 5 outstanding remixes left: two under revision based on eval, 2 finishing up the last few details before submission, and 1 more which is a bit of a mystery.   While we aren't there yet, it is worth noting that these 5 tracks are at risk of getting dropped.  We still have a good bit of mastering to do before we are ready to submit for OCR eval, but once we have everything else mastered, any tracks that aren't approved are going to get dropped, unless there is a very good reason to wait.  So, if you have one of those tracks, you still have some time, but the clock is ticking!   

Overall, though this album is moving at the speed of light and it is sounding incredible!  I cant wait for us to show it to the rest of OCR!!  Keep the momentum going in the final stretch!

 
***Project Update - November 30th, 2019***
Its been a busy week.  The finish line draws ever closer!   We are now up to 26 mastered tracks!   There are 7 more that are approved and waiting to be mastered and 3 more finishing up evaluation.  All of our evaluation submission documentation and artwork is ready.  We are still collecting track commentary, so if you haven't written that yet, now's a great time to get started!   As soon as these 36 tracks are mastered we will be submitting the album!   Get hyped! Submission will be happening any day now!     

 
***Project Update - December 13th, 2019***
Ok foks, all tracks all submitted WIPs are approved!  We have 4 tracks in mastering right now, waiting for artist approval and then 4 more to go after that.   All documentation is ready.  All artwork is ready.   Keep the artist commentary coming.  the Golden Sun is about to rise! 

 
***Project Update - December 20th, 2019***
"Golden Sun: A World Reignited" has been submitted to OCR!
Well done everyone!  We went from absolutely nothing, to a 37 track album submitted in 11 months and 6 days.  Take a moment to pat yourselves on the back for all your hard work.   There is still more to be done during the eval process so it'll be a little while longer before we get to share this album with the community, but I'll be keeping you updated!   
First orders of business now that we've submitted:
1. If you have any commentary yet to be written, lets try to take care of that soon. 
2.  We will be putting together a list of mixflood candidates.   I'm going to handle that through discord, but if you're on the album, not on discord and don't get a message from me about it soon, PM me!
 
***Project Update - January 3, 2020***

Happy New year everyone!   Now that the holiday season is coming to a close, I thought I'd put up a couple updates and to-dos as we get closer to release: 

1.  As expected, owing to the holiday season and MAGfest there hasn't been any eval activity on the album yet.  We do, however, know it was received and it's there waiting when the staff can get to it.
 
2. For artists on the album, the mixpost candidate survey is still up. You should have received either a DM from me or been tagged on discord with a link to instructions.  We have 6 responses so far, which is great, but I'd like to have several more before we close the survey on January, 8th

3. Other than the mixpost candidates, any tracks that we want to see posted on the front page must be submitted through the Normal Submission process.   So if you want to submit your track to OCR feel free to do so now! 

- if you want to submit your track you can use your final version of the final bubblepipemedia-mastered version on the album.  either is fine. .
-Make sure you mention in your submission email that this is part of the Golden Sun: A World Reignited album, so we don't release anything too early (unlikely but possible)  
more updates to follow!
 
***Project Update - January 17, 2020***
A small but good update today.  I just got word from the OCR staff letting me know that eval is underway and so far its going well!
Don't forget to submit you individual tracks and send me your track commentary if you haven't already.   It won't be too much longer now!
 
***Project Update - January 29, 2020***
Just letting everyone know eval is still going. So far so good!  We can expect to hear back once the judges have finished.  

 
***Project Update - February 13, 2020***
Eval continues!  So far, so good.  Jose the Bronx Rican has also informed me he has started work on our trailer.   I"m also working with the OCR staff to get this album out the gates as soon as possible.   Hopefully it won't be too much longer.  Stay tuned for more updates!

 
***Project Update - February 17, 2020***
Hey folks!  Things are moving now.   This is the last call for track commentary.  If you are planning to send in any commentary but haven't done so yet, please do so by the end of the week.  We have gotten just a few comments about track fixes.  I'll DM you directly if there are any requested fixes on your tracks. On the whole though, the judges seem very pleased with the album so far. Both MindWanderer and djpretzel have had very nice things to say about it.

 
***Project Update - March 2, 2020***
FIrst WIP for the trailer is in!   Judges comments are coming together!  Commentary is finished.  djp's remix is all but finished.   We're getting close guys!  I promise!   
 
***Project Update - March 18, 2020***
We live in interesting times.  As you might imagine, the pandemic has slowed things down a bit.   Nevertheless. We are very close to completing eval.   The trailer is well underway. We should have judge feedback soon. Our late addition remix by djp is very nearly complete.  The website is also coming together.   Hang in there all.  It won't be too much longer 

 
***Project Update - April 9, 2020***
Like everything else right now, activity has slowed on the album, BUT it is still happening moving!  We have a significant WIP of the trailer.  Despite our seemingly asymptotic approach to eval completion, I'm sure we will get there before too much longer.  Hang in there, everyone!
***Project Update - April 18, 2020***
Im thrilled to be able to announce the addition of our 37th and final finished track!  As per unofficial OCR tradition djpretzel has given us a pretty sick remix to wrap up the album.  Eval continues, and we get ever closer to the musical return of Golden Sun

 
***Project Update - May 6, 2020***
Ahh finally, a nice BIG update for everyone! Eval is COMPLETE and the album passed!!!   Congrats al!  Now we can move onto final preparations for release!  The trailer is coming together very well now, and the website is well under way. 

 What we have left to do are:

-Tweaks to any tracks that need them (just a couple)
-Export all files as mp3 and flac
-Proper mp3 tagging
-Finish up php files for the website.

We'll get there!

 
***Project Update - June 3, 2020***
I've been saying this is close for months.   And it has been.  its been a very slow process of eeking forward a little bit of time Still we are very very close

Left to do:

1. wrap up the website (djp is making progress)
2. Finish the trailer (Jose the Bronx Rican is down to the final sequence)

That's it!  Seriously.   We are that close.   
 
***Project Update - June 16, 2020***
All hands on deck!
At long last, the finish line is in sight.  Jose the Bronx Rican has put together a fantastic trailer for us which will be released later today.  The release of the album will follow next week sometime between Monday and Thursday though a solid date is not yet finalized.  

What this all means, is its time to build some more hype!!  Know any fan communities that would take interest? Get in touch with them.  If there other groups, individuals, youtubers, that can help spread the word, now is the time to reach out.  Whether you're a remixer on the album, or just following the project, now is the chance for everyone to pitch in and help this album make some serious waves in larger gaming community.

***Project Update - June 29, 2020***
The day has finally come!  Overclocked Remix will be releasing this album TOMORROW!
It has been a long jounrey to get here, one I'm thrilled to have been a part of!    I want to thank all of the OCR staff who've helped make this possible,  djpretzel, Liontamer, Jose the Bronx Rican, Mindwanderer, TheoryofN and all of the other judges and staff.  
Most of all though, I want thank all of the Remixers and Artists on the album.    This has been a true group effort from start to finish and, the end result is nothing short of fantastic.!  It's been a pleasure to work with all of you!  You all have a lot to be proud of.
The trailer has racked up a huge number of views in a very short time.  We've been retweeted hundreds of times, and the album has already been mentioned on several gaming news websites in multiple languages.  Guys, this is going to be big!  I can feel it.  I can't wait for everyone to hear the results of all the hard work that went into our album. 

Just a few more hours to go! 
 

Exquisite. You really captured a story-telling vibe in this piece, which is more than appropriate for the source. From the woodwinds to the percussion, it's wondrous and enthralling. Always good to have more Tripp music!

Some nice covers you've got in here! My only complaint is the presence of guitar leads in a number of the tracks, which threatens the very foundation of the album's name (Great Video Game Orchestra) XD Jokes aside, it's a nice collection of faithful arrangements that I'd predict to have a decent rate of downloads.

I love how the two tracks mix. The soft strings doing the doppler stage background, the nigh perpetual motion of the chips, it all blends into a chunky audio smoothie. Well done, sir!