Seth Skoda

First time putting a solo in a piece of music. Total work time about 12 hours.
 
Also, in case anyone is wondering, visuals done in Blender with waveforms generated in After Effects.

Interesting idea, and as a sketch you have a lot of cool ideas here (although the marching snares a minute in need some groove tweaking to sound a lot less stiff). The staccato bass towards the end fits especially well. 

Hi Peshti!
You've said this is halfway there, and I agree. You've got a nice balance of voices in the piece so far; the Tee Lopes influence comes through here. One thing I'm noticing is that the piece currently stays the same dynamic throughout; part of that is the drums keeping the same 4-bar loop (with the same fill) after the intro. I recommend leaning into the hits at :42 and seeing what you can come up with to bring us back around to the A section around :45. The lack of percussive transition to the B section around :17 also plays into this feeling.
You're off to a good start here! Looking forward to hearing how this progresses ?

what are you using?
i wanna do Blackened now :)
i have GennyFL, still pretty lazy with it. eventually i would like to learn how to do a solid hard rock sound like Comix Zone, but automate the parameters in a way that makes it sound like real guitar intonation. that would be like holy grail. you know, like wails, feedback, string muting, pinch harmonics etcetc....i reckon really advanced stuff is possible with loads of effort.

5 instrumentals + 3 part vocal counterpoint epic baroque rock breakup mashup :D

Thank you to everyone for the thorough criticism. I will definitely keep these things in mind when I have time to give this project another go.

I think the change in genres could work - but you'd need to add space for the transition.  I have to agree with the other comments here though - would love to see more work from you, especially in that first genre (but I'm biased towards EDM haa haa).

Arrangement: I second Liontamer's suggestion about expanding the instrumentation. The sparseness isn't selling the concept. Additionally, the drop at 0:46 seems like it was intended to change up the soundscape, but in execution, it's a big letdown because it throws all the energy you just spent the first 45 seconds or so building. It would be more effective to start with that more sparse, chordal bit and build the energy into what you've done with the intro. The false fade-out ending allows the interest curve to drop off too soon as well.
Production: The lead synth at 0:16 could use a boost of about 1-2dB. Otherwise, the volume balance of your elements is well executed, at least to my ears. The solo violin at 1:45 is overexposed; if you have a higher-quality sample library you could replace it with or another texture for the lead overall, that would improve the sound greatly.
It's a great relief to be able to recover some work after a crash. Keep pushing on this one, and you'll have something awesome.

Heya Seth, here's my thoughts on it so far:
 
Arrangement-wise -- right off the bat, @ ~ 00:48, the two distinct genres between your EDM and Industrial / change-up jarred me. IMO, they both work separately but not together. I think if you were to introduce your remix with the slow dance-like beat, and then rise it up to the hype / fast-paced beat, it would work better. Perhaps start with the violin, drop it for the plucky synths, and then re-introduce it later on in a sort of interlude / mixing the two genres, before the end? That might make your groove feel more fluid and coherent between the two styles employed here. Instrument/Mixing-wise -- I had no issues with your synths, really. I found them all to be nice-sounding in timbre and appropriate, even though they might be a little basic, but I am unsure if that is because these are still your stems from your original work from 2016 project, or because you had to rework/rebuild this from scratch and some of the sounds are currently placeholder. The plucky synth around 00:15 is a bit soft as well, but unsure how mixed this remix is currently...or how far in production. However, everything sounds clear, I love the vol raise and contrast you have with the additional synth playing the same melody with the plucky synth, and your bass and kick/drums are hella groovy. :)  
Hope this all helps. :D I look forward to hearing more work on this. :3 Good luck with it! o/

Hi Seth!
The 12/8 vibe for the opener is killer, though the energy drop at :48 was rough. The writing during that phase has a lot of promise by itself, it just feels disconnected from the intro and outro - is there a way to weave the melodic content from that section into the others? Or place the slower waltz bit ahead so that the change to the industrial bop feels like an upswing?
Down to hear more of this!

I listened to this remix as part of a workshop event and I kinda like it. It's got a great groove to it and is pretty creative. However I feel the violin section is both thin and misplaced (it'd work better as an intro than in it's current placement). Also agree with Liontamer/Larry on not having enough of the melody of "Hidden Palace Zone". Still it's a good start and I'd love to hear a completed version of this on the site some day.

I like that the beats have a kind of swung rhythm, but they do plod after a while. New section at 1:04 dragged a lot and the texture felt too empty; the overly fake-sounding string sustains, piano, and kicks all hurt this on a sound quality level. I like the string writing at 1:42 in principle, it's just an ultra fakey sound, and the placement is so loud compared to everything else. Cool rhythmic change at 2:01. I wish the textures were more sophisticated or better padded, because there's so much empty space due to how thin the instrumentation is. Could use more melodic usage of "Hidden Palace" as well. It's a start!

Awesome, this is precisely the kind of criticism I needed! Thank you so much!

To open the synths feel dry.
The open hat sizzle is hot, bring that down ~2db.
The arrangement is solid with plenty of interpretation, but the production is what needs the most work.  The parts don't feel like they blend together for cohesion so much, they feel like they are all the foreground and I'm not sure what I'm supposed to focus on.  The panning is favored to the right it seems, I think it's the open hat just standing out so much.
Open sections like 0:58-1:11 and 2:25-2:54 could benefit from having another soft lead play a countermelody or pads with filter sweeps to fill the space in.
You give us textural contrast by dropping out parts to create less going on but what about dynamics?  Could definitely use some dynamics with the track staying at close to the same level throughout.
Fade out? After 4 minutes, it'd be nice to have a more refined and conclusive ending.
After all of that it's gonna sound like I'm really ragging on this, but it has potential and I want to see you develop it more.

I transcribe everything by ear, which is the oldschool approach to it.
Some DAWs have built in audio to MIDI converters, and some pitch correction VSTs like Melodyne also have the ability. Those usually aren't perfect and really only work if you can isolate the parts you need transcribed. 
Then of course finding a transcription that someone already did(like all the tracks on vgmusic) is a possibility if that particular theme you want exists there.
Only other thing you can do is hire someone to do it for you(or hope you find someone willing to just do it for free). 
If you can hear a note and then play it on your preferred instrument, or just know what the pitch is without a comparison tool, you have all you need to transcribe it yourself. That's largely what the process is... repeatedly listening to the audio and picking the parts out you want and putting the notes down into a DAW or notation editor.
I recommend just trying it yourself, it is pretty fun once you get going. Kind of like putting a puzzle together...

I'd like to make an announcement that has been long overdue
I recently decided to start a redesign of the AOCC site. My hope is to have the new design live for the release of Volume 17 of the album.
I have a few more adjustments to make to the site, but I feel it's coming along nicely.
That's all for now!

I'm going to trust Prophetik for his explanation about the notes that don't work.  I hear it but I lack the knowledge to describe it like he did.  The arrangement has a tremendous amount of unpleasant disharmony.  One reason for the dissonance is the fact that you chose to use an 808 trap-style bass.  In actual trap, the 808 bass often is off-key in comparison to the other instrumentation and vocals, and the 808 bass bends all over the place, and it is expected in a trap song and usually works well.  In this case you have such a melodic arrangement with so many melodies and countermelodies, that this 808 bass just makes it sound more messy harmonically.  Also, and this is my personal opinion and certainly not a dealbreaker for this track, but I don't feel that a trap bass and drums work well with the much more bright, melodic synths you have going in this arrangement.  But the biggest issue is all that dissonance.
NO

i didn't vote on the original. looks like it's complaints about a static and over-long song structure, and some note issues. this is much shorter! so that's a positive based on initial glance.
the initial delayed chords and electro strings pair well with the hats and claps (i wrote haps and clats at first). the kick hits at 0:28 alongside some fun synth work that features a lot of delays and sustained chords. this is a neat texture in this entire section.
the melody first starts 0:53 and is instantly recognizable. there's some fun chords in the original, and it works pretty good getting them into this style which surprised me. there's some crunchiness around every vii chord (sounds like a G# fully diminished to me) that i think is coming from putting the 7th of the G#o chord (F natural) in a lower instrument next to an E elsewhere in the chord. since it sounds perfectly fine when it resolves, i think it's an easy fix, but it sounds weird every time it happens, and that's every time we get to that chord. you could either replace the G#o chord with an E7 in first inversion (G# B D E) - essentially removing the F natural from the background entirely and changing it to an E - and just let the F in the melody function as a passing tone. that'd fix any following instances of it without being too complicated.
the melody continues at 1:23 in an arpeggio-style lead which isn't particularly trap but sounds fun. it's pretty loud though and so it is crushing out the fun synth brass stuff that's around it. there's another weird note at 1:46 especially (and it's a little weird at 1:39) - almost certainly another F natural next to an E. you need to either commit to the vii or else an Am with extensions each time this comes up.
1:49 is a lighter backing texture, and gives us a bit of a break. there's some build with the claps here into a drop and hit at 2:19. 2:22 has more bad notes, as well as 2:29, 2:36, and 2:43. this is the opposite as before - instead of having an F in the moving part and an E in the background, this time you've got a fully diminshed G# in the background (G#, B, D, F) with an E in the melody. even worse, you move to an A in the melody - next to the G# in the background! so you've got half-step dissonance twice. it just doesn't sound good =(
there's a dropoff into an outro in the ep that's pretty quiet, and then it's done. i think there might be one repeat through the pattern you're using here at 2:48-3:00 - you could probably cut that chord progression from an earlier section at least once, and put this in and be done at 2:48 or so.
from a technical standpoint, there's not quite as much bass as i'd expect, and i think the lead synth is a bit too loud since it covers up a lot of fun movement in the background. this is especially clear when the lead's doing a lot of sustains and arpeggiated jumps. other than that, though, i didn't have a real issue with it and thought it sounded pretty good.
if there wasn't the consistent issue with notes crunching, i'd probably pass this. it sounds good and is a fun take on the theme! clean up the chord issues and you'll be in a good place.
 
 
NO

I listened to this without checking to see who'd voted before me.  I immediately hoped it was proph, because I knew he'd do a bang-up job explaining why all those clashing notes were a problem.  And even though I don't have his technical background, they immediately leaped out to me.  To my less-technical ear, before 2:18, it's mostly the 808 kicks that sound obviously off-key to me.  At 2:18, not only is there a strange, abrupt transition, but the notes are clashing a lot, almost constantly, and it's not just a few.
Hopefully proph's advice was helpful to you in picking those out and fixing them.  If not, please take this over to the workshop for additional help.
I also don't agree that this was the only issue, though it was by far the most notable.  I found those 808s to be quite loud and penetrating, and the saw pad and saw lead were fighting for space.  I did like the structure, though — unlike your first submission, I don't have any concerns on that level.  It's a fun concept.
NO

Heyo! I'm not dead!
 
And yuh, I'm gonna be making at least one track for this.
 
Going gangsta this year!

Okay, I fixed it.
https://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/1093989
Sounds alright to me, but I definitely wanna hear from someone else.
Also, here's the first mix ever submitted, if anyone's interested in hearing the changes.
https://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/880226

@Argle...I don't mean to sound stupid myself, or mean, but no way you can find another track to use or do? ?

Unfortunately I think I'm out, and for a colossally stupid reason: I have literally forgotten what source track I was going to remix.  I remember thinking it was a nice idea at the time, and then I didn't write it down anywhere and I can't remember it anymore lol.

Totally doable, just depends on how polished. I've admittedly never done this before, so I'm unsure of the usual standards. Some people asking to include songs on their album want the composition mixed but not mastered. Some want neither, and just it bare bones and in pieces...
I'm assuming this just warrants a full, completely mastered song, which I can do in 5 weeks. Both are practically done, I'm just looking for advice or critique on them to make them better (within my power, anyways, ATM.)
FWIW, I sent them in a DM because unsure if Coop wants them on the thread, ya know, spoilers and such. XD

I hope you can get those two tracks polished and ready in uh... *checks calendar* about 5 weeks. 
Holy crap, it's that close, wow...