The Vodoú Queen

First set of progress -- FIXING SOME MIDI GRID/POCKETING ISSUES AND ADDING NEW MATERIAL: [The added SFX/drum loops and eventual drum treatment are heavily-inspired by the epic shit @ZackParrish cooks up on his mixes. :) ] TY for the advice so far, @pixelseph. Will keep it movin' and groovin'. Next is FX sends, volume and reverb issues. . . Additional ears would be lovely. Tysm. ♥ VQ - Sorrowful Bellows MASTERED WIP.wav

Source: Original from An OverClocked Christmas v.16 [Unofficial] Album What Was Submitted to OCR Judges' Panel Judges' Original Decision ---- I'll start this off by saying a big "thank you" to anyone willing to listen to this and give it feedback, or directly help me work on pushing this over the bar. I've had some interest in it from ZackParrish, but unfortunately he's been very busy, and I never want to feel like I am (or actually) monopolize someone's time in helping me deal with my work or get better at it. Next order, I'll try to give a truncated list of the impetus behind the writing, orchestration and composition of this song, and then summarize the Judges' and other people's general critique and comments on the piece from the first time I posted it up on the OCR Discord's #Workshop, up to the Panel decision. . . Feel free to read my write-up to the Judges for a more detailed explanation and framework for the arrangement, but here's a brief breakdown: NOTES ON THE PIECE: Based off the idea of big-budget classic Hollywood films, classical composers (primarily Bach, Beethoven, Mozart and Tchaikovsky), and the songs "Carol of the Bells" / "Sarajevo / Christmas Eve" by Trans-Siberian Orchestra and instrumental versions of "Kuolema Tekee Taiteilijan", "Nemo" & "Eva" by Nightwish; Arrangement-structure is based off the old concept of Ancient Greek odes in tragedies and comedies; extreme storytelling material, hence the extensive use of foley and SFX with the composition; and, 'Storytelling' "elements" are based heavily on extended-universe stuff from the Mega Max X comics (as explained in the submission write-up), that gets into the backstory behind Blizzard Buffalo before and after he turned into a Maverick--so the context may or may not be lost on listeners, I'm unsure. . . Basically, this song is the BGM of Buffalo's decent into madness, as he continues to prowl the snow-ladened city streets, looking for victims to freeze into the very same ice sculptures he used to make for the children in the nearby village. The 'music box' motif is the only thing keeping his sanity in-check--even for the briefest of moments--and puts the beast back into slumber (an allusion to Christmas folktales, Grimm tales and stuff about Krampus, which is also a great horned monstrosity). The ending of the remix was supposed to allude to Buffalo having a quaint dream about his peaceful life as the ski resort guard before being infected with the Sigma virus. CRITIQUE: The pads and backing are too wide in the stereo-field (wet) and they're eating up a lot of the subtle resonances of what's going on above it; reverb tails too long (albeit the pads and backing were heavily-inspired from the Nightwish reference tracks, but I'd figured they'd need to be removed or replaced with something else more melodical that still has that "Nightwish-drive".) It is bad enough for people to barely tell what the woodwinds are doing or whether the strings are legato, pizzicato, or spiccato/staccato, and muffles the drumline entirely...so it is a massive issue. Confusion about the foley: Liontamer frequently equated the heavy, bestial breathing and subtle roars that ARE Blizzard Buffalo in the piece to "thunder" and "noise", despite the FX being fairly audible. OCR I know doesn't really like slow-burns / long intros, but I felt it was integral to building up the piece, hence the robotic stomping and trudging through the snow, and extra effort placed on music box transitions, etc. If I'm honest, this dichotomy of judges for and against use of SFX in music kind of puts a bitter taste to my mouth (it works in the remixes of, say, Michael Hudak and H36T, but it seemingly doesn't work here); I think some of that is why my remixes get flagged up as "complicated", "over-complex", and "hard to judge", and I don't know whether or not that is a compliment or something other than. But they were there in this song, in particular, for the storytelling. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I can rip them out, if they detract that much or don't add anything conceptually for listeners... Would make me extremely sad to do so, however, considering time/effort spent to mesh them and the musical elements together. Intro is interesting "in a vacuum", but is a slow-burn, not melodious, and "meanders" (I highlight this word in particular because this is probably the single-most reoccurring piece of vocabulary I see, even in remixes that get a pass; might as well replace my middle names with 'Meander Noodles' at this fucking stage, and makes me want to bury my head in hot sand every time I see it or hear it); Epilogue (section after the hefty orchestra) is chaotic and not very melodic. This was hugely improv'd on my part, in listening to a few alt. piano compositions/arrangements based on The Frozen City/Blizzard Buffalo Stage, and some shit I made up on my own. TO ME, it works, but just might need the added finesse I cannot give it due to lack of skill and practice to make it make sense, coherent, and flow correctly. Dynamics between instruments (something expressed by Zack and Hemo and H36T in conversations on Discord); they're there and some are expressed OK-ish, but the horns are buried by the strings, and the piano and woodwinds are peaking / have a pitchy-ness about them. This was more-so true for the original take than the submitted take, but it could be a persistent problem (based on Judges' commentary), which leads to; Blocky part-writing; strings are NOT expressing as they should to sound realistic (bow movements, attacks, too mechanical), and the brass and piano doesn't have an "orchestral flow/harmonic progression" due to it sounding like 'baby's first music sheet', with chunks of heavy chord-lines...I'd guess...(in looking at my MIDI). I did humanize velocities and shunt notes off-grid on purpose, manually and with some seed randomization on Reaper, but I guess the parts need more chops on them. I do not know. I've never written orchestral scores before nor am I used to getting synths to express in an overly-realistic manner with the articulations mentioned. . . So yeah, 'baby's first', is very correct in this instance, LOL. # As was said in the Panel decision, and further discussed with Prophetik Music in private, (and a few others are aware of this)--no...I am not classically trained in any music theory or the theoretics and practice of part-writing for symphony orchestra, or anything else, for that matter. Insofar as music is concerned, I had a brief stint for 3 years in Junior High School in band, and learned a few instruments either on my own or with an instructor/tutoring, but that's the extent of formal education. All this comes from vicarious learning, YT vids, reading and taking notes and listening to a lot of classical (and modern) orchestra, etc. I've always liked and have been fascinated by more..."unconventional" classical music, (which is where the comment about why does this sound and feel more archaic in nature, yet doesn't work to its fullest potential, comes from), and this is very much rooted in stuff like symphonic poetry and Greek theater. Admittedly, this piece wasn't my first foray into part-writing, but it is probably the first in exploring that concept on a wider scale, throughout the piece, and it's way more than just a simple chord prog slapped onto the VG melody in an EDM remix, or me futzing around with the melody by a few Jazz improv stuff here and there like glides, or chromatic/diatonic runs, or a couple added/changed up notes to keep the beat 'fresh'. Major parts of the opening/Intro of this arrangement, and the "waltzy jig"--sort of...foxtrot vibe...near the end were derivative of the melody and harmony of Blizzard Buffalo, but were written from the ground up by myself, solo. I would like to closely work together with someone to...better understand without misunderstanding Prophetik's (and others') original point about why the part-writing may be "interesting and unique" but doesn't hit strong enough because of the various other issues that bring it down, inclusive of the ending that's "too chaotic and disharmonious" to be the lighter, more whimsical epilogue of the piece. I'm open to the usual suggestions (e.g. having someone like Zack add broody guitar chugs or the dark, melancholy drumline he's known for), as that would lean into the favor of this being a TSO/Nightwish-inspired remix due to the usage of more boomy drums and electric lead/rhythm guitars along with the orchestral VSTi...but at the same time I'm hesitant to pull others into a project I poured a lot of heart and soul into like this, because I (for once) wanted to try and get a remix I've done BY MYSELF through the trenches, of its own merit . . In no way is there anything wrong with tag-team assisting on these, but I'm at that weird crossroads where I equally love to collaborate and learn from others, but at the same time am really trying to push myself and pray that solo ventures are equally as...cool...and able to pass the proverbial benchmark, or bar, or what have you. It feels like I'm 'piggybacking' when I do sometimes, and that's a bad/negative mindset to feel. OK...enough blubbering. 'Bout to hyperventilate and all I'm doing is posting this up on the community forum. xD TL;DR: help would be lovely, or some kind of lighthearted, extremely casual tutoring. I've done a lot more free-flow / from-scratch part-writing and mixing exercises with recent remixes, but...IDK... This one hurts just as much as NieR did, and more than some of the others with the reject, and for fear of massive upheavals to what's already here (besides ripping out the annoying backing and pads). But, if that's what is needed to make it 'successful', so be it. The distance and time away from this piece has only lessened the initial sting a little, but in having to re-read the decision and taking these notes on it, I find myself unable to know where to turn or how to start fixing this entire thing. There are fundamentals with the individual composition bits alone that make it disjointed and apparently "too far away" from the source, despite almost everything within BEING CREATED from said source, and the immense frustration I had felt before has returned. It hits me with the "you dunno what the Hell you're doing" vibe, so I'm lost, and anything at this rate would help. Thanks for reading all this... Can always PM me here or DM me on Discord more for private stuff, and I'm up for the back and forth publicly. My hope here is that this discourse and kind of...displaying step-by-step-wise progress on MMX3 will help others in the community who have similar struggles, be it with the "noodley" bullshit or classical mixing, writing and orchestration. I've heard people say they want more VGM remixes leaning into the symphonic rock and orchestra, so this'll add to that, too, if the decision is made to add the rock/metal-elements to it. :) Anyways, I look forward to the discussion! Cheers. ♥ The Vodou Queen - Sorrowful Bellows - MMX3 Blizzard Buffalo Remix (MASTERED).mp3

Hey there, I am taking a guess that this is more a 1:1 cover of the sources Theme of Aya / Eve's Theme, in combination? I will say, I do like some of your new instrument choices, but I am...unsure if this is presented for feedback or as a possibility to submit to OCR? If it is for the latter rather than the former, the unfortunate thing is, because a lot of this sounds like an 'upgrade' to the sources, and not a cover or a remix, it would not be eligible. Your picking of the new instruments is on-point, but because you're using straight rips from the source, and this is not pure MIDI and sampling to make your own spin on the sources, it would get rejected in Panel. I would suggest--nay, encourage--you to explore different options in making these covers more expansive, and then treading into absolutely new territory with a remix. Firstly, in making a 1:1 cover, I would stick to a single source, because this Parasite Eve one is layering two sources together, and notes are clashing (as in, hitting sour notes and sounding dissonant throughout). Some of it is the instrument choices playing together, and some of it is simply that the two sources don't match in key. So I think it's in your best interest, especially if you're just starting out in making music, to use ONE source, and play around with it. Add chords, take away elements, play with SOLELY the MIDI of the piece, and change every instrument, and see what shakes loose. :) It'd do you a lot of good, as well as sharing your journey with others in a workshop. Those are my suggestions, but this is a great starting point and a good stepping stone.

Jesus Christ...this does hit hard, and I love it. ♥ Sounds like something that would directly get placed in the Remakes (and feels like it should've!) It's very conservative and could be considered a 1:1 cover, but if you decide it at any time, I think this could definitely get through a submissions here on OCR. :) Would need a bit more of "you" put into it, like maybe an additional harmony line, or progression chords, and a solid ending, but what you've got here is hidden gold and I think if you do work on these talents you've got already, you can apply this to other sources and do something rad with them. I very much look forward to hearing more of these covers from you. :D If you need some help thinking up more to incorporate into this to make it OCR-applicable, just hit us up here or on the Discord. Pretty sure this one is a keeper, though, and TBF, won't need much added to it to make it, IMO. :3

Really hoping this one is eligible for OCR. Loving the Jungle/Breakbeat vibes, and it worked so well with the source material. ♥ Keep up the good work, and good luck on it getting through if you decide to submit it. :D

Hey there! Just had a listen to this, and I would definitely say I enjoyed it. Love the fact this is a faithful re-imagining of the original, whilst still putting a bit of your own twist onto it (like the swirly verbs echoing the violin/strings, heavy industrial/dark orchestral drums towards the end starting ~3:15, and the plucky acoustic guitar @ 2:00). The harp and piano combination is beautiful, as well. As a 1:1 cover, it does its job. If someone showed me this, and I did not know the original Ezio's Family track, I'd take this as basically either the original or an adaptation of it directly from / endorsed by Ubisoft. So from a rendition-standpoint, it's very lovely. I do ask, however, if you have more story to tell behind this or more ideas for it? Do you plan on submitting this to OCR? :) If so, you'd have to do a lot more to this to make it more your own personal take on the source, even if it's still a very conservative take more faithful to the source. If not, I'm curious as to how you ran into this source, and what compelled you to do a cover of it? :D

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/

Voted. ♥ :)

Beautiful and edge-driven take on both of Aloy's Themes from the games. :) Only got to play the first one in full, but this pumping Cyberpunk (yeah I got the reference :P) vision of yours for it is rad as hell--all it's missing is a Gunship-style male and female vocal ballad, haha. Love the glitches. Keep it up, Trey. ♥

Voted! ^_^ 100% agree with Seph on every one of these, (so, ditto!) I wanna see them on dat Panel and passing! I LOVED every single one of them, (and all of y'all are killin' it.) ♥ Looking forward to the Final Round! :D

Won't say much here, considering the circumstances and can give in-depth feedback on each track if people would like me to (on here or Discord)... ...However, I wish both teams great luck, and Team Whips--lots of love and I'm cheering over here with pom-poms, for real. Unconditional support all around. :) *hugs* Also...Dracula Flow. ♡ *kiss*

@Eino Keskitalo I had to look her up... XD Actually, the vox samples for this remix are from places like Cakewalk/BandLab, so I do not know necessarily where they originate from, but...now Imma research up on Elizabeth just to see (curiosity)! :P So, it might be! Thank you kindly and so much for the comment, and glad you enjoyed it! ♡ :D

Glad to see this one finally make the light of day. ...Well deserved. @aeroprism @colorado weeks I had expressed before in GSM1 how much I loved this song, and I'll reiterate it again here. Congrats to you both, esp. Seb, for becoming a new ReMixer. If y'all do revisit it (and hope so) would be lovely to hear the extra take. GL. HF. Hugs all around. Nice work. ♡

Saw this discussed on the Discord group awhile ago... Seems interesting, in concept and scope. Since I'm 1988, I'll do something either from Bloodborne, Elden Ring or FFXIV. Not sure as of yet which. Also happy to collab. ...GL, HF. Be back when I have a definite answer / direction on one of any of those 3 choices. :)

Haha!!--another one of the FFVIII OST I very much looked forward to hearing the remix of, "The Legendary Beast" is another that's been duly given its shine by those who made it. The fact that Earth Kid recites the *actual* in-game dialogue throughout, with all the full level and extent of fervor, showmanship and fun I always expect out of her vocal performances? Even better. From Ultimecia to Ultimecia, girl, I can tell you put your absolute ALL into this, and it not only surprised me, but damn...it reflects the lighter-voiced psychotic, chaotic nature of her character to a T. ♥ As usual, Zack and Viking has 'dem axes on pure CHUGG MODE, and I love it. The acoustics were the chef's kiss, honestly, and the synths glorious--couldn't (and wouldn't) expect less for the source covered here. Both parts of Ultimecia's fight done for the album were spectacular, made even more lovely by the fact her 3-part boss encounter is one of my favorites in the whole of the FF series (besides Kefka's and Zeromus'). My hats off to the chefs, and Devil horns all around. :) Nothing more to say here other than "keep 'em coming". ;) Huzzah for everyone on the SeeDs album--you all absolutely fucking ROCK. :D

Out of all the songs on the SeeDs of Pandora album, there are about 15 of them that I was absolutely stoked to have covered, and a dozen out of those that were absolute highlights and gems for me, in the end. This is one of them. "The Landing" from FFVIII is not only the opening scene of the game, (and by proxy, what introduces you to their world and gets you hyped for what's in store--I know it hyped the shit out of me, as a kid), it's one of my top five songs in the game on the whole, and I am SO, SO glad it was remixed. ...And when I found out it was to be an ode to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra AND "Carol of the Bells"? ...I do not think simple words could express how excited I was to hear this. And 'lo, it delivers, in spades! As usual, Zack's wondrous orchestral goodness smacks you across the cheek, only to have that love-tap be gingerly doused with tasty guitar licks and laced with the cherry that are those tubular bells. Everyone who collabed on this did a striking and fantastic job, "The Landing" being given the depth and breadth it deserved--in my opinion--and I'm certainly glad for the praise this has gotten and *finally* given the spotlight on the front-page. Well deserved, Zack & crew, and as always, I look forward to the next posts by you guys! Forever and always, keep up the good work and fighting the good fight. ♥

I just put mine through... xD ...4.5 hrs consumed in listening to everyone's stuff and giving some substantial review to each... D: HOWEVER--all of them were WELL worth the listen. :) ♥

Mine's in... :) Original plan didn't completely pan out...but seemingly this holiday season, quite a bit has been a lil' fucky-wucky on my side of the aisle. :| But something was indeed done, despite all that. Uh...happy rest of the holidays, ladies and gents. ♥ Speak soon. :D

Excellent work, guys. :) :D Lovely songs all around! A pleasure--as always--to be participating in this. ♡ Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and here's to another yeah full of (possible) bangers being made. :3

FWIW, if something like this happens for MnP, I'll be there, VG. Plan was to probably redo the very first PRC remix I've ever done, kinda demo my journey in the music making process since those years ago. Would be so happy to do it for MnP as well!!! Still remember both first rounds so fondly... ♡ And I still have the project files to boot!

Back again to where it all began... :0 This is extremely sad to see, and I wish this year I could've dedicated more time to PRC and MnP. However, Godspeed to everyone who was ever involved with either, and I still have fond memories of these even with my brief time doing them. ...But one more for old time's sake? *bro-fist* Hells yeah. Count me in.

Just hop on-board. Even if just for the experience. Both has a lot of music that is right up your alley tonally and soundscape-wise, IMHO.

What a horrible night to have a curse...but fuck it. Castlevania me up, sir.

Sign me up

What a bday present, indeed! ...Just started listening to this...and I already have goosebumps, and it's only 10-15 seconds in...and it just...grows ever-more expansive and glorious from there. ♥ Your years of experience shows in spades, despite the contention with "mix issues", and I can see why people say "it's a feature, not a bug" in some aspects and respects. Nonetheless, this is beautifully done and written and you weave so many recognizable sources in seamlessly...and it feels without effort (even though I know there was a ton of effort in this bad boy.) It's to a grand-scale of epic and an inspiration, and I'm glad Emunator vouched this one to be up on the feed, because we all would've missed out otherwise... Happiest bday to you two, the fab twins! I look forward to hearing and seeing more of your stuff up on the feed and on NewGrounds mixposts. ♥ :3 And I truly hope most of us can aspire to create and get something this hype into annals of OCR history.