mo.oorgan

@The Coop I personally don't see why not! I would say reach out to me on Discord so we can discuss this a bit further there! : ) @NarnianWarrior Totally understandable! The main thing is that the "Credits" related source is a majority of the track heard in the final product (65% to 75%). It can be less if the 2nd song is also a credits theme, though! I'll reach out to you on Discord to discuss it in a bit more detail ✨

@Dj Mokram Ooooh yes, I feel you about the stylistic experimentation; I'm super curious which source you're thinking about, and hope I get to find out at some point 👀 The album seems to be lacking in this type of representation so far, so it'd be welcome with open arms if you decide to join up at some point. Bird is absolutely the word! I also really appreciate the ultra-valid & aptly-stated advice, and I definitely resonate with the implications behind what you're saying. That notion is starting to make itself known, and I'm working on ways to streamline/mitigate some of these things to a degree, but I also can also see that good planning can only accommodate for so many things. I at least have a few levels of consultation to help guide some decisions, but I agree and think a co-director would be a key step in ensuring this comes together in a smoothly (esp if the scope of the project continues to grow beyond the initial expectation 😅). @GCJ That's stellar!! 😎 Thanks for extending your desire to participate; I like the style and energy behind your posted ReMixes, and could see you being a great fit to the project! I'll be reaching out to you on Discord momentarily to discuss it a bit further here~

Thank you all for expressing your enthusiasm!! It seems like this should be a pretty viable project to launch and complete, but I do want to try and rope in a couple more people before I start getting super official with everything though. @Dyluck :') Glad to hear so, it was a pleasure to work on TimeShift with you at the helm! I updated the post to include what you were saying about Credits that were accessible through Main Menu/Options selections, and explained some of the nuance behind it; good thinking on pointing that out! I can also see what you're saying in regards to the timeline, and that insight is highly regarded and duly noted!! My intention was to give everyone a year to come up with a final draft and run the project from 01/012025 to 01/012026, and not really stress any of the mid-point deadlines (just the final one lmao) too much. I'll likely change the wording to emphasize that intention a bit more clearly, but ultimately if there's any reason to extend the actual final deadline, I'd certainly have no problem doing that, and would evaluate that likely at the beginnings of July and October (or subsequently as needed). Not even just with yours, but also with DFW's Double Wing Damage, it seems like there's a lot of last second activity to navigate (myself included, given I arrived to the projects so late!), so I guess there's a certain degree of that which I expect, but I also want to actively brainstorm what would help guide and mitigate that through the process as much as possible.

I'm "filled with determination" (💖) after partaking in OCR's 25th anniversary hangout in Discord, and after not watching Survivor as intended, and further not working on any of my three DoD entries like I was supposed to, I decided to write up an outline + checklist for what would be needed to run a project, to stop the inspiration in my head from swirling around like a whirlpool. The idea came as an almost random strike of inspiration; I know there was a direct reason why I came up with this, but I truly can't remember the chain reaction of thoughts that led me to it (if anyone remembers why I spilled this tangent, feel free to remind me, lul). But the main reasons for wanting to do this are: Now that TimeShift, an album celebrating the past 25 years, is complete, it would feel almost thematically appropriate to have an album that "signs off" on that sentiment, welcoming an era of the next 25 years to come. Credits songs tend to be a soft spot for VGM composers, often resulting in source tracks that are really damn good. If I were to direct a "first" album project, I would love to do one that invites multiple games and genres to be valid for submission. The idea is to have a 25-track album (one track per year) with an aim for a 12-month completion date (four deadlines; three months per deadline) that invites people to remix any game's credits theme. The name Exit Stage Left originates from theater terminology for "get off the stage, according to the actor's left," was popularized by Snagglepuss in the '60s and further solidified by Rush in the '80s. While this was my initial thought, I'm not entirely committed to the name, but I’m also not against it. I'm open to suggestions. Curtain Call could also be a more appropriate name, given that the premise of the album is to share gratitude for the hard work of everyone over the years and the musical inspiration they've provided, as well as to extend thanks for the community still being supported (and supportive) to this day. The phrase is synonymous with "Take a Bow," which fits the album's sentiment a bit better, but I feel like Exit Stage Left has an aura of swag surrounding it that I can't deny. It's kind of a toss-up at the moment. Regardless, the album would have bear visual themes to stage performance and theater, but I strongly emphasize that this would be in visual/grammatical style alone, as I would much prefer a wide variety of styles and genres be spread across the project (I can't say I personally would be interested in a 'Theater Soundtrack' style compilation album, not to mention how difficult that would be to produce). Any vibes, as long as the source plays during the Staff Roll at the end of a game/campaign**. Various Considerations: Some games reuse title themes/other source tracks as their credits theme, and these wouldn't be eligible unless there's a valid reason to appeal the rule. e.g., Sonic Adventure 2 uses "Live and Learn" as the title theme, in mid-game cutscenes, and as one of the two credits songs. I would theoretically deem this a conditional approval if the ReMix emphasizes the lyrics of the song to it as the credits theme. Metroid Prime's "Staff Credits", however, is 99% exactly the same as the Title Sequence with 0 differences except the very ending of the song; this is a case where I would feel more inclined to make an exception, but will likely request a different song be selected unless it can be properly contextualized as a 'credits' style song (I am referring to this as the 'Metroid Prime Clause'**.) Animal Crossing is a little different, where the music that plays in the credits sequence depends on what song you request from K.K. Slider, meaning that Animal Crossing games have 50+ different 'credits' tracks. My rule of thumb for this would be that if the song is one that you can hear outside of the credits, then it would be denied. That said, if you request a made up song (or misspell a song name), then K.K. Slider will play up to ~3 different source tunes that cannot be heard anywhere else in the game; this I would feel more welcome to allowing as a viable selection. Some games have their credits sequence as an optional selection from either the Title Screen or from the Settings menu (such as games like Balatro, Stardew Valley, or Slay the Spire). If the game has a unique source track for the credits, this will be viable; however, if the game just continues using the track that was playing from when you clicked into the option, then that would be a no-go. (thank you for pointing this out Dyluck!!) Some games feature multiple credits sequences with distinct tracks. e.g., Sonic Adventure 2 includes "Hero" and "Villain" storylines, each with unique credits themes. Both would be acceptable source candidates. However, for The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, where the credits sequence transitions through "Lost Woods," "Zelda's Lullaby," and "Chamber of Sages," the remix would need to embody the transitions between these songs and emphasize the parts unique to the credits version. A remix solely of "Lost Woods" or "Zelda's Lullaby" wouldn't qualify. Some credits sequences use multiple tracks. As long as the credits are rolling, the track is acceptable as a source. e.g., Sonic Adventure 2’s credits include "Ending (Credits)" and "Live and Learn"; both would qualify. Conversely, in Donkey Kong Country, the fake-out credits during the King K. Rool fight wouldn’t qualify, but "The Credits Concerto" would Aligning with OC ReMix's rules, the song must be originally composed for a game, not composed and then used in a game (thank you for reminding me Seph!) It would be great to pull in some deep-cut OCR alumni for this project, but realistically, this may not be entirely possible. Still, it would be neat if an album about credits themes featured some long-standing names credited on the project itself. If this project is successful and well-received, I’d consider a follow-up album with the same format for title themes. But for now, I’m opting not to think too hard about that, but ultimately is why I feel motivated to enforce the 'Metroid Prime Clause'**. But yeah, that's the idea! Please let me know if this is something you'd be interested in participating in, so I can attempt a rough headcount! Or further, if you have any feedback, thoughts, ideas, or questions, don't hesitate to share them ✨ ✨

Huge fan of the source tune, and I feel like I can see the vision here for what the intention is here. For some reason, it keeps reminding me of this particular song by Bougenvilla, or other songs around this time and in this kind of future house-y nature. The open hats, clap, and kick feel like you're specifically aiming for a house track, but the progression seems to lack the tension and release that a song in that genre would bring to the table. I do feel moments where it feels like it's on it's way to achieving something like this, however I feel like there's a fair amount of polishing that needs to be put into this track here. Throughout the entire WIP as it is, there doesn't seem to be any sorts of evolution or automation being applied anywhere, where some progressive filter sweeps could be some really powerful elements. I also feel like to really establish a 'groove' on this type of track, it's crucial to have some kind of low-end activity going on, where it doesn't feel like this track has any bass presence outside of the kick drum. I would be amiss to not recommend that some kind of proper bass finds its way into future updates of this track. Some kind of one-off notes that may be helpful: --The kick seems to have no 'thump' to it. I can see that it has presence in the 'sub' regions, but it feels like it needs either a layer that focuses on the 200Hz-500Hz region, or the kick that is there needs to be emphasized in that same frequency region, to really drive the kick. --The open hats do feel pretty quiet at the intro. --The high-end synth that is introduced at :30 is very harsh on the ears, and seems to be mixed louder than everything else. With the frequencies that particular synth is living in, the human ear naturally hears these frequencies a lot louder than others, so while a frequency analyzer/EQ may show this at a relatively normal level, the perceived volume of this feels louder than intended, and could stand to be brought down a fair amount. This also stands out in contrast to everything before it comes back in at 1:16. --The fill at 0:29 sounds like a kick drum is trying to achieve the job of a tom fill, where using the kick isn't really doing it for me. This also goes for the fill at 1:17; since a kick drum is being used here, it feels like it belongs more in a metal track than the song you're producing, but if switched to a tom fill, I feel like would capture the spirit of what I imagine is intended for the track overall. --I think for the fill at 1:44 to work, it would be most effective to strip out the rest of the drums, and let there be that pause moment before you go back into the groove, and send it back off with a crash. --The synth that takes the melody line at :45 doesn't really change, and kind of just comes from out of nowhere. This is the type of element that could be introduced with a hi-cut/low-pass filter with percussive elements stripped away, that coinside with a buildup, to then drop with it in full force and drums to really make it make sense, but as it is, it gets repetitive pretty quickly. The change that does happen at 1:16 is intriguing, but since it's followed by that 30 seconds of the exact same synth and MIDI and no evolutionary elements, it quickly loses its novelty, and by the time it comes back at 1:45, I'm longing to hear a different synth at that point. As a personal recommendation, I would try to find a reference track that you want this track to emanate 'vibes' of what you're aiming for, bring that into your DAW, and consider things that are happening within that track, to identify individual tasks and goals you can surmount to bring your track closer to that chosen reference track, because I think there's some bones to this idea, but a huge part of what I feel like is missing here is a House song structure and progression, as well as those moments to solidify an impactful moment in the track. I would really focus on the transitional elements, and how you can emphasize the sections of buildup and release, since there's spots in the WIP that seem to have a moment where that can happen, but they lack the leading tension to really pay off when that moment passes. This all said, I really think this can come into it's own with some due diligence, I think with some restructuring, some progressive evolution throughout, and some balancing of frequencies, this track will be on it's way to being a much more solid piece of work!

Conceptually, this feels like it's in such a great direction! The piano translates the kind of longing and comfortable wispiness that the OST carries with it, and the cinematic low end impacts give it this 'epic' overtone. The main thing I'm wishing that was present throughout the track was a bit of textural evolution. It feels more like the MIDI notes were replaced with modern instrument VST's, but there's nothing to really glue that freshness and carry it from one section into the next. I feel like something in the way of some transitional sounds, some quiet over-arching evolving atmospheric sounds could go miles in terms of being worth your time. One other thing that doesn't really jive with me on this, is the clap; it is both way too quiet, and feels super flat, and kind of takes you out of the 'mystical' vibe that leads up to where it is. I think giving it some form of parallel processed reverb, and some light saturation could make it feel more at home in this mix! The last thing that may be worth mentioning is using some light Master channel low + high pass automation to emphasize some sections before the come in, or as the fade out a bit more. Nothing super dramatic in this sense, but just something to kind of help with the feeling of evolution over the course of the track (for instance, at like 1:42 would be a great spot to do something like this, imo!) Keep it up! This is good stuff, and gives me the feels, fr :') Oh, and I think this is easily my favorite song from MM's OST!

This is such a spicy track, and is super upbeat. The tempo change in the later half of the track is very enjoyable, and all of the different synth selections are dialed in well, evolves nicely, and is just super fun overall. The sources are great choices, but I'm not familiar with the source, either. There's really only two things I could maybe note: -The snare in the first half does feel a hair dry, and wonder if sending it to a reverb bus could maybe help with this? -The sub bass on your kick is coming in really thick/present (at least on my Yamaha HS-8's, with the subs on a -4db shelf @ ~500hz), and could maybe stand to help balance out the overall mix a little more if the sub region of the kick was dialed back a super little bit. This track definitely stands on it's own two legs, so admittedly, these are more nitpicks over anything else. Absolutely fabulous stuff here~

1:00 - The keys feel pretty static here, and think some kind of movement would be warranted here. 1:15 - Really love the rhythm here 1:25 - I feel like there needs to be some kind of "pay-off" in the high end here. This is definitely a great concept, and an absolute bop. I'd recommend giving the snare some reverb in a separate bus. I know you mentioned that was not working too well, and I used to encounter that a lot until I started cutting everything below like 400-500hz after the reverb on that bus, as well as taking out some of the 2k-5k range, and then a smooth curve on everything above like 13k-15k made a huge difference for taming reverb busses. The last thing I'd note is the bass is suuper thicc here; without looking at a freq analyzer, it sounds like either the 2nd harmonic of the sub, or it's overall level may just be a tad too high. All to say that I really like the vibes going on here :)

Just what I noticed during review: 1:12 - feels like there's phasing in the snare layers (?) 2:15 - the slide guitar bit is just a little loud here. I am a huge fan of all of the instrumentation, it's really fantastic, but the mix does feel a little dry overall, and feel like it could stand to exist in a bit more of a 'space'. Definitely worth seeing this through, super spiffy remix so far!

I've decided I'd like to jump on for this one, too! As the kids say, I'm 'old', so given that, I'd like to claim Animal Crossing: Wild World.

I love this so much! I feel the same way when it comes to AC tracks from the GCN or WW versions, and Rainy Day is definitely one of my favorites. I do agree with Hemo, in that I feel like it needs to go to a new section, and doing that with maybe some new percussion and patterns, and adding some more unique melodic/rhythmic elements would really bring it to a new level, and I would really love to see that for this track in particular! Especially because the original track is meant to be a bit more passive as you trot along in-game, and I think to bring it more upfront musical qualities and make it more dynamic over the track, it could take advantage of a lot of the open space through the duration of the track by having more, as well as having sections to break away from the kind simplistic nature of the song and melody. I personally think it'd be cool to break off into an acoustic drumkit section for a break, and then go back to the electronic one, but idk how well it'd work in practice there, and is just kind of what my ear is hearing as a potential option. Good luck with this one, would love to hear more as it goes along~