zircon

Only tracks open are boss theme and birth of god. You would have to do a *very* kickass remix of either.

New sample tracks? How about... a medley? http://www.soundtempest.net/VOTLMedley.mp3 ~6 minutes of selected clips from: Suzumebachi, Sixto, myself, pixietricks, Spekkosaurus (Steffan Andrews), Shnabubula, Tepid, Geoffrey Taucer, tefnek, Darangen, Daniel Baranowsky, LuiZa, Mustin, Jeremy Robson, bLiNd, and Leifo. And this ain't even 1/3 the project.

One of my favorites, ah the nostalgia!

There are three primary to consider if you're talking about doing a remix. 1. You have to determine how closely you want to stick to the original chords, harmonies, rhythms, and melodies of the original piece. Are you going to add a new intro and ending? Add solos? Change the chord progression, or even the overall style (dark -> happy, happy -> dark). 2. You have to decide what the instrumentation of YOUR version will be, as compared with the original. 3. You need to figure out the technical means of recording and producing your version. This may involve hardware, software, or both. eg. Are you going to record everything live at once, do overdubs, use MIDI drums/bass, etc? Try to answer some of these questions first.

Yes, it is the E dissonance that is throwing me. I had to play the section a few times and play the chord on my keyboard just to make sure I heard it right. Besides not sounding good to me, there is no basis in theory for that note since it's under a simple Bb minor chord. It especially does not fit given that it is sustained, and considering the motion of the piece, which for 99% of the rest of it just uses the root as the bass. IMO this dissonance just sounds wrong (and on further examination, is "technically" wrong) to me and I think a low Bb or further expansions in the upper registers would have done a better job at creating atmosphere. BTW this really isn't impacting my decision much, I just felt it was worth mentioning. If my other complaints were addressed and this remained the same I would be happy to YES it.

It is unlikely I'll be able to come now, as I just got a new apartment that I will be moving into July 1st or the day or two prior. I need the time to pack up my stuff and prepare to move.

Yeah, that's pretty much the case. Copyright law is funny sometimes. You could actually take any of my songs and re-record them yourself (eg. you can't use MY recordings) and sell them on a CD called "Avatar of Justice: Greatest Hits", provided you pay me a measly 9.1 cents per song per CD. So let's say you took 10 of my songs and sold 'em on a CD for $18. You'd only have to pay me 91 cents. The rest is profit.

No, if you are not playing copyrighted material then you would not have to pay royalties on it. The reason you pay royalties on copyrighted material is because copyright owners have the exclusive right of performance, distribution, broadcast (etc). However, because the gov't doesn't want people to sit on their copyrights, they allow people to perform, broadcast, and otherwise use copyrighted music... provide they pay mandatory royalties when they do.

At that size you could probably have solar panels on it providing some degree of power.

Basically, the copyright board determined that internet radio stations have to pay more money for playing the same music to the same audience they were playing to before. All American radio stations have to pay royalties anyway, it's just that internet ones will be paying more now - a LOT more. Copyright is (and has always been) a federal issue and thus matters pertaining to it are typically regulated by federal bodies. This includes things like compulsory mechanical licensing rates. Our government has a vested interest in seeing the perpetuation of new creative works, so it does various things to ensure that more are created and distributed. Awarding the creators of new works is one way to try to do that. This new measure. is dumb however.

Yeah, that is definitely the best part. Like it'll be built and then just wander around. Personally, I can't wait.

So good. I've been following this since its inception and it has progressed a LOT since it started, which really says something about ambient as a constantly improving mixer. Since I've been giving advice along the way I can't really say anything negative at this point. Production rules, from the sick bass drones to the deep pads and Skryp's AMAZING drum sequencing. The arrangement is also really creative and chill, and while some might say it's too liberal, I for one am glad it didn't focus on the source riffs like many Schala mixes do. MAJOR props, great job guys. YES

The instrumental is available here; http://www.zirconstudios.com/Lover%20Reef%20(Instrumental).mp3 For the record this didn't "slip past" the panel, nor does the panel (or dave) pass mixes based on effort, or how long it took for them to create. All that matters is the objective standard of quality. A great remixer could probably do something in an hour and get posted on OCR with relatively little effort, whereas someone not as talented could spent two years revising the same song and get rejected even at the end of that period. Simply being unpolished is also not grounds for rejection... we have accepted countless mixes that had flaws and things that could be fixed easily. 9 times out of 10 it's easy to see whether a mix is YES or NO quality. The few borderline subs we get are the only ones that depend on "polish" and I don't think I'm being biasd when I say that this mix is not borderline in any area. I won't contest that it's rough around the edges (D-Lux being recorded on a $10 mic for example) but I wouldn't say it deserved a NO as a result.

Michael Jackson wants to build a 50 foot robotic replica of himself to roam the Las Vegas desert and fire lasers randomly. http://music.yahoo.com/read/news/41620594 Sometimes words just escape me.

I really was not feeling that entire ethnic intro at first, since the samples aren't so great and the tuning of the plucked instrument is weird. However, on subsequent listens I got used to it and I don't think it's a dealbreaker anymore (even though I think it could be polished way more, as the concept itself is good). The rock stuff is way more solid. The timing feels a bit off on some of the parts, the high end feels a little dulled, and the melody on lead guitar could be brought out more. Plus, I think some synths or ethnic instruments could have made appearances elsewhere in the mix so the intro would have more of a connection. That would have made it more interesting, IMO. That being said, the arrangement is quite good and highly interpretive. Nice changes to the chord progression + melody. Riffage and soloing is also tops. I was surprised at the abruptness of the ending, however. After such a long intro, to have an ending like that seems out of place. Basically my main complaints here are production. Some stuff could be hotter and meatier in that department, and I'm a sucker for denser textures... but those concerns aren't enough to merit a no. YES

Yeah, I'm not familiar with the source either but the arrangement seems to be pretty repetitive and dependant on just a handful of riffs. The groove is not interesting enough to steal the show unfortunately, as it's too simple and sounds a little lo-fi and lossy anyway. Synths are OK albeit on the generic side, kind of reminds me of earlier Crystal Method or Chemical Brothers stuff. I liked that you changed up things more at 4:56 but that new groove didn't really sit well with me either (snare is obscenely loud compared to the other parts). 3:50 or so probably could have been the end of the mix but it keeps going past that on the same material with no major changes. Same chords + riffs. Beefing up the breakdown with some low drones or maybe some new instruments or phrases would have been a welcome change rather than just dropping out the beat. The ending was pretty predictable too. As is this seems overly repetitive. The production is decent but not outstanding, definitely not enough to make up for all the repetition. That being said, the mix shows promise. Resub with some production tweaks, arrangement fixes (trim the fat), and next time please provide a source link. NO

Hahahaha, man, I am so glad you subbed this. Ok, so the drum sequencing is ridiculous. It's awesome. And I think pretty much all the other processing is cool too. That said, I still think you could do more with the arrangement... even considering the style. Feels like you are relying a little too much on production tricks to carry it sometimes. Production-wise, I would try to make the lead a little less connected so it's not a constant, grating presence in the mix. Know what I'm saying? Maybe something more staccato instead. You might want to tone down some of the louder elements too. There's abrasive, then there's... abrasive. Maybe slightly toned down beats and a little more harmony stuff (arps, pads?) It's worth a resub if you're willing to work on it. NO

I discussed this mix with Larry when he was first doing his vote and I am going to basically reiterate my thoughts after hearing it a few more times; The arrangement overall is pretty creative and interpretive. Especially after things pick up at 1:49 with the full texture, it's very pleasant to listen to. However, overall, I think it is on the sparse side. I'm aware it's supposed to be minimal and I can see how that would work here, but I think that most of the parts are too dry. For example, the synths and piano that come in at the 2:26 section feel up front and bare when they should have some sort of washed delay/reverb going on, or at least some pads backing it up. I think that with some very minor production changes such as some basic pads, reverb, and delay added to parts throughout the track, it would sound much richer without losing the "barren" quality that I think you're going for. The beat could also be a little quieter or washed (particularly the hats/snare) so it isn't in the forefront so much. I also think using some lighter percussion at times, like some ethnic loops, highpassed drums, or even more complex shaker rhythms, could add to it. Side note: the bass at :48 is definitely off, seems just like a mistake to me. I'm a big fan of Palpable in general, so it's no surprise that I really like the overall style and feel. The time signature change works well, and despite being more or less a dance tune, it's distinctly different from bLiNd's interpretation. Thus I just want to see it resubbed with some production changes - all the ideas are good and the synths + instruments do work, timbrally speaking. I just think more effects and slightly more layering could be added to push it over our bar. Just about everything else is great and spot-on. It is great to see you still at it, Palpable. Please resub! NO, RESUBMIT

Nice dynamic contrast in the first ~60 seconds. I agree w/ Larry that the samples aren't fantastic, but they get the job done. Orchestration, sequencing, and humanization is all solid. I don't think production is really an issue here, at least for me. The original was complex and long so even after listening to it a few times it's hard to get a feel for it. However, I am generally in agreement with Larry that the mix is stylistically pretty similar. It takes the same approach as the original but thins the texture, removing the strong piano element. I don't know if the variation and additions to the writing really make up for that, as at times it just feels empty and sparse. Also, structurally, it felt.. flat, for lack of a better word. It didn't seem to "go anywhere" - even after listening a few times, I just didn't feel my ear really being led in any direction. It could have gone on for 2 more minutes, or been 1 minute shorter and I wouldn't have noticed. I almost think a little MORE repetition here to drive home some of the motifs would have helped, especially if you beefed up the orchestration on subsequent repeats. What you have here is excellent work but I just do not feel that it quite meets the bar for arrangement. Refining that aspect and improving the structure would help this a lot. NO, RESUBMIT

Very MGS feel in the intro, with the fast sequenced synth FX, big drums, strings and horns. I was expecting more though, at :51 - seemed like a bit of a letdown in terms of energy. Past that, the bass + big drums helped to fill things out but I can't help be reminded of your Speed Limit mix, seph. The marcato strings, heavy compression, and bubbling synth arps are all pretty similar. Even the riff being played was quite close. Try to vary up your sounds more from mix to mix. On the whole, the production was good but on the boomy/overcompressed side - it could use more upper-mid to high range energy. The arrangement is good, though the bombing mission section is fairly liberal and doesn't make use of all the source material. I would have preferred less reliance on production/processing tricks to push the arrangement and more actual melodic/harmonic variation tying new ideas back to the original. Structurally, same thing... it didn't feel disjointed, but it felt more driven by textural changes rather than fresh writing and material. Objectively speaking I think this passes our arrangement and production bars fairly readily. But I do feel that musically it's somewhat uncreative, compared to previous mixes I've heard from both of you. YES

Larry was on the spot here with regards to the arrangement, and his advice is exactly what you need to do; compare the kind of stuff being posted lately (NOT old remixes) vs. the original tunes and you will see that we expect a lot more individual interpretation and rearrangement than what you gave here. Try to make a mix that has an original intro, ending, bridges, and variations on the melody/harmony of the original. I would also suggest trying to personalize the production a little more. Lots of looping and not much change in the texture of the mix. Messing with the lead synth and panning was cool - more of that! Generally speaking there were not enough parts, and what you did have was pretty repetitive. NO

The intro was pretty promising to me up to :46 - I was expecting things had really densified and expanded past there. However, instead there's a really weak + simple synth lead playing the melody. Boo. The synth at 1:17 is too buzzy and plain, plus it's just doing a riff from the original verbatim for nearly a full minute. It's not interesting enough to merit that much attention. Drum beats are also very simple and textbook dance - not a big deal, but because the tempo is a bit relaxed and the soundfield is too minimal, it just comes off as boring. Overall none of the production aspects here are bad, but they're as plain as plain can get. Arrangement is very similar to the original with some basic new material added to fill up space. The ending is too abrupt as well. Needs more, at least another minute's worth. Do more melodic variations, add new chords, harmonies, etc. Good start, but as far as electronic stuff goes you gotta go above and beyond what you have now. Spend more time on the WIP and ReMixing forums. NO

Time to add another person to the list of OCR community members going pro!! Our very own judge, remixer, and event coordinator pixietricks (Jill Goldin) is slated to sing on the soundtrack of the Civilization IV expansion pack, "Beyond the Sword". Jill was one of only two sopranos to be selected for this gig. The composer, Michael Curran, has worked on Civ IV, the first Civ IV expansion pack, as well as the Civ III expansion pack besides numerous other hit Sid Meier titles. Civ IV itself has won virtually every award imaginable such as "Best Strategy Game" and "Game of the Year" from a host of different websites and publications, making it one of the most high-profile PC games around. No doubt the expansion will receive as much critical acclaim. Congratulations, Jill! Today, Civ IV, tomorrow, Final Fantasy XIII? <3

Note: As of April 11th this was updated to reflect mixing, volume, and compression changes. Please edit your votes if you voted before this date!

Probably just a secret character, right? Much like Cloud's appearance? Probably not a serious storyline addition.