zircon

No, he's leaving OCR in it's entirety. As anyone who talked to him regularly can attest, he disappeared without a word to anyone. Haven't seen him for months on AIM - no posts at all in any forum, no PMs, nothing. I guess he really wanted to leave this part of the internet cold turkey.

I have to agree with Vig on the arrangement. There is definitely some Ice Cap in there. I recognize parts of the melody in about four or five different parts of the song, some more obvious than others, and the chord progression is present in its original or slightly varied form in a few spots too. However, with that being said, I think the arrangement is overly liberal. I wasn't hearing much of a connection to the two OTHER themes cited (aside from the brief cameo of the Volcano one). It feels to me like this is more of an original tune inspired by some Sonic themes rather than a ReMix which starts with the source and branches off from there (a rearrangement, which is what OCR is all about). Now, that being said, if the technical side of the mix was really amazing, that might counteract the arrangement issue I have here. But that is not the case, unfortunately. The dynamics are very unrealistic. I don't know a lot of piano pieces written OR performed in this manner. Heavy playing is acceptable provided it is counterbalanced with material that is much lighter. I'm not hearing enough of that contrast here. There's also the problem of the sequencing, which is fairly mechanical in nature - especially in the left hand. This makes the heavy parts seem even heavier, and the soft parts seem plodding. That's bad. Additionally, I don't find the writing for either hand to be really interesting. The left hand doesn't change much - it's just arpeggios in the same rhythmic pattern over and over, except towards the end where it gets SLIGHTLY more interesting (but still a reliance on arpeggios). I know it can be hard to write interesting left hand parts, but it IS possible. The right hand is also not really explored fully. It's typically playing only one note at a time, maybe two at most. What's the deal? Try exploring the use of chords in the right hand more, grace notes, trills, tremolos, rhythms outside the time signature... anything to make it more engaging. One note at a time in simplistic rhythms is very basic and very boring. All things considered, I don't think this is all that far from our bar. You did some very nice arrangement of the Ice Cap theme. I was impressed. If you could ground more of the ReMix in the themes, touch up the production, and rethink the voicing in both hands, I think you'd have a very good shot of passing. NO resubmit

Surely you jest! We announced this on our last show. http://www.vgdj.net/torrents.html

This is a tough call. The arrangement here is quite liberal in that it takes only one or two melodic elements from the original, repeats them, and then does otherwise unrelated stuff. The very beginning just appears to be processed direct sampling, too, and the ending was more or less identical to the original's ending. Looking at the big picture I think more could have been done with the actual original itself... the mixer did add a lot of material to fill out the whole piece, it's just that the additions were not related enough. I also thought the production was off. The amount of compression on everything made my head spin, seemingly in the lower freqs in particular. I don't really object to the lofi + distortion used since that's a stylistic choice, and one that artists like tefnek and Beatdrop have made also. However, the sound balance here, whether it's because of heavy compression or not, doesn't sound right to me and really detracts from what I'm listening to. Also, I didn't really like the percussion. It's more or less simple kick/snare stuff without any sort of additional layers that would have really added to it. I do think that there is a place for this style on OCR. We've accepted some far out stuff, in terms of both arrangement and production, in the past. ReMixers like Mazedude and Shnabubula come to mind in particular. However, I think this could have been more refined in both arrangement and production. I encourage a resubmit. NO

You mean in Kontakt, right? I guess I should do that at some point...

I have QLSO Gold (not w/ the XP addon, which is additional articulations) and I have part of VSL Opus 1 & 2, as it's bundled with K2. Generally speaking, I prefer the brass of Gold for a big, dramatic sound, and it's sustained string patches seem "warmer". However, I like the percussion from VSL more, and the marcato patches MUCH more. You can't get those aggressive string hits with Gold, in my experience. VSL is recorded up close and dry, meaning all those attacks are preserved. If you want to hear a demo, I used pretty much all VSL orch elements in my "Subterranean Opus" remix up until about 2:15, where I switched to Gold because I wanted a more dramatic sound. One thing I don't like about Gold is that it has the reverb built in, and it also has release tails built in. That can be annoying.

Gray was a pleasure to work with, both on the panel and on the mod team. He was always very dedicated to his job. But besides that, he was also a good friend, and it's sad that I haven't even seen him on AIM for months now. He would never hesitate to listen to one of my WIPs or give feedback; there was never a bad time for him. I'm going to miss GL

The biggest issues here are in the samples and sequencing. Simply put, the instruments sound fake and mechanical. There is not much more I can say than that. You need to upgrade your samples and sequence them in a more realistic manner. The ReMixing forum is the place to go for more help on that. The arrangement here seemed a little on the sparse side to me, and the interpretation factor didn't strike me as being particularly strong either. Perhaps I'm just being biased because of the mechanical sample usage, though. Even if that is the case, the ending is DEFINITELY no good. It's overly abrupt and exposed, as Liontamer said. NO

I think we just recently evaluated a remix of this same theme in a similar style. Huh. Well, the sources are cool, so no harm done. I agree with Larry that the vibes (as well as the bass note) at :24 sound off. The percussive pattern introduced there is also pretty thin and doesn't add a whole lot. When the sax comes in it sounds a bit off rhythm to me, and the drumkit that comes in accompanying it is very 'damp' and difficult to hear. It seems like the harmony parts you have (eg. the piano and the strings) are voiced too low, which is adding to some of the muddiness of the mix. I do, however, echo Larry's sentiment on the 1:31-2:08 material. Very cool interpretation in that section. However, the chords you have under the main zelda theme sound no good. You gotta rewrite that. Skipping to the last section of the piece, I would like to say that I think you could have been more creative than just repeating earlier motifs a few times with slightly different instrumentation. The ending is rather abrupt too. I could go on with more specifics but I think Larry covered basically all of them. To outline the main problems: the sax performance isn't as tight as it could be, the production is muddy at times, some of the transitions sound off, parts of the arrangement don't sound right (bad harmonies), and some of the instruments used are very lo-fi. Start looking at these things and you will be on the right track for a resubmit. NO

The source seems like a difficult one to arrangement, but even that aside, there are several problems here that prevent this one from passing. For one thing, the production is not good. The bass (which is a good sample, don't get me wrong) is incredibly loud and overbearing, making it difficult to hear some of the other parts. Putting compression/limiting on the track was nice in order to prevent clipping, but it causes unmusical pumping as a result of stuff like the bass which is mixed way too loud to begin with. I recommending going easier on the compression AND toning down the loud parts, to make a more 'stable' soundfield. The synth guitars don't really bother me all that much, but it sounds like you have some sort of weird effect on them like flanging, phasing, or chorusing that makes them sound wore than normal. As the song progresses and more elements are added, the heavy compression and lack of careful mixing/EQing makes things sound quite muddy. Looking at the structure of the track, there is not much of a central riff, motif, or melody for the listener to follow. That's not necessarily a bad thing if you can compensate for it by having a set of interesting sounds, rhythms, or progressions. However that is not really the case with this mix. There are a few cool ideas here and there but they are stretched out and repeated too much to hold up the song as a whole. NO

Obvious issues w/ the lack of a source tune aside, I don't think this is too bad in terms of concept. It's reminiscent of Quinn Fox's material. Lots of jazzy chords and 'floaty' pads and synth sounds. However, the production is weak. I'm hearing presets and FL defaults all over and a lot of them just don't really fit together. You should spend more time picking sounds that fit the texture, as the ones you have here for the most part are out of place. That plus the arrangement problem makes this a simple NO In the future please be more clear about what you are remixing. Also, the ending seemed like a cutoff. If this was intentional, it's really not an effective resolution.

I don't think the production here is particularly bad. Sonically, it's fine. There are a few parts where it sounds overly mechanical but I really think that's due to something else. The problem is really in the arrangement/performance. The right hand's melodic parts are often very simplistic in terms of voicing (monophonic, usually) with very little rhythmic or melodic variation. The left hand accompaniment is sparse and somewhat plodding. Even when it changes up periodically, it's still not interesting. Overall, the range of the piece is quite small, and definitely doesn't take advantage of the full range of the piano. If you're going to do a solo piano ReMix you gotta really use more contrast in terms of pitches, dynamics, and rhythms. Not to say that you gotta densify things beyond belief, but just listen to some of Dhsu's work as a point of reference. Even the quiet, minimal songs of his have a lot of expression and change. That's what you should be trying to do here. NO

Happy September 1st! It's time for you all to vote for VGDJ at podcastalley.com , since all ranks from the previous month have been reset. Just go here; VOTE! ... and put in your email address, then click on the link in the email. Easy! BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE!!! We also lovingly crafted a little video treat for y'all. Check it out at http://www.vgdj.net/ !

This is my all time favorite djp mix. Brilliant arrangement, great concept, fantastic production. I'm especially fond of the percussion, from the dance drums to the hihats, to the taiko breakdown (it really IS, badass, Dave). Awesome job and congrats again on 1500!!!

For sequencing drums, I gotta say, nothing beats FLStudio. It can do other stuff too of course but it has the following great features; 1. VERY easy to use beat slicer that has a good detection algorithm. 2. Incredibly easier to use step sequencer for quickly making your own patterns from oneshot samples. 3. File browser docked at the left side with preview, search, and drag and drop capabilities - makes it extremely easy to audition a ton of samples and then instanteously create sampler or slicer channels for them. 4. FPC drum machine plugin, an Akai MPC emulator that is great if you want a more realistic sound as it allows for easy mapping of multiple drum sounds. 5. Good independent time/pitch stretching algorithm for importing loops of different tempos and syncing them. 6. Fairly good built in library of drum samples to get you started.

Hey guys, just as a heads up we won't have a show for you this Monday. pixietricks has some important auditions coming up (and a roommate moving in), and I have to work on some music projects that I've been putting off for awhile now. Ah, real life. Anyway, perhaps it is for the better as 1500 STILL isn't out yet... when we do record #055 I'm sure it will be. I promise we'll have some nice coverage of it.

What a goofy original. I've never heard this soundtrack before, but I think I like it! I gotta say, the ReMix is even better. I can easily imagine that evil purple tentacle banging himself against the piano keys. It's just loads of fun, and needless to say, a great arrangement. Like your Earthbound "Battling Organs" mix, this might not appeal to everyone because some of the notes and rhythms seem off. However, I see that as a creative choice that works well - not a problem at all. Great stuff. YES

Phantasy Star 2 was one of my favorite soundtracks from the PS series, and I'm pretty familiar with it. So, it's clear to me that you're telling the truth - you really didn't go too far from the original here. And, unfortunately, that's no good when you're submitting to OCR. Check out the following page about our submission standards; http://www.ocremix.org/info/Submission_Standards_and_Instructions In order for a ReMix to be acceptable by today's standards you need to add a significant level of individual interpretation. Changing instruments or even adding new instruments is not sufficient, thought it might have been earlier in the site's history. In this mix, you stick to the exact structure of the original, the same tempo, the same rhythms, and the same general feel. There are two repetitions of this before you get to 2:44 or so when you just drop out some layers and basically repeat things again. You need to focus more on varying the source tune in a meaningful way, and adding your own material. There are a lot of ways you can do this, but the best thing I can suggest is to listen to recently posted ReMixes of songs you know to see how they took the original and went in a new direction. Then, visit our Works in Progress forum or go to #ocrwip on IRC to get feedback before you submit. I'd also like to mention the production briefly. Reason has some good samples, synths, and effects, so I think if you're using it you'll be OK. However, in this song, things were sequenced in a very mechanical manner, and there was an excessive amount of reverb on everything. Many of the sounds (like the drums) were also very plain and not interesting to listen to. These production issues are not as pressing as the arrangement, but nonetheless, I recommend a visit to the ReMixing forum to brush up on this. NO

I don't think there's any one element here that sticks out at me as being particularly bad or below our bar. In fact, if this were early in OCR's history I'm pretty sure this would have been posted to the site. However, right now, it falls short in a few areas. As Larry pointed out, the sound quality is somewhat lo-fi and unrealistic. Most of the lead parts are sequenced fairly mechanically which is no good if you're trying to emulate live playing, plus there were a lot of plain sounds used (like the synths and the drumset) that just didn't have much interest to them to begin with. Also, while some of the fills and transitions were fun, they didn't quite make up for the lack of substantial arrangement on the main melody when that came in. The best part of the arrangement is the stuff you did around the middle, which was a very welcome change. Do more of that. I do like the concept and as I said, a lot of the material in the middle was very cool. The percussive sequencing was good too. My main suggestion would be to focus on doing more with the lead parts - variation in the melody, rhythm, harmony, or all three. Then, I would probably trim the mix down by at least a minute as there's a lot of repetition that doesn't need to be there. With some refinement to the production and arrangement, I am confident that this would be at our bar. Resubmit! NO

I like the percussion here a lot, and - dare I say - the groove is pretty catchy past the introduction. However, Larry is right that there's not enough of an interpretive factor when it comes to the arrangement (the notes themselves and their rhythm). In addition, the structure of the mix is a little aimless. After the introduction, which transitions abruptly, you just have a breakbeat part with a few elements being layered and nothing else. There's no dynamic contrast and the theme isn't developed. Essentially, there are no major changes of any kind after the introduction ends, and for the mix to be able to stand alone it needs to have more of that. A real ending wouldn't hurt either. Larry is right that the original is a tough tune to mix. Don't be disappointed or frustrated if you can't think of any ideas; to be honest I would have trouble thinking of any for this one myself. NO

Ooh... right from the beginning, I could tell that this remix means business. I'm a huge fan of "Deserted Industry" and "Catapult" and the harsh electronic sounds used in both of those. And, overall, I really like the sounds you used here as well. Lots of very creative pads, some butt-kickin' drums, crazy leads, thick bass... etc, that much is all a given. The arrangement is wonderful as well. The Magus theme can be tough to remix creatively because it has such a cool structure to begin with, but you did a good job, particularly with all the rhythmic variations (especially the tempo change). Major props on that. My only complaint is with the overall production. You've just got some wacky EQ/mixing stuff happening here. The crashes like the one at 2:44 are INCREDIBLY loud and grating, for one thing. The highs throughout (like on the melody synths) don't seem crisp and 'airy', but thin and piercing - in a bad way. I actually liked the EQ work on Deserted Industry a good deal more than on here, mainly because of that. The lows and mids are fine. It's just the volume issues with the high end (which happens to be constantly present) that make this less enjoyable to listen to. Nonetheless... I don't think that production problem is enough of an issue to merit a no vote. The interpretation factor is just huge here and the sound design was universally excellent. YES

I was definitely feeling the first :35. You had some cool ideas there, and the atmosphere was something that I thought was quite fitting. After that it went a little downhill, though. The big kick that came in just seemed out of place (no problem w/ the snare though), then at :52, the strings were playing chords that didn't sound quite right. Something about the voicing, I'm not sure exactly what, but please take a look at it again because it doesn't sound good at all. At 1:26 there's just more repetition with the addition of the somewhat dry marching snare. The string stuff still sounds muddy + off. Finally, you close it out at 2:00 with a little bit of variation, but underneath that it's still just repetition. I think you've got the right idea when it comes to interpretation but this is too repetitive. Even though the source tune is short, you can add your own original material to expand it. Use other themes from the game if you have to, or even change around the melody, chords, or harmony of the tune. You may have arleady heard it, but use the remix of this theme by Tyler Heath and myself (When All Hope Has Faded) as an example of how you can add a LOT of additional material to even this short source tune and be well within the standards of the site. Anyway, just keep practicing and don't forget to check the Work in Progress and ReMixing forums for help. NO

Hey guys, thanks to Belthesar we have a working set of torrents now! More info coming soon...

Daniel Baranowsky is covering the Turks theme. His mix is pretty much done, and I think you all will like it.

Ooh, this is pretty cool. This is a good concept with a great arrangement, and I don't think there are any major problems to speak of. However, there are a bunch of minor things that start to add up, that I would imagine are pretty easily fixed. The main thing would be the reverb. Even on headphones, the reverb sounds really excessive. Take Vig's advice on fixing that. Next, the sax performance is quite good, but what's up with those long sustained notes with NO vibrato?! Nearly FOUR measures at a time with absolutely no change in tone, pitch, volume, or whatever. Come on. I didn't think it was possible for live sax to sound mechanical and synthy but I guess I was wrong. However, that's my only complaint about the sax. I really like the rest of the performance. It's vibrant, energetic, and relatively tight. That's why I'm emphasizing how dreadful those sustain notes sound... they bring everything else down. The drums are solid overall. The only thing I noticed there was that while the little variations and fills sounded great, it seemed like they got off time with the bass every so often. Is this a problem with the bass, or with the drums? I don't know. But whatever's causing it, it's a bit distracting, and it makes the drums sound sloppy. Oh yeah, it might not be a bad idea to process the drumset so they sound a little more present - I would make the snare brighter and compress the kick (use a multiband compressor if you recorded the set all at once) and boost it individually so it's a little more audible. This is more of a personal preference, though, and it might even happen naturally when the massive reverb is toned down. Lastly, the keyboard solo is wonderful but the sample used there is not very good. If you have the performance as a MIDI, it might be worth trying a different sample with it. It's not a BIG deal but because everything else has that great live sound, the sampled piano sticks out more than it normally would. Anyway, to reiterate, overall this is very cool. I'm close to a yes, just touch up at least some of the issues we've pointed out here. NO Please resubmit!