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They actually don't share the chords; I just adapted Lava Reef's continuo line to Ice Cap's chords.

Jeez, are you sure you're not listening to MY midi? It's called IceCap Zone Snowboard strike, and it's available at my page. I wrote that MIDI years ago and reused a lot of the same ideas in this mix.

I think a lot of people realize it man.

Alright, thanks to everyone for your comments about my mix. I want to address something right now, that seems to be a big issue with the song. I like the bass sample. That's why I used it. I wasn't looking for something real sounding. I wanted something synthy with some bite. I actually tried a bunch of bass samples I had, and none of them provided the proper sound I was looking for. The bass sound fits the texture I wanted perfectly. If you don't like it, well, I'm sorry, but I do. Alright. Now for a little history behind this mix. Ice Cap Zone is a pretty special song for me. It's actually the first song I ever remixed. No, 'Hot Ice' isn't my first remix. A few years ago, I wrote my first remix, called 'Ice Cap Zone - Snowboard Strike.' It was written using Music Time Deluxe and Wingroove, a wavetable emulator that provided some cool GM MIDI sounds. That song is available here: Ice Cap Zone - Snowboard Strike Take note of the syncopated lines and the flute solo. They're nearly identical to the ones in this mix. A few months after that, I went back to the piece and did an extended version, with a longer middle section. Ice Cap Zone - Snowboard Strike (Extended Mix) A few years after that, I really got into composing and remixing. I noticed on the WIP boards that whenever somebody remixed Ice Cap, they would undoubtedly keep that "dundun, da da dundun, da da dundun, da da dundun" bassline that Ice Cap Zone is so famous for. I looked at my own previous version of it and thought to myself, "My mix really does something different...I should remake this piece with better samples and try to submit." So one cold afternoon in February, right before catching a train back home from college for the weekend, I reworked some of my old syncopated lines in FruityLoops using some soundfonts I had, and came up with something really nice. that Sunday night, upon returning to my dorm, I started working on it again. A blizzard hit NJ that weekend, so I was snowed in at school with classes cancelled for two days, and my roommate was still at home from the weekend. I took advantage of the solitude to tweak my mix, and came up with the great idea of using another Sonic song I had always wanted to mix: Lava Reef Zone. Listen to the organ and the flute at 1:38. Sound familiar? The flute starts its solo off with a quote of Lava Reef's melody, while the organ is playing the continuo line from Lava Reef over Ice Cap Zone's chord progression. I eventually tweaked this addition and finished the piece I had 'started' years ago. I submitted that week, and six months later, it was posted to OCR! So yeah, this song is really special to me, because it's the culmination of a lot of ideas and years of growth as a mixer. Thanks for listening.

That's nice, but this mix is by me, DarkeSword, not DarkCecil.

They're entitled to their opinion, of course.

Did you buy the full soundfont plugin, or are you just using the regular old demo soundfont plugin that comes with FL4? You need to have the full version of the plugin in order for the program to save your soundfont tracks properly. Nope, i didnt buy it, i use the regular ...well, so there is nothing else that i can do if i dont want to buy the plugin? That's right. The only thing I can recommend is to either buy it, or to keep a text file of all the instruments and their respective channels for personal reference.

Did you buy the full soundfont plugin, or are you just using the regular old demo soundfont plugin that comes with FL4? You need to have the full version of the plugin in order for the program to save your soundfont tracks properly.

I can see why DJ Pretzel put the deep in bold. That it one WICKED bass sound. This mix is really groovy, and has a different feel that you don't really hear in a lot of mixes. Lots of great sounds here, and solidly arranged. Excellent work Gecko. Always a fan. SOLID™

Well, since this is the FRUITYLOOPS THREAD, just import the MIDI data into FL, drop samples on each channel, and then do your effects that way.

I don't think a Sonic 2 Beta mix will ever surface, as all music in the beta was in the final version of Sonic 2, whether in a level or the soundtest; granted, there is a Sonic Crackers mix on this site, but that music was essentially from Knuckles' Chaotix.

Very sweet sounding. This mix is very relaxing. I especially like how all of the sounds fit together nicely. Nothing seems out of place, and everything is very smooth. Pads seem a little hissy (or 'breathy' as DJP said), but I like that in a pad so it's all good. Transitions are subtle and effective. This is definately some great chillout/reading music. SOLID.™

SyZyGy, the song is Panic Puppet Zone from Sonic 3D Blast, Genesis Version. Sonic Team fortunately reused the track in Sonic Adventure for the Twinkle Park theme. They did the same thing with Green Grove Zone's music, which became Windy Valley's music. I think it was a good decision on Sonic Team's part, as the Genesis soundtrack for S3DB was quite underrated. While I liked the Saturn soundtrack, I always felt that the Genesis one had better, stronger, and catchier melodies, particularly Rusty Ruins Zone and Diamond Dust Zone. This is a Sonic Adventure mix though, because it's a mix of two tunes from the game: Twinkle Park and Twinkle Circuit (which itself is an arrangement of Sonic's theme music, "It Doesn't Matter"). Anyway, once I get back to school, where my mixing computer is, I'll use this thread to provide a semi-detailed writeup of the different sounds I used in this mix, as well as some notes on arrangement.

Zircon, to be fair, this mix is about 3 years old, and was accepted at a time when the acceptance criteria were a bit more umm...lenient. A lot of older mixes on this site wouldn't stand a chance today. OCR has evolved and changed since then. It's a joke mix, yeah, and it's not for everyone, but think about it: because of THIS song, you're not going to donate to OCR? What about all the GOOD music on this site? Don't you think that counts for something? As for UnMod...no comment. Anyway, just something to think about. edit: I should probably post my review of this song, seeing as how I finally listened to it just now. I didn't really think it's as funny as people say it is. The guitar was nice tho. Good job Shael.

I frickin' LOVED this when you posted it to WIP. Great funky jazz stuff man. SOLID AS FUCK.™

I always enjoy Nuts' stuff. It always sounds so tricked out. This is definately not a piece to have on in the background though; it requires the full attention of the listener. Very good stuff. Ah yes...another IronMix on OCR, so considering this was done in a week, very hot stuff. Great job.

OCR00966 - Zelda 64 'Lullaby Proximitus' Good stuff Wintermute. It's short, but definately sweet. I really like it when the main melody comes in; very groovy percussion work in this track. 1:28 is definately my favorite part, with the offbeat melody crazy bass synth. Very cool.

Umm...what?

Ooooh....listening now. Very smooth. I can see what DJP is talking about with the hi-hat. It really works well with the guitar to give this piece momentum. 1:12 is especially sweet; nice marchy beat you got there. The percussion really makes this piece; granted everything else is top-notch, but for me, it's attention to the hats that makes this one a keeper. Around 2:30 is nice too, coming out of the break; I really like the subtle choir pad in the background. Excellent. As I am often inclined to say: SOLID!!™

I think it does stand up there with analoq's, if you don't mind my saying so. It's not better (heavens no!), but it's up there. =\ SyZyGy, if you go back and look at the results for IMC3, you'll see that I ranked analoq's mix above my own in the contest. Personally, I think analoq's mix is very professionally done; but I also think mine is a good alternative that is completely different from analoq's mix, and also maintains a level of quality.

I love how you worked in the Undersea Palace theme from Chrono Trigger. Really cool stuff.

My favorite color is violet actually, and thanks. I wanted to do something different than the normal synthy techno. I felt that adding natural elements to the song would make it a bit more unique. I've always liked melded styles of old and new. For the record, this version of "Her Azure Eyes" is not the one I submitted to IMC3. The one I did for IMC3 is a shorter version; it doesn't have the entire B section (with the harp and strings). If you're interested in hearing the "development" of this mix, check it out at the IronMix Server, in the Contest 3 folder, or just hit up my website and find "Her Azure Eyes IMC Remix." The version I did for IMC came in second place, right after analoq's own "Sonik Azure," which, IMO, is a wicked remix. After writing the mix for IMC, I decided that as it was, the mix was too short and a little repetetive, so I changed up the construction a bit, spent some time writing out the whole B section, and split up some patterns for greater versatility in construction. The entire mix took me about 5 hours to do, split up over the course of two Friday nights. Not bad, I think. Now that I think about it, the long judging process here in OCR is very helpful in some respects. Over the course of two months, I've improved greatly as a remixer, and going back and listening to something I did weeks ago helps me understand the kind of mistakes I used to make. It really puts your mixing ability in perspective; I listen to this now and I think to myself that there are a few things I would have done differently that would have made this mix sound different from the way it is now. Overall though, I'm pretty pleased with the result.

HA! DJP likened my mix to an ANTI-DEPRESSANT! w00t!!!

I'm listening to this for the first time right now, and I'm really liking what I'm hearing. I'm a big jazz guy (I know it doesn't seem like it), and I can definately say that this is some great, unique stuff, with lots of great sounds, especially your brass and sax sound. Really wicked groove you've got going on here. I really like 2:09; that's some great chorus stuff you've got there. This is definately a keeper man. Really fantastic job. I'll be sharing this with all my jazz buddies. As I am often inclined to say: SOLID™!

Listening to this song simply makes me happy. It never gets in-your-face over-the-top. It's great driving music, or chillin' music. I find myself bopping in my chair as I type this. It does that have disco flair to it. Really great stuff here DJP. As I am often inclined to say: SOLID™!