danny B
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Posts posted by danny B
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I'll say this one more time.
My name is "Daniel Baranowsky".
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I don't think it's fair to condemn a song based on an instrumentation choice that is by nature, a subjective decision. "Hollow" is not a criticism, it's a copout for actual critique. I hear full strings with multiple articulations, horns, low brass and high brass. That's hardly a sparse instrumentation.
I will agree that the sound quality isn't impeccable, but it's hardly bad enough to warrant rejection. The trumpet cadenza has a cringe note or two with the limited sample, but overall it's got a nice texture and is very well arranged and humanized. The percussion is lively and diverse. The snare drum isn't uber-quality, but the manner in which it is used, i.e. DYNAMICALLY, is an impressive and rare thing in submissions i've heard. I don't agree that the 3+3+2 is a hindrance. I can't fault an arrangement for sounding somewhat mechanical while using artificial musicians. There could be a little bit more TLC on the string releases and swells, but overall, it's a very dynamic and lively mix.
This tune reminds me of how Nobuo Uematsu always used synthesis in the Final Fantasy series but it was still emotionally stirring. The chimes around the :47 mark are notably bad, but this is but a blemish that does not warrant rejection. The overall arrangement doesn't feel necessarily "real", but realism is hardly a factor unless the blatant lack of it directly affects the ability to enjoy the arrangement. That is not the case here.
Frankly, the amount of creativity here does a lot to overcome the minor sound issues. The original is transmogrified into a new beast that feels truly epic. There are tempo changes, time signatures changes and dynamic changes that feel in no way contrived, but greatly enhance the humanity of the arrangement. I try not to let personal attachment affect my judging, but this tune really hits me emotionally, and if that isn't a positive aspect for a ReMix, I don't know what is. I'd love to hear more remixes that so adeptly incorporate original passages along with source material, and in such a creative package. I hope to hear more from you soon, DZComposer.
a very merry YES
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Can we get some moderation on all this trash, so this review thread can actually focus on Mazedude's track?
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THE QUALITY OF YOUR SAMPLES IS IRRELEVANT.
That is, assuming that you've got the chops to make up for it in arrangement and overall production. Yea, so some of it sounds pretty MIDI-Bitty. But who cares? Aside from a blatty saxophone and piercing brass stabs, it's generally good enough sound quality to get by pretty well.
Take it from me, i've been getting into latin percussion pretty hardcore lately, and these skins are quite well done. We've got the tumbao on the congas, we've got shakers, some cymbals, and rad timbale licks. The mixer does well to use cowbell when it's appropriate, and not in Bruce Dickinson-style excess. It's beyond my current abilities to recognize whether it's in 3:2 or 2:3 casscare, but it sounds like there's an effective use of both, in moderation. A drum kit, with ride cymbal work, might have filled up the percussion a bit more, but there's nothing wrong with sticking to the classics.
We've got the genre-authentic piano that provides a groove rather than trying to be the star, and the electric bass is certainly kosher for the more pop-centric salsa sound. It's not Pancho Sanchez, but it's fun, sounds convincingly hispanic and is very successful at adapting a tune in a way that I never saw coming. Great Work here.
¡SI!
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This is letter material.
Decent original dNb with vague references to CT and FF8 do not an OCRemix make. See above mastering/mixing issues and try to include somewhat recognizable source material next time.
Fairly interesting and somewhat creative, albeit typical dNb fare.
NO
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I'm going to have to take a 180 here.
I love this.
Often when a tune is "converted" to a totally different genre, especially an electronic one, it suffers from blatant unoriginality and n00bitis. I don't think this is the case here at all. Everything is well mixed, balanced and clear. Every instrument has a defined purpose. It's organized very well. There is a good amount of repetition, but I can't fault adherency to a genre's mainstays. Blues music is based on the same 12 bars over and over again. There are rap songs out there that repeat far more than this and are still enjoyable.
This tune is a lot of fun in that it's simple, but it's still got all the bases covered across the frequency range, and does a great job interpreting the original tune into something much more energetic. The original was easy to listen to for hours, so I think the same can be said about this, for me.
I actually really like the piano sample. It's so blatantly used for old-school, cheesy effect - and it is AWESOME. Doesn't even really sound like a piano! Brilliant!
The mix could use some additional ornamentation, and maybe some more experimental synth design, but that might even detract from the full-speed-ahead feeling that makes it truly enjoyable. Dance club material, i'd say. Even though I don't....um... go to... dance.... ahem..... clubs. *Uh-GULP!*
YES
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ALL OF THIS FOOLISH BANTER ASIDE,
I think there's a lot of interesting ideas here. Of course, Shnabubula's dissection has pinpointed all my objections with staggering accuracy. I feel no need to reiterate them. I can't compare with his piano-ness!
NO
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I'm a fan of the amount of detail here. There's lots of counter-melodies, little percussive goodies and a varied instrumentation. I really like the staccato square wave that comes in and pans around like crazy. Very inventive. The warbly, wobbly synth that appears briefly is creative and helps add to the texture of the track.
Unfortunately, other than these interesting tidbits, we've got an arrangement that's largely on auto-pilot. It doesn't seem to go anywhere, creatively speaking. The percussion is mostly just a groovebox, with usually just additive/subtractive percussionism (yes, i made that shit up). Sometimes that kind of method can work. But in this case, it feels like a copout for sequencing drums that follow the action. That, and there's very little dynamics or punchiness to them.
Interesting synthetic ideas here, but not enough butta to keep the rolls from DISINTEGRATING OMF
NO
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I also am quite familiar with the source, and agree that it is used quite well. It is SO Hard to include vocals in an OCRemix without sounding cheesy or contrived. It's not a real big deal to me that they're mixed relatively low, I agree that it aids the ethereal feel. I don't even care what they're saying. The lyrics are not Robert Plant, but they avoid painful cliche enough to be enjoyable. I'm VERY happy that the arrangement is so open ended, like they're weaving in and out of the original, seamlessly.
I can't think of a better way to do this percussion. It's groovy, but never overbearing. This could have easily been overdone. the restraint makes me shiver with delight! It leaves plenty of room in the soundfield, and fortunately, it's filled up by other, interesting elements. The production is generally pretty solid - every frequency range has a star player. The high end could use some reinforcement, but that's nitpicking and could alter the intended feel of the tune. It's not rock-solid compressed, but that's not a big deal. It does wonders for the dynamicism of the mix that it isn't slammed into a distressor and put on "nuke". The tingly percussion, the bell trees and assorted "far-off-ness" gives the track a very palpable texture. I disagree that the lack of velocity switches on the piano is necessarily a bad thing, I think it reinforces the distant, detached feeling in that particular section. Along with the stutter fx, this mix does well to combine robotic and cold motifs with more organic, flowing passages.
I could extol the virtues of this one for a while. I'll stop now.
YES
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The arrangement here is straight up awesomeness. I don't have the Harvard Dictionary of Musical Terminology memorized like my compatriot Shnabooble here, so i'm going to have to go off of more... touchy-feely observations.
I like the fact that the melody is taken places. Albeit they are far-off places that I don't really understand, but it sure doesn't sound wrong or amatuer. I don't think a lot of people will understand this submission, or why i'm passing it, because it's my opinion that the amount of creative interpretation present here outweighs the minor technical nitpicks. So, for the benefit of humanity as a whole, i'll outline said nitpicks here.
The panning on the percussion is nice, but the drums largely play the same thing the whole way through. It's not that big of a deal, because what's here is dynamic and creative. There's plenty of additive and subtractive shit going on - enough to keep it interesting. Overall, my biggest compliment to give the mixer is that it's unpredictable, while at the same time remaining interesting. It's not something I could listen to every day, but it's a well-constructed piece that doesn't require impeccable sound quality to pass my litmus.
YES
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edit - misunderstanding.
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A huge part of this track is either directly lifted from the MIB soundtrack or very well-recreated. I would say less than 10% of this track is related to the original (basic chord progression aside).
Nice recognition of similar tunes, and an acceptable job of melding them together, but we don't deal with these kind of arrangements here.
NO
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If I was to nitpick, I would mention the very clicky and artificial "guitar" sound. I would also mention the very loopy nature of the drums. The strings are also very much artificial, with very little done to try and mask the electronic sound.
But more than the myriad of nitpicks I can make, I would just have to say that the whole thing is just...well....a mess. The different sections don't really have transitions, or any kind of logical order. They just kind of....exist in the primordial ether that is the Mix. It's hard to discern a chorus, bridge, anything. Hell, it's even hard to hear the original. It seems like a convoluted attempt at a more "off-center" arrangement that went a bit wrong.
Besides the fact that the song has little variety, and sounds like the same thing for almost 4 minutes, it doesn't really espouse the original in a new light as much as rehash it in an oversimplified, bland package.
I'd chalk this one up as experience and move on.
NO
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This is just about the most simplified arrangement you could do. Besides some minute chord switch-ups, and standard oom-tss instrumentation, this is a pretty direct "tekno-conversion".
A very clear NO. Read the FAQ for submission information.
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The controller and headphones is to show affiliation with this place. Deal with it.
You've got a bad fucking attitude, n00b.
It's criticism. Deal with it. You aren't this project's God.
We don't need a shitty rip of a graphic that looks like it took you 5 minutes to do to show affiliation with OCR. How about I pull my track at the last minute because I don't agree with your design? No - I won't sink to your level.
God, what is happening to this community?
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For the record, and for what it is worth - I am strongly opposed to the headphones and controller pics. It makes it seem exceedingly silly.
But that's just my silly-billy opinion.
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I actually somewhat enjoy the original. It's very calming. However, this remix has turned what could potentially be a very chill mix into a boring, bland ride. There are some interesting timbres and ideas, but overall it feels like 3:00 of ideas in a 5:25 song. Shorter length would help, but mostly it just needs to be more dense, and fill out the frequency ranges better. My colleagues covered my other feelings above.
Even if the goal is chill - it still has to be interesting.
NO
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Bullshit.
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All I hear is a dumbed-down version of the original, with parts like 2:00 that are directly lifted (as in, sounds like an entire section was sampled) from the original.
If you aren't going to at least try and improve on the original or creatively modify it, don't waste your time submitting here.
NO
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I'm having a lot of trouble recognizing the original here. I don't often have the patience for drawn-out melodic statements. It sounds like the same song, but i'm not hearing a lot of similarity in the melodic content. Not really a bad thing, this just isn't the kind of music I usually dig. OMFG BIAS aside, there's a decent job of creating an evolving soundscape here. Compositionally, there's variation, and a solid harmonic backdrop. It evokes a pretty lush atmosphere, and never sounds too sparse.
However, I can't help but feel it sounds far too "rushed". The strings have had no effort to match up their attack with the actual beat. The mixing at some points is pretty imbalanced, with backing parts overpowering leads, etc. Sometimes the overlapping harmonies seem somewhat arbitrary, like the chord choices were made seperately then dumped on top of each other. While I appreciate the attempt at such a full and dynamic mix, it sometimes comes off as just.... messy.
This track needs some more attention to detail before it's ripe. Keep at it, I like what I'm hearing so far.
NO
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I wholeheartedly agree with analoq here. It's a very enjoyable tune, but that's probably because i'm a sucker for generic, cheesy pop/trance. It reminds me of the music that plays while waiting in line for the Riddler's Revenge at Magic Mountain. I'm fairly certain the presentation here is intentional, as it's cheesy and simplistic, but not annoying or grating on the ears.
My main beef, however, is that while it is indeed a successful adaptation, it doesn't really take the original anywhere with regards to interpretation. It's like the original was put in some type of trance machine and a lever or switch of some type was pulled. I don't think total reinvention was the intent here, but there's not really enough originality here to qualify it for OCR. I really want to pass this, so a lot of people can hear it. I'm sure a lot of listeners would really enjoy it. But given the guidelines I am sworn to obey, I can't classify this as the passing variety. I'm not going to delve into technical critique, as I don't think it's required. It's well produced, just not conceptually inline with our regulations.
It kills me to say it, but
NO
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I would like 6Y/N on this one.
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I keep listening to this track, and the original, and I can't figure out what the big problem is here. We've got a solid reinterpretation of an original, with some passable sound quality issues. I love to hear someone do their very best with the samples they have, and express their idea with the MUSIC, not the technology. The arrangement of the original here is very nice, much better than what I've heard from Darangen in the past. It flows, transitions, and it moves. I like the simplicity of the filtered percussion around 1:40 that helps the guitar intro transition into the main groove. I don't expect everyone to be able to afford Metallica-class production in a Metallica-esque arrangement. We can't all sue P2P services into the ground, after all. The percussion is decently arranged, some of it is a little awkward, but not everyone has tons of drum kit experience to make it sound 100% natural. No problems there.
Honestly, as a bit of a string nazi myself, I really don't have any issues with the quality here. They're a bit warbly, yes, but they don't sound BAD, and they get the message across. Full, sweeping orchestration might be nice, but what's here complements the mood nicely and helps to create a dynamic environment. All winnars to me.
The mix has build, transition, release, creativity, and a more than an acceptable mixing/mastering job. Nice work, Dar.
YES
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Well, zyko was definately dead-on about the drums. This percussion is completely devoid of dynamics; so much so that it detracts from the whole package. It also dominates the soundfield in a way that is in no way pleasing. Sometimes I can hardly hear anything over the BUHBUHBUHBUHBOOM drums. There's good guitar shreddage, but I can't even hear it over the maelstrom of superloud soundfont-drums.
I don't mean to be harsh, but other than some nice guitar playing, this mix offers nothing we're looking for here. The transitions are nothing, the mixing is lacking the TLC that makes any track worth listening to, and most of what I hear from the original is near-verbatim.
My best recommendation for this track is this - Back to the drawing board.
NO
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OCR01378 - Metal Gear Solid 2 "Salsa Snake"
in ReMix Reviews & Comments
Posted
¡Los Licks Radicalé!