Rexy   Judges ⚖️

Dear OC Remix, Please see details below regarding my submission: Dr Robotnik’s Revenge, links to composition are at the bottom. Contact Information Your ReMixer name: Pyrus Your real name: Andy Bryer Your website: https://www.youtube.com/user/pyrusFTSC/videos?view_as=subscriber https://soundcloud.com/apexpredator Your userid: 35471 Submission Information Name of game(s) arranged: Sonic the Hedgehog 1 (Sega Genesis) Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (Sega Genesis) Name of arrangement: Dr Robotnik’s Revenge Name of individual song(s) arranged: Sonic the Hedgehog 1 – Boss Theme Sonic the Hedgehog 3 – Boss Theme Additional information about game including composer, system, etc: Sonic the Hedgehog 1 – Sega Genesis – original composer - Masato Nakamura Sonic the Hedgehog 3 – Sega Genesis – original composer - Brad Buxer Link to the original soundtrack: Your own comments about the mix, for example the inspiration behind it, how it was made, etc. I love the ominous feeling of the Sonic 1 boss theme – it’s so menacing and badass – which really lends itself to slow, lumbering, downtuned heavy metal. It really is Robotnik’s theme in my opinion. By contrast, the Sonic 3 theme is great in a different way – it’s high energy, fast, and has a really heroic feel to it – this theme belongs to Sonic and it spells Sonic’s triumph more so than Robotnik’s fury. I thought it would be cool to contrast them in the same composition and I think it works well. I titled the track “Dr Robotnik’s Revenge’ when I decided to repeat the Sonic 1 boss theme in the third and final part. Composed using Abelton Live 9 with Superior Drummer 2.0 (Metal Foundry) and various other free VSTs. The project took about a week to compose, mix, and master. I play guitars and synthesize all other instruments. I hope you enjoy. Thank you for considering my submission. Kind regards, Andy Bryer (Pyrus)

Artist: Sole Paradigm Real Name: Devin Paquette Name on Forums: SoleParadigm Song: Thrashin' the Temple From the game: Zelda II: The Adventure of Link Remix of: Temple theme Original Composer: Akito Nakatsuka Probably one of the coolest songs from any soundtrack has to be the Temple theme from Zelda II. Even as a kid I rocked out to it. The track always sounded metal to me. I know some would disagree. But I could hear it clear as day in my head. In 2007 or so I took a crack at it. The first time I made an attempt it wasn't fast enough. I had matched the original tempo and was just not happy with that. So I sped that up. And also, I was playing through a Spider IV combo amp mic'd with an SM57 and the guitars just sounded way too thin. Starting from there, over the years I've taken several cracks at it using different mixing and miking techniques. But it wasn't until a few years ago I realized that for this to be as epic as I wanted it to be I needed to think bigger than just metal. My thoughts turned to Dream Theater's Octavarium album and Metallica's S&M. So I saved up for a copy of EWQLSO Platinum and Symphonic Choirs which took a couple years. Once I learned how to use those I went to work. For the final version, I used an Axe FX II amp modeler for guitar and bass plus Superior Drummer 2.0 with the Progressive Foundry kit. The thing about this track is that it's loud, fast and heavy with just those instruments. When adding the orchestra and choir parts I had to be careful that they didn't get lost in the mix. So when using the mod wheel for dynamics I didn't go too low so as to not lose those instruments. Some EQing helped as well. This track will punch you right in the face from beat one and will give you a pummeling with little room to breathe. It's heavy as all hell but it also has heart and soul. It'll make you wanna pick up a sword and shield to fight whatever battle you're fighting in life. I hope you all love it as much as I do. If not, well... at least it gets my head banging on my way to work.

Contact Information Your ReMixer name: overflow Your real name: Sebastien Skaf Your email address: Your website: http://sebastienskaf.bandcamp.com/ Your userid: 23598 Submission Information Name of game(s) arranged: Shovel Knight Name of arrangement: Beaker vs Shovel Name of individual song(s) arranged: The Vital Vitriol Link to the original soundtrack: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc6iIij7FgA Source Usage The source tune is all there, but I broke it up between segments of original riffs & solos. The first one starts at 1:04 and lasts until 1:26. The next is from 2:20 until 2:44. At 2:44 you've got a restatement of the main theme but in half time with some sparse instrumentation, and at 3:04 it transitions into a guitar solo. At 3:47 the guitar solo transitions into a tremolo picking version of the main theme, and at 4:00 the full ensemble comes back one more time to hammer it home. This tune is fairly chromatic in a lot of spots and I probably hit some bum notes, but I think for the most part it's still recognizable.

Contact Information thebitterroost thebitterrooster.wordpress.com 32609 Submission Information Ironsword: Wizards & Warriors 2 I Can Carry You No Further Level 1, Level 2 Additional information (has [already] been added to the site) (one of the sound archives already available on the site) This mix was done with acoustic drums, mic'ed with a single overhead as an experiment. No samples reinforcing the kit. Guitars and bass are DI, amp-sim'ed with the freeware LePou LeGion and Audiffex GK Amp 2 LE. These two tracks have a similar feel, but the level one theme had to have a key and time signature change in order to be incorporated with the level 2 theme.

I'm surprised you mentioned New Order because this minimalist setup is making me think more in the lines of Joy Division myself. It's also very odd to hear just drums, bass, melodies, and a load of different countermelodies peaking in as they see fit. As propetik pointed out, there's a gap in the low-mids to fit something in like a set of keys or a lower pad, so feel free to experiment with adding other parts. I also believe the bass is lacking a bottom, so consider adding a quieter sub-bass layer transposed down an octave as well. I'm also surprised neither of my fellow judges touched upon the arrangement - because it feels liberal. I appreciate your intention to mold the melodies into the genre adaptation, but some sections sound less like the source than others. Here's what I sensed: 0:30-0:34 / 0:52-0:56 / 1:47-1:51 / 3:29-3:33 / 3:40-3:44 / 3:51-3:55 / 4:02-4:06 - one reference of the A melody within the entire main hook 0:57-1:08 - playing around with the B melody 1:20-1:31 - a different way of playing around with the B melody 1:53-2:37 - clear use of the C melody 2:44-2:50 - brief use of "It Can Waiver and Fight" That's exactly 100 seconds of source in a 4-minute song, so by that alone, 40% evident source use is not enough. The autopilot nature is already an issue, especially with the VGM-free hooks (0:13, 0:35, 1:31, 2:50) sounding near-identical to each other. Consider going back into the hooks and seeing what you can do not only to add more of the source melodies but also to give the hooks something to stick out from the others. One could have a unique countermelody; another could have added grace notes into a more refined melody variation; a third could have the drums brought into half-time all of a sudden. These are just silly ideas from my head - the world is your oyster with these, so feel free to experiment with those parts. It's a bold attempt with distinct inspirations, but the empty sound design, autopilot nature and lack of source all hurt it right now, so I can't pass it as it is. It'll be nice to hear another version that adds more parts into the sub-bass and low-mids, varies the hooks, and above all adds more evident BGM use. I hope you get the chance to revise it in the future. NO (resubmit)

Original Decision Contact Info: ReMixer name: about:blank Real name: Chris Bouchard Email address: ReMix info: Name of game ReMixed: Sword of Vermilion Name of individual song ReMixed: Stats ReMix title: Treacherous Road Here's a resub of my Sword of Vermillion remix. I fixed the limiter issue right away, which I really should've checked before sending the first mix through. I also tweaked the distorted synth arp and all of the bass synths, applied a gate to the snare at the end, and added some much needed sidechaining throughout. Let me know if it's worthy. Hope everyone's staying safe.

Hello, Contact Information ReMixer Name – DiGiovanni Name – Dylan DiGiovanni Website (for original music only) – digiovanni.bandcamp.com UserID – 36252Su Submission Information Game Arranged – Undertale Name of Arrangement – Dance of the Lasers Song Arranged – Another Medium Comments – I’ve always wanted to make remixes in general, especially of video game music, but I’ve always struggled with it for one reason or another. However, one morning a few weeks ago I decided to tab out Another Medium in Ableton Live using my Undertale Piano Collections book and some fan-made sheet music online. After I laid out the kind of sweeping pattern over the top of the song, I threw in some drums and was like “this could really go somewhere”, so I stuck with it and in about 3-4 hours I had written out the first third of the song and loved what I had so far! Now here we are, my first remix is complete and out there for everyone to see Thank you, -DiGiovanni

Remixer name: Bluelighter (ID 21840) Real Name: Guillaume SAUMANDE Mail: Game & Songs: Final Fantasy 5 & Airship – Legend of the Deep Forest Composer: Nobuo UEMATSU Interpreter: Bluelighter: Piano Comment: Hi OCR, For a long time, I wanted to make an arrangement of the “Forest theme” in piano. Several attempts, but without idea sufficient to start. “Airship theme” interested me also; but no more satisfying result. I didn’t think to marry these two themes, because of their atmosphere completely different (heroic for “Airship” and nostalgic for “Forest”) Later, I tried to play “Airship” in a different mood. It was nearer of the “Forest Theme” and it was more natural to arrange these two themes together. In parallel, I trained myself to improvise in piano in these melancholic harmonies, trying to use scale in a cohesive way. With all these elements, I had good material to start my arrangement. It’s played globally in a melancholic and peaceful mood. The accompaniment is discreet and repetitive to emphasize the right hand playing. But there are also some parts more rhythmed. In this arrangement, elements from “Airship” and “Forest Theme” intercede between them. For the title, it was natural to imagine the airship flying over this quiet forest Enjoy, Guillaume Breakdown - 0'00: Intro – «Airship» (soft) - 0’15: «Airship» 0’05 – 0’15 (soft) - 0’35: «Forest» 0 – 0’33 (soft) - 0’45: «Airship» 0’05 – 0’26 (rhythm marked) - 1’05: Transition: improvisation around «Forest» 0 – 0’33 (soft) - 1’16: «Forest» 0 – 0’33 (soft) - 1’30: «Airship» 0’26 – 0’50 (rhythm marked) - 1’44: Transition: «Airship» 0’50 – 0’55 (soft) - 1’50: «Forest» 0 – 0’33 (soft) - 2’03: «Forest» 0’33 – 1’10 (rhythm marked) - 2’20: «Airship» 0’05 – 0’15 (rhythm marked) - 2’34 to the end: Outro, improvisation around «Forest» 0 – 0’33 (soft)

This arrangement has its fun parts, for sure. The tail ends have good uses of high-pass filters to secure the rest, there are some well-planned sweeps throughout, and the DnB bass breakdowns are a fun idea. You've also kept it source-dominant throughout, so that's a plus - however, not a lot of it had gotten played around. You made a start with varying the opening chords with the high pad breakdown at 2:40 and gated pads at 3:33, as well as bringing the central motif onto the piano briefly at 3:23 and 3:55. But aside from those changes and the different key, there's not a lot done - the melody is presented as-is throughout, with no engaging changes other than a brief instrument swap near the end. Hence, I have to disagree with prophetik in that the melodic content isn't quite there yet. There are a lot of ways to vary up the notation - changed rhythms, grace notes, and pitch glides are the first three ideas that popped up in my head. Feel free to experiment. And of course, I also noticed that the mixdown feels empty. Don't get me wrong, though - the current instruments are neat and have the potential to engage the listener deeply. But a lot of the time, the bass does its sub-work, and then there'd be a gap in the low-mids while pads and melody occupy the upper-mids. prophetik's idea of additional pads covering that frequency range is a good start, though I feel it'll be appropriate to bring in an e-piano or a similar set of keys. If you think the soundscape needs to be thicker, layers can work as well - a different tone on the bass or melody transposed respectively up or down an octave could add more power to your palette. As of right now, it's a fun and bouncy romp, but this track needs more done to it to push it over the bar. Further playing around with the melodies and a thicker soundscape are two things I'd like to hear in a potential future revision. Please submit again. NO (resubmit)

ReMixer name: bsolmaz13 Name of game: Street Fighter II Name of arrangement: 'V' for Vicious Name of song arranged: Vega Stage

Remixer name: Twisted Reality Real name: Robert Vroemisse Email: Userid: 36240 Name of game: Metal Gear 2 -Solid Snake- Name of arrangement: Introducing Metal Gear Name of song arranged: Theme of Solid Snake (Opening BGM 1) Link to original soundtrack: Comments: I composed this dance arrangement with Propellerhead Reason. I use a sample of the title screen sound of the original Metal Gear for the MSX 2 in this track.

Remixer name: Bluelighter (ID 21840) Real Name: Guillaume SAUMANDE Mail: From the album project: Golden Sun: A World Reignited Game & Songs: Golden Sun – Ruins of Lemuria Composer: Motoi SAKURABA Interpreter: Bluelighter : Piano Comment: Hi OCR, Here is my second contribution for the album project. This track is a piano arrangement of Lemuria. The original song was peaceful and nostalgic; this kind of arrangement would be appropriated IMO. The arrangement alternates soft parts and parts with rhythm accentuated. I wanted in each part to respect the nostalgic characteristic of the original song. I was melancholic myself when I made this arrangement. This track was perfect to work on :d Guillaume Breakdown Original - 0'00 – 0'15 Melodic Line (ML) 1A - 0'15 – 0'26 ML 1B - 0'26 – 0'50 repeated - 0'51 – 1'15 ML2 Arrangement (in B flat minor) - intro ML1A : soft - 0'36 : ML1A : soft with arpeggios - 0'58 : ML1B : soft with arpeggios (G minor) - 1'15 : ML1B : rhythm marked - 1'28 : ML1A : rhythm marked (B flat minor) - 1'55 : ML1A : soft, crystalinne sounds - 2'20 : ML1A : soft, in a major variation - 2'43 : ML2 : rhythm marked (F minor) - 2'53 : ML2 : arpeggios, culminating point of the piece (B flat minor) - 3'30 : ML2 : soft with arpeggios - 3'51 : ML1A : soft, crystalinne sounds

Remixer name: Kade Kalka Game: Xenoblade Chronicles Arrangement title: The Shimmering Ether of Satorl Original song title: Satorl, The Shimmering Marsh (Night)

Remixer (and real) Name: Michael Hudak Link to my SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-513303599 Name of my arrangement: "999 Knives of Yellow Magikarp Orchestra" Name of games arranged: Pokemon Sun/Moon & Pokemon Red/Blue Name of songs arranged: From Sun/Moon it's the "Malie City" themes (both the day and night versions), and from Red/Blue it's "Caves of Mt. Moon". Hey there! Thanks again for all your hard work. The explanation for this is a tiny bit complicated because there are TWO versions of "Malie City", and TWO versions of a classic track called "1,000 Knives", which were hugely inspirational in the making of this new track. As for the breakdown of source usage, I mainly used the "Day" version of "Malie City", which for my money is the best 1-minute loop of anything from the Pokemon series. My arrangement uses it from 0:00-1:12, 1:48-1:53, and 3:08-3:44. The first 5 seconds of the "Night" theme has a little part I love that I included in my arrangement from 1:31-1:47. The main riff from "Caves of Mt. Moon" from Red & Blue I used in my song from 2:33-2:37, 2:42-2:48, and 3:44-4:34. The noise at 0:58 is the original Magikarp cry. In regards to the title and the inspiration (other than PKMN-related stuff), Ryuichi Sakamoto's "1,000 Knives" is one of my all-time favorite songs, featuring great Eastern melodies played on some very old-school synths, as well as an awesome extended guitar feature. Sakamoto was also in the now-legendary group Yellow Magic Orchestra, who later arranged their own version of "1,000 Knives" in 1980. Theirs featured a serious analog perc line and the very first usage of the Roland TR-808 in a recorded song! So, I've got the Pokemon stuff mixed in with a guitar feature (which is a bit loose purposefully, to humanize the programming a little), plus bass arps, classic synths (plugins!) perc runs, and big drum sounds, all to pay homage to the incomparable Sakamoto-san and those early 808 tracks, like "1,000 Knives" and "Searching for the Perfect Beat", by Afrika Bambaataa and The Soul Sonic Force. I mixed it for a more retro effect, too. Hopefully it all works for OCR, because I love this one!

RebeccaETripp Rebecca Tripp http://www.crystalechosound.com/ ID: 48262 Game(s): Chrono Cross Song Title: Vision of Hades Songs Remixed: Isle of the Damned/Poison Pond

The interpretation is excellent right off the bat. You adapted the source to a swing-time feel, there's a cheeky Ballad of the Windfish cameo in there, and Gregory's use of a clarinet countermelody effectively works well against the more prominent flute lead. There have been enough shake-ups with drum layers going in and out along with the variety of leads - but there's also a lot of repeated riffs at the same time, especially across the guitar and accordion parts. Thankfully, the source's transformations did more than enough to put that aside as a minor distraction and more of a caution to work on for future work. I find the sound design on this one to be intriguing, too - no instrument is clashing with another, but there's a lot of room freed up in the middle-rights for Gregory's wind instrumentation to take prominence. This gap in the sound design does feel quirky, but I consider this a by-product of a more devoted setup between fewer instruments. This track certainly has its moments, but it's got evident manipulations, some of Reuben's tightest performances yet, Gregory's usual steady woodwind work and a tightly produced package - all of these qualities being more than enough to see it on the front page in my book. Let's go. YES

I dig the quality behind this beat - it's a fair mixdown, the palette is very fun, and the effect work is very engaging. With a very minimal source tune, you also did well in adding more layers and some minor interpretation before going into the theme properly. I did, however, spot two things wrong with the bass - as said, there's the hard compression which makes the attacks sound too soft, and on top of that, I feel it's a touch too loud. Weakening the compression is a necessity, though consider playing around with its levels and seeing what you can get out of it. However, the arrangement needs a lot more. As of right now, the 0:11-1:14 first groove got repeated twice with no variation at all. That's just over two minutes of redundant cut-and-paste content, leaving a lot of room to change things up further. The suggestions of changing textures, bringing in rapping, or melody switch-ups are already great ideas. I also favor playing with the melody itself and the potential to present it in another way, with the use of grace notes, pitch-shifting, adding countermelodies, and the like. I can also suggest cutting the loops down from 2 to 3 if you're struggling to do much with it, but consider it a last resort move. As of right now, it's fun to listen to in a vacuum. The over-powered bass should be a quick one to experiment with, but the arrangement needs more work. See what you can do with that 2-minute gap to change things up from the first variation, as well as slack the bass's volume/compression. You got potential, for sure. NO (resubmit)

Link ReMixer & real name: Eino Keskitalo e-mail: eino.keskitalo@gmail.com Names of games arranged: Psycho Pinball Name of Arrangement: Kamomilla Names of individual songs arranged: ? (Circus table music) Source: Part of source used in the intro: 1:03-1:12 Part of source used in the rest of the tune: 0:54-1:12 Notes: This is originally from PRC round 276, way back from 2014! (http://compo.thasauce.net/rounds/view/PRC276) Love the game, played it back in the day with friends. To be honest, I wasn't terribly inspired by the circus style music, but there were a couple of parts I did find I could work with, and I wasn't going to pass on the chance to rearrange music from this game. Interesting circumstances and interesting results, I think. It's kind of fun to listen and compare the initial compo version to the finished thing. It's basically the same really, but I did spend hours and hours in total, chiseling away on the mix, coming back to it every few months. Or years. The usual. Nice to finally have finished a DOS game music arrangement. As almost always, this was done in Renoise, and you might be able to hear the sample-based tracker.. "techniques" I guess, such as using a single sample for an instrument and just playing it in different pitches without worrying too much. I like to think that this one really has that feel. Thanks to Eladar, Jorito and Pirjo for constructive comments! cheers, --Eino

Contact Information: - ReMixer name - Tune in with Chewie - Nestor Estrada - - YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TuneInWithChewie or main website: www.nestorestrada.com/youtube - userid 35202 Submission Information: - Undertale - Chillaxing Day - His Theme - Composed by Toby Fox - Link to original track: As with all my arrangements, I generally like to try and experiment with different ways to really transform a VGM tune into something different. In this case, I wanted to go for an Indie Rock/Pop sound with a hint of Lo-Fi aesthetic. Clairo and Arcade Fire were my inspiration for this tune. His Theme is pretty basic - has a distinct melody and the same chord progression throughout (adding in layers as it goes). So this gave me the opportunity to really take the melody and just try out different ideas. I approached this with a songwriter mentality. Meaning, I wanted there to be a verse, chorus, bridge, etc. I also wanted to avoid just playing the melody the same way throughout to avoid repetition and boredom (both for myself and the listener). So I took liberties with the melody during the verses and bridge. I kept certain rhythmic elements as well as hang around the notes you hear from the main melody, but twisted it enough so it's different. Then when the chorus comes in, you hear the melody full force. I also kept the general chord progression used from the original for the verses to connect it more. For the ending vocals (and sprinkled throughout), I had several friends on the Outlier Studios team just record a bunch of passes. I think total there was around 30 or so vocal stems which I mixed in. Hope you enjoy this one! Best, Nestor

Contact Information Remixer Name: pixeltea Real Name: Duncan YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ60Idzoiqm1lIqIZ3NB5Hg User ID: 33998 Submission Information Name of arrangement: Fur & Feather Rag Original song titles: "Click Clock Wood (Spring)," "Spiral Mountain," and "Main Title" Game of origin: Banjo-Kazooie Composer: Grant Kirkhope https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V46DRC4dEo4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPUn5biib1c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQNAVqW1shA A medley of Banjo-Kazooie songs arranged in the style of a traditional New Orleans-style Dixieland jazz / ragtime.

Wait, Guild Wars 2 had a brief retro seasonal update? If that isn't GOTY quality, then I don't know what is. Arrangement-wise, it's more straight-forward than what I usually expect from Dustin, but the framework is a stable one. It's centered around two variations of the source, with only the A section between them sounding identical. The breakdown at 1:15 also used the intro's build section effectively, along with the genius manipulation for the B section's melody at 1:25. The calmer variation of said B section at 2:06 staged itself well for a building climax that brought the guitars back in and the drums pacing along at half-time. His writing keeps improving with each sub, and I'm so glad he took up the offer to participate in this album project. The production is very satisfactory - the mixdown is the cleanest I've ever heard Dustin pull off (!!), the recorded guitars are free of artifacts, and the mastering brought out the best of the instrumentation. I do have a couple of critiques, though. Firstly, the bass feels a touch on the quiet side, which is unusual for genre standards. Secondly, the articulations on the orchestral section felt stiff and could've benefitted with key switches to make them shine whenever the guitars don't take center stage. They aren't dealbreakers here, as the positives here combined with the treatment of the source material exceed expectations. If it isn't apparent by now, I'm in favor of seeing this on the front page. It's fun, the admiration he has for the game had brought out a burning passion with its creation, and it's a strong example of how far he's developed himself as an arranger. Great stuff! YES

That presentation is indeed on the simplified side, but still very pleasant - cohesively mixed down, and the choice of timbres hits the intended feel. The only issue I have is whether choosing a bunch of pseudo-MD tones are enough to carry the rest of the content. I understand that you didn't want to emulate the hardware, which is reasonable - but this choice tied into a dealbreaker in the next paragraph. I'm going to have to slightly disagree with my fellow judges in regards to interpretation. The backing had moments where they deviated from the original, like with the transition at 0:49 and the quirky choice to go into the second half of section B (1:05) with two different chords. The main beef I have is that despite the original writing in the second half, the backing stays the same. I suggest you take a look into the notation behind your second half and experiment with different textures. You can still have it follow the source, but a complete overhaul with how the accompaniment presents it can do some wonders, both with writing and presentation. As of right now, it feels stale and in need of more work done. It'll be nice to hear another version with more attention to the backing's variety in terms of both writing and sound design. It's still not a bad first submission, and I hope you get the chance to continue developing your craft. NO

Contact Information ReMixer name - Reuben Spiers Real Name: Reuben Spiers Submission Information Game: JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Heritage for the Future Name of Arrangement: The Fool's Dog Name of Original Song: Iggy's Theme Featuring GameroftheWinds and SubversiveAsset on sax. How much cowbell is enough? Trick question. Enough doesn't exist.

Greetings, OC ReMix Judges! I appreciate the opportunity to contribute to this community. My name is Bryan. The following submission is a new take on a popular piece from The Legend of Zelda. All instruments were performed by the musicians who are copied on this email and credited below. A full playthrough video is available at: CONTACT INFORMATION ReMixer name: soloudithz Real name: Bryan Guess Email addresses: // userid: 36145 SUBMISSION INFORMATION Game arranged: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess Name of arrangement: Midna's Laughter Name of original/individual song: Midna's Lament (or, Midna's Desperate Hour) Additional info: Already available on OCR Link to OST: Already available on OCR Comments: This piece was the result of a personal challenge to completely shift the mood of the original work by replacing all harmonies with their parallel major, minor, or modal harmony. The result is an overall lighter, whimsical, joyful feel (in contrast to the somber yet urgent feel of the original). This is not merely a reharmonization as the melody also shifts subtly with the key change while still calling back to the original. For the careful listener, several other motifs from the LoZ series are embedded in the arrangement as harmonizing lines. All instruments in the arrangement were recorded by the performers. No MIDI instruments were used -- with one exception: the bell set was reinforced by a subtle background layer that combines a sampled marimba and some synthesized bell tones. PERFORMERS: Piano -- RIchard Blumenthal -- @blumenmusic on facebook/Instagram Nyckelharpa -- Amy Hakanson -- @pickleharpa and varelse_music on Insntagram Bass -- Jon Chacko -- soundcloud.com/nojon1 Bells -- Bryan Guess Thanks again! --Bryan

Arrangement-wise, it's short and straight-forward but beautifully laid-back and subtle. There's two distinct halves here - one with a focus on a run-through with the melody, and a second with cameos moving along one after the other while going back into the primary source. Despite the autopilot nature, there' a lot of attention to articulations, realism and subtractive arranging underneath it all. And for some reason, I felt stunned to hear more of a focus on the theme from Yoshi's Story (not Yoshi's Island, as stated) throughout the break - a pleasing easter egg from a completely separate Mario spinoff, and I'm always happy to hear surprises. The mixdown is lovely and clean, I can identify the parts, and the palette is gorgeous for the tropical direction. I don't mind the beach ambiance, to be honest - a listener's mileage may vary when it comes to that. But here's the big kicker that both MW and prophetik touched upon - the considerable jump in headroom. There's five and a half dB between the peak and the shelf, and it'll be more beneficial for the genre adaptation to bring the volume up to scratch before making it ready for primetime. Other than the volume issue, I consider this track good to go. If Juke can take action with making the track louder, then it'll easily be front-page material. EDIT 2020/03/26: Juke has gotten back in touch with us with a new revision. Not only did he raise the volume, but he also changed up the guitar patterns at 1:22-2:00 to a calmer pattern in anticipation for the melody's return. It's a subtle improvement to autopilot, which to me wasn't a dealbreaker to begin with - and on top of the volume boost, I feel this is absolutely ready for the front page. I'm so glad he got in touch with us! YES