Rexy
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Posts posted by Rexy
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Stretching out a source that's less than 20 seconds long is always going to offer different methods of interpretation. Still, even then, the "theme and variations" route is suitable enough to twist the foundations and keep them recognizable at the same time. No two run-throughs sound identical, the use of "Zelda's Lullaby" as a countermelody is charming and compelling, and I liked how you placed the core motif of the source into a broodier minor key development at 1:14, spread across multiple wind instruments. Arrangement-wise, the sum of the parts are simple, but get their job done effectively.
Naturally, this track has a similar quirk with prior submitted works, what with it having a fair chunk of headroom. But when the instrumentation is both mixed down and articulated well, it's something that I can easily overlook. It would've also been nice to have added more opportunities for your virtual performers to breathe too, but I consider it something of a desire rather than something that goes against the standards.
As a collective whole, the arrangement and production values are both simplified - but with a focus on a short source and a minimalist set of instrumentation, they set out to achieve their roles and create a robust package through and through. Great work, Rebecca - let's see this on the front page.
YES -
Remixer Name: RisenLPReal Name: Keith WoodsUserID: 36058Submission InfoGame Arranged: Delta RuneArrangement Name: Surly Operator, Kind ActsSong Arranged: Rude BusterOriginal Author: Toby FoxOwn Comments: I'm a huge fan of Toby Fox's music and a huge fan of the sound you can get out of a Sega MD/Genesis. I created this via FL studio 20, a synth called FM_DRIVE and Super PSG by the wonderful Aly James. This arrangement is not made to be accurate to the hardware but more what I felt was good.Thanks, This is my first submission, kind of nervous about it but thanks.
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Contact Information
- ReMixer name: Gianny Abel
- Your real name: Gian-Luca Abel
- Your website: (I have no dedicated homepage, so i will just link my social media information instead) https://twitter.com/GiannyAbel, https://soundcloud.com/user-569017777, https://www.youtube.com/user/SparkyxDSparky
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Your userid: 23513
Submission Information- Name of game arranged: Diddy Kong Racing
- Name of arrangement: Starlit Darkmoon
- Name of individual song arranged: Darkmoon Caverns
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Your own comments about the mix, for example the inspiration behind it, how it was made, etc.
As with most of my remixes, i tried to stay close to the original idea and expand upon it. My interpretation of the original song is that it highlights the serenity and loneliness of being on the dark side of the moon and only having the starry night sky as a source of light, while also still delivering the "drive" of a racing game ost.
The track is written entirely with VST-instruments and WAV-soundfiles (the latter only used for sfx).
I approached this by mixing as bass heavy rhythm guitar and a juicy bass, in reference to the "darkmoon" in the title aswell as to the racing game aspect of the song, with a grand piano that is playing in a high octave to emulate the glitter and shine of the stars, in reference to the "starlit" in the title. A lot of reverb was added to the piano to both emulate the vastness of space, aswell as the natural reverb of caverns. The "Starlit"-aspect is further supported by the ambient sfx that appears from time to time, aswell as the bright synthesizer bits and string ensemble, to give it more of a "spacy" feel. Furthermore a tenor sax plays the second lead to balance out the high pitch of the piano.
The most notable changes from the original are the addition of a new part, that acts as kind of a pre-chorus to the B-Part of the original track, aswell as the structure of the track, deviding it into 3 distinct variations, one representing each lap.
The newly added part acts as a centerpiece and is supposed to really deliver on the core ideas of the remix. If you are familiar with the original game, I like to think of this part as the section of the track where you boost through the two loops at max. speed. I apporached this by having the piano play arpeggios in an ascending manner to give it the maximum velocity feel, aswell as adding ambient sfx and synthetic sounds to give the listener a feeling of open space in contrast to the more compact A-Part, as if you would leave the caverns and now find yourself below the night sky.
The 3 lap structure is concieved to give the remix a climax. The first lap acts to introduce all instruments, the general feel and the newly added part. The second lap has a pianissimo part with the sax taking over the lead in order to break the flow up a bit and to contrast the fortissimo of the final lap. The final lap is where the remix recieves it's resolve, accentuated by the key- and tempochange. The piano is now only loosely playing the original melody and the B-Part is an extended piano solo.
All in all I think that this remix, while having major variations, is still faithful to the orginal track.
Im looking forward to your feedback!
Kind regards, Gian-Luca
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Hi there, here is my submission:
Contact Information
-My ReMixer name: Gerard White Koe
-My real name: Gerardo Navarrete
-My website: https://gerardwhitemusic.bandcamp.com/album/-
-My userid: "35273"Submission Information
-Name of game(s) arranged: The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time
-Name of arrangement: Gohma
-Name of individual song(s) arranged: Boss Battle, Kokiri Forest, Deku Tree ThemeHope you like it!
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What is this - a club-style EDM arrangement that is source dominant? I'm pleased with this alone!
I appreciate the attention done to adapt the source to this style, and I'm okay with the tail ends as the arpeggio from the source is present. I do, however, agree with MW and Chimpazilla regarding the loudness and distortion - so I'm sure you know how to fix this problem.
Some other issues crept up as I listened, however:
* Firstly, what's with the off-key square wave rolls (1:00, 1:07, 2:09, 2:16)? These atonal pitches don't belong - and the best ways to get around them are to either mute them or fix them with a quick transpose.
* Secondly, there's no need for nearly 30 seconds of silence. You can quickly trim it out in a wave editor.
* And lastly, consider finding a way to make the arpeggio more dominant in the tail ends. From 0:00-0:54 and 4:48-5:42, it's the only component of the source present and should ideally not get de-emphasized by the rest of the sweeps and effects surrounding it. Here are some ideas I have. You could pull the channel away from the impact of the sidechain, boosting its volume, or even both. It's still up to you as to whether you want to keep the tail ends in or cut them short.As it stands, it's a fun genre adaptation with more than enough source content despite its flaws. The issues brought up here - mastering volume, an out-of-place instrument, unnecessary silence, and potential source de-emphasis - are things I know you can make a quick fix on and re-submit down the line. I'd love to hear a revised version of this one, please.
NO (resubmit) -
Original decision
2nd decision
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- Your ReMixer name-Audiomancer
- Your real name-Eric
- Your userid (number, not name) on our forums, found by viewing your forum profile-29237
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- Name of game(s) arranged-Dragon Warrior 2
- Name of arrangement-Epic FootSteps
- Name of individual song(s) arranged-Dragon Warrior 2 second overworld theme, I was unable to find an official name.
- This music came from the NES game Dragon Warrior 2, and it was originally written by Koichi Sugiyama
- Link to the original soundtrack (if it is not one of the sound archives already available on the site)
- This is my latest attempt at this track, and it is significantly different than the last takes. First, I went with the second theme instead of the first. Second, this was done using CakeWalk instead of LMMS...I just couldn't get things to happen in LMMS that I felt needed to happen. Lastly, I tried to incorporate as much feedback as possible into this track, while maintaining my admittedly novice vision for it:)
Thanks again for the time and consideration of all of you!
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Sweet and simple - I agree with my peers. What I heard was two instances of Temple of Hylia, and some playing around with Cave Shrine to close it all out. Both themes have a significant amount of subtractive arrangement, too, with additions like woodwind counter-melodies, harp flourishes and pitched percussion pushing this business in the composition that the source material didn't have. Ideally, I would've liked to have seen both themes riffing off each other rather than being in this medley format, but they transition well, and the structure is robust. Good stuff.
It also checks out on the production side, too - with just the right amount of dynamics without being too quiet. The mixdown is clean, the parts are easy to identify, the instrumentation is all beautifully articulated, and the reversed sounds also have a mysterious yet attentive touch. It's by far one of the better productions I've seen from Rebecca, and I do hope to hear more of that in the future.
If not apparent by now, it's a lovely arrangement with an equally beautiful presentation - and one that I feel is suited for the home page. Great collab work!
YES -
RebeccaETripp
Rebecca Tripp
fern.ivy@gmail.com
http://www.crystalechosound.com/
ID: 48262
Game(s): FF7
Song Title: Buried in the AtticSongs Remixed: On That Day 5 Years Ago
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For an entirely VST package, the writing has a lot of energy and ambition behind it. The drum writing is top-notch, the usage of the theme at the tail ends are distinct to each other bar the use of melody A, the synth guitar has some sweet expression work behind it despite its nature, and the framework as a whole feels tight.
I'd have to disagree with MW and Larry about one thing, though - the notation feels more like non-harmonic notes rather than deliberately being in different keys to each other. What I think they're trying to say is that because they're playing on different parts of the spectrum, the synergy doesn't feel as tight as it should be - so it would be nice to hear all your different parts complement each other rather than go wild on their separate ways.
But two things became dealbreakers to me. Firstly, the mixdown is rough and over-compressed. If there's a limiter in your master chain, weaken it. Then consider re-doing the mixdown, making sure all your parts sound good and avoid this painfully distorted crunch. Secondly, while I can identify the source at the tail ends, it's still only 43% usage in the entire track, so consider referencing it or more MMX2 sources in the big comping section (1:01-2:31).
As it is, Kouichi, you have potential with the amount of energy and enthusiasm behind this track. But the execution leaves a lot to be desired, especially in regards to the production. Adding more source is a secondary concern in comparison, but is something to look out for when working on future material. Should you ever get to refine the presentation on this one or submit other tracks, I'm interested to see how far you can grow.
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Hi!
I’ve been a fan of the site for a long time, and I felt like making a contribution.
My e-mail software thought a 33MB Wave file was too big an attachment, so I hope a 320kbps MP# will suffice.
Filling you in on information according to the submissions page.Remixer name: "Zkratt"
Real name: "Silvesther Lusion"
Website: "N/A"
User ID: "31338"Name of Game arranged: "Luigi's Mansion"
Name of arragement: "Cribs: Luigi's Mansion"
Name of individual song arranged: "Professor E. Gadd's Laboratory"Additional info should be on the website
Name: Luigi's Mansion "Professor E. Gadd's Laboratory"
OST Name: Professor E. Gadd's Laboratory, オヤ・マー博士の研究所
Aliases: Dr. Oya Ma's Laboratory
Composers: Kazumi Totaka, Shinobu NagataMy own comments:
I got a hold of Reason 10 and was playing around with the new features.
Lot's has changed since I got my Big Box copy of 1.0(!) around the time we got out GameCube in the family.
The game came out in the early 2000's, MTV had a show called "MTV the Cribs"
where they visited the homes, mostly of rap artists.
Anyway, I figured I'd make a track for an imaginary episode where they visit Luigi's Mansion.
I'm just a sef-taught hobby musician.
I built this pretty much the same way I used to produce Hip Hop beats back when I was young.
All done with synths in Reason, with the exception of the public domain stock sound effect: "Wilhelm scream" played in the intro.
The style of it is sort of west coast-ish, kind of "loopy" since it's a Hip Hop beat, but I tried to vary it up by increasing the drive on the guitar throughout the song.
It's done all by ear with the old GameCube on the CRT as reference, and took a two to Three hours to create.
That's all I have to say, really.Would be lovely to hear some feedback on it.
It's been a long time since I did music related stuff.
Thanks, have a great day!Regards // Silvesther Lusion
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Michael, only someone as insane as you can make a remix like this! "Great Bay Temple" has less of an emphasis on melodic content and way more on rhythm, so I can see why you opted for the Raster-Noton-esque direction. I can recognize the source throughout and how you used it - the toms and hi-hat rhythms of the original provide the bulk of the familiarity, as did one of the organ polyrhythms making occasional appearances and the other banging through like an explosion at 2:12. With so many textures used, you also took the chance to splice the rhythms and use so many effects that not one section here sounds identical to another. It's well and truly what I would call a "work of art" in VGM remix form - something I almost called another one of your tracks before.
Naturally, as the emphasis is on the sound design and glitch tones, one can't also assess the production values in a traditional context. The sounds have their places in the mix, and the frequency emphasis changes depending on textures used. There is one problem that is in the way for me right now, and that is the sine bell tone that starts appearing on fourth notes from 0:13. Despite your efforts to cut back on the high pitched frequencies, the way it cuts through the mix makes it fatiguing to listen. It'll be less grating if you can either bring the volume down or lower its pitch.
It's otherwise a great artistic direction and one of the coolest things I've heard from you. But before it gets posted, I'd appreciate you taking five minutes of your time so you can tame that percussive tone and re-render. You've blown minds on the front page before, and with this, I know you can do it again.
YES (Conditional on volume for one instrument)
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ReMixer and real name: Michael HudakGame arranged: TLoZ - Majora's MaskName of arrangement: Machine WashSong arranged: Great Bay Temple (and a hummed bit of Astral Observatory in the outro)Link to song:My SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-513303599Inspired by the music of the Raster-Noton label, especially that of composer/sound designers Ryoji Ikeda and Carsten Nicolai. It's a little far-out, so maybe a reference track might make sense of what I was trying to do with Machine Wash. Also, about 60% of the sounds here are from the absolutely awesome Glitchedtones library. They had a big holiday sale, which led to what was in my head for well over 2 years finally getting made.I went through several iterations of this, each one less extreme than the last in terms of high-frequency dbs. I mixed this primarily with Sony MDR-7506s, but the average OCR listening might be using earbuds, and I don't want to, uhh, kill them. I'm hoping this current version is acceptable!It was a fun experiment to contrast the bone-dry and ultra-wet sounds here. Hopefully they juxtapose in all the right ways. This piece is based much more on (poly)rhythm and "riffs" and less on melody than what I usually do, so that was fun to dig into as well. I'm humming the Astral Observatory theme (from earlier in the game) at the end, because why not get whisked away through a dungeon of waterways, alarms, and frayed wires, only to pop out of a fountain thing and see some random guy walk by?
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Hello,
You will find attached to this email my mashup of Red Soil Brinstar from Super Metroid with Lanayru Sand Sea from Skyward Sword.
I know this Red Soil Brinstar is overused but I tried to do something different by adding the Lanayru theme and by having a slower/calmer mood.
Contact Information
- Your ReMixer name : Leonisnotes
- Your email address :
- Your website : https://www.youtube.com/leonisnotes
- Userid : 26968
Submission Information
- Name of game(s) arranged : Super Metroid, Zelda Skyward Sword
- Name of arrangement : Sandy Soil Brinstar
- Name of individual song(s) arranged : Red Soil Brinstar, Lanayru Sand Sea
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Additional information about game including composer, system, etc. (if it has not yet been added to the site) :
- Mac OSX
- FL Studio 20
- Kontakt VSTs
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Link to the original soundtrack (if it is not one of the sound archives already available on the site)
Regards -
RebeccaETripp
Rebecca Tripp
http://www.crystalechosound.com/
ID: 48262
Game(s): Skyward Sword
Song Title: TransformationSongs Remixed: Lanayru Sandsea, Skipper’s RetreatGamer of the Winds played the flute part.
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GreenGuyGary
Gary Stevens
https://soundcloud.com/gary-stevens-935191208
https://ocremix.org/community/profile/36153-gary-stevens/Donkey Kong CountryAquatic Ambiance (Oceanic Echoes Remix)Aquatic Ambiance
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I wish I could accept this track based on the title alone.
The arrangement is simple, yet fun - a straight-forward run-through for the first variation, textural changes in the accompaniment with a guitar solo in the second, and back the other way for the key change at the end. The performances are also tight, the lead guitar has a wild expression to it, and the pacing is robust. It won't blow minds, but it can undoubtedly melt faces off, and I can't fault it for what it set out to do.
However, the mixdown is rough in comparison. The bass and rhythm guitar dominate so much of the soundscape it's squashing everything else down - and if I can't feel that raw power from the lead guitar or even the snare, that makes the sound design problematic. It's the one issue that sinks the entire thing, so if you still have the project file, it'll be lovely for you to go back in it and see how to make those necessary EQ cuts to give everything their presence.
As it is, it's a fun take on one of the sweetest sources from the original Castlevania, and I'm all for seeing it on OCR at some point. If you can go back into the mixdown and clean it up, I'm all for looking into it again.
NO (resubmit) -
Honestly, I like the backing here. It compliments your vocals well, adds to the mysterious feel, and - low volume aside - have all been well mixed together. The varying dynamics and tasteful use of sporadic percussion allowed this idea to flow naturally and is one of the better ways I've seen you handle such minimal backing.
Alas, as others have pointed out, the vocals are the centerpiece behind the arrangement. They're carrying the source, and indeed you've handled it in such an intriguing way - changing up the melody between variations while keeping the minimal lyrics. But it still has a crucial flaw like another submission I assessed in a similar style. The vocals are heavy in mud and reverb to the point it overrode the rest of the instrumentation and over-softened the consonants. Vocal clarity is key to carry this forward, so consider rolling off some of the lowest of your low mids and add a touch more emphasis onto the mid-highs to give your vocals more attack.
After listening to the diction in its current form, though, it's clear that the accent ended up misshaping a portion of those vowels as stated. Japanese vowels don't shift as much as in English, which is why they have a stiff sound to them. Consider practicing those AEIOUs - "aah, eh, ee, oh, ooh" - and see if you can sustain them for as long as possible. Your expression otherwise is lovely and delicate, which fits well to such experimental ambient work - so I hope this will take you the extra mile.
All in all, this track isn't quite ready for me. The low mastering is one thing, but the vocals not getting mixed in properly is another. Whether you decide to record a new take based on our diction critique or keep this one, I would appreciate hearing a new version with significantly more clarity and cleanness on your voice. Please, Rebecca, keep at your craft.
NO (resubmit) -
If there's anything I've learned from being a judge, it's that this BGM is so good! Someone needs to give it some representation on the front page sooner or later.
On the presentation side, you guys nailed it. The mixdown is clean, the performances are tight and on point, and no instrument is there for the sake of being there. Take pride in what you achieved here - it's comfortably above expectations.
Yet, the arrangement didn't have much changed over from the source. Aside from your percussion and rhythm guitar, the first variation is tonally identical. The second variation changed things up slightly with an additional guitar countermelody, as well as a synth brass doubling up at 3:20 before providing melodic content of its own. The slowdown and vocals at 4:16 is adorable and out of leftfield, yet while I liked your stylistic changeup, it happened too late in the running time, unfortunately.
Here are some ideas on how to vary up the arrangement while still keeping source presence intact. You could play around with the melody, bass or chord structure; you could add an original solo on top of the existing bass; heck, you could even put the melody over a different accompaniment pattern altogether - and that's just scratching the surface. With a partnership between you two that has lasted for nearly a decade, I know you can sit down together and figure out ideas on the fly.
Nevertheless, your production and performance chops are sick, so I hope you guys continue to make music together in the time ahead of you. Should you ever go back to this track, it'll be nice to hear a version that does more to the source material beyond just the addition of some backing parts. Please submit again in the future!
NO (resubmit) -
Contact info
ReMixer Name: Paralytik
Real name: Kim Stennabb Caesar
Website: https://soundcloud.com/paralytik
User id on forums: 35995Submission infoName of game arranged: Déjà VuName of arrangement: Whiskey And CigarettesName of song arranged: Joe's BarAdditional infoOriginal songCommentsI tried to think of what the composer imagined if the music would have been played on real instruments. The arrangement was made in Reason 10.
--Sincerely,Kim Stennabb Caesar -
RebeccaETripp
Rebecca Tripp
http://www.crystalechosound.com/
ID: 48262
Game(s): Wind Waker
Song Title: Sacred GrottoSongs Remixed: Sacred Shrine (and I think it has another name too?)
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Remixer name: Michael Hudak
Name of game arranged: Dynasty Warriors 3
My arrangement name: It's 80's Night at 3 Kingdoms!
Name of original song: "Superior"
I couldn't find much info about the composer for DW3...I think it's a person named MASA, or a collective/band named MASA Group?Link to original:
The original is one of those early 2000's earworms for me. The PS2 DW games were chock full of cheese metal, and maybe nothing was more stanky than "Superior".~Think of club somewhere called 3 Kingdoms, and the 3 little armies that dance for supremacy of the city, each and every 80's Night....~I got the idea for this mix from Big Audio Dynamite's "E=mc2", which is an 80's pop/dance tune with several clips from Nicholas Roeg films inserted into it. DW3 has a lot of great voice acting (THE JAPANESE VERSION AT LEAST), so I thought I could build a track around them. I originally wanted to put vocals into mine, but they didn't quite work. Removing them, the song was too sparse, so I beefed up the instrumentals a lot with toms, congas, and ancillary electronic percussion, and then stuffed it full of clips from the game's cutscenes. Eventually, there were TOO many game clips and too much stuff going on, so I stripped the whole thing down to the bare essentials - as much as I could without having it sound like a demo. I only kept the game clips and percussion tracks I loved, and just embraced the open spaces.I tried to keep a lot of that 80's synth grit and washy snare stuff for authenticity, while adding a bit of modern compression to not have it sound just old for old's sake. I *think* I pulled it off. Thanks for again for all your hard work in reviewing all this stuff!Voice clips, in order of appearance:1:49 - "Excellent timing! I can not fight against commoners""They are desperate! Attack carefully! All units, attack!"3:14 - "The last twinkle of a dying flame is beautiful. Shall he die beautifully as well?"
-Michael -
ReMixer name: bsolmaz13
Name of game: Mega Man 9
Name of arrangement: Summer Hive
Name of song arranged: Hornet Man Stage
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I can feel the intense power of your bass and how you chose to make it the most prominent instrument. The automation gave it just enough wobbles to freely move while not breaking the mood, and the amount of detail on the sub-frequencies justifies its power in the mix.
However, the mixing here not only placed other necessary instruments like your percussion and legato synth too far back - but also lacks punch and sharpness as a whole. For your bass kick, consider somewhere in your bass to make EQ cuts and let it push through, or even applying a subtle side-chain. For the other instruments, see which, if any, would benefit more from a mid-high or high EQ tweak.
As for the arrangement, I can hear the source well even through your clear modifications to better fit this genre of music. But both variations are identical, with no real change other than how the start of the loop shapes itself (0:00, 1:59). I understand why you did this - you wanted to match the client's specifications, and I can relate as someone who's done freelance work in the past. But the OCR standards have a higher bar for interpretation than just changing the genre of a piece of BGM.
Here are some examples of change if you ever feel like going back to it. Consider altering the accompaniment textures completely, writing new original lines over the top, putting some of the melodic ideas on top of a different set of accompaniment, or even incorporating fragments of other Phantasy Star Online music cues - and these are just examples.
Nevertheless, as a Sega nerd, I respect what you've done, and I hope your client was pleased with the result. For OCR, the lack of development on the arrangement and unbalanced mixing are the reasons why I can't see this getting posted in its current form. I hope you'll submit again in the future, whether you end up revising this or making new material from what you've learned.
NO -
Thanks again for reminding me of how godly the re-arrangements are on A Link Between Worlds. Why have I not even played it yet?
Anyway, your performances are on point, and your drum writing remains as sharp as ever. The production is stylistically gritty, yet all the instruments are well balanced and have their place in the mix. While I would've preferred to hear more sharpness on your lead guitar and less reverb, the tone is still expressive and raw, and I appreciate what you've done here.
However, the arrangement is lacking, unfortunately. The beginning and ending are simple and effective ways of using the theme respectively to build up and finish, but the meat is just two variations of the source, and that's it. The only difference between the two is a different choice of drum pattern when going through the first half of melody A (0:13, 1:11). There's plenty of things you can do to change things up - an original solo, changing the rhythms among the rest of your accompaniment, putting the melody on top of a completely different set of chords - and that's the tip of the iceberg. You've done that before with your previous Zelda submission, and I know that you can do that again.
It's bizarre - I feel modestly frustrated just listening to this. In your previous submission, the arrangement was passable, but the production needed work - and here, it's the other way round. Nevertheless, you've demonstrated that you can make it onto the front page, so whether you decide to develop this track further or take what you've learned into a new arrangement is all up to you. Please, Aitor, keep going!
NO
OCR04104 - *YES* Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild "Foraging Melodies"
in Judges Decisions
Posted
Rebecca Tripp
http://www.crystalechosound.com/
ID: 48262
Game(s):
Song Title: Foraging Melodies