Rexy

Ah, a more daring source for Jewbei this time. 6/8 + trance = any combination you want. True to his style he keeps to his four-to-the-floor tendancies, and what he ended up doing with the source was concerting it to a 4/4 time signature. In a similar way to "Final Progression" and "Above the Clouds", as linked in the writeup, it starts out fairly well with referencing to the rhythmic components of the source material within the opening build as well as in segments that don't reference to the melody upfront. And the main melody managed to come on in full swing at around 2:20, showing the source while still playing strong to Jewbei's strengths as a trance musician. This progression managed to work throughout the track with all the details placed within the builds up and down to really amplify his skills within the genre, as well as being a very neat way to handle a not-quite-so-electronica-friendly source. I can't be without criticisms though, suffice to say. First off, I noticed moments of roughness during the buildup at around 1:45; I did hear that the automation on the sidechaining felt somewhat stuttering and struggling to react smoothly. That might be down to the output latency on the soundcard, and may seem a little glaring for some, but this incident only happened for about 15 seconds or so so it may be no big deal. And on a similar note, I have to say I'm not really a fan of your acoustic guitar sample here. To me it comes off rather mechanical with no means of expression (not even any velocity alterations), and does kind of hurt the realism a bit. But I'll ride with it given the genre direction this has taken. But in spite of this, it's a solid cut off the Wild Arms album, and we're glad to have seen Jewbei pull through with this effort for the set. With his transformation as an arranger this year, 2012 could only get brighter from here

Given the original source is a battle cue, I can see how it could fit well for Flex's... ahem... style. (no pun intended) So it does start (and ultimately end) a little bizarrely with the FM radio soundset, with that laid back rhodes, though it soon shifts over to some nice clean radio-esque drum n' bass (though later shifting in dubstep elements within the second half). Faithfulness to the source is easily noted, and major props for even showing some variation to the theme by transposing the key on the go-arounds here. That breakdown at the 2 minute mark, with the velocity-varied polysynths and eerie focus on higher-ranged instrumentation, managed to show a strong sense of calm before building up that urgency again. I'd say that's a classier moment coming from his way of writing, especially considering everything that I've heard from Flex in the past through the PRC and recent unofficial albums. I don't think I can see much bad to say about this one at all - in terms of the writing, it ended up being one of Flex's best released works. He might not agree from what I've read in the writeup, but given that it shows a drastic writing evolution I can see it to be a start towards bigger things. I say keep up the strong efforts for 2012

It's December 23rd, the post came and went, and there's still no sign of my secret santa. But if it was confirmed as posted on Thursday, then I guess I'll have to wait patiently over the next couple of weeks on what appears to be a late Santa.

Thankfully, Darke seems merry (not surprising considering since it's birthday yesterday), so I'm pretty sure on that statement he's taken an Erratic Leap.

PRC 87 covered the game's title screen music, with Sir Nuts taking the win. And having done a world of service for Crash Bandicoot earlier in the year, who knows - I might do something similar with Spyro as well, time permitting

Guys, seriously. For Ecto's welfare, will you please stop arguing over "Ecstatic Seipp"?

Can't do much else with the bass as it's already bass heavy (and still dripping with cheese, in a delightful way). But yeah, I'll keep listening out for any last minute tweaks that may need doing.

You guys and your talks about ear beer and bass orgies are making me feel doubtful over mine I've been improving since the first round, sure, but I'm starting to face a lot of doubt over its stance for sure now. Guess I might as well be ready to accept merely 7th place at best.

I'm going to have to say that I'm going to have to give up on it. I've been too busy to really work on something at all this year (really sorry ), but I hope the results still turn out mightily stellar.

Oooh, E-Bison. Long time no see! (and what's with all the long electronica tracks in the mix-flood, Jade? ) I feel glad to see a return to form come through for Elliot, and indeed this comeback track demonstrates the capacities very capably well with some solid synth processing mostly within the lower-register that fit the feel of the source remarkably well, what sounds like a lot of clock-ticking sounds fitting with this etheral soundscape (leftovers from "Time Management"?) and some very classy filter/gating/envelope manipulation that have shown that his means of production have improved drastically since we last saw him. In regards to the writing, I kind of feel torn. I don't mind drum n' bass every now and again and it's definitely a brilliant way of writing within the constraints of the genre. But structure-wise it may be a little difficult to follow and understand where it's going, and it would definitely take a few listens to even remotely get to grips with the progression. Though, you know what this means to me - this might be an interesting track to Audiosurf to (!!). Either way, I offer a hearty welcome back to OCR after all this time, Elliot! If your production's up to this calibre, then goodness knows what future submissions may turn out to be like

It's Wednesday night already and I have a demo that I feel really satisfied with. I have to say though, Plant Man goes amazingly well with this source, and you'll see how come Saturday

From what I have tallied up, we still need 137 more. And even then it seems like there's a huge review drought in comparison to previous years (though thank you for chipping in Crulex); is it worth bumping up more popular tracks at the expense of leaving the lesser-reviewed that I already did to just gather dust? It's a strange philosophy

11MB? Wait a sec; what's the new cap on file submissions? I would've assumed it was 10 after bLiNd's submission earlier, but now you've got me intrigued. So admittedly, I hadn't heard Stephen's Batman track. But I have a vague familiarity with his work for Majestic Mix, so I shouldn't be considered completely out of the blue. It starts out pretty creepy with some nice gate and ambient processing over the original choir, before shifting the soundscape over Stevo's guitar playing with the melody, gradually shifting in more electronic sounds within this soundscape. This build soon culminates into a late-80s-euphoria groove at around 2:30, wasn't too keen on the transition into it, but the enhancing of the soundscape since has managed to make it worthwhile for me, whether it be Stevo's acoustic guitar solos (that one to close the track was similarly pretty), further shifting with the soundscape with some tasteful polysynth attacking and some sweet sweeping strings later on. It may have taken more of a liberal direction with the choir's melodies as the track drew on, but the vague similarities taken on throughout still make it shine through. I know that Stephen may have wanted the electric guitar part to sound more mechanical, but I personally believe it comes down to the strength of the sample. And to be fair, I don't think it has the right kind of expression to give towards the track, so I'm not sure if it was a wise move. Luckily its presence is sparse at best, so it may be seen as a passing blur. Regardless, it's a very surprising track to close out the album's initial mixflood with, and with the 10 year gap between posts, it's a sign of saying that one should never officially call it quits with the OCRemix community if their heart is still there. A neatly interpreted track from the Two Steves™

A 4 measure long source. Tricky source to go for, but having seen Theophany's growth within the past year, I'm on solid expectations. It starts out now with some lovely echoed percussion over sweeping strings, namely music boxes and tambourines, creating this more etheral soundscape. When audio fidelity's bowed guitar came in along with the booming taikos (soon followed by bowed orchestrated strings), you've got the core components of the atmosphere's shifting for sure. Structure-wise it remains very close to the source (though given the length that can be excused), though there has been so much detail placed towards the shifting soundscape that really makes it click. Production-wise, it can be seen as one of Theo's most detailed and experimental ones with the eerie echo and the implimentation of the bowed guitar; if anything I think the taikos might've overdone it in regards to levels, or that the symphonic strings should've probably had a little more expression especially closer towards the end, but they may be seen as nitpicks to what can be seen as a totally fresh mixing direction. So yes, I really dig this a lot And between this and "Avien", I am with high hopes that Theophany will continue to deliver as a musician and even explore more of the unconventional within the not-so-distant future. Nice going!

Given the use of rhodes in the original, I can definitely see how something of this nature would fit wonderfully for Diggi Dis's rhodes driven style. Indeed it did with the original's intro being handled note for note, before it got expanded with a good hint of phatbeetzville on his end to give in more of his signature style. That feel is maintained when going into the more majestic riff of the source, similarly following safe but also incorporating some of his key/synth solo magic. I sure as hell can't identify the chanting, but they did indeed bring in this driven march approach that would get the listener pumped - very appropriately fitted. It's a sharp setting as we've come to expect from the Bad Dudes roster, but I'm not too sure about the acoustic guitar that came in at 1:25 - it does indeed sound very sweetly recorded, but the attack on the strings feels very harsh to me to really appreciate properly; could there have been a way to EQ the strum attack out, possibly lowering the high end? Either way, I'm guessing it would be a lot less harsh to listen to on speakers as opposed to headphones though, so that's something to bear in mind when approaching the track with your listening setup of choice. That irk aside, it's still a classy arrangement to go by, and one that shows off Diggi Dis's style in a very upbeat and classy fashion. Between this and "Voodoo, Roots n' Grog", I can say that his style has been amplifying tenfold over the past year, and I hope to see it keep growing within 2012 as well

Yeah, looking at the 10MB size I was all "what happened, is this an exception to the 8MB rule?" and then realised that there was indeed a size modification again. What a way to trigger it though with one of bLiNd's trance works, and a very fitting one at that to capture a certain change in life too. Arrangement-wise, it manages to capture the source's minimalist nature remarkably well and does well to refer to the theme, though in a rather safe trance structure. That's definitely not a bad thing as it gives bLiNd a lot of headroom to work with in regards to his production skills - I believe some of these elements like the side-chaning air effects and swelling bass being somewhat leftover components from his SDB track "Dodge This Sakura" - and classy echo/ambience work brought on some of the higher synths to give in more of a dreamy edge towards it. While I can understand his life connection towards it, the main beef I have towards the track though is that the breakdown in the middle, while reflective, does tend to stick around for a bit too long, and when the beat comes back in the soundscape still feels somewhat subdued. For some it may not be a bad thing as it kind of reminds me of Chicane's discography with that method, but it should still be something to keep in mind if looking for trance arrangements on the site - be wary of the direction. All in all, a very solid arrangement, and one I can sense that has had a lot of heart put into it. Jordan, make sure you keep Jennifer safe for us; you've managed to find a great spouse to pour your feelings into your music with, and it shows. And I am definitely game to see how far your arrangement capabilities will go from here, so here's to the future

Very Western source. I can see how he might've wanted to go in a Morricone direction initially, but I'm glad enough that he managed to come through with something regardless of change. So it starts off beautifully with some nice lone acoustic work to the fitting abyss soundscape, before steadily building its way to the melody at 0:54. Anyone who's heard Stevo's works in the past should understand his style of arranging, though he does everything possible to shake things up within the backing elements and manipulation of the melody between the two main riffs. It's still a very classy arrangement and fits well with his more 'alternative' musicality. I give credit where credit is due; sometimes when hearing some of his work his timing can be off, usually with the leads or rhythms, but this time around I've managed to sense more of a sense of tightness this time around. And for most of the time the production managed to come through with some well filled out space with the recorded guitars; not sure if I'm a fan of the chippy synth accompanying the wolf whistle right at the end as tended to pierce a little bit through my speakers, but it's still a pretty way to end it. So, way to go Stevo! What a way to lead the mix post flood for the Wild Arms album; I can say you made Jade proud

Whew, finally got a first render done of the track. Sometimes the production thing doesn't quite go as planned, with some layers having to be cut or exported separately just to save memory, but I'd say that so far the results are turning out very sexy for me. :3 (inb4 it doesn't pick up the votes for reasons beyond me @_@)

Been too busy working on my Wily entry this week to even think about reviewing just yet. I wanted to go all out on that. Also, has anyone even joined me on the "I reviewed everything with less than 10 reviews" list yet? Because last I checked, just less than 50 remain. including both of mine... Not quite sure what are peoples' motives to review these days, but go ahead and look up those lesser-loved songs - you may fall in love with something (like with me and Dr. M's Castlevania Bloodlines track ).

I'm pretty sure my mix will have more cheese than yours. Or even if it doesn't have as much cheese, the cheese itself would have more of a kick; kind of like a smoked aplewood flair. :3 Alas, I got the arrangement set in stone. I need to really flesh it out over the next few days and really make the cheese stand strong

Well, it's a day gone, I've got 90 seconds of material, and I'm starting to wonder if adapting to this kind of genre is even considered a good idea. xD But I wanted to make something fun sounding, which was pretty much the main intent. Also, what the hell happened to halc this week?

They're just not here for some reason. I've no idea what's happening on Shariq's end, but I am sure the tracks will surface soon.

So while browsing around the site within the past week, and ultimately even downloading some tracks that I hadn't heard before, I've noticed when looking towards a handful in Windows Explorer that some of them were tagged as track '0' in the track number tag. I first noticed it with a mutagene track that I thought should've been taken down in one of the lockdowns (thanks for the clarification Larry), though then I noticed it again when going on a Link's Awakening download spree tonight and noticing it on both of Scott Peeples's contributions. Is there any explanation why some of the tracks were tagged this way? Is it a marking to suggest that they should be taken down when the new torrents were up (just as stated with the mutagene track), or is it seen as some kind of error? Whatever's up with these tracks, I'd definitely appreciate the response

And I'll chip in with the set for this round. On this note, I have successfully made a clean sweep over the tracks with less than 10 reviews - is there anyone who is willing to join me? ...and give reviews on my own in the process? hehe Dec 17 Final Fantasy 5 "In the Shadows" Rad Racer 2 "Fire in the Fires" Return All Robots! "Robotastic Dub-O-Matic Genetic Lab" Dec 21 Wild Arms "Fireflight" Wild Arms "Godspeed" Wild Arms "Holy Mother!" Wild Arms "Return to Dust" Wild Arms "Succumb to the Wilderness" Wild Arms "The Long Journey Ahead" Dec 23 Wild Arms "Desirous Sacrifice" Wild Arms "Telepathic Tower" Wild Arms "Unstoppable" Wild Arms "What's Left" Dec 24 Metroid "KR44441D" Dec 25 (wut) Earthbound "The Great Blizzard of '9X" Post-Battle Dec 26 Final Doom "The Calling" Final Fantasy 7 "A Life Without Parole" Lunar "Meribia Nights" Manic Mansion "Flashbulb Junk" Pulseman "Stereo Superhero" Red Alert "Hell March (Red Snare)" Street Fighter EX plus Alpha "Pullum Summer Trance Mix" Top Gear "Rockabilly ~ Dark Gear ~ Surfing Gear" Wizards & Warriors "Grosse Lederhosen" Zanac "X-Mix" Dec 27 Darius "Silverhawk Legacy" Duck Tales "Ebbed Tides and Webbed Feet" Kabuki Quantum Figher "Take the Red Pill" Mega Man 2 "Evil Horde Heat Man" One Must Fall 2097 "One Must Rise 2011" Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear "Mystery of a Planet" Star Ocean: Blue Sphere "Killer Dokko" Street Fighter 2 "Frets of Fury" Streets of Rage "The Last Dragon" Zelda 2 "Temple Trippin'" <--- my shortest contribution yet? Dec 28 Blaster Master "Amphibian" Final Fantasy 6 "Devil's Lab (Acid Mix)" Final Fantasy 6 "Searching the Woods" Life Force "Temple of Life" Marathon "The Forerunner Mix (Beta)" Radical Dreamers "Reve d'Ordinateur" SimCity 2000 "SimFunkadelic" Teen Agent "A Village's Welcome" Tetris "Techtris Type Z" Uru "Thanks for Dinner" Dec 29 Blaster Master "Der Uberfrosh" Chrono Trigger "Lavos Battle dnBoss" Final Fantasy 4 "Treason" Mega Man 2 "Cranium Castle" Mega Man 3 "Serpent's Spiral" Pokemon Red "Blue Haze" Shadowgate "Crypt Rock" Star Control 2 "Property of the Crimson Corporation" Tales of Symphonia "The Fall of Iselia" Wizards & Warriors "CheDDer" Dec 30 Final Fantasy 4 "Edward's Dream Quartet" Legend of the Mystical Ninja "From Ghosts Emerge Beasts" Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time "Gerudo JV" Mega Man 2 "Tekno Wily" Radical Dreamers "The Furthest Promise" Sorcerian "Cursed Piano" Super R-Type "Solitary Flight 2002" Xenogears "Koiji na Shi no Genchou" Dec 31 Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening "Forest of Hysteria" Super Castlevania IV "Shaolin's Cave" Wizball "Transformation" Limit Break Reviews: 14 Post-Battle Reviews: 51 Total Reviews: 200

Strangely, the sources seem to sound as if they'd want to adapt to reggae, ESPECIALLY the Main Theme. So I say you went for something rather tasteful with the genre adaptation. So the track arrangement-wise has "Jamaican Cyberturtle" as the front piece, though the cameos thrown into the game's main theme managed to fit in appropriately within the set too. This genre adaptation kind of works appropriately with the ambience and the envelopes that kind of give that 'creatures living on top of the water' vision towards it. There are indeed a couple of parts throughout the song that rises the track into more of a cacophony of textures - fitting Matt's maximalist approach - and even then they seem to take more of a backseat to the minimalist dub writing that makes this atmosphere so unique. Also, is that live bass at the 3 minute mark? I swore that slap feels somewhat distinct, and I somehow feel clueless for not seeing you able to carry that forward before To me, this feels so relaxed and chilled; a completely different writing-based vision to zircon's score, but I personally felt it all paid off by providing a very rare laid back experience, complete with a light hint of tia maria in the mix. (don't ask where I got that from, haha) Nice going!