Rexy

Now I know you're French, but that's no excuse for not reading.

Well I'm supposed to have a finished song by now but I feel somewhat stressed with waiting to hear Brandon's contributions to it. I swear, if he doesn't chip in and we as a result have no entry this week, then I might as well resign from the whole thing, which I honestly swear is what I don't want >_>

Another tricky source to remix, but if one likes handling them to create something expansive out of them, I'm all game to see what they have. So this simple 8-measure source was used sharply with this DnB/guitar-lead hybrid, with the riff being used as the background beat towards it. One may say it's too repetitive, but for me there's a lot of meat with the drum work, initial synth processing both during the intro and closer towards the end, and some strong guitar expression work. The manipulation of the chords at 1:45 was also very strong to break things up and add in a more of a sense of character as well. In regards to nitpicks, you probably should've watched out for some dissonance during that 1:45 section I discussed though; that kind of ended up breaking the detail somewhat when seeing the bass and chord work somewhat clashing together in a couple of spots. Dissonance can work if it's intentional, but for something really happy like this it's probably not a wise thing to go for. But I enjoy it anyway simply for A) the general happy tone, a good example to expand on such a simplistic original song, and C) it's the goddamn Goonies; what's not to like? I'm hoping you take the experience into a new entry soon Nekko - from what I heard, it's a very promising debut!

Hey, it's not just you. A lot of mixes in the past 2 years haven't been commeted on as much as those in previous years, so don't feel dejected about it. It's a changing web environment; just keep doing what you like doing regardless of it. Nevertheless, I remember this from the FBRC 2 years ago; to see a more melancholy theme being given a DnB makeover to me is like the equivalent of making a trance song out of Chrono Trigger's "At the Bottom of the Night" (i.e. not the best way to pay homage to the original), but if that's where your skills lie then that's something that I can't really fault. For something so short, your learning within buildup has managed to work really well given the amount of substance in there, and the melody has been really manipulated with some crazy controller change work being given towards the lead synth throughout. Overall you've managed to do well with the source expansions and adapting it to this kind of genre. One pointer I do have though is to watch your drum production; I don't know if it's me or not, but the kicks ended up being a little too sharp for me, as if it's close to being unintentionally distorted. Maybe watching your mid-frequencies on the kicks would be a good help to slightly dull them a little bit - they can be sharp, but not necessarily sharp enough to feel discomfort when hearing back. All in all, a good track; might upscuttle some people due to the direction taken with the source, but it's free music so no complaining. I hope to hear more from you in the future, BP!

Well, this is one strange mix for me; I appreciate the nature of industrial arrangements every now and again, but to see it taken into this kind of minimalist structure without much of a melodic structure does kind of feel slighhtly awkward even when measured up to other mixes for its time. However, credit where credit is due for the neat percussion work; between the reverse-loop sample work being placed in past 0:30 and some strong interesting subtleties going on as the mix continues, it helps to offer a broader expansion towards the track. And similarly in comparison to other mixes of 2001 it had shown some good equalisation especially with lower and mid frequencies; so in terms of production it managed to stand up firmly. But good (for 2001) production coupled with a rough and distuned arrangement does make this a struggle to appreciate in the long run, so I can't really see it doing it for me. Albeit, there's some good ideas in there (surprising for a one-hit wonder I admit), and it's a shame you couldn't really follow up on it

I kinda feel sad about the PRC in a way since retiring it; I thought the purpose of the aniversaries were to simply gather more people together with more popular-to-remix games, not to just open the scope with the anniversaries under Bundeslang's direction. But it must've been a good thing to bring in Vinnie's significant other into participation with one of them, so no complaining The original DDR source had been taken into something considerably more downtempo; the live violin placed throughout was sublime, the setting feels really fitting towards the artist's expression, and even though the quality isn't necessarily the best in terms of recording, the vocals are similarly well performed and have shown some strong expression with the higher parts of Amy's range. I really dig this a lot. The only things I can suggest to be looked into are thus: a) your rhythm guitar timing; they to me feel a little bit behind the beat sometimes and can be slightly distracting, but the playing still managed to fit very appropriately into the mix, and the drums feel rather auto-pilot for me. Drum writing is actually tricky for many artists around here, but it can be really satisfying for poppy mixes if there's enough done to give them more interest, like any fills or hand percussion that could potentially give it a lift. Otherwise, if Fujimori-san loves it then that's pretty much all you needed to know I'm glad to see you contributed to the PRC somewhat, and let's hope you submit stuff again in the future - keep representing us females!

Yeah, I was puzzled over how the review thread for this one was completely purged. What happened? It's a good and creepy intro that managed to fit itself as a good opener for this medley, if not a little bit unconventional. The way of working with the first stage theme was a good expansion; hearing the original NES synth in the background originally made me think it missed the lockdowns, but hearing it morph into the full-blown arrangement managed to help overlook it. The section at 2:40, I may admit sounded rather weird with the reversed drums in place, though the lone synth starting that section at the start was pretty neat and allowed for a good build into it. So in terms of arrangement ideas, it's somehow more unconventional for a medley but it worked for its time. What I felt should've been given some work on prior to subbing was the drum work; it came off as feeling rather stale and uninspired, and maybe some additional layers during the reverse-loop section in particular could've helped given this a lease of life. But again, considering the track was released in 2001, it's pretty decent for its time and can be seen as a more unconventional medley release in comparison to others in the early pre-white era of OCR.

Haha, Ghosts n' Goblins. Having heard how notoriously difficult it is - and even seeing an episode of GameCenter CX based ENTIRELY around that game - I can see how it could be a perfect fit for a jingle remix. So this tiny 3-second jingle ended up being manipulated in terms of progression mostly within the pads, though it ended up showing added clarity at 0:40 for those needing more familiarity. Clearly a lot had been done with it; little samples in more obscured sections, brought down to half-speed in calmer sections, and even part of a classy synth solo at 1:25. In terms of feel it kind of feels similar to Shael Riley's "Wanka Factory" covering the exact same game; you got the make-out-like nature of it, the occasional orgasm (lol) and some strong chord work that amplify some what of a charismatic feeling to it - feels wrong, but in the end feels so right! I've grown to be a good fan of Mazedude's work over the years and I often expect him to really work with the sources he has. Though, I can't help but think that some of the sounds feel somewhat dulled in texture for some reason; not saying that they put me off or anything, but it's just a strange observation after the amount of material I've heard from him already; I'd probably put it down more to adapting to the feel of the mix. In any case, it's classy, well-arranged, sounds sexy (eh, what else can be described?) and is a very worthy arrangement for the Bad Dudes' EP. Keep up these remixes Mazedude

Course, if you wrote a song about Mudkips, you're half-expected to get the lulz-type comments back. I'll keep civil though. Typical of halc to go for a chip-tune-like track for something like that (though to me it sounds like the NES and Genesis are seen playing together here), but it fits so colorfully well within the world of Pokemon, and seeing the Dewford theme adapting towards this setting managed to set the stage for the ideas being presented towards the rest of the track in terms of its writing. I give more credit to what you did with the surfing track in the second half though; that seemed to be more snapped apart and built as the foundation as something to build on for that period of time. It also took me a little while to adapt to you going for a hi-pass fadeout as opposed to a regular volume one, but again it's all down to creative decisions. For an elder halc track, I found it rather enjoyable, blending together 2 aquatic sources in chiptune bliss. I'm set to see what you have for 2012!

I was almost being fooled with the half-tempo stuff in the intro, but then when the four-on-the-floor hard bass ended up coming in it ended up setting the scene for some rare happy hardcore around here - good approach! The source material is already complex as it is, but most of the remix only seems to be based on one small section near the end of it; not saying that was a bad thing, but for what was taken it was expanded enough to fit within the genre. But here's one beef that I have towards it though - where's the bass?! All I'm hearing is bell pads, synth pads, polysynths and the drums. You've got this good foundation for the beat/genre adaptation but by taking away one of the core elements of the groove it just came out feeling rather unpolished. Taking aside that irk it's a good attempt to genre-adapt to a more obscure/taboo side of electronic music, though without the bass foundation it's going to struggle to upkeep itself even in comparision to other mixes of its time. That aside, it's definitely not bad.

Jazz Jackrabbit! Glad to see someone else is representing the underloved platformers out here So hearing the track, it plays really safe towards the source material, with two straight interpretations and the second one having some slight differntiation by towing in a varied-up piano lead. I'm usually one to say that you shouldn't make things like that and the strings so mechanical and quantised, but I'm under the impression that you weren't looking for realism. It's generally pretty solid, if not almost too safe. What makes up for is some very interesting production ideas; the sliding lead synth really has shown a great amount of expression, even through modulation and later decay placed onto it. That acid bass also reminds me of some of LeeBro's early works in a way, and it also feels very well balanced into the mix. And even though the piano may sound very snapped, there's definitely been enough done to the overall timbre to make it feel like the real thing is being played alongside with the rest of the sounds. There's definitely a lot going on here that would clearly interest fans of the score. Either way, this track isn't bad I'm hoping that you'll learn from everything in your previous two subs and contribute again in the future, because I'm seeing some solid mixing potential from you.

Well, this feels kind of unusual for a 2002 mix to me - it's strangely dry for most of the way, maybe give or take the harpsichord part. Not saying that's a bad thing - after handing a lot of really damp and unclear tracks from this same era, this actually feels so much more refreshing to me. True, the samples may indeed feel a little weak and unexpressed even for their time though, but with what's there it fits appropriately with the genre. See, it's not just trance musicians that uses the term DJ: can apply for the field of hip hop too. The arrangement is pretty solid too, if not a little straightforward with gradually building up the components of the source material, repeating that same buildup and going all out with some original writing with the ending. But considering other mixes of its time it handled the arrangement component decently well IMO, which is pretty tricky in itself considering the source. To be fair, if there's something that baffled me more it's the sudden transition to rock drums at the 3 minute mark. You had this urban flavor going on for most of the track, but to suddenly change drum kits near the end kind of started to feel a little unnecessary. I do however give mad props for the original writing in this part though, which can manage to make this oddity a little more hidden away. Either way, I'm glad to see you managed to stick to your guns with some Wizards & Warriors coverage during your time. I don't find it bad at all for a 2002 mixpost

Of all Robot Masters, Wood Man can DEFINITELY do with more love Having already sensed from "Green Hill Avenue" that AeroZ is capable of so many crazy controller changes, it's definitely neat to see it continue to happen here with some nice side-chained synth pads, expressive synth modulation, volume work and chipped arpeggios. And even though it wasn't meant to be an original work, the Wood Man and Wily Sources managed to fit in really well to the written work at hand and showed a very obvious presence. And I'm usually not one for inappropriate cameos, but the Zelda 3 opening demo at 2:35 managed to make a good soft transition to the final presence of Wood Man in the track. All in all, it's a good structure. As much as I really appreciate the work gone into this, I may have to say that there's not a right lot to diffrentiate the Wood Man appearances from each other, maybe given the chipped synths in the first riff. But that may be seen as more of a nitpick for what can already be seen as a well-established, well-programmed arrangement. Let's see what you've got for 2012; be sure to keep up your progress, and I'll be looking out for you

I do indeed hear the Russian orchestrated influence here, albeit for some reason I tend to be feeling more of Tchaikovsky's upbeat influences within it And my expectations on Jeremy's work are often reflected here too - taking the theme and fitting it within a relevant symphonic expression. Something about this kind of reminds me of the similar expansions done for the Final Fantasy 7 Symophonic Suite's Finale that he worked on in terms of tearing the source apart; these may be different in tone, but the ideas are present and have expressed it in this fluctuating-yet-bouncy setting. Nice work. Albeit, the orchestra sounds may even sound slightly dated in comparison to current standards, something I'm most commonly sensing in the woodwinds more than anything (and occasionally the strings but some of the attacks and tremolos are still very well worked on), but for its time it hits the sweet spot when measured up to his already fantastic way of writing. All in all, a very well done track! And please come back soon, your style is close to being missed D:

Make it count, Justin!

How come I didn't notice that post last night xD Well, I was hoping to look into that flute again (again, now a panflute) this morning, but after another night with OA's ears last night, one of the things that were indeed tweaked since the last sub was the equalisation of that flute (as well as some further bass polishing). A scoop at that same frequency range you stated was done, so hopefully it should sound that less grating, hehe. And here's the new version that came out of it. There may be some additional dusting over the coming days, but we don't know for sure just yet. For now, it's there

Good choice of source, Dr M. I'm glad to see that the SEGA-based Castlevania side is getting some love So the arrangement typically follows the source closely, but with some nice expressive guitar work and some sweet organ/string/drum work being thrown in to compliment the setting as well as a sweet transition at 1:45 it manages to show its expansions. And I got to admit the calm at 2:40 before leading into that insane wah solo was icing on the cake to me - showing a lot of Dr M's colors of a player. So we basically have an arrangement that generally has a straightforward approach but really starts diving into Dr M's character around it. Neat work. I can't however leave this with a little criticism. I don't know if it's me though, but I can't help but notice some over-compression on the track somewhere. I think it's more noticeable on the rhythm guitars; often when they're making a presence they seem to push the mix down slightly uncomfortably. But there is at least a plus to come out of it though - no MIDI trumpets this time All in all, a very enjoyable track for me; be sure to keep rocking the Dwelling of Duels and sub to here every now and again; I've been quite a fan of yours over the past several years and I'm glad you're there to keep delivering

With a description that includes the words "(your) best remix yet", it's got a lot to live up for. But the writing here is actually well devised; it takes the fundamentals of the source, even throws in a straight interpretation down the line but even ended up using some elements of the accompaniment for some of the calmer moments of the track. I can definitely feel the movie trailer approach to the track, which is good! Even the sounds utilised in this orchestrated setting mostly sound very realistic and appropriately humanised for the most part. The only qualm I seem to have though is that there's not much dynamic shaping until right at the end; it all seems to be at the same kind of general force for the collective instruments until near the end. Though, if that matches with the movie scene style approach to it it may not be a big deal, but it should still be worth pointing out. All in all it's a neatly crafted orchestrated work; these aren't easy to pull off, and to handle something that wasn't meant to be epic like the Wolfenstein source you managed to pull through powerfully. I'll be keeping an eye on you Beckett

For a mix that's from 2002, it's got some ideas in play. The choice to transpose the track up 4 semitones, as well as cut the chord progression to half-speed, can be seen as a good early example of manipulating the source material. I even like that cool idea with the 9th chords on the synth being thrown in at 3:10; seemed to give it more of a sophisticated approach to the writing, which is always a plus. The production sounds decently pleasant to me, though I do however have 2 qualms with it associated with its era; the additional sound effects should've been brought lower down in the mix (could be seen as too much of a distractant when put against the music), and the drums seem to be on autopilot and don't seem to go anywhere (barely any fills either aside from the occasional kick use). Overall I quite dig this; it may get old fast, but for the era it was posted in it still sounds fine

Coming to the knowledge that this requires hearing the original "This is Not a True Ending" first to understand the direction, my thoughts may be taken in a slightly different direction. So this feels so much fuller than the original track, and though this remix-of-a-remix does feel dirty and overloaded with distortion it can indeed be seen as a trademark of CotMM's more conceptualist style providing you feel more open to it. Arrangement-wise, I think it was good to take the familiar theme into a minor key, though outside from the fundamentals there doesn't seem to be much change. On a plus note, I thought the reversed glockenspiel at 0:57 was pretty cool; it may be playing with concepts, but I'm glad that even back in the site's origins there were people hoping to jump outside of the box. It's a shame we don't see CotMM much these days, but I'm sure that he may poke his head out one of these days and provide a surprise mix somewhere. Your influence is being missed D:

Wow, you guys are on FIRE! Total Reviews: 243 (-12150 HP) OA Reviews: 18 (+900 HP) CURRENT HP TOTAL: 9750/21000 We've brought him down to quadruple figures! This is going epically well; don't stop now (P.S. Stop being a grinch, Bahamut )

No because it's not a review - it's a hilarious distraction.

Under-reviewed endorsement is also looking good. The total number of mixes that have less than 10 reviews has fallen to 70, so be sure to keep up your looking up of the lesser-talked about tracks! Albeit, 20 of them haven't received a single review this month so far - kinda upsetting. If there's something in there you want to put a word in for, go for it!

Like I said in the #ocremix IRC when it came out, this doesn't sound like disco, even with the strings; they feel more like an accompanying instrument to fit with this arabic atmosphere that's going on. So take that. Going through this properly, I do feel kind of sad that the Mega Man 4 project never really took off, but I'm glad something solid managed to come out of it. There's been some good working with the first half of the source with that gentle intro, before going into an interpretation of the theme and some solid original soloing work. Basically anyone's who's heard Vurez's works would probably know what to expect in regards to arrangement quality, even with some nice original work being fitting in variations of the theme as well as some wonderfully manipulated fake acoustic guitars. There also appears to be a huge highlight for me at 2:18 and that's where the punji comes in with some wonderfully expressive work and adds a significant amount of cultural flavor towards the track with it taking center stage. It's moments like that that really start to get you to sit up and pay attention to what's going on. If there's anything that I noted here with both this and past works, your drum kit work often seem to be your weakest component. Don't get me wrong, you often counter it strongly with some very interesting hand percussion work to make up for it, but most of the time there doesn't seem to be any cymbal writing being done other than the crashes; try and see if you can fit in some hihat/ride work, and be sure to treat the drum kit like the real thing. That little qualm aside, this is a very charming arrangement and I'm glad to see that Vurez is still around with us and also continuing to represent these more obscure Mega Man Robot Masters. So be sure to keep up the effort, and I'll look out for your future works

Tricky source to cover. As much as I like Marble Madness, seeing someone adapt to a source with less than 8 measures in length (in this case 4) looks like a really difficult task to even pull off. But from what I'm witnessing, there's enough consideration to the chord timings in the opening pads that do help, as do the subtle rhythm synth modulations throughout. It does help to break the monotomy a bit by going into a nice little breakdown before aiming for the ending - nice move there. The production quality is definitely up there for the pitched instruments used as well, so that's definitely a plus. People have already had the arrangement thing bang on the head, but if you're going for an electronic mix, then I'm not really sure if a muffled drum kit is the best way to go about it. In mixes like that I generally have a preference for my snares to be sharper at least, but if the intent is to take it into this more laid-back setting then I can live with it. So I guess I'm kind of torn over this one. It does well to break the monotomy at times, though even then there's not a right lot that can be offered after those first few listens. It's still a decent debut, and I hope you'll come back to OCR with something else one of these days