prophetik music   Judges ⚖️

opens with some broad, sweeping pads, and an adaptation of the brinstar bass that i didn't expect. the iconic melody line comes in at 0:35 alongside some very wet percs that sound fantastic. there's some big transitional elements right before a break at 0:59, and we start to get a build that culminates at 1:21 with The Beat that we're going to hear for the next several minutes. i love the chorus feel at 1:43 - there's a breadth to it that feels really otherworldly. i found myself wishing there were more rhythmic elements in the synths here - there's tons of ear candy and random pops of stuff going on, but having something automated in there would have been really nice. there's a bit of a drop and build into 2:18 with the guitar taking the lead. i love how this sounds, and i love the more dynamic and rhythmic bass element here as well. this drops to a half-time vibe at 2:42 with again some dynamic bass and synth elements moving in and out of the texture, followed up by a doubletime (4x change!) feel right after that's got tons of technicality in the performance. love the contrast. after that is another drop and build, this time with a significant vibe shift at 3:49. i found this to be a very significant shift and would have liked a smoother transition actually - there's not a ton of corollaries between the two sides. i love the darker vibe of this section though. the ending didn't feel particularly prepped, but i don't think it's bad - i just didn't see the end coming until it was here (kind of like my super metroid runs... =/ ) as expected, a superlative effort. there's so much going on and it's so clearly handled throughout. excellent work. YES

i YES'd this last time but noted a few elements that i wasn't into. i still think the opening kick is too boomy (this might be a headphone adequacy issue here, there's a ton of subbass there). i still like all the interplay between the elements. there's less low-mid density which is nice. the outro's kind of all over the place, and without the backing elements the shamisen loses some luster. overall it's still a noodly melody that isn't for everyone, and there's still a lot of static and that's not my favorite backing element. but i like the complexity and find the creativity to be evident in a lot of places. this is still a pass to me. YES

starts off way bigger than i expected given the original. tenor is way louder than the alto, so it's hard to hear the melodic line initially. tenor's particularly honky in this one - gotta keep that embouchure tighter and don't overbite on the mouthpiece, lucas! backing elements are kind of on autopilot through this first section - notably the hats pretty much are doing the same thing the whole time, and i can't hear the snare or kick at all - but the organ blurbs are nice. i wouldn't mind hearing more movement there! bass is fairly static - again, i would love to hear more movement there to help keep it moving. the metric modulation you mentioned hits at 0:32. the keys have a bit of an uncanny valley transition there - i wouldn't mind hearing a bit more velocitization in that transition. i love the idea! switching between the two vibes is a really fun concept. there's a few pitchy sections in here in the saxes. this circles back to the original time signature and does a bit of noodling before coming back together. we're back to the triple section for a bit before switching again back to 4/4 for a bit of a break. this was needed so it's a good choice to have a break here. the keys again are uncanny valley feeling - they're cutting themselves, which isn't very realistic. i'd recommend allowing them to tail naturally. the vocal lines are nice as a change of pace through this section. drums are again kind of on autopilot through here - finding some ways to allow them to do something new would be a great idea. 2:44 brings back some tenor initially and then the alto as a recap. this is similar to what we've heard before, and there's a note that's crunchy at 3:18. there's a final resolution and it's done. first off - the tenor part throughout is way too loud, and has way too much boost in the fundamental range. it's much louder than anything else in the mix, alto included. turning the tenor down a lot and boosting the tenor saxophone's formant (a little boost around 2k and 4.5k specifically, fairly narrow, should allow it to pop out of the mix more without having it be Northern Idaho levels of fundamental volume). separately the performance is not where it needs to be for posting - it's just too honky right now. regarding the arrangement - i love the concept of switching between time signatures! i think it's a really fun way to highlight the different aspects of the two pieces of the melodic material. i got the impression that each transition used similar or the same things in the drums, bass, and keys every time you switched - which is a no-no in a jazz-inspired track that's defined by creativity and flexible arrangement. finding new ways to switch between time sigs is critical, and in my opinion you should really lean into this - everything the drums play doesn't have to be constant ride cymbal, everything the bass plays doesn't have to be with no breaks (something more angular for some of these sections would help a lot, actually, i think), and every fill doesn't have to actually prep the next section (a very open, loose fill with little going on around it might actually be a great way to change time sigs). what i'm saying is that there's a lot of sameyness throughout the arrangement - the melody feels the same when it's in the alto each time, the backing elements under it feel the same, the drums feel the same mostly throughout, the same instruments play almost continuously the entire track. finding ways to strip that back and be more intentional with what everything says and when it plays will help a ton. this is a good idea! i think the workshop can make a lot happen here. NO

played quite a bit of this, and this track comes around a lot. thought about doing a take on it myself too at some point. some aggressive tremelo strings to start. there's a piano gliss at 0:22 that's really not realistic at all (shouldn't be all the same velocity, should schmear into one another). if the goal is as a transitional element, i'd recommend keeping it more scalar. as it is, it sticks out too much. this same gliss is repeated at least five times in the track and it's pretty obviously a copied part for each. vocals come in at 0:43 and they're very forward - in my opinion way too forward. they should sit back a lot farther in the mix. i can hear the background elements getting crushed pretty hard. i don't know if i'm a huge fan of the layering either - there's some flutter in azmodea's tone, and unisons are by far the hardest interval to tune properly. i wonder if it won't be as noticeable farther back in the mix. i'd recommend turning it down a lot - like by half - and then slowly bringing it up so that you can hear the vocals clearly but they settle in next to the backing elements. there's some other technical suggestions i'd have around the vocal performance (mostly just opening up your mouth on the higher notes and the ee vowels to avoid a thinner texture due to the lyrics and mouth shape required for the words) as well. there's a more full orchestral section that starts at about 1:25. the idea of this section is nice - a fuller orchestral section that showcases some of the movement that's so common in the Stellaris score - but the execution is that it feels like a string pad with some percussion around it. note how waldetoft's orchestration of his original have tons of movement in all parts, and there's rarely long sustains in any one part for an extended section of time. i'd encourage you to emulate that level of movement. second verse's vocals are farther back in the mix and settle in better, but they're still too loud. there's some timelessness to the performance which is a nice contrast to how rhythmic the other elements are. this is again followed by an orchestral section that's got more movement to it. the flute's got a few chuffs that don't feel super realistic, but the orchestral elements below it are copypasta from before to my ears. the track goes through the descending pattern a few more times. there's a harp section at the very end and then a broken arpeggiated chord twice at the end - i'd definitely recommend playing with your tempo in this section as it sounds very robotic right now - think about starting the chord arpeggio slowly and speeding up as you get higher, and then 'strum' the last chord much quicker. you're also going to want to mess with the velocities to get more appropriate timbre from lighter or heavier articulations. i think this has a lot of promise in the concept! there's a lot of partwriting and cleanup work to do still, but i definitely think that this arrangement has legs. NO

sounds like 6/8, 4/4, 6/8, 7/8 to me at least initially. it flows really well together though, i really like it. some fun sound design to start with keys, vocal elements, and some percussive elements. we get some bass and hats at 0:16, and soon after some guitar elements. it's got a bit of an old starcraft feel to it initially with the bass groove and hats focus. 0:54 is where we start to get some heavier guitars and more drum elements. imo this kind of mixed meter needs a more specific groove in the drums to help people keep track of where they are in the pattern - it was a little tough to keep track of. i always recommend Herd Culling by Porcupine Tree as an example of how to do complex meters without losing people - the little hat element thrown at the end of each phrase is a good example of what to leave for someone to grab onto in the storm. to be clear - i think the drums are well-performed and enjoyable, and they say relevant things, but i often found myself losing track of where in the four-bar phrase i was despite the melodic elements. there's a break at 1:21 with a focus on the bass first and then mirrored in the guitar. 1:59's another 'chorus' section. i noticed the different lead elements all had different cutoffs in several phrases in this section a few times - it's a little distracting that they're all over the place (i think this was intentional, i just don't think it was quite executed 100%). we get some trumpet at 2:40 (wasn't expecting that!) and it's a nice change in feel between that and the strings around here. it was a good time to mix it up as we'd kinda done the same thing for a bit. there's a third chorus at 3:17 and it's a great payoff. i really love the rising lines in the lead guitars through here, especially that they kind of overlap in several places. the constant motion feel to the end of it is just great. there's a fall at 3:58 and we're into the outro. a few more hits and we're done. this is a really fun adaptation of a complex original! i really like the concept - focusing on the simpler melodic line above a variety of complex lower elements is a great choice and one that really turned out well. it's got that signature zack shimmer to it and features a great slate of skillful performances. excellent work all around. YES

what a fun original. some playing with time right off the bat - flute is an inspired choice as an element, it fits the instrumentation so well. the small ensemble has a real Atelier Ryza (thanks Ivan for introducing me to the music of that series!) feel to it to me. claps as a regular percussive element is also a fun choice, helps keep it more intimate than it might have been otherwise. a little pitchiness in the lead violin at 0:43 that gets worse before it gets better. there's a bit of a break at 0:52 and some good movement to keep it driving forward despite there being a bit less going on. there's a recap of the opening section at 1:11 and another bit of a break. i agree that you did a lot of lead switching, and it's good compositional technique! you do a great job of both delaying the payoff and keeping it moving so we're guessing. there's what definitely feels like a bit build at 2:06 as we get into some soloing sections. easily the best flute solo i've ever heard from GotW - what variety! - and more building towards the big payoff at 3:11. adding electric here is fantastic, especially with some really fun backing elements behind the melodic material in the flute and others. and you do it just right - no extra repetitions! nice restraint =) there's a big nine chord to finish it and it's done. what a ride! this is a triumph. the arrangement and realization are just stunning. excellent work. YES edit 9/10: intonation issue is fixed, this is a bigger yes!

original is so lush. and i agree, it's an intense experience in-game. opens with the expected very slow rush of sound and aleatoric plucks. the initial wash of sound is in the same key and pitch as the opening, so i'll even count it as source! i realized when it moved at 0:50 that it was guitar really washed out, and that's a neat feel to have the rhythmic stutters in it as it flows out. the rest of the band starts at 1:29. this section feels really Silent Hill with the simple approach. the vox at 1:46 is super sharp and over-treble. we do finally start to get some melodic material at 1:56. this is a really introspective approach through here and i appreciate it, although i'll say that i'd prefer there to be no voiceovers whatsoever. i found them to be just in the way of the beautiful soundscape. there's a very relaxed solo section at 2:40 that's really nice and fits into the feel really well. there's a hard transition at 3:27 as the vocals come in. i felt the vocals felt a little boxy initially (as in the recording wasn't as clean as i'd have hoped) but i felt that especially once the band filled out more that wasn't noticeable. cory's voice is excellent, i love the tone! same with cece's additions. i found the vocal elements to be interesting - i didn't grok a direct connection between the melody you have for the vocals, but the backing elements mirroring the descending idea was a great way to tie the original to this new version. i was a little concerned at overall source usage, but with the entire middle section (1:28-3:27) being very clearly adapted from the original and then having lots of the descending motif alongside the chord movement in the following 1:45, i'm good with source usage here. i think this is a super fun track! i love the vibe of the music. use of vocal clips aside, i think that there's a really shining example of adapting a very ambient original into a melody-driven track here. excellent work. YES

opening synths are pretty basic - just a verby arp and some drum machine samples. lead comes in soon after this point and is a wide, fuzzy lead that sounds pretty dated. there's some odd notes right after the 0:30 mark both in the melodic and countermelodic synth - there's a lot of switching between major and minor, and it doesn't work well. the track autopilots through the melodic material a second time in a row in a very similar fashion to the first, and there's a shift to a less beat-driven sound at 1:34 for the B melodic material. the track switches back to the A material for a third time at 2:20 - lot of repetition already! - and does some more similar noodling through the melody before it's done at just over four minutes. i think there's a good concept here - a lo-fi, chill arrangement of the beautiful theme from the game - and i think this just needs more time in the cooker. there's no real dynamic shape to the piece, and that's something that needs to change to avoid it being boring. beyond that, improving the quality of your synthesis and drum elements and ensuring they're always doing something interesting will help a ton. i think the workshop's a great place for this one right now as it's not close to passing - iterating elements from most of this will make for a huge improvement. NO

Xenoblade Chronicles is a game that means a lot to me, and Yoko Shimomura is one of my favorite composers, so I wanted to try and recreate some of her work in my own electronic style. Games & Sources Xenoblade Chronicles - "Hometown"

Another entry from Dwelling of Duels, second time I submitted as the main arranger. Didn't medal this time but all my collaborators are gold medalists to me. The plan for this track wasn't really there this time because I was so burnt out from the amount of effort I put into Dancing with the Wind, that for the first couple of weeks of the month the only thing I had done was transcribe the source, which was a pain because of the time signatures. Let's just say... when you add them up they come out to 27/8 which is what I sent to Emunator when I asked if he wanted to contribute anything. Anyway, track turned into something pretty stellar because of all those that hopped on to help drive it there. Hit play, close your eyes, and see where it takes you(and then tell me because I'm still not entirely sure what the destination is...) Zack Parrish: Arrangement, Production, Guitars, Sax, Keys, Mixing & Mastering Emunator: Sound Design colorado weeks: Vocals, lyrics trumpetsori: Trumpet paradiddlesjosh: Drums pixelseph: Guitars Cyril the Wolf: Bass Lyrics: Fīat iūstitia ruat cælum (Let justice be done though the heavens fall) Games & Sources Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Justice For All

EDIT (11/10): Tweaked/revised version in the submission comments -LT From TheManPF: "Requesting to submit a very small change to the remix, just added a few subtle reversed reverb tails to the quotes so they ease in better" Artist Name: TheManPF Additional artists: Zach Chapman; Cory Johnson; CeCe Ennui I FUCKING LOVE DISCO ELYSIUM There, if you haven't played it, it's one of my highest recs, it's a game that filled me with a lot of strong a emotions, it's a deep piece of art, and one of the two only games I've ever played that I'd dare call a perfect 10/10. For a while I wanted to do something with it, and when we figured a Mystery/Detective month was coming to Dwelling of Duels, I remembered this song "La Revacholiere" stuck with me ever since I heard it, it's a huge spoiler so I cannot give many details about it, but all I'll say is that is the most powerful moment in the game for me. I went for a midwest emo/post-rock style, it's something that I think fits the vibe of this game very well, and I tried to emphasize what I think is one of the most prevalent themes of the game: the world is fucked up, and DE is not shy at showing you this when you start the game, there's a lot of things happening around you that could immediately send one spiraling into despair, and the protagonist is caught in the middle of all of this. Despite all this, and throughout your whole adventure, the game never stops hammering you about one thing, yes, things look really bad, but there's always one bit of light, one tiny ray of hope that's always by your side, and a voice in your head telling you that things can, and will, eventually get better, as long as you keep your head up and don't let this cruel world beat you down. A lot of this is expressed through the arrangement and the lyrics, and I thought midwest emo/post-rock fit the themes well, as well as the style of the music in the game. Along with this, I put sprinkles of different quotes from the movie "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind", one that I never watched, but shares some common themes with Disco Elysium, particularly rough romantic relationships and memory loss. It also helps bring a lot to the overall atmosphere. Zach is of course here, his bass tone is immaculate as always, but I also want to shout him out because he wrote all of the lyrics for the song, he hasn't even played the game! I gave him some pointers, some quotes from the game that I liked, and a vocal melody, and he did the rest, he's always been incredible on bass but lately he has showed me more of his hidden talent of lyric writing that he has, he even delivered these super fast, and they fit the arrangement perfectly. For this one I decided to team up with good ol Cory Johnson, I figured he has a much better grasp than I have at this genre, and he helped me with a lot of bits and pieces for the arrangement, suggested Eternal Sunshine when I told him I wanted to use quotes from something, played a bunch of acoustic guitars, and my favorite part, he sang! He doesn't usually sing, but every time he does he nails it, he usually really knows how to use his voice when it fits, and I was convinced he was perfect for this one, and I'm happy he was able to pull it off. CeCe Ennui also joins the team for this one, she's more well-known as the accordionist for The Tonberries, an incredible vgm band that mostly plays live but also submits regularly to DoD, she has sung something all the way back in October and when I first heard it I thought "man, this voice quality would fit an emo track so well", and here she is! I'm so happy she was able to deliver for this one. Once again, very different from what I usually do, but I love experimenting, I love vocals, I love lyrics, and something I realized these last few months, I just love plain good ol songwriting, which is something that I have been showing with all of my last few vgm covers I've been doing, hope you enjoy it! Lyrics: [Excerpts from "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind"] "I had a really nice time last night." "...nice?" "I had the best fucking night of my entire fucking life." "I still thought you were gonna save my life, even after that, it would be different, if we could just give it another go-round." "Is there something wrong with a girl being attracted to me, is that a problem?" "I can't remember anything without you." "That's very sweet but try." "Alright Joel, look man seriously, here's the deal." "Rob, don't do that, Rob what are you doing?" "Well what's your fucking suggestion?" "What a loss to spend that much time with someone, only to find out that she's a stranger." "...what if you stayed this time?" "I walked out the door, there's no memory left." "...she's there with this guy, and she looks at me like she doesn't even know who I am." Punitive numbers and measures All that push me on Pain, duty, rejection And all my unpaid bills Warm primordial blackness (Ferments your consciousness) Now it's finally done (In your insignificance) Only myself to hear (First death is in the heart) Here is love for a face End to my pain and struggle (Here there are no ex-wives) The disco ball slows (Your act is wearing thin) But through the indignity and bloat (The machine is firing up again) My will to overcome Dust myself off and proceed (Dust yourself off and proceed) Turn my radio back in (Turn your radio back in) I'll do this sober and beautiful (You'll do this sober and beautiful) This will be a victory For the light "I could die right now Clem, I'm just happy, I never felt that before" Games & Sources Game: Disco Elysium Songs arranged: La Revacholiere (DON'T look this up outside of incognito mode if you ever plan on playing this game, it's a behemoth-sized spoiler) (https://youtu.be/54moBCJSfXg) Original composer: (British) Sea Power System: idk it's in a lot of platforms Year: 2019

UPDATED VERSION USE THIS ONE PLEASE Collabing partners: minusworld on guitars and bass. Shea's Violin on strings. Kev Ragone on percussion. Gamer of the Winds on flute. Another DoD month, another OCR submission (sorry for making you guys listen to me every single month but hey, at least I don't submit as many tracks as Emunator!). Anyway, this one was made for Mystery Month, where it got 2nd place! Ace Attorney is one of my favorite videogame franchises, both in terms of the actual games and the music, so I knew I had to cover one of the (many) games of the series for this DoD month. I picked the theme "Partners - The Game is Afoot!" as it's one of my favorites from the Great Ace Attorney duology and also because I imagined no one would cover these games (and I was right). The Great Ace Attorney games are set in 1910s Britain/Japan so they have a unique approach to instrumentation and composition (compared to other AA games). For my remix, I decided to go with an acoustic approach (well, mostly) since I felt it'd fit the rhytm of the source. The structure of the track was a little inspired by pud's submission to DoD's free month in February 2024 (https://dodarchive.dwellingofduels.net/24-02-Free/02-Prince uf Darkness%2C newmajoe%2C Eli Bishop%2C Dom Palombi-Fire Emblem Engage-V-tuber Emblem Enrage-DoD.mp3) too (I now notice he also got silver, huh), in the sense that I had an acoustic ensemble kinda slowly building up to a heavier climax. Doing an acoustic remix with VSTs would've been a terrible idea so I seized DoD's network of performers and managed to get a full team of live players, which really made this track shine! As usual, a source breakdown! 0:00-0:07: Basically a direct transcription of the source's intro with my instrumentation. 0:07-0:39: A variation of the source's melody from 0:05 to 0:18, first on guitar and then on flute. Chord progression is similar to the original but with a few modifications. 0:39-1:11: Similarly, a variation of the source's melody from 0:18 to 0:32, first on violin/flute and then piano/guitar. Chords are kept on the first take but changed for the piano part. 1:11-1:27: Some variations over the intro melody. I was worried this part could be a little tough on flute as it jumps around large intervals but GotW said it was "very very easy". 1:27-1:53: A variation of 0:58 to 1:24 in the source, first on guitar and then on violin. Writing this breakdown I now realize I made a lot of lead instrument switching! 1:53-2:05: Piano plays the first part of the melody from 0:33 to 0:44 in the source, although on different keys. 2:05-2:31: Flute solo! Chord progression is the same from 0:07-0:39. 2:31-2:58: A violin lead does the melody from 0:33 to 0:44 over an "original" chord progression. 2:58-3:11: Based on 1:24, piano/flute play the main arpeggios from the source. On this section I added a distorted rhytm guitar for extra intensity and there's also a brief violin solo that leads to the track's climax. 3:11-3:37: A repeat of the melody from 1:27-1:53 and minusworld's time to shine! 3:37-end: A repeat of the 2:58-3:11 section but now the second repetition features a reprise of the melody from 0:07-0:39! I think the track ended up pretty good so I hope you enjoy it! Games & Sources Source is called "Partners - The Game is Afoot!".

previous version *RESUB* . . .Second time's the charm. . ? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Chimp approved, lol. ORIGINAL DECISION: COLLABORATORS: ZackParrish - *Live Steel Tongue Drum SableProvidence - *Live Dizi GameroftheWinds - *Live Alto Flute Chimpazilla - *Arrangement & Mixing Consultation / Mastering # Originally done for the compo Double Dose round of Meat n' Potatoes - 123, "We Built an Edifice" has since grown and expanded into something I feel is much more than what was its original intent and drive. Based on a heavy influence by one of my favorite Experimental Electronica groups, The Glitch Mob, this version of the song leans more heavily towards its spooky main source roots ("Inner Darkside"), partially because the plan was to have this submitted for Halloween 2023 (but that fell through, sadly). It's as if The Glitch Mob meets 'Tubular Bells' (most famously known as the theme to "The Exorcist" franchise) meets the 'X-Files' / Signals from Space & Stephen King's The Tommyknockers...with a sprinkle of Asian aesthetics and a bit of orchestra. Rise of the Robot's "Builder / Prime 8" plays a hefty role in this remix as half of its bass arrangement, and also as some of the bell/arps structure and harmonic, pulsing Trance chords towards the end, at the key change. My hope is that people appreciate the vibe, and the emotions and metaphors present within, of a driving, unseen, demanding (evil?) entity or force turning one--or several people--into slaves of passion...building that epicenter, one's own Tower of Babel, to greater and greater heights, without rest; (hence the vox line that originates from the movie: Field of Dreams ;) ). In a strange way, it's very reflective of my own vices and artistic processes...and whether or not that's healthy or good is another story entirely. Creative approach-wise, this came half-spontaneously and half-experimentally, something that's grown and evolved over months of tweaking it here and there since MnP123. I just knew I wanted to kind of mimic Glitch Mob's unique style and approach when it came to their synths and bass/drumlines, and see what I could spark of my own flavors and spice to those techniques and facets of composition. Arrangement/part-writing-wise, it doesn't stray *too* far outside of the original source material, however, I did do quite a bit of shaking up the MIDI, changing some note structure for "Inner Darkside" at the midpoint of the remix, and incorporating more of "Builder / Prime 8"'s chords to match it. Hopefully the flow feels good in those spots, inclusive of the slow-down / chill-out after the high-strings riser / drop that drags us kicking and screaming towards that finale...still obsessively, and unrelentingly building on the 'dark tower' that's within every human soul. Every bit in this remix had a purpose, every brick being lovingly laid. This track was a joyful ride, albeit I'd be remiss to mention or say I was reluctant / scared to submit this...purely out of fear it might not gel with everyone's jam. But...nothing ventured, nothing gained--so we'll see, like with all my other submissions thus far. :) Huge hugs and thanks to my collaborators, and their immeasurable advice on how to write for woodwinds and ideas on how to bring out this piece to its fullest potential. I'm always glad and proud of every collab I do, with such a wide-variety of talented and gifted musicians. This one is no different. ♥ Thanks for listening. :D # Parts of 'Prime 8 - Builder' Source Used: Source Breakdown: 1.] 01:33 - 01:56 = a pulsing bass/synth thump mix plays Builder's (C) content -- you can hear it *just* above the marimba part in the sound spectrum, where it "thumps", and there's a triple "thump" @ 01:44 & 01:55. Acts as a soft, subtle prelude to the heavier bassline coming up, utilizing the same (C) content 2.] 02:30 - 02:50 = primary fuzz bass and its sub-bass counterpart plays slightly modified (C) & (A) content, that rides with melody (**modified for better flow from Inner Darkside's bassline into it); chords and bass were split between the fuzz bass, sub-bass and plucky thump 3.] 03:03 - 03:25 = tubular bell synths play (B) Builder content, unmodified except for key transposition 4.] 03:27 - 04:11 = Hybrid 3 trance chord sequencing plays (A) Builder content, acting as pads and rhythm / harmony to Inner Darkside melody; the plucky thump of (C) content also returns here, transposed 5.] 03:49 - 04:11 = (B) Builder content / tubular bells return for Outro (key shifted 3rd major/minor down with the rest of the remix), until 3rd loop -> Finale # **ADDENDUM: I had done quite a bit of cutting of unnecessary parts that were causing the fuzziness / overstuffed feeling, re-balanced where in the mix parts were sonically, and shifted around how the Shinobi III hook functioned ("passing the buck" between the Moon Guitar / Pipa combo VSTi track with a sequenced synth track using Surge XT's Drum One, to lessen the feeling of it being "overly repetitive" whilst maintaining the remix's rhythmic beats in those sections. Strengthened the basses, tuned up the live performances, ripped out the old mixing and pre-master processing for new everything, including automations and adjustments to FX chains. Any parts that sounded weird with "sour notes" were also fixed, workshopped in #Workshop in the Discord and twice in two separate Office Hours with the Sages. Had further convo with Chimpa on this as well, seeing as the source(s) blew up her mind previously, I wanted to make damned sure this time around they were clearer, conciser, and made sense in the context of everything despite the East vs West slight clash in writing and how weird Inner Darkside is to begin with (even tho I still love the song and it's one of my favorites from the game's OST--sue me, I suppose; it blew up Xaleph's brain, as well, FWIW). New drum loops were also made, half of which were composed and written from scratch by myself (including the kicks, taiko drums, perc and shaker bits), and the few sampled ones I used I scoured the universe and Hell for so they matched way more with the Glitch Mob aesthetic AND made sense in context with the entire piece. Let's...hope for the best, then. Huge shout-out and hugs to everyone who helped giving this some ears on it, and Chimp for the mastering efforts and latest feedback. ♥ Games & Sources SHINOBI III: RETURN OF THE NINJA MASTER (REMASTERED) OST; Track 11 - Inner Darkside; Artist(s): Hirofumi Murasaki, Morihiko Akiyama & Masayuki Nagao; Release Date: 06 May 2022 (DIGITAL) / 2016 (VINYL); Label: Data Discs (DATA) & SEGA RISE OF THE ROBOTS OST; Track 5 - The Builder's Stage Theme; Artist(s): Richard Joseph, Jason Page & Brian May; Release Date: 22 December 1994; Label: Time Warner Interactive

(Submitted as part of the TimeShift Album) Credits Azmodea - Vocals For me, Stellaris's "Faster Than Light" encapsulates the essence of what makes the game so compelling. As a fledgling spacefaring empire, you're ready to ignite your first-ever faster-than-light drive and embark on a journey to explore and colonize the stars. This piece is filled with hope and optimism, and Mia Steagmar's vocal performance in the original is nothing short of angelic. My arrangement of this piece stemmed from a challenge on the 8-Bit Music Theory server in mid-2021: to transform a track into an apocalyptic version of itself. The concept behind "Faster Than Light, (But Not Fast Enough)" envisions a failed empire that encountered an insurmountable enemy or obstacle and is now on the brink of destruction. The once hopeful and celebratory theme is transformed into a mournful lament, with my wife, Azmodea, delivering a heartbreaking rendition of the first two verses. In the second verse, she is joined by Solaria and Mia (both from Synthesizer V), whose harmonization amplifies the dramatic impact. The piece, which begins with tremolo double basses beneath a solo violin, concludes with the quiet, solemn notes of a harp—an echo of a fallen empire. I want to extend my gratitude to Emunator for helping refine this track to meet OCR standards, teaching me how to transform my initially stiff VST strings into something far more organic, providing a heart-wrenching VST flute, and offering numerous pointers on the mix—especially on taming the timpani to prevent it from muddying the low end. Special thanks also to timelovesahero for inspiring the harmonization of the lyrics in the second verse. Games & Sources Stellaris - Faster Than Light (Vocal Version)

Artist Name: Moebius (Submitted as part of the TimeShift Album) Credits Saxophone - Lucas Guimaraes Clarinet - Luisa Böhmer "Night Market" from Stardew Valley holds a special place in the hearts of my wife and me. We both immersed ourselves in the game—both solo and in co-op—and fell in love with its enchanting soundtrack. Among all the tracks, "Night Market" stood out as a serene and beautiful piece, so much so that we chose it for our wedding waltz. The first version of this arrangement was born from a challenge on the 8-Bit Music Theory Server at the beginning of 2022. The task was to create a day version of a night track, or vice versa. From the start, I envisioned a jazzy, saxophone-heavy interpretation of "Night Market," with the A section set in 4/4 time. Initially, I struggled to adapt the B section to 4/4 as well. In hindsight, this was a blessing in disguise, as it inspired me to retain the original 6/8 time signature for the B section and introduce metric modulation—a choice that added depth and character to the arrangement. I want to give a big shoutout to Lucas Guimaraes for his invaluable help in adapting the saxophone parts for alto and tenor, and for his beautiful rendition of them. I’m also grateful to Hemophiliac for providing crucial early feedback on the song when I started to adapt my initial version for OCR. Special thanks to my close friend Luisa Böhmer for her wonderful work on the clarinet. Games & Sources Stardew Valley - Night Market

this is hard cut at -1dba, which is kind of interesting. it clearly hits the limiter hard a lot. opens with some chord stabs and a nice open ringy pad. kick and bass come in at 0:16 and are a bit loud initially. this builds in an additive fashion until we get to the melodic content at 0:41. the melodic performance in the guitar and synth is intentionally a bit blocky, and i found the opening synth to be a bit bright compared to the guitar tone. the comping behind the synth melody is a little hard to hear and sounds a bit confusing on first and second listen - the rhythms there were tough to grok initially. i didn't like the change to the chord at 1:11 either, i don't think it fits as well as a borrowed V7/IV would have sounded. there's some fun flanging on the backing elements near the end of this and i liked that a lot. we get a short break at 1:21 that refers back to the opening. there's an lfo-panned arpeggio that kind of helps build into the next melodic representation at 2:00. i think this transition took a bit too long, but when it lands it feels good. the guitar solo at 2:11 starts with a very out-of-tune note but is fun with what it says after that. there's another build at 2:42, and the riding guitar pattern at 2:50 is fun but the chord didn't make sense to me (is it a G9 chord or something?). from there it's mostly descending action - one more trip through the melodic content, some drum work and ascending panning synth, and some outro synth chord stabs. from an arrangement standpoint, this one doesn't take a ton of chances but does a nice job translating the original pop-inspired structure into a similarly poppy vibe with the new instrumentation. i think there's a lot of repeated elements (the ascending arpeggio, the drums throughout are pretty basic, the melodic approach between the guitar and synth), and there's certainly a lot to nitpick that i heard. overall though this is a solid genre translation, handled with a sure touch. i think this is over the bar. YES edit 12/11: being the first one to vote most of the time means that occasionally my bar needs calibration. on a second listen after reading the other judge comments, i think i agree that there's more unintentional crunch than strictly needed, and i think i also agree that the backing elements do lack some quant. i get that it's earthbound and there's some uncanny valley/purposefully weird vibes around it, but i still think it'd be a more enjoyable track with a few changes. so i'll change my vote. NO

opens with some podcast-quality voiceovers (that are legitimately hilarious-sounding). the instruments come in around 0:10 and are, as far as i can hear, exactly what the original is playing. we get some real drums at 0:28 but it's still the same as the original through here, and with how short the track is that's a concern. we finally get some added content at 1:03 with the sustained key bits, and some NES Zelda theme riffed in. it continues this way through about 1:58 where we start to get some fun arrangement elements with brass, a synth solo, and some funky riffs. but that's only maybe 20s and then the track's done =( there's nowhere near enough arrangement on this unfortunately. from a mastering standpoint, it definitely feels like it's coming out of a 386's speakers for better or worse. i wouldn't have minded a bit more punch to the overall feel - the bass synth in particular was pretty lacking. but the main knock here is that this just doesn't have much arrangement until the last 20 seconds. you can make an argument that we get something halfway through, but then half the song is just dumped from the midi at that point. it's unfortunately not enough based on the submission standards. NO

will need a new name if it passes. the file name implies the name is "Surfacing Again", maybe that's it. opens with a filtered synth that opens up over time as guitar and choir elements are added over time. the guitar initially sounds really sketchy but i like the tone once it opens up a bit. the beat drops at 0:44 and the feel is much different at this point - the transition here is very surprising. the snare sounds overly filtered, like it's in another room, and the kit as a whole doesn't sound like it's in the same room as the melodic elements. i like how tight the kit is though, especially with a funkier feel from the lead synth. there's a transitional section with the drums on autopilot, and we get some interestingly modified chant elements before we get a new melodic section at 1:53 with a 404 bass doing some fun things. this section is pretty empty - there's not a lot going on in the background behind the lead for most of it, and it makes it hard to focus on the melody since the other elements are in the foreground as a result. separately, at this point the drums have been doing the same pattern for nearly two minutes, and it becomes painfully obvious when there's nothing else there to distract. there's another chant break before we get a recap of 0:43 at 3:05. this sounds very similar to the first time around - it's not quite copypasta, but it's pretty close outside of a few tertiary elements. by around 3:23 i assumed it was going to start wrapping, but it went through the A melodic theme a second time (this is straight copy from 3:05), then did it two more times with a rising synth added each time. that's a lot of repetition. the build at the end of the fourth time through was nice though, i liked the guitar element coming in. there's a hard drop after the fourth time through and a bit of bass element as an outro. i think this is a fun track overall! i really like the vibe of the main chorus that you initially show at 0:43. i think it could definitely use some more variation in how that's presented each time, since you're using it so often, and i think also having fewer choruses at the end would help prevent it from feeling samey. speaking of samey - the drums need a lot of variation added. what's here now is obviously a loop very quickly. some attention to ensure that they're in the 'same' airspace as the rest of the instruments would help too - right now the reverbs are very different and it makes it clear they're not in the same place. lastly, i think that identifying a way to make some of the sections called out above to be less empty would help too. i think this definitely has legs! i think the workshop on the forums or discord would be a great way to dress up some more elements here. NO

original is just fantastic. starts with an audio artifact. fades in with rain sfx and pads. the lead starts to emerge from the texture around 0:39, and we get some percussive elements after this at 0:55. it's a really lofi texture - lots of hard pumping on the compressor, wide brushes of sound, and it's pretty heavy in the left ear. there's a break at 1:32 (is that cylindrum i hear?), and we get some fun textural elements with the pvc instrument that eventually gives way to a nice glidey lead playing the electric guitar lead from the original. 3:27's another break, with the keys roughly outlining the original's chords at 1:00 or so. this builds additively - i particularly liked the clicky EP that eventually comes in - and eventually gets to a big blow at 5:01. there's a ton going on here but it sounds good and it's a really fun feel. the original doesn't have a ton of melodic content throughout, and what little there is doesn't seem to show up much at all in this remix. it sounds super dope! this is easily one of my favorite submissions of the last month or two. but i don't hear much direct representation of the original outside the chord progression sometimes. with that in mind, i can't pass it as-is, unless something is revealed to me that i missed. NO edit 9/3: i got a more defined breakdown from the artist. the opening section through 1:34 does indeed follow the rough shape of the melody, but not enough that i'd call it an arrangement of it - more that it's inspired by it. similarly, the cylindrum stuff at roughly 2:00 is shaped similar to the piano part but doesn't appear to be aping the actual notes - it's almost as if it's just the harmony part and the melody's muted. the section at 2:12 is closer to the original and more familiar. the section at 5:01 is also closer and more able to be picked out. this breakdown doesn't balance out to be half the track being from the game - or, rather closer enough for me to call it that. still a NO from me. edit 12/11: coming back to this with fresh ears. i hear more source this time around. thanks to larry for the extra timestamps. i think this is close enough that what's here is over the line. so i'll change my vote. YES

updated thread name based on artist suggestion in submission thread - prophetik Jazz Jackrabbit 2 has a fond place in my heart from my childhood, with this track in particular being one of my all time favorites. I was inspired to make a remix by Allan Zax's remix of the same track. What started as a small project turned into a full reimagination of the track 1: The intro sequence up until the 1st "solo" (0:00 - 1:34 in the remix) is based off 0:40 - 1:00 in the original 2: The 1st solo (1:34 - 2:12 in the remix) is based off the same piano melody starting at 1:00 - 1:19 in the original 3: The 1st "drop" section (2:12 - 3:27 in the remix) is based off the guitar melody and chord progression at 1:19 - 2:00 in the original, and also incorporates the 1st melody as a sub-melody 4: The section between 3:27 - 5:01 in the remix is largely original and follows the overall chord progression 5: The 2nd "drop" section (5:01 - 6:44 in the remix) has the melody from 2:05 - 2:25 in the orignal layered over the melodies from the 1st "drop" Games & Sources A remix of Dark Groove (part 1) from Jazz Jackrabbit 2, composed by Alexander Brandon, Sean Hiller and Bryan Rudge. Jazz Jackrabbit 2 is a 2D side-scrolling platformer produced by Epic MegaGames in 1998.

opens with some great EPs and organ. there's a really organic feel to this due to the timing being pretty loose initially. i'd recognize that chapman anywhere - one of my favorite sounds in Trillian! - and some fun bell elements. we get a beat at 0:43 and the melodic material to the fore. this is a really deep, low representation of the chorus material which is fun. there's a point at 0:58 where the melody is on an A and the bassline is on a Db, which is a little weird-sounding but is supported by the chord structure. there's a break right at 1:05 to recap the opening a bit. the sweeps through here are really nice. this builds up through some fun flute-adjacent noodles to the melody again at 1:49. i like the shift at 2:11 to a more upbeat feel as well, as we'd kind of done the other stuff for a while now. there's again some funky chord structures at 2:19 - i'm not going to analyze them since they sound roughly correct to my ear, but they're funny as a transitional element! we get through some original material as a transitional element. there's a half-time groove here that i didn't see coming but really like, and it builds into 3:15 where we get some taikos or toms alongside the main melodic snippet. this floats through a bit more of that snippet and then it's done. what a fun track! there's all sorts of interesting ear candy going on in here as i listen. you do a great job taking a fun and straightforward original and exploring some really varied elements. YES

Artist Name: timaeus222 Ah, National Park... a truly iconic theme I had hesitated to do for years. I was actually re-playing Pokémon Crystal recently in July 2024, but using the game mod called Polished Crystal, which had quality-of-life changes, but also a few custom mini-stories, added evolutions, and convenient map changes. My team towards the end was Dunsparce, Gliscor, Houndoom, Ampharos, Sylveon, and Suicune. Since it was probably my 4th playthrough at this point, I had some fun with it by going into the Memory Viewer and hacking the hexadecimal code to make my favorite team members shiny and to optimize their DVs and natures. *gasp* Yes, essentially created my own manual cheat codes. :-) That playthrough, ectogemia's prior take, as well as the fact that downtempo is my least-appreciated genre on my phone, inspired me to arrange 'National Park' this way. In terms of workflow, I convinced myself to just write things out and fix them later, finishing this in about 18 hours across 3 weeks. Something that had always slowed me down is just refining production a ton before I wrote more, but it's been less problematic lately! While downtempo isn't the furthest stretch from the original, I strived to be as creative as possible through new chord progressions and inner voice movement (such as 1:21 - 1:26, 2:02 - 2:08, and 2:24 - 2:27), and just achieving harmonic clarity and precision. The simplicity of the original offered room for more colorful chords. I'm also pretty proud of the original section at 2:32 - 3:16, as I did not think it was in the same key as what I had earlier, but then it lined up really well with the iconic descending motif at 3:15, adjusted to the new, brighter mode. The central instruments were electric pianos (3ee's Zebra2 presets), acoustic piano (4Front TruePianos), gamelan bells (ISW Resonance: Emotional Mallets), and the Chapman Stick (Spectrasonics Trilian), amongst the usual Zebra2 synth palette, some ISW Juggernaut sweeps/impacts, a few ambient impacts from ISW Celestia. The title is pretty simple - National Park is known as 'a spacious and beautiful park', so I called it Spacious Beauty. Hope you enjoy, sit back, and relax! :-) Extra Info: Source Breakdown: 0:00.00 - 0:43.12 = Source [0:00.00 - 0:09.60] (National Park chords with noodling) 0:43.12 - 1:05:13 = Source [0:09.60 - 0:28.70] (National Park "chorus") 1:05.13 - 1:48.60 = Source [0:00.00 - 0:09.60] (National Park chords with noodling + chord changes + melodic flute) 1:48:60 - 2:09.91 = Source [0:09.60 - 0:28.70] (National Park "chorus" + chord changes / new inner voice movement) 2:09.91 - 2:31.74 = Source [0:56.49 - 1:16.44] (National Park "bridge" + chord changes) 3:15.89 - 4:00.57 = Source [0:09.60 - 0:28.70] (National Park descending motif in same key, with new mode + new chords) 43.12 + 22.01 + 43.47 + 21.31 + 21.83 + 44.68 = 196.42/242.60 = 80.96% source Games & Sources Pokémon Crystal - 'National Park':

several db of headroom. opens with the piano part straight from the original (same tempo, key, etc). a voice synth comes in instead of a cello and does roughly the same as what's in the original initially, but there's some nice movement around 0:40 or so. i think the instrument sounds a lot better in the higher ranges than it does in the lower ranges. a guitar comes in at 0:50 and does some more improvisatory material. around here, i really started to notice the fakeness of the piano part - many of the rolled chords have too much tension on them (the last note is too late), and meanwhile the left hand is just robotically plunking through the bassline without ever having any changes to velocity. the guitar work overall is pretty solid but it's clearly not live either. the track continues to comp through the chords until we get to a more upbeat transition into 2:26, and a switch to a triple feel. the singer tone here is a little confusing next to the piano given that it should be way stronger given where the singer's singing in 'her' range, and the piano's much louder than the voice part. the lack of velocitization through these running passages is even more noticeable in the keys - just very robotic. it goes through the A portion of the theme one more time and is done. i think this is a nice take from an arrangement standpoint on this theme. you do a lot to flesh it out over time, although i think there's probably too much straight from the original in the opening 30-40s. i like your combination of instruments as well - i agree that the idea of the singer is nice, but i'm not sure the execution is there. same with the guitar and keys, honestly - this track is screaming for live performers, and i think you'd be able to find them in the community easily. that's not to say that live is required to be posted of course - but the robotic nature of the performance for all three elements is a huge issue, and that's a relatively easy fix. this is a neat idea! i think it needs more time in the cooker. i think spending some time really carefully velocitizing the piano part, and maybe getting some help on the other elements, will really pay off. NO

I started with stating the piano melody pretty much verbatim. I wanted to establish the track so the listener would know exactly which piece from the game was being arranged. I began to change things up when the vocalist came in, and from there the piece becomes more fluid. The feel stays the same, but the progressions begin to change up as the guitar improvises over top. The piano begins to get more varied and complex as the piece progresses until reaching the climax. This was the main reason I decided to change from a cello to a singer, because I wanted to up the drama here. The piece ends with a restatement of the original tune, to tie it all up with a bow. Games & Sources Game: Xenogears Composer: Yasunori Mitsuda Source track: Lost... Broken Shards Youtube link:

link went missing somehow so here it is: corridors of time has been on my 'want to remix' list for years. as have many that have heard it, i was entranced when i was listening to it playing the game in my youth. the image of the floating islands of Zeal with this music playing behind it is so iconic to me. my children recently played through chrono trigger on their own (my daughter's almost done with her NG+ now actually!) and it's been so exciting to see them really engage with the game world and especially the game's music. hearing various themes plunked out on the piano in varying degrees of completeness has been a joy, and when they asked me to find tracks from the OST so they could listen to them, this was the first one i pulled up. one of the key things i try to do with a remix (especially when it's in a similar style as the original) is to focus on finding a new way to state what's already there. in this case, that meant proceeding in a triple meter (6/8), focusing on some sound design elements (especially the bells to start it, i am proud of what i made there), and not getting in the way of the beautiful melodic line while still finding some fun ways to highlight and change elements of that same line. most of my songs lately have been very A/B where the opening is more chill and the ending is a different genre and more intense, and this is no exception - i started with a very floaty new-age vibe focused around light synths and hand pan, and ended with a messy postrock-inspired texture. there's very short snippets of frog's theme and wind scene (two tracks my kids just love from this game) in the middle and at the very end of the track. i think putting them together like that showcases just how similar so many of the game's chord progressions and musical concepts are. this is again done in fl studio with omnisphere and addictive drums 2 as my primary tools. Games & Sources