prophetik music   Judges ⚖️

This was the first mix I started for TimeShift, and it's far and away the most fitting for the album. I took direct inspiration from the name of the album, particularly with treatment of the source's main arpeggio. There's multiple portions devoted to layers and layers of the arpeggio offset from each other, as if they're each shifting through time. Initially, there were sections of complete silence, but after getting some feedback, I decided to add some effects there and boost my nostalgia points :3. Shoutouts to Gravitygauntlet for mixing this track, he really brought the track to the next level. Enjoy! Games & Sources Chrono Trigger - Corridors of Time - Yasunori Mitsuda

((PART OF TIMESHIFT, PRIORITY REQUESTED PLEASE FOR PROJECT RELEASE DEC-11-2024)) I was inspired by the OCR albums of yore where the director also made a contribution to the tracklist, so it seemed appropriate that I, too, do a "captain's knock". I thought through what VGM of the last 25 years has influenced me, and it quickly became apparent that I should do the game that's ingrained in my soul. SimCity 4 has to be the sole game that I've played and metagamed the most out of any. Terrain is, undoubtedly, my favorite source from the soundtrack. The Humble Brothers created a progressive symphotronica that builds through the Locrian and Lydian modes, really pushing the modes' inherent tension, before releasing it all with a beautiful, lilting Ionian major melody played on a fiddle, and then returning from whence it came. Its percussion lines are incredibly detailed and layered. This was my natural choice; but how could I work out such a daunting source? I spent ages trying to figure out its melodic and rhythmic structure, bashing notes out on my piano until I located them. The harmony was trickier to work out, but once I discovered I could make stems in FL Studio, the way was clear: I had solved a 20-year-old puzzle I'd had (I may have even cried a little). Given Terrain's sheer majesty, there was simply no way that I could "elevate" the source, so I figured the best I could do was to pay tribute to it with my own symphotronica: take its structural elements and rework them, make references to its many highlight moments of its percussion line, and give it all a theme to work around. Jacaranda Dreams is so-called because the main city of the main region I have played in the game is called "Jacaranda". Moreover the name is an entendre: SimCity is about town planning, it led me to pursue studies of it at a university level, and the university I attended is well known for its jacaranda trees. Sadly, for various reasons, my university studies were not to bear fruit. It is from this chapter of my life that I drew the piece's theme: hope, hope lost, and new hope. I applied these three moods to Terrain, and changed its ABCBA structure to BAC — my TimeShift, if you will. The first part of the ReMix takes the suspended chords of Terrain's Lydian sections and makes them its running motif. To add variation to this section, and as a further nod to the game, I took one of the ostinatos from Jerry Martin's By the Bay, also from SimCity 4. I also took its choice of reeds to be my lead instrument: oboe. After a collection of original oboe melodies (like various attempts at getting my studies to work), the ReMix moves to the dark Locrian section. The original has a call-and-response between an electric guitar sample and a female voice, so I swapped the two and exchanged the guitar for the oboe. The lyrics are in Latin, partly as a nod to Simlish, but also thanks to my upbringing in a church choir it felt like a natural choice for the limited notes available. I panned my voice through the opening, painting with the phrase "Ubi est spes?" ("Where is hope?") like searching for it. I also emulated that grating guitar sample with my vowel changes. I've also loved distant lo-fi vocals, so that had to be done too. With the realisation, "Abeam" ("I should leave"), with the lo-fi getting dropped, the ReMix then finally reaches that beautiful Ionian melody (after a delayed build-up: I expect fans of the original will be waiting to hear that line, too). I celebrate that melody with the addition of some countermelodies, percussion references, and giving the melody to a bass clarinet at the climax for the oboe to then counter. This last section draws some inspiration (but no material) from Jerry Martin's Magic City from SimCity 3000. There's another layer to the tribute here, that to OverClocked ReMix. The kick drum that forms the booming bass fundamental is none other than zircon's from ISW's Groove Bias. And melodically...if you know, you know. ;3 90% of the samples are from Spitfire Labs, either directly or through its BBC Symphony Orchestra samples, with the bass clarinet coming from the Alpine Project. The only things I had to pay for were FL Studio 21 and Kontakt 7; the samples themselves were free. It was put together with a pencil and eraser on score to identify the original's ideas before being expanded in FL Studio. Thanks must go to my fellow artists on the project for giving me feedback all the way from the first eight-bar sketch of the string ensemble to the final version, and especially to those who've heard it in the various Office Hours sessions, particularly Seph, Josh, Hemo, Emunator, prophetik, VQ and Adrian for their ideas and criticism. This is my first time arranging with a full-blown proper DAW with samples rather than digital music paper and manually typing in MIDI values, and their guidance has been priceless. Since the very years this ReMix talks about I wanted to contribute something musically to OCR, and now I have been given the chance. I hope you enjoy. ((LYRICS: LATIN Ubi est spes? Ubi est spes? Ubi est spes? Hic non est. Hic non est. Abeam. Abeam. Abeam! ENGLISH Where is hope? Where is hope? Where is hope? It is not here. It is not here. I should leave. I should leave. I should leave! )) ((This part is for Larry's stopwatch. "Source" refers to Terrain, "Secondary" refers to By the Bay: ReMix: 0:00 - 0:06 -> Source: 5:22 - 5:36 ReMix: 0:07 - 1:47 -> Source: 2:08 - 2:46 (original material in oboe line) ReMix: 0:57 - 2:00 -> Secondary: 0:13 - 0:26 prominent, but present through the rest of By the Bay (xylophone, modified to fit harmonically) ReMix: 1:47 - 2:22 -> Source: 4:14 - 4:48 ReMix: 2:12 - 3:16 -> Source: 0:00 - 1:05 ReMix: 3:16 - 3:35 -> Source: 0:59 - 1:05 ReMix: 3:35 - 3:59 -> Source: 2:47 - 2:59 ReMix: 4:00 - 5:28 -> Source: 3:00 - 3:49 (original countermelodies, expanded harmony) ReMix: 5:29 - 5:49 -> Source: 3:50 - 4:01 )) Games & Sources SimCity 4 - Terrain (by The Humble Brothers [Ken "hiwatt" Marshall, Traz Damji]): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCfimZEArAQ SimCity 4 - By the Bay (by Jerry Martin): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6l1CsqZtnk4 Other soundtrack composers for database completeness: Anna Karney, Bob Marshall, Kent Jolly, Kirk Casey, Marc Russo, Michael Land, Robi Kauker, Walt Szalva

needs a new name if it passes Artist Name: AverageImposter I've been listening to many different styles of metal all my life, and I finally felt proficient enough at guitar to arrange something for one of my favorite games of all time. It took 3 years but we got there! Celeste is such a beautiful game that everyone should try. One of, if not, THE best platformer ever created. Also, speedrunning it is so much fun. Also highly recommend lol (not biased at all surely) Games & Sources Reach for the Summit is the theme to Chapter 7 in the indie platformer "Celeste". It was originally composed by Lena Raine. Everything was recorded, produced, and mastered by me. I used a sample library for the drums only. Original:

Persian Improv Sword Marth from Super Smash Bros. Melee. Marth was one of my favorite playable characters from this game. I bought it in February 2002. The 5:00 mark is loosely based on the oil level from Sonic 2 for Genesis. This song is roughly based on the Persian scale from The Guitar Grimoire: G-G#-B-C-C#-Eb-F#-G The book has about 40 different scales in it by the way, you should check it out. It made this song possible as I learned it in 2005. No, I am not sponsoring them or accepting any endorsements from them. Epic sword battles have taken place from Marth against Donkey Kong, Ganondorf, and Falco. Marth and the final opponent are both at 100% damage, one life left each. This is battle music folks. There’s a fire flower, proximity mines, and poké balls. Who will win? The sound bank you hear comes as MONO by default and I wanted to explore the realm of a solo improv piece using a MONO soundbank. The Lo-Fi sound here is killer like Dave’s Killer Bread (the bread even shows this guy playing a guitar lol). I just keep hearing epic sword battles from Marth, as he is one of the quickest and most agile characters as well. I am not sponsoring or endorsing that bread either people. I have perfect pitch, so I am navigating the keyboard improv MONO. Creativity is in demand by ethical people, this proves it, no? OK, so, the song is 8mins 15 seconds long, but this is an improv piece, one that I cannot really get down to a "T". Please forgive me for making the song more than 7 minutes. I hope this song will be an exception to the golden rule here. The Upper Maridia song from Super Metroid would be one of my next contenders in a song for OCRemix (besides a long-lost OCRemix tune). Thank you! — dolphin92329 Games & Sources Marth from Super Smash Bros. Melee for Nintendo Gamecube. Not a soundtrack, my interpretation of Marth. So, yes, is VGM.

This is Team Metroid's last submitted remix from GSM2. I speak for our whole team when I say we didn't expect team castlevania to choose such a strange source for the final round of the competition. Had we not chosen a track as melody driven as the Theme of Super Metroid, it would have been very difficult. Even as is, it wouldn't have gotten finished as quickly as it did were it not for the help of my team. During the first half of the mixing stage, Lunarice created a story for the remix to go along to, where Samus wanders around a derelict facility for the beginning portion, Dracula shows up at the midpoint and a battle ensues, then samus emerges victorious. Ronald, Lunarice, and I also each created some midi lines for the final remix during this stage. Then, because we didn't have much resembling a full remix, Emunator suggested I take the lead and make something out of what we had. So I did. The majority of the remix was written in two days, and it would have not been possible if not for the groundwork laid by Lunarice or if I hadn't happened to have listened to Jimtension by Big Giant Circles and C418 a couple days before I started lol, that was a huge inspiration for me. After that, we still has a few days so I made a couple of edits to make the mix more interesting and incorporated a melody by Ronald Poe to further fill out the more intense portion of the remix. dohs usage: From 0:47-2:40 (and also 4:43-the end) the only usage is in the chords, where I reharmonized the string part from dohs. Pretty loose, but it's there. At 3:28-3:42, 3:48-4:02, and 4:23-4:37, there's more of those chords, but they match the original much more closely this time The most obvious usage is at 4:09-4:23, I wager I don't need to elaborate on that one haha. I think that's it, so enjoy! Games & Sources Door of Holy Spirits - Theme of Super Metroid -

This is a weird one, it's a remix of a remix, does OCR jive with that? I don't know, but let's find out. I used Silent Protag month over at DoD last year as an excuse to cover this game, Meat Boy is a silent protagonist right? But so is everybody else (except they're not protagonists, I guess). I love this game and I love Danny's music, I have the album on regular rotation but I always skipped the last bunch of tracks of the album which are all remixes, I don't know why, but one day I stopped at the last one "Power of the Meat" by Josh Welchel and Melinda Hershey and I was AMAZED by it, it's so fun, so catchy, so creative, and after finding it I kept listening to it for months on end, it's that good. I didn't know how DoD felt about covering remixes either, but I did it anyway, and I slapped in a bunch of other tracks from the original soundtrack too for good measure, the chorus of the remix is so fun to replicate, but I didn't want this to just be a straight cover (of a cover), I wanted to put a little bit of myself into it, so why not? I extended it, changed the structure a little bit and put more references in it, originally this was just a remix of Betus Blues with some Forest Funk mixed into it, in my recover however I'm structuring this way: 0:05: 0:12 - 0:18 from Hot Damned 0:19: 0:30 - 0:45 from Betus Blues 1:56: 0:00 - 0:08 from It Ends 2:04: 0:16 - 0:49 from Forest Funk 2:26: 0:15 - 0:37 from Ballad of the Burning Squirrel 2:48: 0:51 - 1:08 from It Ends 3:04: 0:49 - 1:06 from Forest Funk 3:19: 0:15 - 0:30 from Rocket Rider 5:04: 0:38 - 0:58 from The Battle of Lil' Slugger (on crack) Everything else is heavily based on Josh and Melinda's remix, I didn't touch the lyrics, I wanted to keep them intact, I only changed the order a bit from how they're presented in the original remix. Players in this one include the one and only Zach Chapman doing bass as always, he rocks it, he also does the voice of Dr. Fetus, he rocks at that too. I also included Biggoron for this one, he's a great funky keys player that fits this vibe well, he usually leans more into improv, but for this one I felt the lines were too iconic to let them slip too much. Earth Kid does the voice of Bandage Girl, her lines are pretty simple, but her delivery keeps it super catchy and addictive. I did the usual, arrangement, sequencing, mix, guitars, I also did the voice of Meat Boy. I have absolutely no idea how something like this will be received but I'm way too curious to not send this in regardless (: Lyrics: Bandage Girl: Save me Meat! Dr. Fetus: Super Meat Boy, so moronic Quixicotic (is this a real word), idiotic Taking on my way psychotic Robotic saws My name is Dr. Fetus, P.H.D. I see you lack some skin boy, which is quite fine by me Your girl is quite fair, oh she's an anomaly So the bandages come off, baby wa'tcha hiding? Bandage Girl: Save me Meat Boy, you're the one that I need Dr. Fetus he can't beat us but he's making you bleed So won't you save me boy, I know you've got what it takes It's the hour, use your power and come help save the day Meat Boy: I will save you Bandage Girl You won't have to fear no more Take my hand and you will see Behold the Power of the Meat Bandage Girl: Save me boy, I know you've got what it takes It's the hour, use your power and come help save the day Dr. Fetus: I lined the walls with my robotic saws Don't you wish you had some fingers with which left to crawl? Now, I know what you're thinking, "for a fetus he's quite smart" Well when your blood paints these walls I'll call it work of art Bandage Girl: Save me Meat Boy, you're the one that I need Dr. Fetus he can't beat us but he's making you bleed So won't you save me boy, I know you've got what it takes It's the hour, use your power and come help save the day Meat Boy: I will save you Bandage Girl You won't have to fear no more Take my hand and you will see Behold the Power of the Meat Bandage Girl: Save me Meat Boy, you're the one that I need Dr. Fetus he can't beat us but he's making you bleed So won't you save me boy, I know you've got what it takes It's the hour, use your power and come help save the day Save me Meat Boy, you're the one that I need Dr. Fetus he can't beat us but he's making you bleed So won't you save me boy, I know you've got what it takes It's the hour, use your power and come help save the day Save me Meat Boy, you're the one that I need Dr. Fetus he can't beat us but he's making you bleed So won't you save me boy, I know you've got what it takes It's the hour, use your power and come help save the day Meat Boy: Take my hand and you will see Behold the Power of the Meat! Games & Sources Game: Super Meat Boy (the original 2010 soundtrack specifically) Songs arranged: Power of the Meat (https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR02118) Hot Damned Betus Blues It Ends Forest Funk Ballad of the Burning Squirrel Rocket Rider The Battle of Lil' Slugger Original composer: Danny Baranowsky; original remix by Josh Welchel and Melinda Hershey System: I played it on my puter (: Year: 2010

i heard this back in early august and loved it then, so i'm excited to hear how it changed since then. opens with some water sfx, some beautiful chords and reversed piano elements, and an out-of-time chirping that reminds me of Bon Iver yet again. the feel of not being in a specific tempo in this opening section, combined with the physical elements of some of the instruments, is just so rich and inviting. the bass comes in at 0:54 and is very enveloping as well, although i found the patch to be a touch rough down low initially. there's some fun overtone-heavy guitar elements that are being layered in through this section that i really like. there's a big crescendo into 1:29's string entrance - the strings entrance and the subsequent sustains are a little heavy for me, but i see how you're using them to drive intensity. we start to get some percs alongside the arpeggio and sustained melodic elements, and it continues to build through those elements for over a minute. the strings feel a bit forced through some of this section overall - i wouldn't have minded hearing them handing off with another lead element occasionally. there's a bit of a break with some acoustic guitar, and then we finally start to get the real build with drums. this gets pretty noisy as it gets to the climax around 3:35ish, and then we finally get the payoff hit at 3:42. guitar sounds great in here (may be a tiny bit loud), and the drums are excellent - i love how crunchy they're mastered, lots of character in the tone. there's a lot going on in this big section but i can still hear everything, which is great. it's a little heavy in the 1k range or so. i really liked the lead guitar layering in alongside the strings. the track maintains intensity for a long time, like two minutes - normally i'd say that's way too long without a break, but this feels good and strong and doesn't feel overwhelming. we finally hit the last chord at 5:18 and it's a drop from there alongside the ring-moddy guitars and some sfx. the bass cuts out abruptly mid-outro rather than fading out - i'm guessing that's accidental. this is a real journey of a piece. the melody is such that it feels a little noodly in the original, but the pathway it takes you down feels very familiar and comfortable. it's neat to see that same melody used in such a different manner, to take you down such a similar yet different path. this is an excellent example of a significant genre shift without losing the soul of the original piece. nice work. YES

not much to hang your hat on in the original. opens with very similar synths and sweeps, and a bigger tom sample. i'm pretty sure this is original audio with better drums on it and a vox clip. there's the first big hit at 0:23 - there's a lot of neat percussive elements brought in, and i think the vocal clip works well in here too. the detuned horn noise threw me off a bit but i see what you're going for. first big band section is at 1:08 with a huge bass synth. this is a cool-sounding section but i don't really get a link to the source in it, it's more original. this goes through various iterations and sounds really fun, just no source. 2:17 is where i expected the melody to be referenced, but instead it's the string break from 1:07 in the original. it's expanded a bit, but then we do get the main melody at 2:39 when it changes up. there's a break/falling action that starts at 3:25 and transitions to a double-time section at 3:49 - this is again a great vibe, there's just no source for most of the time. this trucks through for a while and then fades out, kind of a lame ending. i'd have loved to see a lower-energy recap with melodic material here given how little you used of it. this is a fun track with good dynamics and a great vibe throughout. there's some general songwriting missteps - i don't think the first 20s contributes anything, and the track takes a minute to get going - but once it's going it's a compelling, interesting track. it sounds good, you've got interesting synths doing interesting stuff, and the master's fairly clear. but there's, like, no source in it =( i tracked roughly a minute and a half of source in a five plus minute track (i am not counting the opening 20s which sound to me like the original audio). if i'm not missing anything, that's nowhere near enough source. the original's tom pattern is something i'd consider counting as well but that wasn't used at all to my ears - not in the intro or in the big band sections. this feels more like you made a banger and then layered some tekken on one section. so this is a bummer =( but there needs to be more to tie it back to the original. NO

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