VG Frequency: U Love VGM

[Digital Coma]

I feel I know the music standards of OCR better than any other person who actually doesn't create phat b33tz.

Are you insinuating something?

[zircon]

I feel I know the music standards of OCR better than any other person who actually doesn't create phat b33tz.

Are you insinuating something?

He's insinuating ROFL, or that you're a fag. or both?

[Digital Coma]

HeH!!~

[Liontamer]

I feel I know the music standards of OCR better than any other person who actually doesn't create phat b33tz.

Are you insinuating something?

Though you're technically a listener judge, I think of you more as a musican (Mr. Tablas), since you are excellent and make my mulatto groins shiver in glee. As we all know, "You Make Music."

[Zoast]

oh snap!

[Liontamer]

oh snap!

Heh. Yeah, pretty good stuff yo. I wouldn't quite YES it yet myself; thought the vox has a few issues, but I liked it overall. It's a tiny bit remiscent of Stephen Kennedy's FF8 mix of Balamb Garden for PMM: Nobuo Uematsu. Keep it up!

[Zoast]

on the vox....pitch or production?

[Debotron-6K]

Congrats, Larry!! Awesome news.

Now answer that PM I sent you.

[Kaleb.G]

Congrats on the Judging position, Larry! I didn't even know you still continued to update this thread. I kinda feel out of the loop a few months ago.

No offense, but I was getting pretty tired of remix after remix, and thus I left to focus on listening to some new original VG Music, which is goddamn refreshing. I've been kinda keeping up on the latest stuff from OCR and VGMix, but I'll have to start using your guide more often.

Hey, if you ever want to have a spotlight for good original VG Music (as in, from actual games), let me know. I've got the stuff covered tenfold.

Take care.

P.S. When VG Frequency comes back, count me in.

[Xerol Oplan]

I think he covers the original scene pretty well right now. I've heard quite a few originals, and he's also played some Composts and such.

[Kaleb.G]

I think he covers the original scene pretty well right now. I've heard quite a few originals, and he's also played some Composts and such.

You must have missed the part where I said "as in, from actual games". I'm not talking about orginal music from people here in the community; I'm talking about VIDEO GAME MUSIC (the real deal, from professional composers). The stuff still gets made, you know.

I know this is a remixing community, but think about it. What good is a remixing community without fresh new material to remix, eh?

[The Orichalcon]

Well I have a game soundtrack coming out very soon (a matter of a fortnight) and I'm hoping that LT will do me the honour of playing a few select pieces from it over a couple of weeks. That's pretty much original and designated to the OCR community.

[Xerol Oplan]

Well, he's usually got something on loop in the background between mixes...and there's usually more than enough remix material to fill out the show.

Well I have a game soundtrack coming out very soon (a matter of a fortnight) and I'm hoping that LT will do me the honour of playing a few select pieces from it over a couple of weeks. That's pretty much original and designated to the OCR community.

I'm sure you just have to ask; I got a track played from Xerol's Quest a few weeks before the end of the season.

[zykO]

Seems like everything works in pairs. If you know Arabic fluently (zykO), you'll have to forgive Star for any pronounciation errors in the work (zykO), although it's great work especially for someone who isn't familiar with the language (right, weed? .

hehe, yea. its all good

zykO - Faxanadu "Sketch of a Potentially Contrived Memory" [VGMix2 #1938]

Crazy. This is some odd stuff from my man weed that takes all sorts of interesting turns as he cycles through several tracks from the Faxanadu soundtrack. Much like "Red Spiders" from Shnabubula, you'll appreciate this one if you can get past the perpetual style clash that seems to be going on throughout the track. Unlike Shnabubula's mix though, the style changes are even MORE dramatic and spontaneous. zykO must have been on the GOOD shit! I'm not trying to sound artsy-fartsy, but you can only appreciate this hybrid rock/piano/Spanish/acid smorgasboard after several very involved listens. The question for you is, are you up for the challenge?

thanks for the pimp, brother

glad you liked it. it was a phenomenal experience writing it

thank you

[Kaleb.G]

Well, he's usually got something on loop in the background between mixes...and there's usually more than enough remix material to fill out the show.

True, but I wasn't talking about the show. That's fine as is; maybe just a little forum post section like he has going on in this thread. Then again, I could start that myself if I wanted to.

[sgx]

Larry! Check my new jam! http://www.supergreenx.com/music/Deep%20Breath.mp3 Keep up the h0t work, dude.

[Liontamer]

Yeesh. Better reply back to everyone quick:

Zoast: The pitch was where I had issue with the vox, not the production. The production was pretty good, IMO. Hope people are really checking the mix out.

Tron-6K!: Sorry bro. I'm a no-go on Magfest 3.0. Need $ to go, which I never have. I'd definitely go if it were possible. Sorry about not replying to that PM. I read it way back and said "I'll reply later" then I forgot to reply. If you wanna be like an "official VG Frequency correspondant" during Magfest and call into the show during the Saturday of Magfest, that would be the shit, especially if you were boozed and totally shitfaced. We gotta make it happen, Justin!

KG: Yo bro! Thanks for the congrats. If you wanna do some stuff covering official/unofficial VGM music releases, that would be great, sure. I don't do that for the Pimp Section myself since 1) I'm so focused with the community here, 2) I'm currently on dial-up for the summer so I can't just get any game music I want, and 3) I can't afford to pony up the dollas for actual game music CDs. Feel free to do your own forum post or add stuff here. If you decide to do something, I'm sure it'll be good to read. Just make sure to hook people up with links and everything. Gotta be able to get the tracks (even the elusive ones).

TO: I'm not actually on the air until mid/late September, but I can pimp some tracks out and give any particularly good ones some airplay in the fall. Drop me a line anytime about 'em when they're good to go, Lee. Like Xerol mentioned, I think I'm fairly accessible about playing stuff for my show as long as it's good.

weed: No prob on the pimp at all, bro. The mix gets better and better every time I listen to it, and as you get more used to the flow and listen more intently to everything going on, you really feel how cohesive it is, despite how things change fairly rapidly. Hot work yo. I'm glad you'll still be doing some infrequent mixes.

SGX: Awesome! I've been waiting for this one. Excellent work. I didn't even know that was Teresa you sampled. Amazing shit. I'll cover it when the new Pimp Section goes up.

It'll be up relatively soon bros. Stay tuned.

[Liontamer]

Congrats to ravon & the Ormgas.com crew for collaborating with djp to get a link to the webstream on the OCR front page (and the return of the ReMix Roulette). It's all looking good, and we're more than glad for the extra attention! Good work, bros.

Quite the good week for stuff, IMO, but let's leave that up to you. I've looked all over in particular this week, so let's jump right into the material for the week ending July 31st:

Chronblom - Wizball "Piano Version" [R:K:O #2318]

With R:K:O back in action this month, Swedish artist Per Chronberg dropped this quick but entertaining mix from the C64 classic Wizball. Though it's dubbed a piano version of the source material, Chronblom actually starts off with the piano but then segues into a fuller orchestral approach. The reverb's a little much, but this is a very cool 2 minutes of music from a mixer on the European scene who's completely self-taught. This one's currently going over pretty well as R:K:O and your encouraged to check it out for yourself. Hit up more of Per's material over at his homepage, http://www.chronberg.com.

Corran & Aktulua70 - Megaman 2 "The Road to Wily's Castle" [VGMix2 #1961]

Corran continues looking at mixing Megaman music, this time collabing with Aktulua for a fairly intense track, starting off with a little bit of "Quickman Stage" before moving to the bread and butter with the admittedly overmixed "Dr. Wily Stage 1." The percussion and synth beats used to accentuate the music here were pretty questionable to me at times. The drums/beats sounded kind of slapped on, and I hate exposed claps since they stick out really badly. Some (not all) of the voice samples were kind of jarring and didn't help keep the flow, but the energy is over the top most of the way. The guitars were hot even when other areas were lacking, and I generally liked the ideas here. For me, I was disappointed at the electronic elements involved, especially with such a strong and memorable intro, but you'll be interested to see what direction these two went in. The source material's really well known, so you should be able to DL this and make your own judgement call on how you like the interpretation. Interesting work from this VGMix duo.

Cyborg Jeff - Donkey Kong Country 1 "Donkey Kong Sunset" [VGMix2 #1885]

Pierre's back at VGMix with an "Aquatic Ambience" remix, and you might be thinking to yourself at this point, "Well why the hell do I want another one of those?" Alright; that's a perfectly valid question. This is a mix that doesn't harken back to the water/swimming imagery that many other previous "Aquatic Ambience" have embraced. Rather, "Donkey Kong Sunset" moves toward a stylistic choice that source material has never had. If you're a fan of dance techno, you'll enjoy the direction of this genre adaptation, along with CJ's use of a handful of voice samples from the DKC game itself. The groove doesn't deviate much once this gets going, but once this mix picks up the pace you'll know whether you're down with it or not.

Daniel Baranowsky w/Ryan Probst - Jurassic Park (SNES) "Before Time" [OC ReMix #1223]

I first heard this a few weeks ago and dropped some comments. Let's see what I said on July 10th:

Dan recently finished up the Jurassic Park mix that essentially came to life once he heard the source tune of Yoozer's "Isla Nublar Jam." This one features (OMG) real guitar, so while Dan did a great job faking it in "Agony of Obscuration," this one has some genuine geetar playin' for ya, featuring a harder edge thanks to some layered sections and a nice bass pad. I don't have a link for you, since I'm not sure Danny B wants it given out and he's away in California for a little bit, so just keep an eye out for it later. (And act very surprised when you see it. He'll like that.)

Now that the mix has been released, you better be saying "Whoa, WTF?!?" Danny B hooks it up with the live guitar skills of Ryan Probst to drop this Jurassic Park mix of the Mountains theme. As I mentioned those few weeks back, this one goes for a heavier rock approach than Yoozer's mix, with a good fusion of various guitar tracks, synths and that subtle but still noticeable bass pad action. Like djp pointed out in his writeup for the mix, this actually isn't the most melody-centric (making up words now ) mix, so you might have a hard time gaining a foothold in it while you listen to it. Yet Danny & Ryan actually do a great job using loose, even meandering variations of the source material and constantly switching up their sounds to continuously take things in new directions. I liked how a mix like this has some good energy but is actually pretty understated for a track with guitar rock elements. Es bueno.

Destiny & zykO - Submarine Attack "Into the Deep" [OC ReMix #1222]

After tapping weed to fix the original mix up with some live guitar, Destiny's back at OCR again this month with "Into the Deep", featuring some seldom heard electric violin. I always enjoy hearing Helen's breathy vocals and Celtic influences in her remixes, and this one's no exception. I know Submarine Attack's music as much as the next guy does, which means not at all, but the melody was pretty good here and I enjoyed both Helen & weed's strong interpretations of it; there was lots of gradual development here and I liked how everything flowed. This is a great follow-up to Destiny & zykO's first collaboration, the Chrono Cross mix "Dragon's Prayer: The Blackened Desire", and Helen's fifth OC mix of the year as she continues to make a name for herself. Feel free to hook yourself up with this one.

Doragon - Eternal Champions 1 "Alerted Awareness" [ironMix Challenge XVIII: Eternally Yours / VGMix2 #1957]

Now that I'm an OCR judge, I have the unenviable position of having to vote NO on remixes that I genuinely like. None was more apparent for me last week than Doragon's very cool Eternal Champions intro theme remix "Alerted Awareness". If you decide to take a look at my review along with the reviews of several other judges, you'll notice that the main problem that held this back from getting accepted was the percussion. Nonetheless, this has some of the most beautiful atmosphere you will ever hear in a remix, thanks to Doragon's masterful choice of samples and lead sounds. Even if you haven't played Eternal Champions, I'm really sure you'll enjoy most of the elements going on here. Once Doragon can refine his percussion techniques and take them to that next level, he'll be a sure thing for OCR no matter what he decides to remix. Doragon may be out of music for a little while for reasons unrelated to this judging decision, but I certainly hope circumstances allow him the time to keep honing his obvious skills.

Fatty Acid - Chrono Trigger "Rhodes to the Past" [VGMix2 #1502 / OC ReMix to-be-posted]

Following up with another remix that I voted NO on is Joe's "Wind Scene" remix that managed to split the panel voting with the question of how dramatic the arrangement was. Despite the debate on that, I can guarantee you that this is one excellent sounding mix that flavors the popular source tune with some electronic sounds and thick beats, resulting in a pretty good genre adaptation mix that strictly arranges rather than rearranges. Don't forget the Rhodes either, which is the primary inspiration for this mix. You'll likely be feeling the energy here, and Fatty Acid's choice of source material is gonna ensure that he gets a notable reception with his pending OCR debut.

Game Over - Megaman 3 & Megaman 2 "Cataclysmic Clash" [OC ReMix #1224]

Sweden's answer to real ultimate power in the game music rock band department is finally (finally) back with this high octane "Topman Stage" mix. Ironically enough, I seem to be the only one who enjoyed "Cataclysmic Clash" more than Game Over's absolutely legendary Punch-Out!! mix "Little Mac's Confession". And because so many of you out there have been underwhelmed, per se, by this mix, I can only encourage you to kiss...my...ass! Seriously though, I thought the lyrics here were pretty good despite whatever cheese factor some might think they have, and the guitar work was full of quality Swedish meatball flavor, including a dope break at 2:41 into the Megaman II "Boss" theme with some freestyle added on top. But don't take my word for it. Take the word of the sage "judge Oji" quoted in the ReMix writeup. That man knows no wrong. As if there was any doubt, be sure to check out Game Over's latest and rock that shit down.

Kadmium - Final Fantasy 7 "Despair, Inc" [VGMix2 #1741]

Jesse Higginson brings a unique approach to the game remixing community with DEATH METAL! Now to be honest, death metal is kind of a cheesy genre for me, what with its lyrical style and all, so I'd rather spend time listening to funny faux metal from someone like my dawg Kompressor (!). But all things considered, I have to recognize unique and capably made work when I hear it, and this is certainly it. Definitely not for everyone, "Despair, Inc" features Kadmium with some menacing lyrics that get the point across and are tough to understand, just like real death metal. Admittedly, the power behind this mix is somewhat lacking when taking the genre into account. The guitar could have more raw energy and the percussion could be more bombastic, but this is nonetheless some pretty cool stuff that ain't nobody else is makin'. If you're open to a mix like this, well then sir or madam, you're in luck.

Lix - Final Fantasy 5 "The New World (Remember Free)" Version 2.0 [Levo Lution XII]

For a quick shot from the Japanese remixing scene, we'll go to Lix Exest, who has a brief but melancholy string & piano piece tackling the middle section of the 8-minute long "A New Origin". It's a little repetitive, as it goes for two straight loops of the same material, but it's short enough where you don't particularly notice that. Maybe Kaleb Grace would agree when I say that this sounds similar to the more moody stuff in the style of Masashi Hamauzu's SaGa Frontier 2 soundtrack (very phat soundtrack). A very short, but beautiful piece here that's instantly accessible to most any fan not for the source material is covers but it's very emotive atmosphere.

Lloyd Banks, Eminem, Nate Dogg & 50 Cent f/DCT - "Warrior, Pt. 2 (Resilience Mix)" - [http://www.thebigshot.com] - Feedback

Let's do the disclaimer. If you don't like swears, stay the fuck away. (And indeed, I bask in the irony of that last sentence.) DCT has another hot blend mix featuring a capella vocals redone with original beats, this time featuring G-Unit's Lloyd Banks with support by Eminem, Nate Dogg & 50 Cent from Banks' solo album "The Hunger for More". Duane's beats here aren't as involved as his blend remix of 50 Cent's "In Da Club", but often simplicity is key here in the hip-hop game, and that what you're getting here. And was that a sample of Sagat laughing from Street Fighter Alpha 3?!? Hotness yo. You know I caught that. DCT always does a great job taking mainstream a capellas that, frankly, I wouldn't listen to and making them much more laid back and accessible. Phat shit as usual from the Big Shot. (Ha! DNA!)

MC Chris vs Robot Sock (Matt Wilson) - "Boys Don't Cry...Unless It's Final Fantasy" [Think Similarly: B-Sides and B-Buttons] - Track Feedback / Album Feedback

Matt Wilson's chiptune work is fairly underappreciated in the remix community, as loads of NES music purists don't like when people expand NES-style music beyond the NES's 4 & 5 channel sound capabilities. (Sacrilege, I know. [rolls eyes]). Nonetheless, Matt caught my attention last year with the very cool work from his NES chiptune album done in the style of Megaman theme, "Megaman FM", including the very cool Sonic the Hedgehog 1 mix "Green Hill Man". To get a little background on the origins of this remix, I asked Matt what the deal with this track was over at #ocremix.

MC Chris is a rapper who plays the role of Hesh on Cartoon Network's Sealab 2021. His website is www.mcchris.com and he has free songs to download, various remixes, a capella tracks, and other goodies. "Boys Don't Cry..." is just a remix I did that was straight 4-channel NES chiptune.

The younger teens in the community are much more likely to be feeling MC Chris's lyrics here, though they're certainly amusing to anyone else who knows how lame trying to pick up ladies on the internet is. Matt's work here is excellent, as he stays faithful to the NES sound limitations and manages to create some very energetic and full sounds here. I thought the mastering was meh, since everything could sound sharper and clearer, but the overall presentation is great and you won't find anything like it around. Keep up with the threads above for more info on Wilson's in progress chiptune album "Think Similarly" and check out the action at http://www.highscoreonline.com to hit up Matt's popular Flash animation work, including the cartoon series High Score and Bonus Stage.

Mythril Nazgul - Chrono Trigger "The 6th Omen" [The People's Remix Competition 19 / VGMix2 #1053]

As mentioned in his VGMix description, Myth managed to go through five ideas before settling on this sixth one for the remix and coming up with something really solid. Considering I heard Bladiator's own PRC19-winning remix of the same material ("Woman in a Black Dress") a few weeks when PRC19 wrapped up, I was really surprised with how I couldn't place the two as remixes of the same theme. Myth manages to take some pretty basic sounds and weave some true rearranging magic on 'em to produce this very liberal and inspired take on Yasunori Mitsuda's "Black Dream". The synth choices come together wonderfully, showing how one can create a mix that stands out regardless of any sample limitations. Good combination sound choices, interesting progression, and tight work from the always-improving Mythril Nazgul. This is one that comes at you in a different way and a mix that I think you'll be impressed by.

Nasenmann - "Kurd Dreams" [Original Remix Competition 5] - ZIP of ORC5 Entries

Nasenmann proved victorious for ORC5 as he remixed Chockster37's original MIDI into an interesting excellent ambient/guitar/wind combination. Cool work here at providing a slightly unsettling atmosphere through the dark ambience, guitar, and various sound effects & vox that contrasts well with the lighter instruments added into the equation. Check out the aforementioned ZIP file in order to pick this up, alongside strong runner-up entries from TO ("Chee of Chambertron") & Less Ashamed of Self ("Cheezy Does It").

Sefiros - Silent Hill 1 "Bleeding Out" [VGMix2 #1982]

I never played Silent Hill at all (hey, I don't care), but like any game I'm not familiar with, good music can always supersede my reluctance to check out a particular game's music. The first encounter I had with the source material here, Akira Yamaoka's "Not Tomorrow", was from an asskicking rock cover WIP that K. Praslowicz never ended up finishing (and he'll likely beat the crap out of you if you bug him about it). So with that in mind, I knew I had to give Bryan Henderson's take on the same theme a look and see if I was down with the Scottish, haggis-like flavor. This older mix of Sefiros's is primarily a piano piece with some effects on it as well as some MEATY bass (damn straight!). The realism and dynamics on the piano aren't there at all and the percussion is meh, so those are areas of improvement that would have really made this sound a lot better, but the general feeling here is good; moody at the outset and picking up in intensity around the 2:30 mark to become more forceful before dropping back down for a simpler finish. This mix won't PWN it on you, but it's definitely got some good aspects to it that made it worth checking out.

SnappleMan - CastleVania 2 (Gameboy) "The Crystal Coffin" [VGMix2 #1979] - OC Feedback

In a drunken haze, SnappleMan posted the first completed remix in his effort to remix the entire CV2 Gameboy soundtrack (also proving that Snapple isn't his real beverage of choice). Rejoice, for Andy's b00zed up mistakes are your gain with this guitar-driven mix of track 9 of the GBS soundtrack. Until Andy pimped out the CV2 Gameboy soundtrack my way, I never knew how good it was. I've always been partial to CastleVania III myself. But the CV2 GB music is good the whole way through and will provide excellent fodder for SnappleMan's ideas. "The Crystal Coffin" functions mostly as a straightforward rock arrangement of the source material, with quality production and proficient axe work from Snap. As Andy continues to refine his game and get more work out there, he's poised to make a serious mark on those fans among up who NEED their heavy rock fix, especially those who frequent the OverRocked ReMix links area. I'll be seeing what I can do myself to get him up on there!

Star Salzman - Xenogears "Pillar of Salt" [VGMix2 #1934 / OC ReMix #1225]

Having talked about this last week, and gushed my proverbial fandom on it, let's quote what I said on the 24th:

This here is, at this current point in time, what I'd consider the magnum opus of Star's mixing career. I've liked other tracks more than this, sure, but there is NOTHING that even touches the effort and creativity of "Pillar of Salt." With all the food, sweat and beers poured into the creation of this one, everyone knew this would be great. Like I said when I pimped the WIP of this last week, this is a hybrid of both Dazil & Omen from Yasunori Mitsuda's Xenogears soundtrack featuring two time signatures, 3/4 & 4/4, AND both Arabic & Hebrew lyrics (which can be found in full at the VGMix page). Seems like everything works in pairs. If you know Arabic fluently (zykO), you'll have to forgive Star for any pronunciation errors in the work (zykO), although it's great work especially for someone who isn't familiar with the language (right, weed? ). Meanwhile, the Hebrew sections are immaculate. Dive in and prepare to hear Xenogears on an entirely different level. Truly excellent work that Star's got every right to be proud of. (But stop gloating in my face, bro! I don't care how many groupies it got you!!! )

And, dammit, now that this is at OCR, Star's gonna be swimming in groupies I tell you. SWIMMING! Ya bastard...

Stemage - Metroid 1 "The Escape" [Metroid Metal]

You've killed the Mother Brain, but you gotta get the fuck out of there! What do you have playing in your ear? Hopefully it's the latest track from Grant Henry in the Metroid Metal series, "The Escape." There's a pretty deliberate pace here, as Stemage likes to keep the tempo intact and not deviate much from the source material here, though you do get some screaming sound effects at the end. This is certainly some infrequently covered material though and another strong addition to the series as it nears completion. Pretty much all of the Metroid Metal series is good, especially the energy of "The Theme"; follow up listening to SnappleMan's new CV2 mix by trying out the "The Escape" for more rock stuffs.

SuperGreenX w/Aurora - "Deep Breath" [http://www.supergreenx.com] - Feedback

This here's my pick of the week! Ever since Danny let me hear the WIP of this original dance trance cut at the top of the month, I was waiting for him to put the finishing touches on this. I've been a huge fan of SGX, especially on the originals side, since early 2003, and every time he drops a new track strictly of his creation, the result is smokin' hot. I'd like to hear a cleaner version of this, since I think it's a little muffled compared to the sharp WIP I heard just a few weeks ago, but the overall presentation is absolutely the shit. Here, Dan uses some leftover vox samples he had of the always-lovely Aurora from her work on their collab with destructo, Beyond Good & Evil "Frame of Mind". Like I was telling Teresa in #ocremix, I originally had no idea that SGX had used her voice for his samples there, which only makes this track more of a standout. With the vocals patterns you hear Aurora's voice take, I have no clue how Supa was able to even form a mental image of how he wanted them to work like that. Amazing work. This is quite the long track at 9:43, but this is very well-constructed effort with pulsating shake-yo'-ass energy, no annoying repetition to fall back on over the course of the track (constant development!) and creativity to spare! Don't delay. DL today.

tefnek vs n0mad - The Revenge of Shinobi "Long Distance" [Revenge of Shinobi Remix Project] - Feedback

Recently completed, the very interesting 13-minute, 12-mix Revenge of Shinobi Remix Project spanned the course of four months and an entire ocean as North Carolina's tefnek & France's n0mad teamed up to give the entire Revenge of Shinobi soundtrack some quality coverage treatment. Check out the album link above to hook it up with the full 13:22/18.37MB megamix and follow the action with the full tracklist, courtesy of both tef & n0mad. Or head over to the album link and get the low on the individual tracks, which are all separately available for your listening pleasure as well. As you'll see when you check it out, this project was structured with both mixers collabing for both the opening and ending (both ending tracks I've linked to above), with each mixer taking alternating works from Yuzo Koshiro's soundtrack at roughly minute-long intervals. The transitions hear worked surprisingly well, and the groove throughout is nothing but nice. (11:35 is the best part! Hahahahaha!) tefnek's already a more known mixer thanks to having one OC ReMix posted with one more on the way, and this finished collab project is a great example of his skills. n0mad's moving on up as well, and you can check out the second VERSUS project he's been working on with fellow Frenchman ReaktorZ0, the more obscure (but catchy) Genesis game Ristar. (Let's hope RZ0 can still keep working on the project; I'd love to see it completed.) Exceptional work from both guys and a unique product you've gotta check without question.

Trenthian - "Oloren City by the Sea" [http://www.soundclick.com/bands/6/trentprojectmusic.htm] - Feedback

John St. John is someone who's greatly impressed me with his creativity, predominantly in the original work areas, as Trent's one of SoundTempest.net's ear-catching artists, dabbling in original compositions that could be used in original game projects. Here's we have a very brief, work-in-progress level release in "Oloren City by the Sea" that's created as an RPG town-type theme. I liked Trent's use of synths and effects, many of which I recognized from other artists and tracks I've heard. Here he makes those elements form together nicely for a very upbeat, almost ethnic-flavored piece that has infinite potential to be expanded. Make sure you have a SoundClick account if the download is a no-go. I hope John continues to add a little something to this to realize it's potential. Otherwise the fans are gonna do the frowny face. Don't do that to us, Trenthian!

Now let's do a quick and dirty rundown on the WIP front, just the way you like it: Pyscrow - Final Fantasy 2, Xenogears & CastleVania: SotN, GrayLightning - Final Fantasy 6, Dj MetaZero - Megaman X5, Tranquil Chaos - Halo, zircon - Secret of Mana, TO - SimCity 2000, BliziHiZaKe - Donkey Kong Country 2, Matt Wilson - Ghosts'n Goblins, binster - Gauntlet 3, Infamous - "some dancey crap" (original)

Suzumebachi had some funny shit to say over at Rob Saunders' server including how much he hates you , why he hates his insurance company, and a brief shot at Wal-Mart as he joins bLiNd & Jared Hudson as the company's latest slave. Ah, Ty, I hope your rants never stop!

Things were heating up all over the place this week, as various debates, flames and confrontations took place. Most notable of all was the negative criticism of several mixers in the review thread for Kaijin's recently posted Xenogears OC ReMix "Child of the Stars". Several people argued over the arrangement merit of the mix, with Star Salzman & Kaijin in particular having dramatically different views on the situation. You've gotta check the thread out to see all the spine-tingling (internet message board) action, since it's now TOO HOT to be left unlocked! (OMG!) All the fierce debate though has brought "Child of the Stars" under consideration to be reevaluated in a few months as to whether or not it fits the OCR submissions standards when the community-at-large engages in the next wave of removal suggestions for OCR1250. Keep you ears open on what will be going on with this one.

Meanwhile the VGMix forums aren't immune to OMG (internet message board) CONTROVERSY of their own with chiptunist Matt Wilson posting up information his in-progress chiptune album "Think Similarly", only to be met with tons of cries of false advertising. When Matt used the phrase "NEStunes" to describe the music he was promoting, several artists including Gwilym Wogan, tumult, skilled chiptunist RushJet1, and NES soundfont creator (and all-around good guy, I swear) Midee all cried foul, claiming that Matt's obviously informal use of the word "NEStunes" implied to the public that his tracks were made exactly like original NES music, which I, in particular, thought was a weak assumption, especially since Wilson then provided a disclaimer about the nature of his tracks. With the original thread locked, lots of good debate followed via the VGMix chatterbox and the #vgmix IRC channel. Finally mv & I at least concluded that "NEStunes" might mistakenly imply the wrong thing to some people, but that its use wasn't intentionally misleading thus not deserving the very touchy and overblown negative response it got. A lot of musicians like virt, who know a lot about making NES-sound tracks within NES limitations, contended that several NES-limitation chiptunists have used the phrase "NES tunes" which is close enough to show that Wilson can't use it and not give off the wrong impression about his tracks that do more than a Nintendo can do. But at the same time, people have to understand that informal language like that doesn't imply or support anything virt's talking about. Koji Kondo or Hip Tanaka could easily say "Hey! You can't call your music 'NES tunes'! I don't care if that follows the sound limitations of the Nintendo. 'NES tunes' implies that these songs were from actual NES games." And the never-ending battle of words could pointlessly continue forever...even though I'm completely right. In any case, some good debate was had by all, and luckily cooler heads prevailed. Check out the new thread by Matt Wilson to follow the progress on "Think Similarly", which already has some promising work completed.

And finally, I'd be remiss not to mention the overwhelmingly bad reaction Doom 2 "Demons from Hell", Terminator's latest VGMix, received in both reviews and buzz comments, especially since I'm partially involved in what can only be called a bunch of harsh, downright scathing reviews. There's some debate/arguing over how constructive one should be when reviewing a beyond mediocre remix, but some efforts can't be saved. Check out the remix and all the back-and-forth so far to see what I mean.

And that's all the yakk yakk this guy has for ya this week. Drop some comments and I'll see you next week.

[DCT]

Lloyd Banks, Eminem, Nate Dogg & 50 Cent f/DCT - "Warrior, Pt. 2 (Resilience Mix)" - [http://www.thebigshot.com] - Feedback

Let's do the disclaimer. If you don't like swears, stay the fuck away. (And indeed, I bask in the irony of that last sentence.) DCT has another hot blend mix featuring a capella vocals redone with original beats, this time featuring G-Unit's Lloyd Banks with support by Eminem, Nate Dogg & 50 Cent from Banks' solo album "The Hunger for More". Duane's beats here aren't as involved as his blend remix of 50 Cent's "In Da Club", but often simplicity is key here in the hip-hop game, and that what you're getting here. And was that a sample of Sagat laughing from Street Fighter Alpha 3?!? Hotness yo. You know I caught that. DCT always does a great job taking mainstream a capellas that, frankly, I wouldn't listen to and making them much more laid back and accessible. Phat shit as usual from the Big Shot. (Ha! DNA!)

Damn, you have some good-ass hearing, man!

Thanks for the shout-out.

-DCT

[Navi]

Mythril Nazgul - Chrono Trigger "The 6th Omen" [The People's Remix Competition 19 / VGMix2 #1053]

As mentioned in his VGMix description, Myth managed to go through five ideas before settling on this sixth one for the remix and coming up with something really solid. Considering I heard Bladiator's own PRC19-winning remix of the same material ("Woman in a Black Dress") a few weeks when PRC19 wrapped up, I was really surprised with how I couldn't place the two as remixes of the same theme. Myth manages to take some pretty basic sounds and weave some true rearranging magic on 'em to produce this very liberal and inspired take on Yasunori Mitsuda's "Black Dream". The synth choices come together wonderfully, showing how one can create a mix that stands out regardless of any sample limitations. Good combination sound choices, interesting progression, and tight work from the always-improving Mythril Nazgul. This is one that comes at you in a different way and a mix that I think you'll be impressed by.

And he's a looker too!

Hehe, but seriously, for anyone who cares, The 6th Omen was submitted to OCR the weekend after PRC 19. I'm crossing my fingers. For the most part, the song has gotten praise, which is never bad. Personally, I was pretty surprised the song turned out the way it did, seeing as how I had *no* clue what the fuck i was doing while making that mix. Zero. And on that note, if ya get a chance, please review the song by clicking on the link above. Negative or positive, I love feedback.

Thanks for the praise, Larry. Makin' me blush and shit...

On that note, I would like to offer a gift of props to Star for his excellent "Piller of Salt" mix. Wow. Amazing song. And, hehe, while I can speak Arabic fluently as well, his lack of 'perfection' in the language did not stop me for one second from being blown away by this song.

That is all. Move along.

[Trenthian]

Trenthian - "Oloren City by the Sea" [http://www.soundclick.com/bands/6/trentprojectmusic.htm] - Feedback

John St. John is someone who's greatly impressed me with his creativity, predominantly in the original work areas, as Trent's one of SoundTempest.net's ear-catching artists, dabbling in original compositions that could be used in original game projects. Here's we have a very brief, work-in-progress level release in "Oloren City by the Sea" that's created as an RPG town-type theme. I liked Trent's use of synths and effects, many of which I recognized from other artists and tracks I've heard. Here he makes those elements form together nicely for a very upbeat, almost ethnic-flavored piece that has infinite potential to be expanded. Make sure you have a SoundClick account if the download is a no-go. I hope John continues to add a little something to this to realize it's potential. Otherwise the fans are gonna do the frowny face. Don't do that to us, Trenthian!

Weee I'm on the pimp list!

FEAR! The latin sound invasion continues.

Eh, The song is much longer now, Eventually ill submit this and about 10 other Original tracks to soundempest.

I am fashioning Oloren, city by the sea to be suitable for both an RPG, and at the same time a fighting game stage for my friend mike. It is going o be a grove fest, i just hope some of the changes i have made dont detract or turn off my listeners as I enjoy them quite a bit.

[Kaleb.G]

Things were heating up all over the place this week, as various debates, flames and confrontations took place. Most notable of all was the negative criticism of several mixers in the review thread for Kaijin's recently posted Xenogears OC ReMix "Child of the Stars". Several people argued over the arrangement merit of the mix, with Star Salzman & Kaijin in particular having dramatically different views on the situation. You've gotta check the thread out to see all the spine-tingling (internet message board) action, since it's now TOO HOT to be left unlocked! (OMG!) All the fierce debate though has brought "Child of the Stars" under consideration to be reevaluated in a few months as to whether or not it fits the OCR submissions standards when the community-at-large engages in the next wave of removal suggestions for OCR1250. Keep you ears open on what will be going on with this one.

I went to check this one out, only to realize I may have started the whole thing. Hahaha! I wasn't trying to be offensive, but it is what it is.

But anyway, back to the VGM pimping, I may be starting a "Song of the Week" feature over at GFF, and I may tie it into OCR somehow, as well as recommend some hot new releases (and old classics) from the Land of the Rising Sun. So I'll be planning this; and you can believe samples will be available!

[kamoh]

Stemage - Metroid 1 "The Escape" [Metroid Metal]

You've killed the Mother Brain, but you gotta get the fuck out of there! What do you have playing in your ear? Hopefully it's the latest track from Grant Henry in the Metroid Metal series, "The Escape." There's a pretty deliberate pace here, as Stemage likes to keep the tempo intact and not deviate much from the source material here, though you do get some screaming sound effects at the end. This is certainly some infrequently covered material though and another strong addition to the series as it nears completion. Pretty much all of the Metroid Metal series is good, especially the energy of "The Theme"; follow up listening to SnappleMan's new CV2 mix by trying out the "The Escape" for more rock stuffs.

Can't wait to get home and have a listen. Maybe when my bosses leave I'll have a listen anyways...

[Liontamer]

Slow week in terms of side developments in the community, or at least any that I'm aware of. We're only a month away from the return of VGF on the air, so hopefully we'll get some more good stuff to fill up the very first show back. In any case, the music takes center stage, so let's see what dropped for the week ending August 7th:

Alexander Prievert - Ecco the Dolphin 2 (Sega CD), Metropolis Street Racer & Conker's Bad Fur Day "The Dolphin-Squirrel-Paris Rave" [VGMix2 #2001]

Alex hits VGMix with his latest release, which frankly sounds like very generic techno. Yet this one is ambitious in giving a very different spin on material that you'd never think could be "technosized". Not only that, but he also combines elements of music from 3 games that you'd never expect to be pieced together with Ecco 2, Metropolis Street Racer & Conker's Bad Fur Day. The first thing I noticed was that the mastering here was poor enough to dull a lot of the energy this track had, so it needs a drastic overhaul to give the mix clarity and presence. We finally get some unique stuff coming in with some weird effects entering at the 2:08 mark to give this one something particularly notable and enjoyable. It's pretty strange as this track is pretty oxymoronic to me. It's clearly innovates on the source material in a big way through its usage in the context of a wholly different genre. But as a strict techno piece independent of the material mixed, this is noticeably unremarkable work for the genre itself. In the 2 1/2 years I've been around the community, I've never quite heard a paradox like this mix right here. I wouldn't have spotlighted it here if there weren't some redeeming qualities, so it thus remains up to you how you're gonna feel about it.

analoq - Noir "amazeing!" [The People's Remix Competition: Animation 5]

Aaron won PRCA:5 handily with this cool spin on "Maze" from the Noir soundtrack, which OverCoat randomly picked to be this contest's challenge (thanxusomuch!~). Stripping away the (crappy) vocals and focusing on the melodic progression of the music itself, analoq tinkers around with the original with a light, laid-back groove before moving up the power again with electric guitar returning at the 1:47 mark. Short and sweet, and a vast improvement over the original (hey, those vocals are the epitome of an "acquired taste"). You can always trust analoq to take any idea and expertly exploit its potential. In the meantime, we'll be waiting for his choice of source material for PRC:A6.

The Blasted Man (Hungry Joe) - Final Fantasy 8 "Kind of Breezy" [VGMix2 #1998] - OCR Feedback

Nate Jasensky's recent OCR submission was turned down, but was a mix that I personally felt was very promising and deserved more attention. This one's an energetic take on God knows what theme. If you're down with a guitar based remix with some rock undertones, then you should sign yourself up for a listen to this progressive offering. This one carries quite a number of style changes and features tons of development in those respects, almost functioning like a medley piece. With regards to the strengths and weaknesses of the track, I've written so, so much about this mix in detail as an OCR judge and that carried over into my review of "Kind of Breezy" over at VGMix, which you'll wanna check out if you're really wondering what I thought about it in ludicrous amounts of detail. It'll be interesting to see what material Nate can produce in the future with such a noteworthy effort here.

Bustatunez - "Ironbars" [CompoST 29]

BT takes the victory for the regular SoundTempest compo with this prison theme composition. The style for this one seemed to connote something terrible happening during a prison-related cutscene, and thus had the right imagery working for it, which is why it got my vote. Busta is actually a student at Yale which is about 10 minutes away from my apartment, so we'll hopefully getting together in downtown sometime before I head back to school and shoot the shit. BT burst on the SoundTempest scene, already possessing nice samples and the knowledge to use them impressively, so I'll be looking forward to any of his further work, and hopefully he may do a VG remix or four. Meanwhile, "Ironbars" does a great job in setting a tone with sinister connotations, and is an original you'd be remiss in not DLing.

Chad Seiter - "A Whimsical Being" [http://www.chadseiter.com] - Feedback

Here Chad makes a quick entrance with a slowly-paced original wind piece. It's only 1:44, so there's not much for me to say. The flow is somewhat melancholy in the right frame of mind, but very relaxing at the same time and something you could zone out to if the piece was longer. I liked what I heard, and nothing should stop you from giving this a quick peek. Check out the Feedback link to sample some more of Chad's original work, including some works-in-progress longer than this piece.

Darangen - Donkey Kong Country 2 "From Within" [VGMix2 #1988]

Here's a pretty solid rock mix done Dave Wise's mines theme for DKC2 by a name I've seen around VGMix but haven't had the opportunity to review much, Michael Boyd. As with many rock mixes, the percussion can be pretty straightforward and this uninteresting, and I believe that's the case, but Darangen's electric guitar work here is alright, and the music here sets a somewhat despondent tone, which you'll understand more once you read the details Mike gave in his mix description. This one's faring very, very well over at VGMix, currently standing in Tier 1. A little inflated of a ranking? Frankly, yes. But this one has interesting ideas and makes a whole new piece out of the original, so it's a good first look at Darangen if you're un familiar with his stuff.

DistantJ - The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time "Sand" [VGMix2 #1918]

For any fans of the Gerudo theme or Danny B's "Awakened Fears of the Gerudo", you're inevitably gonna have to head over to VGMix and check out J's latest release tackling one of the more-covered LoZ:OoT themes out there. This is some pretty energetic techno, though the production on it is such that the melody never really takes its spot in the foreground of the track over the beats, thus this production on this mix does need to be addressed, which is one area of DistantJ's mixing that I consistently highlight as having room for improvement. Despite all that, I'm liking the ideas presented here and the development here is easily observable. Once DJ finds more of the right balance amongst his sounds, he'll be in a lot better shape. As I listen to more and more of his material, I can hear him improving his game in various ways, so you'll no doubt see him on OCR in the eventual future. Not the best track of his I've heard IMO (that would be his Link's Awakening mix, "Windfish Enigma") but one that should be more easily accessible to you Zelda 64 fans out there.

Fatty Acid - Chrono Trigger "Rhodes to the Past" [VGMix2 #1502 / OC ReMix #1226]

I covered this one last week, so let's quickly see what I said for the week of July 31st:

Following up with another remix that I voted NO on is Joe's "Wind Scene" remix that managed to split the panel voting with the question of how dramatic the arrangement was. Despite the debate on that, I can guarantee you that this is one excellent sounding mix that flavors the popular source tune with some electronic sounds and thick beats, resulting in a pretty good genre adaptation mix that strictly arranges rather than rearranges. Don't forget the Rhodes either, which is the primary inspiration for this mix. You'll likely be feeling the energy here, and Fatty Acid's choice of source material is gonna ensure that he gets a notable reception with his pending OCR debut.

Now that it's out at OC, the feedback is indeed strong and the people are all "McDonald's I'm luvin' it" for the phat b33tz! Pimp this one with some subwoofers for maximum effect.

Freemind - "Passion" [http://www.bands411.com/freemindlab] - Feedback

Some dope original work as usual from OCR's resident Grecian, Thanasis, as he goes for some more ambient material accompanied by stock beats that you'll EASILY recognize from Ben Cousins' Zelda 3 mix "Lost Woods South Central". Moving into 1:29, we get some Eastern sounds to add more variety to the package along a female vocal sample introing at 1:54 that provides some more ear candy. While the piano provides activity throughout, 2:33 features the addition of some eerily-processed vox that actually went over well with me. Pretty odd, but it works. Pretty straightforward work from FM on this one, but the sounds were cool, so hit it up.

Majeliss (computermage) - Megaman 3 "Loneliness" [VGMix2 #2012]

No one's EVER started an MM3 remix with the Protoman whistle before. That's UNHEARD of.

Hahahaha! I'm just busting Maj's balls there. The intro's actually handled in a nice way, and this was a pretty interesting take on the Bun Bun's "Ending" theme done in an electronic hip-hop style. The phatty bass presence is kept at a good level so as to not overshadow the other stuff going on, though I thought the electro-lead and the clap synth were EQed a little too high, while on the other hand the reverbed piano sounds hot. Everything here is presented nicely as Maj spends his 4 1/2 minutes tinkering around with the melodic progressions of the original and flavoring it with da hip-hop spices we be liking. The flow is capable, thus I felt it was worth a look.

mv - Final Fantasy 7 & Chrono Trigger "A Foray into the Eastern Horizons" [OC ReMix #1228]

This excellent combination of Uematsu's "Wutai" & Mitsuda's "Schala's Theme" bring you Eastern flavors from France's most prominent mixer at VGMix & OCR, Xavier Dang, whom you can always count on to deliver the goods. You're gonna have to check out DJP's writeup to get the full deal on all of the instruments, but the sum total here is that you will be able to relax your ass off with this excellent piece. Indeed, the very cliche Schala's theme is integrated well enough in the composition so that it doesn't detract from the piece for us anal-retentive people. Everything flows well, and there have already been overtures in the review thread for the mix that it's a great track for...um...love...and all that entails. Feel free to check out the original version sans a few tweaks at VGMix as well, and see why this mix's arrival at OCR was so highly anticipated.

Nixdorux (Nicolas Ferranti) - Gargoyle's Quest "Gargoyle in Broadway" [VGMix2 #2026]

It's Nicolas, and he's NOT doing Zelda. Well, damn, you know I had to check it out just to see how his skills would translate to another game's work. Here's some very beautiful and upbeat orchestral work that features a lot of movement and development, even sounding at some of the more low-key section like something that could belong in a movie featuring simpler city life in 1920/30s America. Bah, who knows where I get my mental imagery sometimes. Things even seemed like they would go towards a more militaristic slant by the 2:40 mark, and I said "Here comes the usual", yet Nix actually used that buildup very briefly to segue into his conclusion. A very cool piece from a game I'm not familiar with myself, but you orchestral fans owe it to yourself to sample this one.

Shnabubula - Solstice "Shadax the Blue" [VGMix2 #1993]

If that ain't a bitch...

Samuel Ascher-Weiss's first impression with me was his brief & off-kilter Guardian Legend OC ReMix "Red Spiders", so when I downloaded this mix of Solstice's intro muzak early in the week and put off listening to it until Saturday, I expected more of the same. Never would I have thought that instead I'd be hearing a very upbeat wind-led orchestral theme. Some of the harmonic choices in the second half of this NES-game remix are decidedly flaky and scattershot, so it's not as strong as the first half. Despite that, this follow-up release of the Shnabubulan One is worth exploring to see another side of his work and the potential he has when engaging in other remixing styles.

Sir Nuts - Descent 1 "Ascencion (Upside Down)" [The People's Remix Competition 21] - Feedback

OOOOOH, this is awesome right here. My man, Mike Molina, is back again with some good melodic techno work via reelmojo's People's Remix Competition. Taking on TO's source tune choice from Descent for PRC21, Mr. Nuts has got the dial turned up with his familiar brand o' work. I definitely wasn't feeling the piano coming in at 2:51, as the off-key melody killed the flow and deflated a LOT of energy here. [frowny face] That's gonna need to be looked at, but the bigger picture illustrates that this is some solid stuff. Hopefully we can get some tweaks done and see more of this mix in the future, if you know what I mean. Check out the brand new PRC website launched this week, which featured EVERY song ever made from The People's Remix Competition. Straightforward but swanky, head on over to http://www.peoplesremix.com and get the goods!

trickwaters - Lufia 1 "Memorie di ultima guerra: I Introduzione" (a.k.a. 'Memories of the Last War: I Introduction') [VGMix2 #2007]

Pat latest VGMix release is a straightforward string & wind-centered orchestral interpretation of Lufia & the Fortress of Doom. The flow of the notes here from the strings needed to be more humanized, but that's just me being nitpicky. The development here courtesy of trick is logical and natural sounding in it's own right, starting off gentle and building momentum toward the bigger finish in what you'd come to expect from many other great-sounding orchestral game arrangements. More good work from one of the few notable names in the American scene who's yet to be posted on OCR.

Tuba Lin - Final Fantasy 9 "Shepard Won't Alone" [OC ReMix #1227]

Ironically enough, this is the second OC ReMix of the summer that's got a title in improper English. So what does that mean? That it's from the FF series, of course. Wait, nah. Following in the titling footsteps of The Risen Daysprings's FF7 mix "Truth in Forgiveness Await", we have a nice orchestral mix that goes HEAVY on the rearrangement of "You're Not Alone!" that I enjoyed greatly at that level. GrayLightning is much more knowledgable about the sample usage here, but like I said when I voted on it, I thought the samples were subpar. Nonetheless, the arrangement is primarily what counts here, and it's top notch. More orchestral st00f with a different sound due to the samples, but very creative arrangement ideas nonetheless that certainly take the source material in an uncharted direction.

Unknown & zircon - Chrono Trigger "When All Hope Has Faded" [VGMix2 #2014] - OCR Feedback

Two of SoundTempest's heavy hitters have joined forces in this very energetic yet melancholy techno/orchestral piece that (much like "Calamitous Judgment") includes several influences, including the noticeable style of one of Jared Hudson's favorite composers, Danny Elfman. Here, my bros Ty & Andy have pulled out a lot of different tricks, starting out this mix in Unknown's style with a very nice music box with some hot female choir vox action before throwing zirc's electronic stylings into the loop with a technosynth iteration of the melody from "The Day the World Revived". The tandem does a great job trading off sounds and measures throughout the mix, definitely providing a product that wouldn't be possible from either one individually. Excellent work that any CT music fan is gonna mess their pants over via this powerhouse teamup of one of OCR's orchestral mainstays in Unknown and the site's latest "OMG, who IS that?" in zircon.

virt - The Legend of Zelda 2, The Legend of Zelda 1 & The Legend of Zelda 3 "Blood of Ganon" [Dwelling of Duels: Legend of Zelda / VGMix2 #1986]

Jake Kaufman's all about the return of the ROCK with "OMG, da bl00d of ga/\/on!1`~" with a literal headbanging Zelda medley piece that's the winning entry in July's Dwelling of Duels over notables like the guy whom some have deemed an "asshole personified" the outspoken Seifer. Ironically enough, some critics (and no, they aren't outspoken critics) have called virt's guitar work soulless. Though you hear an overabundance of energy here, admittedly I'd have to agree in part with those critics, as some of Jake's previous VGMix material has sounded a lot more emotive ("Warrior King" & "Wings of Gold"). There are a lot of fans out there who'll flatly disagree with that assessment, but in any case I'm all over the fact that this mix is all about kicking you in the face with some creative, sick riffs on insanely popular source material. There were tons of great style changes and transitions throughout, illustrating how Jake typically let's it all hang out when he works on his latest rock mix material. You're gonna have to check out "Blood of Ganon" yourself if you wanna hear what virt managed to do at the 5:12 mark to totally change the feel of the mix and secure DoD victory. More top tier stuff from one of the legends of the community.

The Wingless & Vigilante - Metroid 1 "Final Exam" [http://www.thewingless.com]

Jesse has been a big fan of The Wingless ever since John released his MM2 classic "Teardrinker", so, even though it took a year to finish (A YEAR!), they've finally gotten everything done with the official release of "Final Exam" over at what many call the greatest website ever, TheWingless.com. Just listening to this, you can really hear how Vigilante's involvement changed the presentation of the mix, as he and Wing put together a much more harder-edged, rock-that-shit-down offering than Wingle's general body of work. Both Jesse and John's characteristics shine through here, and you're a chump if you don't pick it up. Sample this hot stuff dropped by two of OCR's dictator-like judges.

After only a few weeks of quitting the scene for now, Quinn Fox is back, and I'm a selfish, happy happy man! Cruise on over to his homepage at http://www.quinn.50g.com and snag a MASSIVE chunk of his work while it's available to you! Meanwhile, Quinn's been seeing if anyone's interested in a collaboration over at the VGMix forums. Hope to see Fox back in the mix sooner than later. And that's all the news that's fit to report regardless, so find your way back here next week.

[kamoh]

had to reply quick. Going fun!

WOO!