Sir_NutS Posted October 23, 2019 Share Posted October 23, 2019 (edited) Hi OCReMix-Team! I'd like to submit a remix I've done recently of Jazz Jackrabbit 2 game's Jazz be damned track. ReMixer name: ziona Real name: Erika Wittmann UserID: 35739 Name of game(s) arranged: Jazz Jackrabbit 2 Name of arrangement: Jazz be damned remake Name of individual song(s) arranged: Jazz be damned Additional information about game including composer, system, etc.: https://ocremix.org/game/506/jazz-jackrabbit-2-win Link to the original soundtrack: https://ocremix.org/song/25191/jazz-be-damned My comment: My absolute favourite composition amongst all the other excellent JJR2 tracks. I used Renoise as a DAW. This remix was my contribution to an album prepared for 20th Anniversary of Jazz Jackrabbit to honour the game and the compositions by various Hungarian artists. The album was made of true respect and adoration from fans to fans, its link is here: https://jj20.bandcamp.com/ Greetings, ziona / Erika If this gets through, it will probably need a new title. Edited June 14, 2020 by Emunator Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MindWanderer Posted December 19, 2019 Share Posted December 19, 2019 Very conservative, especially considering how many instruments are direct sound upgrades of the original. The second half branches into some original content for the melody, and adds SFX clips (taken from the game, I believe), then riffs on the original melody, but keeps the other lines intact. Then there's a brief segment taken from another track from the game (I forget which one, it's been a long time since I played this game). The soundscape is also lacking. The rhythm guitar in particular is lacking depth, but so is the lead. Overall the whole mix is mid-heavy; bass is quite quiet and most of it lacks anything in the highs. There's also periodic pumping and distortion due to overcompression. It doesn't clip, but you hit the compressor hard to avoid it. And my, those four-on-the-floor hats are relentless. I've definitely heard them more than enough after a couple of listens. This is a good start, and it's fun to listen to. Mostly it's just little things that add up, each one of which is borderline at worst, but taken together I think they bring this below the production and arrangement guidelines that we look for. I'd love to hear a revision, though, with more creative arrangement and another pass at the soundscape and compression. NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rexy Posted April 29, 2020 Share Posted April 29, 2020 (edited) The arrangement is fun, relentless, and captures the spirit of the source. Though, the track consists of two straight loops, a third with a new melody and SFX over the top, and only at 3:21 does the accompaniment decide to break from its established mold. That change is something that I would've liked to have heard more of earlier in the track, to break that repetition. In fact, for that second loop, it's either worth experimenting and playing around with the source, or just not keeping at all. It's your decision on what to do from here. While the mixdown is clean, the textures (namely your percussion and guitars) have a thin sound to them. Consider either re-looking into the instruments' EQ to add more punch or a safer recommendation of adding more layers to those timbres. I also second MW's concerns about the balance being off and will add two key aspects that caught my attention. Firstly, the hi-hats drowned out the snare, so do take a look into that. And secondly, I also wanted to hear that new melody at 2:44, but the sound effects are completely drowning it. If you do want to do SFX at all, it's better to put them at a place where the melody isn't so much of a focus. You got a good foundation here, and without a doubt, you'll make the passionate Jazz Jackrabbit fan very happy with this interpretation. However, I consider this too rough to see on the front page at this moment in time. It'll be nice to hear a revision with fixes to repetition, source manipulation, balance and sound textures. You do have potential, though, so I hope you'll send stuff over again in the future. NO (resubmit) Edited June 15, 2020 by Rexy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emunator Posted June 14, 2020 Share Posted June 14, 2020 This is a fun remake and and enjoyable listen, but I agree with my fellow judges that there's a few issues with this submission from OCR's standpoint. The biggest concern I have is the repetitiveness and closeness to the original song. Although this works great for a tribute album like the one you created it for and I'm sure there are many fans that will enjoy this, OCRemix is looking for a greater level of interpretation in terms of sound design and arrangement. For the majority of your song, you stick very closely to the original in terms of sound choices and arrangement. In fact, the first three minutes of the song consist of 3 very similar sections that all feel more or less the same to me. It's not until 3:21 that we hear anything that sounds substantially different. I will also echo the critique about the hi-hat writing, which feels like it's set to autopilot for the entire track and doesn't match the energetic performance of the rest of the drums. As others have said, I have no doubt that fans of the Jazz Jackrabbit games will enjoy what you've done here and it's a perfectly fine tribute, but for OCR specifically, we're looking for a higher level of re-imagination. I hope this doesn't discourage you from submitting in the future, but I don't think this at that level yet. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts