Liontamer Posted November 30, 2023 Share Posted November 30, 2023 SUBMISSION LINK: Contact Information * Your ReMixer name: minusworld * Your real name: Grayson Hardaway Submission Information * Name of game(s) arranged: Mega Man Battle Network * Name of arrangement: Mega Jam Disco Network * Name of individual song(s) arranged: Operation! * Additional information about game including composer, system, etc. (if it has not yet been added to the site): * Composer: Akari Kaida * System: Game Boy Advance * Link to the original soundtrack (if it is not one of the sound archives already available on the site) * https://vgmdb.net/album/2176 * Your own comments about the mix, for example the inspiration behind it, how it was made, how the source material was referenced in the arrangement, etc. This is an arrangement I did for Dwelling of Duels’s Spinoffs Month in March 2023. While my previous OCR submission would indicate otherwise, my usual arrangements are rock and metal. This arrangement was my attempt to merge a groovier sound into my more typical style. Biggoron (organ and keys) introduced me to Japanese city pop a few months prior, so that and disco ended up being a starting influence for the track. I ended up getting away from that and moving toward some groovy fusion-style songs, so the end result is this sort of smashed-up version of a city pop/disco tune with crazy instrumental jams. Here’s some of the songs I used as reference. * Airport Lady by Toshiki Kadomatsu (city pop) * Soul Lady by YUKIKA (modern city pop) * Cruise Control by Dixie Dregs (fusion) * PUNKADEMIC by Takayuki Murata (fusion) The submitted version here is an updated production of the submission in March. The mix was redone from the ground up, and I rerecorded some of the lead guitars because I thought they were too busy after being away from the track for a while. This arrangement was a few firsts for me: first time arranging for real saxophone players, and it’s the largest collaboration I’ve done to date. Executing this arrangement in DoD’s month-long timeframe was a challenge. I solidified the arrangement early to give my collaborators a good chunk of time to give feedback and record, and I had to cut back on my initial ambitions to get it out quickly, such as vocal harmonies, and I didn’t write any lead guitar parts until everything else was arranged because I thought I could “fill it in later.” This ended up being a bit of a mistake because, as mentioned above, I think I made them too busy trying to “fill in” as much space as possible. I’m extremely grateful to my collaborators for working with me on this, despite me having to learn a thousand things throughout the process. Everyone was absolutely stellar to work with. This is easily the cover I’m most proud of for 2023! Track credits: * Biggoron: organ and keys (+ solos at 1:47, solo at 3:20) * Cyril the Wolf: alto saxophone (+ solos at 1:47, solo at 2:40) * Jess Destramp: tenor saxophone (+ solo at 3:34) * Michelle Dreyband: vocals * minusworld: guitars, bass, arrangement, production Oh! I forgot the lyrics. The lyrics are about staying up waaay too late working on DoD entries, with a thin "disco" veneer on top. XD Verse The night is calling The lights are fading The glow is beckoning Lit up in color Feels like no other There’s so much happening It’s hypnotizing It’s mesmerizing Can’t take my eyes off you The things you show me It’s like you know me And what you see is true Chorus Into the sunrise We will dance all night So captivating Can’t sleep! Tag Up all night Soul alight Verse 2 The music’s thumping My heart is pumping Not sure I can go on Deadline approaching Tension is growing Won’t stop until the dawn Chorus 2 Into the sunrise We will dance all night Gotta keep going Cast off sleep for the lights Never perfection No don’t worry now So captivating Can’t sleep! Bridge The music’s waiting here for you Always waiting here for you Always just a step away (just a step away) Tune in and disco to the groove Always something new to do Bringing happiness today Final Chorus Into the sunset We will dance ‘til night Anticipation Can’t contain my delight The music’s waiting here for you Always waiting here for you Always just a step away Tune in and disco to the groove Always something new to do Wide awake Tag Up all night Soul alight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prophetik music Posted November 30, 2023 Share Posted November 30, 2023 big, frenetic opening. saxes took a second to settle but then i got what they were doing. michelle's vocals are just the right style for this kind of goofy shuffle disco pop. it does sound a touch high at the end of the chorus for her (can't sleep! is pretty nasally and not well enunciated). the break at 0:46 is a good idea to give a bit of a break after a big chorus. the saxes coming into the next verse are a touch off in terms of timing...timing on a song like this is so tough since the tempo is fast enough to make the shuffle hard to hit. the chorus at 1:20 is big and exciting. the sax lines between the vocal lines are a bit pitchy but having them mirror the vocals in some places is a great idea. solo break at 1:45 is fun to hear. alto solo is a little rough and out of time, but i liked the idea of passing ideas between each part. the subsequent chill section at 2:15 is a great counterpoint to the solo and soli section. alto solo at 2:40 sounds a lot better than the earlier riffs, albeit still a touch pitchy. transition to an octave groove in the bass at 2:54 is an immediate head-bobber - i love it! and kicking it up another notch at 3:05 with the slick groove there is awesome. tenor solo at 3:34 sounds great - the sudden introduction of the heavier guitars is a little much but i get what you're going for. 4:01's return to the chorus is just what i was looking for there. it's pretty busy here and probably needed more focus on mixing to prevent the vocals from getting drowned there - the sustains and strings in the background are a little too forward when michelle's voice goes into the middle range. the track kind of fizzles after that - there's the tag and a little riff and it's done. would have loved to hear the ending come from the chorus instead of chugging out like it did. this is a really fun track! there's a ton of character in the entire arrangement. it's pretty long for this style of track but none of it is filler. nice work. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted December 3, 2023 Author Share Posted December 3, 2023 Love it! IMO, Michelle's vocals could have been given more clarity and been more upfront; I say that because other parts trading off the lead work like the sax ended up sounding clearer to me. For example, during the big flourish from 4:02-4:25, I felt like vocals were just being swallowed up by the surrounding instruments. It's nowhere near pulling anything below the line, but there had to have been a better way to mix it. Nice breakout section of the main MMBN theme from 2:13-2:46 as well. Amazing concept, energy, and performances! It's a jam, it's a vibe! YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MindWanderer Posted December 26, 2023 Share Posted December 26, 2023 Let me start off by saying that I love the passion and enthusiasm that went into this. This was clearly a labor of love for everyone involved, and it was a joy to experience that. The solos in particular were clearly fun to make. That said, I feel like this was a trifle ambitious for a lot of the people involved. Michelle is definitely straining to hit some of those notes, and not just the high "sleep"; she's pitchy in a few notable places, and has to hunt for a note or two, notably in the choruses. Not uncommon when adapting a melody that was never meant to be sung; it's fast and has awkward intervals. Cyril's breath control isn't entirely there, and Jess is a little squalky at times. Both saxes' timing is a little off. It doesn't help that the sax issues are most severe in the first 10 seconds of the piece, making a bad first impression. There are some issues in the production as well. 1:21-1:45 and 4:00-4:26 are far too busy, most notably burying the vocals, but everything else is crowding the mids and shutting each other out. The overdriven guitar in 3:47-4:00 is a lot, absolutely dominating the entire soundscape and not letting anything else shine through; it doesn't help that it barely made a couple of cameos earlier in the track, and now here it is just taking over. For me, the production is the main dealbreaking issue. I can live with performances that aren't 100%, though I'd strongly prefer a re-recording of those opening measures following some warmup, but the issues are adding up to enough where I'm having a hard time rubber-stamping this. There's so much here that I like, and I really want a more polished version of this on our front page. But I don't think this is quite where we need it for it to get there. NO (please resubmit!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emunator Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 There's an absolutely tremendous amount of ambition on display here, good lord. I appreciate the reference tracks that you provided that show how you brought influence from Japanese city pop and funk-fusion together along with some heavier rock/metal riffage and solos on the guitar into something entirely unique and original. For everything that falls ever-so-slightly off the mark, there's a dozen others that absolutely nail it, and the miscues are heavily outweighed by the ambition and creativity at play. Man, if something like this can't pass our bar, I don't know what chance the rest of us have. I don't think any of the feedback provided here is inaccurate, and especially on the performance side, there's some room to tighten it up, but I think it needs to be weighted in context of how much the track gets right. Nothing I hear is egregiously bad enough that it sinks my listening experience, not by a long shot. Sure, in a perfect world, it would be great to get some of these issues resolved, but let's imagine that the source files were lost and the artist was simply unable to make these changes, which is how we need to consider each submission. Would it be better for this to never be heard by the rest of the community because the technical side isn't perfectly executed? I think rejecting a track like this would signal that it's better to just play it safe and stick fully within your comfort zone rather than try anything remotely ambitious or out of your comfort zone, and I strongly believe that OCReMix is a better place when we encourage people to shoot for the moon. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimpazilla Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 Wow this is ambitious! It's a full, energetic mix, instrumental performances are all awesome. Vocals and lyrics are great. Vocal is a tad strained at the highest highs, but is generally pleasant to listen to. Vocal could be a touch louder, as others have pointed out, she does get drowned out in the busiest sections. Other than that, I think the volume balancing is good, mixing is good (especially for having so many elements, everything is audible), mastering is appropriate. What a creative take on this source. I'm loving it, easy vote. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts