Liontamer Posted June 24 Share Posted June 24 Original Decision This is essentially a resubmit of a track I created 10 years ago and subbed back in 2015: https://ocremix.org/community/topic/42221-no-aleste-2-msx-flying-high/. Not sure if it's the slowest resubmit in the history of OCR, but it's probably in the top 10 somewhere :) Anyway, back then I used a primitive sample library for some vocals, which was the main thing that the judges commented on. Fast forward 10 years, and technology (and hopefully my skills as a remixer) have progressed a lot, and I was able to replace the so-so vocals from back then with Synthesizer V vocals. The lyrics are still cheesy and limited/affected by what I could make work in the previous version, but I like it that way. Apart from new vocals, I also recorded a bit of guitar, polished up the lead parts, sprinkled some effects and subtle extra parts in there, cleaned up the mix and overall brought it the track into 2024. When comparing, the old version sounds a bit boring and limited and also rather woolly in the midrange. So hopefully this one fares better in the panel. At least now I'm finally able to cross this off my todo list and can continue with properly finishing and submitting another 10 year old track idea ;) link to the previous version: Games & Sources Aleste 2 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleste_2), source is the first level music: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prophetik music Posted June 26 Share Posted June 26 opens with airy pads and some nice vocal elements. there's the slightest bit of overlap to indicate that they're layered else i wouldn't have been able to tell initially that it's done with a synth. technology has apparently progressed amazingly, because this sounds fantastic. the beat and backing elements at 0:31 are great, tons of space in the bass and the drums are nice and tight. the main riff at 1:04 is a little heavy in the left ear, but i like how it's being played and i like the escalation at 1:22 in the backing elements. there's a recap in the vocal elements starting at 1:42 - essentially a verse 2 - with some extra ear candy behind it to keep interest. the chorus/synth led section right after it has a lot of fun new content as well, including the vocal elements. there's a break at 2:54 and the really dumb lyrics are a bit more highlighted here, but it's effective as a break in the beat and vibe for a bit before the verse content comes back again. i'd have liked the guitar parts to be a bit louder here, as it's the only new thing that's going on in this section. i liked the subsequent guitar/synth stuff at 4:00 or so a lot. it trucks through some more chorus content, hits the flying high phrase once more, and it's done. this is great! it's got superb mastering throughout, it drives forward throughout and doesn't get stale despite some repetition in content, and the vocal elements really work well. definitely an obvious demonstration of your progress as a musician. excellent work. YES Jorito 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted July 14 Author Share Posted July 14 I was basically out on parental leave when the previous version was subbed, so I've actually never heard that version; let's see what's going on. Intro seems unrelated to the source, but then hits the melody at :31 with some lovely, spacious faux-vocals, then Jorito joining in on backup at :47. The Synthesizer V vocals are impeccable; if you'd claimed it was a live singer, I would have readily agreed. Nice synth lead at 1:03, though the beat was feeling somewhat flat, and I felt the soundscape was muddy, enough to merit commenting on it. A reprise of the fauxcals at 1:42 with different textures underneath them. Slight tweak to the lead of the chorus section at 2:13, then some cool vocals at 2:20 adding some color to this section. Nice isolated vocals at 2:51; Jorito's choral stuff behind them sounded great as well, functioning like a pad. Good addition of the guitar at 3:23 to accent the vocal melody; at this point, the overall feel was getting repetitive (nothing threatening a NO vote, but still...), so it was good to hear even more playing around with the textures behind the leads at 3:56's chorus section. Not sure what would have held this first version back. /listens - Oh OK, I get it. Yeah, more stilted sequencing and thinner textures compared to the current version, and the Realivox Blue vocals were brutal (terrible articulations, very stiff timing), but I can see why Sir_NutS was saying this had lots of potential back then. No worries about that now for Jorrith, this one's now flying high. Great treatment of a cool, overlooked theme. :-) YES Jorito 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimpazilla Posted July 16 Share Posted July 16 I remember this track and I voted on it. I remember thinking it was great but the vocals were sinking it and the synths were dry and blocky. It seems all of the issues I brought up have been addressed and it only took a decade! The vocals now sound amazing and everything fits in together super well. If these are fake vocals, they sound very good! "Fauxcals" bwahahahaha! Yeah this is good to go now. YES Jorito 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emunator Posted August 3 Share Posted August 3 This is an easy close-out. I have no idea what was going on with the first version that was holding it back, but nothing seems to have made its way into version 2. This isn't nearly as sophisticated as some of your more recent work, and I'm sure some of that can be attributed to writing and sound design decisions that were made with 10 years less experience, but in spite of its simplicity, your production quality and the performances (actually, I just read the original submission letter and the vocals were apparently done with some sort of plugin? Never would have guessed this wasn't a collab!) bring it all together now. Better late than never! YES Jorito 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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