OCR04964 - *YES* Donkey Kong Country 2 "Rose Gray"

[Liontamer ⚖️]

We are a Japanese electronic duo.
This is a vocal arrangement of Brambles with a modern twist.
We created this arrangement in honor of David Wise, who has greatly influenced our music.

PRIDASK
Vocal: Aikapin
Prod.: Tomoyuki Sakakida

Website: https://pridask.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PRIDASK

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Games & Sources

Original song: Stickerbush Symphony (Bramble Blast), とげとげタルめいろ
Original composer: David Wise
Game title: Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, スーパードンキーコング2

[Liontamer ⚖️]

Opens up pretty conservatively, but the submission comments forecast vocals, so it'll be easy to add interpretation here. To me, the soundscape's cramped, but I can make out the part-writing well enough to where it's not a major problem. From 2:02-2:21, the vocals had other original composition that kept things fresh. 2:21 & 2:48 were more reprises of what came before, but 3:13 had vocals arranging the lines from :20 of the source which was a good way to close it. Noticeable repetition, but nothing I'd hold this back for. Cool bread and butter approach with a vocal track. The vocals weren't bone dry, but could have been warmer, though I did appreciate the effort to add some padding underneath them at times.

YES

[prophetik music ⚖️]

classic original.

opens with typical pads and echoey dot synth, and we get some keys at 0:18. there's a detuned element here that's not my favorite sound. vocals are very in front, initially pretty loud (sounds like the track wasn't balanced for that opening section is all), and don't have a ton of processing on them to my ears. there's some pitchiness around 0:35-0:42. beat drops around 0:44 and there's some nice vocal pads in here alongside the other track elements. there's a recap at 1:19 that goes into a nice break at 1:47 that's well-timed as we've had the same thing for a bit now.

big sweep into the beat at 2:02, and we're back into the verse. this is very similar to the earlier section around 1:19, especially in the background, and the subsequent chorus section is a clone of the earlier one. there's a repeated chorus right after it that's almost the same again. there's some extra vocal elements at 3:20ish that are nice to change it up a bit, and then we're into the outro. the ending has a sustained guitar chord that sounds a little weird and then it clips off too instead of the expected fading whoosh or something.

i think there's a lot lot of repetition here. removing the change in words for each 'verse', the track has the same backing elements played by the same instruments with the same beat and is sung the same way - so once you've heard the first minute or so, you've heard most of the song. i think that's too much repetition, even accounting for the genre. modern pop songs mix it up more than this and at least add an escalation element to later choruses, and there's none of that here. even just changing up some of the synth timbres would help, or adding countermelodic content.

i think the track sounds great from a mix perspective, and i think the arrangement concept is sound outside that ending hit. i think the vocal performance is passable but needs some pitch adjustment for all of the pitchiness that pops in and out. and the track overall is a lot of rinse-and-repeat, way more than we've passed in past submissions for similar pop-driven tracks. those are fairly straightforward to fix though! and i'd love to hear an updated version.

 

 

NO

[Chimpazilla ⚖️]

Right off the bat, the delay on the pluck is stepping all over itself and mushing together.  The vocal is too loud when it comes in, and just dry enough that it sounds like it is right in my face.  The singing sounds good to me, it is mostly on pitch (there are moments of pitchiness but that doesn't bother me too much), but the vocal isn't mixed well.  The track overall is mastered SO LOUDLY, everything is the same intensity and volume, it is a waveform sausage and it sounds exhausting. 

Once the backing elements started, I understood why the vocal is so loud.  I suggest making room for the vocal using EQ and reduced volume on the backing elements.  Use EQ to cut the backing elements about 3-6db at the frequency where the vocal cuts through best (for a female vocal that sits somewhere around 2000Hz), medium Q value. And the vocal should not be as loud in the intro as it is during the heaviest choruses, the intro sounds out of balance with the loud vocal there.

I really like the filtering on the pluck that starts at 1:48. 

I agree with proph about the repetition, every element is doing the same thing all the way through.  The piano is only ever playing whole or half notes and that feels like a lost opportunity for more variation.  The pluck plays all the way through the piece but it is mixed so far back that it is barely audible, and there's a buzzy synth that only feels like it is adding to the wall of sound so it doesn't have the uniqueness that it could otherwise have if it was used less often and more purposefully.  Overall, too many elements are playing together during most of the arrangement so it sounds overwhelming.

All of that said, I love the concept of this and it is a fun listen!  But it does need some volume balancing, some EQ to allow vocals to cut through, a little more reverb on the vocal, some more instrumental variation throughout the piece, and a reduction in the level of the final mastering limiter.

NO (resubmit)

[Gario ⚖️]

Bouncy and pleasant, while I don't understand a lick of the lyrics I enjoyed the singing nonetheless! The textures could have used some more variety, sure, but this doesn't sound out of place for a more pop-styled arrangement. It's not gonna win awards for variety or anything, but the bridge in the middle, the opening and ending are alright for something of this length, and we definitely shouldn't discount the effect of the vocals changing from verse to verse.

The vocals are dry, but I think that does also help with with having them cut through the rest of the arrangement (which is important with something mastered as densely as this arrangement is). Speaking of, I understand the loudness war is still in full swing off of this site, but it probably would've been to this track's benefit to master this less loud, allowing you more room to add things like hall reverb to the vocals and such. I understand the choices made - this wasn't made with OCR in mind, per se, so the mastering expectations are different - but it's something to keep in mind for posts in the future.

That being said, I don't really hear artifacts that could arrive from such mastering that could cause issue, and while the arrangement could've benefited from some more variety in the textures I think given the style this works alright. I didn't experience the fatigue I normally do listening to something with static textures so in my opinion the vocal switch-ups and minor breaks in the middle of the arrangement were just enough to pass this, for me. Definitely something to consider moving forward, but I like this and want to see it posted.

YES

[Emunator ⚖️]

Have I gone soft? I think this is unambiguously amazing. Stickerbush's lead melody translates so well into vocal arrangements in a way that most video game tunes don't - it almost feels like the original might have been written with this sort of approach in the back of mind. The performance is stellar, right up there with mainstream J-pop in terms of performance and expressiveness, and really carries the arrangement. The backing instrumentation is no slouch either, offering just enough variation on the original composition that it doesn't feel like a vocal cover over a backing track.

I'll concede that there could have been more done to add variation to the backing track to help the arrangement build more naturally over the runtime, and the mix is messy and certainly has room for improvement, but this is clearly something people are going to love and I don't think any of the noted issues are going to inhibit that enjoyment in the slightest.I think we're missing the forest for the trees here, and to me, this is a really lovely forest :)

YES

[Hemophiliac ⚖️]

The soundscape and genre adaption here were quite pleasant and nice choices.

The biggest issue I've noticed is the static nature of the track with lack of variation. The drums are very repetitive and hardly change aside from an occasional fill that gets reused multiple times. Even in pop music you get more changes than what was presented here.

For me the vocals are another problem that needs to be addressed, there are some intonation issues throughout that should be addressed. I also need to mention the usage of vibrato feels tense and forced, unnatural as well. If it's the situation where you cannot control the vibrato, I would recommend to just sing straight like the majority of the rest of the song. I think your tone does sound good and it fits the genre, but the vibrato jumps out to me (not in a good way) when you do use it. I also particularly liked the outro "Ahs" (3:15-3:45) they have a nice airy quality that fits well.

I also agree with previous production comments as well. Such as the delay on the pluck to start is overlapping with itself causing a wash of plucks early on. Vocals could be pushed back into the mix some, as they currently feel particularly forward and are dry (lacking much reverb). Some reduction of volume in the backing elements and some careful EQ could definitely help them sit in better.

It'll probably sound like I didn't like this, quite the opposite. With some attention to repetition/variation and production clean up I could see myself changing over. It is an awesome track, but not ready yet.

NO

[Rexy ⚖️]

I'm all for enjoying this one in a vacuum.  It's a fun poppy take that went in a meat-and-potatoes direction when it came to source interpretation, so it's impossible for me to write an essay about how it "all just works" this time. :-)  The static soundscape was one of the first things I noticed upon listening, from the mentioned issues with the drums to other melodic backing instrumentation hardly changing up their overall rhythms.  I  would've liked the second verse and chorus variations could've done with some slight textural tweaks to separate them from other variations, though I could also play devil's advocate and see this as a "quirk of the genre".

Similarly, the sound design also worked for the direction taken - a loud one for a more different purpose than web publication, but that's something that can be bypassed.  The accompaniment are mixed well, the vocal performances are great, and I personally take no issue with either vibrato or intonation - though, the amount of processing done on them ended up making the section with harmonies at the end (or the "outro ahs" as Hemo said above) feel too dry to my liking.  I would've liked these to be more pad-like to fit the rest of the background, but again, that's another thing on my list of "things I would've personally liked to see get added" as opposed to "things stopping the track get onto OCR".

It's funny, the first listen I had on this one, I was leaning no, but as I kept on listening and understanding how a vocal pop arrangement of this sort can work on OCR, I am now understanding how clever this track can be, genre tropes and all.  I'm all for seeing it get posted, though now it's a waiting game to see how the rest of the vote unfolds.

YES (borderline)

[pixelseph ⚖️]

This is a fun arrangement of Stickerbrush Symphony, retooled into a more modern pop format rather than following the 2-minute loop from the source. The counter-melody line from the source getting delayed until the second verse (2:07) is also a nice touch. I agree that the vocal is a natural fit for taking the melody. The vocalist stays on pitch consistently for the most part, though the held notes at 3:12 have some dissonant rubbing between the lead and backing vocal. Vocals are drier and more forward than I would prefer, but not deal-breaking for me.

One nitpick I have is the lack of variation on the drum pattern and drum fills - every drum kit transition (that isn’t the aux percussion chimes) uses the same snare-snare-tom roll-down pattern. While that fill is stylistically appropriate, it gets stale when overused; the doubled chorus at 2:46 especially benefits from a unique fill. Dropping the drums out and using other elements as textures does lift this up, however.

While it’s not a direct note-for-note cover of the source, the arrangement is still pretty conservative - there don’t appear to be any overt embellishments on the melodic phrasing, just passing the lead to different voices (which is not a bad thing!). There are things I would prefer, but it's an enjoyable enough listen to get passed the bar for me.

YES

[jnWake ⚖️]

An electronic pop vocal take on Stickerbush Symphony. It begins with a pad and a percussive synth outlining the classic intro melody from the source. Everything is transposed one tone up and the pads are playing one octave above so this ends up sounding a bit hot on the higher frequencies. Vocals kick in around 0:18 and they’re great! Nice tone and almost always in tune. This is likely a stylistic choice but I’m not a big fan of the vibrato, it’s too binary going from no vibrato to heavy modulation too quickly, I personally prefer when it’s more subdued. Vocals sing one of the melodies from the source and the song build-ups until 0:40 when drums enter. From here we have a verse with an original melody I think, but the backing continues to be the source. Generally, I think the soundscape is pretty well done and fits the style perfectly. A little break around 1:50 after a chorus before we get a repeat of the verse and then another chorus (x2). At around 3:00 we get a new section, using other melodies from the source on vocals. Then, the song ends!

On the production side I think this is pretty good, at times it’s too hot on higher/shrill frequencies but you nail the sound you’re going for in my opinion. I also think it’s too loud, but that may also be a genre thing and isn't a dealbreaker.

On the arrangement side, however, I have more issues. First, this is a very conservative take on the source, with very little variations over the original besides from (naturally) the use of vocals. However, I do think this adaptation is enough for this to clear OCR’s standards. Second, the arrangement is quite repetitive, using the same chord progression for an extremely large amount of time. Now, I feel this is kind of genre appropriate so it’s not a HUGE deal but some variations on the chord progression every few repetitions or even a key change to differentiate the ending would’ve been a good idea.

Overall, I think this is a very well done track. Production and performances are great and although I have some issues with the arrangement I'd say it passes the bar.

YES

[paradiddlesjosh ⚖️]

Howdy, PRIDASK! This track was used for the 2025 judge test, so although there are already enough YESes to pass this track, I want to share my notes with you.

Starting with source usage, this one is relatively straightforward in its approach to the source material. The biggest shifts include introducing the B melody (~0:38-1:08 of “Stickerbrush Symphony”) before the A melody (~0:19-0:38 of “Stickerbrush”) in the form of a drumless chorus before bringing in the groove, the filter-automated noise swish in the break from 1:45-2:02, and the double chorus repeating the B melody at 2:15-3:12. While other judges may have more constructive feedback regarding the vocals, I think the vocalist’s performance helps lift this track from a cover into something fitting OCR’s arrangement standards.

The intro does a great job building up the energy – the wind chimes around 0:17 are a nice touch, as is the lowpass filter automation on the plucky synth and the drum fill at 0:42, though the vocal is much louder than the background elements here. The rhythmic tension between the disco drums, the bass, and the fuzzy pad keeps the groove pushing forward.

At around 1:00, there isn’t anything to signal the transition from the groove into the verse, and there is a missed opportunity here to make the verse and chorus sonically unique by simplifying the beat somewhat (e.g. dropping out the snare) but the highpass filter sweep on the drums into the fill for the chorus at about 1:14 keeps things interesting. The 808 at the break (1:45) is a nice touch, as is the filter automation here. I agree with Chimpazilla's call-out regarding making use of EQ and compression to make room for the vocals.

Then there’s the drum fill we heard in the intro at 2:01 and we’re back into a verse that’s identical to the first one save for the vocals and the lyrics, right down to the filter sweep+fill at 2:15. There’s a double-chorus to follow, and I’m left wanting more variation from the back half of this track overall, but especially on the repeat of the chorus. Another repeated drum fill at 3:11 and we get an outro: one more instance of the fill at 3:46 and unsatisfying ending.

In terms of mixing and production, this one is well done. Each instrument has its own defined space in the soundscape, the vocals are prominent, and the drums have a tasteful punch to them. If I have one nitpick: -0.1 to -0.5 dB is a more ideal limiter ceiling, but I don’t hear clipping or pumping, so this is fine.

This is a fun track to throw on and move the booty to! The vocal performance is great and the mix is clean; like the NOs, I’m not on board with the amount of whole-cloth repetition in the arrangement, particularly in the backing elements. But like Rexy, I recognize this is sort of emblematic of the style and the vocal performance is transformative enough for the bar.

YES