ReMix:Chrono Cross "Outside Looking In" 3:10

Congrats to our two newest judges - prophetik music (Bradley Burr) & Rexy (Beverley Wooff)!

Both Brad & Bev have been with OCR for a very long time & contributed some truly amazing music over the years, so we're excited to have them on board & helping catch up with the evaluation queue; to celebrate, we've got a double mixpost featuring mixes from each of them, starting with this dramatic acoustic western/hybrid cinematic piece from Brad off of Chronopolis: Music Inspired by Chrono Cross, which he also directed:

"This song represents my first attempt at writing music after an 18-month hiatus, as I stepped away from composing after my second child was born (as much due to apathy as due to time constraints). I knew that I wanted to do something that felt familiar to get back into it, so I went back to some of my favorite types of samples -- piano and celeste, hollow, gliding synths, and some theatrical ethnic drums. I needed more though, and that's when the idea of contrasting the introduction with some heavily compressed drums and fat synths came to me. The aleatoric wind chimes in the background comes from a mental image of an abandoned shack, run down, with a few pieces of formed metal moving slowly in the wind."

The first half of this arrangement is far more acoustic & has a Spaghetti Western feel; before the more electronic/synth bits kick in, this sounds like it could be straight off a Tarantino soundtrack. Larry Oji writes:

"Chronopolis marked a return for prophetik music in a number of ways, least of which was the front page with a mixpost. Brad's an experienced project director, so this wasn't the first OCR project he's assembled, but it is one he threw much of himself into, given how many tracks Brad was involved in. Off the strength of Chronopolis, we took a look at Brad for the judges panel, and he did extremely well in demonstrating his enthusiasm for critique and attention to detail, so we're grateful to have his perspective with us!

With this piece, Brad set a good opening mood of melancholy, all while adding more momentum compared to Mitsuda's source tune; there's so much going on with the percussion to give this a different kind of energy. I enjoyed the transition and build-up at 1:35 to the synth-heavy section, which then gave way to the subtractive finish at 2:45 going back to the more organic instrumentation; had I not known that this was arranging a Chrono Cross original, I could have easily mistook the organic/electronic approach for something from the Humans + Gears: Xenogears ReMixed project back in the day. This remains sad like the source tune, but there's an air of resoluteness that I got from this that clicked with me. Cool, uniquely personalized arranging from Brad that told a great story both personally and musically. It's great to have him more present in the community once again, and he's already proving - on the inside looking out - to be a great asset for the judges! ;-)"

I worked with Brad personally both on conveying the initial album evaluation feedback & on revising the album artwork and corresponding website, and I admire his patience & willingness to mull over different ideas and reach a revised/refined conclusion, both of which are qualities core to judging. As Larry points out, the texture & depth of the percussion, especially in the first half, really give this piece a flavor & atmosphere all its own. I admittedly dig the electronic direction it takes later a *bit* less, but it's still strong and gives the arrangement some textural development and space to grow. All in all, this was a wonderful, soulful contribution to Chronopolis, prophetik & Rexy should be awesome additions to the judge panel, and a special thanks to Gario, the existing judges, and all candidates for working through the process!