Hemophiliac

The whole concept of this piece could work well, and the Enya/New age-type vibe does come through well. However, I am in agreement with Prophetik on both points about the orchestration/part-writing being dense in the low-mids as well as the reverb being too much. Make sure the reverb has EQ cutting the lows to help it from creating mud solely from the reverb. When the pan flute first enters at 0:14, it starts to quickly sound like a flanger/chorus or distortion effect is applied on it. That kind of effect feels counter-intuitive to the smooth new age sound you're going for. This carries throughout the piece and dominates the soundscape. This really needs to be cleaned up, and the parts balanced more evenly amongst each other with possibly some low end parts reduced or cut. I appreciate that there was some thought put into the swelling of the background elements to help give them movement and energy, but the bass does get really big at times when it reaches it's fullest. I'm hearing the Metroid (something very closely resembling it) in the piano in the deep background 3:05-3:10, and then 3:11-3:30 it sounds like interpretation of that same part. Even with the timestamps, I'm not making out Metroid except for there. As is, the Castlevania parts feel much more dominant in the arrangement. Overall, more direction both in structure and melody would go a long way to keeping interest going as it does feel rather stagnant for a longer piece ~5 min. NO

While this could be a really cool idea to start out with this and expand into something more interpretative and transformative, this is not what OCR is looking for. This is too similar to the original with very little interpretation or transformation. You want to go in and see what more of your own flavors you can add to or change from the original source. Present the source in a new way. It could be anything from melodic embellishment, changing the chord progression, or changing the time signature even. There are many ways you can change it up and put your own spin on things. Or you can add completely new material to sit against the original source. Those are just a few examples of how you can do it, and there are many more ways that you can do it that I didn't mention. I'd encourage you to post in the workshop on the forums or join to the discord server to get feedback. NO

It was only way down the line that I forgot another level of humanizing that I didn't do, which was automating the sustain pedal. That definitely would have helped with a couple spots that were mentioned by the judges. All I can do is learn from that and apply it to future work. Thanks for the love all :)

Reharmonization :)

The arrangement here is the star of the show. The intro sets the scene nicely with some sound effects and dark pads. Getting all of the parts throughout the track to work together from everyone's contribution in a week is no easy feat. Ending on a whip sfx is cheeky fun, especially coming from "Team Whip". I like how you worked the whip in as an actual percussive/rhythm element as well without over using it. I particularly enjoyed the recapitulation at 2:58. Unfortunately, where this went wrong is the mixdown. The bass is pretty subdued and seems to have a lot of it's first harmonic coming through (or it could be something doubling it an octave higher). At times it almost feels as if that octave is actually louder then the bass itself. At times I'm confused as to what the focus is supposed to be because everything is fighting to be the loudest thing. Not everything needs to be that, things can trade off and be either supportive or the lead. This is very evident during 2:31-2:57, I'm not sure which of the synths to focus on as a lead. They are also thin and very shrill in the upper range here. Compression would also go a long way to help balance everything out too because the whole track is rather quiet with a max peak of -2.1 but average RMS of 19.1. Great to have some dynamics but if it effects the overall loudness on a metal-esque track it suffers some for it. For me to pass this, I'd like to see better blend between parts in the mixdown and consider changing up some of the synth design for better blend with the other parts. NO (resubmit)

This took me a while and multiple days of listening and coming back to this to get my head wrapped around both the sources as well as the arrangement. Even with the breakdown I struggled to identify most of what was coming through on Rise of the Robots. The only part of Rise of the Robots I recognized are the right-side panned bell arps during 3:03-3:23. With that said, there's plenty of Shinobi in there to cover the source usage, even with only picking out a little of the Rise of the Robots. 0:00-0:14 Intro (original) 0:15-1:55 Shinobi 1:56-2:06 (original) 2:07-2:36 Shinobi 2:37-3:02 (original) 3:03-3:23 RotR + Shinobi 3:26-4:09 Shinobi melody (left panned violin very quiet) 4:10-4:40 Ending (original) 192/280 = 68.5% source So with that said, this comes down to production for me. 3:26-3:46 and 3:48-4:10 is very fuzzy as was previously mentioned by both MindWanderer and prophetik. The wonderful live performances from SableProvidence and GameroftheWinds feel subdued rather then focused on, bring those out some more later in the song (After 2:10). For 3:48-4:10 the final time we hear the Shinobi melody some on the left-panned violin it's very quiet and slowly fades out over the whole section. I'm left confused as to what to focus on during 3:48-4:10 because there's a lot going on and it feels like the parts are fighting for control of the focus rather than working together. I know you can do it, because from 0:00-1:55 the parts feel balanced properly. Background elements blend with each other there and the lead melody is clearly the focus of the listener. You have the capability to make it work, this needs another go at the mixdown/balance of parts as well as looking at reducing the fuzziness towards the end of the track. NO

An honor to be involved in this in any way. Glad my minor contribution was worked in as this was an awesome team effort. Emunator drove the car and the rest of us just hung on white-knuckled. Love the track, it develops in such an organic way and the build up is fantastic.

Warm, lush, minimal. 3 words I expect from lo-fi, even though two of those are opposites of each other. Lushness of the parts filling the spectrum and minimal parts used to do it. The very slight detuning and subtle filter sweeps throughout are really highlights for me. They add so much despite being very miniscule in the amounts of each. The arrangement doesn't overstay it's welcome and we get variation and changes to new sections right when we need them. The subtle hints at the main Zelda theme also were a nice touch for 1:47-1:59, right before we get the final recap. YES

This is a total throwback. Almost feels like it would be what we would call a "sound upgrade" for the time period the game came out in. While I understand why Liontamer felt the sound design is underwhelming there's still things Gaspode did to liven up the synth choices. There are multiple filter sweeps that are either programed to hit the top or bottom of their peaks and valleys right on the beat. They are either automated by hand to do that or tempo-sync'd. That tells me there was at least some thought and care put into those decisions rather then presets chosen. I agree with everyone else that they could be improved but do not detract from the overall piece. The sources are well adapted and the book-ending with the "danger" sample is a great choice to start and wrap up the piece. YES

I've played more Diablo II then I care to admit, and because of that I'm excited to see what this has in store. This reminds me of the opening intro to A Clockwork Orange by Wendy Carlos or even some of the work of Vangelis. I wonder if the subtle filter sweeps were performed live because they have a very nuanced artistic quality to them. Each time I listen to this, I pick up on an interesting different element that I didn't catch on previous loops. The opening chords hit and the detuning is very apparent, a choice to emulate a throwback feel akin to analog synthesizers. While it is almost over the top with the amount of detuning used, I enjoy it. In terms of arrangement this is highly conservative and remains very close to the source in both structure and melody for the first half. In the last section before the ending (5:07-6:08) is when we get the most new material added in the rhythm/chords. The ending does cut off on an awkward beat and leaves me hanging and wanting more closure after a long 6 minute journey. I think if we had got one more beat to end on one, it might have helped with that. Many of the decisions you made feel very intentional despite them causing muddiness, but are textural and add to the progression of the piece. These don't come off to me as violations, but as artistic decisions. This will not be everyone's cup of tea, but I can get behind the synthesized "analog" warmth. YES

You've replaced the lava and acid underneath Lower Brinstar with smoke and water with this reharmonization. The reharmonization is biggest strength in this arrangement and those chord changes fit very well. The sparseness of the arrangement isn't a factor as you fill the space with the percussion and SFX. Because this is a short compact arrangement everything is really needing to fire and all cylinders. I would've liked to have seen some melodic embellishment in the second half to help differentiate it from the first half, but not necessary. The ending with the shaker isn't feeling 100% complete, this could have been stronger. The shaker is very wet with reverb in comparison to the other percussive elements. I'd like to see the drums matched so that they share the same amount of reverb. The snare is very much the same from hit-to-hit, and needs variation in velocity or even just alternating between different samples. You've shown that you're capable of doing that in the usage of the shaker, it has accents and deemphasizes the weak beats. More variation in the drum pattern would also help this track progress as it feels fairly static in the percussion. I can see this one going either way, but I can't get past the drums as the snare and other percussion issues detracts from my overall enjoyment of the piece. NO (resubmit)

I don't get the pleasure of hearing where this came from to see the growth that everyone talked about. I trust them all and believe them when they say it. So with that in mind I'd also like to reiterate what some have said about being proud of the progress you have had. It's very important as an artist to occasionally reflect on that, see/hear the gains :) I like your interpretation of the source melody. By taking it and shortening it down it brings a different energy that the original does not have, that's a great way to inject yourself into this track. Unfortunately the repetition of the melody and drums causes the track to be static. A couple suggestions on how to improve that could be changing up or pass around the lead instrument to another or move it up or down and octave. Or you can also cut a repetition or two. The drums are fairly repetitive and change up between sections. They would definitely benefit with small variations within each sections to help keep them progressing. Overall, there is enough interpretation of the source for me, but what holds it back is the static-nature of the development. Another thing of note is the drums and the synths have very different reverbs going on. The drums have a shorter reverb and the synths have a longer tail. This is making them feel like they are occupying different spaces. I would recommend reducing the reverb tail on the synths as the reverb on the drums feels ok where they are. To summarize, the interpretation of the source in the melody is not bad and brings a different and unique energy than the original. What needs to be improved upon is the static feeling the overall arrangement has and the reverb amount on the synths. NO

Welcome to the forums @Nicole Tanner It's very nice and exciting to see first-time posts from long-time followers. I did a very quick listen through and I agree with what you said, there is one big thing that would not work out. https://ocremix.org/info/Submission_Standards_and_Instructions Under Section 4. Arrangement: Aside from the sound effects it does sound like the original sliced up in the background as well. This is well done but would not work as a submission, not everything needs to be submitted. This is a sweet vibe though, and thank you for sharing. I hope you post more things in the future :)

To open the synths feel dry. The open hat sizzle is hot, bring that down ~2db. The arrangement is solid with plenty of interpretation, but the production is what needs the most work. The parts don't feel like they blend together for cohesion so much, they feel like they are all the foreground and I'm not sure what I'm supposed to focus on. The panning is favored to the right it seems, I think it's the open hat just standing out so much. Open sections like 0:58-1:11 and 2:25-2:54 could benefit from having another soft lead play a countermelody or pads with filter sweeps to fill the space in. You give us textural contrast by dropping out parts to create less going on but what about dynamics? Could definitely use some dynamics with the track staying at close to the same level throughout. Fade out? After 4 minutes, it'd be nice to have a more refined and conclusive ending. After all of that it's gonna sound like I'm really ragging on this, but it has potential and I want to see you develop it more.

1:06 gets muddy for a little bit and then comes back shortly after. Not bad to do that momentarily, but I just want to point out that it does happen. The elements pulled in from the source are nice and don't overstay their welcome. Nice interpretation and nice solo.