VG Frequency

Liontamer wrote…

Ormgas.com, OverClocked ReMix’s unofficial internet radio station, wants YOU for its jingle contest, now underway and set to end on July 10th. We need artists, remixers and anyone willing to have some fun with a microphone to check out the contest and submit 20-to-40-second station identification style jingles, and if you’re one of the top 3 entrants, you can clothe your body with hot OMG FREE Ormgas.com gear. As long as your entry is quality, you can potentially earn radio infamy along with other legends (like Liontamer) as one of Ormgas.com regular jingles, so be sure to check out more information at the OCR forums thread as well as the full set of contest rules over at http://oc.ormgas.com/news.php?extend.36. Antonio Pizza, SgtRama, Neskvartetten & OverCoat are already in the game with their own entries, and I encourage you reading this [Larry points at you] to consider submitting your own jingles in support of Ormgas while you get in the hunt for free, fashionable swag. Please don’t delay. July 10th’s the final deadline.

Hope y’all Amerikaners had a good 4th of July long weekend full of illegal fireworks, lemonade, and hot dogs. That’s the American way. The jury’s still out on what the Scandanavian way is. Oh, hey there, folks. Do an Ormgas radio jingle for the contest above and win free stuff. Es bueno. Now let’s see what was going on for the week ending July 3rd:
Chad Seiter - “Whiskey and Lead” [7th Serpent OST] - Feedback
A name non-OCR folks need to know is much more active on VGMix, and he’s got a very professional sound. Could be because he has access to professional samples. Then again, it could be because he’s, you know, an actual professional. Aside from professional video game and independent film scoring, Chad has one strong work at VGMix, the old but very VERY ambitious 2001 13-minute mutiple-Squaresoft-game mix “Final Fantasia.” After you impress yourselves with that, go ahead and “take the risk” on some of the original work Chad plugged at the VGmix Minstrel’s Guild forum. My personal choice out of the three tracks spotlighted is the action-oriented “Whiskey and Lead” which is actually an original game music track for the upcoming game “7th Serpent,” though you can go for the independent film piece “The Power of 4.” Not an artist to miss, folks.

Destiny - “Eldamar” [http://destiny-hikari.net] - Feedback
Helen does double duty this week, first off with some original action courtesy the VGMix forums as well. I had three tracks to pick from, and they’re all good, so I decided to pick the most accessible track. “Eldamar,” is an original inspired by the Lord of the Rings series featuring unique Quenya/elvish lyrics. What that’s all about exactly? Fucked if I know. My geekdom only goes so far. [/jab] You can always rely on Ms. Trevillion for lovely vocal efforts, so put this one on for size, and if you’re not satisfied, there’s the very relaxed “Dream of the Innocent” as well as your choice if you want something with tangible lyrics, “Will You.”

Digital Coma - Donkey Kong Country 1 “Gorilla con Gusto” - [http://dkcproject.ocremix.org] - Project Mixes & WIPs / Project Discussion & Feedback
With 14 tracks under their belt, Digital Coma and his team of mixers are inching closer and closer to completing “Gorilla con Gusto,” the Donkey Kong Country Arrangement Collaboration project. There are already incredible tracks available from established favorites like GrayLightning, Adhesive Boy & Vigilante, along with several tracks from remixing up-and-comers like Red Omen, Icy Guy & Hemophiliac that really pushed their current talents to the limit. For those new to knowledge of the project, GcG is created and organized by legendary tablas player, and all-around good fella Binnie Katti, known to lots of folks as Digital Coma. He’s definitely a man’s man, but the project contributors’ll tell ya: do NOT cross his path, or he turns into an Indian tyrant with a huge anger management problem and the um…moxie…to back it up. Anyway, all of the unofficially completed Gorilla con Gusto tracks available at the link provided are open to tweaks and are thereby subject to change, so remember that before you mistakenly claim that I hooked you up with the inside connection. You know I’d never give you information of any legitimate importance!

Double A Ron - “Freestyle Rapaway” - Feedback
Aaron Comica threw out some more of his upbeat rhymes out last week to celebrate his 21st birthday. The production on “Freestyle Rapaway” is awful, so you’ll either be put off by it or you’ll be able to weather and listen to the song beyond the technical flaws. Double A offers a more friendly style of rap, hearkening back to the old school flavor of the genre. Of course, Aaron’s a white Canadian, so that’s not really…old school. Nah, it’s not. The fact that this track sounds unrefined isn’t too much of a deterrent, as it’s actually from 2001 and Double A has only improved since then. Aaron plans to do a studio album release in Winnipeg in the near future that will obviously have tighter production. So take this primarily as an example of Double A Ron’s rhyming skills…”direct from Canada, eh.”

Freemind - Morrowind “The Final Stage” [OC ReMix #1207]
FM finally follows through with his first solo submission via Morrowind, and I’m always impressed by how many different styles Thanasis drops on us listeners, as his body of mixes and original tracks don’t fit comfortably into one genre, or, if I wanted to be more accurate, four genres. For an mixer such a Freemind who really enjoys his hybrid pieces, I most enjoyed the Celtic overtones he used that I’ve heard in one other piece of his, though the various different instrumentations of the lead melody are what really sold me on it. I thought the drumwork could have been sequenced a bit tighter, but the overall package is strong and it’s one that highlights already strong, memorable source material from Jeremy Soule.

Gecko Yamori - Streets of Rage 2 “Infectious Oldskool” [VGMix2 #1767]
Sweden’s Dan Bärlin is the most prolific mixer on the American scene that’s also a participant within the European scene and the C64 side of remixing. Gecko pleased a lot of people by dropping this C64/SID-chip inspired mix of Yuzo Koshiro’s “Under Logic” on VGMix early in the week. What makes this mix even more special is that it the sequel of sorts of his already popular mix of the same theme in “SID of Rage.” “Infectious Oldskool” marks Dan’s effort to make this remix much more like the artistic vision he originally had when he initially attempted SID of Rage. Both mixes are highly enjoyable in my opinion, but there’s a bit more polish on this release that makes it a must to check out, especially to compare the two tracks side by side. It’s more than likely that you’ll really enjoy it.

JAXX - Chrono Trigger “Johnny Suck Pavement” [VGMix2 #1796]
When guys like Mustin opine for the old days of the American game mixing scene, they’re talking about mixers like McVaffe, Ailsean, Kaijin, and JAXX. Patrick Jacks is pretty elusive for one of the old-school legends. His last 3 mixes have been 7 months apart each, so oftentimes it’s hard for fans to get their JAXX fix. Luckily Pat is back with a new CT mix, although those of you expecting a page out of “Lightning Star” or “Time Punk” are gonna be disappointed. That’s your loss though, as JAXX instead lays it back with some chill acoustic guitar flows possessing a Spanish-style flavor, along with some vroom-vroom samples. Don’t be one of those annoying n00b bastards that typecasts a mixer and their style; be sure to give this one the look it deserves.

Kirbymixer - Kirby’s Dream Land 3 “Birds of Dreamland” [VGMix2 #1765]
Where would we be without Bas Oppenheim frequently tackling material from the Kirby series? We’d be in Hell or whatever your personal equivalent of Hell is (Catholic school), that’s where. Some light woodwinds provide the metaphorical representation of the mix title’s aforementioned birds in this very nice orchestral offering. The tone never gets too heavy, and there are some excellent gentle sections from Bas, along with some initially strange transition sections that work surprisingly well. This is a straight up medley piece that has a light air to it, but doesn’t get too bubbly for us folks that hate, well, Kirby music. This is the part where DarkeSword kicks the crap out of me…

k-wix - The Legend of Zelda 64: The Ocarina of Time “Ocarina of Seasons” [VGMix2 #1774]
Dustin’s back with a Zelda medley piece, but instead of going the route of Unknown & his “Artifact of Power” series with an orchestral style, k-wix has gone for a straight piano approach touching upon several well known Zelda 64 Koji Kondo cuts. The mastering leaves the high-end frequencies unattended, so the texture might feel a bit dry as a result, but this is solid work combining elements of the Ocarina of Time that so many gamers know and love with their great personal bias! Definitely one to keep and recommend to other Zelda fans.

N-Joy f/Simona - Stormlord 1 “Seneca’s Marble Pack” [R:K:O #2289]
This one is my extra enthusiastic pick of the week! After pimping out DHS in late May regarding his collab with soon-to-be-posted OC ReMixer & R:K:O vet Makke, fellow member of The SoundWavers N-Joy has dropped a HOT new pop collab on R:K:O with the talented vocalist Simona. Though it was both on the C64 & Amiga platforms, I’ve never heard of Stormlord myself, but I do know that this is some kick-ass work that you aren’t allowed to overlook whatsoever. Simona’s lyrics are top notch, and (coincidentally) they’re also in Italian. Don’t let the language barrier dissuade you; they’re very well produced regardless of the language. I don’t know if “I-Pop” is much of a genre, but you can serve me up some more of this any time. Love it or hate it, The SoundWavers bring something unique to the scene that you’d be hard-pressed to find anywhere else.

Ryan8bit - Dragon Warrior 4 “The Grief of Aktemto” [Dwelling of Duels: Free Month / VGMix2 #1782]
Just like JAXX, Ryan Stern is another guitar guru that hasn’t dropped anything on the people in a while. And while the wait for Ryan8bit’s newest release (2 months) wasn’t nearly as long as the wait for JAXX’s latest, Ryan’s here to bring it to ya as well, with this DW4 mix that starts off with acoustic and acid guitar elements before adding to the background with some orchestral swells. And while this beginning also isn’t the style one would be most familiar with Ryan’s work, the halfway point brings out the electric guitar work that those OverRocked ReMix fans worship him for. A nice change of pace to hear two guitar rock mixers like Ryan & JAXX moving a but out of their traditional bounds, both in the same week.

Shane Barber - Little Nemo “Nightmare King’s Dream” [OC ReMix #1206]
OC-newbie Shane Barber has already cut his teeth on the professional side, so this brand new Little Nemo mix has pretty nice mastering as compared to a lot of other tracks on the site. Here, we have a primarily piano-centric mix done in an upbeat, techno-ish dance style. The way in which the synths are used doesn’t lend much “meat” behind the sounds per se, so this isn’t like one of those thumping trance ReMixes you may know. Yet given how many elements are in play throughout the course of Nightmare King’s Dream, especially the distorted synth providing countermelody, the sounds are very well distinguished from one another, and the low-end frequency areas also managed to be filled without drawing attention away from other elements in play. Shane has access to professional equipment, so this a great first-time OCR effort that has a lot of pluses on the production side, and as DJP mentioned in his writeup, this mix brings a more upbeat quality to Little Nemo mix coverage that hasn’t been there before.

Strike911 - Vectorman 1 “Oceania Robotica” [VGMix2 #1802]
Strike911 is one of those guys that I’ve enjoyed hearing develop, since his work has been either hot or cold with me. New guys typically come in with weak samples and no creativity on the rearrangement side, so it takes a while for them to find their legs so to speak. Jase is gradually finding his way as he does a little bit of rearrangement here within “Oceania Robotica,” but this mix of the classic Vectorman track “Tidal Surge” stands out much more to me as a successful genre adaptation. The samples for a techno track like this are very solid if you’re familiar with the Sega Genesis classic game, then you probably remember that the source material in play here is minimal. 53 seconds minimal, in fact. Jase manages to carry the theme for nearly 5 minutes and while there aren’t many stylistic changes as the song progresses, the strength of the material here makes this one that doesn’t get boring. Definitely some quality work that has a chance to see action on the OCR judges’ panel down the line once it’s submitted, and one you should give a look if you remember how dope Vectorman was.

The Wingless & Destiny - The Legend of Zelda 1 “Eutopia Pegasi” [OC ReMix #1208]
My main man, “The Wingless” J. A. Burnett hollers back with a brand new Zelda mix thanks to a team-up with OCR’s biggest female mixer since Injury, the engaging Helen Trevillion, who herself makes two appearances in the Pimp Section this week. You guys hanging around the VGMix chatterbox may have seen John pestering Destiny with messages like, “O Destiny, thy runnest away once again as I ceaselessly chase thine agreeable vocal chords.” Well, anyway, it would be something more Wingless-crazy-sounding and less Larry-made-it-up-sounding. In any case, with all that chasing Wingle was engaging in, I thought to myself “If he ever actually gonna, you know, collab with her like he planned???” Which is why it was all the more surprising to see “Eutopia Pegasi” appear at OCR a few days ago. For me, this liberal, lush-sounding mix really functions a lot better for me as background type music, as it’s difficult to grasp what’s going in an airy piece such as this via active listening. Very relaxing flow overall, and one you can kick back to when you wanna slow things down.

Xerol Oplan - “Loyalties” [Xerol’s Quest OST]
XO has got some more material out there for the in-progress game, Xerol’s Quest, in the form of this newly-finished track, “Loyalties.” For the moment, Loyalties will function as an event track, though of course plans can and do change. This composition features some very nice piano work, and I think you’ll really enjoy this one when it shifts into a higher gear at 1:35, including a quick Final Fantasy crystal theme reference. For those of you that want a darker-sounding piece, check out the alternate version of “Tracheon” and see if that fits your style more comfortably. Xerol has Red Omen, Mythril Nazgul & Rellik on tap to help him with the music duties of Xerol’s Quest, so be sure to keep an eye on the developments, at least on the music side that most of us are here for.

For highlights on what’s going down on the WIP side this past week (things are REALLY busy), allow me to list off stuff you may wanna check (deep fucking breath, please): Wintermute - Chrono Trigger, Mythril Nazgul - Chrono Trigger, GrayLightning - Chrono Trigger, Freemind - Secret of Mana, Sir Nuts - Ninja Gaiden II, Koelsch1 - Street Fighter Alpha, Strike911 - Vectorman, Mythril Nazgul - Kenshin (Anime Remix), DCT - Megaman VII/Eminem (yes, that’s correct), Raven8t8 - original, Fusion2004 - originals, Reuben Kee - original remix, Freemind - original, Cuddly Pyramidhead - audio drama, DistantJ - Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Rexy - Sonic & Knuckles, Kadmium - Super Street Fighter II

While zircon is on vacation, he’s left a slew of original compositions that need to be judged at SoundTemptest. Register with the SoundTempest forums in order to cast your votes as fans as to whether various submissions by Shael Riley, OverCoat, Rellik & Unknown have what it takes to be legitimate original game music compositions.

The People’s Remix Competition 19 is in the voting stage. Mixing TO’s source tune of choice, Black Omen from Chrono Trigger, this is one where a lot of people may be interested. Read the voting directions, download the contest entries, and send a private message to TO (via OC ReMix’s forums), placing the entries in your order from best to worst. Who’s gonna win??? That could be up to you.

bLiNd finished his share of remix contributions to the upcoming Project Majestic Mix Trance album this past week, so everything is done from his side. Having just finished up his remix of Prophecy’s Super Metroid mix “On Top of Jacob’s Ladder,” rendering the mix’s project file took up 90% of his 2.4ghz processor. Now you’re playing with power…and so forth. ;-) Along with Proph, SuperGreenX & FFmusic Dj, you know this album is gonna be quality for you trance lovers out there. The material could go to press with Stephen Kennedy & KFSS Studios by late August.

You better believe that FFmusic Dj knows a lot more than trance. Though I know FF has got some excellent remixes in the works that go along with his most known style, Haroon has got things cooking on the original side via the chillout genre. After coming out of the gate with two chillout remixes of BT’s “The Great Escape” this past April, Haroon has got a cool new WIP that’s all his own. The initial results are good, and it looks like FF has found another genre to embrace. Hopefully, we’ll see some finished product in the near future.

SuperGreenX has got a near 9-minute original track in the words, and he assures me that it’s gonna be hot, noting that it some of his best, most professional-sounding production work ever. Speaking as a fan of Danny’s, this is definitely some powerful-sounding stuff so far, and one of his keepers in the vein of his original album, “Synesthetic.” I can’t wait to play this once I get back on the air. There’s a bright future for SGX, and it could drop as soon as next week.

zyko’s current band, Absynthe, had a performance for the 4th of July in San Diego, California, along with Innerlimit. Hopefully, we can get some info on that for next week’s Pimp Section. Meanwhile, you can check out weed’s pimping of the event over at VGMix, OC ReMix & OneUp.

Rayza won $12.50 at video blackjack recently. I’m proud of him! I think that was $12.50 Canadian though. Well, he did better than I did at the casino. (Ayako: “That’s what you get.”) :-(

Hope you had a Happy Independence Day! Let’s do it again sometime.

This entry was posted on Monday, July 5th, 2004 at 7:45 pm and is filed under Arrangers, Larry Oji (Liontamer), Original Albums, VG Frequency. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.