TimeShift: The OverClocked ReMix 25th Anniversary Album

O R A N G E

01 Accept the Truth
Arranged by:
Xaleph
Performed by:
Mega Ran, Xaleph, Audiomint, pointblanket
Game:
Final Fantasy XVI
Source Track:
Land of Eikons
Composers:
Masayoshi Soken, Nobuo Uematsu

Artist's Note

This track started as a remix of FFXVI's dark prelude, which I thought was such a fun song to work with. Initially, I tried a faster version with guitars, and I loved how it turned out -- it's actually my current ringtone! Then I thought, "Why not add some lyrics?" The instrumental felt like a perfect foundation for a rap. I experimented with free vocal samples online, and it worked surprisingly well.

At first, I wasn't sure where to take it musically. Then the TimeShift recruitment started, and I figured, "I already like this song -- this could be a fun, chill project." That's when I had an idea: what if Mega Ran, who's insanely talented, did the vocals? His lyrics are always spot-on, and his energy is incredible. I decided to reach out, and to my surprise, he responded and was on board. I was so excited!

My daughter, however, told me the original version wasn't polished enough. She suggested I go for a trap/psytrance vibe instead -- something like psytrap. I took her advice, reworked the whole song, and even Mega Ran said he liked this version better. So, back to the drawing board I went!

For the violin parts, I reached out to pointblanket, who absolutely crushed it. I had some specific parts in mind, but I also let him freestyle. He sent over a ton of great takes, and I used most of them, especially toward the end.

Once everything came together, Mega Ran recorded his vocals (between touring -- or maybe while touring? -- I don't know how he has the time, but, man, I sure appreciate it!). Afterward, I reworked sections of the song to emphasize his vocals. Shoutout to Audiomint, who stepped in to help record during a busy week of exams.

I love this game, I love the original song, and it's awesome to have some of my favorite musicians all in one song! I did my best to provide as much freedom as I could to each of the artists to let their skill shine through and, boy, was it awesome when it all came together! On the arrangement side, I tried my best to tease the chiptune version of the song as a shout-out to the Final Fantasy "Prelude" theme. The violins and female voice both sing the melody of the song.

A few behind-the-scenes details: I played the piano myself -- no MIDI there. Most of the synth sounds came from Serum and Reason's Objekt, with some trap sound packs for the hats and snares. I originally had a bigger buildup at the end but decided to strip it back to just violins, and it felt much more epic that way.

I don't usually create trap music, but I listen to a lot of it, so I hope it came through as fun and energetic. Personally, I love running to this track at the gym!

Director's Note

Xaleph, one of OCR's sages, has had over 20 years' experience in the video game and anime arrangement communities, so to have one of the staple artists of my many years of listening to old-school OCR lead the album has been thrilling. In a way, to me at least, things have come back around: "Accept the Truth" has echoes of his old ReMixes like "Suffering Planet", "Journey to Thor", and "That Balcony Thing" with its dark atmosphere offset by its achingly beautiful melodies, ably performed by his daughter, Audiomint, and by pointblanket. That handoff at the beginning of the second verse is chef's-kiss. And to think that pointblanket is doing freestyle violin as well is truly astounding.

And then there's Mega Ran. When Xaleph told me he was going to bring in the legend himself, I was instantly excited. While we had to wait for his availability to write and record his lyrics, the final product was definitely worth it. I am exceptionally grateful for him putting time aside in his busy schedule of dodging-ducking-dipping-diving-and-dodging-again to write and perform his rap. His masterful lyrics and flow ride on top of Xaleph's deep, dark ocean like a sleek superyacht, steady in the waves as it takes us out to sea and sets the tone, as we begin the journey through the TimeShift.

02 Stupid Thorns!
Arranged by:
JSABlixer
Game:
Donkey Kong Country 2
Source Track:
Stickerbush Symphony
Composer:
David Wise

Artist's Note

Perhaps it's ironic that this is the first of my remixes to be featured, because it's the last one I claimed. This is the last song I did for TimeShift, and it's the only one made just for one Game Boy. I had already made the bulk of my other two mixes and there was talk of getting more younglings to cover more classics, so I decided to look through the most remixed list on OCR to see if anything there spoke to me, and "Stickerbush Symphony" did. What a beautiful source. I tried to capture the awe provided by the visuals but also the goofiness of flying through barrels surrounded by thorny vines. I took a lot of inspiration from "Rhapsody" by Danimal Cannon, even lifting one of the wave instruments directly from it. I also thought it could be cool to have a remix which stayed within Game Boy hardware limitations. So, uh, yeah. I don't have much else to say about it, enjoy.

Director's Note

And thus we arrive at our first port of call and the true start of Orange. For those who don't know what TimeShift is about, here's your answer found in JSABlixer's wizardry: taking material that we did not grow up with and making something amazing and nostalgic with it. "Stupid Thorns!" makes the statement loud and proud, taking that old David Wise 16-bit classic and turning it into a frantic, supercharged barrel blast through spiky square waves with pixel-perfect timing. We navigate the brambly maze with the classic tune as our map and that five-note-long treble ostinato as the north on our compass.

This is TimeShift. Welcome.

03 Shafts of Sunlight
Arranged by:
Mel Decision feat. Treyt
Game:
Horizon Zero Dawn
Source Track:
City on the Mesa
Composer:
Joris de Man

Artist's Note

I absolutely love the Horizon series, so when I had a chance to write an arrangement of game released after 1999 for TimeShift, I knew I wanted to tackle something from either Horizon Zero Dawn or Forbidden West. 'City on the Mesa' is one of my favorite songs from the Zero Dawn soundtrack. The theme plays when you're in Meridian, the first great city our protagonist encounters. It evokes a sense of home, and I could listen to it on repeat for forever.

For this mix, I wanted to try something new. "Shafts of Sunlight" is my first dive into creating my own synthwave track. I like listening to the genre, but I'd never tried my hand at doing my own synthwave mix. I'd chatted in the past about doing a collaboration with Treyt, and his expertise with the genre helped me get the mix off its feet.

In addition to his mentorship, Treyt helped me shape the bass sound, showing me how he put together a bass preset in Serum to achieve more movement. He wrote so much great ear candy for the piece: chippy countermelodies, chugging electric guitar, lush background sweeps, and many more elements to give the mix life.

To create a sense of story, I also grabbed some dialogue from the game: some chatter from NPCs around Meridian, but also Talanah's prayer to the fallen of the Hunters Lodge, which sets the tone of the piece. In addition to in-game dialogue, I grabbed machine noises to use as textural elements thanks to a suggestion from Dyluck. I think they really added to the sci-fi future elements that make a good synthwave track.

Thanks to all the other TimeShift remixers who gave me such great feedback on this piece and helped me shape it into something I'm really proud of.

Director's Note

Let's ease it back slightly. Mel's arrangement of "City on the Mesa" was the first track to show up as a work-in-progress, and, once I heard what she had done on top of Treyt's basslines, I realized that the album was going to work. Picking as strong a source tune as this one was always going to produce something amazing, and Mel and Treyt deliver. It was a great thrill to watch this track evolve and grow over the course of the album's creation. We are treated to a modern classic video game as if it were an 80s sci-fi movie, and the expansive synthwave soundscape is embellished by in-game quotes, reminiscent of those old ReMixes I love. From the Requiem of the Sun setting the tone to the cries of the world's synthetic wildlife, this juxtapositional ReMix is a fitting tribute to the distant post-apocalyptic universe of the Horizon series, still lit by the unfaltering, timeless sun.

04 Faster Than Light (But Not Fast Enough)
Arranged by:
Moebius
Performed by:
Azmodea
Game:
Stellaris
Source Track:
Faster Than Light
Composer:
Andreas Waldetoft

Artist's Note

For me, Stellaris's "Faster Than Light" encapsulates the essence of what makes the game so compelling. As a fledgling spacefaring empire, you're ready to ignite your first-ever faster-than-light drive and embark on a journey to explore and colonize the stars. This piece is filled with hope and optimism, and Mia Steagmar's vocal performance in the original is nothing short of angelic.

My arrangement of this piece stemmed from a challenge on the 8-Bit Music Theory server in mid-2021: to transform a track into an apocalyptic version of itself. The concept behind "Faster Than Light (But Not Fast Enough)" envisions a failed empire that encountered an insurmountable enemy or obstacle and is now on the brink of destruction. The once hopeful and celebratory theme is transformed into a mournful lament, with my wife, Azmodea, delivering a heartbreaking rendition of the first two verses. In the second verse, she is joined by Solaria and Mia (both from Synthesizer V), whose harmonization amplifies the dramatic impact. The piece, which begins with tremolo double basses beneath a solo violin, concludes with the quiet, solemn notes of a harp -- an echo of a fallen empire.

I want to extend my gratitude to Emunator for helping refine this track, teaching me how to transform my initially stiff VST strings into something far more organic, providing a heart-wrenching VST flute, and offering numerous pointers on the mix -- especially on taming the timpani to prevent it from muddying the low end. Special thanks also to timelovesahero for inspiring the harmonization of the lyrics in the second verse.

Director's Note

From one apocalypse to another. I cannot say how many times I have been on the receiving end, or the maker, of Moebius's scenario that he describes while playing what has become the definitive space grand strategy game. Stellaris playthroughs are the story of spacefaring civilizations swinging blindly from one decision to another, and the resultant agony that comes after the ecstasy of breaking through the confines of one's solar system and having one's efforts be in vain hits hard. The glorious main theme of Stellaris becomes a threnody to what-could-have-been in Moebius's hands, and the otherworldly use of Azmodea's voice with Solaria and Mia gives it a truly alien feel; the last gasp of a fallen empire as the lights go out and the stars watch in mournful silence.

05 Known Unknowns
Arranged by:
Ridley Snipes
Game:
Outer Wilds
Source Track:
Outer Wilds
Composer:
Andrew Prahlow

Artist's Note

Howdy, this is a remix of the titular Outer Wilds theme. Outer Wilds is one of those games that offers a truly precious and unique experience going in completely blind. In the interest of not spoiling the game, I won't talk about the theme itself at all. If you know, you know; if you don't, go play Outer Wilds. To that end, I won't say anything else about it other than that it was one of the most memorable gaming experiences I've had in the last several years. ;)

I can't really say much and still keep it spoiler-free, other than wanting to make an uplifting and (somewhat) thoughtful dance track. A celebration of sorts, with pseudo tropical elements inspired by outfits like Bag Raiders and Cut Copy.

Director's Note

After the sadness of the previous track, it's time for something upbeat (but still in space). Ridley Snipes gives us a wistful treatment of the main melody that everyone who plays the game becomes familiar with, giving it a burgeoning, buoyant hope for our four-eyed spacefaring friends. When I first heard Ridley's sketches of this theme, I immediately went and played the game: that's how captivating the melody is, and I hope you get caught by it too. The whistling of the tune in the middle of the arrangement sends chills down my spine each time, especially having experienced it within the context of the game. Outer Wilds should be considered literature: if you haven't already done so, be like me and play the game after listening to the track. And then listen again to this banger. You'll rediscover its depths and be reminded of the poetic beauty of this game.

06 All for One and One for All
Arranged by:
Sbeast
Performed by:
Sbeast
Game:
Castle Crashers
Source Track:
Four Brave Champions
Composer:
David Orr

Artist's Note

I always liked the main menu theme from Castle Crashers due to its epicness and memorable melody. For what is really a fun and silly game, it opens with this dramatic and powerful song that lets you know you are in for an adventure.

The original song is purely orchestral, but my arrangement goes for a more symphonic metal sound which I think works pretty well for this song. Aside from guitars, bass, and drums, I also included some harpsichord and piano parts, as well as a synth keyboard to add some interest to the arrangement.

Similar to many of my arrangements, I generally stick quite close to the original structure and harmony, but with some changes and variations here and there. The more obvious changes would be the extended intro, guitar solo section, and countermelody during the "main theme". I also didn't include the middle section from the original starting around 1:47.

Overall, I had a lot of fun arranging and recording this track, and couldn't resist chucking in a guitar solo to finish it off. :)

Director's Note

Another modern classic, for me the first breakthrough of the folks at Newgrounds, is a game that was made through collaboration, about collaboration. Much like OverClocked ReMix, actually. I am a sucker for the marriage of orchestra and rock, and Sbeast scratches that itch. Those machine gun-like drums. That overdriven guitar paired with a harpsichord. The soaring electric melody. The shred in the reprise. It's almost as if this tune was originally made for this ReMix. A real tour de force!

07 Beat of the Heart
Arranged by:
prophetik music
Game:
Slay the Spire
Source Track:
The Heart
Composer:
Clark Aboud

Artist's Note

slay the spire is easily one of my most played games over the last several years. i've found the nuance of each run to be compelling, and it's one of the only games i've ever gone for 100% completion on the achievements. as a result, i've been wanting to do a remix of a theme from the game for some time, but had trouble finding a good feel for any of the tracks given how meandering some of them can be. after several missteps, i eventually settled on "The Heart", as it's a dynamic and melodic track with recognizable elements that offers a lot of flexibility for interesting arrangement ideas. i chose not to use any of those interesting ideas and instead focused on a boring 4x4 base. =)

i started by shifting the track to be in 4/4, and then adapted the orchestral stabs into a bosh beat concept that starts in the synths and bass and moves later into the drums. this is kind of the foundation for my arrangement, and the rest fell in around it pretty quickly. i rarely do tracks this fast, so it was really fun to work in such a high bpm with such a cluttered soundscape.

i used omnisphere and elastik for this, in fl studio.

Director's Note

If you've never listened to prophetik music's extensive body of work before, don't let his use of lowercase think that he is being demure. If the last track was about collaboration, this one is about conflagration. With one of the last tracks to join the album, the classic of many a Twitch streamer is given a near-maniacal symphotronic treatment. From the first millisecond, you know you're in for a wild ride. The cards are not in your favor. Chat is against you purely for the lulz. It's a gritty, frantic race to try and beat this iteration of the game before it all comes crashing down around you. Orange is brought to a close with a bang. "Oh ho!"

I N D I G O

08 A Dance for Bygone Days
Arranged by:
JSABlixer
Games:
Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light / Fire Emblem Gaiden / Fire Emblem: Thracia 776 / Crypt of the NecroDancer / Undertale
Source Tracks:
Story 4: Victory on Every Map, Story 2: Beginning of Every Map / Overall Map: Chapter 4 (The Land of Sorrow) / Leif's Army, Seeking Victory Leif / Dance of the Decorous (3-2 Cold), March of the Profane (3-2 Hot) / MEGALOVANIA
Composers:
Yuka Tsukiyojo / Danny Baranowsky / Toby Fox

Artist's Note

Honestly, I don't have a lot to say about this one. I got the idea to make a victory (feat. multiple other sources, 'cause victory is so short, LMAO) remix based off of "Dance of the Decorous" and that's what happened, haha.

Director's Note

Night has fallen, and the strange things are coming out to play. Indigo begins with a wizard-like jaunty dance of the oldest games to appear on the album, like skeletons coming out of the closet and having a party in your bedroom. JSABlixer pays homage to OCR legend Danny Baranowsky by taking his rhythms and bops from Crypt of the NecroDancer and deftly applying Fire Emblem to them in unholy matrimony. Something old, something new, something borrowed, but definitely not blue. All of that percussion is done with Game Boys: truly black magic! Oh, those skeletons are now bouncing on your bed, by the way.

09 Providence
Arranged by:
aluminum
Game:
The Binding of Isaac
Source Track:
Thine Wrath...
Composer:
Danny Baranowsky

Artist's Note

I've been a fan of the Binding of Isaac OST since it first came out; it featured heavily in the rotation of music I would listen to at work at the time. It's also been on my list of soundtrack sources I've wanted to remix for just as long, and the TimeShift album project provided a perfect opportunity to do so. The song I'm covering here, "Thine Wrath...", is definitely one of my favorites from the soundtrack. Not only is it a fun and intense composition that works very effectively for a boss battle, but I always found the emergence of the beautiful string and choir sounds here engaging, because they don't really appear much elsewhere in the OST as I recall, and they create an interesting contrast with the charmingly grotesque imagery of the game itself. For my arrangement, I just wanted to create something that would hit hard and make good use of the symphonic elements, and bringing in some heavy rock and grunge components seemed like a natural fit.

Director's Note

One of the darkest game premises to exist and another tribute to Danny Baranowsky. It would be remiss not to have his work on the album, and aluminum (another name of yore!) takes the orchestral original into the cellar and raises an axe ready... ready to shred, that is! It's symphony, it's metal, it's glorious, and, yes, I know I'm a sucker for it. Don't let that piano solo fool you into a false sense of security, because aluminum is driving us in a chariot deeper and deeper into the dark depths. Providence: it's written on the tin.

10 A Fugue for a Hunter / A Reverie for a Beast
Arranged by:
The Vodoú Queen feat. gravitygauntlet, Mel Decision, JSABlixer
Games:
Bloodborne / Dark Souls III
Source Tracks:
Ludwig, the Holy Blade, Ludwig, the Accursed / The Hunter, Cleric Beast / Vordt of the Boreal Valley
Composers:
Nobuyoshi Suzuki, Ryan Amon, Tsukasa Saitoh / Motoi Sakuraba

Artist's Note

...Bloodborne Kart, anyone? :D

Taking "ol' skool" VGM leitmotif into the modern age, this remix of Bloodborne and Dark Souls 3 sources is the love-child of my immense passion and intrigue for the SoulsBorne series of games created by FromSoft, fused with the games of my generation that SoulsBorne may take influence from (i.e. Castlevania). I felt it appropriate for the TimeShift album to give these sources a sort of... "vintage coat of paint", with the delicately selected soundscape and design, to make it feel as if "this is Souls-like, but--" Game Boy Advance or Nintendo 64; and it has felt like such a wonderful way to showcase and marry the concept of time (by honoring both a NEW and an OLD game franchise), and how both have, and still do, shape my being, my pursuits and my life. At 36 years of age (at the time of writing this), I've lived long enough to see the span of video games grow and flourish across so many different genres, eras and consoles, and still witness and enjoy them to this day. This goes for OverClocked ReMix as well, as both a site and a purveyor of the finest quality VGM remixes -- having had built a library of them and skulked around the site for decades at this point. (Practically since its inception, back when I was in late-junior high/early-high school!) Being able to meld my adoration for the old and the new within this has been a blessing, an honor, and a joy, and I hope others will cast aside their weak flesh and join us Beasts of the Old Blood for the danse macabre of merriment on this dark-lit moon night. <3

This song is not only in dedication to OC ReMix's 25th anniversary celebration, but to... someone special and personal, who is extremely and very dear to me... He got me into the SoulsBorne series years ago, we've shared lots of fun times in general together since meeting on Final Fantasy XIV and sharing in our mutual love of both franchises, and hopefully many more to come. Ten plus years knowing him, and so many more of me knowing about OC ReMix. I am so thankful to have become a part of this community and the VGM-sphere as a whole. This is my gift to everyone in it, however --

-- Kaz, this one's for you, with my deepest, heartfelt love and respect.

Cheers, everybody, enjoy, and a big thank you to all who listen to this song now and forevermore.

Big hugs and shout-out to EVERYONE as well who were involved in the TimeShift project Discord, collaborated with me on this, or just lent ears for feedback and helped out. Y'all are the true all-stars and champions here. Thank you so much, from the bottom of my heart.

A hauntingly "jovial" church ceremony and dance -- this remix has seemingly turned from an overtly horror-trope-y, slow death requiem march/choral mass to a more German classical opera/French baroque, stately Castlevania 64-style arrangement, by changing it from the Dm -> Bm of the original main source (Ludwig's boss themes) into F#m. My hope is the wonderful mixture of realistic, cinematic instrumentation and percussion as the bedrock/foundation, with the very modern hip-hop/R&B spin and structure on a chiptune platter of cherries on top are both saucy and unique for the sources used.

One other note: besides SFX and atmospheres used, and the VO, everything presented here in the remix arrangement was handwritten by me via MIDI piano roll. Not a SINGLE line of drums or beat or instrumentation is a loop of some kind unless I made it from scratch. :) This is also my first mix in actually writing CCs on MIDI lines for orchestral dynamics and expression. :D So, indeed, onwards and upwards. <3 A big thank you to those in the Discord chat who helped me to learn how to do it.

Instrumentals were layered with gravity's own VSTi renders, playing similar MIDI content; Mel Decision assisted with adding ghostly, haunting winds and howls, as well as key transposition duties; you can hear JSA's contributions towards the end of the remix, where underneath Ludwig's dialogue are Game Boy noise/static sweeps and crunch paired with the scary, rising strings and other accompaniment as part of the transition to a faster BPM.

Technical Notes

Director's Note

When VQ said she was going to tackle FromSoft, and then throw Black Violin in the mix, I immediately jumped on board. I mean, Dark Souls and hip-hop: what an amazing combination, like salt and caramel. Watching this mix grow and change over the course of a few months has been amazing, and her leadership of her vision has been inspiring to me. What we have is a radio play tribute and love letter (not just metaphorically) to one of the defining game series of the past 25 years: there are very few games out there that lend their name alone to define an entire genre, and I felt that the album should tip its hat to it given the opportunity VQ presented. The mix takes Ludwig's leitmotif through a journey of very many twists and turns, returning to itself but always amped up to the next level. Our destination is on the other side of a dark ascent through the throes of carnality and insanity, and when that beat finally drops, it's so satisfying. VQ was going to call this a symphony, and I think it is an apt description: a true symphony of the night complete with a 64-bit Castlevania wrapper in its timbre. The red moon rises high, and fallen beasts stalk the streets thirsty for blood in this danse macabre...

11 Prog Wrong/Enmity
Arranged by:
adrian gravitygauntlet
Game:
ValiDate: Struggling Singles in Your Area
Source Tracks:
The Wrong Turn, Enmity to Go
Composers:
Kevin Killjoy, Adrian Wahrer

Artist's Note

ValiDate is a self-published indie visual novel featuring a dev team and in-game cast composed almost entirely of LGBT people of color. Its development was possible due to a successful Kickstarter, and the game's first volume released on PC, Xbox, and the Switch in 2022. Gameplay involves getting every good/bad ending per "route" (date or hang-out).

I was a major contributor to the game's UX/UI, graphics, and sound; for anyone interested in the visuals, I have some design docs in my portfolio. I wrote music for the beta (2021) and demo (2022) builds of the game, which were arranged by Kevin for retail/final, and now I'm re-arranging his.

As a result, "Prog Wrong/Enmity" is essentially one big game of telephone.

I wrote a hook -- a slow arpeggio -- which shows up in every ending card theme. It was based on the ubiquity of similar hooks in sources like Celeste, Tangerine Dream, and others. The demos first used it in my bad ending arrangement, "Enmity to Go", and then Kevin's "Wrong Turn" in the final is his arrangement of "Enmity".

This sub bridges the two; "Enmity" is in D, and "Wrong Turn" is in C, so "Prog" does the "Enmity" part in C and the "Wrong Turn" part in D. As a gag for TimeShift, the first half has a BPM of 77 and the second half is in 122; 77 + 122 = 199(9), for OCR's start date. A metric modulation is used to help ease the transition.

The first half uses contemporary ambient/synth production, and the second half is based on prog rock such as Alan Parsons Project and Deep Purple, meaning it jumps from 2024 to 1974 - a 50-year gap with 1999 as the midpoint. It also takes some inspirations from power ballads like "Waiting for a Girl Like You" (ambient synths) and "Total Eclipse of the Heart's" call-and-response duets, but with guitars.

I was able to spend a lot of time refining the guitar writing thanks to Office Hours, esp. pixelseph and paradiddlesjosh's experiences with guitars. One of the guitars is based on the production in "Zelda's Graceful Nightmare", another OCR album remix. I'm rambling - ValiDate was a turning point for me and it was nice be able to put it on TimeShift. Thank you!

Director's Note

OCR has always been a crossroads between the professional and the bedroom enthusiast, between the industry and its fans, and here is Adrian's tribute to that fact. A twisting of songs, a blending of tempos, a use of post- and pre-release tunes, bringing things together and reworking them while coming around full circle, for a game that is the complete opposite of Dark Souls in terms of notoriety and genre but still so deserving of recognition... there is a poetry to this mix that lies beneath its tricks and tributes that takes the concept of the album to a new level beyond what my fingers can type.

Positioned here with its foreboding introduction following VQ's take on Bloodborne, those last few notes serve us to get ready for Indigo's climax...

12 THE ALL-INCLUSIVE EXCLUSIVE-CLUB FOR HAIRY FISH-MEN WHO SHOOT FOREVER-TURBO ALARM-CLOCKS
Arranged by:
100%ROEMER
Game:
Lisa: The Painful
Source Tracks:
Forever Turbo Heat Dance, Pebble Man, Men's Hair Club
Composer:
Austin Jorgensen

Artist's Note

The goal of this track was to achieve the same sort of "vibe" that the original LISA soundtrack had: low production quality, abrasive sounds, dissonant composition, and extensive use of default FL Studio samples and presets. I wanted to reimagine the "pain" of LISA: The Painful by creating a fictional aural narrative of a fishman who finally snaps after once again waking up to their "turbo" alarm clock and decides to exact their revenge on Sisyphean Mondays by pulling out a gun and shooting it dead. Sounds rapidly pan from L to R throughout the track to give the sense of disorientation that comes from post-firearm discharge deafness. Unfortunately, the initial shots miss entirely, so the remainder of the track includes the alarm clock forever taunting them with its turbo mode engaged until the main character finally slays it with their final bullet.

Fun fact: growing up, I had a small digital alarm clock with a "turbo" mode that "clocked in" at nearly 100 dB when enabled. Absolutely deafening.

Fun fact #2: My favorite character in LISA: The Painful is Harvey Alibastor, the bipedal machine-gun-toting fish-man lawyer in a top hat who confuses his opponents with excessive amounts of harassing legal paperwork, pumps them full of lead until they're dead, and then concludes the conflict by calmly stating, "Legally, we are not okay".

Besides using Famisynth for the alarm clock and NANI?!? for the 808 sample, the sound design primarily consists of default FL Studio synths, samples, and presets. Enjoy!

Director's Note

Be afraid...

When 100%ROEMER first approached me and showed me this, I was taken aback. And then I realized that I would rather live in a world with "The Firebird" and "The Rites of Spring" in it than a world without them. In the spirit of boundary-pushing that OCR had of old, I felt that this mix had a rightful place here on the album. "TURBO ALARM-CLOCKS" is not my typical cup of tea. This is a very smoky Assam with bitter herbs and gunpowder compared to the Darjeeling I prefer –- this is not your usual ReMix. But then again, LISA: The Painful does not have your usual game soundtrack. It's a very ugly game, and Jorgensen's music for it has a very EarthBound-inspired feel with discordant notes and off-putting rhythms, but like it took a lens to it and focused on the shadows. What the fish has concocted is a skillful blend of three tracks from the game that turns its phantasmagoria up to 11. If you're like me, you will come away from it with it invading your thoughts as you try to sleep and then again when you wake up, and you will think, "Damn, this is amazing!"

100%ROEMER is a 2020's equivalent of Mazedude, like Wario to Mario, and I am sure we will see more crazy, off-the-wall piscine-oriented ReMixes in the future with lots of capital letters.

13 A Long Night, 'Til Morning Comes
Arranged by:
mo.oorgan
Game:
Animal Crossing: Wild World
Source Tracks:
01am, Café (The Roost), Attic
Composers:
Kazumi Totaka, Asuka Hayazaki

Artist's Note

Being a listener of OC ReMix from the sidelines since ~2007, I have always wanted to submit something, even moreso with an older brother (Emunator) who has been highly active in the community for a long time now. As time went by, I imagined that to be less of a possibility, but on a complete whim, I found myself finally joining, and when I saw there was a project to celebrate 25 years of OCR (with some encouragement and light coercion from other members), I felt strongly that this would be a great way to contribute my own appreciation for the great works and years of inspiration from so many different artists.

I found it difficult to choose a track at first, trying to balance the premise of the album with something close to my nostalgic heart, but also not excessively complex. There was a moment where the stars aligned, and I had realized there was no Animal Crossing representation on the album, which is one of the most nostalgic times of gaming in my life, and it felt like an absolute no-brainer.

Animal Crossing: Wild World's soundtrack is a sort of poster-child for "minimalism" in video game music, so when it came to deciding how to remix the track, it felt like an absolute blank canvas to just spew what musical inspiration had been gestating in my gut. Over the last 2-3 years, the UK garage artist Fred again.. has become one of the most important musical discoveries for me, especially in finding complexity through "organic"-sounding music. But when things became more difficult, I rediscovered the depth and comfort in the broken beats and dark space that Burial's discography had to offer. While I didn't set out with an explicit goal to use elements of either of these two, when reflecting on WIPs through the process, it became clear to me that shreds of their musical DNA found its way into this track.

As a pre-teen, when few things made much "sense" to me, Animal Crossing: Wild World and the Nintendo DS did. Where I was bullied relentlessly in real life, the solace of online community brought me sanity and a form of stability I was desperately lacking in. Where the brutal summer sun brought an atypical version of seasonal depression, the freedom to wake up late and stay up overnight was reprieve from such. Between these factors, I knew that I wanted to choose a song that was representative of those memories of relief. The "1am" hourly tune spoke to a specific time of night where most people were asleep, but was prime "awake hours" for my brother and I, who were likely plotting our RuneScape account goals, raising our Chao, or browsing YTMND sites and early YouTube videos, and so forth.

The track itself includes a few foley samples from that time period, such as a bird call native to the area where I grew up, the sound of a stylus tapping on a DS touch screen, and various "record scratching" sound effects that caught my attention growing up. Further in line with the idea of "shifting time" as a concept, I used a reversed guitar to navigate away from dry-sounding MIDI, and heavy elements of panning to contribute to an over all "swirling" sensation through the song. The element of this track that posed the biggest issue was a last-minute addition of a cello, which was ultimately saved by Wes's ability to guide the stem to a better place, through better tools and dynamic execution.

The track aims to capture the feeling of waking up on a night owl's summer evening, with minimal responsibilities, and how that sentiment shifts as we go through life. It begins in a major key with a straightforward progression, representing the simplicity and freedom of youth. As the track progresses, it transitions into a minor key and becomes more complex in structure, reflecting the experience of growing up and developing an unexpected fondness for moments we didn't fully appreciate while living them. This shift mirrors both the end of the night and the looming sense of "running out of time" that comes with age. As the song closes, the final notes symbolize dawn breaking over the horizon, leaving the listener hanging -- much like the incomplete feeling of nostalgia. It's a bittersweet reminder that while responsibilities increase, those cherished moments remain, encouraging the importance of those moments to be carried into day-to-day life and for their essence to be shared.

Director's Note

After the nightmares of Indigo, mo's encapsulation of peaceful late-night gaming is a panacea to the wounds. The night is passing, and all is good again. Using a track from the game when it expects its players to actually be asleep unless they're night owls, mo has really caught the nostalgia of one's youth and brought it to the fore. All the elements together just work so beautifully and meaningfully -– I mean, the tapping of a DS stylus is just genius. Listening to this never fails to bring tears to my eyes, born from the longing of simpler days when one could just stay up all night playing video games and exploring the nascent internet (and downloading new, now classic ReMixes on a 56k modem). Indeed, if one of the goals of TimeShift is new nostalgia, here it is all tied up with a beautiful ribbon.

S I L V E R

14 Corridors of TimeShift
Arranged by:
JSABlixer
Game:
Chrono Trigger
Source Track:
Corridors of Time
Composer:
Yasunori Mitsuda

Artist's Note

This was the first mix I started for TimeShift, and it's far and away the most fitting for the album. I took direct inspiration from the name of the album, particularly with treatment of the source's main arpeggio. There's multiple portions devoted to layers and layers of the arpeggio offset from each other, as if they're each shifting through time. Initially, there were sections of complete silence, but after getting some feedback, I decided to add some effects there and boost my nostalgia points. :3 Shoutouts to gravitygauntlet for mixing this track, he really brought the track to the next level. Enjoy!

Director's Note

Good morning. Please be up standing for the national anthem-source of OverClocked ReMix.

If Orange is the day and Indigo is the night, then Silver is the fog surrounding the lamppost at the End of Time... and what better place to begin than with Blixer's encapsulation of the entire project with a multi-layered chiptune rendition of the most iconic tune from the most iconic time-travel game: "Zeal Kingdom". What might seem sedate at first is interrupted by... no, that would spoil the fun. ;) Prepare to have your mind blown. For someone who didn't grow up when Chrono Trigger was new and who hasn't lived through the soundtrack's well-worn trail through the OCR community, I feel like Blixer understands the nostalgia and impact of its soundtrack better than maybe any of us do. They take the absolute peak-OCR stereotype source and reimagine it, making it brand new again with no mea culpa needed. If anyone doubts their genius, doubt no longer.

15 Jacaranda Dreams
Arranged by:
Dyluck
Performed by:
Dyluck
Game:
SimCity 4
Source Tracks:
Terrain, By The Bay
Composers:
The Humble Brothers (Ken Marshall, Traz Damji), Jerry Martin

Artist's Note

I was inspired by the OCR albums of yore where the director also made a contribution to the tracklist, so it seemed appropriate that I, too, do a "captain's knock". I thought through what VGM of the last 25 years has influenced me, and it quickly became apparent that I should do the game that's ingrained in my soul. SimCity 4 has to be the sole game that I've played and metagamed the most out of any.

"Terrain" is, undoubtedly, my favorite source from the soundtrack. The Humble Brothers created a progressive symphotronica that builds through the Locrian and Lydian modes, really pushing the modes' inherent tension, before releasing it all with a beautiful, lilting Ionian major melody played on a fiddle, and then returning from whence it came. Its percussion lines are incredibly detailed and layered. This was my natural choice; but how could I work out such a daunting source? I spent ages trying to figure out its melodic and rhythmic structure, bashing notes out on my piano until I located them. The harmony was trickier to work out, but once I discovered I could make stems in FL Studio, the way was clear: I had solved a 20-year-old puzzle I'd had (I may have even cried a little). Given "Terrain's" sheer majesty, there was simply no way that I could "elevate" the source, so I figured the best I could do was to pay tribute to it with my own symphotronica: take its structural elements and rework them, make references to its many highlight moments of its percussion line, and give it all a theme to work around.

"Jacaranda Dreams" is so-called because the main city of the main region I have played in the game is called Jacaranda. Moreover, the name is an entendre: SimCity is about town planning, it led me to pursue studies of it at a university level, and the university I attended is well known for its jacaranda trees. Sadly, for various reasons, my university studies were not to bear fruit. It is from this chapter of my life that I drew the piece's theme: hope, hope lost, and new hope. I applied these three moods to "Terrain", and changed its ABCBA structure to BAC -- my TimeShift, if you will.

The first part of the ReMix takes the suspended chords of "Terrain's" Lydian sections and makes them its running motif. To add variation to this section, and as a further nod to the game, I took one of the ostinatos from Jerry Martin's "By the Bay", also from SimCity 4. I also took its choice of reeds to be my lead instrument: oboe. After a selection of original oboe melodies (like various attempts at getting my studies to work), the ReMix moves to the dark Locrian section. The original has a call-and-response between an electric guitar sample and a female voice, so I swapped the two and exchanged the guitar for the oboe. The lyrics are in Latin, partly as a nod to Simlish, but also, thanks to my upbringing in a church choir, it felt like a natural choice for the limited notes available. I panned my voice through the opening, painting with the phrase "Ubi est spes?" ("Where is hope?") like searching for it. I also emulated that grating guitar sample with my vowel and lo-fi EQ changes. With the realisation, "Abeam" ("I should leave"), with the lo-fi getting dropped, the ReMix then finally reaches that beautiful Ionian melody (after a delayed build-up: I expect fans of the original will be waiting to hear that line, too). I celebrate that melody with the addition of some countermelodies, percussion references, and giving the melody to a bass clarinet at the climax for the oboe to then counter. This last section draws some inspiration (but no material) from Jerry Martin's "Magic City" from SimCity 3000.

There's another layer to the tribute here, that to OverClocked ReMix. The kick drum that forms the booming bass fundamental is none other than zircon's from ISW's Groove Bias. And melodically... if you know, you know. ;3

90% of the samples are from Spitfire Labs, either directly or through its BBC Symphony Orchestra selection, with the bass clarinet coming from the Alpine Project. The only things I had to pay for were FL Studio 21 and Kontakt 7; the samples themselves were free. It was put together with a pencil and eraser on score to identify the original's ideas before being expanded in FL Studio.

Thanks must go to my fellow artists on the project for giving me feedback all the way from the first eight-bar sketch of the string ensemble to the final version, and especially to those who've heard it in the various Office Hours sessions, particularly Seph, Josh, Hemo, Emunator, prophetik, VQ, and Adrian for their ideas and criticism. This is my first time arranging with a full-blown proper DAW with samples rather than digital music paper and manually typing in MIDI values, and their guidance has been priceless. Since the very years this ReMix talks about, I wanted to contribute something musically to OCR, and now I have been given the chance. I hope you enjoy.

Director's Note

Oops, that's me.

16 Day Market
Arranged by:
Moebius
Performed by:
Luisa Böhmer, Lucas Guimares
Game:
Stardew Valley
Source Track:
Night Market
Composer:
Eric Barone

Artist's Note

"Night Market" from Stardew Valley holds a special place in the hearts of my wife and me. We both immersed ourselves in the game -- both solo and in co-op -- and fell in love with its enchanting soundtrack. Among all the tracks, "Night Market" stood out as a serene and beautiful piece, so much so that we chose it for our wedding waltz.

The first version of this arrangement was born from a challenge on the 8-Bit Music Theory server at the beginning of 2022. The task was to create a day version of a night track, or vice versa. From the start, I envisioned a jazzy, saxophone-heavy interpretation of "Night Market", with the A section set in 4/4 time. Initially, I struggled to adapt the B section to 4/4 as well. In hindsight, this was a blessing in disguise, as it inspired me to retain the original 6/8 time signature for the B section and introduce metric modulation -- a choice that added depth and character to the arrangement.

I want to give a big shoutout to Lucas Guimaraes for his invaluable help in adapting the saxophone parts for alto and tenor, and for his beautiful rendition of them. I'm also grateful to Hemophiliac for providing crucial early feedback on the song when I started to adapt my initial version for OCR. Special thanks to my close friend, Luisa Böhmer, for her wonderful work on the clarinet.

Director's Note

Not really having played Stardew Valley myself, but understanding its appeal and wanting to represent its genre, I was excited to include Moebius's inverted tribute to the serene "Night Market". The mix gives me the feeling of the sun bright and baking the town square in the late spring, with bustling of people to and fro beneath it. Lucas's saxophone and Luisa's clarinet together make a bouquet of blossoms all over the marketplace. I reckon you could even replace Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" at the beginning of Manhattan with this, jungle cat and all.

17 Queen of the Groove
Arranged by:
Jorito
Performed by:
Sirenstar, pixelseph (of Pixels & Paradiddles), prophetik music
Game:
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
Source Track:
Queen's Blood
Composers:
Mitsuto Suzuki, Junnosuke Usui

Artist's Note

Just after it was released, I ended up playing Final Fantasy VII Rebirth quite a bit. Normally, I'm not big into card games, but FF7R kinda made it fun and it was helped a lot by the music during the Queen's Blood card game. That short intro loop will probably be forever stuck in my brain...

I already knew I wanted to do a track for the TimeShift album. After all, what better way to celebrate my almost 10 years at OC ReMix? Since I'm an older remixer, I needed to pick a newer game, and FF7R just happened to be the newest game I played. Combined with that catchy intro loop from Queen's Blood, I couldn't help but wonder what it'd sound like as a disco track with vocals. And that's what happened.

From the get-go, I already had the instrumentation quite firmly in mind. I already knew I'd want to make it a vocal track, I just needed to find the time to get it done. Turned out to be quite a bit harder than expected. The source track didn't lend itself too well to the typical verse-chorus structure initially, so I had to get creative. Fortunately, the source has tons of melodic material, and many parts of it are sprinkled throughout the track; mostly in the strings, but there are also some sneaky references in the horns and the sax.

Lyric-wise, I was a bit lost for inspiration, so I did the irresponsible thing: I asked ChatGPT to write me lyrics for a disco track. While only some snippets of the original ChatGPT lyrics survive, it did provide me with the direction of a dancing queen that steals everyone's hearts on the disco floor. Something that fit the genre perfectly, and this was exactly the kind of silly but fun track that didn't need to be very serious anyway.

For the vocals, I again reached out to Natalie (Sirenstar), one of my frequent collaborators, and she did an awesome job, as always. On saxophone, we have Brad (prophetik music) play a sensual solo during the break and he closes off the track with his tasty outro. Guitars are courtesy of pixelseph, a new collaborator for me, and he did a great track with adding quite a few guitar layers that nailed the style and lifted the track up a notch. Thanks for joining, guys, the track wouldn't have been as good without your help!

After finishing the track, some people that heard it pointed out it sounded very Persona 5. Not something I consciously did, but, with the instrumentation and the style, it did make a lot of sense. So, maybe it's not quite disco, but I hope you find it enjoyable nonetheless. Now go dance with the queen of the groove, she's beckoning you!

Director's Note

Speaking of saxophones... a remake that has brand new material counted for the album, and I'm so glad that Jorito was able to bring this gem. A minigame gets a makeover with floor lights and smoke machines. I get Olivia Newton-John vibes from Sirenstar's vocal gymnastics through the tune. Additionally, prophetik music started off being known for his saxophone playing back in days of yore, so it is so good to see him perform with it on this anniversary album. Jorito has crafted a masterwork here that schools the rest of us in applying genre minus the embarrassing fashion styles. Get lost in that disco daze, folks, and let the music carry you away...

18 Through a Mirror Darkly
Arranged by:
Cosmoptera
Game:
Kirby & The Amazing Mirror
Source Track:
Last Boss / 2nd Form
Composers:
Hironobu Inagaki, Atsuyoshi Isemura

Artist's Note

It's pretty cool to have an opportunity to submit a track for OCR! I was invited to participate by fellow composer gravitygauntlet, thinking that I'd be young enough to remix a pre-1999 track. Turns out I'm juuuuust barely too old - so, I compromised and decided to find a track from a game that released pretty soon after OC ReMix was founded. It took an unreasonably long time to figure out which game to pull from, though...

I have very fond memories of exploring the world of Amazing Mirror on my Gameboy Advance SP as a kid. As far as I can tell, it's one of the first games I ever played, and once I realized the opportunity there, it seemed obvious that I should remix one of the coolest tracks from the game. I hope my old memories of how exciting this fight was comes through in this arrangement!

Also, shoutouts to Musescore user AnonymousRandomPerson, whose transcription of the original track was invaluable for figuring out some of the trickier harmonies. You're a real one.

Director's Note

Cosmoptera's treatment of this tune gives me such classic OCR vibes, back when we used to call this style of mix "techno" (albeit an incorrect term these days). This mix is very much a reflection of where OCR has been, but new again. I can easily see myself driving along the highway to this in my first beat-up hand-me-down car, a 1985 Ford Telstar where I had to use an FM transmitter attached to my iPod to listen to OCR, circa 2007. Chiptunes and the swell of more modern synths atop a classic drum beat that fades in and fades out is a heaven-sent match, and I can feel Cosmoptera's enthusiasm through the music and the reflection of nostalgia for the time when the game came out.

19 Children of Light
Arranged by:
Pixels & Paradiddles
Performed by:
Pixels & Paradiddles, The Vodoú Queen, Moebius, gravitygauntlet, Mel Decision, Dyluck, Nicole Chang
Game:
Final Fantasy XIV
Source Tracks:
More Than Truth, Who Brings Shadow, Four-fold Knowing, Answers
Composers:
Masayoshi Soken, Yukiko Takada, Nobuo Uematsu

Artists' Note (pixelseph)

Sometimes, you start writing a track without knowing what it's going to look like at the end.

Sometimes, that track takes 6 years to make.

Look, I didn't mean to compose a 10-minute album closer! This song was never meant to have lyrics or vocals on it. It started as just a proggy, froggy kind of thing... and then I played Final Fantasy XIV enough to complete Shadowbringers. I bawled my eyes out about the main story quest, and I just knew I'd make a remix for it one day. I didn't know it would be this one, or for the OCR25 album, or that I'd have to face my fear of recording my singing voice to do it.

And if I have to cry? And face my fears? And remember? Then so do ALL of you!

The intro gives us the B section from "More Than Truth" with some reharmonization on the chords. Josh created some lovely swells using Spitfire BBCSO cellos and harmonic feedback using the Originals Media Toolkit's acoustic guitar hairpins for the hazy, sunlight-breaking-through-the-leaves vibe.

The entire piece originated with the nylon string guitar arpeggio during the A section, and every section's guitar is evolved from that A section arpeggio in some way. The vocals use the "More Than Truth" oboe melody, which to those who haven't played much of FFXIV (and perhaps some of you who have don't know this either!) is the Warrior of Light motif. Once the lyrics transition to "Warrior of Light" for the back half, we're using the melodic motif from "Four-fold Knowing". Get ready to hear that 3-note phrase several times, because even just THREE NOTES can be as powerful as an entire chord progression.

The B section flips the Cmin pattern into an EbMaj9 pattern underneath the vocal melody of "Who Brings Shadow's" reprise of the Shadowbringers motif, using 98% of the same lyrics from "Who Brings Shadow". I approached this section with the band Sleep Token in mind, having the whispered responses erupt into a big harmony on the phrase tails. Pixels and VQ have been holding down the vocals so far!

The C section moves from 12/8 to 6/8, continuing the EbMaj phrasing but adds in a Phrygian element by moving I-iii-I-iii underneath the "Prelude" motif. The progression moves into a C Locrian/Bb minor territory. We introduce the "Four-fold Knowing" lyrics here so that we can call back to them in the outro.

The D section is a crowning achievement for me personally. We're maintaining the C Locrian feel here, even including switching guitar tunings to do it! The riff channels Mastodon's bluegrassy metal underneath a 2017-era Opeth-style choral ensemble vocal. "Answers" alone could have been its own remix (and maybe one day will be!), as I invited as many current FFXIV players/musicians ("Warriors of Light") along who felt comfortable lending their voices to this track. The vast majority of the contributors are in this bridge section as vocals.

We reprise the C, intro, and A section here also modulated down a whole step into Db Major. The shift in tone is meant to signal a perspective change - the opening half is from the perspective of the Warrior of Light, the bridge is from Hydaelyn's perspective, and the back half is from the WoL's friends, compatriots, and all those affected by their actions.

And, finally, the outro. If you are a Karnivool fan, you've heard the big choral vocal exit coming a mile away. We return to a true 12/8 here with some looser swing, holding that last note as long as we can.

Special Thanks to:
Emunator - for giving this an ear even when you were swamped with paid work
prophetik music - for critiquing my vocal work without making me want to never try again
Xaleph - for advice on pitch-adjusting vocal tracks

Technical Notes

Director's Note

And so, we end where we began with another epic. Our sages bookend this album, and Nobuo Uematsu's Final Fantasy "Prelude" also does the same, reformed into another source. This track is very much in the vein of Final Fantasy IV: Echoes of Betrayal, Light of Redemption's grand ending in "Genesis of Destruction", and the Fabul Men's Choir in its "Fighting for Tomorrow", where contributors to the album came together to lend their voice.

Once the first few pieces of this arrangement were shown to me, I realized that we had something very, very special on our hands. I knew that this track had to end the album and I made it known that this would be the closer. This helped make Seph and Josh push this to the next level: they knew that any FF14 player worth their salt would feel so much emotion in this piece, and I knew that their concept was in very safe hands as it grew not like a weed, but like a sequoia, both in terms of its length and in terms of its height, becoming a landmark.

And then the call went out for voices for the choir. What an honor it has been to take part in this progressive rock anthem, and I thank Seph and Josh immensely for the opportunity. It's a strange feeling to be a choral voice when the rest of the choir is neither with you in time or space, indeed, but it was so worth it if this amazing work is its outcome. Confession time: I'm not an FF14 player, but this makes me say "not one yet" for sure.

OverClocked ReMix began with a "Legacy", and I can see "Children of Light" being part of this album's legacy far into the future. Listen to it already. And listen to it again, and again into the future...

...And remember us. We were here.
Remember that We — Once — Lived!

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Artists' Note (pixelseph)

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