Dragon Warrior IV "Twisted Systerz" 3:09

Y'all ever heard the notion that "no" is just a prelude to "yes"? Well, failure's just a few steps removed from success, because we've got a record-breaking ReMix for you, the epitome of persevereance. After 10 total submissions and resubmissions of the same concept starting in 2012, newcomer Audiomancer boldly steps across the finish line with an electronic take on Mara & Nara's (a.k.a. Maya & Meena's) overworld theme from Dragon Warrior IV! There was lots of artist commentary I could have pulled from (all in the MP3's comments tag), but we'll set the scene with Audiomancer's comments made at the time of his second attempt in 2021, which kicked off his dedicated efforts:

"This is a remix of Mara and Nara's theme from the fourth chapter of Dragon Warrior 4. I originally made this on my phone using Caustic 3 and Caustic Mastering. I've been working a lot of overtime, so breaks at work are when I have time for anything like this. :) I think I have gotten a better grasp of making music fooling around with the app.

I actually really like the old school stuff on the site, and I really want to get one accepted that sounds old school, with more modern production values. So far, I have realized that learning a new musical instrument is easier (for me at least ;) ) than production. I think I arrange OK... I find it harder to do than original material though. Thanks ahead of time for your consideration!"

What happened since then? Becoming a parent, a shift from deprecated phone app Caustic to a full-fledged DAW in FL Studio, loads of feedback from our community and staffers, loads of gradual, trial-and-error improvements with arranging, sound design & production across three years, and -- seemingly -- no ability to be deterred. We don't aim to make the perfect the enemy of the good, so while there could always be further adjustments, the overall presentation's a solid Sugiyama music tribute. The lead at :17 has good depth, and the dropoff at :33 provided nice contrast, where the texture became clear and Audiomancer also threw in some accenting SFX (and a nice transition sound at :57 as well). After loads of experimentation and feedback, the dynamics and sound design are fairly cohesive, for example, the swanky call-and-response-style lead trading (and then layering) from 1:12-1:22 as well as the pulsating/warbling sounds at 1:22 that were changing volume and moving around the stereo field to flavor the break section until 2:01. The lead at 2:35 had some modulation on it to spice it up, and the final section had effective subtractiveness to the instrumentation for the finish.

Another musician who's come a long way since this piece started, judge Hemophiliac had his own level-up going on as Audiomancer's track progressed, returning to OCR after a long hiatus, getting invited on staff as a Workshop moderator, and graduating to Judge, so he readily acknowledged Audiomancer's artistic growth:

"I remember this one from way back in the Workshop before I was a judge. It's incredible to hear how far this has come, you've really crafted this into something very nice. It's a testament to your persistence and not giving up. [...]

Clearly I can see that you've learned a lot from this and have improved greatly in the journey.

The percussion and bass sit together very nicely and don't step on each others toes. I love how much personalization this has and how it's still the original but with so much embellishment and new character."

Fellow judge Gario also had to tip his cap to Audiomancer's creativity (let alone his observable dedication):

"Well, this one's definitely done a circuit around here. It's one I usually catch on its way out and it gets its last vote before I can get my thoughts out. No more - time to give my two cents.

The arrangement has an interesting vibe going for it - heavily electronic, yet leans into a more Middle Eastern vibe. It's short and sweet so it doesn't outlast the audience's interest, and has plenty of variety in its textures to keep the listener from experiencing too much fatigue. The production values are plenty good enough for OCR, as well, though that's to be expected with how much refinement this one's experienced. [...]

Yeah, can't say the persistence didn't pay off, because this is one polished little arrangement you got here. I like it, and I hope others will too when it's on the front page."

Wannabe OC ReMixers take note: a thick skin, sticktuitiveness, and learning by failing are key ingredients to making it through the process and raising yourself over the bar. :-) I'd wanted to check this out in case I was going to dispute it, as I hadn't been a YES yet throughout all these revisions, but here we are. I've heard plenty of apparent no-hopers in my 20+ years here, aspiring artists with frequent rejections who seemingly had no chance of ever getting past OCR's bar, and seemingly didn't have the aptitude & improvement to rise up. Yet several of those same "no-hopers" eventually became OCR's own judges, so you never want to discourage these creators. Audiomancer, you should be proud of the progress you've made, and it shows that pushing through and learning by doing has brought you farther faster than overanalyzing things and being caught in analysis paralysis. You've also made OC ReMix history; no one's EVER had this many resubmissions of a track to finally make it through, yet the proof's in the pudding of your persistence paying dividends, and we're all proud to welcome YOU to the front page!