Hallowed Nights of Impact

OLRmageddon LIII brought upon Halloween festivities with a Castlevania-themed round. Participants were allowed to remix any game in the series, and for bonus points encouraged to integrate elements of Oktoberfest. Brunzolaitis wasted no time for his bonus, right away working in crowd sounds before his polka arrangement bursts in punctuated by clanks, pops and ending with a belch. OneUp similarly went right in with blasts of tuba setting the mood, joined by accordion and rocking drums establishing the 3/4 time signature and then switching to various accented forms of 4/4. dasaten seemingly neglected the oompa-oompa for his remix by beginning using harpsichord and choir; as a lingering note fades, the track turns over to distorted guitar riffing and a clip of Ozzy Osbourne. 

JHCompo on Tuesday continued the end-of-October vibe as I selected “Spooked” as the theme. irrelevnt sent up layered acoustic strumming featuring a fair amount of studio hiss; the track doubled back on itself halfway through and went in reverse. Obtuse resumed his 8-bit kick and made a go at being “SpookyInBbMinor” on a noise channel soundbed. Alestance made use of footsteps and a stock scream sound followed by a session of funky synths guided by drum loops. chunter’s near-silent entry filled the void with crickets, strings and occasional piano chords. ToN seemingly submitted “Spooky Ambience” but instead offered a collage of voices attempting to make scary noises. nysnamovois’s “Spooky Ambience Deux” seemed to make up for the previous effort, but sounds like a series of chipbent toys crossed with a test of the emergency broadcast system. 

JHCompo newcomer cryora went through a “Night of Delerium” of piano and choir topped with bells, particularly of the cow variety. MandraSigma’s record-scratching intro sets the tempo for a light dance tune seemingly clashing with theme of the night, as indicated by his sarcastic description: “ooo. Scary...” Jarski went into “the dark alley” filled with sub-bass and pervasive chiptune dub. liikwiid worked with default FL instruments due to a loss of his sample library, but nevertheless put together a chill piece surrounded by mellow soundscapes. At the end of the listening party mu sent along a quirky composition that would not be out of place in a far-off Banjo-Kazooie game, ending with a brief tongue-razz.

Thursday’s OHC featured a theme with no description, "The Impact" inspired by the compo organizer starla's recently damaged car. With that in mind, I sang an improv into Microsoft Songsmith, which automatically fashioned a backing track. RAMPKORV again worked out a song without being able to listen to it, a piano solo that lasts four minutes and ending with a pounding clang. dusthillguy went through his distinctive set of instrument samples including a guitar twang fade out. Vector's "second composition ever" recalls breakbeat, only with the melodic elements combating rather than playing off the rhythms. Suzumebachi managed a 10-second orchestral entry despite damage to his arm hindering the all-important use of a mouse. HarryNilsson'sGhost reasoned that the drums in his electro piece represent the impact, and these methodically settle the groove with a farty bass ending. Serisium's high pitched lead is supported by almost tribal sounding drum machines and some shredding.  

Obtuse's "Noise Impact" sounds like a modem starting up at first, but eventually goes into a deft dance session. SupaSpeedStrut refused to clean his dirty synths for a session of minimalism described in the listening party as "derka derk donk donk". zorg perhaps proved that "music can explain everything" by way of mellow ambiance with gritty bass lines. CJthemusicdude used bouncy, wah-affected electronics followed by a shuffled beat. Usabell knocked the party of its feet with orchestral segments despite the handicap of being one hour late to a one-hour compo. Forty-Two uploaded yet another uplifting pop tune, aptly delivering "Good News". General Mumble Frankenstein'd his entry through a mixture of methods and somehow kept everything not just coherent, but bangin'. Actual exploding clocks would have been more subtle than sci's track, which dives into frantic elements and tails off with an orchestral hit.

Arcana musically scored a hypothetical situation where the final moments could affect change. Zovi attempted to troll the listeners by composing a quiet segment that leads into ear-blasting noise. munchi brought his kid to the mic to perform an introduction, then chopped the results for some dance music. DDRKirby(ISQ) provided insight into the making of his extensive "Voyage" beginning with subdued soundcapes and finishing off on a lo-bit excursion. biggiantcircles threw his hat into the ring and made music to that effect, rising to the challenge of an adverary with a cinematic sweep. MandraSigma showed off his organ before being raided by a sound clip and a narrow drum riff. Acuity played with an unusual scale, the result being a mildly unsettling vibe. Finally natsukashi experienced "A normal day in space" which spans about a minute in Earth time.