• Touhou 6 New Classic Score Attack Ongoing!

    Read the submission rules, prizes and everything inbetween here:

    Good luck!

    Also check out the community art event here! Everyone is welcome!

RT8: [NOT] the Last Remix Tournament

My turn

Water Color Melody. - M.E.P.H.I.S.T.O.

Wait, this song has the same vocalist as Cinnamon Cinnamon? I really loved that song, yet did not notice the resemblance until you guys mentioned it. Edit: now that I am listening to it again, I can see what you mean. As I like rock songs, this one was just another fine addition to what I want to listen more. 

I liked this quite a bit, so I will give it an 8.5-9/10

Komeiji Records - Elegant Ice Maiden

Rather an unpleasant surprise to see that my final pick for the tournament has not been so well received. But I can see what you mean about it. I am not sure what else could I add about it besides the fact I tend to associate the song with WalfasStationWagon and their Very Walfas Christmas videos, from where I found it. I guess that overall I should bring some better songs to the table next time.

No rating this time.

Demetori - Higan Retour ~ View of The River Styx

I was wondering if this tournament will get any song from Demetori. I am not very familiar with the band, but I have heard they are quite a big name to heavy metal, yet somehow barely stumbled upon them for almost two years. But from what I have listened, they actually sound quite good, not gonna lie. For some reason, I thought they are a music circle from outside Japan, but after a quick check on the wiki it seems like they are Japanese (at least the names of the members are). Anyway. Higan Retour is one of my favorite songs from PoFV, and this arrangement is also a very good one. I do not know how to explain it when it comes to music itself, but it just activate something in my bran that makes me say "hey, this sounds good, I like it". 

Another good pick in this tournament, so I will give it an 8.5/10

 
Ah, looks like Gou is going to be last this time around, but anyway:-

19) I wasn't so sure about this one to begin with because, as you all know by now, I'm not a huge fan of vocals. Still, it's nice enough, plus it does put a voice to Renko finally for me (entirely different from what I imagined, naturally). Definitely need to check out 'Cinnamon, Cinnamon!!' again, to reaffirm the talents of the female singer some of you touch on here. (^_^)

(Heh, interesting that Tenkko mentioned "rolling Rs" as well since the Japanese language technically doesn't have that sound, at least not in the way we think of the letter R.)

7/10

20) Well, I liked it, CVN, for much the same reason as you (Walfas for the win, eh!), so I wouldn't feel bad about it. Granted it's not as good as the chip tune used in Gensokyo no Nazo, but I'm not going to downvote it for that reason, and certainly not with such a cute thumbnail. The only criticism I can level really is that it did seem to end abruptly, which caught me totally off guard. (^_^;)

7/10

21) I imagine I am going to be the outlier here as, unlike my mate Chris, I don't appreciate heavy metal at all. Hmm, I don't think it helps that the original is my 3rd favourite Touhou track overall either, and is mostly a classical piece; a style of music I do happen to like a lot. Oh, I'm not saying it's a bad track, just that this one fails to make me even think of the PoFV tune and how I felt when I was getting contantly run down by that annoying boat move of Komachi's in Wandering Souls if I'm honest. With that in mind, I'm afraid I'm going to have to rate it pretty poorly. All the same, that's very nice image there. (=^_^=)

5/10

 
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19: Water Color Melody. - M.E.P.H.I.S.T.O. 

Oh, I thought the start was going pretty rock. Well, turns out, I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. Truly, the vocalist captured every bits of the section. Amazing vocals that I give: 

8/10

20: Komeiji Records - Elegant Ice Maiden:

I don't know, maybe I've heard of this somewhere? Indeed, it has quite a lot of genres in here; aside for the initial hype and my unbiased opinion of this particular theme, this sounds confusing to me and it's one of the rare moments that I can't tell what a song is trying to give. (Maybe a Christmas rave battle on thanksgiving- that doesn't make sense at all) What a peculiar remix. Cheers, I somewhat like it but I feel like the end was quite off. 

6.8/10

Also, don't worry Numenor, your pick is better than what I originally meant to pick: A short mashup that doesn't make sense combined with sakuya theme and Majima one? I have no idea since most of time it's so loud I can't hear anything rather than percussions that doesn't fit. 
21: Demetori - Higan Retour ~ View of The River Styx:

I didn't expect Demetori to be showup in here. Sometimes, I actually do wake up with good arrangements after a long day of studying. Plus, Higan retour happens to be one of my beloved themes.

On to the dish itself, the guitar is ghostly good reminds me of my good old home. As if I close my eyes, I can picture myself to be in her boat touring across the river. The image here also helps a lot in painting a scenery for one's mind to explore. The heavy part really loosen my burden with studying which the two pauses really dawns on my curious mind. You know what, I'm going to follow my heart in rating this song.

It really speaks to me...

9/10

 
We now enter the final round, and the farthest a tournament has ever reached.

ROUND 8:

22: Nami Haven - Rough Sea (Blacklolita Remix)
A more melodic side of EDM.


23: Diao ye zong - The beautiful world
A famous circle in all its glory.


24: Mōse - U.N. Owen was Her?
A respectfully reflective closing.
 
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/22: Nami Haven - Rough Sea (Blacklolita Remix):

I have a hunch that Ken added extra spice in the final round. Right, Round 8!

The song maintain the hype and I can hear the "Beep" at the start (I'm not so sure about how it sounded) to deliver a compelling feeling, also the pause near the end of the sound gives you a break; it starts of with a bang and end with satisfaction. I need to get my boogie glasses! Quite Melodic indeed. Another good entry and a splendid order done Ken. 

8/10

(Also this shall be an ever lasting memory, Theme of Eastern Story in the final round the longest remix tournament ever; I now only realized this and my scoring preference sky rocketed. This kind of setting can only be pulled off by the one and only the master of playlist.)

23: Diao ye zong - The beautiful world:

Someone really enjoys bringing the big guns. At the start it sounds really similar to "Watery Grave" From PvZ especially since they're both at the start. Nostalgia is strong in this one. Very somber tune, and it really does move into a good transition not too long in which it blew my mind. I've got to double check on how smooth the transition is. The guitar solo really brings out the flavor. And the last section to feel the credits. 

8.5/10 (For reminding about Watery Grave)

(I wonder how DrunkenFlower reacts to this one) 

24: Meng Shi - U.N. Owen was Her?:

Bias overload!!! 

This right here is my dream theme, the one and only song maybe even the first one to speak to me in a spiritual level, I know I have said this a lot since the tournament started. But I'm real taken by this arrangement; it's one of the first arranges I've found ever since I joined this community. I would've missed it it by a long shot If I didn't wondered in the vast majority of arranges but I'm glad I did since I've got it all saved up in my drives well, moments before getting hit by a strike and vanishing to the depths of unknown but it seems like it's resurfacing yet again. I've got to say this one theme accompany my journey for years, even at the start of the Pandemic, exams and it even help me made some friends and eventually my brother to be in Touhou. So, this arrangement holds a lot to me. Sort of like a older sister. It also helps that Touhou 6 is also one of my first games along with 4. I mean I've heard of many remixes of this but this one truly makes it Justice. The Brilliant sting instruments creating a medieval like classic formula creating a dreamy atmosphere just like the Pc-98 era Touhou games. And for the finish I can't stress enough how good the bells are! Even at the end they hold so much weigh! And just the damm instrument choice here, I can't comprehend how great this whole arrangement is.

And for matching all of my preferences, I bestow thee upon the mightiest honor: 

10/10

And with that the tournament is over and Ken I didn't expect you to put 4 remixes here. Frankly, I fell quite honored. Well, now it sure is a finish, a good finish. Perhaps, being the first one to review why your selection is the final song to tie things up really is quite a feeling to have. Nonetheless, happy ones. Ah, this has got to be one of the most memorable days in this forum. With Newer members participating in here, I'm sure the old crew is really happy to have us too. Now, I shall wait for others review patiently.

 
Gou the frog said:
I wonder how DrunkenFlower reacts to this one
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when i see this round tracklist
760057251271802920.webp


22: Nami Haven - Rough Sea (Blacklolita Remix)
Tenyu? Tenyuhuang? been a while since i heard that name, although this is a remix by other person.
how do i start this
ngl but this feel repetitive for me, the slow part feels really slow relative to the real time.
the middle upbeat part is kinda nice though, im not liking the quick pause thing though.
and then at the very end, the climax, it feels too crowded

eh aint that bad, the infamous me and EDM relationship
6.5/10

23: Diao ye zong - The beautiful world
Diao ye zong suffers the same condition as Demetori for me (but slightly worse).
although this mostly applies only for instrumentals and merami vocal.
if it's nayuta or kushi, i still like them.

Diao ye zong mainly focused on the storytelling, some of the lyric might feel a bit forced into the music.
while quite a lot of people like the storytelling, i personally prefer stories to be told vague or even purely by instrumental and mood, it leaves the audience to fill in the gap with their own imagination.

my favorite part is at the 6:00
7/10

24: Meng Shi - U.N. Owen was Her?
a track from 2005!? rare stuff!!
who the heck is Meng Shi, "孟世" is read Mōse

the string was quite loud in my first listen but then it got better in later replaying, idk what happened.
after a lot of listening, i cant find any holes
other than my grudges to U.N Owen it's perfect

8.5/10
...rare? it's still available in bandcamp
yes still rare, quite incredible a doujin track from that age to hold that long.

hmm sus hat
View attachment 2760

and even peppy liked it holyshit

 
1. This one's really good tech piece Illusionary Joururi is also very good and based theme imo overall song is amazing but i especially like buildup at 3:05 going into most intense part of the song which at the same time is the best part for me

9/10

2. Oh dyz they're cool but as DrunkenFlower said before they like lot of other rd-sounds tracks tend to tell a whole story through the song and that's how i usually treat these not everyone likes it, but i do especially if track is not too calm and also they often are sung by nayuta or merami which are top tier vocalists i also love the guitar solo part starting at 4:55

8/10

3. o, this is oldie although i've never been a huge fan of unplugged stuff since they tend to be not my style (with some exceptions of course) it's okayish but i'm not too fond of u.n owen as well so it kinda adds up

6/10

 
Feels like it was just yesterday that it began

22: Nami Haven - Rough Sea (Blacklolita Remix)

Inchresting... illusionary joururi isn't a song I go back to very often, it's a bit of a weird one. And so is this but, it takes the parts I like about the original and emphasizes them. It is a bit repetitive sure but, at the same time it doesn't linger in one place I think. I... didn't like the last buildup itself, mainly the synth, but everything after that is real good.

8/10

23: Diao ye zong - The beautiful world

This was like, first thing I did was check if this was in the vault and surprisingly I couldn't find it there so I had to remedy that. Has been one of my favorites since, a very long time ago. The intensity of it all, the way the necrofantasia melody just drops like a ton of bricks at the intro, lyrics, theme, love all of it.

?️/10

24: Mōse - U.N. Owen was Her?

Ohhh, I like this. Neat take on u.n owen being that it usually gets more energetic arrangements. I gotta be a bit in the mood for unplugged/folk-ish stuff but when it's good it's good. There's some cool stuff somewhere in the middle too.

7/10

 
So... I really need to answer this round. Where do I even start from...

Nami Haven - Rough Sea (Blacklolita Remix)

It took me quite a bit to realize what this song wanted to be an arrangement of. At the middle point, I thought it was over given how the tone was going. Only then I realized there is a whole second half to go through. In this second half, it finally started making sense, as it was finally starting to sound like something I could recognize - that one music theme associated with the Tsukumo sisters. But yes, the fina part filled a bit too crowded in sounds, but at least the final was a bit more smooth. 

Overall, I guess this will be a 6.5/10

Diao ye zong - The beautiful world

I am not familiar with this music group, but there is one thing I noticed. I really like the first one and a half minutes as it goes through a slow piano + vocals combo I enjoy Afterwards, it feels as if it turned into a different song. Did we just switch from a piano version of Merry the Magician to rock Necrofantasia (at least sounded like that at parts)? Anyway, i really like it. I like rock, so this is something I tend to enjoy. The vocals are very good all through, so I have nothing bad to say about that. I might just have a soft spot for anything related to Maribel and Renko, but this was quite good nonetheless. 

I would like to give it an 8-8.5/10 I would definitely listen to it again

Mōse - U.N. Owen was Her?

I guess this will be the final song? If so, let's see what we got here. My first experience with Touhou's OST was through UN Owen, and now it seems like this experience is gonna end with the dame song. Quite a lovely arrangement, and I love the chill vibe given by that guitar. This song is so good for an ending, it fits the idea to a tee. 

I will give this a 9.5/10 simply thanks to the atmosphere it creates. 

 
Now that we are about to end, my final thoughts. It will be short, as all I want to say is the following: I absolutely loved Cinnamon Cinnamon and Yomotsu-Shikome. I might say they are some of my favorite arrangements I have listened to in quite a while. Both of them have things I love them for. The former got me with the vocals - I was not expecting to find too soon another vocalist I could I say I like a lot besides Stack. But looks like I did. For the latter, I absolutely loved the melancholic tone given by the violin and piano. It has a special feeling, one that I cannot really describe in words. It felt a bit...otherworldly if I could say so. Both songs have been charming in their own way. 

 
Final round for me as well then:-

22) Hey, my brother & I used to wind up with sound like this back when our computers/consoles/arcade PCBs weren't working properly, yet now it's a genre of music apparently. Seriously though, parts of it are nice, but it's way too harsh on my poor old ears overall, and I come from the days of the C64 and tunes like W.A.R. by Rob Hubbard. (*_*)

6/10

23) This one is certainly emotionally uplifting, isn't it, even to one such as me, who isn't much of a Yukari fan at all. Pity my spoken Japanese still isn't at a good enough level to follow the words of the song in real time. Little more I can say about it here, other than it definitely being another track to watch out for on the Ghostly Field Club CD I have on the way. (#^_^#)

7.5/10

24) Hmm, a Flandre ballad, eh? Not big on the guitar as you all know, but I actually like this one. It's far less abrasive than the original, which wasn't actually the very first Touhou tune I ever heard, believe it or not. Nah, that would be "Eiyashou ~ Eastern Night", down to the fact it also happened to be the title music for Wandering Souls. (^_~)

9/10

 
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I've had an eventful week, which may have included me getting rushed to hospital. Good thing I'm still alive to finish this. Better stop postponing just in case I die again.

Rough Sea

I often find it hard to find things to say about EDM, I feel there isn't much to comment on. I had to go and listen to the original again to be able to fully appreciate it, but I liked the opening of this song, and I appreciated the Theme of Eastern Story being weaved into there. The climax was alright but maybe it got a bit much right at the peak. I don't know what much more I can say other than you don't often get remixes of Illusionary Joururi. 5/10? I didn't feel there was anything particularly special to take away from this one.

The beautiful world

I really liked the mellowness of the opening, the piano reminded me a bit of the soundtrack from Breath of the Wild. It created this atmosphere that brought out the mysteriousness of Merry the Magician. I was expecting it to continue like that, but nope suddenly rock lol. It would appear this song is about Yukaribel. It still commits to being atmospheric, it's just a different kind of atmosphere now. I can really feel there's a journey being expressed through this music. I like how you can tell the music is based on Necrofantasia without it really being shoved up front. Although I think I would honestly have preferred if the whole thing was a continuation of the opening, it's a very cool song that uses the themes in it excellently. 9/10.

U.N. Owen was Her?

Atmospheric, I love the secluded village vibes given off by the instrumentation. There's also this kind of bubbly percussive noise used starting at 1.33, not the first time I've heard it but I don't know what the instrument that makes it is called, is anyone able to tell me? Because I'd really like to know, it's a sound I quite like. Anyway, this mixed around UN Owen in a lot of creative ways which I really liked. We've all listened U.N. Owen Was Her to death so naturally, it takes something for a remix of it to leave an impression on me, but this might be my new favourite rendition of it. Listening to this transported me into a dreamy, rural location - well, of the mind at least. 10/10.

 
damn this sure took a while, huh? considering that we started at 30th May and finished almost 2 months later, been a lot of fun tho and felt actually quite nice to have more members this time

 
Shionne Imeris said:
damn this sure took a while, huh? considering that we started at 30th May and finished almost 2 months later, been a lot of fun tho and felt actually quite nice to have more members this time
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Compare to the past tournaments, this sure is an up. Eight participants sure takes up those two months ay? 

 
Shionne Imeris said:
edit: what? why did my post sent twice, once with quote and once without :SekiThink:
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It happened rarely at least in my case, in the chat I sent two massages there might be because of my internet connection and the same with SasaMisa status update. So, the possible problem might be because of either the connection or the forum acting up. 

 
Finally, the results!

Normally only the single highest rated submission is announced, but with the quantity of entries I decided to include the next two spots as well. Assume all ratings to be n/10.

Highest Rated Submissions:
First place was Touhou Gengaku Kyo's Demoness of the Underworld, with a rating average of 8.7
Second place was Automata Girl's Cinnamon, Cinnamon!! at an average of 8.4
Third place was Mose's U.N. Owen was Her? at an average of 8.3

Highest Rated Participant:
@Tenkko with an average submission rating of 8.2

Tournament Rating:
Average of all submissions is 7.2

Perfect Scores:
There were three 10's this tournament, being to Touhou Gengaku Kyo's Demoness of the Underworld, S.S.H. & Aether's Shanghai Scarlet Teahouse, and Mose's U.N. Owen was Her?
 
Thank you everyone for participating! I will be back later for post-tournament comments and discussion.

 
Traditionally, this is the time for final statements, commentary, and questions. A lot has been discussed in previous tournaments, and I will avoid retreading old ground without instigation, but since we had so many new participants this round, it will sometimes be advisable to make reference to them.

Firstly, I've made a habit of listing the three most personally memorable features at the end, as these are often distinct from what I may have rated highly (especially concerning arrangements I'm previously familiar with).

Unlucky Morpheus - Feast the Night Away
It's a pity I can't find a higher quality recording (either on or off of Youtube), but I'd nonetheless consider this my favorite submission this tournament.

Mose - U.N. Owen was Her?
A very close second, this was the settled closer from the moment I heard it.

Yukari - Palace of the Earth Spirits
This one still surprises me, it's not the kind of piece that usually sticks in my mind, yet I really appreciate this.
Looking back over everything reminds me how much I wanted to review some of these pieces; I really hope we're all still around for a next tournament.

What I will review are my own submissions:

#1: ssbbmaster - Where is that Bustling Marketplace ~ Immemorial Marketeers
The most epic of orchestra!

Over time, ssbbmaster has become one of my favorite orchestral arrangers in the fandom, and I've posted about his work in Musical Discoveries more than a few times. I wanted to get a piece from him into a tournament, and settled on this one as thus far my favorite. A lot of his arrangements, especially of late, are more symphonic metal than orchestral; these are just as good as his straight orchestrals, but I personally prefer the sound of orchestra, and often struggle to find arrangements that satisfy my expectations.

This piece in particular carries its progression through a series of movements characterized by the contrast between its melody and accompaniment. Early in the piece, there is an intentional discordance instilling a sense of conflict, heightened by imbalance in the instrumentation. This builds until the percussion solo, which give way to an interlude lacking the earlier discordance, rebuilding into a new presentation of its motifs with a feeling of resolve. This leaves the way clear to the end of the piece, set up with a drop in energy to highlight the final resolution. Even with this double interlude, the intensity is preserved throughout, resulting in a truly exhilarating performance. 9/10

#2: Kommisar - Maple Dream
Extremely active chiptune.

Last time I submitted chiptune, it wasn't met with the most enthusiastic response. When I realized we might have a lot of new ears, I determined to try again, and started looking through my catalogue for something that would contrast my other submission (I specifically wanted a piece from the PC-98 era). As I've mentioned elsewhere, I prefer this more "active" style of chiptune to the retro style, though I have plenty of both in my collection.

Kommisar as an arranger boarders on chaotic sometimes, occasionally utilizing multiple devices to achieve higher quantities of sounds. Nonetheless, he's an undisputed master in his craft, and one of the first modern chiptune artists I came to recognize as an independent artist (by which I mean I didn't find him through a soundtrack). This track is an excellent showcase of what I look for in chiptune; it utilizes a variety of sound modulations (rather than rely heavily on a specific sound), uses distortion as a tool to its advantage, and overall behaves as its own genre of music. There's a fair bit of what I call "improvisation," better stated as motif interludes usually characterized by jazz-style movement, and it contrasts with the source track's motifs wonderfully. 8.2/10

#3: dBu Music - Unhuman Variations
The "borrowed" feature.

I'd intentionally left my third pick open until all the submissions were in, both because I have plenty of pieces saved up and because it helps as part of my role as the host. I should probably clarify that the host's submissions are not considered viable for "winning," and more serve the purpose of buffing out the quantity of features; I see in this an opportunity (though not necessarily a responsibility) for the host to infuse variety into the tournament if desired. Because of the way Gou made his submissions (which I still intend to bring up for discussion), I ended up with an extra piece from him which happened to appeal perfectly to that slot.

Regulars are more familiar with my music tastes, and this piece fits them perfectly. In addition to orchestra and chiptune, I'm a big fan of folk instruments, with a focus on Irish and Oriental styles. I am especially fond of folk rock, where traditional instruments are carried by the contrasting sounds of modern pop instruments. This piece adds to that contrast the additional element of chiptune, and blends them together to highlight their strengths in ways I've not encountered often. Now, it is a tad bit long, which is to say that it's progression isn't consistent with its length, and I believe it was for primarily that reason that I didn't consider it for a tournament submission the first time I heard it. However, once it was presented in the direct context of a tournament, it seemed an ideal choice for the vacancy. 7.8/10
That took awhile; Imma leave it there for now.

 
did it really take two months damn

Well it was fun, was always looking forward to the next round. It's interesting to see different tastes in music and hey I even got to add a few things to my playlist. Which is great because I get really lazy when it comes to digging for more stuff.

Already mentioned mine along the way, just went with some favorites since this was my first time here. Funnily enough I wasn't gonna send in Cinnamon Cinnamon!! at first, only ended up here because I didn't wanna have 2 hifuu songs lol.

 
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