Credits

Many talented artists contributed to Voices of the Lifestream . Below you will find short biographies and links to their homepages and OverClocked ReMixer profiles so you can explore their other works.

zircon

As director of Voices of the Lifestream, Andrew Aversa (a.k.a. zircon) coordinated all the musicians involved, contributed directly to five tracks on the project, and mixed/mastered numerous others. He has been active in the community since 2003, becoming a moderator and member of the judges panel, cohost of the official podcast "VGDJ," and participating in numerous remix projects. A student on full scholarship in the Music Industry program at Philadelphia's Drexel University, Andrew has also been actively writing and producing original material outside of his schoolwork. In 2006, the second of his three original electronic albums, Impulse Prime , took home three honors at the prestigious independent award festival Just Plain Folks - including "Best Techno Album" and "Best Techno Song" of the year. His influences include such remixers as McVaffe, Disco Dan, tefnek, and bLiNd, as well as an assortment of mainstream artists including Danny Elfman, The Crystal Method, BT, and Prodigy.

djpretzel

David W. Lloyd (a.k.a. djpretzel) is a software engineer, musician, producer, and graphic designer residing in the Metro/DC area of the United States. He is the president and founder of OverClocked ReMix, and has popularized unofficial arrangements of video game music by encouraging fans to submit mixes to the website. Mr. Lloyd has composed and produced numerous such arrangements himself, in addition to original compositions available on his personal website. He has appeared alongside industry professionals such as Tommy Tallarico and Jack Wall at game music events, and has been interviewed by Salon, Electronic Gaming Monthly, and others for his work with the site. David also runs an associated record label, OverClocked Records, to help promote the original and arranged music of artists involved in gaming and computer culture.

Another Soundscape

The tall and constantly tired Swede Mattias Häggström Gerdt (a.k.a. Another Soundscape) began fiddling with music at an early age; with parents stationed at the Royal Swedish Opera, it wasn't hard to get in touch with all kinds of instruments. He eventually realized that playing video games was more fun than practicing, however, and it was not until he combined his two passions through video game remixing that he was able to reacquire his former skill. Mattias is now eighteen years old and has been an active member of the OCR community for less than six months. He is also involved in many outside bands and projects in Stockholm, such as the goth group "Zombie Zex" and "Noodles The Band." You will see more of him on OC ReMix in the near future!

Big Giant Circles

Jimmy Hinson (a.k.a. Big Giant Circles) has been playing music since he began piano lessons at the age of five. He officially joined the video game music arranging scene in 2003, and has since been appointed a judge on OC ReMix. His primary music tool is currently FL Studio, version 7. In addition to his skill with the piano, he also plays the acoustic guitar - and though not much of a vocalist (he claims), he does enjoy songwriting and performing from time to time. Jimmy currently resides in Knoxville, Tennessee with his wife, Amanda.

bladiator

Karl Harmdierks (a.k.a., bladiator) has been a pianist since the early 80's when his father sat him down to learn all of the chords and their inversions. Since then, Karl has eventually obtained a bachelor's in music composition and is now working as IT tech support because music couldn't pay his bills. He still enjoys writing VG remixes in his spare time and doesn't want to let down his faithful listeners. He thanks all of the people that he's worked with over the years at OCRemix for the great memories and the drive to improve his own music.

bLiNd

Jordan Aguirre (a.k.a. bLiNd) has been remixing video game music for almost eight years, having submitted his first remix to OCR in 2002. He has five tracks on the "Project Majestic Mix" trance album, as well as many dance remixes within the community. In his eight years of producing in his hometown of Las Vegas, Jordan has developed a unique workflow and studio setup to achieve his sonic sound. After having his music played on XM Satellite Radio and in several clubs in Los Angeles and New York, he has acquired a significant online fanbase. Jordan's friend, Leifo, recently joined him to collaborate on "Vega Projekt," which will hopefully be signed to British trance label Anjunabeats later this year. Keep an eye out!

bustatunez

Wilbert Roget, II (a.k.a. bustatunez) is a long-time lurker and relatively new contributer to the OC ReMix community from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A recent Yale University graduate, he is an award-winning composer for the film and video game industries himself, most recently having scored trailer music for the upcoming Namco RPG Hellgate: London . Though currently trapped in a dark cage scoring his first feature film, Will looks forward to his eventual liberation and continued participation in OCR hijinx.

Daniel Baranowsky

Daniel Baranowsky is a composer from Phoenix, Arizona, and has scored numerous independent films. He was recently awarded with "Best Music in the Screen Wars Challenge" at the 2007 Phoenix Film Festival. Daniel's remix "Invertebrate Retreat" was also tapped by video game composer Tommy Tallarico for inclusion on the Earthworm Jim Anthology album in late 2006. His preferred styles include orchestral, electronic, hip-hop, rock/metal and experimental. Daniel also works with local recording studios as a producer and engineer, and creates original works in a unique blend of the aforementioned genres under the moniker "dB." In his free time, he enjoys jamming at the Keytar, hitting percussive objects, space travel, alchemy, and marmoset wrangling.

Darangen

Michael Boyd (a.k.a. Darangen) has been playing music since the age of nine. Beginning on the piano, he later developed his love for the guitar, with influences including Metallica, Creed, and Dream Theater. Mike entered the remix scene in April of 2004 and has been steadily releasing mixes ever since, totaling in over 30 arrangements to date - seven of which have been featured on OCR. His weapons of choice are SONAR 4, Reason 3, Edirol MIDI controllers, various Ibanez guitars, and a Digitech RP200. Coming out of Spring Hill, Florida, Mike plans to stay in the video game music arranging scene until something strong enough can pull him away, so be on the lookout.

Dhsu

David Hsu (a.k.a. Dhsu) has been playing piano since the age of five, and video games for almost as long. It was therefore natural that the two activities would come together at some point, in the form of arranging video game music. Specializing in solo piano arrangements, David has been an active member of the OverClocked ReMix, VGMix, Anime Remix, and OneUp Studios communities, with multiple arrangements on each site, working out of Overland Park, Kansas. He has also contributed to various other arrangement projects such as Kong in Concert and Bound Together , as well as the upcoming Summoning of Spirits .

FFmusic Dj

Haroon Piracha (a.k.a. FFmusic Dj) is an electronica specialist in trance, dance, happy hardcore, progressive, house, and chillout and recently completed his associate's in Recording Arts from Full Sail Real World Education. Originally from Orlando, Florida, he now works out of North Hollywood, California as a sound designer at High Impact Games. Haroon's musical influences range from DJ Tiësto, Paul Oakenfold, and Daft Punk to Kenichiro Fukui, and, perhaps tellingly, Nobuo Uematsu.

Fishy

Cain McCormack (a.k.a. Fishy) is an eighteen year-old electric guitarist and remixer from Berkhampsted, United Kingdom. Having played his instrument for about five years already, he found OC ReMix in mid-2006 and began seriously approaching music production as a hobby. Although relatively new to the community, Cain has been getting involved with several of OCR's site projects, engaging in many collaborations, and even ended up laying down some guitar for a track on zircon's latest album, Antigravity . His major influences include Dream Theater, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, and Muse. This year, Cain will be going on to Surrey University to pursue a degree in Music and Sound Recording.

Geoffrey Taucer

Jeremy Waters (a.k.a. Geoffrey Taucer) has been an active member of the remixing community since 2004, with an interest in video game music dating back as far as he can remember. His creative arrangements are largely inspired by such artists such as Yasunori Mitsuda, Martin Sexton, and Great Big Sea, each of which he regards very highly. He is also the project's only contributor to have met Nobuo Uematsu in person, having shaken Uematsu's hand at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport through a chance meeting in May 2006. Jeremy is known on OC ReMix for his acoustic guitar and Irish whistle playing talents, formerly fantastically floppy blonde hair, and impressive gymnastic skills. He currently resides in Apex, North Carolina, where he works as a gymnastics coach.

Hemophiliac

Chris Roman (a.k.a. Hemophiliac) of Yorba Linda, California has been writing music since 2003. Rather than listening to popular artists on the radio during his adolescence, he turned towards film scores. He writes in a variety of styles, including but not limited to orchestral, jazz, rock, and electronic genres. Chris is a music major at Fullerton College, and has received a certificate in Recording Studio Production/Electronic Music. He hopes to be able to transfer to California State Long Beach where he plans to major in music composition with a focus in film scoring. Arranging video game music has allowed him to hear the source material as he has always wanted: in nearly live symphonic form!

Hy Bound

Tyler Carson (a.k.a. Hy Bound) is a relative newcomer to the world of electronic music, having only worked with DAWs in the last few years. Heavily influenced by progressive gods such as Hybrid and BT, he has come into his own, mixing massive breaks and hard, growling bass with the beautiful harmonies and melodies of orchestra and other organic sounds. His early years were sadly spent listening to orchestral works and trying to beatbox over them to create what he felt was the best music to ever reach human ears. Plying his craft in Golden, Colorado, Tyler has since begun creating giant, lush soundscapes and subsequently morphing and splicing them to become a minute detail in a breakdown; trying to create the most experimental and individual, yet accessible sounds possible. He has gained most of his recognition through competing in remix competitions for various artists, including SGX.

Jeremy Robson

Jeremy Robson is an award-winning composer of classical and film music, graduating from Queen's University in 2007 with a Bachelor of Music degree. There he studied composition and orchestration with three prominent Canadian composers, and clarinet performance with the principal clarinetist of the Kingston Symphony. Jeremy's compositional output is highly influenced by classical composers of the late-Romantic and early-20th century symphonic styles such as Gustav Mahler, Dmitri Shostakovich, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Sergei Prokofiev, Maurice Ravel, and film score composers such as James Horner, John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, Alan Silvestri, and Basil Poledouris. He likes to spend most of his free time composing, playing the clarinet, and listening to as much music as possible, but has been known to indulge in gaming from time to time.

JigginJonT

Jon Titterington (a.k.a. JigginJonT) started experimenting with video game music in his teenage years, when he used General MIDI to create a particularly awful medley of several Final Fantasy VI themes. He has since found better uses for both his free time and MIDI data in general. Jon first became active in the remixing scene in 2003, and was asked to join the OverClocked ReMix judges panel in 2005. His love of music is reflected in the wide variety of styles his arrangements employ, including jazz, electronica, indie rock, and solo piano.

Jovette Rivera

Jovette Rivera has long had his days dealing in music and the Japanese market. He began composing at age eleven in his hometown of Monterey, California, and found his love for Japanese music soon after. At age seventeen he started developing himself as an artist, both vocally and on stage, and soon after submitted to OC ReMix as "DJ Crono." When Jovette moved to Los Angeles in 2003, he shared living spaces with artists from AVEXTRAX of Japan, and made the connections that would finally take him to his first international performance. He has performed his music in clubs around Tokyo, played live with the roomies of his band, and even attended the A-Nation 2005 concert with J-pop musicians such as Ayumi Hamasaki, Globe, and TRF. Recently, he has earned songwriting credits writing for Japanese artists like Ya Ya Yah and W-INDS, having been pushed by hit songwriter Joey Carbone, who has produced more than one thousand published songs for Japanese artists.

Leifo

Randy Oxley (a.k.a. Leifo) debuted on OverClocked ReMix as a fan of veteran trance musician and fellow remixer bLiNd, creating a tribute mix in his name from the game Mario Paint . After continuing to refine his music, he eventually becoming a personal friend and frequent collaborator with bLiNd. Having since moved to Las Vegas, the two musicians release their collaborations as "Vega Projekt," a club-smashing team who recently had their material spotlighted on world-renowned DJ Ferry Corsten's radio show, "Cortsen's Countdown," heard on both Digitally Imported (di.fm) and XM Satellite Radio.

Liontamer

Larry Oji (a.k.a. Liontamer) has been a judge at OverClocked ReMix since July 2004, having evaluated in excess of 1,500 submissions and taken over as head submissions evaluator in June 2006. He hosted the VG Frequency radio show for four years out of Atlanta's Emory University, focusing on both arranged video game music and original compositions from the VGM fan arrangement community, and continues VGF's efforts as OC ReMix's official blog and podcast. Larry's dream job is to host a nationally syndicated radio program on video game music, which he considers the greatest and broadest genre of music in the world. Among his favorite video game composers include Tim Follin and Yasuhisa "Yack" Watanabe. Larry currently resides in Washington, DC with his partner, Paige.

LuIzA

Luiza S. Carvalho (a.k.a. LuIzA) has been playing guitar and bass for six years, and remixing video game music for four. Though her first song took two years to complete, she has since become an overnight hit in the OC ReMix community after the posting of her Dwelling of Duels first-place entry, "Fire Cross." Luiza's style - which combines rock, metal, punk, and ska - is influenced primarily by The Suicide Machines, along with Span, Joe Satriani, Evergreen Terrace, and the earlier works of Hoobastank.

Mustin

Mustin is the co-founder and owner of OneUp Studios, a website devoted to video game music arrangements. The Fayetteville, Arkansas based producer is also the owner of Mustin Productions, where he produces various acts under his own label. A multi-instrumentalist, his versatility is evident through his musical performances, arrangements, and other compositions, which cover a wide range of work from film and television music to fully produced album releases. His individual video game arrangements eventually led to complete compilations, and the eventual establishment of OneUp Studios. Mustin's work towards the cause of furthering game music awareness continues as he leads the video game cover band "The OneUps," acting as director, manager, and booking agent, the band having recently performed at the 2007 Penny Arcade Expo in Seattle.

norg

George Nowik (a.k.a. norg) was a part of the early days of the North American PC demoscene as a contributor to the Kosmic Free Music Foundation music and demo group. He takes unlawful pleasure in mixing the electronic/synth background of the past with the modern, live instruments of today and making noise that people say sounds borderline pleasant. In his spare time in Bellevue, Washington, he sings in a barbershop quartet, feeds his St. Bernard, and seeks fruitlessly the perfect compression ratio for the acoustic guitar. George is also on the staff of VGMix, and a frequent participant in the monthy Dwelling of Duels remixing competition.

pixietricks

Jillian Goldin (a.k.a. pixietricks)'s musical pursuits began at the ripe age of six when her first track was released: the infamous "Rainforest Song." Recorded in her father's basement studio, the song was mysteriously discovered and selected for the closing credits of an Omni Theater film at Boston's Museum of Science. Twelve years later, she began her undergraduate opera studies at the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore, Maryland. A member of the judges panel on OverClocked ReMix, Jillian joined the remixing scene in 2005, and has since been working on collaborations, original music, and "VGDJ" - OCR's official podcast. Her voice was recently featured on the Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword soundtrack in both ensemble and solo context, and she has been interviewed on such radio shows as Los Angeles' "The Next Level," "Press Start" of San Luis Obispo, and Chicago's "Daytime Debauchery." Jillian will be releasing an original album in spring of 2008!

Pot Hocket

Michael Lee (a.k.a. Pot Hocket) has been an active musician since 2000, when he picked up the viola. After becoming proficient, he has played in several local orchestras and quartets both for charity and for pay. In 2004, he took on classical guitar, with which he eventually submitted his first remix to OC ReMix. Soon afterwards, he became involved in his church's worship team, in which he now plays the bass guitar. He and a close orchestra friend have started taking gigs throughout the California Bay Area, and he is currently waiting in the agonizing college application process while scrounging for money to buy better equipment, along with a better guitar. Michael's music has been influenced by classical sources along with contemporary ones, including Christian, alternative, trance, punk, flamenco, and, of course, video game music.

Red Tailed Fox

Caio Moraes (a.k.a. Red Tailed Fox) is a nineteen year-old amateur arranger currently residing in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He is presently studying History at the university level, and plans to obtain his masters degree in Eighteenth Century Historiography. In his spare time, Caio enjoys reading, playing video games, and arranging game music. His influences range from Tom Jobim to Terry Pratchett, but he is also a profound admirer of the music in the Mystical Ninja / Ganbare Goemon series.

Rellik

In 2002, Adam Lederer (a.k.a. Rellik) began experimenting with computer music for sheer enjoyment, thinking he would make a few generic trance songs, get bored, and then move on. Little did he know that he would soon be sucked into the world of OverClocked ReMix. With the ultimate goal of becoming worthy of the "OC ReMixer" title, he worked for months on end, and with the help of some great, talented comrades and a few generous gurus, he succeeded. By this time, it was clear to him that composing and creating music was one of the most important elements of his life, and he decided to make it his continuing mission to gain skill and create great music. Adam is now an undergraduate student of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, age eighteen, and excited to see what the future may hold for him. Within Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he hones his skills by creating soundtracks for his school's Game Creation Society, and is currently working on his first album.

sephfire

Daniel Floyd (a.k.a. sephfire) began remixing after discovering OverClocked ReMix in 2003. His contributions to the community include numerous remixes, several of which are collaborations with other artists (most recently with his wife as vocalist), and three tracks for the Chrono Symphonic project. Daniel recently graduated from the University of Georgia in Atlanta with a bachelors in Drama focusing in Digital Media, and calls Athens, Georgia home with his wife, Carrie. He is currently preparing for an animation job in the video game industry, but intends to contribute remixes to OCR for years to come. Daniel thanks the community for helping him to develop as a musician.

SGX

Danny Adler (a.k.a. SGX) has been transmitting rhythmic electronic sound compositions into user ear cavities since the great ear candy famine of '01. Melodious orchestrations and atmospherics offset with sweet beats and big bass are his modus operandi. His motile creations will eliminate your need for motor-vehicles, and sometimes even your feet. Hailing from College Park, Maryland, Danny has released five albums to date, two of which feature multiple guest artists remixing his music, and will undoubtedly continue on this path.

Shnabubula

Samuel Ascher-Weiss (a.k.a. Shnabubula) of New York, New York, entered the OC ReMix scene in July of 2004, and immediately caught the attention of the community at large with his highly developed and interpretive arrangements. From a young age, his musical ability developed at an astonishing rate, demonstrated by advanced improvisational piano ability by the age of eleven. Sam's musical style ranges from full-out orchestral, to experimental electronica, jazz, classical string quartet, and everything in between. His arrangements have been recognized by the modern video game composer Jeremy Soule.

Sixto Sounds

Juan P. Medrano (a.k.a. Sixto Sounds) has possessed a love for music since an early age. From playing along to songs on the radio with a toy keyboard he got one Christmas, to taking violin classes in the 2nd grade, to picking up the guitar in middle school, it has always been a part of his life. Juan has recorded guitar for several independently released CDs, radio commercials, and video projects - all while still in high school. Bands have come and gone, but his passion for recording has persevered. Juan invested in a home recording studio in his native Fort Worth, Texas, where he produced an album for a close friend, as well as his band's first release. He joined the remixing scene in late 2005 with his Castlevania remix "Wicked Six," and has since remained involved in the community with his contributions to the Summoning of Spirits and Voices of the Lifestream projects. Juan's primary influences include guitar virtuosos such as Steve Vai, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Eric Johnson, and heavy bands like Dream Theater, Metallica, and Pantera.

SnappleMan

Andreas Kotsamanidis (a.k.a. SnappleMan) is a musician from New York City specializing in a genre of music that he fondly refers to as "Crotch Rock." Aside from struggling to complete everyday tasks such as washing himself, he has contributed to numerous OC ReMixes and two site projects, one of which he co-coordinated: Project Chaos . Andreas's musical style ranges from heavy metal to heavy metal with synthesizers. He has an incurable love of kittens and can be found fondling his beloved cat, Bowman, on an hourly basis.

Star Salzman

Star Salzman has been making music since the summer of 2000, with the primary intent of impressing members of the female gender. After little success on that front, he had a remix posted to OCR, and became mildly successful in impressing video game music nerds. Star currently resides in Austin, Texas with an assortment of electronics, musical instruments, and gigasamples. As of 2007, he is still working on impressing females with varying degrees of success.

Steffan Andrews

Steffan Andrews (formerly known as Spekkosaurus) is a composer and audio engineer residing in Vancouver, British Columbia. His experience spans feature films, television, and video games, including work on large budget projects. Influences include the music of composers Danny Elfman, Hans Zimmer, John Williams, Don Davis, and the scores of many memorable video games. Steffan's musical background is self-taught, stemming from over a decade of classical piano improvisation and a fierce passion for film music. He is currently writing the score for a video game in production by former Electronic Arts developers PowerUp Studios.

Suzumebachi

Ty Guenley (a.k.a. Suzumebachi) is a musician and songwriter hailing from Belen, New Mexico. His technique combines a wide range of musical styles from trance and electronica, to symphonic rock and metal. A multi-instrumentalist, Ty often blends these genres with live instrumentation such as guitars or pianos to create a unique, original sound. He is also the co-founder and webmaster of ReMix:ThaSauce.

tefnek

Jack Kirkpatrick (a.k.a. tefnek) has been creating music since 1999 out of Charlotte, North Carolina. His distinct style includes massive beats accompanied by a mosaic of synthesized sounds. Jack has contributed numerous songs to OC ReMix, and has produced and edited audio for the upcoming game DanceTrax , as well as various other smaller games. He has no formal music training, but has been interested in sound design all his life. From classical, to drum and bass, to epic Scandinavian black metal, countless forms of music have impacted him in his endeavors as an artist.

Tepid

Philip Schwan (a.k.a. Tepid) began playing the guitar in 2003, followed by the commencement of his formal piano lessons the next year. His first OC ReMix to be posted was created in Cakewalk, and since then he has had the pleasure of collaborating with such remixers as Bladiator, pixietricks, The Orichalcon, and AeroZ. Nowadays, when Philip isn't out playing soccer and getting good grades, he creates a strange selection of music and attemps to explore as many styles as possible. Philip now uses Cubase SX 3 and Reason 3, with a handfull of VST's, his trusty guitars, and Clavinova. He has recently moved to the United States for college in Greenville, Illinois!

The Orichalcon

Lee Barber (a.k.a. The Orichalcon) entered the wide world of music in 2003, his final year in high school, when OC ReMix inspired him to create his own video game arrangements. From Perth, West Australia, with a signature dark, atmospheric style, he has over ten remixes to his name, along with numerous original works - including music for games. Lee was drawn to the music of Final Fantasy VII , the first console game he ever played, after watching a friend run around the Wall Market with Cloud disguised as a girl.

Trenthian

John St.John (a.k.a. Trenthian) has been writing music since 1999. His typical influences include Nature and Mass in motion. He has taken up residence in Los Angeles, California, where he amassed a small army in woodwinds, percussion and musical equipment. John conducts "The Royal Orchestra of Trenthia," a volunteer alternative orchestra, which he has been nursing to fruition since 2005. He is currently being scouted by several game development houses and film studios for future soundtrack work, and is writing an album of an undisclosed nature and style. John is the real-life friend of Shael Riley and is presently engaged to the woman of his dreams.

tweek

Brian Arnold (a.k.a. tweek) has been creating electronic music since 2004. After being introduced to Reason software, he fell in love with the composition and arrangement of many different genres of music. He plays numerous instruments in various avenues, and composes original pieces of music and scores for local television shows, independent films, and video games. Brian works as an Assistant Recording Engineer at a local recording studio in Athens, Georgia working along side such artists as R.E.M. He also records and produces many projects out of his home studio. By way of Canberra, Australia, Brian is a fourth year student majoring in Theatre and Film at the University of Georgia, specializing in sound design, production, and engineering. He has worked on numerous musical productions, including Tartuffe , The Man Who Came to Dinner , Trojan Woman , Pippin , and many more.

Vigilante

Jesse Taub (a.k.a. Vigilante) joined the OverClocked ReMix judges panel in 2003, contributing numerous remixes to the site and two of its remix projects before Voices of the Lifestream . He was recognized for his Kong in Concert remix "Beneath the Surface" by classic video game composer David Wise in 2004. He currently studies Music Production & Engineering at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts and works as a martial arts instructor in Asian Free Style Karate.

Xaleph

Matthew Sabol (a.k.a. Xaleph and formerly known as DJ Carbunk1e) first began remixing during his freshman and sophomore years of college, but his musical compositions date back as far as the fourth grade. Having inherited musical blood from his great uncle (who played the saxophone in Duke Ellington's band), Matt has been continually passionate and captivated by the art. Between making killer trance and psytrance tracks, he also manages the website Anime Remix and is currently working on music for an upcoming album. Matt currently resides in Fairfax, Virginia with his wife, Sue.