Leaderboard

Entry in. Beautiful source as usual, @Souperion ❤️

We may have to do a Mitsuda remix compo sometime XD

Would always be interesting to have more PC98 representation! Catchy source. I get that you're keeping the vibe, but have you perhaps sped it up a bit? I'd consider dropping 2-3 BPM down, I feel like it's running a bit fast. I've got individual observations & you can pick/choose which if any you agree with Drums end up having almost a hybrid EDM vibe because the dynamics are static across large patterns - I like that there are fills/breaks, I could even stand for some more of them - but I'm talking mainly about the melodic parts where you've got the downbeat going; because they're sampled & not explicitly electronic drums, and because the fills/breaks are more humanized, these stand out due to the velocity of the kick/snare hits being maxed out, basically all the time. I think humanizing these would give a bit more organic vibe & more contrast... either the chorus or the verse could be significantly quieter, for example.... hopefully the drum samples you are working with are multi-sampled and respond differently at lower velocities - if not, I think there are some free options out there that do, but I'd have to check. In short: humanize the drum line a bit to prevent listening fatigue. RE: listening fatigue in general, I think a breakdown might help... something to reduce overall intensity, noticeably. Not that waveform is everything, but right now you can tell just by looking at the Soundcloud visualization that it's basically a non-stop proposition... something to cut that up a bit would help. Drum dropout, then fill to back-in, etc. I like the organ solo, but I do like it better for a dirty B3 than the churchier option employed here... if you can get something with more grit, maybe Leslie... You're asking a lot of the sampled guitar, on lead, and I'm wondering if a straight up synth lead might work better.... perhaps for just one of the variations? Right now it's being a bit overused, as a lead, with nothing sonically to distinguish it from section to section. One way of addressing this would be via creative FX application, where it's widened/delayed/modulated in some manner in one section, but not the next. Another is to simply swap the lead out to a different sound, and I think synth could work. If you wanted to get a little cheekier, instead of just making the third variation more elaborate on a single lead (whether you keep the guitar or roll with something else), you could do a call-and-answer style duet between the previously-introduced organ and the main lead, introducing some harmonic combinations, having a couple notes in unison, that sorta thing. Just a notion; could be fun. In terms of is-it-ready-to-submit, I don't speak for the judges panel, but I imagine they'd pick up on some of the same things, all of which I think would improve the track. Hope that helps!