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And i forgot to vote, how wonderful lol. Oh well congratulations Hleet, well earned win! I'll post some feedback below: Hleet - Some sick metal vibes here, that is some powerful beats, and some seriously good guitar work. It sounds quite convincing to say it's done on software. If it's real, then that's even more impressive. The guitars are great in this, totally seems like a plausible band cover. The drums are a little, different, is probably the word. I like the sound of the drums, they don't seem to have much velocity changes, it's very much a mechanical sounding kit, especially for rock music. I could maybe see more of a case for metal, but this is more or less hard rock, so the difference is noticeable. Big fan of the trumpet lines though, great way to add depth to a simple piece, it really works well. Ending was a little abrupt in my opinion, i would have expected more of an ending, however i did love what i hear, and the whole metal approach was lovely. I can see why people voted for you, this was great. Well done! Wassup Thunder - Longest one of the bunch. I notice with short sources, it does become a bit harder to remix, because you essentially have to expand upon something already short. I do dig the rock and orchestral arrangements in this, really adds a cinematic depth to the piece. Interesting way of transcribing the melody, it works super well in this context, the whole thing is very action adventure like, it's great. The synths bring it into eurobeat territories, that was really cool. Mixing is a little stagnant, it could do with some polish, specifically in the orchestration. It's almost like the orchestra is fighting for the front, causing the drums and guitars to get pushed back. When the orchestra takes a backseat it works wonders, but that only comes at certain points. Still though, even with it's polishing and clean-up, it was still an amazing remix. I really dig that guitar solo in the middle, not present in the original, but man it's soo fitting to the piece. Love all your original titbits too, this was just a lovely remix. Well done! Souperion - Really cool computer noises in the beginning, this is not what i was expecting for a remix of Mega Man, but man i like it when people go in unique directions. Really digging the strings and piano, really captures the emotion of the source, in comparison to the energy. The sound effects are a lovely touch, i love the attention to detail like that. I also love how you've built the dynamic from something small into something huge. The ending was a great climax to finish the whole thing off. Shame it only lasts for like 30 seconds, i feel that could have been utilized more. I know it's only 3 minutes, but that idea could work for like a 5 minute piece. I was struggling to find anything really to critique, besides maybe the occasional polish here and there, because the mix was great, and the idea was just lovely. Well done! Sorry that i didn't vote, i'll try and be more focused next round! Glad you guys had fun!

Everytime I work on this song, I feel the strongest temptation to mix other Baroque-style VG songs into it, like Dancing Madly or something.

Jorrith was checking on this and let me know that he sent djp a revision WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY back... which Dave seemingly never passed onto us. Boo, djp, boo. (I've overlooked things in much worse fashion, so no hate.) Jorito had no hard feelings about it, which speaks to his class, but we'd still like to apologize for it. I'm sorry to Jorrith, Kaisyn, Andrew, and Jarrod for us dropping the ball, and we're glad to now pick it back up! Listening to the revised version, the mixing of the various parts is much better; you can hear more of the supporting synth writing which helps spice up the instrumental, the vocals were pulled back instead of being so much louder than the instrumental, as well as given some effects & tuning touch-ups alongside chorusing & vocoder layering in parts which added more smoothness, depth, and variety to the performance. Everything glues together so much better as a result. Loved everything else about this updated piece and am happy to flip my vote to YES; I'm sure any concerns djp also had are meaningfully addressed here. Not that the bar rises due to Jorrith's track record, as the original version did pass, but given that djp agreed with my serious reservations, I didn't want this to potentially get veto'ed. The revised version sounds like Jorito's cohesive presentation we've come to expect, and will better stand the test of time. YES

Did someone just spoil my intended direction for this? ?

Keeping this short, but just to add my 2 cents at djp's request, the vocal performance and some of the other elements of production also didn't sit quite right with me. There was a lack of energy in the vocal performance and saxophone that did not match the quality of the arrangement. I also found some of the lyrics to be awkwardly written (i.e. "I really want to feel safe") but would be okay with this if the vocal production was cleaned up at bare minimum. This is an excellent arrangement but a second pass should hopefully make this a no-brainer YES vote. NO (borderline)

This is a fun tune and is mostly very well produced. I agree with my fellow Js that the vocal performance is a weakness, and it would really benefit from a manual comb-through to correct some of the more off-key notes, which can be painstaking but would really help here. Autotune might be fun too, but would give the vocal a totally different flavor, and Autotune didn't exist in the 80s so it might not fit. As for the vocal mixing, I feel like the vocals could come forward just a bit, perhaps with some added bite with a hint of distortion, or perhaps a longer predelay on the reverb, but those are extreme nitpicks. It's a fun song and none of the issues break the deal for me. Let's do this! YES

There is a bit of a rawness to the vocals, which carries some charm. The sax starting at 0:51 was fun. I think the chorus performance could certainly use more power. There are some dropped notes here and there as we progress. I agree with Larry that it could do with a bit of autotune to tame some of the drift. The vocoder at 2:20 was fun, and the sax and guitar solo exchange afterward at 2:33 was a nice surprise, with some great tone that fit the piece well. The main thing holding this back for me was some parts of the vocals, but I think it works well enough. There's enough variation here in the arrangement, and mixing seems ok. If the artist would like a chance to tweak the vox a bit closer to tune I'd be all for that (if we haven't done so already). YES (Borderline)

Had to listen to this one a few times through to figure out what I think about the vocals. I think Larry has some good points on the overall feel within the track as well as some intonation issues, but I think that overall it doesn't come to a point where it drags the rest of the track below the bar, since there is a lot of good going on with it. Definitely somethings to take note of for the future, and it does end up being close in the end, but I think it gets by as-is. YES (borderline)

The vocals are a weak point in that they're lack power and are exposed in too many places. Because they're mixed both loud (louder than the music itself), and relatively dry, all of the drawbacks in the singing performance stick out more than expected. Some effects to thicken up the sound and mitigate the lack of strength and/or some AutoTune could have helped mask it. No shade on Jorrith, but given other vocal tracks he's produced himself, I'm surprised he let this one go like this. It's a substantial drop, both singing quality and post-production on the vocals. Fiddledo's lyrics are still fun and fitting, and all of the instrumental performances are solid. I would like to hear the instrumental given some more oomph and the vocals given a stronger treatment to give them a richer sound. Sorry to dissent, but there's unrealized potential here on account of the mixing choices. I'm requesting some additional votes on here to either extend the YESs or elaborate on what else needs works before this is posted. NO (resubmit)

hey, what a fun take! this passes my bar easily. i particularly like the vocal treatment - while a few times there's some strains or odd scoops that needed some post lovin', i think it sounds great within the mix and is well-suited to the singer's vocal range and style. i agree with NutS that the background is little more than a bucket for the vocals and sax parts, but that's ok in this style, i think. it's well-executed and doesn't get in the way of the parts that we showed up to listen to, which is all it needed to do. some suggestions to subversiveasset, one saxophonist to another: one thing that'd help from a recording perspective is to crank down your gain on your mic and really play a lot louder. there's several times repeatedly where your tone is soft and subtle, which is great for some styles, but this needs a really wailing timbre which only comes from more air behind your stack. the lick at :51 and others is a great example - it sounds like you played it real quiet and controlled, and then it has to really be cranked up to fit volume-wise, but then it feels odd next to the other instruments which have more body. it'll also give those articulations more bite. lastly - don't be afraid to run your parts through pitch correction, just like a singer. the low end of the upper octave (F-D w/ octave key) is really sharp, and it shows on some of your runs through there. it'll let you focus more on tone and fingerings, and less on perfect embouchure adjustments for those runs. if i'm nitpicking, i'm pointing out that a major seventh up is a huuuuge jump for a singer, especially a male singer going from chest voice to mixed (4:16). combined with a glottal stop (the g in -getting) makes that a pretty hard play, so i'll call that sub-optimal writing. also the entire track has a ton of headroom and can be pushed up easily. as a whole, though, this is a great fun track that features some excellent guest performances. nice work to all involved. YES

I've listened to this one already before. As always, Jorrith brings a very interesting pop take, this time with an 80's edge. The vocals by Fiddle are a bit dry and the singing isn't perfect, especially when trying to go to the edges of his range. I think a bit of extra correction in those cases would've made it better, as you can almost feel the strain on some of the higher sustained notes. Otherwise, the vocals work and so does the vocoding. The backing arrangement is basic and it just drives the sax and vocal melodies, but there's nothing wrong with that and just works in the track's favor to make it sound more authentic. I enjoyed the sax performance the most, very good stuff. YES

First of all, thank you very much for the source breakdown! Going over the sections, I can verify its treatment with plenty of subtractive writing - and the saxophone/guitar solos and synthwave style placed the icing on the cake. I honestly have no significant problems with the production, either. The sounds are all appropriate to the genre, the live musicians all sound crisp and clean, and everything feels well balanced. I honestly think the vocals are at a good position in the mix and are clear enough for me to make out the lyrics. The only thing that sticks out is that the mixdown doesn't go beyond -3dB and can sound better with some normalization, but it's no dealbreaker in this case. It's still a fantastic Jorito production / collaborative project as always. Not only can I see this on the front page, but also as part of a playlist for use at the gym. YES

Well, this is a lot of fun! Despite the collaboration, it's still just about everything I expect from a Jorito mix. It's a great arrangement, with a very creative approach, and really captures the intended feel. The vocals are a little flat and nasal but serviceable. It's also mixed oddly quietly--I see over 2dB of headroom; I had to turn my volume all the way up to hear it adequately, and even then it was a bit quiet. Otherwise, this is pretty darn good. YES/CONDITIONAL (on volume increase) Update 10/17/19: New render sounds great. Update 6/22/20: Larry makes a good point. I think maybe when I was listening to the revision I didn't pay close enough attention to how much easier it became to hear the issues with the vocals. They are frequently nasal and off-key. There's also a lot of enunciation that sounds more like speech than singing, e.g. hard R's and long A's. I know it's been a year since our initial votes, but I'm going to flip and say that a stronger vocal performance really is called for here. NO