Vig

I dig the intro. Great percussion, good reverb choice (plate?). In fact I love everything up to about a minute in. Sounds somewhat reminiscent of Shpongle and Infected Mushroom. Once the melody comes in, I'm not quite so thrilled. feel the melody is a bit far forward for the style. Mainly I think the issue is that the leads and melody in general seem a bit tacked on to what is a very slick sonic background and groove. Almost like this doesn't need to be a remix, and might be better off if you took out the lead, and added more of your own textures and ideas, and called it original. NO

I'm with Big Giant Compressionhater on this one. I think it's the volume that's hurting this track. It's way squished. I liked the sound of the kick until everything else came in. There's just no separation, everything's so loud. I really dig the arrangement and instrumentation. I'm definitely not crazy about the vocals. The performance isn't great, and stylistically it's rather inappropriate. I agree that there's too much reverb on the vocal. The track feels like it should have somewhat of a live feel, and I think the vocal would do better with maybe a subtle slap than the verb you have here. NO

The trick with sequenced piano tracks is not only the velocity, but also the pacing. Solo pianists don't play to a metronome on recordings. This track suffers from mechanical velocity and tempo. It's simply not believable. Furthermore, I don't know if it's a function of the velocities, or whether there's some inappropriate processing, but the track seems way too compressed for a solo piano piece. NO

I'm a fan of the soundscape, but not the part writing. sonically, the samples are a little akward at times: the strings attack too slowly, and there's an ugly resonance somewhere around 200 Hz which should be addressed. Also, the dynamics of the tune are really all over the place. I'm inclined to say you have some writing chops, but you really need to work on your compositional dynamics. NO

That piano part is rather mechanical and the sample is boxy (too much 300-600Hz). I kind of dig the arrangement in the first half, but there really should be more sparkle in the mix. By the end of the track I'm bored, even though things do start happening in the string parts, they start happening a little too late. the transition at 4:30 is promising, but it doesn't go anywhere, and by the end of the track, the ideas that were presented at the switch have been abandoned in favor of more generic slow-paced and uneventful writing. NO

The brass sticks out as unrealistic and somewhat jarring. MAYBE if you took out some of the top end of the brass it wouldnt stick out so much, but I'm not sure if that would work. The arrangement is somewhat static, i.e. string arpeggios, brass lead, and very simple bass parts. You've got some decent ideas in terms of orchestration, but i've got to say "eh" on the part writing. Also, the mix is rather bright. NO

The intro does not fill me with confidence. There instruments do not sound interesting enough to warrant solo parts. The same is true throughout the whole track. Saw leads are rather tedious, and there's relatively little here. The lead is out front in the arrangement because there is relatively little harmony, and relatively few instruments. There's just not much here in terms of composition. NO

LoL!!~ Thanks for the info. Palp is right. There is no real arrangement here. It's the original with drumbreaks over it. and I do mean OVER it. The levels are indicative of the issue with this submission. The drums are louder, and frankly way more important than anything else. Breakbeat stuff does tend to be mixed like that, but in this case, it's too much, especially considering that the drum samples used are kind of...idunno, not great. there's a lot of room in the recording, but it's not a good room. sounds like a bedroom recording. NO

I'm afraid the articulations don't have enough subtlety for a solo string section. Some of the notes need to be more legato when the attack is uniformly relatively fast. The arrangement is alright, if not terribly risky. The main thing I can't get past is that the strings are really washy and uniform. You need to get ahold of some alternative articulations and use them to make the performance sound more natural. NO

This song sounds like a heart attack. NO

If you're going to be making suggestions to the remixer, how about mentioning the idea of making the arrangement not for solo piano?

Sorry for puzzling you. Sometimes a mix can be squashed and it doesn't bother me, if it's done well (as defined by my own subjective tastes). In this case it does. All 2mix compressors are not created equal. Perhaps if the kick were lower in the mix before the bus compressor, it wouldn't sound as bad.

Gotta say I wish the 2mix weren't so squashed. I can audibly hear the mix ducking to make room for the kick. eh. It's really a bit much for me. Also, the mix at times is both bright and washy, somehow. It's pretty harsh, and the reverb on the all the saws you have in there just make it a mess. I realize most judges may not find this to be enough to reject the mix, but I think the mix is a little too slammed and washy in spots. NO

cool production, and while the arrangement isn't exactly groundbreaking, It does have enough going on to keep me from getting bored. The occasional drum groove variations were certainly appreciated, although more would have been nice. There's not a great deal to complain about, so I won't. YES

Guys.. This tune may be fairly cool, but as a solo piano piece, it's not working at all. First of all, I wouldn't be surprised if it were 100% sequenced with a mouse and 0% performance. it sounds like a point and click performance. Velocities rigid, rhythms irritatingly robotic. The composition and performance don't sound cohesive because there's the left channel rhythm piano and the right channel lead piano. They aren't even written as one part, but as one instrument comping chords and one lead. You just happen to have assigned piano samples to both parts. The arrangement could work if he fleshed out the instrumentation and developed it a bit, but this is in no way subtle or expressive enough to pass as a solo piano piece. It sounds cheap. we have a much higher standard than this when it comes to solo piano pieces. NO

yes 4567890

Wow this is loud as shit. Okay, obviously it's a bit repetitive. I don't think it's quite repetitive enough to ruin it. It's a dance track. I got to tell you: I'm dancing. The production is great, I don't really hear any mud or smearing as a result of oververb. It's not the most risky arrangement, but there's plenty of solid material in the instrumentation, the parts, and the little production details. YES

Well orchestrated. great samples and stuff, I like the brass. I'm with the other guys though in saying that the cover is a bit too straight up. In fact, there are some elements in the originals that I'm missing...more improvised sounding elements..a more diverse sound palate. I'd say this is good work and relatively close, but I'd like to hear more reinterpretation than reinstrumentation. NO

The gross overcompression is pretty standard for the music industry these days. Dynamics are out. see: Metallica: Death Magnetic debacle. Way to go, your mix is practically radio-ready! Solid all around. YES

So first, I don't think there's anything seriously wrong with the vocal recording. The lyrics, on the other hand, are cheesy as hell. Is this a remix or a radio drama? The production is pretty good, although the kick and snare aren't loud enough for hip hop. but whatever. There are clearly good arrangement ideas here, but the structure of the song is choppy to say the least. I'd love the tune if it were organized into some sort of linear and overarching song structure rather than a collection of separate musical soliloquies. The pauses between sections...just kill the energy. You've got good musical ideas, but you need to figure out how to integrate them into a well-defined whole. NO

You'll have an easier time bumping up the level if you compress those drums. right now they sound real thin. Also, more bass. wtf. I know metal doesn't draw a lot of attention to the bass, but I barely hear it, and I'm not even completely sure it's not just the rhythm guitar. NO, Resub compress drums, bring up bass.

I don't have a problem with drum loops at all, as long as it's not the only selling point. Unfortunately here, aside from the percussion, the parts are really simple and sparse. The chords are largely whole notes, and sometimes the strings just double the melody. The strings in particular aren't used very well...they sometimes play parts that are too fast to sound natural, so they end up sticking out. Arrangement-wise, there's not a lot of variation throughout. Sparse and somehwhat repetitive. NO

Why on earth would you put that much delay on it? In addition to the arrangement stuff others have mentioned, the string is really weak. It pretty much just doubles the melody. If you're going to have the string part at all, play some harmonies on it. NO

I'm not sure the source material is really conducive to a fully developed remix. The original is essentially a 3-note line cliche with only its meter making it distinct. This submission is cool and I like it, but it's really no more a freespace remix than it is a remix of the escape theme from Super Metroid. I think you should call it an original and see if you can't make some dough off it. NO

Hah. Awesome. Very Sebastian Tellier. Only thing I'm not crazy about is the guitar in the mix. Could use some big delay, an maybe some more low mids. However, this thing is solid the way it is. YES