Vig

Simplistic, repetitive, plodding, tedious, underdeveloped, given its 6 minutes. Dont know what else to say. NO

Some of those leads sound...stringy. i.e. thin. Poor choice, i think. The production isnt fantastic, but it's no deal-breaker. my problem is that the arrangement is rather flat. much more could be going on harmonically and dynamically. around 3:00 and at other times two lines will do interesting things harmonically and then converge, which is cool. In a lot of ways this reminds me of shnabubula's stuff, but it's just not at that level yet. NO

I love it. Not so familiar with sephire's work, but this has a sgx-type sound with a particularly non-sgx type approach. Beefy as hell. The production sounds fine to me. I think we need to set up a donation fund so Larry can stop judging remixes on $30 headphones. YES

This mix isnt terribly groundbreaking, and not considering the strong piano performance, the composition is rather simple. But it's hard not to submit to the OMGGROOVEBIAS going on here. The simplicity of the rhythm and harmony sections works in that it keeps the piano out front where it should be. the interlude before 3:00 is quite nice. Enjoyable all around. NO er...sorry, habit. YES

very little going on dynamically. sounds the same almost the whole way through. Biggest problem is that you came up with a groove and more or less pasted on the melody. very little coherence between the original and new aspects of this song. NO

i thought the abrupt sample in the intro was cool. unfortunately after that, the bells are incredibly messy. The dynamics are pretty good, but unfortunately the arrangement is very conventional. aside from that occasional interlude, this is very much a generic gerudo remix. Make it your own a bit more. The guitar solo thing was cool, do more stuff like that, but mainly present ideas that werent present in the original. NO

Very little changes over the course of the song. Perhaps the instrumentation changes a few times, but it's always the same thing. The song is terribly repetitive, making it seem like it's a lot longer than it is. try something different. NO

The drums are definately problematic. They are too quiet, and generally weak. need some serious EQage. The arrangement is solid, if you fix up the drums, this is probably a YES. NO

I am a fan of Sam's music. Very much so. He's one of if not the most sophisticated composer in the community. That is evident in this mix as it is evident in everything else he puts out. The most significant difference between this mix and his other material is that this sounds like poo. More preciesely, it sounds like an NES. Nostalgic as we may be, lets be honest; the NES sounds like poo. I'm pretty sure this is one of the reasons why we remix in the first place. I appreciate the notion that using such a limiting format emphasizes the remixer's compositional prowess. Unfortunately that notion is not mutually exclusive with the notion that this sounds like poo. I know for a fact that it is possible to achieve the former without relying on the latter. Sound quality has never been Sam's focus. Protricity pops to mind as another artist who makes amazing tracks with sub-amazing samples. However, in the material posted by both artists, the sound quality has never been so poor as to detract from the listening experience. This, on the other hand, sounds like poo. The instruments all sound painfully Lo-Fi, which is exactly what they are. The instruments are limited by the format, and I can't listen to this without being painfully aware that I'm listening to an exercise in compositional cockwaving. I can appreciate the talent involved, but listening to this is not enjoyable. The listening experience is unecessarily handicapped. There is nothing about this arrangement that requires it to sound like poo. The composition would be just as good if the instruments weren't irritating, and I may dare say that better-than-poo sound quality would not necessarily de-emphasise the composition (citing all of sam's other works). The sound quality only hurts this song; there's no reason why it shouldnt sound more pleasant. NO We're looking for creativity and enjoyability. I don't think OCReMix is a chiptune website.

Fairly formulaic. vibes and bass and drums repeat ad-nauseum, with various instruments playing the melody. occasionally there's something new going on 2:15 but this is too little too late. please do more than copy+paste your rhythm section. NO

I enjoy the syncopated beat. very well done. A couple problems: You follow the original fairly closely. you arent doing anything terribly groundbreaking with the arrangement. also, the track feels empty a lot of the time. the polyphony of the track is farily low at all times. beef it up at some points. NO

Okay. I have very serious problems with these statements. TO, you are completely wrong in your accusation of crippling "technical issues." The compressed drums are not a "technical issue," they are compressed intentionally for a gritty stylistic effect. If you dislike the creative choice, that's one thing, but you are simply wrong to call this a technical issue. This would be the same as calling the distortion on the guitars in any rock track a technical issue just because you dislike crunchy guitars. Larry's statement is also 100% false. the drums are not so loud that they distort. they are compressed, and amplitude has nothing to do with it. Look, i realize you guys dont like this artistic choice, but calling it a technical issue makes you look misinformed and it makes it seem like you're voting NO for an invalid reason.

yow....there is some serious popping going on through the whole track. this is a big problem. Aside from that, the arrangement is rather...conservative. there is little if any development. Sure, the groove changes once or twice, but that's about it as far as variety goes. I realize it's a dance track, but I'm not dancing; I'm listening, and you have to do something a little more ambitious to keep my attention top it off with a weak weak ending. NO

Young man, you've got to do some SERIOUS boning! [/simpsons] the first thing I noticed before the horrible drums came in is that the piano comping is very straightforward, both rhythmically and in the chosen voicings. root position triads get dull. once the vamp comes in at least you use an inversion, but it's always the same voicings. this gets really boring. please use sime different voicings and some different rhythms. obviously the drums are bad. no need to beat that dead horse. and onto the sax. everything JJT says is true, and there's little i could say about the sax that i havent said before. Chaos isnt artistic unless there's order to compare it to. NO

imagine what this song would be like if you took out the drums. it would barely qualify as music. Slowed down melody + whole note string triads != good remix. NO

NO OVERRIDE material

first off, the piano performance is spotty. the timing is particularly off. some measures are akwardly abbreviated in the beginning. some poor chord choices are also made, especially the major at the turnaround. (1:40) the flute sounds terrible. the attack is too slow. also..try having some notes end before the next one begins. not many flautists can exhale continuously for 2 minutes, and even those who can don't because it sounds monotonous. NO oh yeah and there's no arrangement.

something's wrong...the melody is altered in a very odd rhythmic way, such that it's hard to tell where the measures end and begin. the string echo on the guitar is confusing and ugly. The string (singular) continues to be akward. try some...chords. the rhythm guitar plays some akward chords...this track is just quite akward. NO

grrr...this track is awfully promising. The approach you take to the track is really fresh and beautiful. i think the howls work well, and the groove+vamp in the beggining is beautiful. HOWEVER the bells and piano, and drums...and mostly everything is too dry. The piano in particular sounds way too present given what ought to be the more ambient nature of the mix. i'd say drown it in verb, maybe even cut the volume. The other problem is the sweet ELP-sounding vamp disappears and never comes back. There's no continuity to the mix. it just jumps around. I'd like to hear some of your ideas revisited. I'd say keep working on it, but now it's a NO Oh and the guitar sounds like ass, both the sample and the sequencing.

samples generally sound beautiful. the brass sounds a little mushy in some spots. The arrangement is very solid. Never repetitive, thorougly dynamic, and full of good ideas. Solid YES

what technical issues do you speak of? compressed drums dont count as a technical issue. if you dont like them that's one thing, but it's not a technical issue. Listen to Flaming Lips - Soft Bulletin.

i hear a few clicks and pops. nothing too intrusive. there's nothing wrong with the dryness of the guitars. they are well recorded, and they are clearly dry on purpose, as not all the guitars are dry. honestly after reading larry's vote i have no clue what it is he thinks is wrong with this track. i certainly can't find anything seriously wrong with it. well arranged, well performed stuff. very nice.. YES

The compressed drums make me think of Flaming Lips. this mix is very well done. the atmosphere is beatifully decorated and texutred. The music swirls in and out like a writhing storm. or something. At any rate, there's immense subtlety to the structure of the song that makes it work very well as a somewhat atmospheric piece. YES

very well arranged. this mix is always presenting something new. diverse soundset, ever-shifting instrumentation, and all kinds of ideas and interpretations weaving in and out. very well constructed. poo ending. YES

ugh...lots of simple parallel triads. the chord progression is way too drawn out. use more complex harmonies and more complex rhythms. a lot of this mix sounds kind of warbly. not sure why. it could be due to an overzealous compressor. sounds grainy. NO