Vig

there is....so much clipping....its constant. NO Oh, and as for the mix itself, it's short, it repeats, and it maintains the same dynamic level throughout the whole mix.

I agree that this mix is too simple. i am also turned off by the issues with the flute sample. it also repeats quite a bit for such a short mix. doesnt build up enough. NO

The synths are poorly selected. they dont work given their applications, i.e. melody, bassline...etc. there is a general lack of things going on...the drums are consistently interesting, but thats the only part of this mix i find worth my time. again, there's never more than one or two instruments playing plus the drums. there is really no harmony to speak of. the mix is too dry for a techno song. in short, this mix relies too much on the drums, and lacks depth. NO Oh yeah, theres no ending either.

the bells in the intro are allright, but they sound unnatural. ack, is this supposed to be a guitar? it sounds atrocious. constant and loopy drums. the interlude at 2:30 sounds like it could have been an interesting change of pace. unfortunately, this song lacks acceptable sounds. the guitar is...really...really....bad. also, the whole song seems like an unorganized cluster of riffs (Mr. Spock, turn the tempo up to "crack") that do not fit together smoothly. some decent ideas, and the sound effects are nice, but there is a serious lack of sound quality, and the mix seems busy and unorganized. NO

What prot said. we all know that its a very nice tune, but that doesnt mean we're gonna post a note-for-note reproduction. the strings get a bit interesting near the end, but it's too little, too late. NO also, listening to it a second time, the bass plays some bad notes.

terribly generic intro. there is lots of clipping. in the intro there seem to be some bad notes. the lead synth was cute in the intro...but now its getting annoying, it sounds like someone tried to operate a tape player with a power drill. okay, its getting quite repetitive. there is only drums and melody. this is not acceptable. at all. the drums never change, and they are the predominant instrument in the song. this song relies too much on drums and doesnt offer anything else. no

from the start, there are major harmonic issues. lots of dissonance. a minute in....what is going on? i cant tell. sounds like someone is fruiting around randomly on the piano. and then the levels drop. for some reason. more bad notes. 2:52, interlude comes out of somewhere...cant tell. there is just so much wrong with this mix. you should have used the letter. NO

okay. it's an oversimplified techno remix. there's rarely more than one or two instruments plus drums. it doesnt go anywhere. its just very amateurish. NO IMO, this should have gotten the form letter.

Very GM sounding, and the arrangement is the same as the original, w/drums over it. NO

everything they said. whats here is pretty good, but this is too short, doesnt go anywhere. NO

sigh....i feel that a lot of excellent ideas are expressed in this mix. i also feel that to mix this particular song demands a degree of efficiency that spekko did not achieve in this instance. this is an 8 bar line played over and over again. i would venture to guess that about 85% of the song has that line playing, and 60% of the song is over one chord. during most of the song everything just repeats over and over again, which is a shame because in the small amount of time in which spekko goes off and does something interesting, such as around 1:30 and again at the end, i find myself captivated. but man, the repetition just kills it. that high little synth thing that goes on during most of the song, it just gets SO IRRITATING! and the line is kind of cool...the first 17 times. i was reluctantly leaning towards a NO the whole time i was listening, but the ending locked it in. the song ends just as it sounds like it ought to be climaxing, leaving no resolution. the ending is a halfassed fadeout during the climax of the song. not good. (Hint to remixers: having a good ending is a great way to earn points with me). this mix sounds great if you listen to any 10 seconds of it. but if you listen to much more, it just repeats. what i'd like to see is an overhaul of the form. cut a whole bunch of the vamping repetitions, and do more with the chord progressions that show up in the middle and end. and please, please, add an ending.

to be honest, i'm not impressed. maybe its because i'm a guitarist myself and i notice little things that are off in the solo and rythm parts. or maybe its the fact that there is very little "arrangement" involved in this mix. its just a handful of chords strummed over and over again, with an occasional melody or solo. its just unorganized. and while its always great to hear a guitar mix, lets be honest. if this didnt have the 'wow' factor of being a FF7 mix played on guitar, would you listen to it? the soloing is sloppy. while the song overall isnt objectionable to the ear, it just doesnt offer a whole lot, the organization is below-average. it lacks focus, and the guitar solo sounds amateurish. it's a good fun effort, but it really just isnt up to OCR standards. NO

this takes WAY too long to get started. the first two minutes or so are just beach noise and a lonely melody. the bassline during the first transition is off-key. the harmony is very basic, there isnt a whole lot going on at any given point in the mix. i'm bored 4 minutes in. there's more questionable harmony all thru the song. there really is just not enough development. 5:04 the chime line is in the wrong key, and it just sounds wierd. 6 minutes in and i'm REALLY bored. this song never escalates. Bleh. NO

okay. this is a little too similar to the original. the melody repeats. the melody repeats. and then it repeats with different instruments. in all fairness, there is a moderate amount of escalation, but this mix lacks polish, and it repeats way too much for such a short mix. NO

the vocals would be cooler if you threw on some heavy reverb. as is, they just sound out of place. the mix lacks subtlety (sic?) and while the groove is nice, it doesnt go anywhere. the song is repetitive, and the transitions to the solo pad arpeggiation are abrupt and rough around the edges. i'm liking the segment at 3:40. string volume 'tricks' are grating and...for lack of a better expression, they just arent sublte. several bad sounding notes aroun 4:30. Okay. this isnt a bad mix. the ideas are quite good; the vocal part was a good idea, the groove is nice, and the idea of the solo pad interlude is solid. unfortunately, none of these ideas is executed very effectively. the vocals are dry and they stick out. the transitions are rough, and the mix repeats too much. NO nice ideas, but the execution just isnt there.

ok i heard this mix first on the WIP board months and months ago. i liked it then. i still like it. the snare part bothers the hell out of me in the beginning. Prot said that this ought to offer something new from the other icecap mixes. i feel that it does so. the feel is unique; much different from the other posted mixes. the shift at :30 works incredibly well, and the mix shifts into a very relaxed but fluid feel. there's a nice harp part around 2:00. also, the drums are much more tight in the rest of the song. this mix has great sounds, and a great feel. YES

(this fallthru is one of Freemind's.) review. It took me a while to decide whether to post this as a fallthru because i had some reservations about the mix. it is good, but i feel that the dynamics are not what they could be. dispite a climax around 3:45, i feel that the lead up that climax is not fast enough. another problem is that the theme really doesnt ever change. there are no real interludes, or any other kind of breaks from the meandering melody. i anticipate a few judges penalizing this mix for its repetitiveness. but i also anticipate a few of us praising this mix for it's impressive feel and it's subtle harmonic changes, and for this reason, despite my ambivalence, i decided to post the fallthru. make no mistake. this mix is not sloppy, nor poorly thought out. it is described as 'new-age,' a term i am less than completely clear on, but i know that the purpose was to create a relaxing mood, and it does that quite expertly. it isnt for everyone, but i think it is worth a YES

This mix might have some nice sounds and effects, but it's really little more than the melody over a drumbeat. granted, there are some interesting fills, but the harmony remains very basic and there is little to no escalation. also, the halfspeed melody over the drums 'con mosso' is an ugly contrast. nice synths, nice ideas, it just needs more depth. NO

i have access to a computer today, i'll try to vote on these later this evening. and yes, prot, the general bitch-level has gone up over the past week, but i havent been on in the past two days, so i havent gotten any complaints regarding mix removals.

5/4 is interesting. i dont know anything about the original either. i like the mood, the feel. dont know how else to explain it. its kind of pseudo-ambient in a way. nice guitarish sound. its abstract. the ideas jump around, but it doesnt seem dishevled or random. nice panning,great dynamics. i'll repeat, this is on the abstract side. not everyone who listens to this one will like it, but i certainly do, and it is a well done mix, regardless of taste. I really wish it werent lacking so much in the low-end. YES

i like the feel of this mix from the beginning. i think the intro thru 1:20 is terrific. all the synths are good, and they sound distinct from one another. melody comes in...i think there are some questionable notes, and some uneccessary notes. like at 1:29. why is that there!? it bothers the hell out of me! good escalation. i like the voiceovers. again at 2:34, why is that note in the mix!? sometimes less is more. you dont need to fill up every break in the melody. i like the intro/interlude. good escalation. again. this is a very solid mix. although those superfluous notes drive me crazy, i'm going to give this a YES

seems E-Bison contacted Beatdrop about this mix a while back, and the link didnt work. E-Bison gave me this new link, and it works for me. it seems to be a pretty good mix, and now that the board is cleared, i figured i'd put it up. -Vig

wow, the bass sounds terrible. i'm halfway through the song, and its not bad, but it has yet to offer me anything interesting. ah, piano comes in. cool. and now its gone. ok, it seems to me like this song is awfully repetitive and uninteresting, save that piano solo in the middle. i think there's a lot of potential here, but its just not interesting. make the solo longer, play fewer heads. NO

i'll divide this into segments. intro: very good. smooth, sounds great. first song: i really wish the lead synth were different. as it is, it sounds too similar to the harmony synths. second song; same problem. synths all to similar. cool wind noises. third song: nice drums. very nice. ack...still that same one synth sound. i'm starting to think this song would benefit greatly from a drastic change in sound. which is to some extent, provided in the FOURTH SONG: or the transition thereto. (im at about 5 minutes) ah good...that blasted synth isnt present anymore. i like this section...its very chill. ending: hmm...what to do? this mix is well done, well mixed, but i'm having some issues with that blasted main synth sound; i think it should be changed in at least a few places. also the fadeout ending isnt resolved. i understand that this is a two part mix, and there's no way we'll be able to fit a 12 minute mix into 6 megs. because its a medly, a two part medly no less, it doesnt have very clear escalation and resolution. i cant decide right now. i'll vote later. EDIT: allright. its well done, but the synth lead is really annoying at times, and the segments arent that different from the original. i'd like to see a resubmit. NO

the intro is very dramatic... AH excellent! you fixed the transition...the song no longer drops out between the two sections. so if i remember correctly, the question is: did you bring the piano up in the second section? YES! you did! i still have a problem with the short string interlude at 1:29, i think the two string parts crowd each other. This is unmistakeably a "Wingless" song, and while it isnt as 'out there' as some of his other stuff, it is immensely enjoyable and well done. YES Well i'm thrilled to find out that since the last time we spoke on the subject, you've managed to not completely screw up this song.