ella guro

With a name like DJ Jake I was expecting some mediocre trance. Though I don't think this is much better. The sounds are very midi-ish and it's a very basic arrangement. I was expecting it to pick up towards the end a little bit, but it hardly does. Not really much of note here. Btw, I love the writeup for this mix. I like how the site kind of accepted anyone willing to try game mixing a try, regardless of how strange or goofy their take on a song was. I wasn't around back then but it seemed like fun times in some ways. The music is obviously a lot better now, but it definitely doesn't have that same spirit anymore 'cause it can't.

This is much better than his Gradius mix IMO. Obviously it's still tracker stuff, especially with the infuriating non-ending (cause a lot of tracker music is supposed to loop). I think the guitar and organ had some neat parts especially. around :37 was very well done, and I actually liked the organ at 1:38 (though it would probably infuriate most people for being so deliberately offkey). This could have been a really nice arrangement if it was expanded and had some better sounds. As it is, I'm not gonna write it off cause of some of the neat parts, but it's not something I'd really listen to.

Sounds like he did this in a tracker. It definitely has a really noticeable tracker sound to it (crud samples without any of the neat tracker fx used). Yeah, there's really not much here. His castlevania mix had some interesting parts, but there isn't much of note to talk about with this one. I guess my review is gonna be as short and disappointing as this mix was

I actually like this quite a bit! Yeah I think the sounds are dated...it probably has more to do with the lack of processing or fx on most things than the sounds themselves. It doesn't bother me nearly as much as it might someone else though. Yeah, actually this is pretty darn cool. The way the sounds mix together is quite nice and funky. There's a lot of really cool jazzy salsa-themed interplay between the instruments to make things interesting. Honestly this is very well arranged and conceived for being an older mix. If the aim was to be a good Latin mix djp probably failed there, but this has its own unique appeal - it's good, even if it's not really what was aimed for. I guess I'd have to hear the source to confirm how much is actually arrangement. But yeah...Cool stuff, especially for being one of the first mixes on the site.

Nice! I had no idea Cotmm or steve did another mix. There are some parts that work really well texturally, some that I don't like as much (I don't like how that distorted synth just cuts on/off). It seems a little messier than past cotmm/pordon mixes, but there are a lot of cool things that keep it from becoming a bother (I love when the guitars are mixed really low in high-end distortion like they are towards the end). There's also an enormous amount of subtlety and nuance in the sound, the kind of stuff you really don't hear much of these days. And that's a real shame, cause that's the kind of stuff that's easier on the ear and makes repeated listens so rewarding. Yeah, I like this. I like this a lot, actually. I'm gonna save it and listen to it some more times so it can sink in.

I've really liked some of steve pordon's other stuff (the ff6 mix and the silent hill one he did with cotmm) but this one is kinda lame both arrangementwise and soundwise. Well, there are some kinda neat sounds but nothing to hold your interest really. Steve definitely came a long way from this one.

This song is still great. The sounds are dark and unique but pleasant at the same time. The arrangement is very subtle. The beginning is one of the most emotive things I've heard on this site. When the lead just climbs upwards and then everything stops for a few seconds at :30 it's just picture perfect. I was a weird kid and played DOOM to death, and I think this mix does an excellent job of conjuring up the hopelessness of the game and that level (e1l8 ) in particular. The only thing I never liked as much is the backing synth that comes in around 1:59. I think it's kind of a generic backing and more could have been done with it. That part used to really bug me, but these days it doesn't too much anymore. This is a wonderful mix that everyone should hear.

Awesome! This is same tune Shnabubula remixed (not on OCR, it was on vgmix back in the day). Nase, you are my new favorite remixer. This arrangement blows my mind. It's even too good for me to say anything intelligent about it. you have reduced me to this: NICE FUCKING JOB DUDE!!

I wish the mp3 Kyle linked to was still up! I agree about the intonation issues with the performance. That doesn't kill me though...this is very well conceived, and could be excellent with better execution. My issue is that I don't think it's humanly possible to improve on the original. I think it's one of the most effective (and strangely emotionally affecting) pieces of video game music I've ever heard. But it's at heart a pop song. Having it be arranged for orchestra takes away some of what made the original work so well for me. I think what the GSO does is really cool, and I can understand why they'd do an arrangement of this (cause it's so damn popular), but I'd still rather listen to the original.

I'm not sure if it's the mixing or what, or just that a lot of the instruments could use some stronger articulation. Like the strings are slow to attack, but it's not that...things in general seemed to muddle together. The percussion is also kinda thin. I recognize this as being well arranged, but it left almost no impression on me. I dunno, it kind of passed right by. I don't know how to say it. I'm gonna listen to this again. Ok, yeah. I think there's just not a lot of tension and release...something to grab me and get me interested. But it feels like there are good ideas here. Maybe it's a just the production? You know, it's probably just the style of interpretation Nutritious chose that isn't hitting me as much. That's just a personal taste thing, I suppose.

So true! I didn't know Dan had submitted anything past his Zelda mix. Shows that I haven't been paying attention... The thing I like about DiscoDan's stuff is that even though he brings the beetz, most of the time his stuff is still pretty subdued and "chill" as one might say. And very musical, which is important. This one is less like the zelda mix and more in the vein of many of his classic megaman mixes, 'cept slightly more ambitious in length. I think the secret to his popularity is that he can take a tune and expand on it well while still keeping most parts of the original intact so that it's recognizable. That is much harder to do than it might sound like. Dan, come back! You can still have a life and make a mix or two every once in awhile!

You know, sometimes I feel like analoq used to make the same mix over and over. I almost always like his mixes a lot cause he does what he does really well, but they're usually variants of the same thing. Phat rhodes-ish sounds, funky bassline, relaxed 4/4 beat, slightly jazzy. It's not a good or bad thing really, just an observation. His mixes are weird, funky little self-contained worlds. You could be an incredibly talented musician and still never achieve that kind of assurance and uniqueness in your sound that analoq has (or at least had...from what larry is saying) in his. This is one of my favorites of his. He just throws a bunch of different ideas into one pot and they work while still sounding very much part of the same world. The crazy fx at the beginning and the distorted talking might be my favorite part, if not for the very nice brief piano outro (I also really like the way the piano was sound processed to sound kinda distant and lo-fi). The Kraftwerk references are kinda goofy, but he pulls them off with a straight face and they work. Commander Keen 4-6 were so great, more mixes! Especially more like this!

I'm glad this popped up. I always really liked this one! Love the piano playing (it's very creative), especially in the intro. The backing is kinda weak by today's standards, but it still holds its own well enough. I don't get why he changed the rhythm up slightly in the melody. There was really no reason to. It kinda gets on my nerves, even if it's a minor thing. And you know, this really could be longer! But otherwise, awesome stuff!

"while the in-game SFX and four-on-the-floor transition later on do stretch the limits of musical credibility a tad, those limits are meant to be stretched" hahaha. This part of the writeup is great (I mean that sincerely). I was really pessimistic about hearing another Aquatic Ambiance mix after Beneath The Surface. I thought that was really the end-all-be-all of mixes of that song. But this is pretty cool. The piano playing is tasteful and emotive. The four-on-the-floor beats weren't nearly as bad or cheesy as I thought they were gonna be. It's funky but not in your face, which is nice. The synths are mostly good, even if a little plain. This is an effing Donkey Kong Country remix so those animal sounds don't really bother me. This is kinda like an old school OCR remix in a lot of ways, actually, except a little bit tighter. It isn't knocking me out right now, but I'll give it a few more shots cause I think it's well done.

THIS SONG IS SATAN. KILL YOUR CHILDREN. EAT THE HOMELESS. PEE ON A LOVED ONE. When I first heard this song, I was all like "YOU GO, JOE!! YOU STICK IT TO THOSE FF FANBOYS!! YEAHHHH!!" I didn't really get into the FF games until more recently. Now it's more like, "ok dude, you made your point". Not that the lyrics aren't great or the sentiment is at all wrong! I was just thinking it might be a little more dated now. But you know, the more that I think about it this kind of fanboyism really hasn't gone away at all. And final fantasy still gets remixed all the damn time! So I'll declare this still relevant because the frustration lives on!

Linkin Park? not a fan. This is well done though. Great guitar playing and the mix sounds exactly like it's what it's trying to sound like. And I can respect all the effort going into that, even if I would have gone in a polar opposite direction. I don't have much else to say, though, cause I usually wouldn't touch this kind of music with ten foot pole (remix or not). Makes me think of all the times I was in public places and forced to listen to the local FM station (shudder).

What the fux? It's Gux! I liked how Gux was always trying something completely different with every mix. Some of his show their age more than others, and I don't think this one is one of his better ones. The arrangement is good, but the samples really detract this time around. It really could have benefited from being played by someone, or at least have better samples/mixing. Still not bad stuff, but I definitely prefer most of his other mixes to this.

I think Dan's review on page 1 is probably all you need to know about this track. I should pick up a cheap little organ one of these days and mess around on it.

No worries, it wasn't a reply. I was just talking to myself in my post

Whoa, this is mixed really weird. It's so muffled I actually like it in a weird way. The mix itself is unremarkable though. It seems like a preparation for the other robovoice mix, which is like 20 times better all around.

I'm trying to just average 8-10 reviews per day so I can get to 200 before the end of the month. I don't think I can do any more than that before it starts taking up too much of my time or the reviews start to suffer. But I think I can do 8-10 pretty easily if I keep at it. I'm at 18 right now, and some of you guys are already way ahead of me! At this rate I have a feeling we'll have quite a few people at 200 by the end of the month.

RETRO. Those sounds are so satisfying to me. The FX and modulation and all that crap are really nice, and tastefully done. There are places where I feel like the arrangement could have gone to grander places cause of the epic source (cuz I love MM3!). This mix is more about being a sort of RET ROW groove where every chippy sound gets its super modulated say, and that's more important here than building on or emphasizing some of the melodic ideas in the source to greater heights. I would've liked it if he did more of the latter but it's AeroZ's mix, not mine, and he does his thing really well. KeWL STUFF!

Would've liked to have heard another mix by this guy! I've had this one for a long time. I think this mix perfectly captures the feeling that I always got from the prelude music. It even makes me tear up slightly when I hear the delayed piano intro again...it brings me back to a time when I used to feel a really emotional response to any video game remixes of a tunes I knew. I kinda take that for granted now. The only thing I'm not so much a fan of is the drums, they're a bit too bright and happy for this kind of mix I think, but that's relatively minor complaint. This mix probably isn't QUITE as good as I remember it being, but it still holds up very well. The delayed piano is still perfect, it keeps the rest of the mix grounded in the kind of reserved sadness it needs.

I like the source a lot, and the sounds are cool ('specially the sitar) and make sense given the source. This is one of the ones where it feels like djp is just trying something different, and in this case I think there were parts that didn't work out as well (the shouts aren't necessarily a bad idea but they come off kinda corny here). Still it's worth a listen, and I think what's here is a fun little mix that's executed pretty well.

This is really cool! I don't care about the sample quality at all, but maybe that's cause I think this is really well arranged. The hyperactive big band thing works cause things still sound very musical despite the goofily fast pace and some iffy samples. Really well done, dude! I'd love to see more mixes like this.