ella guro

FUCK YES! COMMANDER KEEN!!11 BLASPHEMY! Ahh, nice. About the best you could remix this tune, I think. If I have anything more coherent to add, I'll say it tommorrow. EDIT: It's obviously tommorrow now. Anyway, I'd say this is probably my favorite mix of the past few months. It's pretty obvious to hear the Kraftwerk influence here, and it's done while still staying nostalgic (that high pitched synth is so great ) and mixing in some pretty neat jazz piano in here and there. Analoq also gets bonus points for the fake German accent on the "Goodbye Galaxy" part. The only thing that tops that is the piano part at the end, which is perfect. So yes. Great job overall, and nice work expanding upon the original and fitting it into this genre while still doing it justice. That's something that I really think was missing from his Doom mix (but then again, I love the original to this a lot more than the original Doom tune for that mix). All in all, this is probably my favorite thing analoq has done.

Guitar playing is nice, as always. But I'm sorry man, the production kind of sucks compared to goat's other stuff. The lead warbles like it's underwater and is mixed way in the back while the rythm guitar bleeds lower frequencies over it. Still, there's plenty of awesome here - nice change up at 2:00. The synth at 3:31 is interesting, but probably not implemented with the guitar very well. Overall, sweet guitar playing with more lacking production than usual.

Wow, nice. This is a very good arrangment - no complaints there. But I do have a few things I've noticed: I really think the lead that comes in at :28 is kind of weak and not a good selection for that particular part. I do like when you speed things up around 1:36 and the piano/violin part is nice, but it again could use more variation in the dynamics and make slight changes in rythm to make it sound a little more musical. I also like where the build up after that goes to, but it takes too long to get back to the melody. I like that last section, though. Anyway, those comments aside, I did really enjoy the arrangement. Keep it up!

I was hoping I'd like this. Quinn Fox's last few pieces have been outstanding, and I was hoping he'd continue the trend. Right away, this sounds a lot like his two FF6 mixes. The sequencing/playing is very good all around and though some of his samples sound to me like cheesy demo keyboard presets, he's used them very well. All around, pretty groovy and a nice mix to listen to. Good job.

The arrangement is pretty solid, as far as I can tell. And the percussion is a little too drum-machine campy for me, but it works. The main problem here is that the lead violins, throughout the piece, are extremely mechanical and lack any kind of dynamic variation. It also gets very tiring listening to the succinct, dry lead all of the time - it wouldn't have hurt to change up the lead to something a little more sustained in places to give a little bit more variety. The fade-out is also a little strange. In the end, I like the way this is arranged and I think if it weren't so overwhelmingly mechanical sounding (and maybe you brought a few more instruments here and there into the mix), it would really help.

The samples aren't the greatest of quality - the strings in general aren't that great, especially the cello at around :57. The production is also very new-age muzak, which isn't my thing, but that's not really the point. But all in all, this is a pretty good arrangement - both the piano and flute are well sequenced and the strings serve their purpose. I wouldn't say it's an overwhelming arrangement (it doesn't expand on the original overwhelmingly but that's not exactly a necessity given how much of the original there is), and it certainly could sound better with some more convincing samples, but it's fairly well done as is.

There is some nice work here done in making this sound like an actual orchestra, and the samples are all very good except for the percussion, yet the arrangement gives me a kind of ehh feeling in the end. It never seems to be very fulfilling - it's kind of anticlimactic, and the parts are mostly sparse and conservative. I really wish it would build to an intense climax, but it always seems like it's just on the edge and never quite gets there. Still, the sound you've got is definitely right (minus the percussion). I just think the parts are all fairly conservative and almost hesitant to build up to something. It needs to be expanded into further territory and take some more risks. Otherwise, as I said before, it's kind of unfulfilling in the end.

I have to agree with Protricity here - I really don't see very much expansion on the original, and given that the mix has only a few instruments playing at a time and everything is always a little off (which can get really grating and irritating). The sound is definitely appealing and fits the piece, but I wonder how much better this could be if the instruments were tuned to each other and if the playing got a little more involved and expanded a little more on the original. Still, it's a good idea...it's just sloppy. And that ending...ENRGH!11

There is really nothing wrong with this guitar at all - I wonder how many of you listen to rock music often. This type of stuff is done all the time. The big problem I have with this mix is the mixing - the percussion is always a little off (and sounds muddy), the acoustic is a little flat, the choir patches are too loud, and the piano at the beginning is too tinny. As far as arrangement goes, it's pretty close to the original - which is ok for this type of mix, and the lead guitar playing is good. It's not overwhelming and has some issues, but it's pretty good overall.

VG Freakquency LOAL On an unrelated matter, I didn't know I killed Jesus. I'm amazed that I could theoretically have enough motivation to kill the son of God. If only I could use just some of that energy for my remixes...

Despite screaming and cursing loudly I did at it for 3 hours last night (and therefore missing the show), my computer is fine now. So I guess I'll just download the recording and listen to it...

NO REVIEWS??!?! I never thought of the silence theme (probably my second favorite from the game) done this way...but, well, it WORKS! Awesome job, mr. TITTERS!1

Wow. Terra's theme is like my all time favorite vg tune...and while I like "Terra In Black", this one hits me a lot harder emotionally. The guitar playing is just so...beautiful and subdued. It's so pretty...and it fits the theme perfectly. I wish there were more mixes like this.

and a hearty BUMP to you, now that the show is underway.

hm. well, after listening to this a few more times, I would agree that the bassline is tiring and grating, the tempo fluctuates strangely and unnaturally sometimes, and there is little to no harmony in the first section, but none of those reasons are enough for it to not be enjoyable to me. Hell, it's still a hell of a lot better than the mushy 1353 pedal whoring piano pieces I've heard. And I do like how it establishes the theme, goes off on a semi-related tangent, then returns again. whatever...

I really like this mix - and looking throught the judges decisions thread, I was REALLY suprised that it was that close. To me, the dissonance in the bass note at the beginning is obviously put there intentionally to set a more ominous tone for the prelude that's played on top of it. After all, it is supposed to be the battle theme. And it is resolved shortly thereafter. However, there do seem to be a few odd notes here and there - especially in the upper register around 1:26, and around 1:38 things get a little shoddy arrangement-wise. But there is some nice expansion on the original here that is subtle and really fits (like the part at 2:27, which is neat). And I really do admire this piece for taking more risks than a lot of other piano mixes I've heard that tend to be just mushy and oversimplified. So...good work, Noir. Hope to see more from you.

May your birthday be filled with e-penis, larry. Eat up. (and sorry i haven't been listening to VGF for awhile ).

If you're still taking requests, I'd like to request "Heart's Anxiety" by Ceracryst (from FF7). Also, I have another lovely non-vg song that I can send you if you have the time.

The re-equed version of this track is avaliable at vgmix, which seems to be down at the moment. (link later) and here (at 128kbps, unfortunately. that was kind of an accident): http://adhesiveboy.no-ip.com/linoleum_stalacties_(EQ_version).mp3 I also have the original rns file, but the drum patches and some other of the crucial samples I used were part of larger refills that you'd have to have in order to open those samples.

...and here's the original rns file for Reason 2.5 (without the choir and the tempo changes implemented by Protricity): edit: link no work no mo

I forgot to thank Protricity for adding the tempo changes and the choir. So um...thanks! 99% of this remix was done is Reason 2.5 (Dr. Rex beats come sliced up, for the person who asked), and the tempo changes were implemeted from rewire into cubase. I have my original .rns file without the tempo changes or choir, so I'll post that up when I get around to it.

well yeah...one of them is 'dillninja', but the other two beats I use are pretty much mine (as in, one is a rex loop that I sliced up a modified, and the other is some soundfont). Anyway, thanks for the comments!

I have to agree with Trenthian. Some of the chords the keyboard plays are just...odd and completely clash with the bassline. But I don't think the brass is too bad, considering how crappy most brass samples are out there. Sure, maybe a little artificial...especially when the part deviates from the original notes. But overall it doesn't sound too bad. Still...while the keyboard notes sound fine about half the time, there's enough to make me uncomfortable. I do appreciate the creativity there, but I think making everything fit is more important.

This mix is from the ironmix challenge 10 (which is almost a year old, mind you), and I believe it got first place. The challenge of the contest was to remix the tune "It's Difficult To Stand On Both Feet, Isn't It?" from FF7, which is definitely not an easy thing to remix. check out the other entries here: http://ironmix.rks.no-ip.com/Contest_10_-_The_Big_One/ As for the mix, I'm just going to post part of my review from the IMC10 results: "First of all, it starts out with some ambient wind effects and soon adds a soft wailing synth, which takes it to the piano. And the deal is pretty much sealed right there. If you listen the first time, you probably won't recognize the source too much. But ever listen it gets more and more noticeable, until you notice pretty much all of the source at the heart of the mix with just changed chord progressions. It was definitely a stroke of genius on Dev VJ's part to be able to execute it as well as he did, too. There's also a nice amount of emotion put into everything - places like 3:30 just make you so happy and yet sad to see it quickly fade away after some simple but effective string progressions. And just when you think it's all said and done - it kicks back in to finish the jobs with one of those old-fashioned major-thirds-put-at-the-end-of-a-piece-in-minor (I know there's a name, and I can go as far as to say that I have a vague idea that it starts with a "p" and ends with a "y" but I don't want to butcher it and have some theory experts make fun of me.) I wish I had more to say in the time-arena, but I don't think any more commentary is necessary. Just move over to your favorite couch (mine's a 20-year old blue-ish thing that's turned brown from so many stains), lie down, and listen in on the music. It truly is beautiful." that's all!

This is awesome. There's several different sections that all expand on the original tune (which I really like) greatly, but don't really change the progression to where it's unrecognizable. The last section does sound very much like the original, but it seems appropriate after everything else that's gone on in the mix. The samples are great, the sequencing is stellar...not much else to say here. Outstanding work, aluminum!