Liontamer   Judges ⚖️

I did. Will get that on panel (along with my vote) this weekend. Looking forward to it. PM me, Kristina.

Open sounded pretty sweet, albeit a bit distant. When the guitar came in at :31, you could hear how the mixing wasn't that strong. Vig's dead on. I felt like the elements mudded together as things got the most intense, for example 1:20-2:24. Quieter sections like the intro and 2:24 obviously don't sound as problematic by comparison, but it feels like some high-end is lost and some really cool details of the writing don't have a chance to be heard as well as they should be. I'd say the mixing COULD definitely use another pass to improve it. I like to mention it every so often, but djpretzel's Revenge of Shinobi 'Consent (Make Me Dance)' makes a great control track for me to compare a clean but full sounding mix with something else I'm listening to see whether or not it's EQed and mixed as well. But really, when the arrangement and performances are otherwise this strong and well-executed, I can look beyond the production flaws. Ultimately, they weren't a deal-breaker. I think Cristián will look back on this one, if not now then later, and definitely not be satisfied with the mixing. It IS rough, but it would need to be worse for me to turn this down. What's here still gets way more right than it does wrong thanks to a great arrangement and serviceable-on-the-edge-of-problematic mixing. It's got my vote. YES (borderline)

Should have sent this in BEFORE April 1st. We could have had a field day with this. NO

First off, pardon Vig, he's a noob at Tim Follin music. I can't agree with him saying stuff like "your biggest problem is a lack of direction" if he can barely wrap his head around the source tune. This was a fairly straightforward/cover-ish arrangement. Mixing sounded rather flat, probably on account of the leads sounding too distant, and the panning being too wide. On headphones, it's pretty apparent. Not a fan of the snare sound either; it's too loud while also being kind of a flimsy sound. Dynamically, this had some minor moments, but it felt like this was always stuck in second gear and never chose to deviate from that through further personalizing the performances. Points like :57, were all opportunites to do something a bit more creative with the energy level or textures to provide better dynamic contrast. Cool instrumentation at 2:32, though most of that got buried by the lead at 2:39 and there wasn't much interplay or synergy with the supporting writing. Watch the levels of the different parts there so that they do a better job working in tandem. 3:48 does a little rinse-and-repeat with a little more energy and some added guitar underneath which at least offered something different for the finish, even if not much. The fade out didn't bother me personally, but it definitely can come off like a lame cop-out finish. It's a pretty personalized cover, and I think I can get behind the arrangement on that level (and putting Follin bias aside). Unfortunately (and the soloing-style stuff from 2:49-3:20 made me finally realize this), the big problem for me was that the performance just feels so flat, stilted, and devoid of expressiveness. Everything's played competently; it's not as if this is poor music in any way, it's just such a dynamically flat performance. It doesn't mean this has to wildly swing the seesaw the other way with super-pronounced ups and dows and ultra-expressive Dream Theater-esque prog rock. I'm close to passing this as a well-personalized cover, but there's gotta be more expressiveness and dynamic contrast behind this for me to be fully confident in this one. The bar not much higher than this song, but the arrangement still needs something more. I think Jimmy & Bimmy are awesome, and hope I haven't offended them, since them <3'ing Follin means I <3 them. NO (resubmit) That said, I thought while I could apply a little bit of these crits to "Beach Noise" as well, and the mixing was on the muddy side, that that performance there was more expressive and could have a decent chance of passing here if the mixing was cleaned up a little. I sincerely hope this isn't the last we've heard of 'em. Listen to them on their Bandcamp, Judges Decision readers!

Timing seemed off with how the leads interacted with the background synth. Beats felt super flimsy at :26; a thicker sound may help there to fill out the soundfield. Even after it seemed like the buildup was complete at :34 with the cymbal swell transition, the overall texture felt too thin. Wasn't a fan of the flimsy claps brought in at :53. The beats providing the framework just sound too thin, even though they're complimented by some bass presence. Bowed strings at 1:10 really strained for realism. They didn't sound awful, and they weren't totally exposed. But the attacks and articulations stood out just enough to sound noticeably fake. Still not feeling the synth lead at 1:27. It's a pretty dry, shrill and exposed kind of lead and the instrumentation surrounding it doesn't really click much with it, IMO. Just wasn't feeling the synth leads or percussion, the textures were too sparse while not having much synergy, and I felt the dynamic changeups here were just awkward without much flow. I only read Vig's vote after writing all of this above. He was right about 2:15 and the final section's energy level needing to be the minimum energy level of the entire track. But even then, there's so much open space in the soundscape. The clock ticks at 2:34 were too loud and sounded like they were just stapled on top of the music. Everything else is so dry while the clock sound has all this delay on it; they need to sound like they occupy the same soundscape. You really need thicker sounds and/or some padding to achieve a richer soundscape, and you need instruments that actually work well together. If you get those working, the issue of dynamic contrast will take care of itself and you'll realize the potential of what's otherwise a legitimately interpretive and interesting arrangement. All in all, I thought this ended up being a step backwards from the previous submitted version. Nothing to be ashamed about there, but it'll take a lot more work to improve the instrumentation and flesh out the soundscape if you don't already have a decent ear for it. NO

Ohhhhh man. I wouldn't have said that. That scary part is not even that Chris might DO that, it's that he'd do a great job, and we've have to listen to fart music.

Shame on your face. Seriously, obviously we're glad you're hyped enough to want everything OMGnow, but that can come off as an entitlement when Eidos is working hard to give each individual track its own attention from Deus Ex's fans. Rolling things out track by track gives each piece its own spotlight, and it's resulting in more feedback and discussion on Facebook for the album, which have been great to see. In another week, all 8 tracks will be out there and you'll have the complete EP. And it'll be worth the wait.

Soundscape sounds a little thin (though the padding worked fine to fill the background out), and the electrosynths were on the generic/vanilla side. The woodwind lead articulations should be less stiff, and the solid, light beat from the snare rim shots or whatever had a kind of boring pattern, which was varied better after 1:22. The mallet percussion at 1:26 also had noticeably stiff timing; still something you legitimately need to work on across all of your projects. Stylistically, it's not as if the stiffness kills the song, but it does restrict the emotive potential. Interesting, subtle dynamic shift at 2:01 with the beat dropoff and some pronounced original orchestration coming in that clicked very nicely with the source melody and finished the track off much stronger than it started. Texturally, this could be more cohesive, and I already mentioned the articulations being a notable issue. That said, the arrangement was definitely interpretive, the dynamics (while subtle) were varied nicely, and I thought everything from 1:26-onward made a stronger case for the overall execution of this piece panning out well enough. I disagreed with Vig's call; I thought the subtlety of the way this piece evolved and built really shouldn't be sold short. The flow was never poor, but it further improved for the second half as more and more good ideas clicked. Overall, I'm comfortable with this. Good work here, Damon; keep raising your personal bar. YES

Pretty non-descript synth lead to open things up. The strings brought in at sound really lo-fi, distant and sour. Hate to criticize it on this level, but you've managed to take the melodiousness of NHM completely out of it, and in a way that definitely doesn't work. Why am I hearing the chiptune-ish stuff louder than the leads from :47-:56. Poor transition at :58; super bland and lacking direction. The sampled brass and strings at 1:16 both strain for realism and were too exposed. The more freeform lead writing at 1:36 was a good notion, but that also had little direction, and the beat behind it added to everything sounding scattershot. String stabs at 2:04 were horribly out of tune. Another supporting string part brought at 2:14 that doesn't click with the other writing at all. Pretty poor execution all around, unfortunately. The beats and sounds sounded fairly beefy, so that was good. That said, the beat patterns felt like they were on cruise control, and the dynamic curve hear was flatter than a pancake. The string and brass samples were too exposed and fake-sounding. NONE of the parts were complementary of others; nothing clicked together or had any degree of synergy. Again, your sounds have a good weight to them, and the mixing of the parts wasn't horrible, but your composition has 0 flow or direction, so the arrangement was just scattershot, off-key and not showing much promise. I hate to sound this discouraging, but you need to walk before you can run; really study the top-flight music you want to sound similar to, use the Workshop forums here for more feedback and help, and keep practicing. NO

When djp asked me if there was anything from LucasArts we could post as a nod to this, I knew exactly who to reach out to. Much love to Chris for submitting this (been a fan of it for 7 years), though I wish the closing of LucasArts wasn't the event that prompted it. :'-( It's really a great, ultimately pretty timeless concept piece that's works incredibly well. A great tribute to Joe McDermott and the Titanic Toddler!

Too bad that's all your good at. It really limits what you can offer.

I think he's just mad you didn't think of him for vocals, he just doesn't wanna say it upfront. Brandon, quit being a dip, your criticism is just unfair/dumb. Project looks awesome, and the talent all around are huge gets for this game, so you know it's gonna be excellent. Really like the art direction in particular. I'm also hoping that, if the stars align, all Jimmy, Ronald and Judith all get to collab on at least ONE track. I have no idea what it would sound like, that's why I'm especially intrigued!

Seriously, some of you are so dense when it comes to April Fool's. "I mentioned April Fool's. Why did my post get deleted?" Really? Why are you such a stupidface spoiling the joke? STFU and just play along. If you're NOT a mod, and you're actually F5-ing to notice posts being deleted, good for you, but shut up. But for real, 99% of people looking won't know posts were deleted, hence why they post stuff like "Has anyone noticed the date?" Yeah, Stephen Hawking, you were the first to notice.

Well wishes to everyone who got A1'ed.

Got a new and improved version from Yan after inquiring. The pleasure was all mine. I only asked because the track was so awesome, so I'm glad you got the chance to take another pass at it! With no reservations now, YES

Unfortunately, Fishy's track is also 1 second long for me too. https://twitter.com/CainMcCormack/status/318790153772625920 It's an artistic thing, playa.

We'll be in touch! Thank you in advance for your hundreds of thousands!

Hey, no need to have sour grapes on missing out on being a part of the album! We'll get you involved somehow in the next one for some Theory of N awesomeness. But let's not let disappoint on not being on the FF6 album as an artist cloud your judgement about the hard work involved in putting everything together, you're an important part of this community.

It might just be your download on Fishy's, but I'll also say we went for quality over quantity as far as the count, so definitely have no fear! The replayability and production level of the album is way, way up there, thanks to the generous support of the album backers, who ROCK!

I am exicte! THANKS YOU to everyone who helped support the album via Kickstarter, allowing us to take it to the next level of game music!

Never was here. As for "where did some tracks go?", just linking OC Removed doesn't explain it, so... http://ocremix.org/info/Frequently_Asked_Questions#Why_have_some_songs_been_removed.3F http://ocremix.org/info/ReMix_Changelog

Definitely not an invalid crit, but I wasn't as bothered by some of the looseness in the live performances, just noting. This ultimately sounded fine to me on that level. Arrangement was pretty sweet. I was a bit underwhelmed by the "Sky Sanctuary" usage, because, while it was there, it felt pretty marginalized. But together with the Sonic Colors source usage, the overall usage was dominant and overt enough. Yeah, this could seemingly lose a couple of things without impacting the song too much. But if you didn't get rid of anything, you HAVE to declutter these textures. Yep, totally agreed here, the mixing is undermining this. On some other vocal-related points, the off-key moment at 2:48-2:51 was pretty unfortunate. Otherwise the vocals were generally on point. Also, the key of the Bastion lyrical cameo just didn't click at all with the Sonic Colors arrangement and felt really forced; I'd honestly ice it. You know, you mailed me about basically having hit a wall as far as getting mixes passed, and it's pretty apparent that's not far from the mark. It's certainly not for a lack of really awesome arrangements, but, as you get more ambitious and your textures become more complex, the inability to cleanly mix and all of these parts is throwing a huge monkeywrench into all of this creative greatness. The next stage of your growth as a musician is 1) buying something better than $20 headphones to mix to (my Senn HD497s were around $60, it doesn't need to break the bank) and 2) nagging the slew of artists in the community who've got their mixing on lock for their advice. The Workshop is made for this, and you now have at least 4 or 5 submissions that all could desperately use some targeted advice there about how to handle dense textures and giving your parts room to breathe. Take it to the next level. NO (refine/resubmit)

The lead's not totally buried, but it's certainly obscured too much. Aside from that minor clarification, Vig's right about everything. It was disappointing that 1:59 was basically a rinse and repeat of the opening verse, and 3:27's section was just mirroring the initial build, so there's really not much substance to the arrangement in the long run. This was a decent base, but the track's indeed washed out and the arrangement needs further substance and development. Interesting approach though, Isacco, I hope to hear more from you and you show potential. NO

Maybe change some timestamps in the first paragraph and it's still the same vote. Cluttered mixing culprits: 0:58-1:23 - mallet percussion and strings handling leads were BURIED by the rhythm guitars 2:55-3:48 - the strings are so buried Other areas didn't suffer AS badly, but the whole thing could use another pass. You should be begging Sixto, SnappleMan or PuD for production advice at this point. But EQ, EQ, EQ is your friend. So many things are bleeding into each other and it's messing up the epicness of this top-notch arrangement. I disagreed with Vig's crits on some of the solos/structure. As long as the mixing is de-cluttered, the arrangement doesn't need to be touched. NO (refine/resubmit)

Gotta agree with Vig all the way. Pretty thin sounds, a bland groove, and a cookie-cutter electronic arrangement in too many places. Rather corny boom-tss opening until :39. The countermelodic writing at :43 was way too loud and drowned out the lead, but the lead sound was pretty vanilla as well. The wubs from 1:09-1:35 weren't an inherently bad idea, but didn't mesh very well with the other instrumentation. 1:36-2:15's section ended up clicking the best as far as the sound choices and mixing/balancing of the parts. You could have something better going on with that sound palette and forgoing a lot of the other ideas. 2:28's section was another instance where the stuff around the lead was taking the focus away from the melody. 2:56's section until 3:22 turned out very cluttered as well. Just being honest, I don't think this arrangement will be the one to get you posted, but it's definitely a cool learning experience. The combination of the two source tunes was actually really cool and surprisingly seemless in theory, but the execution turned out vanilla or messy in many places, which I'm hoping another J can further elaborate on. Take a listen to something like DigiE's past few mixes, as they're able to make more effective, better balanced pieces with somewhat similar sounds. That said, this is much better than your previous 2 takes on that, and easily could have made the site back in the early days. Your potential is actually pretty strong and as long as you stay dedicated, you could be coming out with some really awesome stuff. Definitely stick with it. NO