Liontamer

http://www.tzone.org/~llin/psf/packs2/FF7_psf.rar - 306 "The Nightmare's Beginning" & 403 "The Highwind Takes to the Skies" Thanks to TO for identifying "The Nightmare's Beginning" here, as when I very briefly listened to it, I didn't hear the connection. Not a bad intro using "The Nightmare's Beginning"; fairly muddy, but I was feeling the texture overall up until the percussion came in at :44. Melody doubled up at :59. "The Highwind Takes to the Skies" arranged melody was added on top at 1:28 with a noticeable key change. The texture at that point was pretty thin, as the instrumentation was very simplistic. Drums needed to be more varied, and the bassline could stand to be given a richer sound. The drums and bassline need to form a nice solid foundation, which they don't. Stuff sounded like it was clashing from 2:38-2:56. Transition at 2:56 was non-existent. Lame ass exposed hat-pattern came in at 3:11, along with the drums and kicks by 3:26. I wouldn't built to 3:26 with the gradual addition method, as the exposed sounds were weak. Basically chugged along repeating stuff until the fadeout ended too quickly at 4:23 and left 7 seconds of silence at the end. Arrangement effort was there but too simplistic in the big picture, though it was in the right direction as the feel was very different from the source tunes. It just felt that once you get through a couple of minutes here, your ideas and sounds didn't vary and were on cruise control. The relative sparseness and blandness of the instrumentation didn't help either. Work on more creative synth design, more complex percussion writing, and more complex textures. Not bad for a beginner submission. Try and get more feedback from our unwashed masses as well. NO

http://www.zophar.net/nsf/dslayer4.zip - Track 2 Part of the track could use more sharpness with some higher frequencies, as it sounded a bit dull. Particularly noticeable on the synth strings first used at :13 that were playing the source melody. Synth design is nothing but plain, and needs something to stand out as unique. Man those vocals (:32-:51) were incredibly tacky. The whole thing after :52 was just this merely mildly energetic generitechno with a gated synth handling the melody. Ah man, vocals were reused from 2:04-2:22. Bad beginner-ish decay on the cymbal shot used to close the track out at 3:28. Just plain-sounding and un-innovative. Just sounds like you need the nerve to try and expand your horizons and more experience under your belt. NO

http://snesmusic.org/spcsets/ed2.rsn - "The Prophet" (ed2-114.spc) There's something about Ravi and him being unable to produce something with a cohesive, balanced texture. The snappy percussion was thin, loud and very exposed. The beatwork as a whole was boring, though the hand drums were a decent change of pace (though the pattern repeats too much). The piano on background used in the intro was OK, but sounded too rigid and synthetic. Piano on lead at :34 could have stood out a bit more. The synth acoustic guitar was too quiet (though making it too loud would further expose its needless repetition). Checking out the sound in the right and left channels alone, it sounds like little if any panning was ever employed here. Even if there's a little, the soundfield feels too centered. I'm rather convinced Ravi has no concept of what panning is, and doesn't feel particularly inclined to find out. The arrangement certainly takes the original in a new direction, but once the basic ideas are laid out on piano, the melodic content was basically on cruise control and failed to retain interest. I respect the instrumental variation present throughout the mix, but most of the patterns you used dragged on for too long and got stale: the beats, the hand drums, the acoustic guitar, and most importantly the piano on melody. The whole thing felt rather plodding and unfocused. NO

http://snesmusic.org/spcsets/mo2.rsn - "Hospital" (mo2-025.spc) Played this on VGF73, so, while I liked it, I've heard it early enough to express some concerns. I'm feeling the guitar work here, but something about the percussion didn't create the right texture and sounded out of place to me. Despite the attempt at a subdued feel for the track, the percussion actually sounded too thick here. It was only during part of the track (e.g. :22-:41, 1:06-1:20, 1:49-2:17) but the heavier-sounding drums patterns didn't seem to gel with the rest of the track. They stuck out enough where they were too exposed as really basic and repetitive. The softer sounding percussion (e.g. :00-:21, :42-1:06, 1:24-1:48) sounded basic as well but didn't draw too much attention to itself. Overall, the drum patterns themselves were also a bit sparse, with the lyrics and other instrumentation unable to compensate and fill out the soundfield. Perhaps someone could better articulate why things weren't necessarily clicking here. Even if there were 0 arrangement concerns, the background instrumentation isn't getting the job done. Considering it's supposed to be the foundation, it's a weak foundation. But more important to me, besides the keyboard playing the backing of the source, I wasn't hearing much overt arrangement of "Hospital". I'll be glad to reevaluate this after talking to weed and/or reading other votes, but aside from opening and the keyboard here, I'm not hearing much of "Hospital" in this very liberal spin of the source. The lyrics and the bassline all seem to be doing their own thing most of the time. "Hospital" may lack a prominent melody, but IMO there's a enough material in it [including a reference to "The Metropolis of Fourside" (mo2-083.spc)] to base a full-fledged arrangement off of it. If that's not the case, perhaps integrate more arrangement of Fourside into the instrumentation ideas. Sorry bro. Lyrically, this a is a great song that I find myself singing, but goes to far off the beaten path. NO

http://www.zophar.net/nsf/donkey1.zip - Track 4 A shame, as you did an admirable job expanding upon a VERY minimal source tune. I had to make sure you didn't swipe the expanded instrumentation and original writing ideas from some other Donkey Kong game in the series. Skeptical still, as I didn't bother to check VGMusic or anything, but it's a moot point anyway. Sample quality hurts this and the production lacks sharpness/clarity via a lack of treble frequencies. Track repeats :28's section at 1:03. Gotta extend the track significantly, as 1:43-long with some sections repeating wholesale is not a significant enough arrangement effort to pass. Decent sketch of an arrangement if anything. NO

http://www.zophar.net/nsf/Startropics.zip - Track 3 The percussion pattern was very plain and drags the track back; let's get something more creative there bro. Same goes for the bassline you swiped from the source tune. Play around with the progression there and fashion something unique and varied. The sounds you got from Hammersound are pretty good (and recognizable in a good way), though they're not used to their best. Everything needs better articulation/realism. The execution wasn't solid at all, but was alright for a beginner. Only 2:10-long, the arrangement was very underdeveloped, with the fadeout ending doing nothing to discredit that assessment. Use the ReMixing forum here to learn how to achieve a more nuanced sound with your samples and get commentary from the unwashed masses at the Works forum. Work toward really developing the arrangement concepts you had into a lengthier, more meaningful arrangement, Rob. NO

http://www.zophar.net/gbs/btoads.zip - Track 3 Melody at :35 sounds like it's warping a bit in the low-end; dunno what you specifically call that, but it didn't sound good. The melody is certainly arranged more than Zelig's very old/dated take on the theme. The supporting instrumentation is way too repetitive. Not too much beyond some bass rhythms, basic beats and synths, and flat instrumentation with poor texture and no energy. The mood here is not dark or hard, it's plain. Very beginner-ish, you at least have some ideas right on how to personalize your arrangement. Explore the ReMixing forum to look into better sounds and work on production techniques, then use the Works forum to obtain fan feedback before any other future submissions. NO

http://www.zophar.net/nsf/punchout.zip - Tracks 20 & 23 Intro sounds rather nasty on the first listen. Melody kicked in at :35 and the soundfield is just swamped with a very low-quality mush of instrumentation. The only things I could even distinguish up to 1:21 were drums and guitar. Solo guitar riffing starts at 1:21 and the lame, plain-jane drums are wearing thin. It sounds like someone playing this through huge speakers covered up with thick blankets. The arrangement, though cover-ish, is somewhat alright as a lot of new writing was evident in the supporting instrumentation. Nonetheless, the percussion needs to be given some creativity and the production here needs major help. A very disappointing mess, Janne, one would hope the raw recordings resulted in something that can even be salvaged. You're capable of stuff that sounds much more competent. NO

http://snesmusic.org/spcsets/dkq.rsn - "Hot-Head Bop" (dkq-14.spc) http://www.zophar.net/usf/sm64usf.rar - 09 "Dire, Dire Docks" Heh. Interesting choice of synths for the opening. Everything sounds very lo-fi and the sounds lack texture. The "Hot-Head Bop" melody coming in at :52 is panned a little too widely. Changeup at 1:04 brings the sound quality down like it's at 64kbps, the production here is so muddy and dull. By 1:30 the beat pattern was dragging on; work on writing something more varied and interesting there. 1:46 brought in some ridiculously crunchy synth guitar riffing that buried every other sound. The mixing was way too messy. You can just tell when people don't use any headphones to mix. The reviews for this on VGMix simply weren't criticial enough, and border on unconstructive. I appreciate how you've been constantly changing the instrumentation around to create some variation on that level. Token reference to "Dire, Dire Docks" from 2:40 until the end. The potential for improvement is there for future works, but this just sounded poorly put together to me. Needs improvement everywhere. NO

http://snesmusic.org/spcsets/ct.rsn - "Kaeru's Theme" (ct-1-19.spc) Immediately hit with straight out of the box beats, the track went on without touching upon Frog's Theme until 1:05. Even then, the usage there really felt like an afterthought, though it's pretty overtly used here in the big picture. Things picked up a little more at 1:33, but the lead synths are thin and all clash together indistinctly. The beats are also way too basic and repetitive. 2:53 at least had you do something with the theme in a much more upfront manner. With some more body on that lead, it could sound pretty cool. As soon as the beats came back in at 3:20, they dominated over the top of the melody, which was poor form, IMO. Everything with regards to the arrangement after that point was fairly repetitive up until 4:42 which had some better presented ideas now that you changed up some of the sounds. Anyway, the sounds were pretty thin, the beats/foundation didn't have much variation, the rearrangement attempt was there but rather simplistic, the soundfield was cluttered, and there was a lot of fat that needed to be cut off. Not terrible, but not particularly successful either. Keep working for improvement in future projects, bro. NO

They're $60, so die, you dirty rat!

I PMd Claudo about this and it still hasn't been changed. Anyone else I should talk to? Message StarZander, since he's the webmaster.

http://www.ocremix.org/detailmix.php?mixid=OCR01266 Bottom of the page, n00b.

http://www.zophar.net/usf/lozusf.rar - 68 "Gerudo Valley" Not a bad intro, all things considered; it was at least different. The plain, boring beats were the first major issue I had here though, as they dragged the mix down. Work at writing more thorough and varied percussion parts. The arrangement was too straightforward/basic/safe/uncreative/simplified/uninterpretive (ha, 6!) for the first few minutes, basically following the original progressions verbatim with different sounds. You guys finally did something wholly original from 1:34-1:58, but it was short-lived. 1:58 had some decidedly more energetic/rock-based arrangement, where you guys had some good personal flair in the guitar work (even if it sounded terrible). Unfortunately, once the Gerudo melody came back again at 2:37, it was back to the same old, same old Gerudo melody + beats. Blatty brass came in at 3:08 for the close. Can't you at least use a different style of instrumentation rather than the original's for that? Eww, the horns abruptly cut out at 3:28 and followed up with the cymbal shot for the beginner-ish finish. Production was "OK" but pretty messy, but I'll leave that to someone else to highlight, as I've already said enough on this mix to last me a while. Not bad for a first submission, AZN homies, but your arrangement is gonna have to get more interpretive with the melody here, not just sandwich some brief rearrangement or original inside a "disco/rock" cover of Gerudo Valley. Y'all have the right idea though, as some of the guitar synth ideas with the source tune around the 2 1/2 minute mark were very creative. You guys certainly have some potential. Stick around the community and strive for improvement. NO

http://www.zophar.net/usf/MarioKart64_usf.rar - 18 "Rainbow Road" The synths are terribly used, IMO. The track is amazingly grating and clippy. Amazingly. The arrangement is basically a mere cover and does nothing substantial with personalizing the arrangement. Might as well be a rip. Read the site guidelines that we have regarding arrangements more thoroughly at some point. At least you did some small stuff with the arrangement at 2:11 and in the track's intro, but it was ultimately meaningless in the long run. Try mixing with headphones next time. And use the ReMixing & Works forum to avoid submitting something so problematic in the future. NO

http://snesmusic.org/spcsets/ewj.rsn - "New Junk City" (ewj-01.spc) Man the timing on this was so off the whole way through. Sounds very sloppy. Beats were rather simple and lazy. Instrumentation was relatively generic and sparse and resulted in a plain-jane result. After a sloppy transition section from 1:41-2:04, it briefly switched to some rock-based stuff until 2:38. Same problems, different sounds as far as I'm concerned. I go blehz on this. Not bad for a beginner's effort, but decidedly uncohesive and apparently proud of it. If you're not proud of it being like this, then bury your nose in the ReMixing and Works forums to learn more and allow people to criticize your material. I saw you look down on overly "meticulous" critique here, but it's clear you're in dire need of some. Especially as a n00b, you need to be receptive to criticism, especially detailed criticism. Keep at it, Kiefo. NO

http://www.zophar.net/nsf/castlev3.zip - Tracks 1 ("Beginning") & 11 ["Deja Vu (Vampire Killer)"] Decent a capella stuff. Ultimately the synching of the tracks is too loose. It may be difficult for you, but there are nonetheless a lot of rough spots where the collective timing sounds too shaky. Gotta get it sounding more cohesive and in time. Also, the structure of the beats and harmonization still leaves the track sounding very empty. It isn't until 1:36 that you had some basic but nice effects on your backing tracks that really attempted to fill out the background. Use those types of effects and techniques appropriately to beef up the rest of the voices, or work on adding more supporting vocal tracks. You also may want to double your lead the entire time, just to give it more body. Just some ideas, which you're free to take or leave. Arrangement was alright. I'd be interested in hearing a college a capella group give this arrangement a whirl with a lot more people involved. OL ReMiX could use this. Cool shit, Tom. If you really wanted to fill this track out further and get the timing down with everything, this could be something really solid. As is though, it sounds too rough in the execution. NO (rework/resubmit)

http://www.tzone.org/~llin/psf/packs2/FF8_minipsf.rar - 119 "The Man With the Machine Gun" The dance kick used here had no beef, and the overall texture was too subdued for the energy you were obviously trying to create. The atmosphere was dull and slightly lo-fi. Synth design and breakbeat style were both pretty plain, though I did like the melody being doubled with that chiptune sound (albeit briefly). Chorus right at 1:25 almost sounded out of key; probably wasn't, but just weird. Seemed to fix itself when it repeated. Relatively uncreative/conservative arrangement, as the source melody isn't really manipulated very much, only given a genre adaptation. Doesn't do enough to distinguish it from the style of the original. You gotta be more. Use the ReMixing & Works forums here in order to do that. NO

http://www.tzone.org/~llin/psf/packs2/Chrono_Cross_psf.rar - 111 "Drowning Valley" This is very, very far from "in ya face". These stock breakbeats are incredibly sterile, and all of the synths and samples in play sound default-y. The piano sounds the best, but that's to be expected as it (arguably, I suppose) has a reasonably nice sound to it as is. In any case, the texture here was terrible, the sounds lack energy and drive, and the arrangement was weak. The section at 2:15 left me shaking my head. All a shame, as the drum & bass approach here was interesting given the source tune, just poorly executed the entire way through. Well, get yo' read on 'n shit at the ReMixing forum to learn more on how to work with Reason and beef up your work, and use the Works forum here for more feedback before you choose to submit something again. Right now, this is entirely too beginner-ish. NO

http://snesmusic.org/spcsets/ct.rsn - "Corridors of Time" (ct-3-04.spc) Nice job adding the electric guitar. The production improvement on here has definitely been significant. I don't have a huge problem with this passing ultimately, but IMO the sound balance really needs to be addressed here. The overall volume is generally too quiet; I had to boost this +6db in Winamp to get more satisfying levels. Also, the snappy beats were too loud vs. everything else, but that's a more minor/subjective complaint that I'm not docking points for. More importantly, the lyrics are mushing into the instrumentation and need to be placed more in the foreground. To me, it's a problem for most of the track, but really stick out in areas like the chorus at 1:27-1:55. Sounds like the vocals could better occupy their own space by EQing them higher. Right now the vocals sound a bit obscured/indistinct and lo-fi. In any case, I think everything still sounds great on the arrangement front, but just needs some last refinement to correct any imbalances that are dragging it down. I might be the sticker here, so good luck with the rest of the vote Jovette, and I'm glad to see you actually reading the prior decision, as you've had a lot of good stuff that I think could make it if you ever decided to revisit it. Much success to you with Avex Trax, by the way. NO (refine/easy resubmit)

http://www.snesmusic.org/spcsets/soe.rsn - "Introduction" (soe-02.spc) Well, it's certainly different than the last time around. Awfully sparse, minimalist deal you got going on. The percussion REALLY drags on after a while; it sounds way too beginner-ish. Source tune isn't really being meaningfully arranged, IMO. 1:46 continues on the same path only with some added synth instrumentation. The arrangement isn't "crazy", but somehow seems all over the place. Man, no offense, but this is like Shnabubula, only without any skills. Seriously, it might be Sam's bastard half-brother that no one in his family ever talks about. Nice try at avant-garde or whatever, but there's simply not much going on in terms of polyphony/texture, synth design, or arrangement. NO

Thanks for providing the original, even though I hated it. Brandon has definitely had some better stuff on Deus Ex. At 2:31-long, this is gonna have a hard time passing unless the arrangement and production are very strong, which is not the case for either. The percussion is really plain-jane and doesn't lend any energy to the mix, plus it repeats way too much. The foreground instrumentation also sound tepid and somewhat generic though the choice of sounds isn't terrible. Beyond 1:31 though, you've basically heard all that there is to hear. Really not much going on here melodically. Lacking meaningful direction and very underdeveloped. Not bad for a first submission though, Anis. Stay involved in the community and use the ReMixing and Works forums to learn more on music making and obtain criticism. NO

Well that's awfully disappointing. You were certainly groove-biasing me with the way this opened up. Too bad the beat goes non-stop like this. Aside from the beats though, you at least tried to go off on several minorly different variations of the melody, which turned out ok. The synth textures, IMO, were working pretty well here. Go for even more interpretation with the arrangement, and more dynamic contrast. (Weak as hell BTW, that shitty and eternally tacky cymbal shot ending. It does not get any more uncreative as an ending. Work on that close!) What was comparably holding this back though was the production. The sounds in play were nice and beefy, but the soundfield was too cluttered, and there were some occasionally piercing frequencies. You need more separation of the sounds in play with some judicious EQing, and despite the full atmosphere you need a cleaner overall sound. For a 165kbps VBR encoding, this sounds more like 96kbps CBR. It's a long way from say, bLiNd's quality. Look in the ReMixing forum for help on that so your stuff doesn't inadvertently sound lo-fi. Keep making use of the resources here to improve your material bro. This was a promising start. I don't believe you're at the level to get this passed with one resubmission, but I don't think you should drop this one altogether. Get more experience under your belt and then revisit it. I'll be hanging onto this, for verily thou hast groove-biased mine ears. NO (rework/resubmit) When's Bladiator gonna work futher on "MC Jazzer" and submit that? This game needs more love.

http://www.vgmusic.com/music/console/microsoft/xbox/morrowind.mid - "Morrowind Theme" Generic trance sounds, boring perc patterns, and arguably too liberal arrangement approach (though you guys should be able to hear the connections), and clipping like a motherfucker. Yuck. Unfortunately nothin' to love here. NO

Agreeing with TO's assessment here, the arrangement was very conservative, the composition was very sparse, the performance sounds too rigid, the production is awful, and the piano sample here isn't very expressive. The jazzy section from 1:54-2:52 was sloppy and didn't have anything to do with Blue Fields, which isn't normally a killer but contrast poorly with such an uncreative arrangement of the source. Yeah, please make use of the ReMixing and Works forums here to improve your game. For a beginner Mattias, you certainly have the right idea in terms of your arrangements, but just don't have the know-how and experience yet to turn out a solid finished product. NO