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Liontamer   Judges ⚖️

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Posts posted by Liontamer

  1. http://www.doom2.net/~doomdepot/music/doom%201%20&%202%20midis.zip - "E1M2 - Nuclear Plant"

    Decent intro. Good job even making that ambiance a rearrangement of the original. The vox was a bit too artificial sounding, as well as the strings. Nice atmosphere though. The drums seemed a bit too loud, but s'alright.

    Some electronic stuff kicked in at :50. A little cluttered and drowning out the melodic lead, but the production is good for the most part. Just bring that lead out. The melodies here really aren't very melodic at all throughout the whole piece. Just seems like randomly phrased stuff the whole way through that doesn't sound much like the source tune to me at all. And prior to judging this, I looped the source tune for hours to get very familiar with it. I obviously hear how you changed the rhythms up, but beyond 1:59 it started going far off the beaten path as far as I could hear. For anyone who complained that some of the material was too liberal, I'd say this was a good example.

    Make the melody more overt here. That means not obscuring it with all of the other synths and effects in play, making the arranged melody sound more easily identifiable with the source material, and making the arranged melody sound more melodic in general. Don't get me wrong, David, on the whole this sounds good, but it doesn't sound at all like the theme you tackled. I'm certainly willing to relisten if anyone else strongly disagrees.

    NO (resubmit)

  2. http://www.snesmusic.org/spcsets/loz3.rsn - "Credits" (loz3-31.spc)

    Yeah, this was actually a mix of the Credits theme. The Ending theme (loz3-30.spc) is actually totally different, so I just wanted to clear up any confusion. I know Shna really liked your mixing name, so good stuff with that, Poptart and Crackho!

    This was some decently sequenced stuff. The piano here has the delicate touch, but sounds awfully mechanical regardless. Good idea for the addition of whatever that was at 1:14. Beyond 1:42, some of the other additional instrumentation you added also sounded a bit too synthetic, but overall it didn't negatively impact the piece in any major way. More panning would be nice.

    In any case, this was definitely a case of the arrangement being too conservative. Think of ways to involve more melodic interpretation and strengthen the samples you're using.

    NO

  3. http://www.tzone.org/~llin/psf/packs2/SaGa_Frontier_psf.rar - 216 "Alone"

    The intro was a little thin-sounding, but the samples are used decently. The percussion coming in at :36 doesn't mesh well with what you have in my opinion, but it's ok. The guitar melody at 1:09 sounded very mechanical, which was one of the larger drawbacks here. Over time, the structure of the percussion drags on as well. Think of ways to change not just the patterns, but the overall feel in order to keep the piece fresh.

    Just as I said that, you changed it up at 2:49, which was good, but the track could use the change a lot earlier on. Also, the new snare pattern there until 3:22 was really plain and needs to be spiced up. The arrangement was still conservative, but much more creative as a more straightforward genre transposition than your previous take on "Alone."

    There was never really any significant change in the feel of the track, which was an important issue for me. This is pretty good downbeat material, much like "Moon Dust" but needs a little more work to keep the track engaging throughout the 4 minutes. Repeating myself from earlier, change the feel up with some more changes in the instrumentation or different effects.

    Nonetheless, with a bit more work this could be your third posted mix, and I'd love to see this worked on further. I'd appreciate any other Js to give specifics on how this could be brought to that next level, especially because I felt the production was a bit dull-sounding as well. Nice work so far, Damon, I sincerely hope you don't drop this one.

    NO (resubmit)

  4. ftp://ftp.modland.com/pub/modules/impulsetracker/michiel%20van%20den%20bos/unreal%20tournament%20-%20foregone%20destruction.it - "Foregone Destruction"

    Submission Instructions & Standards[/url'>]In terms of arrangement - how close or distant ReMixes should be to the original - the general rule is that the ReMix should be YOURS. We don't just mean that you were involved in its creation, but that it is different enough from the original so as to readily illustrate the contributions, modifications, and enhancements you have made. In other words, don't just take the original and drop a few drum loops on top. Also, don't simply take a MIDI file and assign new instruments to the parts, or add reverb, and expect that to pass as 'yours'. When we say 'ReMix', we actually mean something closer to 're-arrangement', if that helps clarify. If you listen to most of the pieces on the site and compare them to the originals, you should get an idea of what a ReMix is.

    The same goes for IT files as well, obviously. This wasn't much of a remix or enhancement, and just coasts on the instrumentation and structure of the original. Not surprised this sub had the same name as the original. Not what we do here.

    NO Override

    This NO Override has been brought to you thanks to F4T4L_3RR0R. Here's how it unfolded:

    <F4T4L> I wonder if it's at modarchive.com

    <Liontamer> looks like nothing, but I'm still looking

    <F4T4L> hey I like... found it

    * F4T4L unzips his pants. "HOW BAD DO YOU WANT IT?!"

    <F4T4L> HEY LARRY

    <F4T4L> LARRY

    <Liontamer> yo

    <F4T4L> ftp://ftp.modland.com/pub/modules/impulsetracker/michiel%20van%20den%20bos/unreal%20tournament%20-%20foregone%20destruction.it

    <F4T4L> YOU CAN THANK ME LATER

    <F4T4L> just be sure to say that I am the sole hierarchy of awesomeness

    <Liontamer> I tried that link though

    <Liontamer> it didn't work before

    <Liontamer> That was at the Nectarine page I linked to

    <F4T4L> the link on the page was gayed up

    <F4T4L> I dug down the root and found it manually

    <F4T4L> I went through EACH FOLDER

    <F4T4L> because I am that awesome

    <Liontamer> NICE

    <Liontamer> YAY!

    * Liontamer *kiss*

    * F4T4L bows

    <F4T4L> if it's on the net, I'm the man to find it. :(

    <F4T4L> because I DON'T GIVE UP! lol

    <F4T4L> okay now I can resume downloading my NSF's. enjoy!

    <Liontamer> Once I get this, you will indeed get the pimpage

    All hail F4T4L_3RR0R, the pimp of pimps and the sole hierarchy of awesomeness!~~

  5. Thanks for providing the source tune, Collin. I can definitely say this sub was much better than the source tune, which I just hated. Too frantic and cutesy, but I imagine it works well for the game. In any case, good ideas hear in terms of simply slowing the tempo down for this remix. It allows the melody to be appreciated more.

    Can't articulate the issues as well as I'd like to, but I think zircon would be able to break this down the best. The arrangement is alright. Potentially a bit repetitive, but not hugely. The problems are much more with what sounds you've been using and how they're being put together.

    Not feeling the intro here. The lead really doesn't combine well with the strings backing it up, but :19 has some better stuff with a piano. The piano has some nice effects on it, but the beats are too loud and don't sound like they're in the same place.

    We get some Rhodes-like freestyling at :38 that's fairly stylish. Just continuing to listen but it just seems like the sounds don't really combine well or mesh together. The accordian/piano combo at 2:38 is probably the best combination out of everything you had, and the strings weren't bad, but other samples involved sounded very low-quality. Nice piano & Rhodes ending, for sure. See what you can do to spruce this up. Genuinely glad to see you submit some material, Collin.

    NO

  6. Checked out the C64/SID version of the soundtrack (by the same composer) but for some reason none of the subtunes sounded at all like this. Oh well. Decent but plain beats to intro stuff here. I liked the vox used in there at :16; it managed to sound cool on account of being so robotic. The apparent source tune melody kicked in at :40. The whole atmosphere was sparse. Just a bad idea with the loud drum beats at :56; they were very overbearing, and the idea was just lazy-sounding.

    1:11 in, and this continued to have problems establishing a solid groove. The supporting instrumentation was plain and too sparse to fill out the soundfield. The melody was back at 1:28 via some mechanical-sounding plucked string type sample. I heard something fill out the soundfield VERY quietly and subtlely from 1:46-1:58, initially like the sound of a racecar. You need to be emphasizing ideas like that to fill things out. The next section at 2:00 sounded noticeably spartan by comparison.

    There was some bassline action going on at 2:16 where the notes didn't quite seem to agree with the rest of the track, but it was brief. The looped beatwork was just dragging on by the 3 minute mark. Basically the arrangement at this point involved lots of permutations of the melody by changing up the instruments occasionally and using some effects. Nothing bad, but nothing particularly strong here. The arrangement could be about 60-90 seconds shorter and still say the same message so-to-speak.

    So again, while I appreciate the change in the lead instrumentation and the infrequent but observable counterpoint involved as well, the sounds aren't strong, the arrangement drags on, and the soundfield is bare for the majority of the track. Decent effort though. There were interesting melodies here that make me want to check out the source tune, but this mix needs a lot of work regardless.

    NO

  7. http://www.tzone.org/~llin/psf/packs2/FF8_minipsf.rar - 119 "The Man With the Machine Gun"

    Basic techno coverage of the source tune to start with. Nothing really creative here. The melody comes in at :59, and this needs some beats or something to anchor the piece and fill it out, since it just sounds empty bare.

    1:47 finally brings something in to that effect. At that point, it becomes obvious as to how poorly balanced the sounds are. We get some slightly different percussion around 2:00 and then the melody just retreads itself at 2:16. Gotta present something that's actually creative and interpretive with the source material which this simply isn't.

    Finally get to the chorus at 2:56. Still just verbatim with the source and not much going on. Reatreading the intro at 3:25, and there's the melody again at 3:35. Alright, I'm gonna listen just to make sure nothing different gets introduced here.

    ...

    ...

    Nah. 5:37-long, too conservative, poorly mixed, underdeveloped and dragged out. This never even GOT in the game.

    NO

  8. http://www.tzone.org/~llin/psf/packs2/FF7_psf.rar - 319 "Aeris' Theme"

    Opening up, the percussion is really flat. The patterns aren't bad, but they don’t mesh well with the guitar lead to me. Some fakey-sounding strings arrived at :35. Very thin and sparse sound on those. Doesn't really make sense that the strings are being overpowered by the bassline. Just sounds like the volume on the strings was turned down as opposed to a human player playing softly; I’d argue that you should punch that supporting bit up.

    Rock style stuff at 1:58. The percussion still doesn't sit well in the track at all. It’s louder than your guitar lead and the sound disparity on everything doesn't help; the drums sound clean while the guitar's a bit muffled and muted. All just strange choices in combination.

    Some MIDI-thingamabob string instrument joined in from 2:21-2:48. That’s just gotta go. It’s so mechanically programmed and GM-ish, it just cheapens the whole thing. At 2:48, it’s back into the chorus, and the arrangement feels like it’s not going anywhere interesting after all this time. You gotta cut the fat. I appreciate the effort given to the supporting instrumentation, but the arrangement is just too straightforward most of the time. Doesn't help that MENBAH! already made this style of mix and did a better job of it. Some people bitch about comparisons, but the fact of the matter is that this idea has essentially been tread before. That being said, this isn't passable even if FF7 'Prayer' didn't exist.

    Finally something new at 3:32. You could just start there and fashion a more creative arrangement based off this idea. Some of the string chord in the background are clashing with the guitar plucks though. Anyway, the melody comes in again at 4:11, this time on a Casio-like keyboard with some effects. Sounds more gentle and unique than the guitar arrangement. The vocals at 4:39 are very untrained, sound exposed, and the delay/echo effect on them makes them sound worse as they layer together poorly and the timing is slightly off. Some reverb on ‘em at 5:11 was good but it was way too late, so perhaps use it earlier.

    Suggestions would be that the melodic arrangement needs to be creative and interpretive, not cover-ish, get the percussion work to sit well in the track, get better samples and get them sounding humanized, and tighten up the whole performance. But honestly, I’d just say move onto the next project and chock this one up as experience as you strive to improve.

    NO

  9. http://www.snesmusic.org/spcsets/ct.rsn - "Chrono Trigger" (ct-1-02a.spc & ct-1-02b.spc) & "Memories of Green" (ct-1-05.spc)

    The looped nature of all the guitar work makes everything sound rigid and mechanical. The melody finally comes in at :40 along with a loud oboe at :46. Hearing a lot of rythmical ideas dealing with the source theme, but then you just go off onto some random tangents than have next-to-nothing to do with the source material arrangement except for the harp WAY in the back. Stuff's pretty liberal from 1:01-1:36, but we finally get more overt arrangement from 1:36-1:58, then MORE original material until 2:19 that has nothing to do with Chrono Trigger except a lone guitar in the back referencing the source.

    It felt like the arrangement of Chrono Trigger took a back seat to the original material here. Sure the tradeoffs between source material and original material are there, but there was too much use of original material while the actual source tune played a very low-volume supporting role. You'll riff on it for like 10-30 seconds, then push it to the background and play all original material on top instead. The source material is obviously there but oftentimes doesn't even feel like the focus of this track. Maybe others will feel differently.

    Nice stuff for a first sub, and I'm keeping it myself, but my main issue aside from the source material not being the focus of this track was with humanizing your instrumentation. The guitars' sound too robotic, the piano sounds mechanical and so does the harp. Just work on humanizing all that and stop by the ReMixing forum for some tips.

    NO (resubmit)

  10. http://www.snesmusic.org/spcsets/ewj2.rsn - "Lorenzen's Soil" (ewj2-03.spc)

    Decent stuff, but extremely reliant on the source material for the structure. Short and sweet, the sounds were basic/generic and lacking any punch, and the production was flat. Track repeats itself at 3:11; might as well have cut the track length in half. Lazy, uncreative arrangement. On this level, it's just a weak techno arrangement with some light piano and strings, and some gerenic beats.

    Dan's a bigger fan and more familiar with the source material thanks to "Invertebrate Retreat", so he'll have more thorough insight as to how you handled the arrangement, but I didn't hear anything hugely interpretive hear that put a notably creative spin on the source material.

    NO

  11. Need someone to obtain the source material themselves, but I'm in agreement with DarkeSword all the way. The sounds are decent but basic, and could have been used more effectively. The whole thing is sloppily put together re: the sound balance, like DS also mentioned, and it just drags for 6 minutes. If anyone knows what sounds like bad FruityLoops work, it's DS due to his extensive knowledge of the programm. The song was decent and there were some decent sounds behind the muck, but the track was weak on all levels. No way around that.

    NO

  12. http://www.zophar.net/nsf/smb1.zip - Track 4 ("Castle BGM")

    I wanna firstly stress that the arrangement is great overall. There were some really great ideas going on here. But the execution and proudction is below the bar compared to any material we've accepted in the past 2 years, and this shouldn't be getting any YESs, it should be getting all NO-resubmit. I'd urge the YESs to reconsider their votes on the grounds of the production alone, which is way below bar.

    The mix is overly quiet, which wouldn't in and of itself be a problem, but the volume disparity at any time between the lead instrumentation and the supporting instrumentation is too much. Make the supporting instrumentation sound more prominent instead of ridiculously far away.

    The brass right at the intro sounds alright but needs a louder, richer sound. The beats coming in at :53 have some worthwhile patterns involved but sound flat and mechanical. That's because you made those too loud and exposed them. More brass at 1:09 sounds flat and muted. Same problem with the strings at 1:25. Everything here the whole way through sounds thin and weak rather than full.

    I liked the arrangement more and more as I listened to it. Some of the transitions were undeveloped, but I feel like they worked regardless. The vox at 2:47 was a very nice touch as well. The ending here at 3:56 was a poor resolution to the piece,like zyko said. Sounds like you ran of of ideas. Other than that, I had no huge qualms with some of the original section, because I feel as if the source material was used substantially.

    You really have some good ideas with the way you're combining/layering your elements, but they're hurt on account of this very subpar production. All of the higher frequencies are absent here, resulting in the track sounding dull. Only reading zircon and Harmony's votes just, I see we had a lot of the same issues regarding the production. You need to take their advice and fix it up, Adam. Watch some of the clashing chords that were pointed out as well, please. Good work so far, but it's not even close to done yet. Use the ReMixing & Works/WIP forums to your advantage. It could pass with significant work.

    NO (resubmit)

  13. Heh. Kind of hard to tackle a theme like this. Four notes isn't always enough to work with, but some people have made arrangements in the same vein work.

    You can tell this is kind of old just from the sounds, like Alex mentioned. OHHHHHH, there's some nasty distortion from :48-onward. Everything's way up there in volume and cluttered. 1:06 brings in drumwork and it's nothing but der uber-distortion showcase. No offense, but I can't really imagine anyone feeling this for the whole crunchiness factor.

    The way everything smooshes together, it made it harder to distinguish the arrangement. Too bad. Liked some of the ideas here. Cool piano at 2:34, for example, and I liked whatever airy sound you brought in earlier at 2:22.

    Uh oh, here comes the quasi-random phrasing at 2:52 with the piano. It just doesn't sound very melodic. The arrangement really doesn't need to be close to 5:00-long. Arrangement was decent. Somewhere deep down under the volume, I could hear the source used, though there were some overly liberal parts too. Couldn't even properly assess it, frankly.

    Puts too much of a strain on my poor Yankee ears to try to listen to this and mentally pull apart the various sounds. Can't believe no one told you to pull the volume back before this got added to the project. I know this is an older mix, but c'mon, stop with the needless volume issues. There's nothing borderline about this ear-breakage. You're definitely better than this, Alex, I can say that.

    NO

  14. Did a Wikipedia page for the project based on a template from Rmrfstar's Kong in Concert Wiki entry (which I also updated). Check it out at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dark_Side_of_Phobos, and of course Navid, Lee, or anyone else that can genuinely contribute to the page is encouraged to fix any potential inaccuracies and provide additional details for the project. This entry in particular could use some expansion for the entry, for example a sentence or two regarding the style of the original soundtrack. demonik! electronik!

  15. Did a Wikipedia page for the project based on a template from Rmrfstar's Kong in Concert Wiki entry (which I also updated). Check it out at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedgehog_Heaven, and of course Matt or anyone else that can genuinely contribute to the page is encouraged to fix any potential inaccuracies and provide additional details for the project. Dan: "Hello Larry, this is Mustin." - Larry: "WHAAAAAAAAT?!?"

  16. Did a Wikipedia page for the project based on a template from Rmrfstar's Kong in Concert Wiki entry (which I also updated). Check it out at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relics_of_the_Chozo, and of course Ari or anyone else that can genuinely contribute to the page is encouraged to fix any potential inaccuracies and provide additional details for the project. Hope it proves useful. If anyone can dig up information on who made the CD cover art linked at the top of the page in Binnie's post, I'd appreciate it. OMG, gr00ve biaz!

    EDIT: ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOFL! Look at Protricity keep trying to edit/vandalise all of the OCR Site Project wikis! (You'll get there yet, baby, don't tucker yourself out!)

  17. http://www.zophar.net/nsf/ff2.zip - Track 3

    HAHAHAHAHAH! Feeling this one for a *ROFL* decision. It's less ROFL for the actual comedy, and more for the fact that it's a serious submission. Just basic beats and the melody isn't doing anything new, but I LOALed at this little 69 second mix.

    Rhymes and rapping weren't bad. Hang in the ReMixing forum and learn how to put together some full, more complex music, and keep improving your whitey whitebread rapping skills, so you'll create something more substantial than this. And seriously use the Works forum just so someone else could have told you that this would have had no shot. Out.

    NO

  18. Having listened to this so much more since I judged it, I really came around to appreciating ALL of the choices exercised here. This was one (if not the) most professional-sounding piece I've heard in my time on the panel, and it's an absolute must-have. Pieces like this make the site as whole look better. While on vacation last week, I had my girlfriend listening to the mix, and, besides the actual static sections (which do work well, I've come to understand), she thought it was really well-done.

    I feel sorry for anyone who misses out on this one. Thanks a lot, Kunal & Christian!

  19. http://www.tzone.org/~llin/psf/packs2/FFX_psf2.rar - 102 "In Zanarkand"

    Decent ideas off the bat with the piano, though it's not really anything new. Did like the idea of guitar added on top for to double the harmony, but it was pretty thin-sounding. During the chorus, the guitar was used lightly on support but was basically a non-factor.

    Already at 1:05 the composition is simply retreading itself, so I don't really have major hopes for the development to be good. The hip-hop beats here are decent, but are overbearing compared to the rest of the instrumentation, plus they sound really dry. The beats don't really mesh well with the rest of the piece, and if you took them out, the arrangement's awfully exposed as not being very interpretive. Decent, but underdeveloped to be sure.

    NO

  20. http://www.snesmusic.org/spcsets/ct.rsn - "Chrono Trigger" (ct-1-02a.spc & ct-1-02b.spc)

    The orchestration is pretty cool. Lots of tradeoffs between instruments to be sure, and they sounded pretty good, if not particularly powerful or bold. Needs more originality via instrumental expansion as well if you're just gonna go the cover route, especially for being so short. Please add some original composition as well if you feel you can integrate it into the piece well.

    2:07 is too short and underdeveloped for this. I can see why this wasn't named anything more unique, as the arrangement here doesn't do anything hugely interpretive with the source material. Don't just arrange, rearrange in some manner as well, as it's more of what the site's about. And name the piece something that reflects well on the changes you've made.

    Looked around for your name and see that you have some nice credentials, Mike, so I certainly hope you're willing to revisit this.

    NO

  21. Look ma, no hands. I did this report (including the typing) with my ears only. Are you not proud of me? I know I am. Now let's view the goods from June 19th to the 25th in order to achieve karmic alignment:

    Adhesive Boy - Kirby's Adventure "Cosmic Transformations" [Rise of the Star / OC ReMix #1369]

    Everything that Jack Ryerson does when it comes to ReMixes is few and far between which means that whenever he drops a track, you've gotta be there to pick it up. Welcome to the inaugural track to Rise of the Star, the happiest OCR Site Project you could ever ask for. djp mentioned this one as having some dark undertones, but I don't think the sheer volume & power should be interpreted as dark. I remember telling Jack that I thought this was too loud and cluttered, and he got pissed off since it was an artistic decision, so don't tell him that. Just smile and nod at the kickass arrangement, some parts heroic, some parts quasi-industrial. If you're familiar with "Linoleum Stalactites" or "Cry of the Chasmal Critter Chain", AB knows all about being able to put complex, intricate work together that'll easily impress. Don't miss out on other tracks from DarkeSword's pet project including Suzumebachi's "The Ballad of Sir Kibbles" & analoq's "Creampuff Starship".

    PICK OF THE WEEK: AkumajoBelmont f/Stephanie - Bust a Groove "Bust This Groove '81" [VGMix2 #3391 / OC ReMix #1368]

    Hearing something like this completely legitimizes all the time I've spent in this community. I heard it a while back and played it on the radio show. Aussie cousins Robbie & Stephanie totally have the whole disco/roller rink/Jackson 5 thing down pat in this superlative take on Kitty N's theme "Blue Knife (Bust A Move Edit)". Cleaned up further since the VGMix version, I have to say once again, that I was incredibly impressed by not just the production, but by the idea of turning a futuristic source tune into something so unequivocally retro. If you don't like the genre, you smell. If you don't want to check it out because you don't know the game, you smell. And if you don't get it now because I said so, you smell worse than me.

    DarK PurPLe - GoldenEye 007 "00 Agent Life" [VGMix2 #4415]

    NICE! Bond with beats, loud and in your face! Such a sucker for this stuff in every way, as GoldenEye had such a great soundtrack. With nearly every track in the soundtrack being an arranged version of the Bond theme, the medley-itis of this mix is more forgivable as the track references one level after another within nearly 7 minutes. The mixing is far from Francis Veilleux Gaboury's best, as it's too loud and the high frequencies got cut off for no discernible reason, but it's the Bond theme in an electronic/club style. OMG, u have License to Listen!

    DarkeSword - Megaman X4 "Searching for Light" [VGMix2 #4379]

    Fellow OCR judge Shariq Ansari produces the next MMX mix in a now-lengthy series with this downbeat follow up to "The Father of All". The sampled Japanese vox didn't really fit the track well being that loud, but it's alright. This was kind of a darkly-themed mix that doesn't quite want to embrace that type of imagery but gets you feeling it with a moody atmosphere complete with male choir vox filling things out. This actually didn't hit me very hard on the first listen, as it genuinely almost struck me as a "throwaway" piece that didn't possess much impact. But therein lied the conundrum, for as the track unfolded, my interest only increased and I started digging the texture more and more. The soundfield was still a little sparse-sounding to me, but otherwise, I was pleasantly surprised by how the track developed. Not here to punch you in the face, this was quite the sleeper hit.

    Das Karl Werk Projekt - "Elektro Lok (Allgemeine Frequenz)" [R:K:O #2734]

    Alright, so the intro will likely leave you going "What the fuck?" but STAY with me, you asshole! You don't like robotic electronica, then get the hell out. The rest of you will pop and lok to this GROOOVY cut from Das Karl Werk Projekt for the win. Out of sheer ignorance, I can't even compare any other music to this. But analoq might be feelin' it and because analoq is someone who you fanboys aspire to be like, listening to this will be an important first step to making your life better than it ever was. Retooling the original "Elektro Lok" by Mark "Heinmukk" Waldaukat, this is probably the most unique thing I've heard out of Kwed and the C64 community in a while. Damn, DO THE ROBOT! DO THE ROBOT! You gotta get it-get it.

    Depeche Mode f/tefnek - "I Feel Loved (tefnek Remix Extended)" [http://www.tefnek.com]

    I covered the original remix earlier in the month, so we revisit those comments and perhaps...extend them...

    Liontamer (6/4)[/url'>]Depeche Mode f/tefnek - "I Feel Loved (tefnek Remix)" [http://www.tefnek.com]

    Jack Kirkpatrick takes an approach I'd yet to hear from him, remixing some mainstream a capella lyrics with his own material. I feel like the synths used here didn't stand out as unique, and I would have loved to have heard the lyrics a lot more prominently, but the beats are still dope and on a compositional level the music fit the lyrics like a glove. Personally, I dunno whether the music here is also remixed from the Depeche Mode original, but in any case this is one to scope out for more from OC's resident big beat champ.

    Lengthened by almost 3 minutes, this new version definitely adds some new ideas to the picture that make the overall package more unique. If you passed up the opportunity on the prior offering, don't be such a dumbbutt this time. You don't wanna do that again. Please...let Jack feel loved.

    Flik - "They Lumbered On" [Thematic Original Music Competition 2]

    Chris Serani is a man. Chris Serani is a man's man. And only a MAN's man like Chris Serani could lay waste to the competition like this, not caring if it was fun-loving Trenthian, fair maiden pixietricks or crazy Aussie TO being leveled by this asskicking gloomy/mysterious forest theme. Yes, they lumbered on, but only one MAN truly lumbered like the best! You want rain SFX? You want beautiful ethnic percussion and woodwinds? Then you want this. "Chris Serani - Reason files the size of grapefruits!"

    Ichitootah - The Twisted Tales of Spike McFang "Bat Cloud of Morning" [The People's Remix Competition v2-18]

    Nice stuff here with the piano on the opening, along with some organ stuff that doesn't quite sound like something Adhesive Boy would do, but had some similarities. Some fairly upbeat stuff here for PRCv2-18 tackling Spike McFang's boss theme. The Casio-style keyboard and drumloops were meh, but the rest of the package had some good touches. The use of xylophones is always a plus, and there's even a non sequitur key change around 3:10 just to mess with your head. Can't say it actually worked, especially because the last minute or so wasn't very well-written, but it is worth talking a look it.

    JD Harding - Mega Man 3 "Sparkman" [VGMix2 #4361]

    JD's returned to VGMix in order to start revisiting and revising older material of his, starting off with this...creatively named...[looks around]...remix of "Spark Man Stage". The melody surprisingly doesn't play as much of a factor as I thought it would/should, and the synth design here was pretty lackluster to be honest. The soundfield was pretty cluttered, making sounds hard to distinguish from one another, but the main incentive for checking this out is to see how JD has reworked this older material for re-release. Especially if you were familiar with his former OC ReMixes before he had them removed, see what The Artist Formerly Known As Kendri now has up his sleeve.

    LastUnicron - "Present" [http://www.sonicevolver.com]

    Being so used to electronic material from Andy Wood, the last thing I expected when discovering a new original on his site was a piano-based opening. Now the cymbals added behind the piano are nothing but crappily added, doing nothing but exposing the disparity in sound quality between the cymbals and piano. Fortunately though, Unicron made up for it by transitioning into some other synthetic elements and interlacing them much more skillfully with the piano work. And some woodwind usage! What a nice present, y'all. (Get it...?) Short stuff that on some level sound underdeveloped, but it's good to heard LastUnicron still keeping 'em coming.

    Makke - Dizzy the Adventurer "Mix Dizz" [VGMix2 #3798 / OC ReMix #1367]

    Marcus is a refreshing artist in the community. Like I said when I judged this mix, he's one of the more consistent vocal mixers out there, but for some reason I don't even think of him as a vocalist. His music is usually so catchy on it's, I almost forget it's him. Makke is fearless; he has and will tackle any and all genres. Need some modernized doo-wop? He'll takes a random source tune from an NES game he never even heard of and he runs with the entire concept. While I've more commonly seen people in the community hating on lyricized mixes, I've been recently seeing a lot of people specifically gravitating toward them. Malcos thinks it's where a lot of future VG mixes are headed. So there you have it: join the wave of the future with OCR's resident Swedish superstar.

    pixietricks - "The Rainforest Song" [http://www.fayhaven.com]

    HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Jill Goldin is CUTE! And I don't mean in that teenage crush kind of way, because while she's a beautiful lady, my girlfriend would kill me. We're talking about murder here. So let's figure out how to handle this without macking on adult Jill. Well, for those of you that have yet to get this track, you'll find not the lady singing in "Prayer" but a lil' kid! So CUTE! Indeed, the cuteness is revealed in this classic cut from lil' pixiesticks. Jilly sang this for the closing credits of a production her father made and it still sounds all cuddly and Star Search worthy today. The word "hamburger" is in there! How can you go wrong? So don't slash it and burn and cut it. Download it! (I amuse me!)

    RoeTaKa - "A Hero Decides Fate" [http://www.soundclick.com/roetaka]

    Alex releases something on the original side here with this brand new orchestral arrangement. Usually, Roe's pieces are too heavy on the volume, but while this was definitely loud, it wasn't ear-breakingly loud. Perhaps we're learning! While most of the phrasing here doesn't really produce anything melodic or driving, the composition here is somehow interesting. It really sounds like it would function well as background music for a large scope of combat simulation games, which is excellent. Noticeable dynamics were present as well, doing a nice job of lowering the energy level before building things back up. So despite there not being any real hook in the package, the track is really worth checking out. Even though I'm just creating a function for the track's form in my mind, it really works well as BGM and you could leave it on loop for quite a long period of time. Some of the best stuff I've heard from RoeTaKa yet that you can't miss.

    Skrypnyk - Donkey Kong Country 2 "Vociferous Storm" [VGMix2 #4385]

    You may be surprised, but I actually haven't heard too much straight trance in a while in this community, so Andy's latest actually took me by surprise. The melody doesn't actually kick in here until about 1:30, and even then it's kind of fighting to be heard. Took me a little while to realize it was "Bayou Boogie". For those expecting a hugely interpretive mix as far as the melody goes, nah. Skrypnyk mostly deals with a small piece of the pie in terms of the source material used here, but if you like the oomp-tss, you'll be in oomp-tss/electrosynth heaven.

    TO - Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee "The Monsaic" [VGMix2 #4394]

    There's nothing more indicative of skill than fashioning a lot out of a little, which is why I appreciate the arrangement involved in Lee Barber's latest from the never-covered-as-far-as-I-know Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee. Going the new age route with Ellen Meijers-Gabriel's "Monsaic Lines", TO goes for a delicate build over the course of the 5 minutes, with the only thing disturbing the peace being a potentially overbearing snare drum. Great job turning such a brief source tune into something a lot more substantial, so click the link and put some roo in your doo.

    Vampire Hunter Dan - Chrono Cross & Chrono Trigger "To Times Once Forgotten" [VGMix2 #4416]

    It's my understanding that some of you old-schoolers have been waiting patiently for new material from Vampire Hunter Dan. In the VGMix1 days, Dan Barnaba was someone you could turn to for consistency and professionalism. Luckily for you, VHD hasn't forgotten about the little people, fusing 5 arranged Mitsuda pieces into the orchestral behemoth you see before you. It builds, it declines, it makes your ears want more. At a (mere) 8:26 you'll get all the Chrono you can handle unless you're Zeality or some permutation thereof. In any case, Dan is back for one more and he's making sure you noticed.

    XOC - Super Mario World 1 "Chocolate Island" [sMW]

    "Holy shit, have you heard of this stuff from XOC?" That's all I was hearing in post after post across several forums after the community at large caught wind of Jason Cox and his tribute to Koji Kondo in this swanky set of covers that are so thoroughly and uniquely stylized track by track that no two track approaches are similar. 21 tracks, 26 minutes, lots of ear candy. I picked "Chocolate Island" as my personal favorite for all the chocolate people around the world such as your humble Judge right here. Look, I do the work for you... Pick your poison. Man, if someone could make some looped copies of these...

    zykO - Super Mario Bros. 1 "ReMix" [VGMix2 #4404]

    Hahahahaha! Full Metal Jacket clip to open, so I've gotta stick around. weed handles some predominantly synth material in this thank you to VGMix featuring some lyrical bits and a nice cheesy tropical vibe. Oh that's pure fun! Judges aren't allowed to have fun, weed! Stop having fun! I'm always a fan of zyko's more serious work, but this has the "hoo-hoo" sounds in there non-stop and surf-style guitar. That's the way to close it.

    Lots of Mario pimpage to end things. I'll make sure to feature more BurgerTime for the next batch to balance things out. Now get a goin'!

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