Liontamer   Judges ⚖️

Opened up extremely thin with super fakey-sounding instruments, but maybe it has that 90s PC game charm, we'll see. Hmm, then live sax in there at :28; no synergy there at all, IMO, because the sax sounded more expressive than everything else (though it lacked power), while the sequenced and keyboard-based stuff sounded really loose and bland. Aside from the cymbals, the drums had no life to them at all. Emunator's right that everything just lacked body and presence; let's beef this up so this doesn't sound so dry. Flat notes from 1:04-1:07; may need to just redo the comping there. Snap, crackle, pop Rice Krispies stuff all over the render from 2:03-2:05 that would need to be removed, so double-check what happened in those spots. The ending had absolutely no resolution, so it was flatter than a pancake; just betrayed a lack of ideas for the conclusion and felt like you gave up. Cool concept, Chalis, but lacked polish and richness all around. This won't be the track that makes it, but definitely ask around our forums if you haven't already for more production advice and feedback so that you can improve upon things going forward. Hope to hear more from you, especially given the uniqueness of going jazz with this tune. NO

Kick drums added in at :33 didn't sound like a good fit when they were so isolated, but it was brief. Strangely enough, I thought the faster bow movements of the chorus's countermelody (starting at :10) sounded a lot more realistic than the leads starting at :42 (when they were a lot louder). Brass at :57 also usually didn't sound good, particularly the saxophone sample. I mean, the standard here isn't that high; even something like "Jazzy NYC '99" works well enough, but the attacks in this here were extremely jarring throughout. Hopefully a musician J can better articulate what doesn't work about those particular sounds. 2:46-3:04 turned into a wall of sound, but details were getting lost. There was the chorus line in particular that might as well not have been there because it was so obscured, but 3:04-3:19 sounded much stronger and you could hear the parts more clearly. Brass re-appeared at 3:19 and dragged this down; if you can finesse those samples or get more realistic-sounding ones, go for it, otherwise consider different instrumentation. Really nice energy to the guitar on its own at 4:21 for the close. I love the ambitiousness of the arrangement; the interpretation, instrumentation choices, and textures are all strong and easily above the bar. The substance of the arrangement definitely doesn't need to be touched. The brass and cluttered mixing pull this down, but this could definitely be refurbished and make it in another form. Really strong base here, Jean Marc, and I hope you'll consider resubmitting this one in particular. NO (resubmit)

The beats definitely felt more basic and plodding than they needed to be, but I liked the padding filling things in at 1:11 and the dynamic shift until 1:41 and again from 2:09-2:38. I get that the beats are going for a more minimalist feel, but when I listen to something like Kraftwerk's "Aéro Dynamik", the sound design there is more sophisticated and there's more movement; I know the stylistic comparison isn't apples-to-apples, but I'm just thinking of something else with a relatively stripped down feel that's still employing effects. Perhaps giving the main beats more of a tail could help flesh things out, but without creating a huge contrast for the padding in the drop-off sections. I like the treatment of the source tune, and dig the approach of toning down an energetic source, but something's missing, IMO, that's making this feel underdeveloped. Will be sure to watch the other votes in case there's aspects to this that I'm overlooking. Really good base here, Mike. NO (resubmit)

Mixing seemed odd right from the get-go. Lots of hiss in the high-end that undermined the quality of the beatboxing sounds. This needs some serious EQ love. The chipsounds are also really thin (which isn't inherently a problem), but there's nothing filling out the soundscape here, so this feels barren despite the energy level; the way this sounds, it comes off like there's going to be a transition to a more fleshed out sound, yet it never gets there. Aside from the guitar in the background, the textures seem too empty, though it's a cool concept. If you can figure out how to pad or otherwise fill out the background with something else, you'd be golden; there are NES themes that don't feel texturally empty like this. Eliminate the hiss/clipping and flesh out the textures, and this would be solid. No need to change any of what's written. Really awesome concept; would love to see a revision of this posted here, so please consider a resubmission. Even if you've moved on from this, definitely keep submitting here; I appreciate the creativity of what y'all have put together. NO (resubmit)

Nice counterplay with the banjo to support the source tune and add another dimension here, and I can thankfully say the accordion and drumwork had a little more life to them this time around, since those have been recurring issues in other submissions. Good stuff throughout with the handling of the arrangement; good subtle dynamic contrast here as well. The banjo section from 1:56-2:27 seemed slightly more unfocused/off-key than intended, though it wasn't something that broke the track. The hard cut with the transition at 2:27 was extremely sloppy; you had parts abruptly cut out mid-sound instead of fading, which was a needlessly bizarre blip. Cymbal crashes starting at 3:01 didn't have synergy with the rest of the instrumentation, but it could just be a personal taste thing for me; they weren't mixed in a way that made this a big issue though, so it is what it is. The arrangement and performances were solid, and the odd moments/criticisms were minor in the grand scheme of things. Solid work from Reuben with the assist from Natalya! YES

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Asking around, but, man, that track sounds like so many different influences. Don't know the track but will try to find some others in a similar vein or using some similar instrumentation or techniques.

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Not trying to be glib, but just make it more recognizable and melodious. I hear what you're doing with the arrangement even in the first :42 seconds, where you've altered the rhythm of the notes. (Play the source at 2x and you can hear the connection better; it's a reference of the lead from :06-:21 of the source.) I still think the way you've changed the notes as well though makes this sound too different from the source melody and unrecognizable as an arrangement of it, which is saying something for a source that's so simple to begin with. I also thought the :42-1:17 section wasn't recognizable either despite Emu's notes, so it's a tough sell overall, IMO. Seems like you actually need to play this more melodically straightforward, Daniel, and I'd argue that what's here was capably produced but not melodious or catchy. NO (resubmit)

This has no chance with these samples, IMO, because the timing of everything's so rigid and the guitar samples sound so fake. I get that this is leaning into that sound, since this isn't trying to outright sound like an electric guitar, but you have backing electric guitar chugs and drums that are meant to sound more realistic, so the contrast doesn't work. The arrangement's spirited, so Karol did a nice job there, but the samples pull this down on a production level. NO

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Wish the mixing was cleaner during the denser sections so that the different parts could be heard more distinctly (worst offender by far was 1:34-1:47), but despite the issues, the overall production was solid albeit not ideal. Too bad though, because I think the way the textures weren't clear undermined the strength of the arrangement, since it was more difficult than it needed to be to follow along with the source melody. YES (borderline)

Interesting adaptation to this style, but I felt it was underdeveloped. Mixing was cluttered as well, but I'll leave it to the musician Js to articulate what should be tweaked there. The bassline was good in terms of sounding like it had weight, but it's very indistinct. I liked the copious levels of rain SFX. Small thing, and another judge may be better able to explain why, but something about the finger snap SFX hit me the wrong way; they're so dry compared to the effects on everything else, so they didn't seem like it fit with the rest of the soundscape here. Not saying it's inherently wrong, but I wasn't sure what was up with the multiple uses of fadeouts and fadeins for sections while keeping the SFX going (e.g. :27-:37, 1:26-1:35). See what other dynamic contrast you can include alongside that idea. Dynamically, I understand that this is meant to be low-key, but there needed to be more dynamic contrast somehow. Once the beats/textures get their fullest at :36, that's where the track basically stays until the end at 2:23 aside from really brief drops. Very flat structure and repetitive backing writing with the beats and bass. This doesn't need to get busier or denser, but you need more subtle dynamic contrast through changes in the instrumentation/sounds and/or textures, and I think that's the crux of what's holding this back from sounding fully developed. Good base here, Theo. NO (resubmit)

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Soundscape was cluttered, which really stuck out as the track built at :24 and :36 with more parts adding in. Yeah, I'm not sure what's going on, but :48 when the melody came in, the lack of clarity here was just jumping off the page. The timing of the parts also felt somewhat robotic/rigid, but it's serviceable and works more with a Gothic-inspired style like this. The abrupt volume drop at 1:48 was jarring and made no sense. I like that you're trying to have dynamic contrast there, but you need to even out the levels some; the loudest parts need to be pulled back, and this quiet section should be a little bit louder. Nice arrangement stuff at 2:00 (though again, the rise in volume was abrupt); I liked the role of the vox supporting this, as well as the genteel piano afterward at 2:24, with a nice transition back to the organ at 2:35. Even if the levels need to be adjusted, I was digging your dynamic contrast ideas, Alex. Track became flooded again at 3:00, and then just a ball of mud at 3:12. 3:24 went to the verse again and aspired to get more intense for the finish, but the mixing was just a wall of mud until the close with the solo piano at 3:48. Oof. Really didn't like the final grandiose section at 4:00; really stiff timing that exposed the samples. The drums had a weird sound to them as well. It just didn't sound like something you'd hear from live instruments. I think you could end the track with the quiet piano and it would sound like a satisfying resolution. I apologize for not being able to articulate my issues better, but I'm sure the musician Js can hone in on what you need to do. Others may make a case that the timing was too rigid, and it's a valid point, but I think the overall sample quality and tone of things was reasonably good enough. Drastically clean up the soundscape, and make sure the volume doesn't jump up and down as drastically, and this would be solid. IMO, you don't need to touch the arrangement. NO (resubmit)

Transition at 1:05 seemed jumpy, so watch the timing there; you may want to just let the track come to a full stop, let it breathe, then allow it to pick back up. I agreed with prophetik's criticisms, and he's right that at :59 you have a distortion for a brief moment. That would be nice to have fixed, but the overall execution was strong, so I don't necessarily need a "fixed" version. This was fine as is, though some adjustments would be nice to have. These sources never jumped out to me despite my familiarity with the soundtrack, so props for creating something that really makes them stand out all the more. Beautiful, elegant work, Guillaume! YES

Somewhat flooded when the Fleet Foxes-esque chorused vox came in at 2:22, otherwise I dug this. Cool stuff, Michael! Not to undermine Emunator's vote, but I didn't see anything inherently wrong with the structure or subdued build. Arrangements come in all different forms, and everything was clicking here, no caveats necessary. YES

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The arrangement and level of personalization in the re-instrumentation, new part-writing, and performances were easy passes, so no issues there. Cool source tune choice as well. Everything holding this back seemed to be on the production and performance sides. The mixing of the bass from :01-:1:09 made that part mostly sound like indistinct droning, which was a huge disappointment. Not sure if that can be fixed with mixing tweaks or if it would need re-recording, but hopefully another J can better clarify the issue there. Accordion brought in at :35 was flat and unexpressive (a regular complaint re: your accordion, Reu), and that overly tight timing doesn't mesh at all with the flow of subversiveasset's sax. The sax work was OK overall, yet lacked some power and control -- prophetik as a sax player could better speak to that -- but I still it should have been mixed more upfront based on the role it had. I really wanted to like the interplay between the sax and TSori's trumpet from :52-1:10 more, because the idea is great, but the sax should have been more prominent than the trumpet, IMO; right now, you're not getting that synergy. The drumming also sounded relatively flat, even though it's a decent sound. I hate to say it, but JammingInMyJammies' guitar work in the back sounded like flat and unexpressive noodling and was an even bigger mismatch from 1:26-1:49; I'm not trying to be an asshole, but it sure as hell doesn't fit with the other parts. In genuine seriousness, Reuben, did you run the finished track by the collaborators and no one had feedback? Or was it not run by them? The tone of what I'm saying doesn't and can't translate over text, so let me be as clear as I can be: I'm not being patronizing or facetious, and I'm NOT trying to needle you or put you all down with my comments. I'm sincerely wanting to know what happened here, because, Reu, you're SUCH a talented arranger -- still learning and growing in your craft, of course -- but there are some very legitimate holes here that are holding this back from being as strong and cohesive as intended. I say this to artists all the time, but I can see you looking back on this in 5 years and recognizing a lot more of what's not clicking. This is a great concept, you folks are all talented, and I really want to see this posted in some form. But the performance and mixing issues need to be tightened up to a meaningful extent before I could get behind this. Please don't be discouraged, and I hate to be this critical and come across as if I somehow dislike you guys, but there is a lot of unrealized potential here. NO (resubmit)

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