halc

wow, this is such a cool take on the theme! this is exactly how I would imagine ZAMN would sound on a modern-day console. really excellent sounds and production. ultimately (and I wish this wasn't the case), I'm inclined to agree that there's not quite enough interpretation going on here. there is some great little details and expansion in the backing parts, but just a little more something (as OA mentioned, a bridge or solo, or some new harmonies/countermelodies) to make it your own would really put this over. either way, I'll be holding on to this one, but I very much hope we see this one again. it deserves front-page treatment. NO(resubploz)

what a strange source tune. I quite enjoy it. the bass was a little plain (and a bit overpowering on the lower notes), but otherwise I liked the sounds at play here. however, as OA mentioned, the arrangement could be fleshed out a lot more, and the transition in and out of the shuffle was a little weak, though I liked the idea. NO(resub)

agreed with OA's points. the string articulations were also an issue, with the constant attack on every note. the panning on them was also a little strange, and the higher notes were quite shrill to the ears, to the point that I had to take off my headphones. :/ if you can clean up the EQ on the strings and make the sequencing more expressive, this would have a much better chance, but right now the mix is too crowded and off-balance. NO(resub)

ah yeah, I really dig this mix. the only thing that really bothers me is the ridiculously loud finger-sliding noises during the verses, just a personal gripe. I thought the arrangement and production were both great, and you nailed the style. nice work. YES

nice lead sequencing, very expressive. definitely not bothered by the sample quality. as for the rest, pretty solid stuff as per your usual. the transitions between sources were nice, and I loved the inclusion of the chrono cross song. nice stuff, keep up the good work. YES

pretty much in agreement with OA here. the arrangement and sound design is good, but things need to be re-balanced a bit. as is there's just too much noticible overcompression and distortion. take another look at this one and send it back. NO(resub)

some of the lead timing was weird, but the ideas presented were cool. the soundscape wasn't gelling for me very well though. the drums, bass and keys all sounded tight, but the leads and such felt really out of place to me. not sure how else to put it. besides the melodic noodling, the arrangement was pretty conservative, and the ending was weak, but there were some cool ideas here. you just need to get a more cohesive blend of sounds working. NO(resub)

mixing is pretty solid. the beat is a little repetitive, but I think you pulled off the style well. a lot of stuff is kinda washed out in auto-panning and reverb, not in a bad way, but I wish your melodic lines would cut through the arrangement more. there's not really a strong melodic presence until 2:10 (and again at 4:34), and they only last for about thirty seconds. regardless, I'm definitely groovin' to this. however, arrangement-wise, this seems more or less like a genre-adaptation. most of the elements were relatively unaltered, save for a bit of expansion on the melody at 2:10. curious to see what others think, but I think this needs a little more in terms of original writing/interpretation. NO(resub)

really like the drumwork in this one! cool rhythms and modulations. love the time signature changes too; while the structure and instrumentation might be similar to the original, I think there's enough personalization to stand on it's own. however, I have to agree with OA that the energy level is pretty static. the song should evolve more.. maybe try adding an ambient breakdown or build up to a bigger climax at the end, just a few thoughts. the trance-y lead felt a little pasted on imo, but otherwise I was digging the overall soundscape. there are some great elements at play, but it's not quite as engaging as it could be. NO(resub)

nothing to add, I just wanna say this was really creative. I love experimental/broken sounds like this. I'll definitely be holding on to this one. YES

the storm and rain sounds in the beginning are way too loud. they're overcompressed and all of your instruments are causing noticible dips in the sound. the soundscape feels a bit sparse; theres a lot of reverb filling the space, but the instruments just sound really dry on their own. I really love a lot of what you've done with the arrangement, but it's not sounding cohesive to me in terms of instrumentation and mixing. not sure how else to put it. perhaps some of the other J's can elaborate a bit more. NO(resub)

damn, these games really have a lot of great source tunes. the piano chords in the background playing 8th notes are stiffly sequenced. edit the note velocities and timing of your notes within the chords to give it a little more realism. the lead piano is pretty robotic sounding too, but I think it works in the melodic context. some of the samples (particularly choir and strings in the middle section) seem like they'd be questionable on their own, but overall the soundscape is really gelling for me, I dig this track quite a bit. I like the arrangement. fairly conservative but a lot more energetic. there were some nice changes made to the melody, and the added arpeggios and stuff were really cool. my only real complaint is 2:26 being a direct repetition of the phrase before; introducing one last harmony or countermelody there would have really driven the climax home. overall, aside from your blocky piano, I think there's a lot to like here. YES

not a lover of happy hardcore, but I can't complain when it's this well produced. all the synths sound great (really love that centroid/pitch-shifting effect at 1:20, and again at 3:20), but the drums really blow me away. there's so much variation, but your ridiculous attention to detail is ever-present. excellent fills and buildups. the arrangement is pretty faithful, with a ton of personalization. would of slowed it down a bit personally, but again, I can't complain. nice work here. YES

mmhm. nice improvements, still a yes from me. YES

nice arrangement ideas here. the beginning is pretty cool, though the piano melodies feel a little too dark and out of place imo. I think they would sound better if you took it up an octave. at 1:11 the soundscape takes a turn for the sparse and aside from the build up to 2:09, it never really fills up again until the ending. on that note, the wobble bass was dominating the soundscape a bit too much there, you can barely hear anything else underneath it. overall, a cool arrangement, but the mixing needs work; I'd recommend hitting up the workshop forum if you haven't for additional tips, and keep at it. NO(resub)

can't add much to what OA mentioned. the reverb is an instant dealbreaker, especially for a solo piano track like this. the arrangement varies from easily recognizable to very liberal (which is okay), but overall it felt dragged out and stiffly sequenced (or performed) imo. NO

the sounds here aren't too far removed from the original, though they sound a little better. not a lot going on in terms of arrangement besides the cameo of the main theme and some flourishes on the melody. definitely needs to deviate more from the source. NO(resub)

this is a pleasure to just relax to. it's really conservative in how it handles the source (for some reason, most AA mixes are), but the little flourishes and harmonies added are wonderful, and the rhythmic shifts in the second half are fun. arrangement runs a little long imo, and there were a couple noticible flubs in the performance early on but overall I thought this was pretty well-realized. YES

yeah, this suffers from some of the same issues as your Mystic Cave sub; those being sparse instrumentation and slow-moving arrangement. this time you've filled the space with some thicker strings, but there's not nearly enough going on on top to keep it interesting. NO(resub)

I agree that the arrangement is kinda repetitive, it just goes through the melody a bunch of times with different backing instrumentation, but I think the approach is great. it just needs some more build, as Vig said. samples were pretty tight, though the mix was a little bright and could have used some low end, but overall the production was pretty good. very close call, but I think a few tweaks would really make this shine. hope to hear it again. NO(resub)

wow... what. that is sad.

should be up to date now.

not much to add to what the others have pointed out. arrangement works, but the sounds and sequencing are weak. I felt the instrumentation was pretty sparse at times as well. getting some better synths/samples in there will put this on the right path. NO(resub)

cool arrangement! definitely a unique take on the theme. the heavier half was a little more atypical, but the modified rhythms and solos help make it your own. gotta say I'm not in love with the phasing/processing on the guitars in the intro, sounds kinda nasaly. the intro was also really sparse, and started to drag a little before everything picked up. as for the rest of the track, pretty good, but the mixing feels off, though I can't quite put my finger on it. hopefully some of the more guitar-centered J's can give some more specific advice. drums felt a little flimsy, but he writing was great. overall I think this is close, but needs just a little more polish. definitely try to condense that intro a bit or introduce some more elements early on to keep it from getting boring. NO(resub)