Jivemaster

Great sounds, feels authentic to the genre. Production feels mostly good - things are mixed fairly loud, and the kick is a bit too large IMO, but it works. The various synth parts you introduce over time complement the main arrangement well and mix things up in a much needed way - considering your main theme is played for close to half the track's duration. The underlying theme, while catchy, does grow in repetitiveness as the track progresses. The section at 2:03 provides a much needed break from this. After the break ends and we return to the main theme, things wind down and close off well at 4:11... only to start up again. I'm confused as to the choice made here to keep things going, the mix really should've ended at this point. Like Mike, I feel this breaks the flow of the track and should really be changed. While I also share the concerns regarding the main theme being repetitive, I thought it did just enough to keep interest. With the end the way it is though, it just doesn't feel right. NO

Chaotic mix with a lot of energy. I got a Sega Genesis vibe from a lot of the sound design in this one. Drums were a bit generic. On the arrangement side, I agree that some of the transitions are a bit odd here, with the mix sometimes coming to a complete stop to change to something else. At other times the themes almost immediately switch. In isolation, these events don't detract from the overall quality of the mix, but the quirks with this were definitely noticeable and began to add up. The writing in the individual parts was certainly creative however, if a tad on the safe side. Arrangement has a lot of perceived and actual changes in pace which helped break things up. On the production side, I thought things were a little dry (at least initially), at ~2:40 when the strings come in it fills out the space a bit more adding depth. The left side at times felt more busy than the right. Overall I think this isn't too bad - the arrangement pushes things to straight medley like proportions at times, but there is enough creative additions throughout to add that needed level originality. If only the transitions were more seamless. YES

Chiming in also not having not heard the original. The beginning of the track builds up well with its different arp and synth layers, with additions/changes happening at the right time to pull interest. I enjoyed your bass sound, and the kick fits in well here. The balance between the parts here is solid. So far so good. As the track progresses, mixing wise there are a couple of issues worth mentioning. Some balance issues creep in when your leads and frequency rich backing elements step into the mix, which becomes more apparent as the track progresses and more layers are added. These parts like your main synth become too loud and take frequency space away from the other parts (too much low end or competing mids), reducing overall clarity (especially at 1:50, 3:04). This causes things like your drums and bass to become noticeably drowned out. Some of your high frequencies on your synths are a bit untamed and while they don't necessarily pierce they do get a bit sharp. At 3:13 when the "chorus" section ends you get a wavering of the track's overall dynamics, likely from the compressor or limiter being hit too hard, creating unpleasant distortion. Otherwise I feel your track is solid. The arrangement progresses well, some parts get loopy but I don't feel anything becomes overly repetitive. For me I'd like to see another revisit on the mixing - some of your lead parts really just need sculpting with a high pass filter/EQ to take out what doesn't need to be there so the other parts can breathe in the busier sections. This would greatly increase the mixes overall quality. NO

Nice soundscape over a gradual build up. Your kick has a satisfying thud. The sine wave synth that comes in at 0:22 has a pierce to it which needs to tamed with some EQ. The arp playing throughout the track starts to become repetitive - especially in the intro section as it's only a bar long and doesn't change in pattern too often, though thankfully it drops away and changes up just before it overstays it welcome. At 1:49 when the wub bass drops, a cloudiness descends over the track, where low end clarity is lost. This is also the main area where the kick drum is causing some over clamping of the compressor on the other parts, it's also noticeable on your rolls like the comp is not releasing quick enough. I also share Mike's concern that the wubs are lacking, I felt the growl and bite of them were a bit weak and they played the same basic progression each time they came in - it would've been nice to see some pattern/sound variation in there. The progression of the arrangement feels pretty good. Things run at a fairly slow pace, but at no time did I feel the track dragged on. You noticeably change between a number of sections throughout. I feel this needs some more polish to get past the line. In particular the kick compression issues and sine synth bother me the most, but the drop in clarity and lack of variation in the sections featuring the dubstep bass should also be addressed. NO

Very unexpected style, which suits the tune. Lots of energy here. A few concerns to raise straight up. I share what the other judges have mentioned with regards to the brass. Initially it gives the remix a bit of a fun DDR style feel, but this wears off quickly with its over use, with the sound becoming irritating beyond the first minute. It is also overpowering in volume compared to the other elements and needs some tweaks to sit in the mix better. On the arrangement side there is a bit of repetition, with a fairly similar set of sounds and sections carried throughout the majority of the track. Things take a short break at the mid point but don't depart much from the formula. You also have some notes that feel a little clashy with other parts, especially in busy sections. I feel this mix can work with some reworking. If the brass has to stay, I feel it should be pulled back dramatically in its use, and instead use a couple of alternating leads throughout the mix. You also need to rethink the mixing here, keeping the leads in check so they are still audible but are not so loud to overpower the mix. The arrangement could also benefit from some more variation, especially in the parts that are repeated. NO

Clear production quality here, your parts are easily heard. Bass is quite fat. Things sound a bit dry and could do with some reverb. Guitars are quite fake. Kick hits hard. Your lead during the main theme doesn't have the most enjoyable distortion tone, it feels a bit grating and could do with being smoother. As the track progresses problems are exposed throughout the arrangement. Most elements are running on repeated loops that are dropped in and out. The parts on their own are not bad but in total do not cohesively form a track, with the sound space left feeling sparse despite what you have playing. Gario put it best when saying the track feels like a big build up. There's some meat in the middle eventually, but the progression is somewhat anticlimactic with not much added in to form the "chorus" portion of the track. This ends fairly quickly with everything proceeding to build up again without any real conclusion. Have a rethink about your arrangement here. NO

Nice clean intro. I feel the piano is a bit too loud across the mix here compared to the other elements, could go down a bit in volume. It also feels quantised and a bit rigid in that regard. Arrangement is mostly solid, the change in tempo near the track conclusion was a nice inclusion, where the theme changes up, and it lent itself well to the change in pace. Nice clean outro as well. No major complaints here, especially with the other judges feeling this is pretty solid. I would've preferred a bit more looseness in the piano but it doesn't break the mix. Short and sweet. YES

Interesting use of carnival and theatre sound effects during the intro, quite creative. Things don't quite keep the same standard afterward however. The organ is disproportionately loud compared to the drums. The sound effects running in the background while a novelty to begin with start exposing identifiable loop points and are used too often at times. Panning is not utilised properly, with all instruments mostly sitting in the centre, bar for a the odd part here and there (you do make creative use of panning for the sound effects however). Near the end of the track you wind things down nicely with a completely original section (which I first mistakenly thought was a breakdown until the track ended). Apart from the main instrument levels being off, I feel your mix relies too heavily on sound effects to fill the soundscape - this isn't necessarily a bad thing on its own but the arrangement instrumentally isn't largely varied aside from this. I agree with the other judges. This mix has potential, you've done a good job bringing these parts together, I just don't feel you've quite hit the mark between creativity and overuse of effects to progress the track. Coupled with some of the production issues highlighted, it's a NO

Nice piano in the introduction, fairly emotive. The brass that follows when the orchestration builds up is a little low in quality but we'll work with it. Your accompanying strings that come into play don't have the same detail as your piano, with a lot of held notes and rigid sequencing. This, at least from an instrumental standpoint, is where things break down. The fuller the arrangement gets the overall clarity reduces across the mix, with things becoming a bit muffled at times. Parts in your sections over time feel quite repetitive, with same or similar sections popping up several times over the course of the mix. You had the beginnings of a nice breakdown around 3:00 but things changed back to the main piano motif soon after - would've loved to hear you explore the tones here that were short lived, it would've broken the mix up nicely between the two halves. I'm not as picky here with your samples used, but I do think more attention should be given to your individual parts to make them more humanised and less rigid and repetitive. The arrangement doesn't feel it warrants the length here either, and I would've liked to see more work done to add in more original material and change things up. Especially with a largely orchestral arrangement, there are a lot of things that can be done to change the feel of the writing - even simply changing around what it playing each part makes a significant difference. Humanise, strengthen arrangement, watch your production quality when things get busy. NO

Your mix starts straight with a full soundscape - not necessarily a bad thing, but the material you introduce early on would easily lend itself to a gradual build up, and a more fleshed out intro would benefit the track. You've mixed this one quite loud, the parts don't have any critical problems (such as distortion), but its verging on too hot and easing back from the limiter would give the track more breathing room, allowing for things to be more audible in the busier sections. The marimba feels like something out of a 80's action movie, quite mechanical but a nice sound. The snare has a strange hollow feel to it which I found odd. Your saw wave playing low notes continuously in the background did overstay its welcome as the song progressed - its not a terrible sound but its continuous backing of the bass became old quite quickly - I felt it worked best in the busier sections, and parts like 3:19 sounded nicer without it. I would suggest constrained usage of a pad here instead. I didn't have as much of a concern for the short minimalistic section at 2:22 as Gario had, but having the bass play on its own here would've been far more effective if you truly were going for a bass "solo" type thing. I feel the main part lacking here is the arrangement - its not that bad at times but the main melodies at play here are quite short and don't really vary much. This is worsened by the same overall soundscape, which in combination make things feel repetitive. Couple this with the other more minor problems and things build up against this one. I feel this is close, tweaks to what instruments are playing at what times, easing off the hot mixing, and a more gradual intro would make this a stronger track. NO I noticed a couple little glitches in the audio file which I'm not sure is just a bad file download or not (retried a couple times), but the track has noticeable micro stops in it such as at 0:10, 0:46, 1:48. This doesn't factor into my vote but thought it was worth mentioning.

Not a bad track. Nice choice of instruments, which in combination create a great atmosphere. The singing adds a noticeable personal touch to the track - they are soft with a lot of character. I will say that I was somewhat disappointed that the vocals were regulated only to choir duties however, instead of something a bit deeper (lyrical). It didn't really need lyrics, but it would've been nice if it broke out of its "ah, ah, ah" pattern every now and then into something different, especially with it being present through the majority of the song. At this point I'd also mention that the track felt quite repetitive - there were bits and pieces changing but it all felt very similar for the most part. The shorter duration helps in this instance. Production is solid - good use of stereo space, the track breathes well, no problems worth mentioning. Nice job, although more variation would've made this far stronger. YES

Frantic mix with a lot of energy. Bass is front and centre with a great clicky tone, and unlike a lot of other artists you really accentuate the bass tone here to have it come out and play as an actual instrument in the mix as opposed to simply a backing instrument. The guitars on the other hand were a little weak, with not a lot of power behind them in terms of chugg. Arrangement is good, lots of transitions throughout which keep things interesting. Mixing between parts is ok. I have to disagree about the crispness of the drums - I found them to be one of the weakest elements of this mix, with not much thud or punch to them at all. They also sound quite loop driven. This highlights the main issue for me though, and that's overall tightness of the mix. I appear to be on my own here, but I felt the playing of the individual parts - while solid alone, feel messy when combined together in a lot of sections. The drums felt a smidgen behind/ahead at times, while the other instruments didn't feel terribly in time with one another, giving an affect of the parts falling over each other in places. I appreciate the hands on performance, but I couldn't help but feel some of these parts needed some slight nudging to make them feel more cohesive and in time. I'm not talking about audio quantising this or anything like that, I just feel that satisfying tightness between the instruments isn't quite here, and coupled with the other issues, this doesn't hit the mark. NO

Another whimsical mix from 'ETripp. Instruments sound decent to my ears, they work together well to push the arrangement forward. The mix is busy in places but certainly not crowded. Production is solid, I personally felt the parts have a decent volume, nothing is overpowering or attention seeking. The arrangement does mostly stay in the same gear from beginning to end, which is probably my main crit with this - it would've been nice to hear some changes here and there. Overall though, I don't have any major concerns. YES

A great number of changing sections in this one. Your combination of source tunes has worked well here for the most part. Vocals provide great contrast and help set the mood of the track during the opening sequence. Guitar playing is solid, with some great tones, riffs and wailing. Drums are probably the weakest here, with the kick sometimes blending into the background, however attention to detail is there with regards to their sequencing. Panning across the stereo spectrum feels a bit narrow. You have a number of parts playing during each section - some parts get a bit too busy (especially when we pass 3:00). Accompanying instruments (strings, choir) are complementary to the main melodies but do get lost in the background quite often. There are a couple of dissonant notes in the piece, most notably at the end vocal section, but nothing I feel is completely jarring and off-key (4:35 occasionally pushes the boundaries), and most are required to fit the theme. Vocals in the final section are a bit loud compared to the rest of the mix, where all other parts (apart from the guitar) become lost. Mixing is a bit mushy - lots of parts are stepping on each other, some sections have guitar unnecessarily loud compared to other sections, and frequency space is shared a bit too much in the mids. This is particularly apparent later on in the piece. For me mixing is the biggest issue here, I'd like a pass across the track to fix some of the levels to avoid drowning out sections unnecessarily. It sounds like there is too much glue pulling the parts together - perhaps ease back any master bus compressor you might have and let things separate. Otherwise the team has done well here with what I believe is a mostly solid arrangement with its own personality. NO

Lots of busy panning, guitar layers and changes of rhythm in this one. Transition between sections is rapid and a bit rough at times, but mostly works, with no section overstaying its welcome for too long, and parts are rarely repeated. Guitar tone is mostly on point, and doesn't get piercing, however they feel a bit dry overall. Parts complement each other well but some sections get a little too busy with riffing. Bass feels strangely absent. Drums are quite stiff and to the grid. Break at 2:20 provides a good (short) change of pace to give us a break from the earlier chaos. Momentum builds up again in the final third before ending quite abruptly. Two minds about this one - great guitar playing which drives the track forward, showcasing all kinds of techniques and articulations, some more conventional than others, which create an added charm to the performance. At the same time, there are a lot of niggling issues - guitar sounds a bit dry, the quite rapid transitions, the stiff drums, the bass (or lack thereof) and the abrupt ending. I feel this is a great track just missing a hint of polish, it may likely pass, but I personally suggest a short revisit to think about these issues. NO

Very organic crisp production and overall relaxed atmosphere. Guitar playing is emotive and solid, nice amount of highs without being piercing. The accompanying cheesy synths in the background somehow work, and complement the guitar well. Arrangement was not too complex but gets the job done. Enjoyed the break at 2:50, a great change of pace. The funky strumming after this provides an added surprise. Drum sounds are well paired and have a nice sizzle, my only critique is that they don't change all that often, however they don't draw attention away either. No problems from me with this one. YES

Echoing what the others have mentioned regarding the saw starting at 0:23, which was very basic/bland and should be tweaked to make it less muffly. Interesting use of sound effects and game samples, although I felt they were heavily overused for the track's rather short duration - to the point where I feel the track relied upon them too much to hold interest. Some parts (such as at 1:31) don't feel quite right musically, likely due to the clash of the detuned saw the other instruments underneath. There is an odd mismatch of tones here that don't quite seem to work when the electronic instruments meet the acoustic instruments. Everything feels heavily quantised, which is good for electronic music but the mix of pianos and other parts lose realism as a result. For the arrangement as a whole - the rapid changes between different combinations of instruments are ok to begin with but become somewhat old quickly, with sections not being explored for very long before moving to the next section. The game samples have a negative impact here as well, making some sections too busy and clouding the listeners ability to appreciate the melodies that are playing. A few comments on the production side. There is not a lot of bass in your track. The main bass patch is quite low in the mix, not being overly audible. The kick could also do with a bit more low end. I noticed there were quite a few parts that feel quite centred in the mix and could be panned more (mainly a suggestion). There seems to be some holes in the frequency spectrum that are under-utilised across your mix, which instruments could occupy to fill out the sound scape. I don't mind the creativity here when it comes to the different sections that come into play, however I feel the arrangement overall is lacking. The mix is overly stiff, and the game samples and other effects make things feel repetitive. The saw synth is muffled and lacks energy. I feel some tweaks to these parts are needed to pull this mix over the line. NO

Piano is certainly stiff - humanisation on some of the notes would've made this feel better, especially considering the chords play underneath the entire track from beginning to end. Nice choice of percussion, they are a little heavy in the highs but it's more of a sizzle than a pierce (a good thing). Good production quality across the board, all parts are clear. Agree with the others that you've taken the source into a lot of fun territory, with a great mix of house chords and synth licks. Mix doesn't overstay its welcome - in fact it felt a tad short, but I feel it achieves all it needs to in the duration. Overall I'm ok with this one, the stiff piano does pose some problems but the others aren't holding it back for this and I don't feel strongly enough that this needs revision. Solid fun arrangement. YES

Nice intro buildup of guitars with accompanying blips. Arrangement is solid, and production elements . Guitars carry a nice amount of low end without taking over (most of the time). At 1:18 things get too busy, with most parts becoming drowned out by the guitars (this happens when this section repeats again at 1:57). These areas could've done with more clarity and IMO are not well mixed compared to the rest of the track and are the main drawback of the mix. Apart from these sections you've done a decent job to keep the parts separated from each other which wouldn't have been easy with the variety of tones you have here. Overall a decent mix, although the busy sections should've been mixed better. You can convey power without drowning out other parts. Had these sections taken up more of the mix it would've definitely been a deal breaker. YES

Nice swells and textures. Your choice of sounds stay pretty similar throughout the mix, although they are complementary to each other and fit the genre well. The opening felt mostly solid, building things up for things to come... however by the first minute a change of pace was well overdue, but never eventuated. In fact for most of the track, things never really evolved past the first minute. A lot of this has to do with the drum line being very repetitive - with its stop starting nature, it doesn't help drive the arrangement forward like it should. I feel even a change to a standard 4/4 beat would've helped after the intro to push things forward. During the opening they felt very fitting, but by the 3rd minute, considering how similar your overall atmosphere here is, things were really getting repetitive. After this point some breakbeats during the mid-point break are introduced, but they don't stick around long, nor to they really change the pace up required by this point, as the underlying 1 bar rhythm is still there. This creates perceived repetition, even though other parts do play different things over time. This is a shame as the overall sound you have here is bright and optimistic. The different melodies over time were welcome, and you made great use of stereo space. Your lead sounds are solid. Your SFX are typical/expected for the genre but implemented well. There was a small problem with the low end being a bit muffled in crowded sections, which could've been easily avoided by high pass filtering some of your synths that didn't need the low end. A tough mix for me. I don't feel the duration of the track is warranted with the amount of perceived repetition here, especially with the repeated use of short drum and melody lines over many bars. I understand the trance vibe here and what you're going for, and appreciate the changes that happen when they do, but I feel overall these transitions to new sections come in too late, and coupled with the repetitive drums the problem is exacerbated, making this fall short. NO

Appreciate your use of stereo separation here as you build up the parts of your arrangement. Production is solid, the sounds are nice and things fit together well. I felt the bird chirping from 1:18 was unnecessarily loud compared to the rest of the orchestration. They were quite heavy in higher frequencies, and were also quite dry - this combination brought them above the mix, bringing too much attention to them compared to the other parts. A slight low pass filter, volume reduction and possibly a hint of reverb would make these sit better in the mix, making them a background element (rather than a foreground one). Section starting at 2:03 and the following sections are were a little dissonant in places but not too bad. Transition between sources sounds good for the most part, not too abrupt. The ending closed down nicely. Musically I think this is fine, but the bird chirping, because of their volume I felt it was distracting. Your track may certainly pass, but if just a minor tweak was made to this part, things would sit more nicely together. NO

The intro build up worked well - while the main melody was repetitive, the accompanying layers that came in over time helped draw attention away from the fact. The transition to the harder part at 1:50 started mostly clean from a production standpoint, but there are audible issues 2:17 onward. This section is muddy in the low end with the bass and rhythm guitars sharing too much space. At the same time a cloud descends over the mix, losing parts in the background like the piano, making them kind of redundant. The drums also had a hard time punching through. Things finished up minimal and clean, but ended somewhat abruptly. Looking back across the mix it feels like an extended intro with a short body attached. This is not necessarily bad as it adds tension with a climatic conclusion, but when things build up to the final portion, we don't quite get to hear it for what it is and appreciate that section as much as we could. Although this may pass, I do push the importance of keeping heavy parts audible. While I understand a wall of sound adds to the strength of the section, it can be done while still leaving room for the mix to breathe. This section, while short, is too important to have production issues. On this basis, it's a NO

Agree with the main synth is very very plain and could really do with some tweaks to give it more character. The most noticeable thing production wise is most of your parts are panned close to centre, with only percussion heading further out to the left and right sides. You could've made use of the stereo spectrum more instead of having everything sitting on top of each other. As some of the other's have suggested, double tracking the rhythm guitars would've given some width and sounded great here. Your bass is also a little too quiet. Production is otherwise not bad here. The instrumentation here is quite stiff and mechanical, the guitar lead for example (although great sounding) feels heavily quantised, as do the percussive elements. Arrangement is not bad but a little on the repetitive side with some parts feeling like they're lifted from prior sections without much change. I don't mind the track you have here, I feel the biggest issues are the mechanical nature of your parts - loosen things up a bit to make the track more human, the blandness of your lead synth - tweak this patch to liven things up. production - everything too much to centre, bass a little too quiet. Taking a little more time on this track to consider these improvements would strengthen the track greatly. NO

Great contrast of the textures mixed with guitars. Vocals and their respective harmonies are strong, with great performances all round. Particularly liked the noticeable wider panning to signify the chorus. Gating on the vocals in the second half is overused somewhat - almost too much, dulling the uniqueness of its use. I thought the second play through of the verse portion could've done with some tweaks to make it more varied compared to the first iteration. In the mid section peaking at 2:27 you run into some clarity problems due to too many elements fighting for attention, I feel some layers could've been strategically stripped back to make way for the important parts. This is really the main section though that has these issues - mixing for the rest of the track is mostly ok. Drums are clean and don't wobble from over compression, which would've been challenging on a mix with this many layers. Outro has a nice blend of new ideas to see the track off (although it gets a little too busy for its own good). Thinking through this vote and having a few listens of the track, it's clear there's a cluster of smaller issues here, but none of them truly feel deal breaking in contrast to the strength of the performances and arrangement. I will say this is borderline due to some sections simply being too busy to the point where parts are almost lost, and to be honest this almost tipped me over. Almost. YES (borderline)

Enjoying the slower pace of your rendition. Agree with Kris and NutS regarding over compression issues with the track. Some parts are affected more than others, with the lead guitar poking through ok, but the clean guitars in the background and the drums are too squashed. The percussion begins to waver under the short ceiling, and there is a unpleasant crunch to the drums during busier sections. Background reverbs and swells add to a sea of sound that while pleasant in some aspects, are too crushed to enjoy. This is the ultimate problem with this track. Pulling back on the limiter and opening any master bus comp you have on will make this much cleaner. There are also some higher frequencies in your clean guitars that could so with some minor taming as so notes verge on piercing, though that may be due to the compression. Play it by ear. NO