Jivemaster

Build-up takes a while to get going. There’s some harsh frequencies in the opening, would be good to get that fixed. The intro build-up takes a bit too long, however the throw to a different tune post build-up was an interesting creative choice. Arrangement wise, I felt things started and ended pretty quickly here, and consequently didn’t really have the time to take us anywhere. There was some decent melodic content in this one, and although it was quite basic, it did an ok job at tying things to the source. The harsh frequencies particularly at the beginning of the mix definitely need to be fixed, but I also feel like the arrangement here is lacking somewhat, and could do with some more development. NO

Guitar has a nice tone, and appreciate the style this is going for. Lead guitar is a bit soft here compared to the big rhythm in the first bars. As the track progresses this continues to be an issue, with the rhythm parts drowning out most of the accompanying elements. This wouldn't be too bad if the rhythm was spending more time playing the main theme instead of being mostly used as an accompanying/supporting instrument. As the mix progresses, it's clear the mixing here needs a revisit. There is some low end rumble from the flurry of kicks, and some unneeded hz at the bottom of the guitars. At 1:36 the horns/lead can't really be heard all that well. At 2:13, the strings are difficult to hear. At 2:46 the horns in the left channel are difficult to hear. This is a shame, as the guitar playing is decent/tight, and there are some good ideas here. To repeat what I've said previously — a heavy feel does not mean the soundscape should be clouded. Guitars sound big and aggressive when they can be contrast with the elements around them. As it stands, many elements behind the guitars could be stripped out without noticing all that much as they're occupying similar frequency space and notes. When this happens, it's an indicator that your mix has gone too far. I would reconsider what elements here are most important, dial in what's needed, pull back on what isn't, shave some of the bottom frequencies off the guitars and carve a groove for orchestral elements to breathe and be heard. NO

Glitchy. Things do take a while to get going here. The glitch effect here is quite melodic, but similar to other tracks of this type, there is a lot of reliance on a major loop (or at least, the perception of one) with other elements spliced in. This makes the arrangement feel more uneventful to the listener than what it probably is in the sequencer. The production side is reasonable, I would mention here the clicks we get from the rapid cuts can become irritating over time. I’m unsure if there’s an attack control available on your tool of choice but it would be worthwhile exploring that to alleviate this. Despite all this, the execution is well done and my judge family here seems fine with it. Perhaps I’m getting too old for this sh*t. YES

Enjoyed the intro build-up. The mix does take a little while to get going, but once the pace picks up, we're in business. I think the leads are a bit loud in this, compared to the other elements, the drums get a little lost. Not a dealbreaker but worth mentioning. The breakdown and build-up at 2:41 was a nice addition. The lead guitar that plays us out at the outro at the end is a bit stiff. Arrangement seems fine. Production seems mostly fine apart from the mixing of the leads issue I mentioned. I think we're good here. YES

Things start quite suddenly. When we hit the pre-drop 0:37, we get a bit of weird thick backing synth which doesn’t really fit, but other layers come in to cover that up soon after. The transition at 1:22 felt surprisingly ok, however the synth guitar chords at 1:38 were clashy with the parts underneath. The main lead sync lead gets a predictable over time, it would have nice to hear the modulation be adapted more manually. The arrangement doesn’t stray too much from the originals. Things close out pretty quickly. Production is ok. Some sections do tend to get a bit crowded, which I think is both a layering and mixing problem. Some sections have layered variety, but it leads to them being too busy, because most parts have too much low end, and they’re all fighting for attention. I think the mixing could do a revisit to correct this. I would also reconsider some of the sounds and if they’re all truly needed all at once. NO

The soundscape sounded a lot more intimate than I anticipated. Things sound quite close. A smaller ensemble is used for this one, with foresty vibes and bird sounds scattered around. Maintains a fairly slow pace throughout, though that's ok. Not as eventful as your other pieces, but I see this one as a chill ride. The arrangement does play things a bit safe and not go anywhere too original, but that are enough backing elements and additions that get things by. The production is decent, with good use of stereo space. The master is certainly on the light side of things, and I'm happy for it to be boosted, though I'm also ok if it's not. A decent rendition overall. YES

Sparkly twinkly beginnings. The opening is quite nice. We get some theme in the intro portion. Things take a while to build up, with some blipping synths and SFX. 1:07 we hit the drop. The source is played with a bit. 2:04 we get a nice solo, which was quite unexpected, but worked quite well. There are vibes of the main theme throughout. At 3:10 we get a bit of a breakdown, and a repeat of the chorus portion. 3:55 gives us a bit of synth solo which was good for separating this from the earlier section. I felt the TMNT sample was overused. Things close out pretty standard. Production is good. Arrangement had a lot of original elements. I've looked at Rexy's breakdown (thanks for that @Rexy!). This one is a bit tough for me because if I had not seen the numbers I wouldn't have caught it myself. I feel this is awfully close and we do need enough source usage to cross the line. I'm ok to approve if we can perhaps get another judge to weigh in on this, I will sit undecided on this for now. ?

Soft vibes. Immediately detecting audible distortion from the drums, likely due to hitting the limiter too hard. This is a shame as it's essentially adding a crunch to most beats throughout the arrangement. As the arrangement progresses, other parts also seem to be clipping, so perhaps the limiter is not set correctly. This will certainly need a production pass. The arrangement itself is not too bad. The instrumentation is decent, choir used was a nice touch. The arrangement does re-tread a bit territory as we get the last 3rd of mix, perhaps consider if more unique elements could be added. The outro wasn't bad. As mentioned, we need a revisit on the production here before we can go further. NO

A chill opening. The synths here do sound a little basic. The FM lead sounds very Genesis-esque, which by itself is not a bad thing, although it's a little thin. The slides add some good flavour. The bass here is used as a backing synth at times which doesn't work, as the exchange between the 2 instruments is lost due to differences in volume. The arrangement takes a while to get going, but improves over time. The change at 1:30 is a lot better than the earlier sections, with a pop feel to it. At 1:58, a guitar enters, which sounds great and fits well, and is quite tight with the rest of the mix. We re-tread some previous territory before heading out. The second half of the arrangement has a lot going for it which starts to bring me around. I do however think production needs work. Things are a little cloudy, and mushed together, drums are without much impact, the stereo field is quite narrow feeling. I think if the mixing mastering could be revisited to bring the parts out more we might be in a better place for this one. Let's see what the others say. NO

Eerie synth blips and rumbles start things off. A spacey sine-wave synth introduces the theme, accompanied by string-like pads. Things started to get bit-crushed, as guitars start to fade-in at 1:37. The soundscape here noticeably changes, feeling more thin. The guitars once making their way fully into the mix sound ok. The accompanying lead synth playing in the centre is hard to make out and felt without purpose. Ironically the early section felt more impactful with the larger soundscape than when the guitars entered. The transition at 2:10 felt out of place not built up to properly. The off-beat nature of the section does sound ok. At 2:45 the guitars return, to transition to a fast hamming section. This section does go for a while but doesn't change a whole lot over that time. At 3:35 we get some additional guitar layers. This adds an additional dimension to the previous section but doesn't really change things up a whole lot. The outro section is quite good, with synth movements between the stereo spectrum. Not sure what to make of this one. There are a lot of great ideas here, good use of SFX, and the theme is featured constantly. There is a clear level of talent at play here. That said, the cohesion between sections feels missing, like different songs stuck together, and the sections that are meant to feel harder feel weaker consequently due to mixing. A bit of a mismatch here. Will be good to hear the other judges take on this. Personally I think the arrangement cohesion issue ultimately pulls this one under. NO

The violins shifts felt a bit off, however when the other layers come in this is less noticeable. The piano portion 1:00 sounds great and probably the best part of the mix. Conversely, when the strings hit at 1:15 things felt cluttered, likely due to the mixing of being off — the accompanying strings are just too strong. This continues past the mid-way point. At 2:14 the bass is rattling. Arrangement is fairly straight forward, with the main theme featured regularly, it would have been good to hear a break away from this to introduce something extra, though I believe the backing elements have some riffage not in the original. Not bad so far, but this one needs at least needs a mixing pass. NO

Another whimsical take by Rebecca. Things start off with twinkles and begin to fill out 0:38. The arrangement here moves at a steady pace and adds nicely to the original. We get a breakdown of sorts with a harp 2:20 which is accompanied by other instruments to begin closing things out. Things are over pretty quickly but it gets the job done. I think the sounds used here worked well. Perhaps not quite as technically interesting as your other works, but still solid. Mixing is fine and production doesn't have any major issues. YES

Things start up with a side-chained piano that first leads us into a fake drop, and then the actual drop. The main theme is featured strongly. Glitchiness and reverse notes come at 1:42, with piano re-entering soon after. The side-chaining here starts to wear a little thin, but drops away at about the right time. Production wise, some parts sound a little thin, but I’d definitely prefer this over a clouded muddy soundscape. Stereo space is used well. The arrangement is fairly straightforward, with the mix leaning into note adaptations as opposed to full-blown original sections. I think things work out ok here for the most part. I would’ve liked to hear some original interpretations of the theme to break things up a bit. Due to the focus on the main theme things do get a bit repetitive, but I wasn’t completely off it by the end of the duration, which I think is a good sign. Let’s see what the other J’s think. Good luck. YES

Nice opening dramatic build-up. Amongst the strings and twinkliness, this one again gives me Elfman vibes in how the parts are written. At 1:10 the layers peel back to reveal a softer yet still sombre mood. Instrumentation is good throughout, with a decent amount of changes in lead duties that we've come to expect. The pacing of the arrangement is quite consistent, though there are a number of build-ups and breakdowns along the way to keep things interesting. Things close out relatively smoothly. Not much more to say on this one — the mixing is decent, and production value seems fine. A great expanded take on the original. YES

Air wolf vibes can be had in the initial bars. Things do take a while to get going, with mostly bass and a couple of backing synths. At 1.24, some thin strings start to enter as the bass gets more playful at 1:38. At 1:52 layers peel back and we’re left with one of the background synths playing for a bit, which starts getting into the theme (finally!). At 2:12 we finally hit the theme as things start to build up for full theme at 2:41. Soon after at 3:09 we return back to bass with backing synths. At 3:22 we hit some more theme territory, with a blippy version closing things out. Instrumentation sounds ok, although it’s fairly basic here, and while there are some parameter tweaks in places, I feel more could have been done to make things more interesting. The production side isn’t too bad, kick has a good thudd to it and most elements can be heard well (although being a fairly minimal track I would expect this). The main concern for me is that the arrangement takes a long time treading similar territory before the theme starts to pull in, and it doesn’t stick around long when it’s there, which is a shame because it makes up some of the better portions of the mix. Coupled with the basic instrumentation, I don’t feel there’s quite enough to get this through. There are some good ideas here but still feels like it’s in draft and should be built out more. NO

The accordion definitely feels like it missteps at the start. The flute sounds great. The lead at 0:59 is well done, with good tone, mixing. The lead at 1:43 feels like it’s rushing ahead a little bit compared to the other elements. Outro is tight and great. Overall, certainly not as tight of a performance as I expected — some parts mesh really well, others feel messy. Production is decent with an exceptional level of clarity — more than is typically found with a guitar heavy piece like this. Well done there. I think this hits a lot of the right spots, arrangement contains a decent amount of changes and the core theme is prominently presented. I just can’t help but feel this would present better if performance was tightened up in the areas that need it. I really think the accordion at the beginning needs to be fixed because it just doesn’t sound right, which puts off the listener on what’s to come. I’ll drop in a conditional on that, and I wouldn’t be against other parts being tightened while at it. YES (conditional on accordion fix)

Nice reggae vibes, the change in rhythm and note placement gives this a nice unique flavour. Saxophone takes on lead duties, and is played well here. Lots of riffing throughout which personalises this a lot. On the production side, the bass is a bit boomy, creating some clarity issues in the low end. It’s not deal breaking, but it does cast a gloomy shadow over the rest of the mix. I think this is a good original take on the classic. Well done. YES

Decent level of clarity here across the production. Nice spread of instruments. The change at 1:39 was done well. The orchestration has a bit of a dark vibe which I enjoyed, a little Elfman at times. The choir is playful but grounds things nicely. The arrangement is solid, with a decent level of breakdowns and build-ups. Not much more to say here, nice job. YES

Nice gritty atmospheric opening. The digital glitchy synths create a solid soundscape. Instruments change around and take turns as the arrangement progresses, creating a good level of interest. Drums tend to plod along a bit, it would’ve been nice to have heard these change up a bit. Some of the layer heavy sections at 2:45 lose a bit of clarity. The production/mixing side is otherwise ok. The mix cuts off at the end for me too, I’m with Larry that we really need a clean print of this if possible. Update 200924 re: end fix YES (now ok)

Smooth. Enjoy the rendition here. Things initially felt a bit cover-ish, but there’s enough extra stuff tossed in as we go along to alleviate that. Solo at 1:30 is great. Arrangement introduces different instruments every now and then to play portions of the theme, which is a nice touch. Things are well mixed here, with not much in the way of clarity issues. The second half and outro felt like a bit of a retread but I didn’t mind how things cut short suddenly at the end. Overall a relatively good performance, with some interesting ideas thrown in. Nice job. YES

Nice calming start. I agree 1:05 was a bit of an odd transition, with an immediate drop in volume. Despite this, I think you blended the pieces well, and achieved a good mix between the delicate feel and heavier parts. Heavier parts do feel a bit warm/compressed, not sure what’s happening there, but I didn’t detect any major distortion. Things end quite quickly, but you cover a lot of ground over that time, leaving the audience wanting more. Nicely done. YES

Nice rendition with good choice of instrumentation. Good usage of the L/R channels for bouncing SFX and blips. The guitar portion at 2:00 was fun. That bit crushed synth elements were slightly distracting at times, likely due to their occupying higher frequencies. The glitchiness works well across the track. The outro is a tad weird, taking a while to wind down. Nothing wrong with weird though. This is quite an original take, you’ve done well with the arrangement choices here. Production is good, with a nice level of clarity between parts. Nice work. YES

A sombre rendition of the original. Good mix of complementary instruments here. Things do progress rather slowly, but the performances which are well played do keep things interesting. The arrangement does feel like it’s run its course by the 3 min mark, but things luckily wind up soon after. Production is decent enough with no over-processing of parts. Overall a good presentation. YES

Good synth based atmosphere, solid choice in sounds. The guitar lead is a tad soft in the first section compared to the other parts, and wasn't quite as tight as I'd expect (the surrounding instrumentation being to grid is likely making this more apparent). Arrangement wise things are quite conservative, but there are some original inclusions. Guitar in the 1:42 section is off time slightly with its initial notes, which was a bit distracting. I thought the vocaloid here worked ok, as it wasn't used too much. The rhythm guitars at 3:27 also feel slightly out of rhythm/not as tight as they should be. This is distracting as well. Conversely, the lead at the end during the fade-out felt ok. The overall soundscape is good here, and I enjoyed the original elements that were added in. On the production side, there are some frequencies that are a bit hot. Personally the lack of tightness around the guitar performance and some problem frequencies made things challenging for me here. Perhaps I'm overreacting, but I do feel it hindered part of the overall presentation. YES (borderline)

Your write-up had a lot of heart. This track has an interesting approach, I enjoyed the reversed notes and glitching... at least initially. I’m absolutely one for glitching, but I think the glitchiness was overused here. I understand what you were going for, and it is very musical in many ways, but the arrangement was at times difficult to follow and didn’t really go anywhere as a consequence of this. The glitching would’ve had for more artistic impact if it built up to unglitched musical portions more frequently (or vice versa). That’s really I all I feel the mix is lacking, a progression, a journey of sorts. It’s very possible I missed this, but I didn’t feel it really took things anywhere until the final portion and by then it was over. Production here was fine, but on arrangement I couldn’t pass this. Given the other votes, I’m quite sure this will pass, but I wanted to provide that feedback for next time. Good luck! NO