Jivemaster

A nice more "hopeful" sounding take on the original. Arrangement is quite strong, with lots of great changes in pace and mood. Sections are rarely repeated, you've written this well. I agree with the others regarding the pops in some of the samples, you need to investigate what is happening there - it's not audible all the time but it's a definite issue. Balance wise the right channel feels more busy than the left, some revised panning of some parts to would be welcome. Mixing could be improved here, and I wasn't too disappointed with the high end, but things did feel clumped together in the frequency space. I still feel the parts were audible for the most part but there is without a doubt room to improve on clarity. I think this is pretty close to goer if you address the mixing and sample issues. NO

With Deia, Larry and NutS on this. The intro section felt very similar to the original track, which made me a little worried initially. The pizz strings were robotic and very dry - probably the biggest problem during this portion. At 1:51 you drop us into upbeat DDR style electronica, revealing the meat of the track. The synths showcased here are quite basic, such as the synth brass, but it suits the style well. The break at 2:48 was a good time to relax and ease off on the energy. The subsequent build-up included a good amount of original material, which at that point was greatly needed, as up to that point original material was lacking. Mixing wise, things are not too bad - the electronic sections do get a little busy, I feel this was attributed to the leads creeping into the low end a bit much. This wasn't a major problem though. I feel this one is close - the pizzicato strings are the biggest problem here for me, I'd like some attention placed on these to bring out some realism, and if you're revisiting, taming the synth leads slightly so they don't overpower the mix during the busier sections would be appreciated. NO

During the opening sequence there was a noticeable lack of humanisation on this one. This was masked somewhat by the other layers that come in over time, but for a track like this, it detracted from the realism. I didn't have an issue with the layers that some of the others had here, and while clarity could indeed be improved there wasn't any deal breaking moments mix wise that dragged the track down for me. The progression of the arrangement in my opinion was strong - sections did not go long without changing into something new, which made the track feel short and left the listener wanting more (in a good way). I think the lack of humanisation was the biggest issue here, but it wasn't as noticeable as the track went on. YES

The song builds up quite nicely. Good use of layering, particularly in the intro buildup. Your mix of orchestral and electronic instruments worked well here. I shared Larry's thoughts regarding the drum break that drives the track feeling somewhat weak, and I too thought a more heavy hitting beat was going to be introduced at some point that never eventuated. This contributed to making your "drops" less impactful. The piano felt quite thin at times but I do understand this was done strategically to fit it in the mix, and to be fair is quite standard for a electronic track. I did notice a distinct lack of low end punch across the mix though, and while I prefer this over too much bass, you had headroom there to make some parts bigger (like your kick drum for example). The arrangement progression wasn't too bad. You've got some good build ups and break downs. Some parts did go on a bit too long without substantial changes, particularly the main theme at 2:23. I felt by the 3rd minute things had mostly played out and the track could've cleanly ended around that point as it was breaking down, but instead it built back up and stretched out for another minute. For me this was my biggest gripe with the piece. Overall though, I can't say anything I've mentioned above stands out as a big enough problem for me to hold this back. I just wish it wasn't quite as long. YES

A very original take on the source tune. When the track starts up, things are promising, with a soundscape that fits your theme of inspiration well. However as things progress we run into a few issues. Your general progression in the arrangement here is lacking. You have a solid selection of sounds and a build up of parts that work well together, but they play similar things for too long. This wouldn't matter if the progressions were more varied and/or alternated more often, but the repeat points on the headlining parts are quite short. This is compounded by the repetitive arpeggio. The changes in background textures across the mix are largely lost due to its continuous pattern. It's quite distracting, and while I don't hate the pattern, it would be nice if it changed across bars, or at the very least, had some parameter tweaks to make it evolve over time. It's also quite dry compared to the other parts which exposes it further. You have a good overall sound here, production feels mostly solid with nothing (aside from the arpeggio) really standing out as a major problem, but it feels like you're only at the starting point of a good groove to springboard off. The content alone IMO is not enough to sustain duration. I would really like to hear you take this further. NO

You have got some solid progression here throughout the arrangement, most instruments feel realistic enough, and there is a nice conversation between them as the track progresses. Reverb is a bit strong nearing Enya like levels at times, although I don't feel this hurt the track apart from making some portions sound a little clouded. Agree regarding the lack of cohesion in the choir. This realisation hit me around the portion starting 1:42, where the rapid note changes weren't gradual and as a result didn't sound natural (though it didn't sound too bad on its exiting notes). This jumping between notes with a robotic character is most noticeable in the sections where the choir is exposed without other accompaniment. This surprised me as the other parts you have going here sounded solid and fit together well. On the flip side, I couldn't help but feel it paid homage to how SNES choir sounds were presented at the time, drawing the listener back to the realisation this is a remix of a SNES tune. Fairly sure this wasn't intentional, but I found it less jarring because of how it tied my brain back to the retro source in that regard. I'd also highlight that the portions where it brought attention to itself were fairly spaced out and didn't occur too often. I personally enjoyed your arrangement, you have some nice changes throughout, moving from a full orchestra at times to sparse twinkle dotted interludes, you provided a different feel for each section. I think the strengths here made things like the choir more challenging to ignore. I share the others concerns, but I feel this scrapes through. Perhaps the others would be happier if you revisited the choir? YES (borderline)

Great opening sequence. The combination of acoustic guitars for rhythm, and the electric guitars for lead works very well. Across the duration the mix is packed full of licks laying over each other which help both with transitions to new sections as well as keeping things fresh. Parts are well played, tight but not overly nudged. Backing instruments create a full soundscape. Arrangement wise, parts are not visited long, with something new frequently presented to the lister. Bird chirping is a little loud during the section around 2:00 but they don't go for long. Mixing wise things are quite full, sometimes overly so. You don't always have a heap of instruments playing at the same time, but even in sparser sections the parts share a lot of frequency space which tends to cloud certain areas (the worst of this was later on during the section starting around 5:10). There wasn't a point where you completely ruined the clarity, but the mixing in these kinds of sections definitely pulled this down a bit for me, I felt some tweaked eq for sections that were fuller was definitely needed. That said, as the others I think this is overall very well done, you've expressed a lot of creativity in particular with the guitar in this track, having it fill a number of roles (rhythmic, lead, backing, sfx) which I found impressive. YES

Gentle tones, very emotive. Completely agree with Deia here. The use of dynamics here are great. The shift in pace of the piano playing is great as well. I did also share the same concern of the mechanical nature of the track. Things sound quite realistic as you have them here, but at the same time there is an almost inhuman tightness to the progression, which sticks out even more due to the otherwise strong pacing and dynamics. I am not sure if this is due to some quantising after the fact, or if things were written like this intentionally, but it is noticeable. I enjoyed the arrangement progression for the most part. Some bits near the end felt a little similar to those that opened the piece, but there wasn't too much of this, and I felt the length of the mix fit the content you had well. No mixing issues here either (to be expected for a solo instrument piece), piano tone is solid and has a good balance of highs and lows. Tough one for me here, as things are by no means poor, but I feel that due to the nature of this being exclusively piano, I think you need to revisit this and humanise the notes further to take things to that final level. NO

Interesting choice of sounds. I quite enjoyed the old groove box style beats and low fi instruments, it was a fairly original direction considering the soundtrack has seen a fair share of remixes. Mixing between parts is mostly good, although some parts share a bit too much frequency space at times, which for a minimalist track like this, could have been more separated. Initially progression is solid, with a nice rhythmic progression between sections that absolutely helped in keeping interest, and was a clever way for adding variation over adding more and more layers. I will say that due to the minimalistic approach, by the midway point things felt a bit samey and repetitive. Thankfully, the solo portion at 2:10 saves this portion and makes things feel different for the second half, which was a saving moment for me for this track. The ending is definitely abrupt, I feel this was a missed opportunity to really break things down and do something interesting to close the track off. Overall I don't have any major problems with this. You've managed to create something quite original around a small number of sounds, I just wish there was a bit more variation across the piece. YES

I agree mostly with what the others have said here. I enjoyed the opening sequence and atmosphere, the organ like synth, bass and drums set things up nicely. When the lead guitar comes in I feel there's a few issues. Firstly, I'm with the others that it's too loud compared to the other parts. It already sticks out frequency wise, you should really consider dialling the volume on this back. Speaking of frequency, you do have some piercing frequencies here on the lead that should be tamed, I'm sure an LPF or surgical notch EQ would be enough to ensure this remains relaxing on the ears. Breaking away a bit from the others, I also feel the lead guitar is a bit too clashy note wise here when paired with the other parts, to the point where it felt out of tune at times. I understand what you're going for here - the lazy surfer vibe, and I also know the original has a lot of slide notes which you're trying to represent here. But there was quite a lot of clashing here with the backing elements. I'm not skilled enough to understand exactly what's at fault, but things feel off. Arrangement progression is certainly interesting, and you've got a good level of original elements here accompanying the source. I know my vote is more critical of what you've done than the others, but I did feel strongly about these issues. First and foremost focus on the lead volume/EQ above all else, perhaps this may make it fit in the mix better and overall make things more cohesive. NO

Felt the emptiness on the left channel during the intro a little off putting, thankfully things begin to fill out over the next minute or so, but the left always tends to feel less active than the right. You have some nice writing here, and I enjoy the orchestral instruments you have chosen, there is a particular sweetness to them. Your originally across the arrangement is noticed and much appreciated, I feel you've done a good job melding original progressions and licks with the original material. Duration is fitting. Your production is fairly decent, everything is audible (a given considering the minimal nature of the track), instruments have a good level of body to them EQ wise. I don't think there are any major issues here holding this one back. YES

An impressive (if somewhat predictable) rock take of the original. Your guitar tone has a good level of brightness to it, the distortion levels have a nice level of bite while keeping things clear and audible. Performance is solid. As the arrangement plays out things start off fairly conservatively, although we do see a number of licks presenting themselves over time to maintain freshness. Parts transition mostly well, although some feel too sudden (such as the break at 1:17). The panning used on the lead to alternate parts added a nice feeling of movement. Pace maintains fairly similar throughout most of the song, which for a duration of almost 3 minutes is a long time, especially at this tempo. One noticeable nitpick is the drums play the same pattern through almost the entire song - even the main fill that plays before transitions is very close, if not the same each time. In contrast to the real guitars they also felt somewhat robotic in their performance. This I felt detracted from the otherwise solid presentation here. Not enough in my opinion to hold this back, but more variation here really would've been nice. I also feel with the level of skill you display here, more risks could've been taken to depart from the source providing opportunity for more original material. Maybe next time. YES

Quite a funky vibe going on in your track. Things start with a fairly full soundscape, without wasting any time. The main groove has some nice movement to it, and supports the various leads that play over it as the arrangement progresses. Sounds work well with a nice combination of synths and real instruments playing together. The detuned far left/right panned synths add a level of eerieness to the track, although their presence felt overused at times. Things are pretty good in the first half. The main groove evolves over time with a nice transition into the chorus - I particularly enjoyed the fake brass. As we progress to the second half of the track however, a lot of ideas are reused, with not much in the way of new content. The short break with off beat flute licks at 3:15 were a nice touch, though I thought they came in a tad too late. This is a shame as the content you have here is well done. Production wise things could do with a bit more punch. Mixing works but isn't perfect - parts were blended a bit close together, with the drums sometimes being overpowered and lost underneath everything else that is going on; but for the most part things remained audible enough to make out the individual parts. I feel this mix is close. If you could do some more during the second half to differentiate it from the first, you'll cover a good amount of the concerns that have been raised here. NO

The source is an interesting one, with the original's melodic content largely hinging on a bass line and specific percussive elements/patterns. Having trouble with this one as well, drawing a true connection between this and the original. When remixing a source track which is atmospheric, minimal and percussive, you'd need to capture the vibe (melodic, rhythmic material) of the original and return there at various times to remind people of the connection. For this mix you've taken the bass line progression and moved it to a new instrument, which ties it back somewhat. However the melody here feels more background regulated, and everything else is completely original. This isn't a bad thing in isolation - the instrument palette is great and you've done a good job at arranging something that could fit alongside these original tracks, but for me it feels too little of a connection over the duration. I think it would've helped massively if the departure from the original was dialled back a bit to make things more obvious in some sections, perhaps to the extent of imitating some of the percussive progressions - this would really help bridging that divide between the original source and your own material. Sound wise I enjoy your mix, but my initial impressions are it doesn't sound enough like the original. NO

I'm with the others on the arrangement. I feel that it brings some nice original additions to the table. Sounds and production have some issues worth mentioning. Rhythm guitars are noticeably dry. Guitar leads aren't as loud as they should be (particularly in the earlier parts). The bass is pretty much non-existent, as though the guitars had too much low end and instead of high passing them the bass was reduced to compensate, resulting in a fairly bare centre mix. The drums are tiny, they have a pop to them but no real impact. These mixing decisions made me wonder if vocals were ever included and then removed, because the hollow nature of the centre is what would normally come as a result from that. Taking into consideration these mixing issues, the mix falls a little short, the absence of any real bass and the tiny drums really detracting from the overall sound and the otherwise solid arrangement. I think this could do with a second pass. NO

Punchy. Things start off relatively minimal but hard hitting. The contrast of instruments you have here are complementary and work well. The side chaining/pump is quite intense across the mix, parts that don't need to pulse are mostly left alone which is good, but the hard hitting nature of the effect brings on ear fatigue quickly. Lead at 1:40 is a little tiny compared to the drums and could've done with being louder. In contrast the following section which is more mellow has good balance. The guitar solo to initiate the end sequence was a good touch. The lead synth at the end should've been left outside of the sidechaining, it made that part sound like it had master compression issues, but it didn't last long. The end note wasn't the greatest of choices, and it felt abrupt. Otherwise I found the arrangement mostly decent. Above quirks aside, the excessive side-chaining is the biggest problem for me, however I don't think it's completely deal breaking, but that is not to say that the mix wouldn't benefit from that being relaxed. Let's see where this goes. YES (borderline)

Not a bad performance. Guitar tones are serviceable, although there are a few holes in the frequency spectrum here making things feel a little hollow at times. Agree with the comments that this sounds very mechanical for a live performance. Clearly some audio quantise has been used here, or excessive nudging of audio has occurred to get it on the grid across the board. This did take away from the liveliness of the track somewhat - it wasn't a major downside for me but it was noteworthy. Choir portion starting at 1:26 was fairly week, with that part feeling quite out of place sonically compared to the other parts. The arrangement on a whole is very conservative, without much in the way of original flair added in. In fact apart from the genre being flipped, I don't think this quite adds enough in original personality to be considered a remix, especially for this duration. Other criticisms aside, we need more you in this mix. NO

Lyrical writing is clever and performance is strong. Your musical accompaniment while genre accurate is a mixed bag. I don't mind the less complex synths you have going on here but it would be nice if they varied up a bit. The claps are a bit loud compared to the rest of the mix but do a good job at providing some much needed stereo width. The arrangement Is quite minimal, it's largely fitting through the first verse, but when you go minimal like this, you need to make good use of what you've got, and sections feel repeated in places with a lot of stuff sitting mostly in the centre. While I acknowledge that hip-hop drums don't vary up a whole lot traditionally, I do agree with the crits regarding the drums being a bit too samey all the way though and could do with some changing up. Despite the faults I've described, I feel you've brought a good amount of personality to the original tune, even though you're largely relying on lyrics to get this over the line (which is not overly different from what others have done before). For me I feel I can borderline this, some things could be better but I can't imagine those changes making a significant difference. We'll see where this goes. YES (borderline)

Enjoy your mix of chiptune, orchestral elements, breakbeats and guitars. You've certainly added your own personality to the original tunes. The instruments surprisingly fit together well despite being quite different. I didn't have as big of an issue that some of the others had with your orchestral stuff - I thought the sounds were serviceable, but due to their attack they did at times lag behind the rest of your arrangement in your sequencing, and were a little stiff. They were also too loud compared to the other parts they were playing with. This highlights one of the more major issues for me here in your mix, which is the mixing. Drums get drowned out regularly, strings take away too much attention from parts that are meant to be leading, and during the busier sections things feel squished. This is a shame as you have a solid arrangement here with some nice original additions. Would like to see this go through another pass to fix up the mixing and orchestral issues. NO

Really enjoy the guitar opening, smooth chorus, and good performances throughout as the arrangement progresses. The strings felt a bit strange here, like they are separate to the rest of the mix, floating above it almost. This may be due to the lack of reverb. Their quality also sounds a bit too basic, which in contrast to your other parts really makes them stick out in a negative way. During the sections of your arrangement where they're included, I felt they didn't really add much to what was already happening. Otherwise the progression of the arrangement feels relatively decent. The outro I thought was a little strange as the track felt like it closed off nicely only to briefly start up again before ending for real. That nitpick aside, I think this is pretty solid, but the strings do bother me somewhat, and I feel the track would be better off with some revision there first. They don't fit in with the live feel you have happening with your other parts. NO

Good performances, the violin in particular had a nice sweet sound it. I've got no problems with creative panning - I know that you've panned in this fashion to fill out the soundscape seeing as you've gone for the minimal approach. That said, I feel the violin being the main instrument, should be centred. This would carry the additional benefit of leaving space on the right channel for some additional accompaniment. I don't mind the minimal nature of the track, it grew on me throughout the duration, but at 2:50 I think things went on a bit too long for the content you have here. I think this is not far off - if your accompanying parts were strengthened and expanded in terms of changing up over time, it would give the mix more of an evolving feel without having to change the main progression you have going on here. Please give this another look. NO

Great sounds, albeit reminiscent of the original source tune. Nice breakbeat drums to drive the mix forward. Very atmospheric backing instruments. The trumpet at 1:10 was a nice inclusion though I wish it played more than the 2 variant patterns it goes through. Your arrangement sounds quite loop/layer based. Not a bad thing when done right. New layers are added in fairly frequently, with the overall palette of patterns changing often. Guitar lead at 2:12 is a great addition. The fade out worked ok on this one. Production quality is pretty decent, I would've liked to see some more low end clarity, but things are still audible for what's here. The arrangement didn't feel like it dragged and while more in pattern variation would've been nice, I think the changes across the track do enough to keep things interesting. YES

Appreciate the concerns brought up so far. The arrangement is indeed very safe in the first half of the track - for me I felt the song took a while to really get started and once things hit interesting territory it was almost over. That said things didn't drag on, with parts changing at the other end when they needed to in order to retain interest. I found the sounds used here ok. As always I'm far from an orchestral expert, so I'm not as sensitive about things being mechanical, provided parts aren't overly stiff and sound real enough. Accompanying parts here certainly felt a bit rigid, but the leads kind of masked this for me. I didn't have any major problems with production, parts seem to be mixed ok. I wish there was a bit more creativity here, especially in the first half, it would have made this an easier decision in that regard. Still for the duration, we do eventually get some originality, I just wish there was more. YES

Smooth filtered opening sequence. Things start off fairly minimum. The plucky synth was a little distracting initially as it was panned off centre and occupied most of the higher frequency space making things feel a little off balance, but thankfully additional accompanying parts drop in soon after to fill the space. You have a nice selection of sounds here, with some plucks to electronic bells, a bunch of different leads, and even piano like synth sounds. This great variety also carries one the tracks biggest issues however, which is a lack of cohesion between the sounds. In isolation the sounds work well, but together they feel mismatched and out of place at times - this is most noticeable in the second half of the track where more sounds are introduced. This is confusing in contrast to the arrangement, which I feel is cohesive, well implemented and didn't sound like a bunch of unrelated songs glued together like some do. Production wise things are quite clear, you have a fairly rumble free low end. There are some mixing issues worth noting, mostly with your leads, which seem to be much louder than the rest of the parts. It would be great if these were dialled back a bit so they sit in the track better. I can understand the split vote here - I think your track is decent, solid arrangement with good sounds that don't quite fit together, along with some mixing issues. We'll be in a better place if you give this another pass to correct some of these problems. NO

The minimalist nature of this track is a strong point, with a good balance of parts without crowding the soundscape. The choice of sounds is solid, with synths comprising of more basic waveforms. Drums and percussion have a nice hint of low-fi across them, giving off a nice sizzle in the highs. Production quality is good, parts are easily heard and not squashed, there is a good balance between punch and more open dynamics. The arrangement plods along fairly slowly, but manages to get through duration without boredom setting in. The tempo slow downs create a nice break effect when they're introduced and (most importantly) aren't overused. The ending is quite abrupt, with the song basically coming to a halt to allow for a sample to play. Arrangement could be stronger as it doesn't take a lot of chances away from the original. I didn't leave this feeling that it needed more however, but it would've been nice. YES