Martin Penwald

Smooth, relaxed, chill, laid-back, peaceful...there are my adjectives that can be used to describe this remix. Loving the train fx in the beginning. Piano sounds fine to me, btw. A perfect fit for winter and christmas.

Has a somewhat chiptune-ish sound to it. As you mentioned, you need more variation. The rhythm in the background sounds the same throughout the entire song, which makes it sort of hard to listen to. I do like the atmosphere of the song, though, as it has something late 70s/early 80s SciFi-ish to it.

The choice of sounds, the "Hit it", the "ha-ha"...if Warren G walked around the corner and told me to regulate, I wouldn't be surprised at all. But there's more; the sweet guitar around 1:00, the beautiful piano (particularly around 3:30)...there's just so much to love about this remix. Definitely some of JM's best work, and considering that all of his work is damned good, that means a lot.

There are many good ideas in this, but the song is so short that I think they aren't fully realized; there's so much more that could be done with them. Also, the intro is a little too heavy IMO, just a bit too..."industrial", I guess.

Oddllama was the king of fan badges:

Very interesting remix. The intro reminds me of the music found in early PS1 games; Loaded in particular comes to mind (probably because of the bass guitar). Strings coming into the mix after a few seconds give it a movie-score-ish feeling, which is even stronger around 2:40. Nice use of fx/bubbling around 0:50. Sweet guitar around 1:00. Nice change of pace at the 2 minute mark, awesome guitar afterwards. Some very powerful stuff around 2:50, followed by a delicious 80's hair metal synth. More awesome synth action around 3:50. Nice ending. Yeah, this remix offers a lot. Nice work, man.

Starts out with a very space-y synth, but I can't say I'm much of a fan of the lead synth coming in at 0:26; I find it rather annoying. The synth taking over the lead at 0:46 is much more to my liking; has a sound somewhere between an 80's synth and something you'd hear in a 16-bit game. Much better. And finally, I'm on the fence about the synth solo starting around 2:10. Don't get me wrong, the way it's used is great, but the sound of it barely manages to stay on this side of the borderline between good and piercing/annoying. I guess some of the sound choices just aren't my cup of tea.

As a European, I pretty much never get to hear music like this, so it is a very welcome change of pace for me. I can listen to it over and over again, simply because I'm hardly ever exposed to something like it and thus can't grow tired of this genre. The remix in hand is an all-around fun piece of music. Perfect for when you feel the need to be cheered up.

Hm, while both tracks are good, I don't think they would've worked as well in the game. The Lower Afterlife is where the real party is at; frantic music, dancing, people shooting the batarian barkeeper in the face. "Infectious Groove" certainly has the tempo and frantic-ness to be used in such a setting, but I have two issues with it: the breakdown (the less downtime, the better, IMO), and that one sample that keeps on playing throughout the entire song, from the very first to the very last second. I think that would become really annoying if you screwed around the Lower Afterlife for 5 minutes. "Under Fire" is simply too slow IMO. I know I'm using the word a little too much, but it's just not frantic enough. It would've been a good fit for the Upper Afterlife, though. Btw, nice panning on the guitar at ~3:25.

This is what I like to call "nervous jazz". It's not something I can listen to when I'm trying to relax It is a song that demands your attention, sweeps you off your feet and carries you along for a wild ride. Personally, I like it, but I can see why some people wouldn't.

Have to say that the guitar sound e.g. around 0:40 just isn't my cup of tea. Whistling and piano are dope, though.

This is a very interesting song. I think that most orchestral remixes which go for the movie soundtrack feeling end up sounding too close to something e.g. Hans Zimmer would produce, loosing their video game roots. This, however, is different. Except for the string-heavy section around 1:50, it never sounds too movie-ish; there's always a hint of good ol' video game composition to be found in it. Obviously, I haven't listened to all movie soundtracks out there, so my comparison might be me just talking out of my ass, but that's how I feel anyway. Great job.

Am I imagining things or does the intro (as well as e.g. 1:50 onwards) have a very mid-90s rave vibe to it? Sounds like something you'd have found on a Rave Base CD or one of the Mayday compilations back in the day.

This. In particular the Mario Kart album, which is probably why the remix in hand always makes me think of Super Mario Kart. Relaxing and upbeat at the same time. Nice work, guys.

halc delivers once again. It's really interesting to hear how he manages to combine chiptunes and crunchiness with a more modern sound, making it more than "just" a straight-up chiptune. Nice work.

Hah, I actually asked who made the track for Lower Afterlife in the ME2 composer interview thread because I absolutely love it. Thank you for posting this. I'll give the new version a thorough listen and post my impressions.

Beautiful and warm piece with loads of variation. Nice work, man. Digging it.

...goddammit. Anyway, nice remix. The autotune doesn't bother me; unlike in many other modern songs, it's not overused to the point where its usage becomes painfully obvious and annoying. Nice lyrics, too. Keep 'em coming.

It's been about 12 years since I last played DN3D, so I don't remember the source at all. Thus, I can't comment on the way the source was arranged, but I know one thing for certain: Agree 100%. Great stuff.

One of the catchiest remixes to come out of OCR in a long time; it's next to impossible to get the chorus out of your head. Nice beat around 4:05, too.

Just like djp, I prefer this remix over the original, but in my case, that's not surprising, considering that I don't really like the original song to begin with. Never did, neither in DDR, nor in Rumble Roses. Live violin and guitar (the latter particularly during the breakdown around 1:55) are awesome and a welcome addition to the soundscape. Also, I like your voice.

Nice arrangement; interesting how it changes from slow to fast and back again. The sax is very sexy, particularly e.g. around 1:15. It reminds me of Snatcher.

I agree with djp; it's been far too long since this source was last remixed. Classic tune. The choice of instruments is pretty much perfect for this arrangement. Doesn't sound melancholic at all, though; more like music you'd hear in a game based on Arabian Nights, sneaking around a bustling market or the king's palace. Good stuff.

I was rather surprised when I read that PrototypeRaptor had made an orchestral remix. Listening to it (repeatedly), I have to say that it is a very pleasant surprise. This is hands down my favourite orchestral remix on the site. It's playful, it's creepy, it's powerful, it's just about everything. Parts like ~2:30 send chills down my spine. Great. Simply great. I hope to hear more from PR in this style.

All of that. And more. The intro is great and a lot of fun. 1:20 onwards has a very 70s TV show vibe to it; I could see Charlie's Angels (the original ones, of course) do some poorly performed stunts to this. Awesome work.