Emunator   Judges ⚖️

yeah, I have to agree with Halc on this one. The novelty factor here is through the roof and I enjoy showing this one to friends, but from a more objective standpoint this isn't very engaging past the first 30 seconds or so, once the neatness of the samples wears off. I appreciate the amount of effort that must have gone into making this, but I think I'll have to pass on this one

Great conceptual mix! The extended amounts of distortion and intentionally-"bad" sound are a bit off-putting when I'm just looking for something to casually listen to, but that's not really what your music is good for in the first place. It's a lot more about picking apart the concept and inspiration for the mix and watching something truly unique unfold everytime a new Mazedude song comes up. This is a truly creative concept with brilliant execution, one of my favorites from Chris's vast library!

The brilliance of this one honestly eluded me on my first few listens. Then, I decided to give it a second listen because of what you said in your submission email, and boy am I glad I did! This is really one of your best sleeper-hits, AnSo, and I can see why I didn't find it engrossing right off the bat. The joy of this mix is in the subtleties, like the percussion, for example. This really is a work of brilliance, I'm ashamed to say I didn't notice it sooner but me and Halc have both ranted and raved about how great this is via IM. You're my hero!

The live sax on this is pretty crazy, but I think the most impressive part is how you used so many different sound effects from the organ, guitar, and what sound like synths to help bolster them up That's what it takes to make a truly successful solo mix, and damn did you deliver! My only complaint is that it sounds a little disharmonious when you've got both saxes playing at the same time, but it's only for a few seconds and really a minor issue. Everything about this I just loved!

There's not much subtlety to the arrangement here - everything feels like it's up front-and-center. However, the arrangement makes that approach feel almost appropriate. Despite the somewhat-weak samples, especially on the guitar, I really enjoyed what you did with this short theme, it's very quaint and reminds me of something out of Banjo-Kazooie in terms of how uplifting it can be. Nice debut mix, I still enjoyed it despite the weakness in some areas You can only go up from here, so make it happen!

The intro feels like it was cut right in the middle of something else, I'm not sure if I like how suddenly it starts. Past that though, this one is all about mood and ambience. It's impressive in the aspect that it can somehow do pretty much the same thing for 5 minutes and still hold my attention. It's great study music though, and that scholarly feeling is only heightened by the quotes. Yes, it's cheesy, as OA pointed out, but the message is poignant and you integrated them fairly well into the song. All of your songs feel grungy and dark, yet relaxing at the same time... this one epitomizes that feel Excellent interpretation!

The arrangement gets kind of repetitive for a solo piano mix, but I can feel that it's very emotive as well, and as a pianist myself I can really appreciate that. The nuances of your playing, especially in intro, remind me of the work of Reuben Kee Not a bad endeavor!

I could have sworn I'd commented on this before. This is one of those instances that give me faith in the panel - this mix is one of the best I've heard in this genre, and even though it's pretty liberal that doesn't stop me from enjoying it one bit less! I think it would have been a huge shame if this one hadn't made it onto the front page, even though it was available in DoD form. Shnab's soloing was a nice touch on top of the DoD version, too, so I had that awesome little gem to appreciate too! Also, the judge's decision thread was crazy to read!

I remember seeing this one in the judge's queue and thinking "WTF is with the hackneyed, year-old Dark Knight reference? I can't think of how this could possibly be appropriate." Then I listened, and I realized that I was taking it too seriously myself This is a plain happy remix and, between the infectious dance beat and the chipper chiptune style, I can't help but feel a bit more joyous while I'm listening The subtle use of the guitar toward the end really inspires me, and I plan to blatantly rip that off in a coming collab of my own Great Job!

I don't currently have headphones, so I had to crank this one all the way up just to hear it. The arrangement seems intentionally deliberate and very moody, thanks to the sudden drop offs and haunting choice of instruments. If I ever needed a song for one of those thought-provoking, reflective moments in a movie, I think this is around the style I'd be looking for. It feels like you're trudging through uncertainty and darkness for most of the mix, but toward the end when the instruments get louder and more profound, you feel like you've reached enlightenment and everything is much more clear. If that's the concept you were going for, then kudos to you!

Oh boy... I'm really biased against this theme, and unfortunately this mix doesn't do anything to negate that. The flute (?) leads are probably the fakest samples I've ever heard and they don't mix well together at all. The mallets work a lot better and feel much more natural, thankfully, so that part of the mix worked a lot more for me. Not a keeper, but the aspects of this mix that worked nicely are quaint, if forgettable.

This mix is definitely AnSo's most 'insane' piece of music. Not really the most listenable, but if I ever want to inject a little madness in my brain I know where to go! All of the synth choices convey a very dark mood and the bells are just devious (and of course, mark this as a mix that only AnSo would do! I don't think I've ever heard a mix from you without those bells!) One of my most-listened to songs on iTunes, I've been playing this one frequently since I downloaded it! Keep it up mate!

I've tried to improv based on this same source tune, but really this puts anything I can do to shame. Absolutely fantastic, emotive playing and some clever interpretations on a classic theme. The piano tone, reverb, and everything about it made it feel like it's being played underwater, which is pretty cool given the way the song plays out This one, as well as your DoD solo from Mario Galaxy, has proved to me that you really are as much of a Renaissance Man as you claim to be... watching you jump from pure electronic to percussion-only to something like this, and touching on every genre in between, with each submission is what draws me to your music. You never know what you're gonna get, but you know that each new song is going to take things to a whole different level of greatness!

This one ain't bad. The intro/buildup didn't feel very interesting to me aside from the percussion, which picked up eventually. The mix felt like it should be building up to something more climactic and there were a few times you started to touch on it, but it never really happened for me The sounds and production are wonderful and there's a few interesting moments, but personally I feel like this was leading up to something that never came.

This one doesn't feel as intensely loud as Polar Star Overdrive but it matches it in pure energy. The guitar solo is hit or miss at parts, but when it's a hit, it's REALLY good! This one's short as hell but I think you get the point across nicely in 2 and a half minutes Absolutely no filler here!

While I don't like this one as much as some of the other megacollabs on FFIV, it's purely for personal reasons and has nothing to do with the merit put forward by OA or Nutritious. The concept was wonderful and I honestly didn't think a virtual choir could be executed this wonderfully! Really a monumental track and I can see why everyone's enjoying this so much, it's just not my cup-o-tea, personally Objectively speaking, though, one of the best-conceived and well-executed songs on the album!

This is probably my least favorite bLiNd mix from FFIV, not because it's a bad song, but just because the other two are so damn good Still, given the source tune I never would have guessed that it would eventually be taken in this direction! That aspect is probably the most astounding part of this remix! The vocal samples didn't feel as well-utilized as they were in Path of Deception, but they don't bring the mix down by much. The drums at :13 and elsewhere in the mix, on the other hand, are just awesome I dunno why they stick with me as much as they do, but it's a great effect and probably my favorite part about this song! Glad this got on the project - even as my least favorite of Jordan's mixes from Echoes, it's still really damn good!

God DAMN this song is insane. One of those ones that I love to crank up as loud as I can and see if I can catch anybody's attention with it, because that's exactly what this mix does; it grabs your attention and doesn't let go. The phat bass and breathy vocals are a perfect combination, and while some of the sound effects and transitions get a bit tired by the time the mix is over, I love the overall sound design and the sheer ballsiness of this song! You took a stylistic risk but it paid off in the form of, what I think, is the best pure-electronic song on the album!

This just goes to prove that Audi... err, Sole Signal is a master of his genre. Everything he does is turned up to 11 and holds absolutely no punches. The growling piano and bass, insane leads, and tried-and-true drums all feel like the perfect D&B song to me. It's electronic music through and through, but involvement with other instruments is just present enough so that the song feels unique and classy! I was looking forward to this one a lot because of the remixer and the fact that I recognized the source from SMRPG, and it absolutely lived up to my high expectations and even surpassed them. Please keep making music like this!

Right from the start you can tell this one is gonna be epic. Tweek does a great job of implementing his fabulous production into this genre. I don't like it as much as his FFIV sub but the production quality here is undeniably good. The beautiful solo violin/flute samples juxtaposed with the heavier symphonic elements at certain parts is really cool Not really my idea of "casual listening" music but this would fit fantastically into just about any modern-day RPG right at the most climactic battle in the game. What you've done here, you did extraordinarily well, Tweek!

I've been listening to this one since DoD days, but for some reason it doesn't feel quite as epic or intense as I remember it (I don't have the DoD version anymore, so maybe this is a cut-down version from that ) There's a lot of neat ideas here and they're executed well, though, and it's a great expansion on the original (which I just checked out a couple of days ago because of this song.) Not one of PoD's most amazing mixes but I definitely like the mood the song was created in, and some of the guitar riffs in particular are quite good in this context. It's refreshing to see such a talented artist branching out and doing all sorts of styles like this, from blues to jazz to metal... Keep it up PoD

Hehehehe... nice title Right off the bat, I was really captivated by the excellent bass work. This feels like classic Mazedude, nice mellow groove with a lot of subtle, nuanced instrumental qualities. Really cool mangling on some of the synths, as well! Despite me not being familiar with more than 2 themes off the EP, I could tell that there was a lot of creativity involved and this seems like a perfect way of showcasing that. I'd never have guessed that it was such a short source tune unless you'd told me... I guess that is the premise of the album, huh?

Yeah, this one isn't bad. Very simple riffs and beats but you kinda can't help but get into the groove Once the bass picks up and the strings start to come in, it's especially fun! I don't know what you did with the synth that comes in at 2:03, but damn is it good! That's my favorite part of the song Really, this isn't what I'd call a standout track by any means, but it's got all the makings of a good, unassuming mix that doesn't try to be more than it is, but still throws a lot of cool tricks at the listener with each repeated verse. Everytime I thought this mix had given all it had to give, it threw something new like the piano at me and I just got more into it!

This is pretty straightforward orchestral goodness, which honestly is hard to impress me with, but I love the haunting, deliberate intro and how it gradually picks up and climaxes at the end. This is one of those instrumental mixes where the end really is a payout on all the setup that went on in the beginning and middle. A problem I've noticed with most orchestral subs on this site is that the ending never lives up to what the rest of the song set up, but this song proved to be an exception! Also, I loved the second paragraph of the submission email, very cool concept

Yeah, in the interests of beating a dead horse I'm gonna compare this to Brawl's soundtrack as well, especially the flutes and the choir at the end - in that context I think this mix would be absolutely perfect. Some of the arrangement sounds a bit amateurish and repetitive but that doesn't stop this from being an enjoyable take on one of my favorite themes from any Mega Man game