Eino Keskitalo

Great going! Less than a full page of sevens to go! --Eino

Not too shabby, but not too original either. I liked the explosions, didn't stick out for me. Pretty much sounds it's age, although holds together better than many of it's contemporaries. --Eino

Ahhh, gotta love those oldschool sounds. Very pleasant, if a bit backgroundish. I'm going to keep this, I have a feeling it might grow on me more. --Eino

A very interesting and enjoyable mix. It's probably my favourite from GrayLightning. Overall mood, the percussion and the koto are hilights for me. --Eino

I was sold when the bass came in. What a sound. I also like the soft, steamy stuff in the background. Usual djp goodness. --Eino

I enjoy this one very much. Sparsity of the instrumentation is good. Sounds tired, in a good way. --Eino

Just quick comments. Good job switching the piano to the bells. The piece sounds a lot more interesting rhythmically now! Also the new melodies, and the bells in the end, good stuff! I'm happy to hear this update. --Eino

Still think it's a fine track! I don't have any more constructive critisism at this point to offer, but greggh's advice seems plausible. It sounds "complete" to me, but I'm not well versed with the dnb genre. Hope to hear a follow-up! --Eino

Excellent news! Good luck with the program. --Eino

The previews sound excellent. Considering to order some copies for gifts. If I wasn't broke, I wouldn't have to think about it. edit: Nice touch with the footsteps in snow in Prelude. --Eino

That's great news. I like this tons. --Eino

Voted! Thanks for the participants and Bundeslang, it was fun to hear and vote once again. --Eino

Interesting to hear your style evolve in a more perhaps house-y direction in this one. It works well. I wasn't bothered by the snare myself. Instead I thought that the instrument that first comes in at 0:30 was a bit loud, or perhaps just somewhat dry/exposed upfront. Minor quibble, but it stuck out. --Eino

Everybody has been pretty spot-on so far with the criticism. The tuning bothered me the first time I listened to this, but on this listen right now, after a very long time, I don't even notice it. Timing I have no problem with. The reverb is so big though, I don't buy the "intimate cafe setting" scenario. It sounds more like a school performance in a gym, you know. It's a downer on an otherwise fine track. But listening past that, it's very enjoyable. I really like the instrumentation and their collective sound, even while it is not super hifi. I like the double bass solo tremendously. The violincello has some lovely little supportive figures during the solo. Hmm.. is this a virtual quartet, or did you restrict yourself like that? I didn't keep this when it was posted, but now I definitely will! --Eino

For a long time, I was turned off from this song by the vocals and lyrics. Not that I don't like vocals and lyrics in ReMixes in general. Brandon's smooth pop voice here is very far from what I like. I do think he sings well and uses the tone of his voice very well. I agree with previous mentions that they're a bit undermixed for lead vocals. Lyrics aren't great, although they serve the vocal lines well. Harmony admits earlier in the thread that he didn't work on them very much. I think lyrics the major weak point of this ReMix. "Fly me away".. ulgh. Pardon my language. There is one single line that transcends the overall blandness, "take me to see my mother". That provides some specifics to the emotion of the piece, it's a vulnerability revealed. "Fly me so far" works terrificly with the melody and the way it's sung, even if it's not impressive on paper. Ok, mentioning dragons and Flammie give a specific context too, and yeah, the lyrics are tongue-in-cheek, but it comes across as a half-assed joke too much. I don't think trying to explain that via "it's about Secret of Mana!" is enough. I'm really thinking that with some work on the lyrics they could have been quite good. That's my account on the lyrics. On the other hand, reading pixietricks' review on page 10, she obviously related to the lyrics and singing powerfully. I thought that was a moving story, thanks for sharing. Vocal style and lyrics aside, I've finally managed to listen past my dislike and I'm really enjoying the track. Some tasty guitar work! The trading of lines with the piano is effective, as someone else pointed out previously in the thread. Rhythm guitar bits are worth a mention, I like the percussive effect it has. The overall flow is very good. Great use of the different time signatures. I love the chilling mood the latter half has, the processed vocal sample/thing is great, and after that part the simple guitar riff coming in and growing sounds fantastic. And then to a fine solo. The production is a bit slick for my tastes, nothing really punches through, nothing really scratches (in a good way, if you get what I mean). I'd love a rougher take on this exact material (ok, with refined lyrics), but, good as it is. --Eino

Sure it feels like I've heard drumloops like these a hundred times before, but it's the whole that counts. Plenty of space in this mix. There's really very few elements, and it works really well. The last 1:20 or so is quite, quite beautiful. --Eino

I don't get this one. Judging by the other comments, it's probably that the chosen tonality is so foreign to me. It makes it sound like random lines pasted on top of another to me. Add rigid (at least by today's standard) string/bass sequencing and I'm confused. --Eino

Not bad stuff. I think your guitar sounds are pretty good, actually. Playing, too. Two things about drums. The sound could be bigger. You have a really simple beat at some places, which, I think, would work much better if the sound was bigger. It doesn't quite carry the track as it is now. I think the snare is the biggest problem there. It goes like "tlok" while it should be a good big *KPOSSSH*, sorry for the onomatopoetics but I hope you get my idea. And that's just my opinion anyway. Another problem with the drums, and the snare again, is the long rolls. They sound really mechanical. Vary the velocity between individual hits, use different (but similar sounding) samples, do anything to liven that up. The guitars don't sound like they are exactly in tune with each other. The leads especially. It might be your guitar's intonation is off when you go up the neck. If that's the case, try tuning the guitar to be in tune around the frets you intend to play your lead before you record them. Of course you should in the long run correct the intonation, getting a pro guitar technician to fix it or something. Also, hum & other problems may well be broken mics, or wiring in your guitar, and you can and should get that fixed by a technician too. Take any of my guitar advice with a grain of salt, as I'm not terribly experienced with them, especially their inner workings. But it sounds like you're a good player who deserves instruments that are in good working condition. --Eino

A terrific, terrific track. Eerie and atmospheric piano lines and subtle strings above industrial, noisy percussion and a dirrrrrrty, murrrrrrrmuring, brrrrrrrilliant bassline. Jättebra! --Eino

I find this track delightful, and the beginning dialog is a key part of that. I got a huge grin on my face on the first listen, couldn't help it at all. Good work! --Eino

Pretty damn good stuff. Floaty and spacey indeed. The mellotron jumps out a bit in the mix, and the guitar isn't 100% perfect in the timing towards the end. Small complaints, these. Great lead work, especially the slow, grand lines that take their time. --Eino

This is a bit late, but thanks everyone for a good round and the feedback in the votes. Either some of you are very kind or you really thought better of my submission than I did. Justin64help, I'd be interested if you did go into more detail, even.. or perhaps especially if it were blunt. Though it's probably a bit late now. re: live, Binweasel, I do cheat, I record in bits, this time I could keep the guitar arpeggio together for about two bars each pass. I probably should do a mix based on what I actually *can* play. --Eino

Very very nice stuff, especially for "early work", I'm envious. I like how rhythmical the first track was before the beat even came in. The track was pleasant and happy. Very nice analog synth embellishment figure thingies.. don't know what to call them. Sound like fountains of light. *mumblemumble* The solo piano piece was pleasant and happy-sad. Sounded good. Very nice interlude-type of feel. Can imagine a vocalist, say, pixietricks singing over this. The Jazz.. I'm not feeling as much. The swing feels awkward. Awkward can be good if taken advantage of, but it's not working like that here. The reverbed snare is fairly unjazzy in my humble opinion. The piano is pretty good. Writing in general isn't bad here, but the feel and sound don't click. --Eino

Nice groove! The timing of the strings in the intro isn't 100% pleasant at all spots. Some notes could be played a little earlier I think. I also agree somewhat on the randomness of the notes chosen; I once again think that what you are going for is good, but you need to compose to it more carefully. I like the transition from the second part into the third around 1:13, the change in the groove is very nice, the third part which starts here has a nice driving feel to it. The drumbeat is well written, it carries the groove well. Some of the fills don't work so well, they seem to lose the groove. Perhaps try to simplify them. I like the simple, very effective bass. The change to the swing feel around 02:12 is a very nice idea. Some of the fills need to be more carefully programmed, as there is this "stuttering" feel that sounds like the drummer loses the time. I sounds to me that only the drums change to the swing feel, perhaps some other instruments could also change a bit? The ending feels a little long, could be shortened. Bit unsure about that, because the overall flow of the piece could be improved. While I like the part between the intro and third part, it feels quite similar to the next part, just not in full motion. Rhythm-wise, making the hi-hat part play eight notes instead of sixteenths would distinguish the parts from each other. The drummer is also blasting away at the snare a bit too much. That needs to be simplified. In general I like the soundscape you have, but it sounds quite muddy. I unfortunately don't have any advice on that personally. I'd only look into it after perfecting the arrangement, though. --Eino

I think having the intro works. It's a bit rough now; it sounds like it starts from few seconds after the beginning, if you know what I mean. Fade it in a little more carefully, and probably start with filters less bright at the start. I think if it sounds like it's opening up at the start the impression would be good. It sounds more repetitive than I though it would without the drums, so there's some work to be done there. I agree with Rozovian about the piano, it's kind of stiff rhythmically although it otherwise sounds good. Try to break down the chords, not playing all the same notes at the same beat, and vary the rhythm a little. Also you could vary it from part to another, maybe drop it off for a while and the bring it back. Continuing to enjoy the mood. --Eino