Palpable

Great arrangement, guys. This is one of my favorite sources from DKC2, and this was an inspired take on the theme. The guitar work in this is really good, sometimes subtly, with those short, quick runs. I love the section starting at 1:50 that offers us several different guitar parts, one at a time. It's like a Brazilian steakhouse for guitars, and I'm keeping my card turned to green. (Strange that as a vegetarian, this is the analogy that comes to mind.) Arrangement feels a little bottom-heavy and at times, it gets muddy in those low regions. I would have taken the bass down some, and tried to bring out the backing guitars more in the upper ranges. They sound a little dull, maybe too EQed. I second AnSo's comment that the instruments could have taken up more space. Still, I got no problem passing this. Arrangement kicks ass and the production is mostly there. YES

Look at Mattias, showing his bias there. Of course he's not gonna pass your song, he wants to have the first Lost Odyssey remix! Demand impartiality from your judges! 48 seconds of original material in a two minute song is too much. I like to see at least half of the arrangement involving the source song, but for a song this short it has to be more. I like your general concept and instruments, but I want to see some expansion of the theme, maybe some soloing over the basic structure. The instruments sound way pushed back. It gives the song a glossy haze, but I'd prefer something more upfront and attention-grabbing. There's a lot of empty space in your song waiting to be filled. The brass as noted is also a little fake. I'd focus on expanding the arrangement foremost, and then get to the production stuff. What you have is enjoyable. NO (resubmit)

Definitely not bad. I thought the overall arrangement idea was cool, starting with a simple set of instruments and working in elaborate drum programming, getting sort of glitchy towards the end. The mood was well set, and your choices of instruments were good too, especially that new synth towards the end. But I did feel there were a number of problems. The biggest one is that the overlaying of the classic fairy theme really didn't work with the chords you chose. It wasn't even one section either - you kept it in the background, and every time I heard those off-notes poke out, it rankled me. I'd advise either switching the chords for that section OR switching the notes of the melody that don't work. The intro was a little dull and wouldn't have minded something faster or just having more parts there. More detail would be great. Thought you did a decent job with the production, though I wouldn't have minded a little more volume variance to humanize your sounds like the harp. Choir notes should glide together better to enhance realism. The drums also sound a little disconnected, and some slight reverb or delay could help. This doesn't need an overhaul - just some improvement of key parts. I think if you can get past those problems, this could pass, David. NO (resubmit)

Hehe, I still remember this source despite barely playing this game since it came out. That, my friends, is a memorable song. Gotta basically agree with Larry here. I like what you have in place a lot, especially the hand percussion stuff. Good usage of the source themes. Your basic beat is very solid too, though I wouldn't have minded a little more layering in that beat, and some high frequency content like shakers and hi-hats to really fill out the picture. (I did hear some shakers in there but you emphasized the low-end of them.) Leads definitely need to be stronger, and you'll probably want some more mid-range elements like pads or synth textures to fill out the middle. It felt empty at times. FX were also a little off on the synth that comes in at 1:32. It seemed disconnected and too upfront because of the reverb and delay settings. This is pretty close, I think, and another run through to add some detail and rebalance levels could make this a pass. Hope you send it back to us, Rashad. NO (resubmit)

Very creepy, effective take on the theme. Some of the effects in here, like the crushing blast at 0:25, are really haunting. A lot of good mood setting plus good usage of a pretty minimal source - I think you covered basically every part of the source. I thought it was pretty clear which parts you guys did individually, because the two halves of this are produced quite differently. The melodic writing of Flik's half contrasted well with BGC's more atonal take, but it still sounded like you guys glued two separate songs together. I think it would have been more cohesive to have one person handle most of the production. (Unless you did do that, in which case ignore my massive stupidity. But it sounds like two different people produced.) It's certainly not a dealbreaker cause this has plenty to recommend it, but it's something that nags at me. YES

Nice take on the theme, man. Keeps a lot of the groove of the original, while messing with the melody. Very chill. I really like those panning delay effects you've got on the guitar too.

The second section of Enya's "Shepard Moons" is almost a dead ringer for your piano intro. The same slow, graceful mood, some of the same notes even. That's just the start of great comparisons I can make with your song. It's a wonderfully playful and colorful arrangement that recalls a lot of world music I love, thanks to the myriad instruments you employ. It seems like you spent a lot of time getting each part to sound right, and it really adds up. The writing is superb, weaving Jib Jig and your original additions seamlessly. Really, I can't say enough good things about this arrangement - fantastic. I can hear some of the criticisms about volume levels, but I think we don't need to hold this to a conditional. Fix the slight issues if you can, but I definitely want to see this posted. YES

Haha, awesome! I was thinking of doing a New Order-styled mix because I didn't think there were any on this site and chanced upon this one in the Remix Roulette. This is pretty much what I wanted to do, so thanks for this, dude. Love those Blue Monday kick drum references.

I try to judge in order, but we don't have a set order for judging. There's a handful of reasons why we don't strictly judge in order. Sometimes we give priority to resubmits, mixes we may want to tie into a site feature, and closing out decisions. If a decision is difficult, sometimes I have to let it weigh on my mind and in the meantime I'll judge something else. Also, often, if I don't have a lot of time, I'll pick the first submission I see from a game I know. (If I don't know the source, it takes much more time to judge.)

Nice arrangement, man. Apart from the long intro and the short outro, it seemed like it all drew from the original, sometimes liberally, sometimes not so much. The key changes were pulled off very skillfully. You have quite the knack for partwriting. I wish the production had been on the same level. The articulations and to some extent sample quality were not as strong as the usual orchestral song we pass. The intro sounds fake, especially the first few notes, which sound as if a string sample is being triggered several times by a DJ. Higher-pitched strings also sounded off at times. Part of the problem is that the samples are so exposed. Some more hall reverb would definitely help, like AnSo suggested; I want to see the instruments pushed back a little. The remix gets stronger once the plucked strings comes in at 0:53. At that point, it gelled a little better and the realism wasn't so much an issue. It's definitely close, thanks to a strong arrangement, but I feel it's too short on the production side to really make up for it. If you can touch up the issues with this, I would pass this. And it might pass without my yes anyway - good luck! NO (resubmit)

I'm playing through FFXII right now and for a while I was waiting to hear the source for avaris' The Winds of Inishmore, having forgotten where in the game it was used. Then I got my ass kicked by a boss and finally got to hear it. But you've played MM2 now, right? (P.S. Answer this question wrong and you're off the panel.)

I've never thought of Final Fantasy trying to recreate an anime style as much as borrow from it. You're right that they're definitely not going for a strictly realistic look, but I don't think it's nearly as energetic or caricatured as anime, even the more serious anime. I don't really know what they're trying to go for.

Weird. I read Mattias and Larry's comments as I was listening to the song, and I feel like I didn't agree with most of them, when I typically do. The arrangement was brilliant to me, and I thought you guys handled this source exquisitely. Was 0:10 even a flub, Larry? I've heard saxophonists use that technique purposely. In any case, I thought it added character. Same with the runs you guys didn't like towards the end. They were liberal within the context of the original chords, but not for jazz. It still seemed very musical to me. What I did agree with was that the keyclicks detract slightly, and a different mic position would have been better. The clipping at 1:20 is another detraction but a short one. Would be great if that can be fixed. Piano sound was fine to me; even if it was muffled, it sat well with the sax. I think based on the strength of the arrangement, it's a YES. The production details are pretty minor to me. Hope the rest of the panel swings your way, guys! YES

There's definitely some elements to recommend this song. The intro is nice, the countermelody you added to the chorus was excellent, and overall, it's a good take on theme. Would have been nice to see a little more interpretation of the parts you carried over but what you've got here is a decent arrangement. Contrary to Larry, I thought the old-school electro beats starting at 0:24 worked fine, but the boom-tiss later on didn't cut it. The snare there was flabby and it just didn't have the same energy as the electro beats. Felt like the song could have used more bass even though I know you've got one playing off-beats; if that was brought out, it might round out the song. Some of the synths are a little thin too, and I wouldn't mind them getting fattened up. There's also a little loss of clarity at times, due to some parts covering the same frequencies. EQ could help give each instrument its own space. Spend some time on the production, and if you've got some ideas, tighten up the arrangement too. This feels like a good first draft that needs some more work. NO (resubmit)

This and Little Big Planet for me, which I just played at a friend's place and enjoyed the hell out of. Dammit. I don't want to spend $400!

I think Larry wanted to see whether we can close this, unconditional.

Best video yet, man. Good balance of asides and tangents. I hadn't heard of the "uncanny valley" theory either, but it's something my friend and I have talked about independently for years. Thanks for putting a name to it!

*whistles* Sweet looking trailer. Arrangement seems conservative, keeping a lot of the same backing parts (guitar, pizzicato strings) and rhythm. Nevertheless, there were some cool ideas here, like the eastern instruments coming in later. I'd have to hear a full version of the original song sometime to compare for sure, but I thought this arrangement could have done more to differentiate itself, is all. Unfortunately, the production is not good enough anyhow. Larry called this one perfectly. Samples are not bad, but you got to learn to use them better. Lot of mechanical-sounding parts: the piano and some of the keyboard parts seem to play the same volume every note, the backing pad starting at 0:28 has a very mechanical envelope that makes it sound rigid. I also think more delay and to a lesser extent reverb might help out a lot, cause I get a sense of dryness and empty space here. A bass part might not hurt either, because you've got nothing in that region. The overall volume levels could use some attention but I think that comes second to just making the instruments sound more natural. I liked the unique blend of instruments here and I'd love to see you improve this to a passing production level. I'd encourage you to spend time improving those production skills. NO

I don't have the last version anymore, but I think most of the issues with the last version still apply. There's still a lot of empty space in the song, and the drums could be more upfront, maybe the bass too. It can be tough to get those volume/reverb levels right sometimes, but I think this needs more attention there. Try comparing your song to a similar song that has the levels right. The arrangement still seems conservative in its use of the original. All the melodic parts from the original that you've used are unchanged, and the structure is the same for those sections as well. You mentioned that you tweaked the marimba part from the original, but the bass is so buried in this, I didn't really hear it. Maybe if that got brought out more, I'd find the kinds of melodic alterations I'm looking for. Don't get discouraged, these are really the only things holding your song back. I think both your arrangement and production are close to our standards, but not quite there yet. Another pass could put you over the top. NO (resubmit)

Yeah I was waiting for someone to mention this. When I'm reviewing songs outside of judge decisions, I usually just try to highlight the things I liked. Occasionally I'll mention something I thought could have been improved. I got nothing against constructive negative comments, but I tend to fall more in line with djp's thinking in his write-ups: if the song has passed and we want people to hear it, let's highlight the positives.

Definitely not interpretative enough for OCR. It's a decent cover with some good performances on the lead guitar. We're looking for more drastic differences in melody, structure, etc. Pretty much every part from the originals are kept intact, changing the instrument. I thought you could have pushed volume levels a little higher to fill in empty space, especially leads and drums. Some of the backing keyboard sounds were thin and cheap-sounding, hurting the rest of the arrangement. Just some words of advice for the next project you try! NO

Arrangement is not bad. I think your playing is good, and the parts you added offer a good interpretation. Transitions were very awkward, especially the use of the death theme at the end. It's got to sound more natural than one song stopping and another one starting. Overall, the song is a little repetitive, but interesting enough to listen to. With a clearer production, the nuances of each section would help mitigate the repetition. So yeah, the production. Sorry, but you have a long way to go here. The song needs help on separating the instruments and cutting off unnecessary frequency ranges (this will involve using EQ) and in balancing the parts. Just as a few examples of what I'm talking about: The two instruments in the intro cover each other, making the notes indistinct. Emphasizing different frequency bands or using more panning can help distinguish these. Drums and guitar lead need to be brought out in the 0:38 section. All you can hear there is the cymbals and the vox. Bass is barely audible in the 4:43 section, and lead synth is probably too loud. Listen to some similar music while mixing to get a better sense of sound "shapes" and volume levels. Good luck! NO

I felt it was a tad skewed to the high frequencies and could have used more bass content, so I think you explained your own problem with it there. More balanced sound might have given it more energy. Nevertheless, I thought this was very minor and the production is still definitely good enough.

I've barely used a MIDI controller on any of my thus far posted remixes, so you can definitely do a lot without one. I use FL Studio, for reference, and I think it's very user-friendly for someone entering everything by hand. And I haven't done it, but you can use your computer's keyboard as a MIDI controller in FL Studio. Not sure how useful it is but might be worth trying out!

Yeah checks out to me. Great energy, lot of variety, and a good take on the theme. Lot of the melodic stuff is intact but there's significant structural changes and new backing parts. YES