Flexstyle

Am I allowed to vote on this since I'm technically a collaborator? ehhhh who cares, gonna do it anyways. :P YES oh wait, I have to add more? YES, because it's clearly chock-full of source, the mix and master is pristine (@Chimpazilla ftw), it is an absolute journey of a song packed into 4:20 of time (nice), and it makes my ear-holes very happy and my feet and hips seem to move around of their own accord when listening. did I mention YES

Sour note alert at 0:51! And 0:54. And 1:06. And anywhere that chord progression is used. Watch those backing chords (sounds like rhythm guitar and/or backing pad/keys), make sure they're in key. That needs to be fixed before getting posted. The overall arrangement is...fine. It's very conservative, and the parts are played adequately for the most part. The drums could benefit from some more nuanced part writing, and the hi hats in particular feel a bit loud to me. Guitar lead tone is also harsh in some spots, particularly when higher notes are played. Bassline is very conservative and would benefit from some syncopation at least. None of these would be dealbreakers though if it weren't for the sour notes in the chord progression. NO (resub)

The mastering issue here is that it's brickwalled like crazy, but then the master output is volume-automated turned down. Really weird. Everything sounds squished. Ease up on the master compression and let the whole thing use all its headroom with some actual dynamic range, maybe? Other Js cover good points so I'm not going to go in depth on samples, arrangement, etc. Call me a single-issue voter if you must, but I'm voting.... NO

A lot of other people have given a lot of in-depth feedback, so here's a cliff's notes version of a vote: make transitions smoother and sequence drums more realistically. As a drummer, this always bugs me -- don't just slap a few patterns together! Give some human variation even in between sections rather than just "here is loop and there is loop and smash them together." Have some fills every few bars, give me something to indicate that the next section is coming up rather than a hard transition, etc. Not this lazy "hat over rudimentary kick and snare for 16 bars" stuff. The drum mix as well would likely benefit from bringing the cymbals down and the kick and snare up. There's more issues (and some that I don't really take issue with, like for instance the overall mix is passable to me), but I'll let that be the extent of my vote for now. NO

Gah why does this have such a WEIRD overall sound? Like, the elements in the mix are all balanced reasonably well against each other, but there's a really strange mastering chain or something. I mean if I were given just the individual stems (e.g. drums, bass, synths, etc) I could probably get this over the bar in half an hour (that's an offer on the table, btw). As it is, even, it's not enough to necessarily hold it back. The rest of the song is solid -- it moves forward with purpose, sounds are neat, variation is sufficient overall. hrmmrmrmrmrmrmrmrmr, this is a really tough back and forth.... EDIT: Emu made some REALLY good, actionable points down below. In the interest of moving this one along, I'm going to go ahead and revise my vote so that it has a chance to not be a "HMMWELLMAYBE" track but rather a "GOODJOB" track. NO

Very quick vote, since there's already a lot of discussion above. - That bell lead that begins at about 1:14 is grating to the point of being a dealbreaker to me by itself. Too sharp. Lower the high harmonics (or just use another patch), lower the volume a bit, and you'll be there. - Repetition also a dealbreaker for me. I'd also say that this song would benefit from some detail work: more drum fills to keep things interesting, more melodic interpretation (aside from just straight MIDI rip status on the leads), maybe another melodic element (e.g. a pad or a countermelody or a background arp) in more places, etc. Mix and master is pretty good aside from the bell synth. Drums punch hard, bass is nice and crunchy, the rhythm section overall is pretty strong aside from the lack of variation. NO (but I'll look forward to seeing this one back again).

I'd vibe to this as background music. If your goal was just to effectively "replace background music source with BETTER background music version," you've nailed it! Not enough to be featured as a standalone song, though. It's possible to do this source as an OC ReMix, I'm sure (hey, I've got a bunch of songs interpreting shorter songs than this lol), but this isn't the approach to take for a front page feature. Proph went into the weeds so I don't feel the need to do so, but what's holding this one back is it's just too backgroundey. Good mixing, good mastering, good sound selection -- your production instincts are great! Just gotta improve the arrangement side to where this can stand as its own song. NO

It's like a warm hug for my ears. Such a rich mix, a great handling of the source, and an emotive set of performances. YES p.s. I also hate horror games so there's that too

I'll keep my vote short: I think this has *enough* to make it by. Enough arrangement with the genre adaptation. Guitar parts are played pretty skillfully (drums, on the other hand, are a bit mechanical...could have benefited with a bit more variation/humanization in the sequencing/performance...nitpicky drummer here, sorry!), and the tones/sounds fit decently. Yeah, it could use more bass, but it's also kinda a genre thing too, so I'm not too fussed about that. Yeah. It's got some issues, and if it doesn't pass there's plenty to work on, but it's also a decent example of the genre and a good handling of the source. You've got my vote! YES

I can see why this is getting some back-and-forth here. I think that, with some attention to detail on variations (both with the drum sequencing and with the arrangement of the melodics), this would be a pretty easy pass. Chimpa's suggestion of moving it from the mono to the stereo field would also be a big WOW moment, if that's the direction taken. It's a good suggestion but not the reason to hold it back. Overall, the song moves along well enough and the sequencing is done well enough to where I'd feel comfortable posting it. If it doesn't go through, ultimately, one extra coat of polish should do the trick. I'm not gonna be the one stopping it, though. YES

I can see why this is a split vote. Mixing issues are a bit rough for me (lotta stuff crowded into the midrange and not a lot of definition in the low or high end), and those drums...man, this would be elevated so much with a real drummer, or at least more nuanced sequencing on this one. That's kinda a big ask, though, I know. This is a good arrangement, though, and a lot of imagination is shown here. Here's the thing -- when it comes to could-go-both-ways tracks like this for me, my big X-factor is this: "Did you make it interesting, at least?" The answer here is yes. This is an ambitious arrangement that says a lot over the course of five minutes, and while there are clear mix and sequencing issues, the overall package is one that I think clears the bar -- everything in here is here for a reason, the point of the arrangement comes across despite the midrange mud, and the guitar performances are strong as well. YES

y'all way too picky with the mixing these days...this is perfectly acceptable for the genre and it's a great flip. Yeah the elements could be separated more, but the combination all works, and it gets the point across effectively. YES

y'all being babies, just turn your headphones down if the loudness is a problem because this thing slappppps. Neat source, fresh take on it, love the retro+modern sound set. ...okay, I can hear the issues in the breakdown section. Still not enough to prevent me from saying YES

Cliff notes version: this song goes on a journey for sure. Dig the groove. Not hearing the dissonance that some people are complaining about tbh. Mixed pretty well, bass thumps and beats bump. Source comes across well. I'm never bored throughout. No reason to hold it back IMO. YES

I don't think the limiting is that big a deal myself. The drums bug me, as a drummer, because they're so dry and simple. Wish we had more variation there. Heck, I'm almost about to volunteer to just track new drums myself and even do a mixdown if this thing doesn't pass, haha. I'm in Emu's boat: the vibe check passes. This song clearly communicates the original theme, it does its genre well, and while some elements could easily be improved, I don't think that holds it back enough for me to stop it. YES

I'm gonna be brief -- this is a sweet, very tasty jam session over a backing instrumental that just doesn't change very much over the course of the song. Like you had a really cool drums+bass+pads loop and then had everyone take turns soloing. I can click around the song and the bass/hats don't really change their presentation substantially. It sounds really neat. It doesn't hit what I think an OC ReMix is. There's more feedback I could give on the execution of the genre but I don't want to drag this out further. Happy to coach synthwave details via PM or something if desired. NO

See above for my exact feelings. ALSO NO (resubmit with a cooler back third pls)

Gonna keep this concise if I can. You’ve listed James Landino, Dj Cutman (and his GameChops label), and some other VGM stalwarts as influences. Good taste. What they all have in common is an ability to take simple melodies and execute a REALLY tight blend of production and arrangement to put out the product they do. Actually, with Cutman and a lot of GameChops releases, it’s less arrangement and more just market-savvy packaging. Regardless, they all have a way of using a specific, targeted sound set and high production value to achieve their goals. This, however, is all over the map. Is this song a tight EDM track? It shouldn’t meander the way it does, never settling on an identity. Is it an experimental jam? Lean into it but don’t expect to have mass appeal. Sounds have been selected that don’t complement each other or have a clear cut goal and that hurts the stated aim of this song. It’s presenting itself as one thing but is fundamentally not that thing. There’s a lot of other specific, actionable feedback already given (instrument selection, mixing, etc) so I’m going to stay high-level and say that if your goal is to sound like modern commercial VGM/EDM remixes, you’ll need to drastically simplify your approach and then polish it to a mirror sheen. FOCUS on just a few elements to showcase, and everything else should support those elements. If this song passes the panel, cool. It’s got some neat ideas and goes on a journey, even if it seems to detour too often. My vote is due to clumsy, over complicated execution of what should be much simpler. NO

No need to stretch a vote out here -- I'm on the side of "gotta be more substantial." This could probably work if the genre execution was better, but as it is, you've got a lifeless drum kit paired with a too-simple piano and some tasty bass that could stand to be a little more featured. For lo-fi hip hop (or boom-bap, for the old heads in the room), you need to execute your drums, bass, and the tone of your instruments very precisely. With the sharp, reverb'd shaker, the extra-crispy-and-dry snare, and the lack of anything resembling dynamics, this misses the mark. Gotta add some more realism and probably don't let it sound so very quantized...a J Dilla-style beat would have a lot more "humanity" to it in small imperfections in timing. Shaker with all the reverb contrasts poorly with the rest of the drum kit, and all of it sounds too "crispy," aka there's too much high end there. Saturation and low-pass filters are your friend here. Also, playing with more than just a few drum samples throughout will help. Get us some variety in sounds...remember that a lot of old hip hop music sampled MULTIPLE drum loops that would appear at different times in the song, creating more timbres to work with. You're on the right track with those vinyl-sampled tom fills -- if you can get that kind of texture on more of your drums, you'll be on the right track. For mixing, the piano as-is can work, but genre-wise it's probably better to add some low-pass filtering to it to soften it up. Making the performance more dynamic would also help, since right now everything sounds quantized to grid and to velocity. Bass was decent but not featured prominently enough for the genre. This one should come back with more dynamics, better drum processing and wider variety of sounds, and an overall tone that feels less crispy and more dusty (less high end frequencies in key areas). You'll be helped by embellishing the arrangement as well...don't just make it the same throughout but add some variation to the themes, maybe do some call and response with the piano and another instrument. NO (resubmit)

Just posting here because that guy up there (Emunator) is probably the single best person you could find on this site for this project -- he directed the DKC3 remix album as well!

YO. This is absolutely killer! Love the track. MW is wrong about this production style being objectively wrong -- this gets the energy across EFFECTIVELY. He's just not listening to it loud enough, I guarantee you :P in all seriousness, this is a genre that needs to be heard LOUD to be understood. When it's loud, it's actually EASIER to hear the lead synths, since your brain is filtering some of the other sound information out. Not something I recommend for every genre, and even in this one it has to be done well, but this is done pretty well. Additional notes: Those drums, despite being busy (and clearly sequenced), are sounding great. Everything comes through where it should. Bass is making my subwoofer rumble in (mostly) all the right places. Sub drops are the only time it gets a bit too obviously mushy down there; you could stand to carve a bit more room for them out of everything else when they hit. Love the ambient effects you chose to sprinkle throughout. Synth choices are on point. I dig the way you translated these themes to this genre -- the oddball time stuff from the Airship theme screams "METAAAAAAL," and you did it justice. That guitar tone is just pure CRONCH and I am here for it. Pardon me while I headbang for a few more repeat listens of this one.... YES

I don't recall hearing the original submission, but this in-progress re-submission sounds like it really addressed a lot of the issues raised. Love the vibes of this one -- I'm a sucker for a good retro synth atmosphere, and you've really put the WAVES into synthwave. GEDDIT? BECAUSE IT'S THE OCEAN? AHAHAHAHAHAHAH! Ahem. Just gonna let that ship sail....sorry. That really is a long intro for an OCR submission. I was wondering when we'd actually get to the source, but we did get there about a third of the way through the track, starting at roughly 1:30something. From there forward the source is pretty audible until the sound-effects ending. I'm not gonna break out the stopwatch, but this feels like at LEAST 50% source usage, so good enough for me. No major mix issues to note, everything seems to more or less have its place. The poetry insertion does a good job of carrying the middle section, and I like how it's even roughly in sync with the rhythm of the track. Neat touch. Finale could have had an extra gear to it -- maybe something soaring over the top of everything else, just for that last, final push, but it does still work. Actual arrangement of the source material is pretty simple, but the track is creative, it tells a story, it's presented well, mixed cleanly enough, and it has ~vibes~ for days. I give this one a... YES

This is gonna get so much hate on YouTube, lol. Not that I'm immune to vocals of, er, questionable taste in my own posted mixes, mind you...this mix kinda hits me in the same sort of feels as that linked track, actually. It's from a contest, it's got some love-it-or-hate-it vocal work, tongue firmly in cheek, and inside genre jokes firmly in hand. It's got some high energy guitars, a good source tune, and a fun vibe overall. Let's dig in -- source tune, yep, I hear it clearly. Love the little cameo of Aku Aku in the breakdown, that's a nice touch. Guitars are performed well. These are easy boxes for this track to check, and so far so good. Honestly, most of my nitpicks with this track are going to come down to two things: mix, and vocal performance issues. Let's start critiques with the vocal performance, as this is much more of a subjective thing. First off, yikes, those vocal cords have got to be FRIED after that performance! VERY rough, although they're par for the course in the DIY punk flavor sort of performance. Clean vocals are good but a little lacking in confidence at times, which leads to notes feeling a little weak in some phrases, but they do the job plenty well. Nothing here that would specifically PREVENT a YES vote from me, so let's move on to the next area of... Production. This is where things get a little dicier. The guitar tones are pretty good, bass sits pretty well in the mix, but the drums are definitely cymbal-heavy as mentioned before. Vocals are uneven throughout as well -- sometimes they're buried underneath the rest of the mix, sometimes they just lack some clarity, and sometimes the panning of doubled vocals could stand to have been given a little less stereo width in order to make things more cohesive. Vocal tracks overall would have benefited from some more compression and EQ and stereo field love to smooth things out. So, overall we've got: - a fun concept - metal-horns-worthy guitars - pretty good drums - plenty of source throughout - a good arrangement - some questionable mix decisions - Those Vocals (tm) I think that means we're over the bar. There are warts on this track, and it's not going to be everyone's cup of tea, but it has its own charm and is a good arrangement. Let's send 'er to the front page! YES

Y'all, this is what sparse instrumentation looks like when executed right. Those drums? Simple as heck. Not super dynamic samples, but sequenced in a way that stays interesting the entire time, creating movement in exactly the spots that need to move forward, and groove where it's time to just sit a spell and vibe out. The bassline is simple, very relegated to the low spectrum, but it moves in a way that lets everything else shine through without letting the low end feel empty. Piano? Not busy, but still melodic and intentional. Pads? Not dense, but they lift the song up right where it's needed. Sound effects? Right where they need to be to fill the soundscape. The panflute sample lead? Plenty of subtle movement on a patch that could have been dry and boring without careful, judicious treatment. This hits like a lot of late '90s/early '00s lounge vibe music, but maybe with a more dynamic lead line on that piano, and I think it works REALLY well overall. I love the original song -- Bastion is in my top-5 favorite OSTs for games I've actually played (and the game itself is fun and thoughtful) -- and this absolutely does justice to it. Can't wait for this to hit the front page! YES