GrayLightning

Fairly cut and dry. I agree with the other comments. This is repetition and unintentional redundancy to the point that nothing stands out. It's way too long a mix for something this repetitive. I would also suggest putting greater importance in the lead and melody. It is definitely lost in the mix in an unappealing way. Aside from what already has been mentioned, there isn't much wrong here. It has some nice moments that are lessened by the flaws mentioned above and by other judges. More attention needs to be paid to the ending also as what's here is pretty unfulfilling. Decent mix that's lacking several things. NO

There's plenty of nice things going on here. There's also plenty of things here that simply don't work as the others have mentioned. This mix has all the intangibles that make it extremely difficult on the ears to listen to. There's some nice instrumentation here and drumwork generally is good, but is really let down by issues as mentioned previously above. Work on strengthening your lead. It's pretty vanilla and weak. Effects, eqing and general mixing of the mix or perhaps double-ing it up would help make it stand out more. I do like the windchimes usage quite a bit. It's rare to hear that in this kind of a mix. Given the depth, length and variety of this mix, there's some cohesion problems here. Ochestral hits though cheesy are used fairly well. Fun. Nice idea, and lots of cool concepts, but together there's just some finer points lacking. Also the ending is kind of a give up ending. What was going on there? NO

I'm not sure what I just listened to. The mixing of volume levels of specific tracks are just out of order. The drums overpower the very quiet lead/melody/harmony. This is a mess, and very disorienting and chaotic. Work on creating a stronger melody both compositionally and by picking the right synth. This mix doesn't work on various levels. This is a work of a new mixer for sure. That is not an insult. We have all been there. You will get better with more work, dedication and time spent. I wish you good luck and hope you continue in learning and getting better. NO

This is a shame, it's quite groovy. Unfortunately it's also lacking in many departments. The first half of the mix simply doesn't work. Bad choice of lead instrument and mixing. Instruments sound cluttered for a lot of the mix. Everything here is also way too loud almost all the time. I actually enjoyed the second half quite a bit. I wish the entire mix sounded like the sections at 2:10-4:03. Especially the section around 3:06-4:03, molto bene. And then the ending comes with that thick, ugly synth again. This is not up to the OC standard overall. NO

I like this one to a degree. The whole mix suffers from extreme repetitiveness as mentioned above. This feels like the longest 4 minute mix I have ever heard though. Expand on ideas to push the mix forward instead of repeating the same thing over and over. There isn't much else to dislike about this mix other than that. Everything else is decent. Good ideas and production values in general. But overall, it just feels a little too generic and way too repetitive. NO

Yep, as malcos mentioned, this mix is just magical. I am enjoying the whole style of this mix. Main problem here is, it needs more development and expansion. Either increase the instrumentation or add more complexity to the composition. I agree this is a great start, but its shortness does leave an unsatisfying feeling. It feels like it's part of a much grander mix that never comes. NO for now. Please consider resubmitting after more work has been done.

Pixelated has been improving immensely. He's actually on my personal to watch list. His works reminds me of Zyko. Both deliver mixes that take the listener on a digital trip to some weird and cool psychedelic place. This mix is very bare bones though and missing several ingredients to keep the listener interested throughout. There's almost no harmony. The ending is also a bit odd in an unpolished way. Superb concept and ideas, but bad execution. His current level is much more polished and focused, while keeping this extremely unique style. NO

This is just really fun. Good arrangement, great vibe. I would love to pass this, but the samples are just too lacking in some departments and way below the acceptable standard. I would say this is especially true of the brass/trumpet. Enjoyable drum and percussion work. Nice work there. Please resubmit with better samples and production. Sadly, NO for now

Production problems for sure. It's very thin and very top heavy. Greater attention to lower and middle frequencies would do wonders. I would go back to the composition drawing board and work on the bass and harmony. I like this on many levels, but there's too many problems here to let it through. NO

It has more to do with his recording equipment. Quinn used to record from his keyboard directly into a generic soundcard. The inputs are obviously a bit dated and additionally he does like to add heaps of reverb. Also quinn is no longer with his previous music stuff so rerecording would be impossible.

Very nice mix, especially the piano section, with a big but - That guitar sample is extremely bad. I think this does need more arranging and expansion though. Pretty enjoyable, and then that ear frying guitar comes in. If you can't find decent guitar samples, I suggest arranging that for another instrument. NO

I think Malcos meant yes? Coop uses the dreamstation, if I remember. I've always dug his classic oriented sounds myself. The tempo slow down in the beginning is sort of sloppy. I think Coop's biggest hinderance right now is in the mixing department. More definition of the instruments would have done this mix wonders. I suggest eqing, and panning separation of instruments in the future. At least this isn't one of his quiet mixes. Small flaws aside, this is one really enjoyable and well done arrangement. Digging the whole mood of this. Good drumwork as well. Love the classic instruments. Cooptastic. YES

I'm borderline on this one too. There's a couple of parts where this is slightly disjointed. It's a repetitive and conservative take on the mix, but it's enough of an evolution for me. I'm really digging the new expanded arrangement additions sprinkled throughout the mix. Nice instrumentation and general production/mixing. I appreciate the power tools section, but not from a personal musical standpoint. It's well done, so others will most likely love that section. Drums overall are fine, but not very daring. I do think this mix does enough good things, and it's a very enjoyable listen. Also at 2:15, that sounds so Airwolf 80s. Borderline on this, but YES.

64kbps/22khz - Did I get the right file? I hear what protricity is talking about here. This is a fun and entertaining mix, but falls mostly in the production areas. Arrangement is decent. I kind of dig this actually, but really, it's not OC material here. It's an average mix that doesn't take itself too seriously, but doesn't do a whole lot to make it stand above the standard. I hope to hear more from this artist with more polish, as there is something somewhat unique here. I suggest posting it in the Completed/WIP forum as I'm sure there would be some that might enjoy this. NO

Yeah I'm hearing and digging the 80s vibe. I thought I was imagining things, but then I noticed Vig mentioned it too. It feels quite empty, the harmonies feel very nonexistent. This is the main problem of the mix right here. Good synth work. Really appropriate and cool drumwork too. I'm really liking this mix, except for the one major flaw. Add some more instruments and enrichen the harmony. The tune's length doesn't really bother me, it's fine in that department in my book. Of course if you did expand it that would be better. sad to say NO

BO always makes very unique mixes. I don't think his unique mixes have caught up to the quality of his solo piano mixes though. This is a medley from FF7 and apparently some other FF mix. It's pretty hard to tell with all the strange sound effects going on. To be honest, they ruin the musicality of this mix for me. It's all very cluttered sounding. I much preferred his Evil Refactory mix which is in a somewhat similar electronic style. Many cool ideas here and the concepts are put together uniquely, but really the cluttered sounding effects everywhere ruin it for me. Like other BO mixes, this has some nice piano sections. NO

I contacted BO and updated with the new link.

Minimalistic ambient mix that works. Philip Glass might be proud. I agree there is very little variation here that is usually associated with minimalism. I would consider this more ambient than minimalism though. The details and nuances that are traditionally in the genre aren't here as this seems to have a greater focus on drums and percussion. However what we have here is an extremely enjoyable, chill mix that has some really great drum and unique percussion work. I don't like the type of kick drum used here though. The soundscape as a whole here is just rich and inviting. Perfect production values for this genre. Reminds me of the ecco soundtrack. Slightly repetitive, yet at the same time completely immersive. YES

The distortion guitar is quite grating. Too much high frequencies. Bad mastering here as protricity noted. I think my ears are fried. Drums are quite static, and also there's too much reverb on it. This definitely needs bass too. I am really digging the arrangement and performance here, but the production just ruins this mix. Also the ending is mediocre. This could have been great. Please work on this for a resubmission. NO

Groove oriented mix with an identity problem. Several parts of it are so disjointed from each other, I'm not sure what to think. Some of it is extremely well put together, some of it just sounds generic. There's no cohesion. I do like the concept in all here, but the execution is just lacking. The intro gated pad for example, nice if not becoming overused concept, just fades in. Then something else fades in with a completely different feel. Very disjointed for me. I do like the concept, but it needs more fleshing out and polishing. Make the mix integrate better. I agree that this is an entertaining mix, but it misses the mark a bit. A nice, fun effort though. I'm keeping this for myself. I suggest you post this on the OCR WIP/Completed, if you haven't already. NO

The judges are in agreement here so I'm going to finalize and close this mix. I too agree Kwix has been getting progressively better. It has been fun to watch the evolution of a mixer. There are some issues in this mix as noted by others. I think the drums are pretty typical in a nonobtrusive way. Others have a different opinion on them though. More polish and work could really make this mix something special, but as it is, I personally enjoy this mix, but it's simply not for OC at this time. I'm keeping it though! Keep mixing Kwix as you're getting better and better. NO

Nice to see more and more ambient mixes and from Ecco no less. I'd love to pass this and get more music of this type on OC, but there's some issues here. Great pads and production values. This definitely needs more layers though and perhaps a section with greater melodic accents. I like the gated pad in the beginning and the other effects going on throughout, like the left to right moving back and forth panned pad. Awesome ideas here joe, however I think this mix is a bit unfulfilled. It feels like half a mix. I don't agree with mixes of this nature needing to be so long as a requirement, but certain ideas need to be expressed within that time frame. I don't think this accomplishes that. No beat mixes are challenging, very unique and deserve credit. In lieu of that, more layers, instrumentation, different pad tones and noises would help here. Very chill and cool, but lacking in enough departments to yes it. It feels like a WIP. Please work on this more as this could really be something great. NO

Well, this is fairly well done techno. Some parts shine for me, while most of this just flew by without any definition. It's very repetitive and there's not enough substantiative elements. The arrangement is pretty well done in most respects. However, the redundancy of this is just too much. I would suggest taking the best elements of this mix and reducing it by a minute or two. On the production side, fine samples and very good driving beat. I do agree it all sounds dry though. This needs more effects. Make the lead stand out more. Light reverb might help but perhaps delays might be a better choice. The mixing on this one is a bit of a mess. Use eq and further panning separation to create more definition. Right now it's a bit cluttered. Another side problem to the mixing of this is I think the bottom is very heavy, it's drowning out the middle and treble a little. Borderline on this one, but I suggest a resubmission if some issues are taken into account for further polishing. NO

The sample quality is fine. Solo string exposed as it is, is probably the most fake for me. I think arrangement and overall blending of sound is more important. It's not positively giga wankery realistic like some of the mixes we've seen at the WIP, etc, but this mix has heart where others usually don't. Interesting arrangement/mix, good display of orchestration, has heart. YES

Oh yes, this is a good one. I agree this is kind of short. However, unlike some of our rejected short mixes, this is able to express its ideas in a short span. Samples are kind of fake at times, especially the brass. Otherwise all solid in that department. Quality arrangement and instrument usage throughtout. The middle soft section with the harp and glockenspiel is particularly strong. I'd consider this a primer for those wanting to get into traditional orchestra on how to do it right. Good stuff. YES