DarkSim

"If you liked this, you'll love Monstrous Turtles!" What a great track this is - definitely one of my favourites off the DKC2 album. Really nice brooding intro with a great beat and subtle melody line panned hard right on bells. 1:35 just screams nostalgia to me and is a real highlight. I mention Monstrous Turtles! because I think while it's not quite got the power of that track, it's definitely got the same mood and feel about it.

It's a song of two halves - I absolutely love it from 2:24; it feels like the song really finds its groove. This is probably intentional, but I just found that it needed to get to that point sooner and the track didn't hold my attention too well until then. The melody lead especially felt pretty weak in the beginning section. Some high harmonics might have been nice in the section from 1:07-1:24, and like WillRock said, a solo could have been implemented somewhere in the middle. Solid percussion throughout though, nice work there. Overall a mixed bag for me, will be nice to hear some more work from you as you improve

Holy shit... I'm confused. Am I playing Zelda or Oblivion here?! Seriously, I could be walking the hills of Cyrodiil here - the plucked strings especially evoke memories of Oblivion, as does the ambient style and overall instrumentation. It's just crazy to me that with such a strong familiarity with the Zelda tunes I get more recollection of playing Oblivion when I listen to this than I do Zelda. That's not a bad thing at all though - especially since this ReMix came out long before Oblivion did. Also: needs to be longer, what's that for an ending?, blablabla

Great pick for a source - that drumbeat is just classic. Instant nostalgia. I absolutely LOVE that synth arp at 0:29, and a nice ominous pad building from 0:24 lets you know this isn't going to be a straightforward remix. Killer solo from 1:33, and the change of beat at 1:53 is awesome with the chorused guitar. Definitely the best version of this theme I've ever heard.

Yey, a GoldenEye mix! We totally need more of those, it's my favourite game EVER, so always nice to see it getting some attention. Great sounding synths (especially the xylophone-type one, it sounds very GoldenEye-y), and the bongos were cool too, if just a little over-exposed. I also really like the break section at 3:10. I kinda wish you'd made more of the melody that comes in from 2:29, although maybe that's just because you made it sound really good and it'd dilute that if it was present elsewhere in the mix (crops up again for a few secs at 4:44 - nice). Good first mix, and I've heard some of your more recent stuff and it's definitely improving. Hopefully hear more from you soon

Usually I don't like trance because you have to listen for such a long time relative to the song to get to the melody part and it's boring, but not in this case. The entire song evolves and unravels in such a way that it never feels repetitive (even the intro has subtleties in it to keep it from being a copy-and-paste job), and I'd go as far as to say this song defines the word "trance" in its construction. It manages to settle you down, make you comfortable, and transport your mind completely somewhere else, before bringing it back to rest at the end, thoroughly refreshed. Absolutely impeccable sound design and arrangement.

As of writing, this is currently #7 on my iTunes "Most Played" list, right after Golbez n Goblins, and closely followed by White Skies. That's a hell of a combo from bLiNd right there, and I always seem to listen to all 3 in one go if I have the time. The build is certainly long, but it's not boring at all. I love all the false drops that just tease you into thinking it's going to kick off, and when it finally does at 2:15 it's just amazing. The high effervescent synth fizzes along in the chorus, and the unexpected notes in the melody line caught me by surprise at first and really set the mix alight (I'm unfamiliar with the source so don't know if you added those yourself or not). The little break section in the middle is class as well.

I've often wondered this too. Also, statistics of posted mixes vs nationality would be interesting.

Mmmm, smooth. The distorted guitar at 1:48 is a highlight, it just sounds great, as does the sax throughout. Interesting choice of solo as well - it throws in some unexpected notes that keep it from sounding too cheesy. Good decision on leaving out any percussion, I don't think it would have been necessary (could have had a sort of Massive Attack vibe going on if you'd added it though). Not much else to say really, perfect end to a fantastic album.

This right here's a breath of fresh air. In amongst a quite intense and contemplative, at times quite sad album, this track is like climbing a mountain (to a specific height) and taking a deep breath, then drifting off into a nice daydream. After listening to zircon's version of this for ages, this mix seems chilled out in comparison, and is a fantastic addition to both the album and OCR. I especially like the percussion - it never feels forced or overdone, despite the rest of the track almost wanting to tear away from it. It must have been hard to show restraint there, but it's paid off beautifully. Love the scratchy sounds too.

Just listened to the album through for the first time, and am now commenting on all the posted mixes. I was a little surprised it didn't kick off with the classic Zelda theme present in Threshold of a Dream, but after that first listen through I see that this is a perfect choice for an opening track. It does go on a little long (for an opening album song - so I don't hold that against it on its own), but that's no bad thing really when it's so meticulously constructed and interesting to listen to, whilst still being ambient enough to switch off to. A very intriguing track indeed.

Errr woops, so you did! My mistake, I reviewed a lot of stuff yesterday and must have missed it.

The site looks great, and $37.99 for your entire discography? I think I'll treat myself this Christmas! Noticed a small typo in the hover-over text for your OCR link.

OK in my haste to be the first commenter I managed to use the word "extremely" twice in one sentence, which is erm, extremely bad form... and seeing as I'm on a bit of a review spree I'm going to properly review this track after having had over 100 listens. What hits you first is the sidechaining - it's cranked up to a higher than normal level as if to say "HEY! I'M AN ELECTRO-HOUSE REMIX AND YOU'RE GONNA DANCE!". The whole song pulses through you with this relentless beat-within-a-beat and it becomes irresistible. Even the melody takes a back seat to the sidechain, but it doesn't matter, because you're dancing, and you know the melody, right? It's Chemical Plant zone! Everyone knows it! Then come those blippy synths, no idea how they're made, but they just set the industrial scene within the soundscape, before the bass makes its appearance. The bass is chopped and phattened so much, it just oozes quality. Giving the drums a rest at 0:47 allows the bass full range to really snarl, and losing the sidechain momentarily here is a really nice touch and helps accentuate the bass further. We're then introduced to the melody line, and while a little weak, it's instantly recognisable, and not the main focus of the song. For me, the main focus is the shifting bassline from 1:45-2:15. It's absolutely storming - such a great sound and drive, and brings a superb amount of originality to the track whilst maintaining a verbatim melody line. We're treated to it again at 3:32 and that drop is killer as well. In amongst all this, you have the great break section at 2:15, which is utilised again to great effect at 4:01 without breaking stride with the kick and bass, adding nice variation to the source once more. Arguably the weakest point of the tune is 3:00-3:31 where the on-beat snare and claps take over the beat from the kick, but this only serves to accentuate the final drop at 3:32, and is a welcome break for the ears whilst still maintaining intensity. Overall, it's up there in my top 10 remixes of all time, and I'm sure I'll be listening to it for a long time to come. It's also one of the few mixes I feel confident about playing/linking to my friends and saying "hey this one's a remix of a computer game...", knowing that they'll enjoy it just because it's so damn good.

bLiNd, you have a lot to answer for! I first heard this over a year ago, and previously turned my nose up at "electro-house" thinking it was all un-tss and no skill. How wrong I was. This track is so amazing, it's very close to what I'd consider the "perfect song". I've since listened to it hundreds of times and it NEVER GETS BORING. I can wake up any day, in any mood, and when I think what to play, this will always be in the forefront of my mind, and usually be heard at least once during the day. It's also essential on the rare occasion I hit the gym (it counts for a full quarter of my exercise time you know!). It's got me into a whole new genre of music, and started me seriously thinking about making this style of music. I'm still learning, but I do try and apply techniques you used here to my own music, and it sounds a lot better for it. I suppose this is more of a thank you than a review, but seriously I'm so glad you created this and shared it. It's a masterpiece.

This is like a window in time of a moment of inspiration - a man and his guitar recording something totally unique, that will never be played the same way again. That's the "charm" I find in this piece. If he'd played it the day before, it would have been too sloppy, if he'd recorded it the day after, it would have been too polished. The recording we have here is in that tiny window where the sequencing of the NES meets the human Adrian Holovaty, and while simple, is perfectly imperfect.

The over-the-top production on this one I think serves it well. Like Las Vegas itself, sometimes you just have to go so far that it goes beyond tacky/contrived and becomes brilliant. The high-frequencies in this I think trigger some sort of fight-or-flight type response in me that results in increased heart rate and adrenaline, and make me more alert and prone to dancing. Probably why Emunator likes to kick ass on Smash Bros to this tune as well. As such, I think this polarises the listeners into 2 groups, those who want to fight/dance to it, and those who would rather run away and never listen again.

No reviews for over a year! Here we go... Love the bells and the super-tight metallic drums that come in, they're really interesting and liven up a pretty boring source tune. The pads help with the feeling of claustrophobia by sounding a bit foreboding, giving me a sense of uneasiness whilst listening to this. It does a very good job of that, although it doesn't seem to go anywhere after that and I'd perhaps like some sort of "relief" section at the end. Instead it sounds like it wants to spill over into a trance track. Overall I like it, but it seems to lack direction.

This was one of my favourites from Kong in Concert, and that's saying something considering I couldn't for the life of me remember this source in the slightest. Usually the ReMixes I relate to most I have some sort of connection with the original source, but not this one. The slow pace of the intro and masterful execution of the cello and xylophone give this mellow remix an assurance that if you listen patiently, you will be rewarded. The drum beats at 1:36 and 1:46 are great, and then when the song quietens down and builds up again bringing in that bell sound it's just lovely. A really nice change of pace, and a surprisingly good arrangement considering the weak source material.

I downloaded this back in the "I'm only going to listen to ReMixes from games I know" phase. A great thing about medleys like this is that it lets you know it's OK to listen to music from games you never played, especially when they're made this well. The bits I did recognise, especially the SMW credits theme, just made it extra-special. A totally fun mix from beginning to end, it feels like it should be put to a promo video for Nintendo, or the credits for Super Smash Mario Beach Volleyball All-Stars (TBC).

This mix took me by surprise - I really didn't expect to be moved by the lyrical content of a game remix, but the effort put in and the vocal harmonies just get me every time. I'm completely enraptured by the storytelling and desperation of the Quick Man, the song's tragic hero. I've never even played a Mega Man game, but the song's so well written I don't have to have done, and that's got to speak volumes. I also barely notice the instrumentation, but upon closer listen I love the acoustic bass. I definitely hear the Killers reference in there, which is probably my only criticism, as it sort of "breaks the 4th wall" in the storytelling as my brain associates it with Mr Brightside, and I'm momentarily distracted. A great line no-one's mentioned yet - your choice of the word "created" here is a stroke of genius. It implies a destiny; an inevitability about the situation that no matter how hard he tries, the Quick Man will never win, so his efforts are in vain. We know this, he knows this, yet he still tries, and we empathise with him. Thankfully, next on my OCR playlist is a halc/ben briggs mix to cheer me up again after this song's totally swept me off to a distant emotional plane. Clever, compelling stuff.

This is one of the tracks that brought me back to OCR one day a couple of years ago (and played no small part in me sticking around) when I was bored, and it remains in my top 10 favourite OCReMixes of all time for so many reasons. For one thing, the sheer energy of the piece is incredible - it makes 4:38 fly by! The half-tempo sections serve as brief respite from an absolutely storming ride. It's like the aural equivalent of being on a ghost train with a brake failure. The instrumentation is also top-notch, giving it just enough edge to be taken as a drum n bass style tune, but also playful touches such as the xylophone firmly reminding you that it's a BK tune. Those off-beat staccato strings are delicious, and help spooky-up proceedings, as do a lot of the staccato instruments in there. The chunky distorted guitar helps give weight and cohesion to the track (if anything I'd have liked a little more bass out of the power chords) and the ending is perfection, just a little teaser of a guitar solo. Another thing I love about this is the depth, and attention to detail. It seems like every time I hear this I get something new out of it, and I've listened to it over 100 times now. Keeping the intensity up for over 4 minutes isn't easy, but this makes it seem effortless. Really nice percussion variation throughout the track as well, which is hugely important and much appreciated! This has also been an inspirational track for me as an aspiring ReMixer, and this piece was the major influence in my first effort at an OCR submission, so for that I am also grateful!

Well I just finished downloading all of zircon's remixes yesterday as I realised I only had about half of them, so am working my way through them today. This one jumped out at me as being something a bit different, so I came to see if anyone else had noticed the MASSIVE reference to Edvard Grieg's In The Hall of the Mountain King (for other UK citizens - the "Alton Towers" music ). Apparently no-one has commented on that in nearly 6 years so I'll throw it out there. Was this in the back of your mind, zircon, as well as the Elfman influence? I haven't heard the source, so maybe it's already influenced by Grieg and you just took the source as it was, but certainly the building intro's similarity is uncanny! Totally love it though, it's such a complex piece and yet executed so well. I'm sure I'll be listening to this for years and still finding new things hidden within its rich textures. Also... that comment by mrjag must be one of the best reviews on this whole site!

Just want to show some encouragement for this mix... I love the dark, jazzy style. I can imagine a 1950s detective walking around Chicago reciting a monologue as he walks along a dimly lit street with his shoulders hunched and the rain dripping from his trench coat... Piano instead of the bells would be amazing, as would some mellow sax. See if you can get someone to do a collab with you if you're running out of inspiration, but for God's sake, finish this

This beat is pretty awesome, love the style, but the source synth sounds totally weak, and apart from the melody I don't hear any source in it at all. Also you're competing directly with PrototypeRaptor's amazing Chemixtrixx in the same style, and that's just not going to be beaten, sorry! I'd suggest either turning this into an original, or finding a different source to slam into this stomping beat.