DarkSim

This feels like a spiritual successor to Dirty Coins, and it's amazing to hear how bLiNd's production has improved from what was an already excellent level. The overall feel of the track is much more laid-back than Dirty Coins, going for a trap aesthetic rather than dubstep, and following the evolution of the EDM landscape since 2013. Arrangement wise, it doesn't have one of those climactic moments that are present in Jordan's trance mixes, but the track does build in intensity slowly as elements are added. I guess the 'drop' is at 2:24, but as we've already heard the elements individually beforehand, some of the impact is lessened. I always enjoy hearing ethnic instruments used in electronic music - and learning their names - so I'm glad the kamancheh gets a run out for this one! As with the presentation of the main theme though, a bit more variation and experimentation with the instrument wouldn't have gone amiss. Minor criticisms aside though, this definitely does enough to pass. Congratulations on 20 years remixing! YES

You're getting all Pulp Fiction on us, aren't you? That opening guitar is spot on for the sound you were going for, and the instrumentation throughout is well-chosen. On first listen, I thought the violin was ever so slightly flat, but on reflection, the tuning fits the style well. That trumpet sounds great too, you did an awesome job there! I like the arrangement, because it pays unmistakable homage to the source, yet your individuality shines through in the organ and guitar solos, and of course the live violin and trumpet performances are great to hear. The only thing I wasn't a fan of was the coconut-shell percussion, particularly the lowered-pitch parts from 1:52. The mixing exposes the sound too much, so it doesn't sound like it's part of the main band. Pitch-shifting the samples only serves to further distract from the otherwise excellent soloing. 2:03-2:16 was my favourite part, and I love how it segues back to the source theme for the final chorus. The overall energy of the piece is definitely higher than that of the source tune, and it's a really fun listen. Makes me want to hit repeat. YES

Surprisingly modest mastering for a metal track - I had to turn my volume up a bit to match my usual listening level. Let's start with a colour-coded arrangement breakdown (yes! Fancy!). Sections in the same colour are repeated. At-a-glance, you can see that the arrangement is very conservative, and the track contains 40% repetition. The whole section from 0:12-1:24 is just copy-pasted (a proper copy-paste, no variation in anything) immediately afterwards, followed by a run-through of the B section again with doubled lead guitars, and more urgent drum programming fitting of a climactic ending. Source structure is the same (sans intro/outro and final B section, although the intro and outro use the pre-verse heavily). Performances are great and sound very natural. I'm particularly a fan of the drum programming. I'm not sure if anything was played live, although I'm 100% sure on the copy-paste. The mix is busy, but never crosses the line into pure mud, although it could be cleaner. There are no dynamics to speak of, which is a shame because it starts busy and ends busy, with no respite in the middle. That's the same as the source, which is a point for improvement. I'd like to hear more expansion - a break, a solo - some more original material that stamps your own mark on it. At the moment, this feels like a cover more than anything. Add to that the repetition, and I'm afraid it's a NO

Ya know, at the beginning of this I wasn't sure how it was going to turn out, but by the end it was a really enjoyable listen. The drums sound pretty weak to introduce the track, and the piano is a little behind the beat on some occasions before the synth comes in. Once it gets going though, everything seems to click as a whole, and it's much more than the sum of its parts. The extended synth soloing, and the character of that (admittedly slightly basic... but let's call it 'retro') sound put me in mind of Kool & The Gang's 'Summer Madness' from 1974. Indeed, if you were going to pursue this kind of genre in future, that track is a good place to start for inspiration. The percussion, although very generic-sounding, has some decent variation and fills, providing a solid foundation for the piano and synth to do their thing. The arpeggiated electric guitar chords and subtle pad do enough to bolster the dynamics and fill out the soundscape nicely. The drums peter out somewhat disappointingly, however the piano performance seems to get tighter towards the end, which is a good way to finish. YES

Really enjoyed this! Your 'Through the Castle' remix from 2012 was always a favourite of mine, and it's great to hear how you've matured as an artist over those 10 years. Very fitting that this one is from SMW2 as well. The remix sequel to the game's sequel Sound design is amazing in this one. The 3/4 time signature makes it sound so playful and mischievous, even though it hits hard. Top stuff!

And here I was expecting Belinda Carlisle. Very nice, atmospheric intro. Love the natural sounds of the cello, trumpet and especially that oud! The synth bass was a surprise addition, and the synth percussion certainly raised my eyebrows. There's some lovely interplay between the trumpet and oud round the 1:00-1:20 mark, and then the violin is introduced as well - another fine piece to the ensemble. By this point the percussion is beginning to feel too static, and thankfully there's a break at 2:01. During the break, the cello and violin do a great job of 'bookending' the frequency spectrum for the trumpet to sit in the middle, doing some great soloing. Moving back to the simplified source melody (thanks for the source breakdown!) at 2:46, the synth percussion comes back in, and I'm sorry to say, really kills the mood. I find myself asking why you'd need the synth elements at all - you've got such a cool sound that's established in the intro, and all the natural parts can fill out the soundscape. Not only that, but there is absolutely no variation in that kick-kick-kick-snare pattern for 3 minutes of the entire 4:21 track length. The only variation is the occasional appearance of a very-much-lost-in-the-desert 808 clap! Worst of all, the groove is so straight and metronomic that it kills all the natural flair of the live performances. The droning sidechained synth pad in the background just adds to the soporific effect of the backing. I will say that I do like the synth bass - it's a cool sound that doesn't feel out of place with the other instruments. That said, there's a definite dodgy note at 1:38, which sounds worst on the bass because it's meant to be anchoring the track. You can get away with some funky scales, especially in this style of music, when playing the melody. Not on the bassline though - you want that to be solid. As the track comes to a close, I find myself being slowly anaesthetised by that backing, and there doesn't seem to be a clue that the track is ending. No intensity increase, or decrease - it just stops. Some more focus on arrangement would be worth implementing to the track as a whole, though I appreciate that would be difficult with so many collaborators. Overall it's a difficult one to call because I think there are some amazing performances, and a lot of creativity and effort has clearly gone into this to bring it all together. Unfortunately, it may be a case of 'too many cooks spoil the broth', and the percussion in particular needs a complete overhaul to do justice to the other performances. If you're dead set on having synth percussion and other elements, then take a leaf out of zircon's book and check out The Koto Chill from The World Circuit album, or one of my favourite ethnic-plus-beats bands the Afro-Celt Sound System. Vary the percussion so that it enhances the other elements, not puts them to sleep. I hope you can rework this one and give it some more direction, in addition to the improvements needed to the backing. NO (resubmit)

Well, that was fantastic. What can I say? I felt like I was sweeping through a ballroom like something in that godawful Bridgerton programme that my wife watches. I definitely don't watch it, honest. The switch to 3/4 was inspired, and the melody works so easily as a waltz, that it all comes down to execution, and that's been knocked out of the park as well. Great interplay between lead instruments, everything gets a turn to shine, nothing outstays its welcome, and there's a big, bombastic finish. 2:39 onwards is glorious. Most importantly, the piece has a wonderful flow to it which you could easily dance to - surely satisfying the goal of any orchestral waltz. Brilliant stuff! YES

My still-very-relevant workshop feedback: No shout was given, so my criticism still stands. That glitching is pretty nasty, and a bump in an otherwise smooth ride. YES

On first listen, I was a YES. After listening to the sources, I was a NO. I'm on the fence here for the main reason that the most recognisable melody - Fi's theme - sounds much better in the source than the ReMix. The flute has much more feeling, presence and body to it in the source. You can even hear the flautist taking a breath. The build and crescendo, leading to the climax of the theme at 2:17, sounds much more impactful in the source, and the sequencing of the flute sounds very quantised at 1:06, 1:19 and 2:05, with little to no release on the notes at the end of the phrase at 1:12, 1:23 and 2:09. There's a string iteration of the same phrase in there at 1:31 as well with the same issues. The tremolo on the low strings from 2:21-2:51 was too static, and the release on the strings again is negligible, so when those huge, long, sustained tremolos finish, it's so abrupt it breaks immersion. I feel like even when combining more than one source in a ReMix, if the style of those sources remains the same, as it does here, there needs to be a significant improvement in sound quality over the sources. The arrangement's climax is not as impactful as that of the source, which contains some extra backing elements to increase the payoff. Add to that the quiet mastering, and there's not enough of an improvement here for me to give it a pass. NO

Well, I've got to applaud your creative ambition here. It's quite a vision to remix so many sources, in such different styles, in the same track. You've almost pulled it off as well, it's just the production significantly holding it back. I don't think there's any point during the whole 6+ minutes where the melody is the most prominent thing in the mix, and that's a problem. The kick sounds really boomy - proph's comments about reducing the fundamental frequency is good advice there. The snare is also wiping out a lot of the low-mids, and the rhythm guitar finishes them off. The choir is so buried in the mix, and especially juxtaposed against those stabs (see proph's screenshot). I don't think I need to go on about it - proph and MW have made some good suggestions. Just make sure each part is clear, well-balanced in the mix, and if anything needs to be cut as a result, don't be afraid to do that either. It's an ambitious project, and might need some things paring back if necessary. Good luck! NO (resubmit)

Whoa, I love me some synthwave, although hang on, there's piano and acoustic guitar? And wubwubwub bass? Very interesting progression going on here that certainly doesn't dwell on anything for too long. You've clearly got some great sound design, but the glaring issue is the muddiness in the mastering, and the whole balance feels completely skewed towards the low-end. Fellas, what happened?! I chucked it into Live, and in 10 seconds the balance sounded way better with this kind of EQ on it. The bassier section from 3 minutes onward needed even more rebalancing (less low, more high), but it was a quick and dirty fix on the master channel. There's a little bump in the mids for clarity of the leads, but this mixing should be done at the channel level, not the master. There are a bunch of layers in the low-mids like the strings and the choir that are almost completely lost. The dubstep-style bass after 3 minutes sounds great, but don't sacrifice the rest of the instrumentation for it - or drop some out to let the bass shine. As for the arrangement, I wasn't too bothered about the "medleyitis" that was creeping in after the 2:31 mark (thanks for timestamping the sources as well, it's a huge help!), although I did feel that perhaps there were 1 too many sources in there. The main Dissidia Heroes theme works so well as a synthwave jam that some sections, particularly 2:31-2:52, felt a little shoe-horned in. I'd definitely have removed the descending arp at 3:22-3:33 as well. Let that bass have its moment! On the whole though, I really dig this track. It's a cool blend of electronic genres with a solid theme that just about anchors the arrangement. The main issue for me is the clarity of parts in the low-mid and mid frequency ranges, and the overall mastering balance that needs a boost to the highs and a cut to the lows. I'd love to hear this one back after another production pass. NO (resubmit)

Very fun, bouncy, saccharine pop. It sounds like an upgrade of the original, but sadly doesn't showcase enough expansion and original material to pass our judging criteria. Production is great, but I'm afraid it's a NO

Oh boy, I love me some Unreal. Well, Unreal Tournament, at least - I never played its predecessor, but I see the composers are the same, and this ReMix certainly captures the aesthetic perfectly. The sound design is excellent throughout; you’re obviously putting that hardware to good use! Let’s get into the play-by-play: Ambient intro with some phasing/chorus effects to set the scene leads into a bassline worthy of UT. It’s not the same as the source tune, but it’s close. We get 8 whole bars of the bassline alone, which seems excessive, as good as it is. The fill to introduce the drums was exactly what I was expecting, and very satisfying. That hi-hat panning is a big problem though, albeit a very easy fix. At the moment it’s panned almost hard-left, and sticks out like a sore thumb, particularly on headphones. Bring it back into the middle, maybe only 20% left, and it’ll be fine. A little more variation in the patterns wouldn’t go amiss either. Moving onto the A section, and I’m struggling to find a melody in the source tune. What I think you’ve done here is very clever - it sounds like you’ve sped up the long, sweeping strings from this point in the source, and added a few connecting notes to make a melody. I’ve gotta say, it sounds great, and is very catchy. The synth lead reminds me of the one in the UT99 track ‘Go Down’. After running through that, there’s a cool development of the bassline, and countermelody to go with it which complements the A section perfectly. We then drop back to the A section for 8 bars, then another 8 with a softer lead synth. The solo/B section is up next, using an 8-bar loop repeated twice, with an extra synth layer in the second run-through. It’s a decent section, and shows off some more originality in the track. The break maintains the synth layer heard in the second part of the solo, and not a lot else, for 8 bars, before bringing a kick pattern in for the next 8. Then there’s a 16-bar section of drum randomisation, and some snippets of the bass arp to fill it out. After 8 bars, I was tired of the randomisation (which is very obviously random), and was hoping the beats would sound more curated for the rest of their duration. I think if you’re employing randomisation to things, there has to be more manual editing afterwards, otherwise you’ll be there forever trying to get something that sounds interesting. What you’ve got here sounds OK, but certainly doesn’t justify 44 seconds of time in the track. Finishing off, there’s another 8-bar run-through of the A melody, followed by 16 bars of the countermelody. The outro is another 8 bars of the bass arp, into a fadeout. Source usage wise, I think it’s thin, however if I’m right on the melody, that’s present for a good portion of the track (32/132 bars), and the bass arp is there almost throughout. The bass arp, like the melody though, is inferred rather than verbatim at any point, so that’s why I’d say it’s fairly thin. Perhaps another judge can nail the usage down a bit more tightly, but I will say again that this track definitely has the Unreal aesthetic, so it’s got that going for it. The main issue I have with this piece is the length of time that sections seem to drag on for. I mentioned the drum randomisation earlier - that could be cut in half easily. Also consider the bass arp intro and outro - in total there are 16 bars where the bass arp is playing almost exclusively. Now I know it sounds good, but that’s way too gratuitous. You could halve that time at both ends and I wouldn’t miss it. When you have such a good framework for a track, you want to distil the best bits, not have them outstay their welcome. There’s a fair bit more I’d like to cut down on, but those 2 sections were definitely the most noticeable areas that would benefit from trimming. I’ve listened to this track for over an hour now, and the more I listen, the more I like it! I can see why you want to keep it going for longer, but if you could give it a trim and sort out that hi-hat panning, we’ll be in business. Hope to hear this one back soon. NO (resubmit)

Serene indeed! This is a very slick, well-produced piece of electronica that is definitely something I'd listen to playing Stellaris, No Man's Sky, or any kind of space explore-em-up. The sound design is excellent, and I love how you've used the stereo space with some lush reverb and delay to create a vast, expansive soundscape. It sounds amazing on headphones. The glitching and percussive elements are reminiscent of Phrakture's work, as is the style. Funny how you were considering a faster tempo, when you accidentally landed on this idea. It's a real winner. I only had a couple of nitpicks with this one. The gating effect at 0:41 sounds like buffering, which might be intentional, but it just made me think my computer was lagging for a split second during playback and it broke my immersion for a second. Perhaps a slight smoothing on the gate might sound better, or a more natural rhythmic pattern. Also, some of the timing on the lead during the (excellent) solo felt a little off. These things only stood out to me because the rest of the production was so tight, though, so once again, great job on that. All in all a really immersive listen, and I thoroughly enjoyed listening on repeat. YES

Always a treat to hear a submission from DDRKirby (or should it be DKRKirby in this case…), one of the fastest composers I’ve ever met. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if this was done in an hour, even though it’s pretty damn good. Diddy Kong Racing has one of the most memorable soundtracks, and was a huge part of my childhood. I had absolutely no problem identifying the source, which is present in some form for most of the track. I don’t think timestamping is necessary here for source usage (I’ll come on to repetition later). I’m actually really excited, because the Boss Theme is a standout track from a standout score, and something I’ve always wanted to hear remixed on the site. The mood is unmistakably lofi right from the off, complete with rainfall sfx and vinyl distortion. When the xylophone melody from the source comes in at 0:15, it’s been translated to the guzheng, which is an excellent choice. There’s some nice interplay between the guzheng and DDRKirby’s signature chip-synth around 30 seconds, before some bells take over. Then there’s even some saxophone, in another nod to the brass orchestral hits in the source. Underneath it all there’s some tasteful bass noodling carrying the groove beautifully. At 1:29 we’re treated to the best part of the track, where the melody leads into that wonderful guzheng solo. It’s so beautifully sequenced, and full of detail, such as the slight detuning/bending going on at 1:52, that it’s absolutely the highlight for me. 1:58-2:52 is retreading ground already covered before some more nice soloing on the eastern flute. There are some gorgeous trills in there, although the bending of some notes doesn’t sound as natural as it did on the guzheng. Perhaps disappointingly, the last minute of the track is repeated material again, so from 3:27-4:35 we’re not hearing anything new. I’ve got no problems with anything in this track other than the repetition, and possibly the arrangement, although they’re 2 sides of the same coin. That last minute could have been cut and I don’t think I would have missed it. Having the outro right after the flute solo I think would have been a better option, both cutting down on repetition, and ending the song on a high after the solo. 2 minutes of repeated material in a 4:30 song is a lot, but given the overall quality of the track, it’s still a pass from me. YES

There was a time about 6 months after I started producing music when one of my friends had a listen to the stuff I'd made on GarageBand and said "You're holding yourself back by using that - just get Ableton and you'll improve massively". I took his advice and never looked back. I feel like I'm about to give you some similar advice! There are some really awesome sounds in this - particularly the basses - but typically synth bass sounds don't have many effects on them, so I'm not surprised those are the best sounding synths on show here. The other synths and percussion sound very 90s, which isn't necessarily a bad thing of course, it's just I'm guessing you're approaching the limits of what Caustic 3 is offering (I'll admit I've never used it), and to get much more out of this would require a disproportionate amount of time compared to what you'd need to invest in FruityLoops, Live, or whatever your DAW of choice might be. It's certainly commendable that you can make a composition sound this good on a mobile app, but it's that extra fidelity that's missing from this that is so much easier to get from a dedicated DAW. Things like automation, delay and reverb, and overall complexity of sound design will become fairly trivial to implement in a full DAW - all of which are just falling short in this piece. I understand if you're comfortable using your phone to make music, and you've clearly got a great knack for it and must have a decent workflow by now on Caustic 3, but I do implore you to give a different DAW a try and see how you like it. You may be surprised at how much better your compositions will sound immediately. NO

I've listened twice through and it's a very impressive performance. Organ music is not at all something I've ever chosen to listen to - although I do appreciate the spirituality of the instrument when in a religious setting. The dynamic range is certainly huge - I found myself turning the volume up at the start, and then by the end it was pretty loud. As stated though, this is intentional and I don't have a problem with it. I'm not sure this piece would fit into a regular playlist of tracks for casual listening, so compression isn't really necessary to normalise the volume there. Over 8 and a half minutes is a long time for improvisation, and I only counted one instance around 5:25 where it sounds like a duff note has been played. The dissonance around 6:10, as mentioned in the submission email, was intentional. It does a pretty good job of grabbing your attention right before the really fast arpeggiated section. In Ocarina of Time, Ganondorf can be found playing the organ just before the final battle. The first half of this piece evokes the calm serenity and contemplation offered by the Temple of Time. The second half escalates into - in my mind - the dramatic boss fight at the end of the game. A fitting tribute to the game's lore which I'm sure OoT purists and any pipe organ fans out there will enjoy. YES

This is a lovely arrangement. Really chilled-out vibe; I'm picturing someone playing guitar looking out over the ocean as the sun sets. I listened to a few Porcupine Tree tracks too - cool sound! Submissions like this are tough to evaluate because they're so close to being absolutely wonderful, yet there are numerous small production issues that hold them back. While the package as a whole is an enjoyable listen, I feel there are a few easy tweaks that would make this stand out. Kick - Your kick sample has no presence outside the low end, which means it's fighting the bass on those low F and G notes around 44-50Hz. It also sounds a bit 'boomy' to me, like a mic without a pop filter. Consider swapping the sample for something an octave higher perhaps, or notching your bass EQ around the kick frequency to reduce the competition in the low end. Width - The overall sound feels a bit narrow on my headphones. I took the liberty of setting the stereo width to 200% in my DAW and it sounded a lot better. Give those guitars more space to breathe! Better do it on the individual channels though, not the master. Distortion/resonance - You have a lot of effects on the guitars and lead synth, and especially when they get to the higher notes, some of the distortion or resonance effects border on the shrill. See if you can pare that back a bit, although if it's recorded through hardware effects pedals then it won't be as easy a fix. Tambourine - This is far too dry and doesn't sit in the soundscape at all well. It's way up there at 14kHz and needs some reverb to help it sit in amongst the rest of the instrumentation The heavily-distorted guitar around 0:50 has some nice layering around 0:56 that's buried somewhat by being panned in the same fashion. Try swapping the panning of that harmony to the left side and/or adding a bit of ping-pong delay to the heavily distorted guitar so that it balances out the left side of the stereo field a bit more. I think the overall clarity of the mix could be improved too, but hopefully with a bit more stereo width and some tweaks to the low and high end, it'll feel both clearer and more cohesive. The little tweaks outlined above could make a big difference, and I'd love to hear it back again after another production pass. NO (resubmit)

What a fantastic start, and a great choice of source tune. Fits the 'epic orchestra' genre perfectly. MW and proph are the experts when it comes to orchestration, and they've got some great critiques and advice. For my part, there weren't enough dynamics to it. The intensity was very high for the majority of the track. It needs to ebb and flow much more, to provide moments of intensity within the surrounding atmosphere, making each one more dramatic. It's like a Michael Bay film - too many explosions, and you get bored of explosions. In addition to the overall dynamics, the individual performances could also have a more natural ebb and flow to them. MW mentioned the strings, and from 2:11-2:41 they've very noticeably playing with the exact same character. Try and mix it up a bit, the way a real performer might. Overall clarity could also be improved - perhaps it's a result of a little too much reverb, or sample quality, but if there's a way you can bring the instruments further forward in the aural space then that would be appreciated. It's a NO from me now, but a great start nonetheless and I'm sure you can improve on this if you wanted to resubmit. NO (resubmit)

Ah man, sounds like a really bad injury, but I'm glad you were able to get back to playing guitar so soon. I hope you've made a full recovery by now and there's more shredding and less slipping Love the vibe right out of the gate - huge energy and a pretty raw sound. Very punk. Those open hats drag on a little too long for my personal taste - I'd have dropped the pattern once the first verse hits at 0:23 - and I'm glad when the pattern changes up at 0:44. The mastering is loud, so the frequency range of the hats gets a real boost, which can be grating on the ears if they're playing every beat. I'm not a fan of the backing synth choice that comes in around 1:06. There's a lot of detune and reverb on it, which makes it sound both out of time and out of tune compared to the guitar. The break at 2:10 is nicely done, and the 2:20-2:42 section works really well. Much better use of cymbals here, adding in some crashes and velocity changes to move the sound around and keep it from grating. The guitar chugs at 2:19 though suffer from overcompression, with is present at many other points in the track. You can hear the distortion effects which are basically clipping but on a local channel scale, rather than the master track. Check your channel compression - it's better to mix them quiet and then push the master, rather than pushing the channels. If the channels are overcompressed, the damage has been done, and no amount of mastering can save you. The 'Jellybean/Minion break' is super fun, but again I'm not sure on that rising synth at 3:10-3:29 that sounds very out of place in the sound palette. Similar to the detuned acid saw earlier, I don't think the timbre is right for the track. Having the pitch rise on a sustained note can work fine for a build, but it's got to be the right sound, and sit back in the mix so as not to distract from the core material. The final section suffers as a result of the overcompression mentioned earlier, in that you've got this wall of sound with absolutely no room to grow into, so the Jellybean voices just dissolve into the track and it becomes very muddy. It's a shame because the style is perfect, and the arrangement as it stands I think is fine. This one definitely needs another pass, particularly paying attention to the compression on the guitar channels, and some tweaking to the backing synths to make them more cohesive with the sound palette, as well as moving them more into the background. NO (resubmit)

What a bizarre source tune! I wouldn't say it's particularly pleasant to listen to, so it must have been quite a challenge to approach this remix. It's a strong start though, with some nice atmosphere and pulsing synth bass. The percussion is lacking clarity and punch throughout (too much reverb?), which is a shame and something to work on in future, but nothing stood out too egregiously on that front. The detuned saw synth that appears around 0:20 and 1:20 playing the melody is occasionally too detuned, but I suppose it's true to the source tune in that sense, so I shan't be too harsh about that. I guess it plays into the darkness of the first half of the track. If the first half is darkness, the second half is most definitely light. The tempo slows down around 1:55 and there's quite a triumphant moment with the (now less detuned and sounding much nicer) saw lead. The lead really starts to soar at 2:28 - what a beautiful progression! Some great, tasteful glitching/crushing around 3:00, before the calming SFX and a further tempo slowdown. I enjoyed the second half far more than the first, I must admit, but having listened to the source afterwards, I can see the difficult path and effort it must have taken to get it to this point. Production isn't the best, as you well admit, but the arrangement here is enough to carry it. It's worth a listen just for the 'clear skies' moment at 2:28. YES

Hey, I like the energy and method used to create this. I usually transcribe things myself too; you often find some happy accidents when doing it that way that help with composition. It's a good homage to the source, although there are flaws in the production and arrangement which are holding it back. The most obvious thing I'd want an improvement on is the sound design. Those synths sound very 16-bit, and although have higher fidelity than the GBA, they don't have much more character to them. They do sound cohesive within the track itself, so that's a plus, however the whole thing just needs an upgrade to fulfil its potential. Prophetik mentioned the snare and hats - the snare sounds like it's in the back room, while the hats are being played in the hallway and the rest of the kit is in the living room. Having the percussion sound like it's in the same space is important, and helps the individual samples sit in the mix, rather than being exposed. The sound clips were cool, adding a retro touch, and I liked the chopping of the samples to add some texture. MW and proph both noted that it feels like a 'remix of two halves', and I'd agree the skid transition at 2:09 needs a little more finesse to it. It's very abrupt, probably intentionally, but could use some foreshadowing in the arrangement. A break section beforehand leading to a build, then the transition, for example. It's a cool way to change up the track, like a boss fight, but with some more attention to the arrangement, this part too could really pop. There's a lot of good stuff in here, and it's a really catchy tune with a great old school vibe. Take another pass at it and hopefully you can elevate it to the next level! NO (resubmit)

Cool arrangement and creative approach to the style, but unfortunately the mixing needs a complete overhaul. Once the bass comes in, it's extremely hard to focus on much else. There's a lot of acoustic energy in the lows and low-mids that's fatiguing my ears as I listen. Is there any reverb on the bass? Sounds like there could be - if there is, dial that all the way back and that'll be a good starting point, then look to do everything Chimpazilla suggested. I always think of mixing as "the easy bit", as it can be done after the song is composed, but in reality, with a completed track it can be a daunting task. The good thing is that mixing skills apply to everything you'll ever make, whereas each arrangement is always unique. Give this one another crack, and hopefully it'll clean up nicely and you can take those skills forward. NO (resubmit)

I played MK64 to death back in the day. It was the first game I got with my N64, and always a favourite. I was really excited to hear Toad's Turnpike done in a synthwave style, as it lends itself to the genre very nicely, especially with the driving theme. I'm not sure this remix holds up to your usual standard, however, for a number of reasons. Firstly, the dynamics are non-existent. The track is LOUD, and way over the limiter virtually throughout. Look at this clipping analysis from Audacity: That's pretty egregious from a mastering perspective. Give those limiters some more headroom, please! The N64's samples weren't great to begin with, and you can hear the distortion exposed clearly with all this gain that's been added. The waveform also looks like a big brick because there aren't any real breaks in the arrangement. You've got the intro, then a long A section from 0:26-1:37 followed by a short bridge, then a solo from 1:44-2:12, then you retread a lot of ground from 2:12-3:16 with a slightly shorter A section into the bridge again, before the outro. I really like the way the solo leads back into the source at 2:12, and I love those synthwavey chords in the outro, but there's a ton of repeated material in here. Not to mention the drums, which are on autopilot everywhere except the bridges. It's the same loop for about 80% of the song, and it gets old really fast. The mixing sounds off with the drumkit as well - the toms are especially loud. This one has a lot of potential, but it feels rushed and far too rough around the edges in its current state. NO

Oh, I remember this one from the WIP boards last year! It's worth reading that short thread because Akidna showed a great willingness to take on board my feedback, and has clearly made improvements to the production. Seems to be the ideal way to approach constructive criticism and use it to improve as an artist. Warms my heart! YES Edit: I appear to have embarrassed myself here... the YT upload and the sub are the same. It's possible Akidna made the edits based on my feedback and has a revised mix somewhere. Either way, it's over the bar as-is, but those pointers I gave him still stand. Glad he agreed with my critique nonetheless.