Chimpazilla

There is so much to love about this remix, it's so creative! It needs a few fixes though. Dubstep drums have got to be on point. I think the drum writing is fine, but the sounds need to improve. The kick is not a proper dubstep kick, the snare isn't heavy/loud enough, and the hats are kind of lost mixed in the center. Regarding wubs and leads playing at the same time, it works fine as long as everything has its place in the soundscape. Starting at 0:47 (and again at 3:19), there is too much going on in the same frequency range (and a lot of it is in the center) and it's too hectic, it is better at 0:58 because there's less going on (and the backing sounds wider) but the panning of the wub so far left feels unbalanced. I think this will work well if you widen the wubs/backing quite a bit leaving the lead to occupy the center (as you have it now). The lead timbres do feel quite vanilla, but the writing makes up for it I think. 1:48 really exposes the drum issues I mentioned. The solo writing starting at 2:10 feels very random and doesn't follow a contour well. If this were my track, I'd consider cutting out 1:37-2:32 entirely, that part seems unnecessary and doesn't flow well. TL;DR - Change the kick to a solid dubstep sample, make the snare louder/more impactful, give the hats a little stereo image, widen your wubs/backing with no hard-left panning, and either re-write the solo lead so it makes more melodic sense or chop 1:37-2:32 out of the mix entirely, and this will be a yes from me. This is very cool and I'd love to see it on the front page. NO (please resubmit)

I agree with every crit listed here, but I still think this track is good to go. Without timestamping, I feel like the source usage is dominant enough, there's no doubt about what is being remixed. I love the hybrid genre here, jazz, electro and some chippies. The mixing could surely be cleaner, and the leads could be less vanilla, but what's here gets it done. The drums and bass pattern feels a bit loopy, and the abrupt ending feels sloppy, but the overall effect is very unique and fun. Let's do this. YES

Cool dance track, definitely not psytrance. The arrangement is incredibly full which is fine, but the mixing sinks it. The bass is fatiguing which may be due to the timbre used, it has a lot of mids which is making the rest of the mids feel intensely crowded. Find a way to clear up the mixing by replacing sounds or eqing or stereo widening so the mids aren't migraine-inducing. NO (resubmit)

I don't hear the source at all, and I agree with Sir_NutS that if I played this for someone with no explanation, they would most likely never pick out the source tune. The effects are very odd to me, this tune is very unusual, and I can't say I am enjoying it. Edit: My level of enjoyment does not affect this vote. But no matter how many times I listen to this, I cannot discern the source. NO

This is super cool, vocals are dynamite, but I feel like there's something off with the chords, there are some notes that aren't quite fitting in, and it makes the soundscape dissonant and washy. Anyone else hearing that? It could be due to the long pad notes bleeding into each other, but honestly I hear dissonance starting with the sparse intro, the bass notes don't quite work. Agreed let's request lyrics if it passes. I'm very interested to hear more opinions on the harmony/dissonance issue. edit 1/24/19: That harmonic dissonance still bugs me. Also, the vocals are all mixed in the center, making the track unnecessarily mono-ish. I'm not quite ready to pass this one yet. NO (resubmit please)

I agree with the guys on the mixing being a tad flat. I agree with MW that the main hook is played on violin a few times more than I'd like. The breakdown is epic and the trumpet is sequenced well although the volume gets too loud at one point. The sudden chiptune section is an excellent surprise, and the chiptune elements mix in a very cool way with the orchestral soundscape when they play together. Overall a unique and creative take on this source! YES

I agree with the other Js that the vocals sound like they aren't nested into the track well, they sound pasted on, perhaps they are just too loud, fx and all. Other than that, the track is very well crafted. Drum groove gets repetitive after awhile. This track is almost good to go for me, but I have to agree with Sir_NutS here, the too-quick fadeout is a dealbreaker. It would be so easy to end this on the downbeat with a nice crash or something, but the quick fadeout sounds too awkward. I hope we can get that fixed! YES (conditional on fixing ending)

Really unique and creative arrangement. I agree that the mixing could be refined, some leads are a tad loud, and Larry's right about the drums not fitting the soundscape, the main snare is much too snappy and the hats are too loud, and there's an electro-shaker that doesn't fit well at all or is just mixed too loud/dry. Regardless, I'm loving the creativity here. YES

Ah yes, this sounds so much better! The low end is a bit distorted, but it sounds intentional to me, based on the instrumentation used. The beats didn't change too much and I still find them a bit repetitive, but it isn't bothering me too much. I like it! YES

I was ok with the resub last time, and I'm still ok with it now, I still like it! Let's post it already! YES

LOUD. This track hits -5.6db RMS, and is generally a sausage waveform all the way through; it's a bit sonically exhausting just due to the strong compression. That said, the track is very well mixed especially for how loud it is, I hear no distortion. I love the track. It's long, but it never loses my interest. Well done! YES

What an interesting approach! I am one who loves vocal clips in songs, as long as they are cohesive and tell a story, and they fit in nicely here. The arrangement is great. Expect some hate for the vocals, but you'll get none from me. The parts are performed wonderfully and the mixing is tight. Love it! YES

Oh man this is fun, so varied, so cool, so much detailing. Nice work with the horns, very well sequenced. The tempo speed up is wicked cool. The kick does get a little tedious, I think because it may not be the best kick for this sonic palette. Regardless, I love it! YES

This is incredibly creative considering the limits of the sonic palette you've chosen. As Deia said this one won't be a fan favorite, but it is one of the most unique mixes I have ever heard. And I adore bells. The mix is well crafted and mixed. Very nice! YES

This is great! Starts out really conservative, but moves into some very cool mood changes. The humanization is good enough I think. I really like this, it's epic! YES

I'm really torn here, the mix itself is beautiful and well put together, but I can't quite get into it because of the repetitive nature of the arrangement. I get that the source is repetitive, but that doesn't mean the remix has to be. The mix builds and things are added, but the way the writing is, it feels like a four and a half minute build to nowhere, followed by an extended outro. I feel like if the arrangement were broken up just a bit in the middle that would help, even if something like the outro were to appear halfway through and then something similar at the end like you have already. As it stands, the arrangement just doesn't keep me engaged even with all the additions made. I may be in the minority with this opinion. Good luck with the rest of the vote! NO (resubmit)

The kick feels pretty heavy/punchy for this instrumentation, especially when it's exposed like at 0:51 and 3:38. The instrumentation is somewhat odd, especially the two leads, but the overall effect is completely unique. The lead in the final passage is very vanilla and dry. The breakdown is almost too bare. The arrangement is great, though, and I am enjoying it. I especially like the kettle drums. YES

What an interesting take on this source! Very groovy and chill. I don't care for the long pauses, especially when they fade to more than a second of complete silence, but like Larry I am not bothered by them. My main gripes are: 1. the Christmas bells are too loud and up front when paired with the snare, and 2. fade out ending. Still, unique, creative stuff here. YES

Very nice arrangement of these two sources. I agree with the crits on the instrument attacks, but overall the instruments are sequenced very well and the chants fit in quite well. Nice work! YES

This, exactly. YES

I don't know this source, but it's a pretty simple source. I listened with MW's timestamping and I find it to be plenty accurate (Gario, your timestamping seems too harsh here). The arrangement itself is unique and fun and the production is tight although the bass has a bit of an odd tone. The piano intro and outro feel so different to the rest of the arrangement stylistically that they feel somewhat tacked on, but they work well enough. I can tell there is a "kids' show" influence in the track, it's bubbly and upbeat, while still having good emotional content. The instruments are fun and varied and everything is sequenced very well. I'm curious, what tin whistle did you use, it sounds great. The arrangement is quite liberal and it feels more original than remix to me, but I love it and I've gotta go with it. YES

I just listened to your other Zelda mix, and this one sounds SO much more 3D by comparison. I agree that the brass does sound quite lifeless by contrast to the strings. I hear those same little distortions that DA pointed out, it doesn't bother me enough to send back to fix. The entire mix sounds too dry, so my same advice applies here as in the other mix, some more creative eq, positioning and especially varied reverbs would make the soundscape even more alive and 3D. But this is lovely! Another fabulous arrangement, so full of feels. YES

Humanization is tricky even when strings or woodwinds are used as backing elements. In this case every instrument is super exposed, and given that situation, I feel like the humanization is more than adequate. That said, I wish the production had a bit more shine on it, perhaps a bit more eq or instrument positioning or varied reverbs to make the soundstage more 3D, with leads sounding more upfront and backing elements more in the background, and more of a feel of being onstage in a real hall. The arrangement though, caries it totally. It is absolutely lovely and so emotive. YES

I didn't hear the original submission so my vote is on this version. This is a source tune I adore, but I'm not sure this remix approach is working so well. The track has two very distinct vibes that are sandwiched together and the transitions are minimal. I'm not a fan of the lead guitar panning back and forth. The drum writing plods and feels super simplistic and at times the groove feels quite awkward and forced. The arrangement itself feels repetitive and choppy and it drags on for four minutes. The performance is loaded with timing errors in the guitars and drums. Good luck with the rest of the vote and I'm sorry to come down so hard on this but this track doesn't feel ready for prime time to me. NO

I agree with the mixing critiques, the intro panning is distracting, the overall volume is low and the middle section gets a bit overcrowded. My bigger concern is that the source is a super simple series of notes, and the way those six notes are used here is so completely different from the source tune as to be unrecognizable. This is one of those rare instances where even though the source is used verbatim, I cannot hear (or feel) any connection to the source tune at all. I only recognize Minuet of Forest at 2:02, right before the track ends. Cool track, but I don't feel it fits OCR standards. NO