Magellanic

Just thought I'd give a quick review of the tracks. I didn't do one for the previous round but if you'd really like some feedback, then just drop me a PM. Liquid Metal: Amazing sprinkled with some hilarity. Complete contrast to you previous entry but just as expertly executed. Satch Man: Nice and chilled. Its just so easy and great to listen to. Fantastic soundscape featuring another enjoyable solo from Will. You rock that midi controller like no other (and I have a hunch you use a Midi guitar/pickup?). Cold Dreams: Loved this. Fantastic vibe. You manage to capture the feel and ambience of the era in your music perfectly. I didn't have time to make this song: You may not of had time but what you did manage to complete was really good. I want more!!!!! Passing of the Knight: I started off with hating this mix.....its grown on me....a little bit. I poured my soul into it to try and improve what I had but I'm still a bit disappointed with the outcome. Electrostatic: Great ambience set with some great sounds. Kind of want some more stuff going on. Feels as though there could be a little more complexity to add more interest. The Death of Mr. X: Certainly a different approach this week. Really like the gentle rock feel. Really good job on the playing here. Very tight. Dayquil, Nyquil: Seriously good job. Just know, that you did yourself proud regardless of not feeling well. The orchestral/asian/electronic style is really impressive well done. I dreamt of a man with two heads: As AMT said, there is a great improvement here. There's a lot more flow to the arrangement and there is more interest. Having said that, keep on. More development and movement between ideas would be great. Copperhead Drumstep: Really impressive chiptune here. I can't really add anything other than I really enjoyed it. Can see this potentially being at the top of everyone's voting lists. Smooth Operator: Some great ideas and an interesting vibe. Really good soloing but sometimes felt like the arrangement needed more direction. ZERO to ROBO: Another interesting arrangement. Lots going on with some really cool funky bass. Like your previous entry, I do want to hear more. Seems like you could expand on this

Just subbed my entry for this week and can't believe I managed to finish it. "By the skin of your teeth" comes to mind. The arrangement stage took far longer than it should have. Really looking forward to hearing the other entries though and definitely intrigued by your Metal version Brandon. Probably a bad choice on my part to do another rock-styled mix this week.

Seriously amazing mixes across the board. I just voted and found it so difficult.

Checked out the silver surfer soundtrack. Your talk of it got me intrigued and OMG its just stunning! Can't believe thats coming from a nes. Sorry, back on topic for you guys. Just had to concur that it is a fantastic soundtrack.

Just wanting to confirm that you guys are gonna be there on the 3rd? or will it be both days?

Cheers bud. Really not feelin' it this week though I have to say. Perhaps I'll strike lucky and fluke something good lol

This round really isn't looking good for me. If I come up with anything half-decent it'll be a miracle so I apologise in advance

I'm certainly interested in coming and it'd be great to meet some of you guys. I don't live far from London so shouldn't be much trouble. Put me as definitely going, I can't see anything coming up between now and then

Mmm, pizza . I'm glad you're liking my direction. There's still a bit of further settling needed with style for me. I basically like to cram in all the lovely things I love in various styles into one neat little package lol. I love my eastern/asian instruments, I'm just lacking in samples to utilize, else there would be an even heavier influence There indeed was some clipping. I haven't been using my headphones recently so missed it because it really was hardly at all audible on my cheapo speakers hehe. Basically in this version I have changed the counter-melody like you said so it is in harmony with the guitar. The old counter-melody has been moved to the end section as the lead. I liked it too much to just scrap it but definitely saw your point. I re-eq'd the snare and bass drum, took off a smidge of reverb. The claps have returned to a better level. The final change is I reduced the input on my limiter and EQ'd the entire track to give a bit more defintion and brightness.

Woop, updates Sounding so much tighter. The synth is sounding a lot more expressive and the glock part at around 1:40 is sounding much better. Overall much tighter, cleaner and energetic. Loving the arpeggiated bass layer (sounds arpeggiated at least) I like your style Rexy

I'm so glad that you're going to do more on this. I REALLY enjoyed this and feel guilty for not voting on it. I have some feedback and well, its just opinion so please please just ignore me if you disagree but this would be soo good to have posted on OCR because it could easily be posted (in my limited experience) The flute at 00:28, I can really hear your dilemma. Any quieter and it gets lost but then its too overpowering when brought up. Perhaps adjust the velocities so they're more consistent or add some compression (gentle) to give it a bit more rigidity. 1:36-47 The glock feels a little too weak to have the breakdown lead. It feels like almost like there isn't a lead. Either have it louder or double it with something else perhaps? I dunno 2:00 is brilliant, love it. In general I am missing the bass a bit. I dunno what is different but its seems less prominent in some places than before. around 03:14-30 I feel like there needs to be a counter-melody to the synth part just to add some more spice and interest to the build. 3:40ish is brilliant. I love how it just sort of shoots off getting more climatic. 4:00 I LOVE it, so good and the ending is just beautiful Anywho, that is just what comes to my mind. Even if the feedback just gives you something to experiement with, I hope its of use.

Thanks, its appreciated. I think production-wise there might be a couple of things that need tweaking but as seen as there doesn't seem to be anymore feedback I'll put this as mod-review.

Bugger, I haven't heard anything from Cyril so its disapointing that he didn't submit for this week but never mind. I'll be doing the next round for me team unless I hear otherwise from them. Just gonna check out this round's mixes too

I really like the approach and vibe. More I say! (Sorry if you were wanting something more constructive but I know you'll do it right )

So....added a new lead line and re-recorded the guitars. Not sure I'm quite happy with it so looking for some feedback. *Link Removed*

First off, I'd just like to say that this has been a brilliant round. I've done some reviews (my god did it take longer that I anticipated) and hopefully they'll be appreciated. I haven't been overly critical as I feel in the spirit of this competition its for fun and with the pressure of time it really can take you out of your comfort zone. Hopefully these reviews are encouraging for the mixers this round. Great job everyone. The Root of all Things: I liked the natural take on this. Nice mix between synths and pianos etc. The arrangement is really well paced and develops nicely. Overall the mix is really light and bright. This is really enjoyable and I don't think there is any one aspect that contributes to that. The music is really cohesive and just works which is perhaps what I like. I really love the ending, some great soloing Wily's Inferno: OH DEAR LORD ITS THE END...........is how it felt with the epic opening. Bloody love it. The build is brilliant and when it kicks in after the intro its oh so satisfying. I hate how good those synth solos are.......please teach me your secret Will Really enjoyable, fun but solid (but then, who didnt expect that?!) Love the ending. Attracted to Power: Great feel and wicked sound design. Really nice fusion of themes. Some really good disguising of the wily theme going on at the start. Liking the chiptune love here, something else I really wish I could nail. I'm in two minds as to whether it feels like there should be a change of pace at some point besides the ending but I really dig the energy. Mr X was Wily the WHOLE TIME: And there I was thinking that when I had tomahawk man as my second pick, I'd get him but nooo you stole him.....I don't really care haha. A good take on the sources. Nice to see a bit of rock making it into this round. I'm still finding my way with production but I reckon the guitar could be better spread to create a foundation for the mix. Its a bit off-putting with it being all panned to one side. As far as the arrangement goes, I think it could be a bit better paced with more relief and build (yeah, I know my mix was just all guns blazing but meh) Smooth Heat: Woo, Obtuse. It has a nice feel, very relaxed and indeed smooth. A real change of pace to the previous mixes in this round. I really feel that despite that, though, that with a bit more attention given to the drums a bit more life could be given to the mix. Good job bud. Glacial Age: The name straight away gave an idea of what to expect. Glacial but lovely. A really nice atmosphere and interesting arrangement. Nice variation on a wily theme that I'm lead to believe has had a lot of attention. Light Your Way: I really like this mix. The intro is fantastic and when it kicks in it is really satisfying. The lead seemed a tad burried at the start but seriously, I love this mix. Really well paced and brilliant production. The drums are really thwackin' in the face....I can dig that. A lot of variety and a lot packed in make this mix a gem. Far From Home: God damnit, can you make a mix that I don't like? Its getting annoying haha. I really love this, the 80's vibe is......well my weakness it seems. This is really well written and how the Wily theme is used, I think, is really well done. Some cheeky moments where you think the Wily theme will kick in but doesn't. This is now on my regular playlist. Shadows of Wily: Woo, some rock. Great performance here and nice interweaving of the two themes. The guitars sound wicked. I really feel that if the drums had a bit more production-wise a bit more energy could be squeezed out of the mix to give it more punch but I really enjoyed it. Looking forward to whatever you do next. Whatever.jpg: Its a shame you didn't have more time to give to this and it sucks you've had to drop out but I really liked it. I like to be soothed sometimes with some delicate tickling of ivories. This should have been put in the middle of the track list for this round, it makes a great interlude. I'm sure you feel you could of done much more but I really liked this just because of the performance. No ticket!: This is really in your face but works. A nice take on the themes here with a lot of energy. I'm liking the creative use of the samples. The pace is perhaps a little too much for me, but when I'm in a brighter mood I reckon I'll love it Glitch in the System: The opening really reminded me of the chocobo theme haha but this is brilliant. Not heard anything like this from you but its great bud. A nice focus on the Crash theme here. I really wanted more though, the end sounded like it was gonna be moving on to something even more brilliant but still, good stuff.

This is really really pretty. There is a lot of potential for an Epic mix here. Monobrow basically hits every nail on the head but just wanted to add a couple of things. I think the arrangement is great but could do with a bit of streamlining/development. The intro is perhaps a little too long. I think the length would be fine if there was a more climatic finish to the song though. After around 2:00 it wouldn't hurt to add another section as I felt like I was waiting for it to kick in again like it did before (I love 1:18), but alas it finished. I do agree about the tempo, it could be changed up a bit more. With the atmosphere of the mix I really think you could exploit the use of some orchestral instruments. It doesn't need to go full blow symphony orchestra, but with some extra synths and a smattering of strings and/or brass you could develop the ambience further. As for the source usage, perhaps just have the theme come in at the very beginning. Have the piano play it and pan it far left and then move right so its just in the background. If you're wanting to make it subtle, use quite a lot of reverb, or mute the piano source track so all you hear is the reverb of the piano. Anywho, I hope that is of some use. I really enjoyed that but want more!!!

I agree with Rexasaurous. The mix is also coming off as rather narrow, everything is feeling almost mono. Try spreading out, as you have lots of room and space that needs filling. The drums really need some attention (Oh the irony, all feedback I get is about me needing to sort out my drums lol). Apart from that, the choir samples either need changing or resequencing. They are very midi-esque. To summarise: Add more arrangement-wise, whether it be accompanying motifs or melodies Vary the drums and try to get some EQ to clean things up Have a go with polishing the choir sequencing or changing the samples. You got a good foundation going that just needs more development of ideas and refinement. Hope that helps

My brief rundown of the tracks: She's a Squirter – Really impressive chip tune track. Nice textures happening in the accompaniment. The two sources are pretty well combined. A lot of energy for a steadily paced tune. Don't Make me cut you – I do like the intro but I love it when it kicks in at about 1:20. A high energy track with a lot of complexity which lends itself to multiple listens. The highlight for me is the synthy-guitary-solo. Totally Rad Winter – Funky stuff and I love it. Its perhaps the 80's vibe that draws me to this, but its just really well written. Nice integration of sources and really nice instrument timbres. Chilled but energetic, really like it. Double Doctors – A cool and creative track. The sampled laughs will probably be like marmite for some but its done really well. Like some of your stuff I've heard before the arrangement definitely holds your trademark of it constantly moving and evolving. Very enjoyable track. Burn the Castle – The other rock mix of the round which offered something very different. There is a really good integration of sources here. I really love the synth parts in this and the bass offers a lush rock-bed for everything else. 1:20 is a highlight moment for me, the transition is brilliantly done and raises you to the right level for the rockin' in the next part. The Last Clan – A real gem of the round. The idea, arrangement and instrumentation are beautifully executed. This mix is a real change from all others in the round but that's not the sole reason for it standing out. Lovely atmosphere that makes me wanna just keep it on repeat. Two Minds Without a Single Thought – Some good ideas and I just think with some more development you could develop this into something more substantial. Its got a melancholic and almost lonely feel. Don't fear from exploring other chords. Dubious Brother – Funky chiptune. I just love it. Bright, happy and upbeat. This mix makes me smile. Under Construction – Love the opening piano, I thought there was going to be a concert piano recital at first This one has a nice swung and chilled feel. Looking forward to hearing some more of your work. I'm sure anyone could have reviewed and scrutinised over the tracks in far more detail, but with it being a competition and all it kinda changes things. I can't speak for anyone else, but for me ,with a time constraint, it means that I have to cut short on certain aspects to bring up others I'm not so hot on (ie production aspects). Perhaps I'll develop my track further, but meh, perhaps its fine as it is

Bahamut speaks words of pure wisdom In reponse to your question, we don't know about the voting yet. Darke said he would post up the voting rules later

Just finished listening to all the mixes. There are so many good tunes. Dubious Brother really made me smile. I'm gonna find it really tough voting on this round (rules permitting). Definitely on the same wavelength there in regard to approach. Lovin' your version. The mix between metal and electronica is just AWESOME. Your comments on my mix are really encouraging, so I really appreciate it. I've not really done a mix where rock is the main focus before and so I'm trying to find my way with it production-wise. I thought it was a bit of a risk but in the end I was just like "screw it, let's experiment".

I agree, its a fantastic tune. Starting to feel the pressure now though haha

You're probably right, but dunno. The biggest change is to the structure and the middle solo section which is derived from the break before the solo in the original. I really don't think I'm going to alter the arrangement (and that's not because I don't agree with you). I'll fix the guitar parts and leave it at that.