JJT

i'm having trouble with this for exactly the same reasons as vig states. a few quick fixes (in eq) would make this so much better. I'm gonna give this a YES on the condition that the remixer fixes the EQ on the piano and makes the flute / bass / piano brighter. so.... YES

This feels a lot more coherent to me. As vig said, not the strongest composition we've ever seen, but the groove is there, as is the ethereal, hypnotic vibe. I'm satisfied. YES

Yeah, okay. Creative, cheesy (at times), groovalicious, over the bar. I don't feel the need to qualify this vote with anymore adjectives. The only thing I don't dig is the fade ending. -Jon Out- YES

Wow, I never thought I'd find myself leaning towards YES on a borderline techno mix, but here we are. There's nothing spectacular about the production, arrangement, or sequencing in this remix, but there's nothing really bad about these things either. Simple? Yes, but there's variety. This is definetly borderline, and it could be improved (especially the dynamic shape of the song). Still, I think this is over the bar, if just barely. YES

if it matters, i would have YES'd this....

I don't see what the issue is here. YES Too loud, abrasive, and overcompressed for what? There's no clipping, so just turn the volume down. For some reason this put me in mind of the kind of synthetic music that would be played at one of those cyberpunk bars in Shadowrun. That's kind of an aside though. The guitars are cheesy, but I find them almost charming. Kind of like a hat you'd get at some gift shop that's so obnoxious that you grow really attached to it. Is this making sense? Am I making too many iffy analogies here? Anyway. The overall package that Roe presents just works for me. That's some really good drum and bass programming, son.

I'm in the LT/GL camp in this case. This mix definetly has its flaws, but overall I think the mixer showcases a great deal of musicality and a good ear for arranging. The piano sample stuck out to me as being pretty mechanical and lo-fi. The samples, though not spectacular, are not bad enough that they distract from the musical ideas being presented -- well this isn't true 100% of the time, but after i've finished listening, i don't find myself thinking "boy that was cheesy and synthetic," I find myself thinking "wow, that was pretty creative and well done. YES." So in conclusion, YES

There are going to be parts of this review that are harsh. Before I really dig into this submission I want you to know that you've got enough potential and raw ability to make some really good music someday. I'm rooting for you, and I'm rooting for this mix. That being said, there are some serious issues here that need to be addressed. For the live sax parts your phrasing and intonation are both really awful. Like awful in the "actually makes me cringe" way. About 1 out of every 3 notes is a) horribly flat scooped up from flatness (which often sounds worse) c) tongued before you hit the right fingering d) phrased awkwardly That's not a very good ratio if you're going to be incorporating live instruments in your remix. At 1:07 your articulation is just....man what's the word. it's like you're playing drunk. the pitch is just sliding around like crazy and you're missing fingerings. Consider 1:16. you either hit the wrong fingering or were on the wrong partial. Is this the best possible take you can get for this section? Incorporating those semi-robotic woodwind samples with your live tracks is a really strange juxtaposition. I'd prefer you decide to either go the fully synthetic route, or just record those parts with a sax or whatever woodwinds you can get ahold. Mixing the two sounds pretty strange in this context. What it comes down to in my opinion is just preparation and having a critical ear. Really practice those parts and have them nailed before you begin recording. I'd like to hear Jesse weigh in on this, him being a sax player and all. My knowledge of wind instruments stems mostly from playing the trumpet. There's a lot of room for you to grow, and I'm confident that you'll continue to improve if you keep at it. NO

Hmmmmmm. I'm in agreement with TO, the arrangement sometimes gets really muddy and too involved. Another major gripe of mine is that the percussion is mixed too quiet for my tastes. However, you made great use of some not-so-great samples, and provided plenty of interpretation of the source material. The dynamic shape of the piece is well thought out. By the time it's finished we as listeners are not at the same place we started; the journey has been coherent, intentional, and at times, very beautiful. The arranging and sound quality could be better, but as far as I'm concerned this is over the bar. YES

Again, very impressive, very challenging stuff from Sam. The opening section is definetly the most "out there," but I disagree with the assertion that it's chaotic. The chromatic interludes don't sound particularly pretty, but they're a deliberate choice, and Sam stays within the confines of the harmonic strucuture he lays out. Yes, there are a lot of notes, and it does modulate very quickly at times, but it makes sense. There's no chaos here. Once 2:00 hits, awesomeness ensues. At 3:25 when it shifts into...what is that, 13/4? That's just really great writing. Some may view the sound quality as being a major issue, but I am not in that camp. Yes

.......umm. The samples in this remix sound either equal or worse to what i'd expect to hear on a Playstation. The synth guitar is all kinds of awful, both in sequencing and sound quality. That plus the arrangement doesn't bring much to the table. You can find better samples than this. You can arrange music better than this. NO

I remember commenting on this in WIP, before you added the original material. The cover section is too conservative, the original section has too little to do with the source tune (although it does cite the original chord progression). The playing is fine and the solo, although not groundbreaking, is appropriate. There was a time when this would have passed through the panel, but these days our arrangement bar is higher. Look to integrate your own ideas into the source tune, not just tack them onto the end, and come up with your own interpretations of the original melodies. There's nothing in the first 4 minutes of this remix that hasn't been done a thousand times before. NO

Hello sir, I want to report what I suspect is a fall-through. I posted my song just after christmas, which is about 4 months ago. It's based on the original Zelda theme and is called "Hyrule Jam", and is located at Here follows the song description: Hyrule Jam is a mix of genres which plays around the familiar zelda theme in an adventureous way. I wanted to make it different from the interpretations I've heard earlier, so I tried to make it groove-orientated while incorporate some light symphonic elements and wrap it all up in an semi-organic 'loose' production inspired from 70s prog rock and funk. Hope you like it =) Thanks and let me know if there's any problem =) Peace, Eivind ----------------------------------------------- This is borderline. On one hand the arrangement is over the bar, and the drum programming is spot on for the genre. The bass is sequenced well (with the notable exception of 2:15). The organ samples sound really, really dry though, especially when they're exposed during the sparse parts of the arrangement. The pocket is definetly there and the organ playing (or sequencing) itself is convincing. The section starting at 2:06 makes me cringe. The introduction of the more "symphonic" elements does not strengthen this mix in my humble opinion. The strings sound really fakey and dry (like the organ does at some points). Ditto on the flute. *sigh* I could have let the organ samples slide, but the sound quality in the latter half of the arrangement knocks this mix down a couple pegs. Sorry but I'm giving this a NO with the strong suggestion that you resubmit. I'd suggest either ridding the arrangement of the last half, or upping the production value to make it more convincing. Don't be afraid to throw some reverb onto those samples. NO RESUBMIT

reeeeeeevvvvvveeeerrrrrrrrrrbbbbbbb. yeah there's a lot of it. too much for my tastes. i'm sure its 100% deliberate, but it makes it really hard to tell just what the hell is going on in the arrangement sometimes. your track notes would have me believe that's a real flute, though with the amount of verb you're bathing this in, it's honestly hard to tell. assuming it is real, your tone and pitch are spot on, and its a good performance. Larry's right about the arrangement. the sections that don't cover the source material are for the most part improvisations on the root scale. If the arrangement IS more involved than this, I just can't hear it, because I feel like I'm listening to this in the echoing recesses of purgatory. Too much reverb, man. NO

DS is right on, this does sound like a downgrade of the original. my advice would be to try and approach the source material from a different angle, especially when it's from a newer game and your sample set sucks in comparison to what the original composer was working with. LT and Shariq have allready covered my other gripes with this, so I'll just leave it at that.

this sounds pretty amatuerish. the sfx are clumsy. the volume on that pad at the very beginning increases and decreases spasticly, and most of the ambient sound effects don't fade in or out, they just cut off abruptly. it sounds really awkward, especially with the "scratchy record" and "closing door" sound effects. the samples are mostly low quality (especially the choir synths), the sequencing is at times mechanical, and the drums aren't well designed (particularly the snare drum in that last section). melodically, the arrangement is much to conservative and simple for OCR. all this being said, the mix is still kind of creepy, so i think you accomplished some of what you set out to do. it wouldn't hurt to hit up the WIP and Remixing forums on the site, get feedback, and improve your arrangement and production skills. NO

sequencing is mechanical and the arrangement manages to be both aimless and uninterpretive. that being said, I think you have what it takes to get a mix over "the bar," but it's going to take some work, and some development. work on your sequencing (slight changes to the velocities can make it sound less robotic) try and give the song a dynamic shape, as opposed to having it hover at the same volume the whole time. that and maybe thrown in a different harmonic structure at some point. it's hard to use the same four chords the whole song and still keep things interesting. things to consider anyway. NO

I'm not saying it's impossible for a song that's only 1:37 to get past the panel, but it had better have a TON of ideas in it. This mix doesn't. This sounds like a MIDI-rip with some guitar parts recorded over the top. The playing's fine, but the guitar tone is awful muddy. Then it just stops, and the background keeps going for another 30 seconds before fading out. Uh....? There is virtually no arranging going on here. Spend some time in our WIP and ReMixing forums and familiarize yourself with the submission standards. NO

pretty much in agreement with andy. there's some good ideas here, but I feel like there needs to be more interpretation of the source material. a little more variety in the percussion would help. the high frequency samples in the drum programming really start to grate on me after a while. It's interesting, but I would really limit their use. retool, tighten the screws and resubmit. NO RESUBMIT

Yeah, not wild about the quality of the piano/strings, and it sucks that they're the first thing we hear in an otherwise great mix. Very creative, very well thought out arrangement. YES

The bass has barely any accenting on it because I really, really suck at the bass. Not as bad as you suck at bowling, but you get the point.

Is it possible for a sequenced drum part to be "showoff-ish?" Still, that comment made my day.

gaaaaaaaahhhhhh. this could be better, but i'm giving it a yes. the production shortcomings, while often apparent don't ruin it for me. whatever. YES

just you wait...

I was actually trying to model the drumming after William Goldsmith (Sunny Day Real Estate / Foo Fighters / The Fire Theft), but I'll still take that as a compliment.