Rexy   Judges ⚖️

Whew, after finally clearing Dragon Warrior 3 (huzzah), I managed to settle down and listen to the project this evening. Outside from Rainbow Resort and the ending theme I barely know much of the score, so for that I can't really comment on the tracks' links to the original material at this moment in time. Nonetheless, congrats on finishing up with the project, and it's good to see this creampuff starship making its way onto the OCR site. So now, I leave you with my light commentary. Drops of Dreamriver KirbyMixer's work at VGMix are of a simplistic attire and with a lot of focus on empty percussion, and for an opening his style is just perfect to establish the moods we have here. I actually dig a lot of the simplistic tendancies taken to this, doing well to add to a very reflective attire and a lot of reflective atmosphere as time managed to settle in. Some of these areas have worked especially some of the quieter ones, although in some of the brasher ones I feel there could have been some lower-end sounds to better fit the dynamic spectrum. I think what I think turned the track well enough was the darker moods that came in at around 3:40; I think they have done well to add to a more chaotic attire to better reflect the opening portion of the game's stated storyline. I was hoping for the triangle to have a touch more reverb though as well as some further humanisation upon some of the scaled xylophone movements near the 5 minute mark, but there's nothing wrong with what's established already. Very sweet opener. Free Breezin' Oh man, I absolutely love Darangen's work and this mix is of no exception. I understand the age that has passed by since much of his more stellar work but this is still just as cheery and upbeat to fit the dynamic "wind" effect that we're looking for. The overall performance executed on this track is excellent, and that has been shown with a lot of attention taken towards a lot of energy shown throughout to be able to fit much of his stylistic choices here. The intro was a bit straight-in, but it's still cool enough to emphasise its more dynamic point that has been showcased throughout the track. I was hoping for some way to show some further space upon the backing guitars to allow the lead to be able to shine through and some further tendancies taken through to drum levelling, but even with those lightly ageing aspects this is still pretty firm to take in. Welcome aboard to the project clan, Boyd-sama. ^_~ Cosmic Transformations The track's first "single", as someone stated further back. The SFX based intro and some of the drum techniques remind me of some of the techniques used in the opening for Braving the Flames for some reason, but have still worked well to create a well rounded establishment to be able to fit the feel for the travelling aspects of the mix. Much of the synth-based samples used in this were used affectively and I dig a lot of the textures used in this to create a very upbeat and dynamic establishment here. I was hoping for some additional processing to the flute sample although much of the volume establishments were very affective; I also appreciate some of the ambience granted towards some of the other elements like the pitched percussion (glockenspiel) used in some of the middle areas. The moods also meander from one stage to another; not sure if everyone may dig it but I do and it has managed to portray its point just perfectly. Good stuff from Adhesive Boy back there Creampuff Starship I often dig a lot of analoq's work for his groove-based establishments, and it's here he's gone for a mix which have been shown with a lot emphasis to a chillout-based atmosphere a la sonik special. The use of synth dependance and having that crossed over with some funky pitched percussion has been able to reflect upon the idea of a star hovering in space, so that can be shown to be of a very peaceful choice to the overall atmospheric choice the mix was looking for. His production work is often solid, so there's barely much I can be able to find wrong in the case of the mix here especially with much of the more climatic choices near the end. If anything a touch more reverb upon some of the pitched percussion won't hurt, but outside from there this isn't too bad. Kirby...tacular In my honest opinion this is the best track title I've seen established. It's here that I appreciate the moods to gradually swift to a darker attire given the key and some of the tenser groove-based aspects that have managed to come around, especially with what has been established. I can't tell if this has matched Rellik's standards or not given that I haven't heard any new material from him since his FF6 mix Dancing Mad, but much of his stylistic approaches are still there to approach the general feel that that aspect of the track was looking for. However, the main downside I see with this is that it's too short! I know, it's a bit of a hindrance on something enjoyable to listen to, but it would have been nice to hear it broaden up on that field a little bit. That said, this is still some interesting work from Rellik here. The Ballad of Sir Kibbles So what's the difference between the moods for Swift Hunter and Dream Hunter anyway? Still, it's interesting to see that there's an incorporation of Rainbow Resort on board here from Suzamebachi. I appreciate a lot of the broadening out from the theme here as well as a lot of stylistic solo attributes to be able to reflect the spiritual essences as shown on that portion of the field. Crossing over live instrumentation with synths has been able to fit much of the ballad-like tendancies taken to the title as well as reflecting on some of the more dreamy aspects on some of the mix as shown on the strings. Speaking of which, some of the texturing seemed to feel a little bit on the mechanical side so it might have helped to bring up the release time somewhat to make them feel smoother into leading into one part to another. But that's still alright for what it was, and I appreciate much of what came around. Starbound Heck yes, chthonic is one of those people that practically everyone I know has fallen in love with in terms of musical emphasis. While the thoughts taken towards stylistic choices and overall processing may feel a bit down-graded in comparison to some of his OCR works, the feel is still pretty interesting and moody enough to fit the warrior-like aspects of the theme. I actually started smiling at the referencing to the Green Greens theme from Kirby's Dream Land, so that has done well to link closer to various other aspects of the mix. I was hoping for a wider range of dynamics established on the drums to match with their rather stellar and amazing arrangement to fit with the other instruments, but this is still pretty cool stuff. Generalised Vegetal Oh man, I never thought I'd see Trenthian do something as emotive as this especially after seeing works like Sector 7 Hath Wrought The Angel. The more dynamic orchestration and synth blending has been able to add to the reflective atmosphere as shown for the idea of a general, as were the marching drums that soon managed to creep in and helping to provide a gradually more dynamic atmosphere, especially by 1:47. In terms of feel this has been able to captivate one of those near-perfect feels that have done well to round off the feel. I was hoping for some broader drum arrangement here as well as some further subtleties taken to the ending, but this is still pretty good stuff taken on that heel. I dig that. Aviator Soul And it's about time we got hear some material from Darkesword himself. I had a strange thought that Great Ace would be one of the harder ones to cover especially since it's difficult for people to figure out the right feel through those two words alone, but the overall climatic feel that was established here has still been able to work well enough to match his intensions. Having attempted to write orchestration myself I understand how hard it is to do something like this, so it's here that I have thought that the feel was a little bit on the mellow side in terms of developing dynamics, but I still feel that a lot of this has been able to develop as the link into the next of his own tracks. I could also picture GrayLightning saying something like "more reverb on the strings", but what we have here is pretty solid material in spite of that. Final Flight Now this is what I better know Darkesword for - electronica. The overall darker moods have done well to fit much of the climatic point-of-no-return tendancies taken to it, as showcased by the title, and much of the feel taken towards the overall "finalities" taken to it have been able to fit much of the atmosphere around it. The piano solo in the middle was also cool enough to lightly add a "breather" aspect to better fit the setting, and much of the synths chosen that have gone around it have been able to link towards much of his more stylistic approaches here. There's one thing that's still shown to be a light quirk to me here and that's the quietness of the drums. I was hoping for them to be a bit louder to match the energy as shown by the rest of the instrumentation, but this is still very good stuff witnessed here. Dreams of Valor I remember this from PRC 2-9, and it's good to see Bladiator, Hemophiliac and GrayLighning working hard on the same track, so that has left me to be familiarised with this way in advance. The overall mood has been able to add to the hero-like nature, and the lighter tendancies have also worked well to add to the "happy ending" feel that the track was looking for. I feel that as soon as the track reaches its halfway mark - more specifically around 1:50 - that the emotive grab really manages to hit the audience that way, and I appreciate a lot of what managed to come through on there. In terms of feel and emotion, this mix is almost perfect on that angle. If anything I have a few qualms upon some of the brass programming; I was hoping for the attack to be a bit stronger, but other than that this is a great and peaceful way to be able to round off the project. Kudos to all three of you. --- Overall I really enjoyed the project. I personally could have said that I'd enjoy it a lot more if I actually played the game (which I will eventually do), but this is still pretty firm stuff as established here. Having understood how long it took for the project to get created I can understand that some of the arrangers have done some better material in their time, but they have still been able to work out in creating a refreshing and very unique structure to aid in making a solid addition towards the OCR project collection. Shariq has been able to establish a good range of arrangers to help create a short but sweet album that has done well to serve its purpose and put itself forward just as much as the other two judge oriented projects on the site (Relics of the Chozo, Kong in Concert), so that can be saying a fair amount. Bottom line: Waiting patiently and with high anticipation certainly pays off. Well done

I actually dig that synth; very clever texture work without being too dangerous to the ear. Heck, even much of the arrangement here is shown to be what I think is Quinn's best material. For the past year or so I've been exposed to a lot of his mixes as they came fresh from his pile, and so you can tell that I've actually grown comfortable to accept his creative arrangement style. Having reviwed this at VGMix not too long ago I'll rope back the review I did over there for good measure. So yeah, that may not have been one of my most serious of writeups, but that honestly showed how excited I was over the whole thing. In terms of arrangement concept and production polish I actually found it to be one of his better works as well as being somewhat daring in comparison to the similar stylistic approaches of his prior works (which were mainly adapted from "Boss Uniform"). And for that, I digged a lot of it. However I don't know if it was me or not but I thought I sensed a clip at around 2:37? Or it may have been the way I downloaded it. That isn't seen as a big issue if that was the case. I did have some light qualms over some of the drum execution, especially when going into the second variation on Flash Man, but I grew used to it as well as most elements of a liberal nature. That said, I feel that this ranks high as Quinn's best release to date, for a high number of reasons. I hope he comes by to bring in more good stuff... maybe Solace in Second just to shut Liontamer up.

Aw man, I'm tempted to waste a disc in burning it off this instance. New Darangen at VGMix, new Adhesive Boy stuff over here, new project page too (which doesn't work at my end but the old one still does)... oh man. I'm so excited just to hear into your stuff. However it won't be until tomorrow morning my time that I'd eventually do so (yes, one computer still has a broken sound card and the other still has no net connection) but I'll be able to share my feedback with you all. And no, I won't go as in-depth as I do in the PRC; that would be ridiculous. Congratulations on the project Ansari-sama, and here's to one of the most unique projects granted to OCR thus far! That's it. After I finish off Dragon Warrior 3, which shouldn't be too long now, I will get started with actually playing Kirby's Adventure. Ph33r meh.

Wut? Some people from across town told me that stuff was flour.

Fokes, folks... I swear they both mean the same

Yeah, they deserve at least some of the royalties. If it weren't for them your masterful freestyle vocal kwak wouldn't have even reached the OCR judges panel in the first place.

Heck, I feel priveledged to see some material from Makke. His C64 works as a solo artist and as part of the C64Mafia are really amusing to me, and this is no different. I'd remember this for its catchy and upbeat atmosphere as well as a lot of production polish that I often expect from the slew of Commodore mixes that I've been gestured to. He's one of those reasons why those types of mixes are worth listening to. It's only fair that I show my full analysis on this --- Remix In terms of familiarities with the target material, this is one of the strongest aspects that I've managed to recognize with the mix, which has been able to match with the joyful nature of the original as well as shine as a unique addition to the Commodore section. All this has been showed by a very flowing progression that has been able to make out with that core aspect of the track, as shown with a very strong polished execution in practice here. One thing that I think I see as a core problem for me - and it can be a hindrance for some - is that the arrangement of the source material is terribly conservative outside from the more dynamic ending. I can say that the structuring helped to try and make up for it though, which has been shown with some strong associations to make the different parts of the piece tie together flawlessly. Some of those transitions should have felt a bit dynamic though, but it's still very pleasing to listen to especially with its Brit rock (?) structure. I also was hoping for the song to go on for a bit longer though, but for the point of an upbeat tune that may not be necessary. I can't say I ever played Dizzy the Adventurer, but comparing it to the NSF it's definitely got a strong aspect to make it stand alone from it in its execution alone. Creativity The vocals have done well to provide an affective way of layering the mix out; I don't care if they're meant to be relating to the game or anything, but it's shown to fit the "fun" aspects behind the target genre. However, outside from the spoken proportions in the middle ("How am I supposed to know? I never even ever played this game before…") and the dynamic melodic elements in the ending, there didn't seem to be many creative aspects that have expanded from the source material. Lucky for us, the sections transition well enough in a very cunning way to make the vocal transition to be smooth enough to work out in total. The vocals in fact help maintain the fresh pace alongside some of the leveling techniques as shown upon the other instrument to help lift up the atmosphere on various instrument aspects to make it freshen out. Even here repetition is lightly minimal throughout; if anything I'd point at hints of it on the drum riff or the chorus, however it can be argued that those aspects are typical in upbeat pop so I'm down with that. So in terms of the entertainment factor I came to appreciate much of the more simplistic aspects that came through it, and that's something that has done well to show a very clever vocal track towards the site. Even though I feel some of the true Dizzy fans may want more than that, it's still well worth that listen when it comes to detecting an interesting performance here. Production I found the production aspects to be one of the strongest aspects towards the mix, which has been shown with a good range of techniques to make Makke as he is. There's been some strong sampling with some of the keyboard instrumentation and possibly the drums, and I appreciate much of the characteristic tendencies as taken towards that aspect of the track. The choice of EQs is very well rounded and I appreciate a lot of the frequency tendencies taken through -very realistic for a piece of its genre. One quirk that has had me though was that in spite of the activity brought upon them, the drums felt a little bit empty especially with the thin sounding snare drum as chthonic pointed out, so I'm sure there can be some way to manipulate that sound to a stronger and more energetic quality to it. (I'm thinking the type of drum settings in "Walking on Sunshine" by Katrina and the Waves, a similar pop song with a similar approach to atmosphere.) The recorded elements were very clean and well showcased for what they were, which I think was showcased the best with the vocal quality as showcased here. I thought the guitars sounded a bit distant though, but if that was for an authentic sound it still fared well. The sound balance was well established, as was the panning, so that has shown that even through the listening experience Makke is capable of providing some well rounded production techniques to make his own creative arrangements stand out. Very solid work through that aspect. --- Well yeah, i managed to dig a lot of the foundations upon the tech settings and the overall flow of the performance, and I often expect no less from some great commodore arrangers. However, one thing tha that has often quirked me from those type of people no more than not was that the arrangement was way too conservative, so don't be afraid to add in some extra creative bits to make it sound more like you instead of "Dizzy and the Adventurers". That's what I think ended up hindering the track if anything much. but as a fun vocal track, I still managed to enjoy a good chunk of what came down. A very interesting no-brainer that's done its job well, and i appreciate what came through of it. Good work to you Makke, and let's see you come forth with some more musical material in the future.

Well yeah, this post may have been inactive for 6 months but I'm still game on seeing something like this. Blad's piano waltzes are very amusing and thoughtful towards me, and this mix is no different. In terms of composition I actually prefer this to some of his other tracks, mainly through to a more flowing performance and a more realistic sound as established here. Very good stuff. For a full breakdown, I have my thoughts right here. --- Remix From the word go you should be able to sense some instant familiarities with the source material, and it's here that the moods have changed a lot from the initial music’s frantic atmosphere. I found the execution to be well established and thought out for a live piano arrangement, which has been shown by a very flowing performance that has made its due course here. Variance from the theme is also shown with a strong variety of rhythmic incarnations as well as alterations on the note progressions themselves, so that has shown his idea of creativity from the original. Even much of the structure was well thought out for a short piano waltz, and there's definitely enough character to make the melodic structures work out. I felt a bit disappointed that it came to a close so soon, but I was satisfied with the ending sequence though. But it's here that the pros have easily outweighed the cons on that aspect and thus it can be shown to be a powerful track that stands out from the game’s score in a very characteristic way. Creativity Much of the creative and original melodies that came through ended up showing their own with their own varied moods and atmospheres to easily make the overall energetic pacing of the mix work well enough to aid towards the full textures. I can say that the sections generally link well together, but if there's something here that I think has dampened it, it had to be the sudden transition into minor at 1:27; outside from that the characteristic performance has been able to do well to make it stand out. There's a lot of fresh pacing as shown throughout, which has been showcased with plenty of dynamic expressions that have circulated throughout. It can be argued that the opening felt a bit too thin for some, but it has still been able to transfer the flow of the piece very fluently. One thing that I think this mix has benefited from more than anything is a total lack of repetition; in terms of rhythmic gestures, no two segments of the track sound the same, so that's very great to be able to realize. Being a sucker for piano arrangements I really enjoyed this; some of the later production aspects may tear the entertainment factor but it's still got a lot of heart to ensure its place here. Production The choice of the live piano itself is shown to be very thoughtful and well established, so I commend Blad on using that sound to make the mix flow smoothly. The ambience that was applied in the recording space has worked very well in my honest opinion, but what I think seemed to be missing was full texturing, so a light rise in low-end EQs won't hurt too much here. Mind you, there's something about the recording that's shown as a questionable concern upon most people and that's the light hiss on the left hand side of the stereo field. I would have loved to hear that get eradicated somewhat. Nonetheless, the leveling and sound input was very clean and sophisticated, and that has done well to fit the occasion. The panning ambience has also adapted fine enough for me, although one thing that I could suggest here is a lightly wider spread to make the piano sound come off as a fuller timbre. Thus, for a mix like this I found the technical aspects to be moderately disappointing but it still has broadened out from the settings that we have come to expect from Blad's library of mixes. --- I have to side with the judges on this one; the production wasn't too great, and I found that to be a blemish on the otherwise excellent arrangement and performance. But I have to say that the arrangement has easily expanded well from the source and has helped to show a very powerful and dynamic approach as shown to the target audience. Thus the pros easily outweigh the cons although only just in my honest opinion. Even with that in mind, I hope Blad will come forth with some further goodness in the future especially with his performance skills. He is one crazy piano bastard and we know it

Yeah, I too ain't much of a fan of Slayer either but he's used it well to match to the authentic Donna Summer-esque sound. Nonetheless, being a big fan of the game during my early teens I was instantly inspired to download it. "Blue Knife", or Kitty-N's theme as djp called it, is one of the coolest songs I heard in a dancing game and it still stands up today. The mix is basically the VGMix version with some extra production polish. I've noticed that with some stronger knowledge on EQing since its initial release as well as some fuller/thicker sounds that have been emphasised by the instruments here. However the quirks with the synthetic sample programming, as shown by elements like the strings at the start and the brass ensemble, still remain from the elder version and I was hoping for something stronger to face there. But knowing Robbie he's set to track down for some stronger equipment in his future work, so that's cool to know. For now the tech settings are just fine to absorb, especially for something as upbeat as this. Like I said, the composition's the same as the VGMix version, so I'll quote that part of my review there back here for full emphasis. Looking briefly at the judges' decisions I have seen that they absolutely loved it and wanted something to grant the game justice, which I think Robbie has done successfully. I also noticed that there were some light quirks towards licenced music. Having been into the game I can assure you now that the songs strictly relate to the characters at hand (especially the themes for Kelly and Capoeira), so I don't think that the songs were created in advanced by highly-acclaimed J-pop musicians. I was concerned that its pop music like format may make this mix struggle past the panel, but apparantly not. Nonetheless, it's great to see this mix has a home, and I still heart you for it, skipper. Well done on another success, and best of luck with getting your DarXide mix past the panel too

Are you saying it's more profane than me on the phone and sadorf on a message board put together?

Ah, now I understand. But how can someone hack into a website this easily? Sounds... awkward. Thank goodness for the new site

The site looks fine at my end. What's going on?

As much as I'd love to hear the project in advance (and indeed I do) I'm being a saint and waiting for the project to be released before i'll listen to everyone's work. That's how respected the project should be, fokes.

Did you come up with a title yet? And I'm guessing nobody wants to pick up an extra song...? Obviously I can't do an extra song being at home all Summer. Yes, yes, I know I rendered a MIDI mix for PRC44 but that was with Anvil Studio - pretty tedious stuff. O.o As for the title, the sample showed that the tentative name is just simply "Summoning of Spirits". If I somehow come up with a better one before the project is up I'll state it here, but if not... i'll probably keep this one

Oh man, I still need to pass Prizm my mix to tie him into that and all O.o

Well yeah, I saw a lot of Brambles mixes in my time, although this was the first one I ended up downloading. One thing I heart about Wintermute is that he's the only person on here with a DKC3 mix here, however that's beyond the point. For this incarnation I managed to dig it for what it was at first; the grab isn't quite as hot now, but it's still pretty firm for what it is. Here's my opinions relating to all this --- Remix The track is one of those that play really conservatively on the source material via two straight riffs of the melody line. The execution was well thought out even for something like this; one thing that seemed to rub me the wrong way though was a light glitch that came through at 1:56 where it sounded that little bit off-key from this angle. That could be just a light nit-pick though, although everything else is pretty okay in terms of tonality. Variance on the actual theme is minimal at best, although in the second half there's been some light variance upon the accompanying synths to help add in some much needed spice to the overall formulae. The structuring is generally good in spite of the conservative nature; however one thing that seemed to rub me the wrong way was that the ending just went on a chord on a sweep pad and that was it. I wanted to hear a stronger ending than that. When I first heard it a couple of years back I appreciated a lot of the simplicity that came into it; even though it's starting to rub off a bit, I still think it's been able to stand out. Not the best Brambles mix, but it's still well thoughtful for its place here. Creativity I didn't sense much that breathed in much life into the track, although I feel that some of the accompaniment variance has managed to help on that aspect; it would have helped to involve some more creative aspects on that field to be able to match. The sections link together pretty fluently, although I would have wanted to see more fluency taken towards how some of the backing sounds left and entered their parts of the mix. There's some fresh pacing work within the feel of the genre, which may fit okay if you're into electronica; not sure if it will be able to remain itself at a stale pace after a few listens, but it's still not bad. Even here, repetition is a qualm as shown with the repeated melody line in the second riff and a lot of riff recycling brought throughout the piece, so don't be afraid to change of some of the measures to help create a lightly more exciting song. I could recommend it to some people who are into electronica, but outside from there I can't really think it'll fit too well. It's still interesting if you want to hear a small sample of what OCR was like in its elder days. Production The samples feel retro-like to say much; I feel that some of the synths that were incorporated sounded like default FL loops, although much of which have been programmed in a reasonable fashion to help go against that. The EQ range could have been given a light looking into though; some of the material sounded to be mid-range dependant, so don't be afraid in thickening out the sounds some more. I managed to see that the sounds taken were well thought out with the release and delay effects that came on cue. The encoding of the instruments isn't bad and I can admit that, but there's something about the drums that feel a bit faint; they sound like a NES kit, so I'm sure a boost in EQs or a change in samples may make them sound a bit more realistic. One quirk I've noticed about this was how the leveling was done; I actually dig the volume taken into account here, although it would be advised to turn down the melody a bit and bring in the drums and bass to help round it off. I can admit I was pleased with the panning techniques taken what with the effects and instrument positions n board. I would have wanted to hear some cleaner distinguished positions though, but this is still neat. So yeah, there are some elements that have aged well, and some that have aged not too well, but it's still not bad to take on board. --- I have to chip in and say that I preferred Prot's incarnation over this, with the main reasons linking towards the vast difference in compositional and production depth. It's still pretty decently levelled out and thought over for what it is, but with attention to a more polished sound this would work well as a stronger mix. I don't think it's painful to listen to as such; that's better off being saved for his Fear Factory mix. nonetheless, it'll be interesting to see him get back in touch with the site sometime soon, and I'm sure he'll be able to take his arrangement ideas to that next level, I assure you

I actually dig a lot of Prot's DKC2 contributions, which were some of the first mixes that I ended up downloading here being a big fan of the Donkey Kong series during my youth. He's been able to take the source material and transform them into works of musical art that have adapted to the feel of the stage, so that can be of a reflective interest. Naturally, this mix is no different. I hope to drop in my opinions relating to this one --- Remix There are a lot of links to the original in terms of tone, ambiance and melodic input, so that should do well to make the DKC gamer feel right at home. Its execution can be seen to be very fluent for something as laid back as this, so there's nothing too much wrong there. The theme's been played around a lot as well as involving a lot of innovative and creative melody aspects being sent down the line too. Generally the structuring of what he has integrated was very well done in terms of what has been held. Although if there's something that has ended up making me feel a little bit uneasy it would relate to the lack of a climax aside from the distorted guitars at the end, although for me that can be seen as more of a nitpick. But heck, given the strong amount of potential and structuring qualities through this I can say that its linking towards the feel of the stage and the intended atmosphere when shown have easily made this a track that has stood alone from the source material. Even today it's difficult to find a mix that can rival against it. Creativity I managed to see he has helped to give in a lot of life to the song with broadening out on much of the original melodies showcased here; it may fit well if you're a fan of the genre but they may not grasp you with strong essences of nostalgia if you've been into more of this user's material. The sections generally link well; given the ambient and laid-back nature everything blends into one another that easily the casual listener will almost fail to notice. While not too repetitive in its own right some of the moods can become tiresome, and with some of the earlier chord progressions that could have been a hindrance here, but those that can be able to look beyond the quirk that lied here they should be in for a reflective basis to help ease in his creative approach here. Mind you, I appreciate a wide amount of what came around in this and I expect no less from what Prot has layered down; can't say it's his most expansive work to date but it's still very good stuff should you want to see into some of his material. Production As is often expected from Protricity his sound font bank here is of a very powerful quality even for a mix of its time; I can't say I'm not really much of a fan of synth guitars, but the programming behind them have been able to link them very close towards the energy driven towards the real thing. The EQ and sound processing is what I think sells it more than anything - here it's well balanced with a good combination of ambience, strong EQ applications and mechanical distortion to easily showcase his visions throughout the track. The recorded swamp sounds are well thought out in terms of looking into it, although if you have the sound right up at the beginning you'd hear that some of the sound seems to fade out a bit too quickly instead of ringing on like ambience usually might. For me that should be nothing more than a nitpick, although it could be worth taking note of. I can say that the leveling out of those sounds as well as much of the dynamic work granted throughout - no matter how subtle - have been well realized in providing a professional quality towards his target audience. The panning is also generally thought out in terms of adding atmosphere; would have wanted to hear a bit more going on to the left hand side of the stereo field early on to balance both sides up, but this is still nothing much to panic about after prolonged listens. Therefore, for a piece of its age it came forth as a strong effort, and for that I feel rather satisfied over what has managed to come around here; well done. --- For an elder track I actually feel it’s aged really well, and it’s more than the nature of the source material that has come around. I appreciate much of the mood-based tendencies as well as a lot of the creative garbs as shown upon the general arrangement. I feel they have helped in maintaining the feel of the mix while at the same time adding a more expansive quality to it. I can’t say that much of the compositional quantities and technical aspects aren’t quite as up there as some of his more epic materials that he has showcased across the web, but it was still a well thought out listen for what it was. Prot may call me a fag for writing this, but I don’t care – the bottom line is that I enjoyed it and I hope he’ll come back with fresh mixes soon

Awesome, I had this mix on my hard drive for a while now and it's still cool to take in. Vurez has been able to take the source material, maintain the atmosphere that it held and showcase his own unique incarnation of it. In fact, much of his stylistic approaches to the Mega Man 6 score was of a very powerful interest to me and it's good to be able to see some of which come over here too. Neat-o. This mix was lucky enough to receive my last ever review at VGMix before my strike over there, so it's best to quote it back here again: I can admit that the judges' commentary was an amusement to me; Darkesword may have thought we were of a "chill bias" but the adaptation of the theme was firm enough to make it stand its position on the site in a very firm stance. Comparing it to the mixes i've heard from Vurez so far (mainly his Ys stuff and some of his other Mega Man material) I found it to be one of his better produced efforts as well as being much broader on theme scope than a good chunk of his Ys-based material on offer. I understand that he likes using an acoustic guitar in every mix, but I feel the attack could have been a bit more subtle to make it fit in a bit more, likewise with some stronger attention to dynamics at the end. but otherwise, I realy dig what managed to come around of all this and therefore it's a well deserved welcome onto the site for Vurez. Way to go, hermano

Just was when I was getting into J! Groove... To bring my thoughts about this in a nutshell, I'm actually surprised with what came around. Seeing Joshua go towards the realms of laid-back house has done well to broaden upon his musicianship while going as far as showing every ounce of his creative stamina into the composition. I actually thought the transitions and basic technical input were a very, VERY big improvement in comparison to his recent Double Dragon 3 work (which like I emphasized I ended up digging it); add to the time of the week this has been uploaded and I think everyone should agree that it's one of those tracks to easily uplift your spirit for the weekend. Good call. I also have my fair share of in-depth commentary to match, mind you: --- Remix Having almost mixed the tune myself, I can sense that it's got some strong familiarities to the source material in chord progressions and melodic structure, although much of the pieces that made the original seemed to have been disconnected and reformed to generate a refreshing variation for the site. In terms of execution I'm down with much of what has managed to come down with his contributions here - fitting for the genre while at the same time doing well to attract its audience that way. Even through there I noticed variations on the theme by a lot of rhythmic reincarnations when appropriate as well as some additional melodic patterns to help broaden on that aspect of the track. Generally the structure for this is also well done to adapt to what's here; if there's anything that seemed to blemish the arrangement somewhat it’s what I think is a lack of an introduction, if not the fact that it seemed to be a bit sudden coming in with a full accompaniment set getting through straight away. Outside from there I feel that the listener is in for a smooth ride all the way through, and - no offense to djp or anyone else who covered the Marble Zone theme in the past - I feel this has to be one of the best variations of said BGM granted in a long while. Creativity A lot of the improvisations caught my eye, especially with most of the later ones that have helped to add to a further reflective garb; one that managed to grab my interest more than ever was the doubling up with the strings at 3:30. Given the general laid back atmosphere for the whole thing the linking together of the individual components of the track are that seamless you'd barely notice what's happening; I was hoping for some steadier drum transitions though but that's probably nothing more than a nitpick. In terms of a fresh pace I would have wanted to hear some more diverse arrangement going on within the accompaniment to match the mighty potential as shown in the melody lines, although that could be a light blemish to fit within a piece like this. Fortunately enough there isn't much to consider repetitive in this especially through a song that has been more dependant on groove; can be argued that some of the percussion riffs could have been a bit more varied but there's enough techniques lying towards backing variation and progressive layering to help make that less of a quirk. So I can say that when going through the mix, I feel that Joshua has been able to pull out a fair amount of surprises in terms of compositional technique to surprise his target audience, which I feel have worked well to make it worthy of its direct posting; heck, I felt that much of the creative aspects here are more accessible to me than were in J! Groove, so that can be saying something. Production The samples are very slick and fitting for the genre, especially with much of the synths and backing instrumentation; I can't say I'm much of a fan of the piano though as I feel that to make it sound a bit more like a realistic instrument it could have been given a softer attack, although it's still got its moments when executed down the line. Much of the sound spectrum wanted to aim towards low EQs and sounds, which I feel has done well to add to the jazz-like sound that he was looking for with his work; if anything I would have wanted more reverb on the chromatic instrumentation but that's probably just me. I found the encoding to fit very well - not many problems in terms of the overall clarity, so that's firm to know. The sound levels are generally well executed here in terms of sound balance, although I would have wanted a little bit more attention towards the drums and bass to match with some of the other instruments. And going towards the panning techniques, all the instruments have been identified in a crisp and clean fashion at their appropriate places around the field, all in a firm balance to help make that part stand out. My criticisms for this aspect of the mix aren't saying that I'm not too hot with this area, because I thought it was still well done while fitting the scopes of the genre; with a bit of closer attention to the "realistic" instrumentation and their processes it might have stood up to be a bit stronger. Otherwise, this is just fine. --- I actually dig a lot of what came together with this. Gecko's right in saying that Hosue needed to be taken seriously in a mix, and Joshua here has done just that while in the same time showing a creative spin on a commonly covered theme in the first Sonic title. (and before you state otherwise, just look at the flood of those mixes at VGMix.) Some of its areas for improvement seem to show in the technical side, although those that can look beyond that will be able to see into a very charming mix from start to finish. So yeah, it's good to see Joshua get back in the habit. Let's hope he comes forth with more material in the future, whether it's here, at the Urbanizm project or otherwise

Awesome; i'll definitely be waiting patiently for that Mind you, what I fear more than anything is the June 4th Pimp Selections; you know that wasn't my best of weeks in more ways than one >.<

Heck yes, everyone loves Bladiator And as far as i'm concerned, I too grew to love it when I first saw its release. Although on a different method of recording his performance this time around he has been able to develop a cleaner recording than Chopinesque Kirby while at the same time still maintaining much of the character that made it possible. This mix gets the VGmix Revisited™ treatment from me:- Going towards the judges' thoughts on all this they seem to be rather ecstatic over the contribution; I feel for them, although I would have thought that the rather synthetic piano sound would have ended up throwing a curveball towards them in terms of mixing quality. But I have to agree with them that there's just as much character as there was in his Kirby debut here, which I feel has essentially granted Blad with his deserved title of "Friendly Neighbourhood Piano Bastard". Well done Karl, and don't give up in making Paige fall for you!

Dhsu, if you do establish your songs, it's good to see you make it on this end of the project And Usa, I managed to see into your fourth "baby WIP". Now I see where you're coming from with your changes of moods throughout the piece; somehow i'm of interest in seeing how much of it will go around. You may need to be a bit more cautious with your transitions from major to minor though; seemed to feel a little bit sudden here, although... yes, i know, it's a baby WIP O.o Let's see this project keeping on moving, people!

Well yeah, as far as i'm concerned it's definitely got its fair share of SNES nostalgia. I feel much of the vicious intensions as shown by the backing instrumentation as well as the overall atmospheric touch here. I do have my reasons in saying that this isn't necessarily Mazedude's best work, although it does work well if you're a fan of the game. To broaden the scopes further, I have a full writeup for this mix:- --- Remix For much of the mix's structure it has high recognizable tendencies taken towards the source; can be shown to be a bit too reliable to it but it still has its own moments to make it work out. Some people may feel a bit quirky over the execution here; in the original the shifting chord progressions in the opening half of the theme showed the melodic riff going up by 3 semitones each time, however Mazedude has gone as far as bringing it up by 2 instead. This could stir up some people, however I actually like the idea behind it. That has helped to show some added creativity when it came to processing the theme structure alongside the ending, but outside from there I couldn't find much else to catch the audience's eye. For that purpose the arrangement structure followed the target material a bit too closely, although the climatic ending structure did have a good attempt at saving it here. It definitely succeeded for me in concept, although if anything could be improved there I would prefer to see the strings fade out at the end instead of being cut off at the end of the file. Going through here, while this isn't the most brash of Norfair interpretations in concept some of the tendencies taken to vary the theme around has made it fare well as a pretty good but conservative incarnation. Creativity Aside from the different structuring of the melodic progressions I didn't notice much that seemed to take interest to me through this side of the track to start off with, so that can be seen as a moderately disappointing aspect on that field. Fortunately, the sections link together pretty well in maintaining the original’s known vicious atmosphere even through its rather conservative variation format. However because of that latter point, there's not much to consider "fresh" given its cover-like status although some of the backing instrument choices have managed to help vary the instrument selection on that field. Even through here, repetition can be seen as a moderate quirk for some given that some of the rhythmic performances seem to struggle to vary too much, although for some that just want a clean arrangement that shouldn't be seen as too much of a problem. In terms of the tilt factor it may fit well if you're a Metroid fan and want more characteristic listening, although in terms of fitting for the casual listener's attention I've seen some stronger efforts from Mazedude. It's not bad though. Production Some of the ambient percussive sounds chosen were very good for what they were, although what I think seems to spoil it here is some of the MIDI-like nature on some of the sounds like the synths and choir sample. In terms of sound clarity, the sound channels feel a bit muffled thus showing minimal attention to utilizing EQs; I also wanted to see more reverb onto some of the melodic sounds to make it fit with the moody atmosphere it was looking for but for much of the time the processing on the sounds is okay. What I think killed the track more than anything was the encoding; there was definitely a lot of material going on, but at 128kbps all the way through it was difficult to sense many of which being able to stick out at its clearest form. The sound leveling is generally okay for what it was in terms of mix presentation, although one thing that I found as a light qualm is towards some of the melodic and accompaniment instrumentation - it sounds as if much of them are competing against one another on which should lead the entire way. Mind you, the panning has been realized well with the percussion space granted throughout, although here I personally wanted to hear some bolder texture work to be able to see it fit. So while I can say the production techniques aren't the best seen here there's some interesting concepts to be able to fit in the menacing tendencies taken towards that stage of the game. Not bad. --- Bringing the track into a nutshell, it's got its moments to appreciate for the Metroid fans at heart as well as being true to the feel of the theme. What I think brings it down more than anything is its quirky production qualities and the rather conservative arrangement approach here; not quite something i'd look for in a mix, but it's understandable given that it's 4 years old. Nonetheless, I found it to be an interesting blast from the past to take a gander into from Mazedude, and who knows; maybe in the future I'd see into a bit more of his prolific material I hope he comes back with another mix or two soon.

Haha, I know that chth's been waiting a lot for this mix's posting Ironically so i wasn't too hot on Fleeting Ecstacy, but with what came out here I felt that little bit more impressed with the material he has came forth on offer. And as djp said, this is solid proof that chth is a budding musician upon the site, pure and simple. Heck, I was even there for the mix upon its initial VGMix posting. i'll quote it here for full emphasis - In my own personal opinion, I find it to be one of chth's best works in his mix backlog to date; there's a lot of stronger production work applied throughout as well as a fair amount of compositional creativity to be able to make it adapt onto the site. Even the new things really caught my eye! But even here I still feel shaky over some of the transitions from one texture into another; there were a few that seemed to feel rather sudden for what they were, although that can be fair in saying that it's tough to blend in happiness and sadness into one mix. I also felt it was a tad bit liberal in some areas, but it's still firm enough to appeal to its audience. So yeah, as far as I'm concerned it's a pick-up for me, and it's a long-awaited return here for chth. Let's hope to hear more from you in the future, whether it's on the Kirby project, other releases here or otherwise

Alright, I'm ready to comment on those two WIPs Link: Although brief, it's still got a fair amount of promise with the opening statuses here. But I have to agree with much of what's been said already by thinking that the lead into the drums could have been a bit smoother. I'm still appreciating much of the concepts so far, and it should work out once everything starts to fill out. Usa: You completely surprised me; I was expecting a piano solo, although a party anthem is just as interesting In the brief minute the incorporation of the theme is shown to be imaginative, and has managed to add to your diverse moods within your music. There are two things I need to state here though - firstly I'd say it needs some light dynamic processes. In other words, some of the more realistic instrumentation like the brass and the backing percussion could have done with reverb to better fit the room ambience. Depending on the software you work with, you can link the sounds up with a good range of VSTi's (or export the waves individually, apply the reverb in your wave editor and import it back into the mix that way) to make them sound more interesting in terms of granting ambience. Secondly, you sould also think of humanisation; the samples are rather cool for what they were, but some of the sequences feel a bit mechanical. That can be altered with varying attack times, release times, note lengths, velocities (most importantly of all!) and timings. But this is good stuff coming out so far; it'll be interesting to see what else you can do. --- Whew... relaxation time. And no way, ABBA are not dead; they're just in a heavy hiatus that may never cease. Oh well...