Rexy

Eh, I may be prominent on the keys but I'm not entirely a Square-based player. But I can see it working for Dhsu's way of performance easily. I thought it would be hard to see it being interpreted just by the minimalism of the source material, but sometimes minimalism works best for sources like this. It starts off well being this dark and delicate interpretation of the source, with merely nothing but booming low octave notes supporting the notes. That minimalism was similarly maintained with the gentle hammered chords consisting of a fair chunk of the middle. There had been some more dynamic parts thrown in well, notably with bringing in the Chrono Cross "Dead Sea" source on the left hand at 1:20 being a genius way of expanding the soundscape that had been done, and the octave trills steadily building it into a more dynamic nature close to the 3 minute mark if only for a few moments. The last minute can be seen as a major highlight in regards to performance, really building it up on the left hand while supporting the melody and fitting in a sweet Prelude cameo to take the track back the way it started with the low booming octave notes. It's sparse, it fits the mood and I like it - that's how I associate Dhsu's style. Personally I would've said get Mustin to do your piano render instead of zircon, because from what I heard it sounds as if the note attack is too soft for a piece like this, and I felt it would work better on Mustin's pianos from what I later heard in the Tales project simply because they had this more dynamic punch that would've emphasized the dynamics tenfold. But that would be me and my tastes, I'm guessing. Still a beautiful performance for a more obscure FF7 source, and I'm game to see how Dhsu would keep going as a performer in the time to come. I still love you man

Recalling the source material, I can see it working well for Dj Redlight's more chilled stylings which were made similarly evident with future submissions to the site (particularly with Descent II "Revelation"). And it managed to do so now, playing moreso with overlapping the core melodic compents over a more laid back sole-chord progression. There's been some good manipulation work with the bass/rhythm/melodic synths that help keep it interesting for its genre too, and with the surprising amount of string expression - even if the strings themselves don't sound convincing as a standalone sample - it has shown that a lot of dynamic attention has been paid attention to. I'd say that it wasn't quite as attention grabbing as some of his later subs, but it's still a very firm way of working with the source material, and a definite insight to the roots of how Dj Redlight had developed during his time. Hopefully we'd get to see him back here soon

This one manages to follow the original pretty well with this nice more laid back groove. For its time, that's actually some very strong envelope work being done towards the trombone (and later on the high trumpet slides) and some even more charming echo part on the rhodes. The samples themselves may have aged somewhat, but for what they are they ended up giving the atmosphere of the track a ridiculous amount of character, complete with an appropriate amount of hall room for themselves that helped fill in some space for its time. Originally I wasn't really too keen with the minimalist drum writing and some of its weird syncopated transitions, and they tended to irk with me more when it's just that and the bass, but some of the additional source writing outside of that was actually very tasteful and complimented the setting. In spite of its shortcomings, the ageing on this one felt a little more graceful on this one, and with some classy enveloping (a lot of it established on otherwise not-so-stellar samples) that even felt rare for its time we have something that's fun and works. I'm digging this one

Back in the day, Kaijin had this quality of being able to work out these mellow tracks wonderfully. It may show its age now simply because of MIDI soundcard limitations, but what he did managed to show some good expression and interpretation for its time. With the Silver Star Story version coming in at 0:46 and the jazz guitar lead, later being utilised for the regular Silver Star version later on in the track, people may not quite be too sure about the quality of it, but I felt that that's actually some good sustain/decay work done towards it for its time; may not sound convincingly like the real thing, but it's something that works well. Even the little homage to Dale North right at the end, referencing "Dale Loves Mia" (not on OCR though ), was also a cute way to finalise it, especially considering both artists are in the Bad Dudes camp. So I'd say it's short but sweet; a charming take on a non-square RPG source, showing its age now due to structure and production techniques, but can still be worth looking into if you feel fond about Kaijin's work

Having thought fondly of 8-Bit Instrumental since Kyle's exposure of them on Nitro Game Injection, I'm good to see what they did here. This to me feels like a medley of 3 different songs, though credit where credit is due for making all the different segments as varied as each other. Safe as they may be, seeing the difference in style across all three themes made them all worthwhile. The first rockability section definitely had a lot of ideas packed in in regards to the performance stylistically, and definitely had some fun ideas especially with the panned pull-offs near the end of it. Didn't seem to cite any real problems with the performance there. I did however find the timing a little more problematic with the dark second segment, especially when following after the wah guitar section at 2:30, though again it managed to make up for with some strong ideas, especially in regards to processing ideas and drum performance. Thankfully that segment got tighter as it went on and showed more polish as a performance from the 3 minute segment onwards. And with the surf guitar finale at 5:08, it may still have its looseness and I even thought the lead guitar was a little overdone on the echo time, but again it's a fun idea that managed to work well charismatically. I may be somewhat critical about this one, but for a track that's bursting with ideas and creative flow, I dig it a lot. And it's even harder to get a bunch of real musicians working on sync, though that's one key thing that may be looked at in regards to 8-Bit Instrumental's future works - the field of studio engineering, to give it less of a garage band sound. But I know that they can make ideas work as a whole group, and so I hope they'll keep submitting material in the future

Again, not too familiar with the source, so I guess all I can do is just listen. Considering the sounds ended up coming out from a keyboard's soundbank (something that I admit that I used to do often x_X), it doesn't actually sound too bad, and it was indeed noted with some good expression on the bass synth. Outside from that, it seemed to feel rather quiet and minimalist; layering instruments would've easily helped give this one some added life, as well as doing any added processing on the sounds themselves. As it was for its time, it sounds fun and cute, but in regards to production technique it ended up suffering from the rising age moreso than some of the others from that era. It's still decent enough for fans of the game to check out, though that may be just about it.

Another 2001 track that I should probably go easy on in regards to arrangement standards. Indeed it starts out as a safe harpsichord adaptation of the source, but by the time the beat comes in (Rave party?! ) the focus does indeed shift to something more energetic while again still fitting with the source. I like that it manages to just mostly use the on-beat notation of the melody as opposed to the whole one; simple as it may be, but it works well in the context of the genre. It's not without its issues in regards to the writing though - the repetitive drum beat may be put aside simply because of its age, but then again I'm not too fond of the rhythm synth at 1:45 - it's nice and chippy sure, but I would've hoped for it to fit more with the chord structures of the track. Similarly the same can also be said wht the bass synth at around 2:30 - it's some nice variation, but it doesn't seem to fit in with the soundscape with that low a texture in the track. And also, rave fadeouts. Not a fan of them, it just cuts the energy off too quickly. But then again, your mileage may vary. For its time it definitely isn't a bad Wizards & Warriors entry, though in regards to the writing and strcucture it's really starting to get old. You could at least check it out if you're a fan of the game/source, though just be mindful with its stance as an early entry into the site.

Happy Christmas! Yes, it wasn't a white Christmas out here in the UK either (though we did have a hint of light snow last week), but with halc at the wheel it could soon be made whiter than Larry contracting the flu. So it starts out very different from the source with the rhythm part providing a different set of chords, before going into a more faithful adaptation of the source. And for the second go-around at around 1:30 it does start playing with a lot more melodic ideas that show his ways of improvisation. Even the ending felt gentle with the slightly thinner texture (made up for with some incredible stereo shifting work) going into the second phase of the melody, and the filtering out at 2:54 was neat too; a very subtle way to end the track and I dig it. Though, this track's guilty of having too much silence at the end - 10 seconds at that. I admit, I'm guilty of this too on one of my own subs, but it might be a fishy oversight for the casual listener. So in terms of halc arrangements, he had definitely stepped up arrangement-wise since this one, but it managed to stand the test of time well with the way the simple chiptune synths were handled and processed as they are. A very appropriate Christmas submission, so way to go

Well I didn't mean to force it down after what I stated x_X but eh, links are links, and thanks either way. If I'm remembering, we're coming into the late 20s (o__O). I'll tab up again once I review halc's latest. [EDIT: 27 reviews remaining. And I guess the fight now is more likely going to reach . ]

Merry Christmas, y'all! I felt good spending time with my family and various parts of my extended family, and there's still more to go by as the week goes on. True, didn't quite go as planned as we usually go to THEM but it ended up being the other way round and thus they end up leaving a bit early, but it was still fine. The one gift that I wanted this year was Rayman Origins, and I got it, and am doing well with it so far; about 30+ electoon cages broken out of nearly 250 on the first day, and I'm still game to see what I can do. Possibly the most hilarious present I opened was a puppet of Soo from The Sooty Show; I had puppets of Sooty and Sweep when I was younger and I STILL have them now, though I never had a proper Soo; had to make shift a regular panda puppet in the past. But seeing that simply left me in hysterics One that similarly got a hilarious amount of use was a Stylophone that was hidden away in the presents. A simple little thing, but it still feels very flexible and may find its uses somewhere; maybe not any serious remixes, but still. So yes, hopefully many others had solid Christmases as well, and still will be

Wrong game, Neblix. The Wily Gauntlet is THAT WAY. *points to Competitions forum* And yes, I admit it must've been a spur of the moment thing, and people can review what they want. But it's a part of my character that's difficult to change; it may take some time, mind.

There's a key reason why i particularly think less of myself - i could work so hard on providing quality arrangements for the people, but if they get passed by like a blur - just like BOTH of my recent releases - then the message i get is that i suck and should just quit everything. So basically i have no opinion on myself simply because of past experiences. Personally i don't care if it came off as a rant, but i'm just really annoyed by this right now and i have nowhere else to vent. But yes, less than 40 reviews. We'd defeat OA, but at the cost of a handful of underdogs

Aha, the more we know. I almost suspected that in the beginning but remembered the rhythm guitars in "Real American Hero" and soon thought Will contributed elsewhere. Nice insight

It's Christmas Eve... eve (lol) and we are down to 77 reviews remaining. Let's keep up the progress

Jazz and DnB eh? Different direction to expect from Mustin, but I shall take a look This chord-heavy arrangement could almost be mistaken for something borrowing from some of the rhodes-oriented artists in the Bad Dudes camp, namely Joshua Morse and Diggi Dis (whom coincidentally offered help here), in a good way mind. While it does keep with the source's original structure albeit with segments of the track spliced to fit a more contemporary setting, what seems to be the main charm here is how the track could somehow be so minimalist and yet so engaging; all the gate and phaser manipulations on the drums (and in later parts the organ as well) and the minimal melodic support has contributed to one of Mustin's more interesting productions that I've come and witnessed. The part at 2:30 where the final segment of the Kraid melody was brought down to half-speed was also very cool to see as well. I say this is a worthy Metroid arrangement; experiments with the source without going too far, and even going into territory that we may not expect Mustin to have done. Very classy, I dig this

Well I do see the uncanny resemblance to "Pollyanna", but I honestly swear I didn't reference that. On a slightly related note, music video for those who like that sort of thing.

No Ecto, it's not Earthbound and the wah guitar was panned hard left because it's a rhythm instrument to compliment the rhodes on the hard right. I've been gaining inspiration from a lot of 70s funk on this one, and just flat out trying to make it as silly as possible since I know just being serious about it in round 2 didn't work out.

Cool choice, Shariq. I'll inform Brandon about it right away as he makes the last charge for the BGR

Yes, that's how close the competition is; one minute I'd think "such and such a person should win", the next I'd think completely differently. With orlounge's theory stated above also taken into consideration, you can see how it's been hard for me to pick all week xD For example, right now my first place vote is standing at Rozovian's entry "Halite". I wasn't really won over by the production techniques when I first listened, so it didn't immediately grab my attention, but the way he handled the sources really grew on me over the course of the week and has resulted in a strong collaboration with the rest of the Mega Ballers. Considering that "Solidity" was my first place vote in Round 3, it tells me something of how Rozovian is plowing through the contest. And then there's my current second place vote, "Black Alleycat". That was one that grabbed my attention production wise, but I similarly passed over it because I didn't sense enough Shadow Man on my first few listens (then again my familiarity with Mega Man 3 is a bit faint). But I dig the mood with that one, and it should be something for Amphibious to be proud of, a very consistent performer in this contest

So briefly going back to the source, it may have split people, but to me it does face ease for me to mix. Although, if I want to hear the source as an individual song, I'd be better off citing the Powered Up version. If I had noticed sooner I could've involved some of the added backing elements of that version into the mix, but compositionally it's all too late

According to Facebook, it's k-wix's birthday as well So here's a merry happy returns to one who brings some delicious bass, and one who brings a very different delicious bass.

Entry sent off. There might be some ninja updates between now and tomorrow's deadline, but I'm pretty sure even as it stands, this track would grab the votes in an Enormous Reap.

We have 8 days left to go, and we need 103 more reviews to finish OA off. We can do this!

A minimalist source (5 measures). A studio professional. I can pretty much see a world of good coming out of this one, and major props for Aaron and bLiNd for providing the link! From what I've come to expect from people within Corsten's label, we've got this clean production that manages to work sweepingly well within the field of trance, and can be seen as compared to the cleanliness of Corsten's work himself. I was almost worried that the source might running into a little too much liberality, though given most of the build from the 1 minute mark onward was based around the rhythmic backing strings, and a lot of the buildup was indeed more based around the melody, a lot of the doubts were soon taken out as shown with Saint-Jules's grasping of the site's arrangement standards. This shifting around of elements managed to continue sharply for most of the track's duration too, so I am very firm with the idea it managed to present via delivering that feeling that may indeed lift listeners from reality (hence the appropriate direction). I may have to say it here - my tastes in trance are typically more aggressive than the direction layered out there, but the idea presented was nailed to a T and would easily satisfy fans of the genre. So, a major well done for contributing to the album, and for spreading awareness via this link with studio professionals. I'm hoping one of these days we may see more tracks of that kind of calibre, but for now it's a definite start

Given that the original was some element of oriental minimalism, I can see how it would work in a mix of a similar style, albeit with more precise sounding oriental instruments. It's a tricky one to work with arrangement wise as well, given how there seems to be so little to work with, but what he managed to do was pick apart the rhythm parts and used them as groove foundations for a more expansive electric work complete with chord substitutions to give it that lift. I do indeed sense some Linkin Park influences in there given some of the synth and piano work; does make me think a lot of their methods taken through Meteora and some of the more electric works handled in Hybrid Theory. It's a well-produced effort as well; though it didn't quite excite me as much as the arrangement did, there's definitely been some care and detail made to make the whole setting work. I think we've got a track that may split an audience due to exactly how far you can arrange such a minimalist source, but I quite dig this