Rexy

Hearing this track as well as Dr Manhattan's contributions to the series have done some good things to exposure for Sunset Riders within the community in the past year, and I feel glad to hear that approach for lesser-known territory. So the arrangement may be kind of straight forward with the placement of the melodies in a more contemporary setting that might be expected from pop tracks a few years ago, but for the most part it works well. Considering that chunks of the Mountain source were in 15/4 timing, you did well to adapt it to the straight 4/4 setting. What managed to drop my jaw even more were the convincing synth guitars; I'm no fan of synth guitars at all as they're often too difficult to emulate just right, but the programming done with them really gave the track a surprising lift in regards to the production processes. However I'm going to have to be with the sentiment expressed about the awkward fake brass at the end; not the most convincing sample out there, but it was manipulated fine enough to still maintain that human feeling. For next time I may suggest layering the brass with other samples and see how it comes out; it should be able to give it a more layered approach. All in all, a great track coming from you - so great up to the point that (as stated in another thread) it introduced a friend of mine to OC Remix as a whole! Let's hope you keep up the effort on future works, and maybe even continue to shine spotlights on lesser-appreciated VGM

Given that the original was already kind of creepy and room-like, it might be an expectation to look towards it when seeing the words "gothic lounge" in the mix description. When hearing the mix though I managed to sense something a little more frantic and exotic in nature - definitely not a bad thing given the gentle articulations going across the track. I got to say I love the syncopated piano writing at 1:05 and later on at 3:08; tends to give it more of a latin jazz kind of feel to the already lounge-like soundscape. And even with the choice of instruments it manages to fit appropriately with the nature of the source while still maintaining that laid back touch that we often expect with DarkeSword's modern-day writing style. Solid work all around, and let's see you keep up the pushing for volume 2

For all the C64 coverage I often see around here, it's rare that I see someone taking it in a more symphonic direction - fits the title really appropriately. The dynamic work is very solid - when it gets quiet it really shows its subtleties just fine, and with some articulations in place it starts to show life; I give a huge amount of credit to the string work here, very convincing work going on with those. I've also been meaning to invest in the WIVI sounds for some time, and while the woodwind work has shown itself to fit very appropriately for the track, I kind of feel torn about the brass with the near-constant attack for them. Thankfully they've been handled well within the setting; a more straightforward setting (2 riffs and an ending) than I might expect for more recent mixes but still shining well on VGM otherwise undercovered. I might look into the sample bank once my wallet fills up again, though things might change as the future moves in. Nonetheless, definitely a more different light in the field of C64 coverage, and I'm hoping you'll get to contribute to the site again in the future

Taking into consideration that the original was already kind of minimalist in structure (albeit with more distorted synths), it may have fitted firm enough to something quite minimalist. And while I must admit it's not quite as busy as Mattias's other works, there's definitely a lot given to the backing elements like the piano intro, wobble bass and appropriate ambience work throughout. The arrangement generally feels quite straightforward for the most part, though given the nature of the source it does well enough in working with what's available and adding that twist to it. I'm not sure about you but for some reason when playing it through the Youtube preview I sensed this sudden dryness past 2:10 that could be mistaken as elements of clipping; not sure if that may be a distractant or not, but the cut-offs here at that point give that slight uneasy conclusion. If it's not clipping, then I might as well have to say to watch for your gates at times to try and prevent that illusion. But hey, you're Mattias and I can always trust you to refine details like that. All in all, definitely a more different piece from Mattias, and I hope you keep representing more undercovered games in future remixing endeavours

It's not a bad feel if we're going for something more laid back (something I personally may not quite expect from the Top Gear series, so credit where credit is due). Pleasantly worked out in regards to writing (if not simplistic), and I thought the echoed piano, while a little crudely done, was actually a clever touch to the instrument spacing. Yet, the track to me kind of feels very straightforward in structure, not to mention sounding somewhat dated in the sound selection, most notably looking towards the saxophone sample here. Thus to me it feels somewhat dated in comparison to some of the other 2002 tracks, so in spite of some good ideas it just came off as a bit bland, sorry :\

Arrangement-wise, the melody may feel straight forward but the chords have been given some change from the original versions of the anthem (all three of them o_O). The little ambient breakdown at 2:12 managed to add in some increased scope as well; helped try and shift things around a little bit. I do have to be with the same sentiment that aside from being drawn towards a groove or the efforts with the source material there's not a lot else going on production-wise. But whether it's a good thing or bad thing or not remains to be seen - it remains accessible for those unfamiliar with the game, can be seen as nostalgic for those that have played the game, and is a pretty decent newcomer mix unleashed here. Juha, I hope you'll take everything you've learnt from the process and keep making tracks in the future; by what I've seen of you here, I am sensing a good amount of potential. So keep at it

It was great watching these back Thanks again Lidawg for making all this happen! In addition, Larry gave us our regards in the latest edition of Nitro Game Injection! Shoutout is 41 minutes in. (i.e. it's during the segment where Larry does the dishes live on air )

Yeah, from what I'm noting either they want their source melodies to be clearer or they want something more 'fun' (hint hint: Liquid Metal ). I'm still going to keep trying my best, even though it somehow saddens me sometimes that even more creative entries get shunted due to unpopular genres. Either way, I am so late on some light pitch bends in there; I'll get them in this updated wip now: http://instaidgrace.com/freqrexy/junk/rootofallthings-ocrver-wip6.mp3 On that note, given the pointers from the transition to demos 4 and 5, I believe this is now ready for a mod review. I'm all set for all the feedback I can get

Sent my first WIP out to both of you guys. I'm 4 days late though, but hopefully due to Saturday's panel it can be excused >_>

I remember being fond of Jivemaster's work back in the day, though knew him moreso for doing upbeat electronica, so I guess I was surprised to see him go into a rock-driven edge. Here we got something quite quirky here, strangely artistic due to the clashing intro/rest-of-the-song and significant lack of melody (might be down to the source), but with what's been placed in production-wise (like with the flanging wahs every now and again) had managed to give in a good lift for its time. In comparison to even his earlier material it doesn't seem to have that punch or memorability factor to it in regards to concept, but it's still kind of okay if not a little stale.

Strangely, when I first heard the track I thought due to the acoustics and room space it would be more compared to Eric Johnson, though having heard Satch's "Rubina" I guess I could see the comparison now. It doesn't change the fact that the performance here definitely takes Sixto in a more different light - gentle, more interpretive, and yet still shows his versatility as a guitarist. I really dig the chorus effect work on the tone early on; for me it adds a lot towards the atmosphere and really reflects on this twilit tone going towards it. You may say what you like about the source usage, but I heard Gate of Your Dream and the referenced parts of Dream Dreams just fine for most of the track, or at least up until the solo at the 4:30 mark. I say the recognisability is there, and I am sure that's a key component of Sixto's arrangement style even if it's not quite as straightforward as we'd usually expect (not a bad thing at all ). So, definitely one of thost more 'different' tracks from Sixto but for me it paid off by being one of the strongest tracks on Lucid Dreaming. Nice going

Glad to see there's another female taken to the piano This one manages to show off some strong improvisation skills and delicacy/emotion, something that I think is a good key component in a solo piano arrangement of this caliber. I can see it capturing the forest in a more peaceful state, and that's been affected well with the way the whole thing was presented. Two things I may have to say though - while the performance was very spot on, the ambience might be questioned here as there doesn't seem to be much of it in comparison to other solo piano tracks I've witnessed. But it's not so much of a dealbreaker with a track as gracefully played as this. I may also see it getting quite the comparisions to Doc Nano's "Dancing Leaves" for it also being short and taking the performance in a more abstract way, though in spite of the post time between them both they should still be seen as two sweet visions from two similarly skilled artists, and should if ever be seen as more of a coincidence. Hopefully you'll return to the site soon with future works - I appreciate this one through and through

Alexander Prievert's tracks are often quite quirky for me as they tend to take the production setting in a more experimental way. While this does indeed feel safer to that regard, it still has its quirk with the mid-dependant levelling and the use of a quirky source material (right down to taking all the voice clips that were in it). It's a shame it came by so short, but then again many mixes post-2002 had a tendancy to do that, so for its time it wasn't too bad. It's still another firm side of Prievert on the site, and I hope he makes a return soon if not briefly D:

It's quite an atmospheric source to go for, so I kind of expected something calm to go for here. What I wasn't expecting though was over a minute's worth of intro before going into any form of music, and even then it had its quirky moments with still being intersped with sound effects during the setting. I admit the guitar entrance at 2:40 was pretty cool in concept - gives in a more determined edge towards the writing, though it seems as if the automation is all over the place in regards to the instrument presence (noted mostly when the strings came in). All in all, it sounds like a cool concept, but has weak execution even when measured up to other mixes of its time. Still not too bad though considering the ideas thrown in

When I heard that GaMeBoX was joining in on The Sound of Speed, I ultimately felt overjoyed - LOVED his sfx-manipulation-styled work on Project Chaos, and while the general approach is no different for this one as well the production values have managed to escalate their way to what can be expected from a more modern RnB arrangement. I similarly enjoyed a lot of the cameos in throughout the whole thing too; people may think they may have their inappropriate place, but all the more to flesh out what could be seen as a simplistic source material to begin with. And like many, the Sonic CD shoutout at the beginning was clearly the premature icing on the cake for me, though I can't really fault most of the others going closer towards the end. As a fellow Project Chaos musician, I'm proud to see you alive and well, and am hoping to see you keep throwing in the fresh beats whenever you can

I have fond memories of Rayza's early material when getting used to the site, and even now a good amount of it still had that quality touch now in regards to the production as they did back then - a little dated on the sound choices but they still sound pleasant to hear. Arrangement wise this plays very straight-forward (riff/original section/riff again), though the drop to the solo synth at 1:22 surprised me in regards to the direction taken. Overall it's a very light and happy way of writing, and one that could easily lose the listener in thought - thus in spite of it obviously showing its age, I quite dig this

While I do see where people are coming from, I do tend to see something equally as problematic if a track originally from an album is released onto the site in a revised form. I've noticed this on OCR's Facebook on one occasion, which they were all "past mixposts from the past month either didn't interest (them) or were already from an album", not even taking the revision to account. That to me makes me feel equally distraught over what appears to be this review draft forming on the site. But I can understand that some album tracks as mixposts aren't getting their dues because people are just going to grab the albums as a whole rather than singling out various tracks. Then again, mixposts in general don't seem to be getting their dues either for what I assumed was simply a change in listener climate (i.e. more and more people seem to comment on the mixes through Youtube these days). We can do all we want to try and remedy this, and I remember VGMix being in a similar boat in regards to track feedback while it was running, but I'm pretty sure it's all down to the changing Internet climate and can be seen more as a question of how to adapt to it.

Being a fellow pianist I'm always game to see other blood come to bat, and to do something that meshes together two source materials in quite an affective counterpoint-driven way is definitely a good way to go. I can feel a light jazz piano here influence here, which managed to work in regards to the performance and left hand writing. To consider that this was actually written in Finale and not exactly a live performance astounds me; very few piano writers of that caliber have been able to make something sound as realistic as that (two people I can think of that handle piano sequences like that are Kevin Stephens and trickwaters, still worth checking out too). True, it may still have its grid-locked spots that don't quite give in as much freedom to the expression as it should, but I'm assuming that would come down to the nature of the software. It can be a good consideration to see such touch-ups could be done through a DAW's key editor, but otherwise I'm still cool with how it came down. All in all, a very sweet arrangement, and it's done a world of good for OCR's solo piano representations. Let's hope you don't stop here, Hai

You know, I love it when an artist takes something in a more different direction, and going for a more latin influenced work on Slash Man definitely worked a charm for The Robot Museum. True, it already is somewhat tropical as it is given the visuals in the stage itself, but to see it advance to this level takes the cake. Even then it manages to fit Morse's trademark style of fitting the melody in a tasteful chord-changed arrangement, while maintaining the funk influences he carried forward. The space is also well utilised and feels a lot like a live performance in a way too; let me say that the flutes in particular here sound very sublime (particularly with the solo at 2:55) and realised and fitted into the soundscape, and even the attention to detail to the instruments have been paid attention to when crafting the stereo space. There's definitely nothing in here for me to fault this time; it's tasteful, unconventional, fits the stage, took the arrangement on its head, and I really dig how it all came out - a somewhat hidden gem on an already fine album, and I hope Morse's experimentation in different genres doesn't stop any time soon

A 3-year-old at a Metallica concert. Gotta admit that part of the writeup was modestly funny. For what it is, it managed to be a decent arrangement; partially true to the source but there's been enough done to the melody to really give it an extra touch. However, the 10 years that have gone by haven't really been too kind to the production, the awkwardly-humanisation-less track and the samples in general. People have managed to handle MIDI banks well and craft something really delicate out of them in the modern era (most notably Iggy Koopa) but with something like this it's shown its age almost too much with the publication. I do recall hearing some more polished material from Sonic Blade over at VGMix since though (most notably that remix medley), so it's not all that bad. I do however think that given the chance he could've been able to refine this so much more in regards to levels and general energy, but for now it's average at best.

That's what I do Katie - I pay attention to the tracks, comparing with the source material and stating what I hear. I even am evaluating these through a new pair of studio headphones too for added clarity, so I can assure you any review I link in here would be longer than just 2 or 3 sentences. And I'm pretty sure others would do the same too - it's the spirit of giving for a reason

Lol, thank you Professor Strader. You know very well I suck with words (hint: consider it edited)

Considering this is from 2002, it's not a bad track; I might've fallen in love with this due to my fascination with the genre at the time. Even then it might've split some people apart with the random sound effects thrown in, but I didn't see it to be too big a distractant. It's a hard source tune to arrange too given that it's mostly groove-dominated, but it's been broken down enough to form enough room for interpretation. Nowadays it may pale now with its more minimalist writing and repetitive nature, but for what it is it sounded pretty decent depending on one's SFX tolerance.

Not a bad remix at all - tends to excel more in the soundscape more than anything else, giving a more modernised approach to an otherwise spacious source material. The voice clips at around 2:30 were decent enough to break away the monotomy, though might be a bit random depending on the game's context. But even then the arrangement remains way too close to the original and humanisation on the more organic instrments present (namely the bells and oboe) feels somewhat absent. It's pleasant to listen to at least, just kind of feels more dated in comparision to even other remixes of its time.

I am pretty much feeling the bass love here, even within the original material; so I can understand how it ended up going for more of a funk approach. While I had indeed heard this source being done to death in the past, the arrangement done ended up taking it in a much fresher direction than what I'd normally expect with people that attempted it, complete with some quality live instruments that even bear a light Hendrix influence in a way. Very neat. I'm gonna have to say though that you may need to watch your timing a big with the wah; sometimes it may end up coming a bit loose, particularly going past the 2 minute mark. Though, after hearing some of your later works I've heard that you've been making steady improvements to your writing, so it may not be too much of a big deal. Generally I dig the direction, and let's hope to hear more bass-centric work (whether in this style or not) from your end Austin, whether solo or with the OC Plaid Muffins