Sir_NutS

Not only you picked a legendary game/soundtrack, but also hey, this mix is pretty neat. The synth funk tag caught my attention, and I think the mix delivers on the tag. Gario gave pretty good feedback, but I'll also add to watch your lows and crowding on the bottom end. I think the mix could be cleaner than it is, so mix clarity is an aspect that could benefit from work, specially around 2:50. The eq in general could perhaps be slightly brighter, but that could be subjective. The ending could've been a bit more memorable as well, another area to look into. Overall this is pretty solid and you could do a few more passes to it, but I definitely suggest subbing it. Good luck.

Aluminum? well that's quite the blast to the past, I used to listen to your sm64 remix a lot. Anyhoo, I see the 10 year break wasn't in vain, as your production has indeed evolved for the better. I really liked the sound design on this one, strong drums, and I dig the usage of pitch bending in those vowel-filtered synths. It keeps a dark atmosphere throughout, with a pace that can seem a bit plodding at some spots, but there are some sections that change things up, like the high-energy guitar section. I think the listener could've been eased into this section a bit better, but the transition is not something I think detracts from the track as a whole. In some sections the production isn't perfect, as I hear the drums ducking a bit behind some of the layer of pads and synths at some spots (i.e. 1:35). But there's definitely a lot to like here in the different and varied textures used to build this track. The arrangement can be a point of contention though, as it's very loosely related to the original in some sections, but I think the main elements are recognizable throughout. On a side note, I haven't played this game or heard this soundtrack before, but this source is right up my alley. Nice pick there. YES

Pleasant surprise, this one. I couldn't think how this track could be made into ambient music, but after listening to Eno, and then your track, I can hear how you used his approach to ambient in this remix, and successfully. Just one thing, the white noise coming in at 2:50 has no attack time so it doesn't blend into the rest of the ambience well, it just pops in and sounds more like an error than intentional. If we could contact the artist to fix this, that would be great, @Liontamer. But I'm ok if this goes to the frontpage. YES

Yeah, the issues here are pretty clear. Extremely muddy and wet mix. There's this wishy-washy effect that permeates the track and just affects every other effect you have put on it, from compressors to eq, it's messing up everything. If you want my advice, start from scratch with 0 delay, reverb, long tails, or ambience effects, dimisnish the prescence of your pads, and start adding them back little by little on the parts you think need more depth or sound too empty. Look for reference tracks, reference tracks are a huge help on getting your mix right. Right now everything feels like it's coated in something sticky, even your build-up snare rolls sound muffled. Other than that, I think the choice of lead synth at 2:45 is dubious. I would've expected something with more energy after the pretty decent buildup you crafted before it, but this long attack, brassy synth is a bit of a let down there. Try some other presets that make that section sound like a proper climax. This isn't quite ready yet, IMO: NO

hmm I kinda understand where the remixer is trying to go here. kind of a mix of ideas though, the synthwave beat, bass and vocoded quips kinda clash with the acid filtered synthline and highly detuned stacked saw synths, as it wasn't usual for these two to converge, since they're basically a decade apart in usage. Regardless of the culture clash, the mix is very rough, and needs proper balance, since you are basically losing most of the beat to the bassline. The vocoding was fine, you don't need the phrases to be understandable as they can simply be used as just another instrument and is a technique used in many popular songs. The overall mix feels very dry, with a lack of prioritization in what should be at the front at any given time. Some of the backing harmonies were clashing melodically with the rest of the instruments, such as the bell-like synth at 0:45. I wasn't too sold on the arrangement, as it seemed pretty repetitive, but the production is the major issue here, which needs quite a bit of work to get it over the bar, imo. NO

Wow, I really liked this. Really sweet arrangement, tons of detail, and boy those huge dissonant glissandos are the bomb. This song isn't without issues, as I felt the overal eq'ing wasn't ideal, the percussion sounded a bit muffled and not as crisp as it should, and there was a subdued tone to the whole mix, perhaps a lack of highs and a bit too much of a mid-range bias. But this arrangement is fantastic. YES

This sounds like something you would've heard in OCR back around 2005 or so. The obvious dnb loops, somewhat stiff piano, and not entirely realistic instruments. And I quite liked it. I'll admit, I liked the drum loop on the original more, it's so Michael Jackson it's not even funny. The change in tone from the original to this one is noticeable though, as this is less jazzy, and more ambient and straightforwards. I think more could have been done with the loop, as manipulating a single drum loops into several different ways was what dnb used to be about back in the days. Now with neurofunk and liquid dnb dominating that genre it's mostly about who can get the fattest reese bass or the most snappy, clicky drums, but I digress... some old school dnb and big beat was ALSO about not mangling that loop too much, which is more inline with this song's approach. The arrangement is fine, less complex than the original, but with neat touches like the sax section and that sweet electric guitar lead. Fadeouts make me sad. All in all, I think this is above the bar for me. Like I said it's very old school sounding, if someone had shown me this and told me it's a lost Scott Peeples track from the mid 2000's I would have believed it. And Scott Peeples is the bomb. I think I've digressed enough in this writeout, so: YES

Ah electro swing, a genre I listen to quite a bit (I love the likes of caravan palace, tape five, swing republic, etc.). I think this one could've stand to be more swingy, and the harmony layering, although mesmerizing at moments, it does get quite busy at some spots enough to get slightly confusing. Nevertheless, this is an incredibly deep rearrangement of a very simple source that expands it considerably, while keeping the connection to the source alive and noticeable for the most part, and to top that off, explores a niche genre and executes it fairly well. YES

I really enjoyed the wetness in the backing guitars and pads at first, it sounds really sweet for the first couple minutes, but after that, it just devolves into a very muddy mess. I think the arrangement is great and doesn't need changing at all, but the mix needs some extra work to get some clarity into the busiest sections. Perhaps turning down the reverb, or taking a closer look at the eqing of your backing elements to make sure they're not crowding the mid-lows, or checking you're not compressing too much on the busiest sections. Either way, something needs to be done to make those sections clear-sounding. The performances are on point, and I think this could be brilliant if the mix is executed properly, but that aspect drags it down just below the bar for me. Definitely close, but not quite there yet. I do want to see this on the front page so please consider a revision. NO (Resubmit)

This song will need a new title before posting.

Yeah this track really needs some personality, some spice. The piano is stiff and pretty boring. There are some weird harmonic choices throughout the track, MW mentioned some. I'll add others, such as the sine lead sounding kinda random and not quite in harmony with the rest at 1:23... not sure what it's trying to express there. The final busy section near the end, oddly enough, was harmonically sound IMO. The drums were pretty basic, and repetitive as well. The drums should serve as a base (along with the bass) for your track, help drive it forward and add/take away energy, but you should also consider them proper instruments that should add variety and intricacy to your arrangement. I think this needs more to elevate the track from its generic status to something we would like to post. NO

I think this feels too sparse of an arrangement. Minimalist arrangements are ok, but I don't feel like being minimalist added much to this arrangement, I feel like it takes away from what could be a more involving track. The panning on the violin was very distracting for me as well, specially since there's nothing on the other side of the stereo spectrum to balance it out. The arrangement felt very repetitive as well, which could've been mitigated by a more intricate harmony stage, which brings me back to the minimalist nature an why it's not quite working. Overall volume is also needlessly low. NO

Pretty solid overall. I feel I don't have much to add as the other js have exposed some of the issues present on this track, such as some small mistakes in the performance, as well as the 2:09 break being too long and not flowing well into the next section. Even though this is a variations piece, up until that point it really didn't feel much like so, which is good from our standards' POV. I don't think these issues take away much from what is otherwise a solid remix which explores such a short track in plenty different ways, successfully. YES

This is a pretty emotive arrangement, which exudes a very nostalgic and melancholic feeling, with touches of sadness. The samples aren't the best, but they're used in the best way possible, with attention to detail in the performances which makes their quality almost irrelevant. I do think the mix is too quiet, and we should ask for a new version that raises the overall volume a few dbs, but this should b on the front page. YES

This song lends itself easily to mellow stuff, and the artist takes advantage of the fact with this remix. Lush pads are the order of the day, with the constant arpeggio to keep the energy going. Even though there are many static elements here, the subtle changes in pads and usage of filtered synths that are just noticeable enough, and that fade in and out of the spotlight, do keep the energy from getting too constant. Even though Still Alive is mentioned in the songs arranged, I didn't hear much of it, even though I know the song very well since I've remixed it before. The ending was a bit of a letdown, and personally I would've liked some more emphasis on lead melodies and instruments. The closest thing to a lead we get is the synth that plays the melody at 2:15 (and then again later towards the end of the track), which is a very similar, if not the same synth used for the arpeggio. I think the track works fairly well without more explicit leads, but I think it would've been a boon to have them. Even though I think this would've made the track truly great, what we have here is nevertheless pretty good. YES

Man is that chorus guitar sweet. Definitely one of the highlights of the song. The lead performance may be another, the final short cameo of JTS, one of my favorite soundtracks, was also sweet and hit me right in my bias bone. Now the strings, that's something my fellow judges are taking issue with, and I would agree that they are indeed fake sounding, but the artists refers to them as synth strings, so I don't believe they're meant to sound realistic. Even if they are though, in the context of this track, they didn't bother me as much as to think they bring the whole thing down. I wouldn't be against changing the synth string sound to something else, but they sound more like a string machine to me than a string library trying to be realistic. Overall this track has a lot of heart and the arrangement is handled well. The artists knew how to pace this mix well, as we see things like prolonged pauses to accentuate an ending or upcoming section. Pretty solid overall. YES

I love Bridge Zone. I kinda hear what the other judges are saying about the eq, but it's not bothering me, or taking away from the track on my end. There are some odd choices for some of the sound that feel a bit wacky for the soft atmosphere that is present in some parts of the mix, and that contrast was more off-putting to me than any non-ideal eq balance. Even then, I think those don't really bring this down below our bar. What I found here was a very nice arrangement that brings Bridge Zone and Green Hill together in obvious, but transformative ways. The arrangement was at its best in points such as after 2:30 where you can hear touches of both themes, as well as some small but nice touches with the drum writing. The Lo-fi elements are added tastefully throughout the track, and can be heard in some lead instruments as well as in the Organ-sounding pads. Overall, this is a solid track that didn't really blow me away production-wise but that is quite lovely when you look into the arrangement. YES

I didn't have issues with source recognition at first, I can hear both sources where they're used for the most part in the first 3 to 4 minutes. The issue here really is with the twilight parts and how long they last, and how plodding they feel. There's really not much going on from 1:00 until almost the 3rd minute. After that when both sources are weaved together, it makes it very hard to relate to the original other than mood. I think that cutting on the plodding section and changing the second half of the arrangement to somewhat make the source more recognizable to what's going on would get it closer to what we're looking for. As Mindwanderer pointed out this is quite a challenge. The twilight source is just a series of long-winded harmonies and that's not really a lot to build upon something recognizable to the listeners, but maybe this could work with more obvious referencial material. Your artistic vision for the track is something to consider too, as I believe this track outside of the context of an OCReMix is fine, so it's up to you to take this points into account. NO

This is a very close one for me, but there are definitely some issues here. Production-wise, I think the transition to the full 4 on the floor kick could've been handled better, I had the feeling the mix would continue with the lo-fi underlying beats which would fit the mood of this highly-layered song, but he hard kick sort of came out of nowhere and in my opinion didn't accomplish that much in terms of energy. Also the piano high notes that adorn the track have this very strident, almost metallic quality to them that I don't find very pleasing and they could be softened with some eqing. Regarding instrument quality I hear the issues Gario mentions about the articulations, but taking into account that this track is a mix of those elements along with synthesized ones (mostly synths) these issues didn't bother me much. I didn't have much of an issue with mix clarity as I really enjoyed the layering on this one and it wasn't much of an issue to identify different parts. It's a bit hard to tell what's supposed to be the main focus at some points, but I believe that this was intentional. I also feel that this arrangement is pretty static. After it establishes all its multiple musical layers, it kind of hits cruise control and I don't feel there was much movement of the energy levels and the arrangement itself. I'm not sure whether I should give this the thumbs up or not, it's definitely around the bar but I'm not sure if the issues I am hearing pull it down enough. Leaving this here for others to consider, and I'll finish my vote on a future listen. EDIT 11/8/2017: I gave this another listen today and man, reading my review I find that my opinions on it haven't changed much. I still have to make a decision on it so I'm going with a borderline pass. Not entirely sure how the downs and ups of this track balance each other out. When looking at the track as a whole flaws still emerge but it doesn't seem flawed enough for a rejection. YES (borderline)

Have to agree with Deia here. I don't like how the lead is sitting on the track, it feels very exposed compared to the rest of the elements going on, another element that seems to not be sitting very well on the mix were the guitars, most notably around the first minute. I think they get some help from the synth pad later, as it complements them and the rest of the mix well though. The hard wubs threw me off, and they don't necessarily sound bad, but again it seems to me that they're failing to sit well with the other elements in the mix, specially with the leads. The arrangement itself was fine, albeit the track felt short due to the extended intro, but I think this needs another pass on the mix side so that the instruments chosen sit better in the mix and don't feel as exposed as they feel now. I do think this is close, but not quite there yet. NO (resubmit)

So chill, this one. You can't really help but lay back and chill to the calming groove of this arrangement. Very beautiful interpretation as well, with the performances playing off each other in playful ways but always, always keeping the soothing mood. Not much else to say here other than this is just perfect for those who like to relax to VGM arrangements, or like to have pleasant music in the background. YES

After listening to this one I'm surprising this hasn't been too divisive in the panel, given its obvious flaws and strengths. I think mix clarity was an obvious one, as things get so chaotic sometimes it's hard to keep up. Not being able to keep up seems to be extending to some of the performances somehow since, at some points, you can hear sloppiness in the drums and bass parts trying to keep up with the sheer speed of the arrangement. The pros here are the arrangement and energy of it. This one doesn't let up and it's actually very intricate in how it approaches interpretation. The drum work is great in some sections, when it's not losing sync with the rest of the instruments, as well as the guitar performances. I'm leaning on a pass here but not by much. I'll revisit this later.

K, that note was a whole step above the bass note, not exactly incorrect but it could indeed clash a bit. I changed that in the new version to be the same note as the bass and pads and Gario gave it the thumbs up, and also fixed the ending error.

I'll admit I know Pete mostly for his complex+catchy edm songs, so this was a pleasant surprise for me. Somehow this remix changes the tone just slightly, tipping it over to a more epic/Hollywood soundtrack style, and it works very well in that respect. Different instruments play the role of the source's melodic leads in the original piano rendition, and the supporting harmonies play along well. The performances seem good for the most part in this track, but the mixing is not quite optimal here. I think this needs a much more relaxed mastering, even if it needs to be bombastic and epic and loud at times, you should let the dynamics of the track do that for you. Also the other Js are correct in the points where distortion is occurring and I noticed that right away, I think this is something that needs to be fixed before posting, if it gets to the front page. I will put a conditional on the distortion points being fixed, since this is pretty much my only deal-breaker here and it's not hard to fix, but not something I would let a song going to the front page get away with. But since that will most likely require relaxing the mastering, I will advise Pete to just let the track breathe with more headroom and have the large dynamic range that symphonic arrangements usually have. YES EDIT: Contacted Pete and he'll give us a new version with a second pass on the mix in a few days, I'll update the thread then with the new version. EDIT 2: Pete has provided a new version, which fixed the distortion pointed at 2:17 and 2:42. I've updated the first post with it. think the mix could've been relaxed further, but not being ideal doesn't mean it's not ok. Changing my vote to a yes.

I think Gario and Mindwandered explained very well the issues present here. The performances feel overly mechanical and the instrumentation is at times too simple. I also have to agree on the compression levels, though it's evident they're prettty high I ran it through an analyzer anyways and I got -9 RMS on the busiest sections. That's quite a lot considering the style you're going for here. The synth elements used were also slightly out of place for me, I think they could be another point of improvement, making them fit along the other instrumentation. This needs an overhaul starting from the mix to get the balance of the different instruments right first before applying any mastering, and then several humanization passes. NO