Sir_NutS

Very cool track. The pirate-y vibe applied to the metal arrangement somehow works very well. Kinda reminds me of some folk metal bands from Europe. The arrangement is pretty expansive albeit it does retread the main motifs quite a bit. The production is good, with some unexpected stuff here and there such as the filtered buildup. The mix is clean and the performances are solid, although if I had to nitpick I would say the lead guitar is a bit too dominant, but really everything works really well. This may also be one of the few examples of a fadeout done well, IMO. The song winds down properly and doubles down on the pirate-y feel of it all. It's good to see Dustin remixing again and this is a solid comeback. YES

The performances are good for sure, it's just too bad it's too close to a cover, in both arrangement and structure. If things were changed up on the second section, with more interpretation and original material, I would've been onboard, but sadly the second section is pretty much a repeat. It's a great track honestly, it's just not for OCR. NO

I'm a bit more borderline on this one than the other Js, and I've mulled on this one for a while now. Big sticking point is obviously the performance, which is not ideal, but also I think the mix could use some work, the stops go back to complete silence and loses any ambiance which makes it sound less natural. As Gario pointed out, this is not an easy track to perform and I can take some of that into account but I also think this could be delivered and performed in a much better way. I really think the track shines in its last minute, even though it gets really open with the timing. It's also a bit repetitive for such a short arrangement. Overall, yes I enjoyed this but I also think it needs some work. I would like to hear another take as I don't think this one is quite above the bar. NO (resubmit)

This is up to Rebecca's usual production standards so that's good, however, this one feels pretty different from her other works due to the unique instrumentation. There's more of an exotic adventure feel with this one than the usual soft and dreamy mood we get from her arrangements, and I think that's great! The arrangement as a whole works well and I enjoyed the change of scenery. YES

Artist: Sir_NutS Name of the games arranged: FTL: Faster Than Light System: PC Name of the arrangement: An open Galaxy Name of the individual songs arranged: Space Cruise (Title) Link to Remix: Link to Original: https://benprunty.bandcamp.com/track/space-cruise-title I figured you guys were getting tired of the endless flood of synthwave remixes from me so I guess something different is appropiate. I went into this one trying to do something warm, lo-fi/analog sounding, and also unlike most of my remixes, not in your face all the time. So this is much mellower and more deliberate in pacing than my usual stuff. FTL is a great game, and Ben Prunty made a soundtrack for it that fits perfectly. I spent hundreds of hours playing this, and the soundtrack stuck with me so it was only a matter of time before I tackled it. I hope everyone enjoys this one, I like the results and I'm happy that I went into sorta unknown territory and came back with something alright to show.

Never heard the original before, but I like it quite a bit. I really don't like the hard panning of the flute. It may not bother listeners that much but it bothers me a lot. Just makes the mix feel imbalanced when there's nothing on the other side of the spectrum to counter it. It's a good thing that it's not always alone like that throughout the mix, but still. Besides that, I liked the arrangement, it's subtle and close to the source but enjoyable and brings its own ideas to the table. If only that flute was brought a bit closer to the center, it would be even better. I also thought the overall volume could've used a bit of a boost but it's a minor thing. Maybe I'm getting hung up on things that don't matter much when it comes to the overall evaluation of the track, but the panning is making it a more difficult decision for me than it really should. In the end I'll say, let's go with it. I can't find that many glaring faults, and asking for perfection is not fair. EDIT(8/21): After listening to this one once more, I do think the panning issue is more egregious than what I initially thought. Seeing the panel mostly agree on that front, I think I'll change my vote and ask for a resubmit. If the panning is balanced I think I wouldn't have any big issues with this one and It'll probably pass. NO (resubmit)

Beautiful stuff, the use of the vocal chorus is delicate and on point, I love it. The arrangement works for me, I can recognise the original pretty well. On my first listen I thought the second part was a bit meandering and aimless but after a couple listens I got used to the extremely subtle wind down of the arrangement. It can get a bit noodly at times but in the end I think it works. YES

This probably needs a new title, if posted. Remixer name: jmabate Real Name: Jean-Marc Abate Email: Links: https://jmabate.bandcamp.com/, http://www.youtube.com/user/jmabate, http://soundcloud.com/jmabate user id : 35644 Submission information: Name of Game(s) Remixed: MUSHA Aleste Name of Arrangement: Galvanic Gear cover Names of songs arranged: Galvanic Gear (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfOFCzyN2eg) Comments about the mix: when I play at this game, I was 16 ! It was an amazing game with outstanding 16 bit metal music. I love all of this OST and thanks Mr Toshiaki Sakoda for his work. Cheers, Jean Marc

Cool arrangement with some interesting structural choices, but the soundscape can feel bland and uninspired. The main chord synths feel like they could hit a bit harder even with a softer mix like this one. This reminds me of some of the trance tracks we used to post over a decade ago, which is not a bad thing really, just that it's lacking the modern, fuller production values we've come to expect. Overall, it's a short arrangement that works, with some barren production. There's some detailing in the sequencing and performances, even though the drums are your standar classic dream trance fare. It's pretty borderline but I'm willing to give this a chance at the front page. I can't find anything super offensive about it and like I said, I enjoyed my time listening to this one. It's a soft yes, but other judges may disagree. YES

Man, so many good things about this one. I love the heavy bass, the drums, the synths and ambience, including the textures introducing the song, are all pretty great. The adaptation puts the original under a new light for me. I have but one complaint and that is that this mix got really smashed at the mastering level. The dynamic range is almost non-existant, at least to my ears. More than the arrangement itself, this makes the listener's ears get tired pretty quickly. And well, I smash my songs fairly hard too so if I find it's too much, you know it's gone a bit overboard. I want to hear this with a more relaxed mix where the different elements have more room to breathe. Please consider another mastering pass. NO (please resubmit)

This is equal parts odd and awesome. Kinda jazzy too. And weird. Rich with ideas and stuff you would think wouldn't work together, but it does. The more straightforward thing about this one is the production, which is clean and solid. I went to the artist's writeup thinking I would find some guidance but I was mistaken. YES

I'm listening to this one at 8:00 AM in a rainy morning, coffee cup in hand, and it's one of those perfect moments. This song is super warm and cozy. The textures are wonderful and fit very well the overall arrangement and soundscape, and the mix is clear but also has a little bit of dirt and saturation that holds things together fairly nice. This is a very long one, but I found the arrangement kept things interesting and the length didn't bother me, so kudos there. Some interesting switches on tempo happening around 3:30, with the drum sequencing afterward being very detailed. Then we get an excellent break that takes its proper time to build things up again. This is pretty awesome and unique IMO. I'm onboard. YES

It's a cool idea, but as pointed out, it's too conservative for OCR. It plays the original beat for beat down to the structure, and ending in a fadeout is not helping this feel like it's not a palette swap from the original. The adaptation sounds pretty cool ngl, but it needs more on the arrangement side to make it past the bar. NO

I see the other judges have expanded on the issues with this mix so I'll keep it short: I mostly agree that the arrangement lacks interpretation. I liked the textures and the mix balance was ok. Even the fake electric guitar was Ok for me, as it was played in relatively full sections and that prevented its fakeness from getting too exposed. I think removing one of the verbatim sections and adding your own, or even replacing lead sections like 3:25 with your own solo would bring this closer to a pass. I can almost see this on the front page, give it an extra push by going beyond the adaptation. NO (resubmit)

I like the textures and layering here. The main saw synth is not that great alone but when layered with the lower bass notes it sounds pretty fat. None of the sounds used are out of place to me and complement each other pretty well. The arrangement is sadly not up to the task though. It's super repetitive and barebones, and follows the original pretty closely. The structure lacks dynamism as well, the initial two minutes are pretty basic and static and only a while later we do get to hear the original melody. It just feels like this could've been shortened without losing much and also the arrangement could've been expanded way more than what we got here. NO

Definitely getting some Wagner vibes here and there while listening to this. It's a solid and very original take on this song, and I think not being familiar with the context helped a ton with this aspect. On the performance side of things, everything is very well done. Contrary to the smb track, I can tell the source here, it's a bit slower and some parts are changed but it's there. I think regular listeners will have some trouble getting into this remix though. It's very slow and some sections take their sweet time to develop, and for those who aren't musicians, most of the stuff John does with the arrangement will pass unnoticed. Also even though the source is there, the adaptation will make it very hard to recognize. That doesn't have bearing on this vote though. I think this is just great and deserves to go to the front page. As for which version? I'm not sure there. The first one sounds better and easier to listen to albeit less natural, while the second one sounds a bit more crammed up, but it also sounds more genuine and "live". Either way, good stuff, but certainly a tough sell. YES

I like the instrumentation on this a lot. Big sidechained synths and cool drums. Tons of re-arrangement when it comes to harmony and re-structuring of the source makes this stand out from the other stickerbush remixes I've heard. My only real gripe here is the ending which was pretty sudden and anti-climatic. Makes it sound like it just wasn't finished. Overall, even with the non-ideal ending, this just works very well. If we can change that ending it would be better of course, but if it's posted as-is, it's ok too. YES

I like your bass synth, and the drums are properly retrowave. I didn't like the bell-like lead too much, it had some sort of detuning that clashed against the rest of the song, while also feeling quite bland. Same goes to the slow-attack brassy lead that comes after. The mix is clean overall but also feels super empty and the vanilla leads get very exposed. It's also pretty conservative and the changes to the original melody are often clashing tonally against the chords or just outright off. The structure wasn't too interesting either and it just seemed to go along without much energy release, climax or buildup. The drum sequencing got a bit stale due to the static nature of the arrangement as well. There are ok things here such as the cleanliness of the mix but there are too many failings when it comes to execution. NO

That's one swingy source. The balance on this mix is a bit off. The stereo guitars seem a bit loud in comparison to everything else when they should just be harmonic support. The drums are very hard to distinguish especially on crowded sections. The flute is also very low and even the wah-wah instrument take priority over it. The performances aren't too bad though. The arrangement is pretty repetitive. I think with a re-balancing this should make it, and that's not too hard to do. I didn't hear anything offensive in regards to the frequencies in the mix, it's pretty clean, but the mix balance of the different tracks is off. If that's fixed, it has a good chance of getting to the front page. For now though, NO (resubmit)

Yep. This is very good. YES

I wish we got more KI remixes, every track in that OST is... Killer. *aherm* This mix is a pretty difficult evaluation. I like the ambiance, the textures and instruments, it keeps an interesting and well-crafted atmosphere with very lush pads, filtered arpeggios and tons of reverb. My main issue with this one is mostly arrangement. It doesn't feel like the song develops into anything, and there's not a lot of interpretation of the main melodies. There's structural changes of course, but other than that not much on the arrangement side of things. Also the ending is super underwhelming. I actually feel the song should've ended at 2:58 instead of dragging on for 30 or more seconds and fading out. There ARE a few original bits though, and it doesn't feel like a copy-paste work from the original. Tough one here, but I'm going to give it a borderline pass. I think it does stand on its own and although it quotes the original verbatim too much, there's a lot of work done with the synths, structure and ambience for a pass. YES (borderline)

I haven't played any of the Y's games but for some reason I know this song by heart. Maybe it's because my little brother is a huge Ys fan and we used to live together so he was always playing Y's games at FULL VOLUME . Enough about that. This mix brings this song to another level. The word epic is often misused but I think calling this epic is proper since that's the vibe it's trying to achieve. The performances are solid and the backing instrumentation is suitable and well sequenced. The main melody is used maybe one too many times but overall solid arrangement. YES

Quick listen: Arrangement is on the conservative side but it does have some extra layers and some structural changes as well as a few original sections. I think it could've gone a just bit further on the interpretation side but this is a nitpick. I did like that it changed things up substantially with the lo-fi break and the acoustic guitar section. The production seems solid, though it sounds a bit too boomy and compressed to my ears. I think it would've been better sounding with a more relaxed mix, some more headroom and space, and some air. Overall, this sounds pretty good to me, good luck with your sub!

The Workshop doesn't have a direct effect in the judging process in the sense that, we don't go look at the workshop thread and feedback for every single mix (I do it for some though). But it does serve as an indirect help in the sense that every track that doesn't meet the bar and reaches the queue adds more time and work to the panel and thus slows the queue down. When a track is approved by a workshop moderator, which again, go through the same interviews, tests etc. as judges, it has a very high chance of making it through the panel and makes evaluation quicker and easier. It also saves time and headaches for the artists, as submitting a song, waiting X months only to get it rejected is not ideal, most artists would've moved on from that track already into new things, or even evolved beyond what they showed on that track and probably wouldn't be that keen on going back to it. The workshop feedback is supposed to be more immediate to help you fix issues in a much shorter timeframe, but again, that's not always working as intended because the workshop staff can get burnout or life gets in the way and that queue gets clogged too. Anyways, it doesn't hurt to show off your track in the workshop or even join the workshop discord channel and ask for a listen there, possibly get some feedback and have a better chance at making it past the bar, especially if you're new to creating music or don't have a posted remix yet. Even though I should have a good idea of where the bar is, I always try to get a friend to listen to it and tell me if it's good enough or check for issues.

Yeah the workshop is supposed to fill that role. The recruiting process for workshop mods is even the same as those for judges so they are effectively another layer. Not every artist knows or uses the workshop though, so a lot of subs don't go through that. One thing to consider is, burnout/real life happens to the guys in charge of that too so it can get clogged as well. It all boils down to: it's a hard, volunteer, pay-less and sometimes thankless job, and having a large judge panel doesn't exactly help either, only having motivated people does, but motivation is hard to mantain for years and years (I have so much respect for Larry for that). Not an easy problem to solve, if we want to mantain quality.