Malcos

One of the big issues with this mix is that it just loops the theme again and again with minimal deviation. This tune is so popular that a remix of it would need a lot of variation and deviation, improvisation, and many more -ations. Ending is non existent, the tune just suddenly stops. This can be described as a 'boom-tsh' mix really. Needs a lot more rearrangement. NO If anyone is reading this and wants to do an Icecap mix, we already have dance mixes of this on the site that are excellent quality, the odds are against you somewhat. However, if you tried a different genre altogether...

I put the original of this in the upload folder in the FTP thingy. 'sync (EXTREME version).mp3' Nice intro, sounds like cut up strings or something, the attack is really quick. The string playing 1/4 beat from 0.23 fading in doesn't sound so hot. The intro had promise, but then when the drums came in it felt like an anti-climax, because the beats were rather weak. There's no breakdown here, and this doesn't add anything big to the original. Instruments sound dry, meaning that the mix lacks atmosphere. 3.07 - Don't like the sudden stop here, that's quite jarring, and the slowdown ending isn't effective imo, because the mix hasn't got enough energy to warrant it. Percussion is weak, no sense of atmosphere, seems to take away from the original rather than add to it. NO

This production is excellent, and the vocals sound great! I really do think vocal remixes are the next big thing on OCR, and this has set a pretty high standard on that front.

Yeah aggressive style is how I like it. I'm very familiar with the source tune, completely different take on it. Production is crisp, nice arrangement. Like the effects and processing used on the vocals to make them stand out more, although the first set of vocals (0.57 onwards) were a little hard to make out at first. We need more DDR stuff people! Good work Beatdrop. YES

The sax was great, and the beat sounded good too, although I think that you could have changed the drum beat up a bit. The thing about this is that it doesn't really add anything that big to the original, and while the sax sounds great, the rest of the instruments just don't seem to gel with it. The sax just seems like it's sitting on top, and the mix is quite dry, needs some more reverb imo. To pass this would need some more original sections coupled with some variation, as it stands this doesn't meet the bar. What is with the ghastly ending? That is a no on its own! Just criminal. NO

www.zophar.net/gym/ps2.rar - Mystery This does sound like Phantasy star style with some jazzyness, without a doubt, but it will be blatantly obvious to anyone who uses reason that you've used some of the drumloops as your main beat. Granted, you have changed it up a little, but it is still an issue, due to that loop being so unique, and not to everyone's taste. I do like all the other elements of this mix, sweet chords, nice use of reverb. The lead really reminds me of Phantasy Star Online. With this skill level I do think perhaps you should have done your own drums? Love the bit at 1.42 when the texture suddenly got really thick, this is quite a dynamic mix which is a huge plus. Big change compared to the original, can hardly recognise it, but the melody is there. Despite that dastardly drumloop, this is some good stuff. YES

Er, well that's not what we're really about. I don't play guitar, so to me this sounds great. However I don't hear anything different from the original, and it's not often that we get a submission that is half the length of the source. This just doesn't follow the guidelines, there is no re-arrangement here. Ending is also very abrupt and unsatisfying. NO

I like the compressed drums, but the intro goes on for too long. The melody coming in at about 1.30 is off-key, and the ending just consists of a couple of drawn out notes. This needs some more elements to it other than just a beat. NO

Old decision: http://www.ocremix.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=45466 Ok, put some vibe and emotion into it. Resubmission is a great thing, but it's not easy. Changed up the piano a little bit, new chords, ditched most of the improv, changed the ending.

There isn't much here to listen to, and while this is a chill-out kind of track, the pad needs to be more present, it isn't enveloping enough. The sub-bass fills out the song nicely at points, however many people will never hear that part of the song, ever. This could do with some filling out, well a lot actually. This needs some more work. NO I do like the idea of the sub-bass though, we don't get much of that.

The slow string attacks are really obvious here and spoil the feel quite a bit. I think that the arrangement is very good indeed. However: I do believe that may be a violation of the guidelines. The mastering could be improved a little by giving the top end a little more presence (just a little!) and by giving the low end some boost as well, to make the sound bigger and more like a soundtrack. NO

There are several times in this mix where everything just seems to go off-key. Mix is very short, with no ending. Much more mixing and production work needed with this, nothing is consistent here. At 0.48 the song suddenly goes 100% dry and loses all the reverb, while the warbling affect at 1.08 loses any tonality that the song had to begin with. The sound quality is also less than adequate. Does not come up to OC standards. NO

The arrangement was good and quite varied throughout. The interpretation of the original is good, I like the scary feel in the intro, very appropriate styling in the original sections which flows in well with the main theme. Having 2 pianos was a good idea, making for a fuller, more complex-sounding mix. The only thing that this lacks somewhat is the human element. Perhaps if a softer section was in there somewhere? I'm saying YES

Intro was good, but I was kinda at the rest. There are a lot of strangely badly timed notes in this. Although the ideas in the mix are good, it needs some more work. NO

Very cool mix, good instrumentation, arrangement etc. Some not-so-good sounds still used to their best. YES

Yeah I can only reiterate what has already been said. This is very boxy sounding and needs some mid frequencies pretty badly. Heed all the advice above. NO

Wow yeah this is what I'm talking about. You guys can't handle these kinda beats! But I allow you, because you're not used to this kind of thing. This sounds similar to underground garage we have in London here, very jarring-like beats using harsh industrial-type sounds. However, the percussion on this doesn't keep a steady time throughout the piece, it just stops and starts without warning (0.53-0.59 no) (2.10-2.30 yes), There isn't much more to the mix than the percussion either, and that means that there isn't really a lot to listen to unfortunately. NO This could have been pulled off if there had been more to this than just beats.

I like this mix a lot. I understand what prot just wrote about eq, but personally I can take it as the remixer's own style. I'm saying it's quirky, rather than 'wrong'. Or maybe the great intro just kinda carried over into the rest of the song. Anyway I don't have to make excuses. YES

I say this is good, and I expect we're gonna have more vocal mixes in the future, the number of them is certainly increasing... Edit: Whoops, I'm retracting my vote in light of what has been posted below...

This is a laid back track, with some 'I don't care' improvisation thrown in. This mix came into my head and I thought it wouldn't work, but by the time I laid it all out, it sounded like a vibe. Maybe it's too laid back, I need to do some upbeat mixes now. Oh and by the way YES

Oh fuck it. I wanted to vote yes anyway. YES

Wow this is hard and loud. See that you stripped it down and then worked up to it at first in typical hard trance style. I'm not keen on this mainly because of the transition - that part could have been your opportunity to add something original to facilitate the change between the two themes. NO

Liontamer - try dling this again, it's 4.27. I think the arrangement here is good. Except at 2.38, that was kinda strange. I'm not really keen on these guitar sounds, they don't so this mix justice imo. Production lets this mix down. NO

This definitely gets better and grows on you as you listen. Very vibey piece, something a little different. YES