Israfel

What really stands out for me here is how fluid the arrangement is- it doesn't sound forced; it's like the original was *supposed* to be done this way. A great deal of contrast between sections- both in style and expression; the overall form of this mix is really top-notch. And piano playing just feels so loose and natural- so fitting for the style. Strumming inside the piano at the end was a *really* nice touch as well. There's nothing that I can really pick out as needing work- the whole piece simply comes across as very mature and well-done. Definitely one of the best remixes I've heard. Very nice work.

Basically, what we have here is an 8-bar progression that is played over and over for 3 minutes. And the constant barrage of arpeggios playing the same harmonies really started to feel a bit tiring and repetitive after awhile. Besides that, I agree with what the others have said. NO

I have to agree with Wingless- in alot of ways this is lacking any real sort of form. I'm reminded of "sample demos" that are usually included with orchestral sample cds- they tend have that generic film music quality which is nice ear-candy but it doesn't have much substance. One problem is that you have this tension building throughout the work, but it never climaxes into anything- instead it slowly dies off into a fairly weak ending with the tam tam. And considering how short this is right now, it really seems like you could have done more- included some contrasting sections, developed the melodies more, had that climax section etc. Alot of good stuff here, but it sounds too unfinished at the moment. NO

This is an unusually empty piece. There are several sections where I just have to wonder if some of the tracks were accidently muted. Plus the form of the piece doesn't really work in my opinion. You basically have several "build-up" sections in succession. Numerous times you have a solo instrument going and slowly things build until that idiomatic techno drumroll comes in- it happens too many times and just becomes overly predictable. The real killer though is just the overall simplistic, empty nature of the mix. NO

Yeah, I'm with the others here. Sequencing piano is some hard work, but unless you're doing a Conlon Nancarrow impersonation (yea! for obscure references! ), then you really have to take the time and humanize. I think you tried to do some things in that regard, but it still sounds a bit too mechanical to pass. NO

Sure- http://www.mp3.com/israfel

Ahh...Vampire Hunter Dan- a true veteran of the scene. This is top-notch material, surprised it wasn't a direct post. YES

Releasing a mix as finished when it has pops and clicks in the recording is really *really* bad. Don't do that. I'm tempted to give this a no based on the flawed recording alone as it's such a basic thing, but given that the arrangement is well done and unique for this community, and that the pops are mostly absent during the real meat of the mix, I'll go ahead and pass this one. But seriously guys, pops in a recording is a *serious* flaw. It's easy to hear and easy (though sometimes time consuming) to fix- don't get lazy on us. YES

MC sets the standard for how to sequence piano in my opinion. Those who think that you need a live performance to capture the "human" element in piano works need to seriously check out MC's music. Nice arrangement and some of the best sequencing you're ever going to find. YES

I like arrangement, but I agree with Dan that the mastering seems to be rather low quality. But for now I'm going to give this a NO on the grounds that the audio seems to "click" several times throughout- and this is something that is extremely distracting and should not be in a finished product. But since no else has mentioned the "clicks," maybe there's just something wrong with my setup. I'm hearing several throughout the piece (:08, 1:55 and many other places). Can one of the other judges confirm if they hear them or not? For now, NO

Sounds like there are some tuning problems, and the arrangement sticks too close to the original. I'm in agreement with the others. NO

Like Prot said, other than the drumbeat (which might benefit from a little less reverb perhaps?) this is pretty much the same as the original. Nice, but we need more arrangement. NO

I'm pretty much with Vig on this one. I loved the harmonies and the unconventional nature of the interpretation- however the piece doesn't flow well or gain any momentum. As a result, this piece just *feels* long. And, personally, the piano playing didn't do much for me. To me this sounds sequenced rather than performed (I don't know which was actually done). - The playing felt rather mechanical- maybe that's due to the performance/sequencing or maybe it's just the sample being used- but in any cause, I never felt in any real emotion and as such the mix just didn't hold my interest. NO

Pretty much agree with what's already been said. For one thing, this mix just feels "short"- which is a fairly good sign that it's underdeveloped. The piece never quite manages to gain any momentum. And yes, some sections are quite sparse- perhaps in a longer, more developed work some of those solo synth sections might be okay, but here it doesn't quite mesh well. The "acoustic" instruments are mostly abandonned after the intro- I would have liked for them to be incorporated more- as is, their use seems more gimmicky than anything else. Some decent ideas, but this one still needs a bit more polish and form. NO

Yes, and if it's not too much to ask, if you're connected to the site (not really referring to xXoDiAx here, just using his quote to bring up the incident) could you at least use a fake name in the chatroom- you know, claim you're from GameFAQs or something. There's something rather distasteful about acting so childish at the same time that the site and the remixers are being promoted. *sigh* But anyway... Just wanted to chime in to tell Y2J that this is great program you've got going. I've tuned in a few times and it's really alot of fun. Highly recommend that everyone check it out.

Beautifully understated sound- just seems to float along. It's true that we already have a Schala mix that goes for the new age/atmospheric feel- and while this one is perhaps a bit more generic, it's still an excellent bit of genre work. I would have liked more interpretation of the original, but this is still pretty solid. YES

The main problem for me is that it just sounds so empty. At times it's pretty much just lead guitar and drums with the backing guitar being too quiet and insubstantial to really notice. But there's not much I can add to what the others have said. NO

Right-o Greatly undeveloped work. I'm going to speak very generally here, but a good rule of thumb is to make sure that you've completely explored an idea before moving on to something else. The strings in the opening, the bass line at :50 etc. - these are ideas that are introduced and then quickly abandoned- and the result is that the work feels rushed or schizophrenic. Take your time and develop your work. I'm going to go ahead and give it a "yes" as it is an enjoyable, if flawed, piece. But in the future I hope you'll pay more attention to form. YES

Just go to the website that's mentioned in the writeup- you can get the full mix there for now.

The full track is around 3:30 actually. This version seems to be cut off- which is a shame since the last minute is probably the best part. Not something I'll probably keep, but cool stuff nonetheless.

With a piece that relies so heavily on synth sounds I would have liked more attention paid to effects- I think there's one pitch bend near the end, but otherwise everything is played rather straight. Maybe some more variety in sounds would be appropriate as well- in particular, that high pitch lead becomes tiresome. Likewise, the form might benefit from a few musical divergent sections- like at 1:21, except longer. Not bad work overall though. YES

Well...true. I don't know- despite the fact that it's on the soundtrack release, doesn't the fact that it's not actually in the game kinda of keep this from being a game music remix- and instead it's a remix of an original tune? Or was this theme later used in an actual game?

Hi there Israfel. I'm new to this whole fallthrough thing...but hopefully it makes the nine months I've been waiting disappear. I don't even remember when I submitted this track, but the details are: Name: Chrono Trigger - Evil Refactory (OCRemix) Remixer: Blak_Omen File: This. If neither of those work, please contact me again, preferably through PM and I'll find some other hosting method or some solution. Information: This song started out as an industrial experimental thing, but turned into the remix you see here. I tried to keep the tone of the original song, kinda evil, very "tribal" and raw, but yet take it into a different setting, in this case a technological one. Experimented a lot with sounds and generally had a lot of fun creating this tune. (Originally Burn, Bobonga! from Chrono Trigger) Thank you very much Israfel...hopefully this will be my first (hurrah!) OCRemix. Website: http://www.soundclick.com/blakomen

Couple problems that jump out at me: 1) Absolutely zero attention is paid towards performance- no dynamics, articulations, subtle tempo changes. The piece just sounds very mechanical 2) Problems with the soundfonts. I'm guessing you're using WTOboe (I think that's the name of it anyway)- that font has looping problems, and it's evident in this piece. You'll notice that some of the oboe notes start to "pop" when they loop (3:54 for example)- you *really* need to fix that. 3) Given that this is a electronic composition, I won't get too picky on orchestration, but still, it sounds a tad strange that you have bells as overpowering a blaring brass section, choir, and snare (:50). 4) The form of the piece is questionable- constantly using full stops hurts any forward momentum that you may have built up. It's perhaps more satisfying (but certainly more difficult) to try to maintain tension throughout and not give in to premature...climaxes (*cough*) Ok- so I find this to be a largely flawed work. But, I can tell that a good deal of work and thought went into this. It's a decently enjoyable piece, and I imagine that many of the listeners will appreciate it. Hopefully you'll strive to improve your sound, but I'll go ahead and give you a YES