Israfel

Most of this one is rather a bit too similar to the original- the only real difference is that everything is an octave lower in the mix. A few new things added around the halfway point- but this is just too much like the original and the octave displacement doesn't really work in my opinion. NO

Loved it man, really groovy piece.

Repetitiveness factor really hurts this one. There's very little material actually here, the entire piece simply repeats the same two chords for 7 minutes. Some of the ways that those two chords are presented are kinda interesting- but each idea is repeated numerous times and tedium really starts to set in. Some decent ideas, but not enough material to justify the length. NO

Yeah, not much to say here. It's a bit too close to the original and what new stuff is added (such as the synth at 1:24) really doesn't work very well. NO

Wow- this is really incredible. Very unique and trippy little mix. I'm at a loss for words trying to describe this thing- but this is some cool stuff. YES

Sent to me from ced --------------------- I don’t know if I dare showing up here again. Last time you flushed my song down your wc. Sure you didn’t think you would get rid of my and my tries that easy? But if you dislike this as much as the last one I’ll probably leave you and the poor defenceless game music alone and go back to my acid trance and big beat stuff. Anyway, here’s my second try, and again, it’s a Silius song. Game: Journey to Silius Title: Green Corridors Genre: Downbeat (although 195 bpm) Heard Massive Attack and Everything but the Girl, and thought a downbeat kind of tempo would be good. Since I’m an amateur without much of equipment, you might find the production not really excellent. Supports some kind of surround though.

Good stuff. Some nice drum programming with attention being paid to dynamics and fills. The flute solo is also a rather well done and unique addition to mix. And dang it if this doesn't sound like the Japanese synthpop that you might hear in a Konami side-scroller or something. But anyway...Nice work here. YES

For the most part I rather like this. Everything is pretty well developed and there's a decent amount of variety on the original with some nice synth effects and a few harmonic changes thrown in for good measure. Not flawless by any stretch of the imagination, but certainly enjoyable and mostly solid work. YES

Artist: Spyder Email: Spyder007@mac.com Webpage: www.rq3.com This was just sent to me- said he'd been waiting 4 months.

Really fantastic work in my opinion. It manages to stay interesting, add original ideas and pull off these ideas in a convincing way- all the things a good mix should do. This is one of the very few times I can actually say I *enjoyed* a 4-on-the-floor type dance track, and as such, gotta go with a: YES

Oh my...I'm seriously into this one. Packed with interesting ideas from beginning to end. Very well composed and developed, not much to say but: YES One of the best mixes I've heard

A rather pleasant arrangement of one of my favorite themes. Does marvelous things with changing up the original as well as including nice attention to dynamics with some effective string swells and such. Sound quality is a killer though. I would love to give a YES, but I guess I shouldn't as along as it's encoded at 64 kbps I'll refrain from voting and hope that we can get the piece encoded at a higher bitrate.

These bells/synths in the opening sound a little flat for some reason. **busts out tuner** That reason would apparently be because they *are* a little flat. Not sure where you got your samples, but particularly if you just use free soundfonts or something you have to make sure the tuning is good- because amateur sample makers (and some pros unfortunately) are notorious for sloppy tuning. Other than that there's not much to say here. In alot of ways this is just paint-by-numbers trance. Nothing terribly offensive or standout. The tuning is barely noticable once the other instruments come in, and the piece basically sounds pretty solid as the other judges have already said. Fairly enjoyable and nothing *too* screwed up so: YES

I'm having a really hard time hearing the FF6 theme. Every now and then I can just sort of *barely* hear something that's mixed way into the background. And then the harp sounds "sort of" like the theme at times. But regardless of how present the theme is, this is a pretty simple piece with some mixing problems. Most of the piece is just solo harp with a pad playing sustained notes in the background. Which could be just fine, however the harp is over-quantitized and features no amount of dynamic contrast - a lethal combo that results in a mechanical and unemotional sound. Also, the guitar/synth sound that plays in the lower registers lacks definition and just comes off sounding muddy. Some hiss in the recording as well- particularly noticable at the end. NO

Though nice at times, the synths are rather abrasive. Arrangement is very similar to the original as well. And of course one of the drawbacks of doing a medley is that there is very little cohesiveness and development- just goes with the territory, but it still hurts the overall depth of the piece. Some of the synth and drum work around 4 minute mark is rather cool however- although again, the synths border on ear-piercing at times. It's not a bad mix or anything, but it doesn't do anything particularly standout. That coupled with the few problems it has and I'm going to have to go with a NO

It's subtle manipulations of the main theme are what make this standout for me however. The original, which had more of a j-pop sound going, has been rather successfully (imo) melded into a minimalist piece in which rhythms, harmonies and melodies are constantly evolving and flowing into each other. And some of the harmonic changes of this mix are entirely unique- so this isn't just a note for note midi rip or anything quite that extreme. There's also an amazing amount of rhythmic consistency and development that is not in the original. 16th note rhythmic motives are developed in a way that the original never even attempts- honestly, I feel this mix actually has more depth than the original. I understand the concerns that have expressed, but I'm going to have to stick with my vote for now. But this is definitely one where if you've voted without having heard the original you might want hunt down an mp3 or something.

Perhaps a bit too simplistic- no real real rhythmic, harmonic or melodic development. Basically it's just two melodies that play over a repeating beat/harmony and as such it just lacks any sort of depth. NO

Repetitive- but that's just the nature of beast. However, this does do what good trance/minimalism/etc. should do and that's provide *slight* variations throughout- part of the joy is hearing the gradual alterations and mutations that the theme undergoes. Some really interesting harmonies give this piece some added depth as well. I know dissonances of this nature are somewhat controversial with valid opinions on both sides of the issue- but for me they really work in this mix and add a unique and positive sound. This just seems to have more compositional depth than most of the minimalist electronic mixes that I've heard- and as such I'm going to give it a YES

For the most part this is just the original with new percussion and delay added to the melody. A fairly simplistic version of a commonly remixed piece. Have to give it a NO

Mixing is a pretty big problem in the first half of the piece- the bass is way out front and everything else can barely be heard. This low mixing on the electric guitar also contributes to the first half just sounding "noisy" as well- it's like there's sustained white noise playing in the background. The balance gets better in the second half, but the bass is still perhaps too prominent Guitar playing seems to be behind the beat every now and then during its first riff as well. This one is really borderline. If the mixing were fixed then maybe, but as is: NO

Suffers from a few problems in my opinion: Some synths seem too loud and overpower the other voices Generally too repetitive Some of the synths (like at :24) are a bit too grating on the ears I'll have to give this one a NO

It alot of ways this is like the harmonic version of adding a drumloop to a .spc We have the simple harmonic pattern of the original that repeats throughout the piece while various scales and arpeggio patterns play over it- not a bad way to approach improv., but it's a somewhat uninteresting way to deal with composition, particularly given the "classical" feel that this piece tries to have. Also, double check the guitar at 1:33- seems to be a little bit of dissonance there which seems odd given the basic triadic nature of the rest of the harmony. Unfortunately this just fails to hold my interest. NO

A fairly empty sounding mix. Generally we have bass and percussion and that's about it (well, except for the "groovy" pads). But just looking at what's here there are some problems. For instance the bass is a bit muddy sounding and cluttered- and for a very obvious reason. You have a typical bass synth providing the harmonic basis for the piece, and in the same octave with similar sounding bass synths you have the melody going. The end result is a blob of undefined noise in the lower registers. The percussion is also pretty straightforward and doesn't really add much to the mix. I'll have to say: NO

Fairly solid mix. Doesn't do anything particularly stand-out but it gets the job done. I like the concept of having all the arcade soundeffects- nice touch. The organ solo is an effective and well-done section as well. Doesn't seem to be anything particularly wrong with the mix, and it's just enjoyable enough to be worth a few listens so: YES

Well- not really jazz to my ears- seems a bit more new-age perhaps; reminds me of Vangelis more than anything else. I have to say I really like this. The weakest aspect is of course the mastering, but that can be overlooked in my mind due to the very interesting arrangement. First of all, I dug out my Suikoden soundtrack and listened to the original track (disc 1, track 24/25)- and lemme just say, this mix is one insane interpretation- very heavily rearranged. The retro synth that plays the melody as well as certain aspects of the percussion should really appeal to fans of 70's synth music. Nice stuff there. Not a perfect mix, but there are so many nice touches and attention to detail that leaps out to me the more times I listen to this. Definitely a keeper in my book. YES