OCR00560 - Gaiares "Stage 1 Theme (The T-Braster Mix)"

[orkybash]

Gaiares 'Stage 1 Theme (The T-Braster Mix)'

Good variation in this remix - I especially loved the key change around 2:40, a trick that works well but is largely ignored by most remixers. Some of the samples were a little thin, especially the piano at the beginning and end, and the sample that carries the melody through the key change. But all in all, this is a well done mix.

[DarkWolf]

It's the best version of this song I've heard aside from the original. It was changed just enough to sound interesting (I hate when you can't even recognize the orignal in the remix). The piano was a nice touch.

[Liontamer]

Never really a fan of rigidly sequenced piano, even when it's got airy effects to fit into an electronic track, but it only lasted for the intro (and the close).

Took a while to build up to something, but the energy was ok once things picked up around the 1:40 mark. Construction was relatively simple, as I wished the soundfield was fuller and that the synth design was more creative, but it was good for what it was.

Tim was right about the key change at 2:40 breathing new life into the track; gotta say, that worked surprisingly well. Wouldn't have minded the track being placed in this key to begin with and the arrangement subsequently built off that idea.

Even not being familiar with the original, this had decent old-school energy. Hayden's other Gaiares mix here is pretty tight, so check that out as well.

[OceansAndrew]

Kindof bland, imo. It didnt really catch my attention.

The sounds seemed to be all pretty midrange and the beat seemed to be a basic on the floor throwdown. The piano at the beginning is almost as rigid as the stuff I do, and no one wins when that happens, trust me.

Sorry, just not my style I guess.

[Chickenwarlord]

Pretty bland on the whole. Not a huge fan of the very mechanical piano. Nice little basstype line is the only really interesting thing in the whole piece until 1:31, which would lose most listeners fairly quickly. For a song of it's genre, it's remarkably monotone and lowkey. The piece desperately needs some volume and velocity changes throughout.

[DragonAvenger]

I don't mind the piano, it seems intentional to me, and somewhat fits the genre.

Overall I'm feeling this is a bit too cookie-cutter. It reminds me of the techno email on Homestarrunner ("The system is down"). However, cliche's exist for a reason, in that it's something that does work.

Key change is nice though, it re-caught my attention.

There's nothing wrong with the mix, it just doesn't have the uniqueness that I'm craving in a mix.

[Streets of Rage bum]

cool mix from classic 16bit shooter that was hard as hell! Unlike other reviews here, i kinda enjoyed this mix, especially how the start gradually gained momentum. Thanks for mixin' an old school game

[Lint]

Props to Rayza, I like how when I searched my winamp library for the game title only his two mixes came up.

The piano is neat, and then it gets going into a head-bopping (bobbing?) beat that is classic work. The mix doesn't really try to push boundaries, but it alternates sections nicely and flows easily. Now I just want to find the original soundtrack to see how much this really worked the source material.

[Master_Yoshi]

Pushes no boundaries, takes no chances, but doesn't screw anything up. This is just a solid song; enjoyable, catchy, and fun to listen to. It doesn't get boring to listen to, doesn't drag on, and any repetition is soon forgotten. I can't really fault it for anything, it's a good take on the theme. Good stuffs.

[justinj212]

I enjoyed the mix, has a space-like feel to it, and I was admittedly bopping my head throughout.

[Bahamut]

I'm not familiar with the source unfortunately. This comes off to me as fairly generic though. Poor production, and the arrangement isn't anything to write home about either other than being fairly cookiecutter happy trance.

[Marmiduke]

The structure was what kept me out of this. It's a lot of build up, only to climax in the centre and then just wanders onward from there. Not helped by the fact that the instruments sound pretty limp and it doesn't have too much to say on the source.

I didn't mind the intro and outro segments; the piano added a little something to what is a pretty anaemic techno session. I can't help but feel uninspired by this. It's Rayza, so I know that it has technical chops backing it up, but I still get a bit of a "so what?" vibe.