pixelseph

Happy to see this one come back around! On the previous vote, I wanted to hear the rhythm guitars' forwardness get reined back and hear the drumkit EQ tweaked to get more kick attack and more snare body. There wasn't any doubt about arrangement cleverness or source usage there or here. :-) I can hear substantially more kick in this mix, and more snare body - it sounds like layering a kick and snare to shore up what wasn't caught by the live mics. There's less overtone ring from the original snare, but I'm glad to hear it still. Part of a good beach vibe is that ring on the rimshot and it's there where it counts! I can hear some sidechaining applied to the bass guitar so that the kick comes across more in the space as well - subtle but effective! The lead guitar is more present in the mix now with the rhythm guitars pared back to the edges, which I'm in alignment with Liontamer that they could stand to come back another dB or so. This is a minor nitpick rather than a must-have - Siolfor's leads shine more now! Happy to sign off on this one now. It's not perfect, but it's comfortably above the bar now with the changes. Pardon me, I need to find an empty green shell and a lime... YES

Slow burn 6/8 time, let's go! I'm not super familiar with Golden Sun's OST but every track I've voted on so far has been a real treat. To me, the track's cohesion is not in question - the voice clips (:00 - :30, 4:34 - 4:55) tie the intro and the outro together, the rest of the track courses through the chord progression of the source, and the outro includes the main melody via the chip. I can't count the chord progression as source use since it's too common (i - VII - VI - V, known at the Andalusian cadence). 1:47 - 2:05 is the first time we get some substantive source (the counterpoint arp line), and 2:06 brings the source melody in. 2:26 - 2:35 brings the counterpoint back, 2:36 - 3:12 adds the melody in the low-mid synth under the counterpoint. Lucas's sax (a welcome addition, and a great rest to give it the space!) embellishes the melody line from 3:12 - 3:33, then it revisits the material from the opening minute @ 3:34 - 4:10. 4:12 - 5:06 is definitely from the source, so let's add it up. 1:47 - 3:33 (106 seconds), 4:12 - 5:06 (52 seconds) = 158 seconds, or 41% of the track uses the source. Despite this, I think the callback to earlier material is a strong move, and the instinct is correct. It just isn't ticking the source use box for me. On the production side of the equation, the mix is choked for most of the sections. Multiple low-frequency instruments compete for the limited space (1:28 - 2:25 really defines this for me), which clutter up the groove being established by the drums. While I can hear and feel the drums, it just feels mired by the basses - more sidechaining (either with compression or dynamic EQ) is needed to get that groove back in there! This one is close, held back by a cluttered soundscape and not enough source. For me to sign off on this one, I'd need: the bass frequencies attended to (with more defined sidechaining or EQ), and something to tie the source into the track in the opening 90 seconds. I can only imagine how much time has been poured into this one knowing the dedication and focus you put on your tracks, VQ, and I know you are capable of getting this one across the finish line! NO (resubmit)

Beach time with Mel and crew! I'm immediately sold on the vibe from the start - chord voicings and comping from the rhythm guitar and bass are emblematic of that ska/reggae/calypso style. Great performances overall! The arrangement is a conservative take on the source, though the personalized soloing and breaks add enough for me to sign off on it. As I'm listening, I agree with my fellow Js on the drums and rhythm guitar mixing. The kick drum is mostly low-end thump with very little click (not uncommon in reggae, to be fair) and the snare has almost no body to it, so it comes out thin despite it being pretty audible in the overall mix anyway. Both lead and rhythm guitars could do with more reverb to fit them better in the space; this would help reign in the forwardness of the rhythm guitars. The marimba lines like @ 1:25 might feel better if they were doubled by steel pan (or moved entirely to steel pan to shift the voicing @ 2:01). I do agree with Brad that when they have the spotlight on them (such as @ 2:37 - 3:01), the voiced octaves feel more like a harmonic reinforcement line rather than an actual melody - if this doesn't pass and DeLuxDolemite is willing to retrack, this would be an excellent marimba solo spot! This is just below the bar for me. The arrangement is good, and the performances are solid for what they are, but the production needs another pass. Assuming retakes are not possible, focus some more attention on the EQ imbalance of the drum kit mix (more presence to the kick drum, more body to the snare) and reign back the rhythm guitars to be more of a background element. I definitely want to see this hit the site once it's ready! NO (resubmit)

This is one of the most interesting Zelda remixes I've ever had the pleasure to delve into! This remix opens with a fake-out, though the context of the fake-out intro isn’t clear until :25. :34 counts off the real intro. Fake-out intro and the real intro both use ALttP’s Dark World Dungeon theme, as described in the write-up with the celli and viola, though the real intro at :36 takes a unique approach with the interpretation. The quartet introduces each member of the ensemble from lowest to highest, moving together into :53. The piece is quite tense, allowing very brief releases at 1:00 and 1:11. Everything is nicely separated in the soundscape, making it easy to pick out what any particular instrument is doing at any point. The piece is definitely some kind of tonal! :-) Moments like 1:35, 1:43, and 1:48 effectively use extended voicings and rhythm to keep the tension ratcheting up. There’s a breath at 2:01, picking back up at 2:02 with the NES Dungeon motif. 2:31 brings in a more sombre, melancholy feel that doesn’t totally displace the tension, moving back to that more anxious feel at 3:03. 3:13 keeps the tempo but has the viola layer the ostinato with a dotted rhythm over the quarter-time cello, creating a neat syncopation. I’m having trouble placing the Sanctuary Dungeon motif in the piece, likely because it’s been reinterpreted to flow with the other two motifs. Dynamically, the piece pushes and pulls throughout, which helps contextualize the tense motifs. The pauses (2:01, 3:10) help keep things from going into too much harmonic dissonance. The only nitpick I have is that the ending feels like a bit of a letdown - a quick, dramatic rest before bringing the ensemble in for the final two chords would have been nicer to have. The composition and arrangement allowed for ease of separating out the instruments, and the panning also helped give more depth. The panning violin phrases like at 2:48 and 3:28 that move across the stereo field are great examples. Frequencies are nicely balanced - not a lot of sub-bass but there’s still plenty of warmth without having mud. While I would have preferred a stronger resolution, this piece has more strengths than weaknesses. The mix is solid, the writing maintains a tense feel without going overboard, and it executes its vision overall. And while my ear couldn’t make out the Sanctuary Dungeon motif in the 3rd act, the other sections have enough source material to carry the piece. Welcome to the front page! YES