Hemophiliac

Well this certainly has come a long way from it's first steps last year. I'm happy you've gone from being a long-time fan to diving into producing and arranging, to now submitting! The vibe on this one is dark and contemplative, it creates an almost haunting atmosphere at times. I think for that aspect of things you've done a good job creating that feeling. In a macro-sense I like how the whole piece is laid out and how it flows. Your singing was done well, and the effect of filtering added more eeriness to go along with the other elements. At the same time too, the vocals are very loud and feel very on top of the other parts rather then sitting in the same space and same mix. The formants are loud as well specifically in the range of about 1,800~3,500Hz. If there's a boost there from an EQ, I suggest to reduce it some. I feel like there's a lot that could've been done to help the piece feel less static and propelled forward. The background elements sound okay, but the focal melody lines are very exposed letting us hear how sequenced and unreal they are. Barring better samples or a live performance from the oboe and bass clarinet extra attention to humanization would be needed to make them work better in a soloist's context (more attention to velocity, dynamics, timing, phrase lengths). Also there are percussion rolls that get the "machine-gun" effect (IE: hi-hat rolls 0:18, 1:08 concert tom, 2:23 piano roll). At times the leads do also wander about and noodle. Not the worst I've heard, but it definitely could be improved upon. Right now, there's a lot of issues adding up rather than one singular large issue to focus on. There's a great concept here, however; it needs better execution of production/humanization, and consideration of how to reduce the static feel and noodling. NO

I think we are all in agreement that there are legs in the concept and style adaption here. The genre is rad and injecting some weird elements before the final recap was cool (with the synth). Bring that out more! Static and repetitive are both words I'd use to describe this. It just doesn't change up much and keeps relentless chugs going. The chugs themselves are also mixed so much more forward and present then the other parts including the leads. The leads should be the focus while the rhythm guitar chugs should be a background element working in tandem with the percussion to drive the piece forward. Right now they are continuous and get dull after a while due to lack of variation. My fellow judges already did a great job explaining what should be addressed should you choose to continue working on this more. I'd like to see the static repetitive rhythm addressed with variation and some more careful examination of the mixdown/balance of parts. NO

I want to start off with the strongest element here, the arrangement and style adaption is done very well. The source is well represented here, and going to metal fits very well. During the recaps towards the end, the melodic embellishments are great; like 4:37-4:52. Good job making the melody your own there. 2:32 was a great place to change things up and give the listener contrast. I think I might have liked it more with even more contrast too. For example, dropping the bass out completely during the second half of that (~2:47) and introducing it again before the transition at 3:24. Not necessary at all, but I think this could improve the song to make the contrast stronger there. 5:24 transition fell flat for me and made the last section rhythm change sudden to me, not the worst but it could be improved. The ending also didn't need a fade out, hit that last chord and let it ring out some! The mixdown is my gripe here and the biggest detractor from the track from being better than it is right now. The kick has a lot of top end to it and not enough of the bottom end. In general the whole drum kit feels thin and lacking the power it should have. Probably needs some glue compression to fit in everything better with the rest of the parts. The guitars at times seem to be fighting for space in the top end as well. Let the lead sing out the most compared to the others! Though the guitars are closer to being in the right place in the mix when compared to the drums. This would be a good time to pick out a pro-level song where you like the mix and want to try to emulate that. Not only for the percussion, but the guitars too. Pull up that song and compare it A/B style to yours. Try to match the levels and sound of the drums compared to your own. Jumping into the workshop or discord to get feedback on the mix as you go in the future couldn't hurt, and I think this would benefit from that. Would love to see this one back again with some more work done on it. NO (resubmit)

I really want to rubberstamp this so you can get your feedback and move-on, because both Liontamer and prophetik nailed it already. Alex, you have great production chops and it'll only be a matter of time before you figure it all out and get something passed. It's been nice to see you join the community and be involved in the workshop as well as helping out others As far as this Tekken track goes, unfortunately there's not enough source usage to consider this identifiable and dominant. At times the beat does feel inspired by the beat from the source, but that alone does not really hold strength when there are other elements that are not used or are recognizable. Right now, this is more of an original piece of music...though, it's an awesome original piece. Extremely well produced and awesome to listen to. You absolutely used every single piece of headroom this had available and keeps the limiter busy and this is impressively loud. One thing that I really liked and wanted to point out was the transition at 1:53, great use of triplet gating. That sudden use of off-time rhythm really is effective when everything was so straight previously. To summarize, great production chops but I can't pass this because there's not enough source material to get by. NO

I could vibe out to this and just have it on in the background and tune-out and chill. That's rad. The production is also solid. The guitar and mandolin both sound good! Unfortunately, I'm not feeling that the source is very identifiable or dominantly featured. It just doesn't seem to be coming through and I'm not picking up on where it's at. The other issue is the drums are on auto-pilot most of the way through. Give us some variation to them aside from just dropping parts in and out. Variation goes a long way to keeping a track progressing and moving forward without changing the other parts around them. 3:05 with the recapitulation would be a good time to change them up in particular as this is a time you want to bring more energy for a final repeat! There's potential here, but I would need to hear more identifiable usage of the source as well as some work on the variation in the drums in to consider a pass. NO

Really cool vibe on this one, and I would love to see this on the site. However, there are some problems that should be addressed first. The drums are very repetitive and bland, playing a simple pattern that rarely gives a fill at the end of phrases. Melodically there's some embellishments that are appreciated, but the second half of the song is pretty much identical to the first, except for some half time drums at the end (which was a cool way to change things up). But before you know it, the arrangement is over with a whimper. The change-up in feel was good, it just came too late when it was needing to be done sooner. The production is handled mostly well, with minor imbalances as pointed out by prophetik. I would love to see the arrangement varied up with more time taken to look at the percussion and other places variation could be applied (such as melody or overall structure). I would also like to see this back as I feel this one has potential and want to see it on the front page with some changes. NO (resubmit)

Definitely a throwback vibe to earty 2000s trance, that's cool. The sound design choices are definitely a decision and that's both a good and bad thing. Good because you've nailed that specific vibe, but bad because it does sound generic too. No points lost for that, just wanted to point it out. Leads could benefit from some modulation or changing up. Onto the biggest issue I've noticed is the source usage. 0:29-0:43 and 0:51-1:20 are the only two spots where I can identify the source, and even those aren't direct carry-overs from the source. They are interpretive. Even with the breakdown, I'm not picking up on the source outside of those two spots. If you do go back to revisit this, you're going to really look carefully at how you use the sources and how you can make them more identifiable and dominant. There's also a couple places where the part writing sounds out of key that should be examined. Like prophetik mentioned, 2:11~ in the piano. During 2:25-2:50~ there is some clicks/popping from something, no idea what is causing it. Structurally, I feel the piece works overall. It takes us on a journey and tells a story. The ending however, does leave something to be desired as the ending loses steam after 3:53. I'm not saying it doesn't work, it's just not ideal. After all that it will probably sound like I hate this, but the opposite is true. It is an enjoyable throwback, but would need a reworking to get this over the bar. NO

In a macro sense, I think this arrangement was pretty good. It's just got the minor issues holding it back from being the complete package. For me the biggest offender and the reason why I can't give this a pass is the dissonances in the backing elements. 2:35 stands out to me the most with regards to dissonances, doesn't sound like an individual note here but a chord choice not fitting. Flexstyle also pointed out other timestamps that should be addressed as well. Hi hats also stand out in the mixdown, feel hotter than the leads to me. Guitar work was good and sits within the mix well, just check for dissonances in the chords. Also liked the subtle movement on the synth leads when they would occasionally pop-in. I know you're capable of revision in a manner that will address our concerns and keeps your idea intact. Please revisit this and send it back when you're ready. NO (resubmit)

As the two previous judges have mentioned, the arrangement on this is not at all the issue here. I like the conservative approach with minor additions throughout. The arrangement itself is very pleasant and I could listen to this on loop with more work put into it. The interplay between the guitar and the piano is very pleasant, however; the guitar is mixed behind the piano and is tougher to focus on with the piano being much more forward. I don't love the vox but it's possible to get by with this sample. As a vocalist myself, I'm always bothered when I hear forte timbre being applied softly through samples. It just sounds unnatural. Unfortunately, the humanization of all of the parts is the drawback here. With only 3 parts, they are exposed and it makes it easier to hear when things aren't as realistic sounding as they could be. If you don't want to get live performances, that's fine. You'll just need to spend a lot of time working on the fine details of performance to sound more in line with a human performance. Now, I'm not saying things are robotic here, but they certainly could be improved. 2:33-2:56 in particular (in the piano) stood out as it seems no pedaling was utilized here. Exaggerate what you've already put in as well as adding more human rhythm/velocity variation will go a long way to improving this. Just not quite passed the finish line yet. NO (resubmit)

I have to echo what the two previous votes have said on their points, I agree with them. The leads are often much too bright and forward, really making a harsh unpleasant tone to listen to for long periods. A few things that I want to add: 0:37 shakuhachi-like instrument enters and it's very dry and present. 3:07-4:20 there are many notes during this section that just sound wrong. Something is dissonant and not in a pleasant way, at times it just sounds like the shakuhachi/flute is playing in a different key entirely. Many transitions and direct modulations don't feel prepared and as a listener you're jarred from section to section. The overall macro-structure of the song is fine, and there's a journey taken and a story told. There just needs to have a lot of work done to improve the detail work and production. After 3:07 think about what's the most important part of the arrangement and have that be the focus. Not only are there a lot of parts going on, but the balance between parts is off. As the lead is much louder and forward then the other parts. This whole section is brickwalled too, give the listener some breathing room here to be able to process everything that's going on. Prophetik mentioned side-chaining for this section, and I'm not hearing any being used here. It would definitely help clean up this section some with minimal effort. The ending after 6:23 having an echo-like coda that fades to nothing is much quieter than the section proceeding it, I honestly thought I had something else accidentally playing in the background at the same time. I do like that some attention has been given to the articulations on the leads with some glissandos as well as shaping of phrases with dynamics and crescendos/decrescendos. However, the actual instruments used are still feeling unrealistic. This can be helped some with better application of reverb on them and pushing them back into the mix so that they aren't forward and as present. When something stands out as much as these leads it's easy to hear their imperfections, easier to get away with less realism when it is pushed back into the mix. NO

While this is a fun and peppy throwback track, as this sounds like something you'd hear from the early 2000s. However, it's very much a cover with a genre adaption. We're looking more for Magna Romagna's flavors and spices applied to it. Genre adaption is a start at doing this, but you would need to do more than just that. It could be melodic interpretation, adding original sections, or changing the time signature. Those are just a few suggestions, and certainly doesn't cover all possibilities. What you've got here isn't bad at all, just not what we're looking for in a passing arrangement. If you need assistance with those ideas or how to interpret the source more, I recommend utilizing the workshop on the forums to get feedback or join the Discord and do the same in the #workshop channel there. Again, this isn't a bad start at all; the potential is there. It just needs more of your own development and interpretation of the source. NO (resubmit)

Care to elaborate? Not much being mentioned here...

This is a fun, but highly conservative arrangement. Going dnb isn't a bad call, but when you're working with loops like this you need to give some variety or variation with them. You drop out the drums at good times such as 0:41. Keeping the same loop over and over gets old very fast, so changing it up or slicing it goes a long way to keeping the track moving and avoiding becoming static. The ending is awkward as the final transition at 2:09 is abrupt to get us bookended to the opening bass loop, and then it has a very quick fade-out to close it. Nothing wrong with book-ending the track, it's just the sudden transition back and the quick fade. A more definitive ending would be ideal considering it is such a short track. I'm not sure if that is the original source instrument lead in the background or a synth that is very close to it, but I would suggest to make that not as similar to avoid the confusion of it possibly being just the original in the back. Some of the other synth choices aren't ideal, but I don't want to criticize those too much as that can be an artistic choice and they don't impact my decision on this track in particular. I agree with Prophetik that we need more of Radixerus' takes and inspiration to take this to the next level. Let's hear what you bring to it aside from the drum loops. That could be in the form of melodic changes, harmonic changes, or maybe a brand new section that's completely original. Those are just a few examples (but not all) of how one could bring your own looks to a track. If you feel you need more help in that department I'd recommend posting in the workshop or joining the discord seeking feedback on there. NO

We need more new jack swing! Severely under represented genre with VGM. This is a fun track with excellently sung vocals by Alvic. I'm also a sucker for well used orch hits! For me there's two major issues and one less so. One, the arrangement is too conservative and close to the original source. Now, you've nailed the genre adaption, but it's still too close. The second major issue is the drums don't have enough variation and are stuck and static on the same pattern for most of the track. Nothing wrong with the pattern itself as it feels very appropriate for the genre. It just doesn't change or have parts added or subtracted as the song progresses. Give us some variety to change things up and give a sense of progression aside from section changes. For me the minor issue is the lack of weight in the bass, and that could be because it's quieter then the other parts. Compression might help bring it out and give it the beef I think of when I think of that particular 90s sound. The other production feels mostly solid to me, the vocal processing was handled very well in particular. The fadeout ending isn't great but it doesn't bother me either. Wish I could give this the nod, but the closeness to the source and autopilot drums kept this playboy out of the club. NO

This is really begging for more development and expansion. As of right now this is mostly an orchestration of parts rather then a fully realized ReMix. The dynamics are fantastic and I'm so glad to hear the gamut of soft to loud here. The samples and production are handled well enough for them to not be an issue in what would pass this. The issue comes down to the arrangement. It's conservative and doesn't take us far away from that source much. At 1:28 it barely feels like the idea is executed before it's done. For me to pass this I would need to see more of your own expansion on the theme and/or some creative interpretation of the melodic material. This sounds good, but there's not enough material to feel fully developed. NO