Deus Ex - UNATCO (PRC199)

Votes (11)

Aug 01, 2011 Zerothemaster
  1. Distortion HQ
    Nutritious
  2. Augmented Reality
    DjMokram
  3. JC to UNATCO
    beckett007
XSquader: Some good ideas, but it stretches out a bit too long and is a bit to much like the original. More variety would have made this really good.

Obtuse: Same as above, some good ideas, but it stretches out too long. It wasn't as energetic as I was expecting when I heard DnB, but I don't have a ton of experience there.

Toilet Goat: Your mix sounded a lot like Obtuse's, except that yours was too short instead of too long. I was waiting for it to go somewhere and it didn't. But I loved the choir at the end.

Inrade: The idea of a jazz mix is good, but the sax just didn't fit in with the electronic sounds that you had before. It didn't really sound like jazz to me.

beckett007: It was too short! But it was an excellent mix nonetheless, I liked the choirs here too.

Chroxic: Good ideas and some nice energy, but I felt that it was too short. It could have easily gone longer with some additional variations.

Nutritious: That was really good. I loved the feel and the gritty instruments. Good job.

Gario: Has a really nice feel about it, but it's a bit long. It doesn't variate enough.

evktalo: It stretches out a bit too long. Not enough variation. Good ideas, though.

DjMokram: Not perfect, but a lot of good stuff here. I would have liked to see more chiptune influence, but I liked the arabian leads.

Eegad that was a lot :P
Aug 01, 2011 toilet goat
  1. Distortion HQ
    Nutritious
  2. JC to UNATCO
    beckett007

  3. evktalo
nutritious = think it sounded like some pendulum, really good job!

beckett007 = epic orchestra yay

evktalo = winland =)
Aug 01, 2011 SubNormal J3
  1. Distortion HQ
    Nutritious
  2. JC to UNATCO
    beckett007
  3. Augmented Reality
    DjMokram
Looking back, that MIDI file was a bit misleading as it had the synth guitar raised one perfect fifth for some reason... My bad, guys.

Regardless, there are tons of great entries despite the MIDI misleading.

Nutritious's track definitely stands above the rest in both arrangement and production. I like how he interpreted some of the lines while staying true to the source.

becket007's orchestral style worked well for the source, and the production was also a step above the others. As a previous PRC winner, the vote is a no-brainer.

It was more difficult to choose my third place vote. Ultimately, I think DjMokram deserves it. Though the mix was not entirely complete, it had so many great ideas, and just enough was finished to showcase them.
Aug 01, 2011 bundeslang
  1. Distortion HQ
    Nutritious
  2. Coffee Break with Daedalus and Icarus
    Gario
  3. JC to UNATCO
    beckett007
PRC199 - 11 Songs. This doesn't happen much, great work everyone. I remember some 'summer PRC's' with only one song after an extention. Keep them coming in the next rounds.

Voting was really hard, perhaps I should have asked you to submit a top 5 or so because I'd like to give more points, but that's against the PRC tradition, so I didn't do that.


Beckett007 - This is really good, I like the sampling, the choirs (or whatever it is) really work out well.
Chroxic - Nice start, the bass is a little too loud. I really like the speed-up in the drums. Ending is a little boring.
DJ Mokram - Interesting take on the source. The drumwork is really good and the song has a good balance. Good ending too.
Evktalo - The part around 1:40 is really good, nice variation. The part before and after that are a little too long. Also, nice songname.
Gario - Excellent intro. The song is really relaxing. I liked the part around 3:00 the most, really nice song. The ending could have been better.
Inrade - Long intro. The song has a nice set-up. The 'silence' at 3:20 is a bit too abrupt, the ending as well.
Nutritious - Good to see you around again. Interesting sampling at the beginning, I like that. Really nice drums/kick comes in at 1:38.
Obtuse - There's a weird part around 1:10, it's a bit noisy. I like the strings, the kick is not my favorite. The song is a little too long, it would have worked better if it was only 2:30 or something like that.
Toilet Goat - It takes a little too long before the song lives, but then it's really good. I like the lead. The last section is a nice addition.
Xsquader - I like the sampling you used, especially that bass-line. Only the string doesn't fit well (like around 2:19), but that one works well at the end.
Zerothemachine - Funny and original start. The song has an easy construction, I liked the way you combined everything, especially around 2:02 (sounds like a Game Gear). At the end, it gets too noisy and some drums are irritating. Excellent ending though.

Voting was close, but I voted this way:
1 Nutritious
2 Gario
3 Beckett007

Honorary mention: everyone.
Aug 01, 2011 Xsquader
  1. Coffee Break with Daedalus and Icarus
    Gario
  2. Distortion HQ
    Nutritious
  3. Almighty One
    Inrade
This was a VERY hard decision. There are so many good entries but gario's is probably my favorite. It was all a matter of personal taste within the first 2 I chose. All 3 are very well done and very polished. Inrade would have pulled first in my vote but I just didn't think the funky jazz thing went with the rest of the track. It just kind of threw me for a loop. People may disagree but that's just how I feel about that one. Regardless it was a good mix and good enough to pull my third place vote.
Aug 01, 2011 Amphibious
  1. Distortion HQ
    Nutritious
  2. Coffee Break with Daedalus and Icarus
    Gario
  3. JC to UNATCO
    beckett007
As soon as I heard the mix by Nutritious I was amazed. I loved it. It started with some really powerful synths, and when it changed into double time for the last half it felt very epic. An absolutely splendid mix in my opinion, worthy of first place.

Gario had a really nice chill mix. The song itself is already pretty chill, but Gario added some really cool elements, mixing some 8-bit goodness in there. Very enjoyable.

Beckett had a great mix, and it was partly electronic and part symphonic which stood out. It was certainly an interesting take on the source, and I could easily see it in some sort of Deus Ex film.

It was hard to pick which to put 2nd and 3rd, because they were both such different styles but very well made. Also with 11 songs it was pretty difficult overall. I found these 3 stuck out the most for me, with Nutritious slightly above the rest. Great turnout though, wish I coulda submitted to round it up to a good dozen.
Aug 02, 2011 DjMokram
  1. JC to UNATCO
    beckett007
  2. Distortion HQ
    Nutritious
  3. Coffee Break with Daedalus and Icarus
    Gario
-ROUND 199-

Been a while since I've done this, and it was a blast.
Now, time to get down to business with feedback...

--------------------

#First place - beckett007:
I can safely say that when it comes to superbly crafted orchestral pieces, Rich Douglas is probably my favorite artist in the VGM community.
Just being in a compo with someone as talented as you is an honor sir. :)
Once again demonstrating mastery of the eclectic sample-palette at your disposal, you've made an arrangement indeed fit for some Bruckheimer-summer-blockbuster-action.
Very clever combination of electronic and acoustic/orchestral sounds, with some powerful percussive beds and eloquent choirs to close the deal.
If there was a Deus Ex movie, this song would brillantly complement the epic release trailer.
And from what I've heard of it so far, this reinterpretation of the source is in par with the work of Michael McCann on the upcoming DX Human Revolution. ;)

#Second place - Nutritious:
As the saying goes: if it's nutritious, it's delicious. ;P
This right here is some very solid source interpretation. The material is identifiable, but rather than referencing the melodic content as a fast and as accurately as possible, you've taken some neat detours to show us just
how comfortable you were with the whole thing.
Often hidden behind blurry synthetic texture or pounding basslines, the UNATCO theme is unveiled bit by bit, along with the thought-process of the artist who've arranged it.
It was a very rewarding experience as a listener and proly the first time I'm hearing you taking a go at a 100% purely electronic mix.
Sir, if I may: you really ought to do that more often! :D

#Third place - Gario:
I haven't been in a compo with you since joining the community. Imagine that.
Yeah, I can definitely see myself chilling around the vending machine... or hacking everyone's computer while they're taking a coffee-break. xD
Luv the realxing mood of this arrangement, with its very clean prod and excellent selection of complementary synthetizers.
You've gotten really good at this over the years, and proof is I don't hear the good ol' 'piercing hi-freq' problem you used to have.
A well crafted and inspirational remix that honors the source and prove that you're now a force to reckon with in this community.
Don't ever stop getting better bro.
...and don't forget to get an 'Icarus Landing System' augmentation when DXHR comes out. ;D

#Fourth place - evktalo:
Never thought I would be the one to give you feedback on a mix. ;P
I like how this remix goes right into the meat of things, with colorful textures and a nice, clear lead that introduce some very cool variations on the main melody.
And just when I thought it was over... a suprise breakdown just got me back into action.
This part really reminds me of Hidenori Iwasaki's work (one of the composer of the Front Mission games), and I don't say that kind of things very often.
It has a sort of 80s sci-fi action movie vibe to it, that would totally fit somthing like Blade Runner.
Thanks for this blast from the past, and I'm looking forward to hearing the next great remixes you have in store. :)

-------------------

-Other entries-

xsquader: when the beat enters, it's reminiscent of the music from the Bare Knuckles games on the sega genesis.
Arrangement is pretty conservative but has some interesting variations on the chords and textures.

Obtuse: Cool choice of sounds in this one. Tempo is close to the original, yet the introduction of DnB elements to speed up thing was a cool idea.

Toilet Goat: Nice work on the atmosphere in this. Piano is mechanical but definitely has an emotional ring to it.
The variation in pacing was also a welcome addition.

Inrade: Well thought-out progression made for a great listen. I particularily enjoyed the intricate ballet between synth arpeggios and drums/percussions.
The saxophone however was a bit too loud. Watch your levels more closely next time. ;)

Zerothemaster: I see I wasn't the only one to think of the evolution process in musical terms. ;P
This is a very experimental piece, fusing chiptune elements with modern instruments in a rather unorthodox way.
A fascinating song, yet also a bit confusing at times.

chroxic: Great use of tempo modulation coupled to a clever stacking of elements, effectively making the song progressively bulkier and more complex.
Nothing stands out too much, yet the arrangement works well in its own safe/conservative way.


That's it for this round. See y'all next time. :D
Aug 03, 2011 chroxic
  1. Augmented Reality
    DjMokram

  2. evktalo
  3. UNATCO DnB After Party
    Obtuse
Augmented Reality: good arrangement and a substantially different direction to take the source

Agenttip��majatunnuss�velm�: changes things up well (different notes, etc)

UNATCO DnB After Party: mixes things up as well

(sorry the notes suck! I'm running out the door to school right now and I wanted to get my vote in.)
Aug 03, 2011 evktalo
  1. Distortion HQ
    Nutritious
  2. Coffee Break with Daedalus and Icarus
    Gario
  3. Augmented Reality
    DjMokram
Such a fantastic round with so many entries.. every track had something going for it. Tomorrow, I might pick different pieces, it was very close and it was difficult to choose one over another.

This time I thought these had the combination of being complete enough, standing out and having style, sounds and arrangement that I particularly enjoyed. :)

Great work everyone!

--Eino
Aug 03, 2011 JH Sounds
  1. UNATCO DnB After Party
    Obtuse
  2. BASSCO
    chroxic
  3. Distortion HQ
    Nutritious
For descriptions of all the entries, check out my blog post this Thursday.

http://blog.jhsounds.com/
Aug 03, 2011 Gario
  1. Almighty One
    Inrade
  2. Evolution
    Zerothemaster
  3. BASSCO
    chroxic
... When I first glanced through the tracks, this was not what I expected my lineup to be. However, they just seemed to grow on me after a while.

Inrade - I just love the Sax, man. It should've been in the track more, but what was there was awesome. Overall I just enjoyed the atmosphere of this track... I can't explain why.

Zerothemaster - I... I don't know, man, but once this one picks up I just fell for it. It reminds me of Iji's Sector Z, with it's strange choir/chiptune/madness approach.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4KYCoq36N8

It's awesome.

Chroxic - I think I like this one because it's the first finished track I've heard from you. That alone makes my list. It's also pretty catchy, bro. :P

Awesome PRC round, peeps.