Christmas Special Editorial: 20 years of RKO (The charts revisited)
Published: 24/12/2020 by Neil Carr
In the year 2000 Jan Lund Thomsen's RKO (remix.kwed.org) was born. Finally, a resource that enabled remixers to uploaded their remixes for the world to enjoy. Before that time the remixing scene were made up of several websites spread around the internet. Finding these sites and jumping around from one to another was a painful and a somewhat chaotic experience. Over the years RKO would establish itself to be the one stop shop to get your c64 remix fix. In this Christmas editorial special we go back through the years and present the top 3 remixes voted by our readers from each year to the current day. So grab a cuppa sit back and enjoy whilst we take you on a nostalgia trip. Oh! and if you haven't voted yet on these remixes here's a chance to do so. Happy Christmas everyone.
*Ratings are correct at the time of publish. Ratings subject to varience should votes be cast.
YEAR: 2000
banador: Just so good and interesting picture of the Nemesis that this music creates.
Capitaine: Crazyyy! It's just the original tune atmosphere. Many thanks for this :)
das.Mordschaf: Its just GREAT <3
92%
soppa: Absolutely stunning remix, so simple (as the sid) but yet so eerie and deep feel to it, also love the selection of ambient sounds in this.
Dumper: Absolutely brilliant.
nonick: Excellent! But I'd like to know which Galway tunes have been recycled here.
93%
humorguy: Oh sorry fell up from somewhere really nice. Big fat red one!
countzorg: Shimmering
condor: Agreed with ommoroca - wonderful!
92%
Year 2001
machinae supremacy - Great Giana Sisters
anaconda: Simply the best remix ever done. All time favourite!
rossa: Wow great!!
NWorXParallax: It'a a fantastic work. I can't get off. Let's play it again!!
96%
Tonka - Last Ninja - Palace Gardens (Loader)
Acceptus: OMG. GREAT!!!!!!!!!!♡
hillsman: Absolute genius. A true sid remix - wish there were more like it.
timmya4000: My favourite cover I've heard on here so far. The part in the middle is so awesome
93%
DHS - Max Headroom (Orbital 3241 Elevator Mix)
aero: Simply gorgeous
NecroPolo: I think it's the best tune pack of Whittaker. The first section doesn't really cut through for me as much as the following parts - but that's just a subjective footnote, the remix is very cool all the way.
humorguy: Great value for money DHS just keeps on doin' it!
91%
Year 2002
Glyn R Brown - Firelord - Symphonic
Chappers: Flawless and simply brilliant! Glyn should be making big bucks producing quality like this for the big budget movies.
Nebdar: One of my favorite, exelent
niccin: Awesome!
96%
Mahoney - Armageddon Man (Vocal Jazz feat. Karin Öjehagen)
aero: Going back in time again to listen to old favorites. This one is truly amazing!
Mrcookie: Marvelous!
prq: This is an excellent tune and Karin's voice is outstanding
95%
Glyn R Brown - Gordian Tomb Adventures
_steve_: Simply stunning. Very emotive and well produced. Another classic from Glyn.
infamous: I have no idea why I didnt vote this earlier.. Maybe cos im a twat? Anyway.. Obvious red face, sits right at the pinnacle of remix's.. And remains the high overlord of all remixes to come..
Chili-Man: A Masterpiece!!!
95%
Year 2003
Lagerfeldt - Dutch Breeze/Robocop 3 (Progressive Uplift)
humorguy: Perfect instumentation, rockin' feet tapping.... Well you know the rest!
infamous: Outstanding
Wilfred: Excellent work!
93%
Thomas Detert - Supernova (the slow tune)
Ryrynz: Beautifully done.
Mordi: Awesome! I had no idea this tune was on this site. Wtf!
snorski: Epic
93%
bratac: Simply wonderful!
bar: The art of Vangelis+The sound of Neuronium+The touch of Suzanne Ciani=one of the best tune on RKO
Chainsaw: Very great
92%
Year 2004
lonegunman: Very Epical... Outstanding, of course!
carlos: Really nice and epic tune
jemym: OMG... O_O
97%
Zieman: You can fall into a SWEET, endless near-sleep while listening to this :)
condor: I remember this one whet I donwload it... It's brilliant!
omoroca: Donné is god! Added to my collection.
97%
DHS - The Human Race (Bando alle Seghe)
vhold: Wow. The unorthodox elements work so well and really give this a totally unique character.
Ziphoid: Still, after all these years - this is simply beautiful!
eliot: Yes, yes, yes - another all-time favourite for me :-) And PLEASE remix much more C-64 tunes!;-)
94%
Year 2005
Makke - Artura(Dublin Delight Mix) feat. Andreas Wallström
vosla: Excellent! Makes me want to storm a local irish pub and have a keg of beer!
Waz: This is exactly how Ben would have done the tune if he'd been allowed to put all manner of Jethro Tull influence into the piece. Original and also quality, keeping the spirit of the original intact.
chabee: Well done!
95%
Marcel Donné - Something Stranger Remake
Zilog: Lovely!
L0rd3vyL: Awesome remix, Marcel
XxDUSTYxX: This is really an outstanding and very catchy Remix! Thumbs up, man! - P. S. Grytulf: Release a better Remix... That would be the REAL surprise!;)
93%
nec5: Really. You won't get better than this for orchestra/chant music. A+
Waz: This is a bit good to say the least. Lovely use of guitar for the lead parts, which convey just the right amount of emotion. And plenty of gentle and neat touches to make it a beautiful emotional piece. Download it. Now.
Dumper: Everything Glyn touches turns to gold. Another classic.
92%
Year 2006
Andy Gilmour & LMan - Robocop Title
sebuko: Very good!!!
the_jinx: One of the best remixes ever.. I have a lot of late 80's early 90's feelings pop up evrytime I play it..
Ph0B1uS: A really good remix. I LOVE the guitar in this one, a defininite faviourite
96%
moog (Sebastian Bachliñski) - Tristess
Ph0B1uS: One word, Brilliant.
widar: Amazing, simply amazing! The best?
koroner: Masterpiece!
93%
machinae supremacy - Sidology 2 Trinity
gforg: Great song!
Nebdar: GLORIOUS
DMC: Pheeew. What can I say? This one is dope! 8:17 - 10:22 kicks ass!!! Mixing is sometimes a bit messy but nothing I can´t live with. Outstanding vote for outstanding work!!!
93%
YEAR 2007
Reyn Ouwehand - Green Beret (live at The Church)
8bit-army: Perfekt!
prq: Absolutely outstanding, all instruments are excellent.
Batowski: This should be number one! Even if it had nothing to do with Green Beret it would be a hit.
97%
Dafunk - Destruction - The New Beginning (rmx)
LaLa: Great arrangement, great sounds, great mastering, great, great, great.
k_rostoen: What Skitz said.
_steve_: Fantastic sounds. Absolutely brilliant track
93%
93%
YEAR 2008
Mordi - Plastic Pop (I Miss You mix)
dafunk: Very interesting take. Thanks!:)
selvatico: Simply outstanding
boyowilkins: Another fantastic remix - where on earth do you get the time :-)
93%
Dafunk - Hardcore Power (We Believe In Goa - Remix)
zajos: I did not listen to Slay Radio for half year and now I checked back and this tune made my day. Great!
NecroPolo: This musical style is not my cup of tea. The top notch execution is.
Caboose: This is nice!
93%
Peter W - Stargate (Not As Trancelucent As)
Zilog: Simply PERFECT
LaLa: Wonderful!
xo: Su-bloody-perb.
92%
YEAR 2009
Firestorm - Commando (Sound of SceneSat Edit)
pricer: Fantastic, such an exciting six and a half minutes. Not seen an up beat classical arrangement of this quality since Mr G Brown.
C64.COM: Yeah, it's really THAT good!
Melaure: Excellent
96%
Jogeir Liljedahl - Synth Sample - The Stationary Ark
dragonkiss: Briliant remix
RemixFan: Impact on RKO!!! Nice ONE
cyphax: Something went REALLY wrong here because I've not heard this before and I'm like WTF! This is GORGEOUS!
96%
Xtrabyte: Excellent
Danceaway: Best oceanloader remix I've heard... Very nice
Shark: Yes great work really liked it better then all these dance tracks of late and I can never get enough ocean loader remixs so cheers!
94%
YEAR 2010
Ryrynz: Awesome, though I still prefer Marcel Donne's version. His background tune adds alot of oomph and this ones a bit blippy. This tune instead focuses on the lead and thats what makes this tune get a red.
Mayhem: Sweet ;)
k_rostoen: What Mayhem shouted
95%
Chabee - Baboon (Skydive ReMix)
TheZee: A beautiful blend of sounds! You've got real talent mate, keep up the good work!:-)
drax: What an amazing sound and atmosphere - would have been nice to hear some of the original lead in it though... Eventhough it might not have been suitable for this remix... This is really awesomeness!!!!!!
Mitch van Hayden: Superb!
92%
SIDrip Alliance - From First to Last (AROK12 tribute mix)
Spite: A very good (and unique) remix of Last Ninja tunes. A but flat on the drums and the bass could go up a bit, but the uniqueness of the remix still makes it one of the best rock-remixes so far this year.
hillsman: Some of the leads aren't great, but this is an otherwise awesome compendium of some top LN tracks. Not a huge electric guitar fan, but it sounds great here!
Danceaway: Love it, top mix and it blends through each track perfectly, looking forward to seeing you guys live at somepoint in the future... Keep it up guys!!!
92%
YEAR 2011
moog (Sebastian Bachliñski) - Jazzcat (007)
chabee: The sax plays amazing! Nice work!
Dees Productions: Are you serious? Really, man this made me want to pack that pipe with thart jazzy stuff and sit that lounge all night in'. Wow what a jazzmeister! Lovin' this!
nettuno: Excellent, melody, arrangement and a style unique. WOW!
93%
Wilfred: My first favourite on remix64, simple, beautiful arrangement
_steve_: Great as usual... Very chilled
chabee: Nice Re-Remix :)
94%
Peter Clarke - Ocean Loader 3 (Cinematic remix)
Pandarific: I absolutely LOVE THIS!
karl_xii: Fantastic, gives me the shivers when listening
Shark: Liked it a lot and loved the THX type logo theme around 1.30.:)
93%
YEAR 2012
ulfepulf: Kult!
drax: That is an excellent remix of one my oldies :)... Quite like the intro of it :)... Very well done - I am so flattered that you remix so many of my sids :)
Dees Productions: Right on the money! You've managed to capture every detail in the tune this time! This is it, great expression in the lead, nice JL-drums, laid-back arps. What more than a fist full of gold.
94%
Andreas Wallström and NecroPolo - DMC demo IV 2 (Celtic Mission mix)
Slayer: Now, thats music!:)
karter: M/ awesome!
chabee: Great work guys! Rock!:)
94%
Chainsaw: Just awesome great. This rocks!!! Red smile, because there is no higher one!
mfe: I'm not a metal fan per se, but I know when it is well done. This is well done.
werdy: Sorry but I can't be objective - original sid is one of my favorite music and this remix is OUTSTANDING. Pure energy everywhere.
94%
YEAR 2013
Marcus: Great, awesome! Wall Of Sound like Razmo said before!
C64ever: Nice track.
deleyt: Nice Jarre! Very soothing.
94%
LukHash - Supremacy (youtube vid)
XxDUSTYxX: Outstanding Remix! |m|
Crono: Masterpiece!
LokkoLori: Obey Master LukHash!
93%
BeeZerk - BeeZerk - Blasphemy (Feat. Pallaso & Kage)
LMan: Wow this is some serious billboard-charts-wothy summer pop!!
omoroca: Brilliant! Amazing! This year's summer smash hit! Added to my collection.
gol: Had to search for my password to login, because this is dope and it had to be said
93%
YEAR 2014
Slaygon - Platoon (Inexperti belli)
The SIE: Outstanding it is..
Nightmare23: Great one, the speech at the end was a bit sloppy and could have been better.
LaLa: Grungy, metallic, dirty. Just like war. I can just see the platoon marching through the muddy jungle. Very, very well done!
95%
Robert Engstrand - The Mansion Gardens (Last Ninja medley)
slaygon: Absolutely gorgeaus! (although slightly over-compressed)
Hoylander: WOW! This is one of the best remixes I've heard here in a long time! Very expressive and emotional, very well arranged and produced. Totally loved when the Palace Gardens theme was introduced towards the end. Again great job with this one!
K8-bit: Beautiful. Hairs on the back of neck rising kind of good. Please do more Last Ninja themes like this!
93%
Markus Schneider - Enlightenment - Druid II
NecroPolo: Man I must admit that in general I greatly dislike orchestral remixes. At least the ones that are not created with so much expertise like this one. It blasts the rest out of the pool (sorry guys). Kudos Markus!
DHS: Wow! I mean, WOW!
Askrates: This is awesome on so many levels…
93%
Year 2015
Slaygon - Never Die (Skitz lives forever)
Rock: Beautiful track!
Nickenstein: This is seriously fucking beautiful, Slaygon! (In my head, Skitz will never die.)
Jojje70: Incredible. Touching. Inspiring. Simply beautiful...
96%
Dr Future - Fist II - The Legend Continues
N.o S.kill P.erformance: Das ist der erste C64-Remix-Track den ich sogar runtergeladen habe, um ihn in meinen Musikordner zu packen
XxDUSTYxX: Great work! Very enjoyable!
NecroPolo: All I can say, it nailed the feel of the original to the bone. Goosebumper.
95%
MRT - Eagles (Easy Flight mix)
LaLa: Very chillax. Clean and refined, unique and personal. Me like!
timmya4000: Absolutely fantastic, top notch, faultless
nummer2: Love it :)
94%
YEAR 2016
Sokratekk: Would fit in any Italo Disco set.. Great!
Dr.Piotr: Best guitar by Imany and god action on the bass
Mordi: Cool! Very original take on the source. I like the mood.
96%
Johan Andersson - Out Run - Splash Wave (surf mix)
finnr: Awesome. Has been on repeat for more than an hour now :)
Tomsk: So much fun to listen to! Excellent
Aule: The Beach Boys would have done it exactly that way!
94%
JustPhreak: Just great!!
verm71: Exquisitely produced thumpy dance track!
hillsman: Catchy! Quality!!
95%
YEAR 2017
SIDNIFY - Supremacy (Overprime mix)
Haxel: Beautiful mixing and gorgeous arrangement!
Sascha Michael Theel: Outstanding!!! I love it!!!:-)
XxDUSTYxX: That's so dope! |m|
97%
Shargo: MRT and Danko o/ O/ o/
kwed: One of the best Plastic Pop arrangements ever. If not the best.
JustPhreak: Really nice!!
94%
Etsit: Summer cruise!
LaLa: Finely crafted creative take on a wonderful tune.
Ryrynz: Ahh it's beautiful.
96%
YEAR 2018
FastLoaders - Commando High Score
Ryrynz: Sounds a bit too crisp at the start in comparison to the rest.. But I'll let it pass.
FNL: Excellent! :-D
bahamut_ger: Great Work!!!
96%
horizoner: Brilliant, just brilliant!
WizardOz: Epic!
Anthony Walters: Awesome! - Hollywood is calling...
96%
FastLoaders - Ghouls and Ghosts
L0rd3vyL: Lovely.
JChambers: LOVE IT!
ChrisC.: Fastloaders Metal Gods!
94%
YEAR 2019
Peter Clarke - Firelord - Symphonic (a nod to Glyn)
_steve_: Love Glyn's original - this re-imagining of that is very well put together and is a great addition to it. Not sure omoroca is hearing the same tune as eveyone else.
Breadbox Bill: I love it!
Marcus: I still love Glyn's version after all these years(2002)! It's almost impossible to improve his fantastic version or his Times of Lore. Your choir Peter fits perfectly your remix and I got goose bumps. Very Well Done! Both versions are just great for me.
97%
Glyn R Brown - Firelord (from 8Bit Symphony)
grin: I really love these interpretations, very effective ear libricators!
Tas: It's Glyn and his name is the new word for better than epic! So, This is full of Glynness!=)
Seedgroup: Pure Gold!
98%
symbols: Funkyness!!
omoroca: After 20 seconds I knew I have to vote "Outstanding". Because... It is. Great job!
Mordi: Dane meets Liljedahl! Highly enjoyable!
96%
YEAR 2020
hillsman: A worthy best remix winner IMHO - very special indeed.
ziona: Excellent execution, and now I can’t even get it out of my head!:)
Poppykuk: This is a dangerous remix! You listen to it and then it is in your head for the rest of the day. Such a good interpretation of a favourite game-tune of mine,
96%
Peter Clarke, ziona & Slaygon - Tales of Boon (The Collaboration Mix)
tw1l1ght: Wow! You guys better be careful not being 'asked' to get a permit from the community before being allowed to submit more entries in that trio -> Puts each of your best sides into a complete package of awesomeness! <3 @3:30 - SO Slaygons part!;)
MagicMosher: You guys should absolutely keep up the work together the harmony between the 3 styles of music takes me on a journey
NecroPolo: Welcome to the movie :)
95%
SIDNIFY - The Last Ninja - The Wilderness
XxDUSTYxX: Thank you for your powerful and catchy hi-quality remix, SIDNIFY! Ben Daglish will never be forgotten!
Tomsk: Quality right here. Brilliant mastering, superb use of the original SID, and punchy as anything! Love this!
JLD: Superb!
95%
People, we should considder ourselves lucky to be part of a community diverse enough to cover everything from the solitary hobbyist with a copy of Fruityloops to an 80-piece symphonic orchestra. The solitary remixer can afford to be out of pocket on a remix since the music isn’t his/her day job - the professional musician doesn’t have that luxury. Dismissing one over the other isn’t a way to take the hobby in new directions. If you prefer the freely available renditions, that’s fine by me - but don’t knock commercial efforts simply for having a cost. No one is in this to get rich.
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