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
Nebdar: Very good atmosphere build up and orchestral arrangment. Brilliant play and great work
Capitaine: Crazyyy! It's just the original tune atmosphere. Many thanks for this :)
Dumper: Beautiful tune, great choice of instruments.
92%
mfe: To take something so simple and make it this atmospheric requires skill. Kudos!
karter: Must have for every collection. Outstanding!
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!
Melaure: Excellent, I have found Jarre's fealings in this tune :D
condor: Agreed with ommoroca - wonderful!
92%
Year 2001
machinae supremacy - Great Giana Sisters
AmiStyler79: Very good tune!
LMan: Not my cup of tea, but it surely rocks :)
Andersson: This is just too good to be true!
96%
Tonka - Last Ninja - Palace Gardens (Loader)
XxDUSTYxX: Shikin haramitsu daikomyo!;)
L0rd3vyL: One of my favorite remixes, if not my favorite remix of the Palace Gardens Loader tune
cyphax: Why is there still only ONE song from Tonka? I sure would love to hear more like this, cause this is, for me, still about perfect.
93%
DHS - Max Headroom (Orbital 3241 Elevator Mix)
aero: Simply gorgeous
legus: Gooood!!!
madrigal: Wonderful remix, DHS is a guarantee for quality!;)
91%
Year 2002
Glyn R Brown - Firelord - Symphonic
Gunhed: How good is this!
datucker: Very impressive, and even more impressive considering it was made in Fruityloops...
Ryrynz: Outstanding, such an epic improvement over the SID. One of the best remixes on RKO without a doubt.
96%
Mahoney - Armageddon Man (Vocal Jazz feat. Karin Öjehagen)
ulfepulf: Sweet!
aero: Going back in time again to listen to old favorites. This one is truly amazing!
EricF: Man, this is a haunting remix with some awesome rhythm in the second half.
95%
Glyn R Brown - Gordian Tomb Adventures
Ansoe: Powerful, magnificent!
ricky: !
Grigul: My personal all-time favourite. One of the oldest tracks I heared at SlayRadio, and still love and enjoy it. Glyn R. Brown is a Master of c-64-remixes.
95%
Year 2003
Lagerfeldt - Dutch Breeze/Robocop 3 (Progressive Uplift)
humorguy: Perfect instumentation, rockin' feet tapping.... Well you know the rest!
nabuco: Amazing¡¡
aricz: Haha, YEAH! One of the best remixes I've ever heard. The. Sid too, Jeroen tel rules!:))
93%
Thomas Detert - Supernova (the slow tune)
chabee: Fantastic!
soppa: Marvelous remix, the production is of course excellent but this is just so well thought out it's bound to stay on my playlist for a long long time.
Zilog: Conquest of Paradise / Vangelis samples or else I'm mistaken => very nice!
93%
bar: The art of Vangelis+The sound of Neuronium+The touch of Suzanne Ciani=one of the best tune on RKO
myicq: This one on repeat, in a flight across the atlantic against the sunset. Simply awesome!
exo: Simply a great song.
92%
Year 2004
betelzeus: Unmastered eh? Gotta say sounds great to me, and love the vocals.
plokolp: Fantastic. A highly polished piece of music. I agree with others here - this should be the score for a movie or something. What is that lady singing anyway!?
Nebdar: Put it on slay radio
97%
condor: I remember this one whet I donwload it... It's brilliant!
Haldor: One of the best C64 remix ever!
Tomsk: Aye lad - this is indeed lovely
97%
DHS - The Human Race (Bando alle Seghe)
knut_musketier: It's great!! Vow!!!
prq: Beautiful melody, beautiful voices.
Amok: Still great but I think its overrated and I prefer DJ Mitch´s version... Finally I cant resist it... :D
94%
Year 2005
Makke - Artura(Dublin Delight Mix) feat. Andreas Wallström
striker: Wow. This is funny, not so much because the lyrics, but the style of remix is so unexpected. Good job.
macb3t: Absolutely brilliant!!!
the_jinx: This is damn good.... Although I like the Slaygon version allmost as much ;)
95%
Marcel Donné - Something Stranger Remake
romeo_knight: Yes, I have to admit this is a little bit FANTASTIC! ;-) (though I wouldn't have done the double time drums in the end)
infamous: This tune makes me want to have marcels babies....
cat: Marcel "JARRE" Donné :o)
93%
raiden: Outstanding GREAT! Welcome Back Glyn! Good to hear That he's still alive! Great Mix.^^
Tas: I almost knew this would be outstanding before hearing it.. As usual another top quality (mike oldfield-esque) track from Glyn.
global: Such a sweet song... I love it!
92%
Year 2006
Andy Gilmour & LMan - Robocop Title
Amok: Awesome co-production... Just a perfect piece of music...
Itekei: Amazing SID, amazing remake. Thanks, guys!
Nada: Oh yeah, that's nice. Some good guitar work in there. A bit too "middle-class" for me.
96%
moog (Sebastian Bachliñski) - Tristess
olla: Simply great!! Keep it up Moogie...
Mordi: Best song on RKO. Period. Puts you in a certain mood.
mania: Awesome tune and the synth sound at 1:19 rocks, don't listen to them ;)
93%
machinae supremacy - Sidology 2 Trinity
romeo_knight: I WAS WRONG! Just listened to it on Slay Radio and it's fuckin outstanding!
Nebdar: GLORIOUS
westerling: An absolutely great musical adventure!!!
93%
YEAR 2007
Reyn Ouwehand - Green Beret (live at The Church)
prowler: Have you contacted mr Galway about this?
slaygon: Absolutely gorgeaus!
iolo: Awesome Jam a la King Crimson '74! I've to admit I like youtube's version better... Just because it's longer!
97%
Dafunk - Destruction - The New Beginning (rmx)
Skitz: Dafunk needs a god damn recording contract! Everything he is producing lately is seriously good and commercially viable!
Peter W: Here's that dreamy sound again with a taste of a melodic trance breeze, great stuff!
chilli_uk: In the past you have been guilty of mastering issues - I cant fault this years work and this is AWESOME
93%
KF: Top Stuff...!
mace: I've been waiting for a looong time for one of my fav artists to make a move and I must say it was worth waiting for!! Fab stuff Daf!!
Skitz: Dafunk keeps on producing these amazing remixes full of punch and originality - top marks
93%
YEAR 2008
Mordi - Plastic Pop (I Miss You mix)
slaygon: Very enjoyable!
k_rostoen: Very well done!
germantaz: Congratulation. Everything everybody said is true. In my opinion it could be a bit faster ;o)
93%
Dafunk - Hardcore Power (We Believe In Goa - Remix)
Tex: Yeah!
knotti: Oh yeaa partytime!!
Dr-Duke: Is it just me, or seems there to be a little Boz-train after the beginning? *smiles* Besides joking, very nice track Dafunk. Personally I most love the intro on this one.
93%
Peter W - Stargate (Not As Trancelucent As)
Nebdar: It is so nice to listen to it. The time pass so quickly
LaLa: Wonderful!
condor: Bravo! Althought I hate hats, Ilove sound selection.
92%
YEAR 2009
Firestorm - Commando (Sound of SceneSat Edit)
L0rd3vyL: One of my favourite Commando remixes
C64.COM: Yeah, it's really THAT good!
NecroPolo: Although I like IK+ remix better and orchestra is not for me, objectively, I admit that this is excellence itself and a perfect nominee for the all-times #1. BTW, greetings to Suckho ;) Eftos: you must be kidding...
96%
Jogeir Liljedahl - Synth Sample - The Stationary Ark
DoubleMan: Oh my God... Thats so beatifull...
roberto76: VERY, VERY GOOD!!!!!
Mayhem: Take one fairly unknown SID. Go in a different direction to how Mixer made his (superb) remix of it. Produce something sublime that matches it in quality. Welcome back Jogeir :)
96%
mace: Damn, another masterpiece to the Mordi collection to play during those long drives alone. Love the purity how all is put together.
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!
balloonhead: Fantastic Remix, plz more of it in here
94%
YEAR 2010
pie vs pie: Two words.... Monster Remix, no scratch that... 4 words.... Remix of the year 2010
drax: Excellence!!! I think there is a bug in the original sid-file. Just found the original prg-file and it sounds a bit different... This one covers the sid-file from hvsc.
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.
95%
Chabee - Baboon (Skydive ReMix)
condor: Sounds, details... Brilliant! Reminded me to moog's remixes.
Metal_VIB: Pure porn! A tad too mellow for my taste though, but a really good arrangement of the track.
C64ever: Really good this, nice and mellow to listen too.
92%
SIDrip Alliance - From First to Last (AROK12 tribute mix)
Mordi: Flakey lead, but otherwise great.
catcher40: Amazing is all I can say. Took me back to the good old days of playing LN, loved every minute.
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.
92%
YEAR 2011
moog (Sebastian Bachliñski) - Jazzcat (007)
jokesoldier: No need to say that's really, really, really nice& smooth :)
LMan: The name's Funk. Moog Funk.
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!
93%
Dees Productions: The perfect mix of a perfect song. Like to drizzle honey all over the floor and just roll around!
hillsman: An absolute screamer!
aero: It just feels groooooooove!
94%
Peter Clarke - Ocean Loader 3 (Cinematic remix)
Foxfield: I want to see a movie with this one in it's soundtrack.
NecroPolo: I'm not really into orchestral remixes but only lack of hearing would let me say that I don't appreciate the work behind it much. It's a great track with great arrangement but I like the other version better.
Shark: Liked it a lot and loved the THX type logo theme around 1.30.:)
93%
YEAR 2012
Brosa: As usual - Mordi = The sign of quality.
LMan: Perfect, just perfect, mate.
Alucard: If you stand behind a schallmauer, you only hear the BOUM and then nothing more... ;-) - I had fun with this although its not exactly my taste. But technically, beyond limits!
94%
Andreas Wallström and NecroPolo - DMC demo IV 2 (Celtic Mission mix)
DHS: Wow! I mean... WOW! Fuckin' WOW!
drm: Awesome. Reminds me of Joe Satriani!!!!
truck: \m/ [insert worthy comment I'm just not coming up with right now here]
94%
bordeaux: Great tribute, awesome guitars - thanks a lot!
chabee: Great as it is!
mfe: I'm not a metal fan per se, but I know when it is well done. This is well done.
94%
YEAR 2013
horizoner: Really Outstanding!
Zilog: Beautiful
Nebdar: You hit my soft spot witthis remix too great job
94%
LukHash - Supremacy (youtube vid)
_steve_: Very powerful chip mix. Another fantastic mix
oxygen: I really liked your original tone, wonderful work piece
XxDUSTYxX: Outstanding Remix! |m|
93%
BeeZerk - BeeZerk - Blasphemy (Feat. Pallaso & Kage)
Lclhstr: Not my favourite style by any measure, but man :) put your HENZA-henza-HeNzA!:)
Melaure: Top of the charts!
bastard: Impressive production. If I'd known the original tune, I would have rated it red++
93%
YEAR 2014
Slaygon - Platoon (Inexperti belli)
mfe: Brilliant mix of this song, well done. Though I would have left out the vocal sample, personally.
Jojje70: Awesome guitars, very well produced with lots of atmosphere!
Worped: Absolutely epic!
95%
Robert Engstrand - The Mansion Gardens (Last Ninja medley)
chabee: Great!<3
thomassd: Cool!
Mayhem: Excellent for what's there, now how about the whole track?:)
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!
L0rd3vyL: Really nice take on a C64 Classic. Reminds me of something Glyn R. Brown would do. Just Incredible!
Blackstar: Love it - count me in for next tour
93%
Year 2015
Slaygon - Never Die (Skitz lives forever)
LMan: Sweet, sweet violins.
GlenBenton: Brilliant!
k_rostoen: I've always loved Lover why by Century, but this one is right up there with it. Brilliant remix!
96%
Dr Future - Fist II - The Legend Continues
Kalell: Great and very suggestive Atmosphere!
Joe Mc Lutz: One word: MAGIC!
0021agimA: Perfect work Dr Future!
95%
MRT - Eagles (Easy Flight mix)
nummer2: Love it :)
blubberdiblub: Wow, just wow! The reverberation creates a dreamy atmosphere, the bass line so powerful and the strings simply lovely.
Ryrynz: Wow, that's quite the remix.
94%
YEAR 2016
Blackstar: For me this is a just as a perfect remix of a C64 tune should sound like.
Mordi: Cool! Very original take on the source. I like the mood.
mika: Aaaaand that one is going straight to my car playlist
96%
Johan Andersson - Out Run - Splash Wave (surf mix)
Supergrobi123: Beautiful, nicely-balanced Remix
Sanjo Ride: Loved this, was juming around in my seat
ChrisBond: What can I say, perfect Beatles like :)
94%
95%
YEAR 2017
SIDNIFY - Supremacy (Overprime mix)
ShakeZpear: Wow - gimme more of this!
teo: What a great first remix! Igy tovább!
XxDUSTYxX: That's so dope! |m|
97%
Shargo: MRT and Danko o/ O/ o/
redhot: Awesome, especially the bass line
nummer2: The whole idea of this remix is just genuis and fresh I wish it was 1-2 minutes longer and it would have been perfect
94%
RETR-O-MAT: Wonderfull work!
Etsit: Summer cruise!
nummer2: Absolutly great. Man I follow your mixes for so long but you improved on some unbelieveable level. Its perfect. Were you get all these cool sounds and ideas from. :D
96%
YEAR 2018
FastLoaders - Commando High Score
Clyder64: Wow... Very pleasant and relaxing tune. Great work
Jojje70: Crisp and very well produced with nice improvs!
Nightshft: Awesome!
96%
96%
FastLoaders - Ghouls and Ghosts
drm: Quality tune!!
Ryrynz: Professional. Excellent.
Uglybob: Progressive
94%
YEAR 2019
Peter Clarke - Firelord - Symphonic (a nod to Glyn)
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.
bastard: Absolutely wonderful arrangement!
Breadbox Bill: I love it!
97%
Glyn R Brown - Firelord (from 8Bit Symphony)
L0rd3vyL: Awesome
celina w: This remix is really amazing!
kwed: Turns out the only way to top Glyn R Browns 16-year old symphonic remix was to have Glyn himself come back and update it. Amazing stuff and instant classic if I ever heard one!
98%
Mordi: Dane meets Liljedahl! Highly enjoyable!
omoroca: After 20 seconds I knew I have to vote "Outstanding". Because... It is. Great job!
aix: I don't comment very often, but when I do... Whoa.
96%
YEAR 2020
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,
Mayhem: Erm... Wow!
Shark: What a great remix, like you peter spent many an hour on this game and the remix of the soundtrack is perfect, Sega would be proud!
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!;)
XxDUSTYxX: Excellent collaboration! Thank you very much for this Remix, ziona, Slaygon and Peter Clarke!:)
Glyn R. Brown: The more I listen to this track, it just gets Better & Better :) Great work Guys...
95%
SIDNIFY - The Last Ninja - The Wilderness
JLD: Superb!
MatrixRevolution: Amazing!
Ahriakin: Great remix, lots of energy while respecting the source.
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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