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
condor: Never commented this one… With Zoids, I think it can von title of your best remix.
banador: Just so good and interesting picture of the Nemesis that this music creates.
humorguy: When you played a game a lot… And then 20 years later you hear the remix. You know, better than anyone who did not play the game, but just heard the Sid. This is why I know how great this is!!
92%
t0ester: Brilliant!!
LaLa: Almost two decades later still a powerful, emotional remix, a must-have classic!
Dumper: Absolutely brilliant.
92%
Nebdar: How such a small tune can be so much beautiful
condor: Agreed with ommoroca - wonderful!
Melaure: Excellent, I have found Jarre's fealings in this tune 😃
92%
Year 2001
machinae supremacy - Great Giana Sisters
mfe: I'm not a metal man, but the quality in this cannot be dismissed!
oxygen: The best tune compose music I heard, keep doing more great music
Phrygian: My meeting tune with Commodore remixes, love this.
96%
Tonka - Last Ninja - Palace Gardens (Loader)
Cifu1978: Really nice remix, with good tunes, good vibrations and good memories.
Rko_fan_since_03: I heard this one for the first time over 6 years ago and am still amazed every time I listen to it today. My favourite Last Ninja remix.
deadguyfromhun: Great track, with a traditional Last Ninja rythmics…
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.
legus: Gooood!!!
90%
Year 2002
Glyn R Brown - Firelord - Symphonic
chosc: This is my favourite song here on remix. Kwed. Org
Nebdar: One of my favorite, exelent
amfr: This is great!
96%
Mahoney - Armageddon Man (Vocal Jazz feat. Karin Öjehagen)
Mordi: Outstanding.
EricF: Man, this is a haunting remix with some awesome rhythm in the second half.
damax: One of the best remixes Mahoney ever produced. And Karin Öjehagen just rulez!
95%
Glyn R Brown - Gordian Tomb Adventures
brix: WTF?! ! This is great!
inqisit0r: Glyn brown, nuff said
oddball: Gets better with every time I listen to this masterpiece!
95%
Year 2003
Lagerfeldt - Dutch Breeze/Robocop 3 (Progressive Uplift)
KorbenDallas: This song is awsome. Best I've heard so far.
Zilog: No trouble here whatsoever, great track!
emrebulsat: Perfect… The Powerful SAW Sound… Trance it…
93%
Thomas Detert - Supernova (the slow tune)
lolicon: Love Vangelis, love this tune! Very well composed. This delivers!
NecroPolo: This one is stunning. Damn! Quality is timeless.
chabee: Fantastic!
93%
bar: The art of Vangelis+The sound of Neuronium+The touch of Suzanne Ciani=one of the best tune on RKO
Chainsaw: Very great
mz1453: Sounds like Kitaro! Relaxing, clear and yet powerful!
91%
Year 2004
betelzeus: Unmastered eh? Gotta say sounds great to me, and love the vocals.
Cadwaladr: I used to play this in the arcades for the music, thank god it didnt sound this good or Id be totally penniless
nd4spd: This tune has been in my playlist for almost 20 years now!
97%
CharlieC: I think this version is better than Mordi's, because of the bass line. Sinus bass rules!
plokolp: Love it. Still one of my favourites after listening to just about everything else!
Makke: Marcel hits the jackpot once again! Absolutely flawless!
97%
DHS - The Human Race (Bando alle Seghe)
chosc: I loved the game human race and also your mix!!
boessu: This one has a unbelievable quality. Great work.
ms: Does remind me to my version made professional 😀
94%
Year 2005
Makke - Artura(Dublin Delight Mix) feat. Andreas Wallström
chabee: Well done!
macb3t: Absolutely brilliant!!!
vosla: Excellent! Makes me want to storm a local irish pub and have a keg of beer!
95%
Marcel Donné - Something Stranger Remake
Tas: Ding, dang and dong!
DHS: Standing ovation from me. This is spine chilling and procured some erections too 😊
devilhood: Fantastic texturing going on, the intro gives me goose bumps. I'm not a huge fan of the electronic sounding drum-kit though, but that's just me being picky ;😃
93%
raiden: Outstanding GREAT! Welcome Back Glyn! Good to hear That he's still alive! Great Mix.^^
boonz: Turn out the lights, stick the headphones on, close your eyes and listen to the music. So relaxing. Superb stuff this is!!
aero: Fantastic, thanks alot glyn!
92%
Year 2006
Andy Gilmour & LMan - Robocop Title
Zieman: An instant favourite!
TNT: I like the combination of the synths and the guitar and I love 80s style. Simply stunning!
Fdi: Just excellent! I listen it again and again! GREAT!!!
96%
moog (Sebastian Bachliñski) - Tristess
sergi80x: Great fusion between antique & modern instruments, good melody
weasel: He did it AGAIN!! That piano definitely _rocks_!! The lead is a bit 'special' indeed. Maybe there could be still some enhancements though! V2 release? 😉 But nevertheless. This _is_ a RED one again for sure!
leoni: Wow, this is an excellent track. Gives me the chill!
93%
machinae supremacy - Sidology 2 Trinity
.doC: An epic masterpiece
drcode: This is absolutely amazing. The style fits extremely well for c64 tunes and many of the tunes are the favorites.
Caboose: This is definately top 10 on the whole remix64.
93%
YEAR 2007
Reyn Ouwehand - Green Beret (live at The Church)
Batowski: This should be number one! Even if it had nothing to do with Green Beret it would be a hit.
cyphax: Simply beautiful.
XxDUSTYxX: Wow! This rocks! |m|
97%
Dafunk - Destruction - The New Beginning (rmx)
LaLa: Great arrangement, great sounds, great mastering, great, great, great.
Man from Stars: I like it all impresinve rithmic music for me.
Peter W: Here's that dreamy sound again with a taste of a melodic trance breeze, great stuff!
93%
chilli_uk: The more you listen the more you need to listen - great work Dafunk
pmorph: Godly stuff! Keep on going!!
knotti: Nice beat Nice Track
93%
YEAR 2008
Mordi - Plastic Pop (I Miss You mix)
boyowilkins: Another fantastic remix - where on earth do you get the time 😀
maverickbna: New interpretation of Plastic Pop gets a red smiley!😊
Amok: Mordis masterpiece. Awesome production. The vocals fit perfectly. Hats off, mate 😊
93%
Dafunk - Hardcore Power (We Believe In Goa - Remix)
Waz: Now this IS nice, and even nicer than the old version Dafunk did. Chucked this through my Mission m73 biwired floorstanders and that bass is pumping to say the least. The latter part sounds epic trance style too, it rocks!
zajos: I did not listen to Slay Radio for half year and now I checked back and this tune made my day. Great!
Mayhem: If my brother likes it then it has to be good… Stonking way to kick off 2008!
93%
Peter W - Stargate (Not As Trancelucent As)
Nebdar: It is so nice to listen to it. The time pass so quickly
Dr-Duke: Very well done Peter W! (Not my fault but I love trance) 😊
LaLa: Wonderful!
92%
YEAR 2009
Firestorm - Commando (Sound of SceneSat Edit)
z80: Best Remix I ve ever heard. *sigh*
madfiddler: Simply awesome! WELL DONE!
hazel: I never thought we would have a contender to Glyn R Brown. But here he is. Extremely powerfull and enjoyable remix. It doesn't get any better than this.
96%
Jogeir Liljedahl - Synth Sample - The Stationary Ark
Remodeler: Flawless. Little point in anyone else trying to do better than this!
Jezza: Amazing remix of a great sid!
dragonkiss: Briliant remix
96%
FuzzyDweeb: My favourite version of the classic!
DJSquiggy: Best Ocean Loader I have heard yet!
Xplorer: Awesome
94%
YEAR 2010
p2: One off JB's better songs even gets better every time it's remixed!! F*cking great gituar solo & sound!! We want more, we want more… Di!! This version together with Marcel Donne's and Lagerfeldt's version is my top 3 of Sweetness! -p2/h3@tw@v3
chabee: Amazing!
omoroca: Gibs rules! Added to my collection.
95%
Chabee - Baboon (Skydive ReMix)
Dees Productions: Great pads, sweet leads, fresh bassline, fine percussions = Lovely choon! Can't wait for your next masterwork! Respect.
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!!!
_steve_: I can't add anything that hasn't been said above. Fantastic remix!
92%
SIDrip Alliance - From First to Last (AROK12 tribute mix)
Arne: All in all a very good sounding remake of different Last Ninja musics. Thumbs up for this music!
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.
K8-bit: I really really like this… I love the guitar play, and the nostalgia the montage brings me… But I think more variation in the SIDdy parts would've been better… Too much reliance on the samey triangle lead IMHO.
92%
YEAR 2011
moog (Sebastian Bachliñski) - Jazzcat (007)
NecroPolo: _steve_: Someone needs to grow taste or ears, maybe both 😊 I'd really appreciate some explanation coming with bad rating instead of trolling with no name. That's coward in a way, eh?
chabee: The sax plays amazing! Nice work!
Mordi: Been listening to this regularly since it's release on SceneSat Vol 2. Outstanding as ever.
93%
hillsman: An absolute screamer!
Melaure: Excellent work again, and as unreal says with a touch fo Amiga! Congratulations!
omoroca: Wonderful, as always! Mordi=Jogeir? Added to my collection.
94%
Peter Clarke - Ocean Loader 3 (Cinematic remix)
Pandarific: I absolutely LOVE THIS!
karl_xii: Fantastic, gives me the shivers when listening
MattMaybee: Wow! Really different but really good!
94%
YEAR 2012
Shark: Best version by far IMPO, love the emotion in the main lead! Great work as usual!
NecroPolo: The famous Mordifier plug-in made justice again 😊 Awesome work. Although I couldn't listen to it through my reference speakers yet, I can hear some extra pleasant warmth compared to your previous tracks even through these little multimedia speakers.
chabee: Great! Well done!
94%
Andreas Wallström and NecroPolo - DMC demo IV 2 (Celtic Mission mix)
truck: \m/ worthy comment I'm just not coming up with right now here
karter: M/ awesome!
tazuk: Awesome 😀
94%
mfe: I'm not a metal fan per se, but I know when it is well done. This is well done.
Ryrynz: Love it.
drm: Love the guitars!!! Awesome!!!
94%
YEAR 2013
Razmo: Really nice to hear a synthy Jarre'ish tune in here… Top red smiley for this. Only thing I can put my finger on is the imense wall of sound… It's very thick sonically on the verge of becoming muddy in tone, but it's just at little…
monty: Never expected Kitaro to join RKO. Welcome, dude! 😃
deleyt: Nice Jarre! Very soothing.
94%
LukHash - Supremacy (youtube vid)
p2: Love it! Just like all the other work of LukHash!
Crono: Masterpiece!
weasel: LukHash is a BLAAAST!!! 😃 Really, really cool stuff he's doing here! KEEP ON GOING, pal! *Thumbs UP!*
93%
BeeZerk - BeeZerk - Blasphemy (Feat. Pallaso & Kage)
NecroPolo: Man that's some serious summer hit stuff that is beyond being a cool SID remix. Awesome work!
Cyanuric: A little thin if you ask me but cool stuff nontheless!
LMan: Wow this is some serious billboard-charts-wothy summer pop!!
93%
YEAR 2014
Slaygon - Platoon (Inexperti belli)
Mordi: Very nice soundscape! Not familiar with the original tune.
LaLa: Grungy, metallic, dirty. Just like war. I can just see the platoon marching through the muddy jungle. Very, very well done!
Dees Productions: Outstanding! Allthough using the signature samples this is totally a brainbuster! Making it to my top20 at once! Brilliant work dude.
95%
Robert Engstrand - The Mansion Gardens (Last Ninja medley)
Neo-Rio: Deus-Ex: Human (or ninja) Revolution? I'm not sure if it was a deliberate homage to that game, but I loved it. Perhaps if SID lead sounds were a bit lower, it'd be perfect. As it is, send it to Eidos Montreal and see what they say!
omoroca: Best R:K:O upload in months! Although this sounds unfinished somehow! Is there any more of this? I love the self-esteems this tune comes with. Added to my collection.
chabee: Great!❤️
93%
Markus Schneider - Enlightenment - Druid II
Sokratekk: A think 90 % of all tunes here are only transcriptions of the original tune - but this is a real great remix
speedy: He's back with really top notch orchestration and mega pro hollywood sound. I waited soo long for a new release. More please!
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!
93%
Year 2015
Slaygon - Never Die (Skitz lives forever)
L0rd3vyL: What an amazing mix. Early favorite for Best C64 remix for 2015. Can't wait to see what this year has in store.
Kate Eternal: Incredible remix!
LaLa: Fresh off his win at ROTY 2014, Slaygon drops another beauty on us. Wonderful cinematic emotions - I only wish if it was longer…
96%
Dr Future - Fist II - The Legend Continues
LMan: Beautiful.
omoroca: Wonderful! Added to my collection.
XxDUSTYxX: Great work! Very enjoyable!
95%
MRT - Eagles (Easy Flight mix)
mfe: Takes a few too many liberties with the melody for my liking, but it's well mixed.
LaLa: Very chillax. Clean and refined, unique and personal. Me like!
NecroPolo: This track has antique aesthetics and balance. The style is not really for me. The quality is.
94%
YEAR 2016
Mordi: Cool! Very original take on the source. I like the mood.
Snake1: Very cool remix!
MatrixRevolution: I Love Cybernoid!
96%
Johan Andersson - Out Run - Splash Wave (surf mix)
symbols: So Pulp Fiction! 😃
Blackstar: Love it!
LaLa: 100% Beach Boys feeling.
94%
95%
YEAR 2017
SIDNIFY - Supremacy (Overprime mix)
DJs. DoMoDo: Great remix music 😀
Mordi: Wow! Cool stuff!
Mayhem: Well this is a fine way to introduce yourself 😊
97%
HighCSharps: Awesomeness in one word!! Thanks
kwed: One of the best Plastic Pop arrangements ever. If not the best.
Double_maggic: Listen - vote - repeat…😊
94%
redhot: Really good
prowler: Perfect work MRT!
Marcus: I have to turn up the volume. And listen the song a second time, third time… I really like it.
96%
YEAR 2018
FastLoaders - Commando High Score
bahamut_ger: Great Work!!!
nettuno: Grest execution, with a very good improvvisati in????
Mordi: Awesome rendition. Superb guitar work!
96%
DHS: Wow. Simply WOW.
speedy: Uhh, what to say. Great track!
KoYamaRo: Nice Arrangement and Mix, a Masterpiece!
96%
FastLoaders - Ghouls and Ghosts
Amon73: Uno dei migliori che ho ascoltato qui 😊 Ci vorrebbero più FastLoaders nel mondo 😊 Perfetto!
LaLa: Straight off their Progressive 64 album. Superb there, superb here.
L0rd3vyL: Lovely.
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.
Poppykuk: Great arrangement. Keeps the atmosphere of the original but sounds huge.
_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.
97%
Glyn R Brown - Firelord (from 8Bit Symphony)
speedy: EDIT: Great stuff after several listenings and better than first one.
grin: I really love these interpretations, very effective ear libricators!
Grigul: Is there anyone who can beat Glyn R. Brown? No, only Glyn himself - and he did it. He took one of his greatest Remixes - and improved it to a higher level. The old one is still epic - this one here is (my opinion): The Most Epic Track Ever!!
98%
PixelGrinch: Outstanding Remix! THANK YOU, Jogier
symbols: Funkyness!!
rnuls: Fantastic song from Jogeir
97%
YEAR 2020
Makke: After a number of listens I updated my vote to red. Sega Super Sonic Team Band quality!
archon: I listened to the original arcade and mainly the C64 version million times. This is a gigantic interpretation Sega should pay for and I'm sure everyone who knows the original would appreciate. So much effort in this, deserves alot of love 😊 Thank you!
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)
Glyn R. Brown: The more I listen to this track, it just gets Better & Better 😊 Great work Guys…
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! ❤️ @3:30 - SO Slaygons part!😉
Marcus: I can't remember the game but wow what a score!. If this great track is 3rd place what is 2nd and 1st in the remix competition.
95%
SIDNIFY - The Last Ninja - The Wilderness
MatrixRevolution: Amazing!
XxDUSTYxX: Thank you for your powerful and catchy hi-quality remix, SIDNIFY! Ben Daglish will never be forgotten!
NecroPolo: Spendid work lads!
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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