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
Wilfred: I have listenea t least 50 times, but still very enjoying experience. Simply brilliant piece of music!
condor: Never commented this one… With Zoids, I think it can von title of your best remix.
Dumper: Beautiful tune, great choice of instruments.
karter: Must have for every collection. Outstanding!
nonick: Excellent! But I'd like to know which Galway tunes have been recycled here.
mfe: To take something so simple and make it this atmospheric requires skill. Kudos!
countzorg: Shimmering
Melaure: Excellent, I have found Jarre's fealings in this tune 😃
Nebdar: How such a small tune can be so much beautiful
Year 2001
machinae supremacy - Great Giana Sisters
lbantonsen: Best remix ever
soundtrix: Spectacular Power!!
Ryrynz: For those that love this, check out Machinae Supremacy's work on Giana Sisters Twisted Dreams, it's epic! Grab the soundtrack!
Tonka - Last Ninja - Palace Gardens (Loader)
deadguyfromhun: Great track, with a traditional Last Ninja rythmics…
REYN: Best energy, best buildup, best drum programming EVER!!! Gigantic!!
redbow: Definetly an outstanding enterpetation of one of my favorite tunes from the C64 era. Kudos Kudos
DHS - Max Headroom (Orbital 3241 Elevator Mix)
aero: Simply gorgeous
plokolp: Love this. 2 tunes in one.
madrigal: Wonderful remix, DHS is a guarantee for quality!😉
Year 2002
Glyn R Brown - Firelord - Symphonic
Nebdar: One of my favorite, exelent
cumbayah: Amazing, sends shivers down my spine!
Sodden: Love it!!!
Mahoney - Armageddon Man (Vocal Jazz feat. Karin Öjehagen)
master_the_cyborg: F great!
migu: So very beautiful still.
Mrcookie: Marvelous!
Glyn R Brown - Gordian Tomb Adventures
Gregory Atlas: Just awesome!
Reverend Kirdneh: This tune is epic!
Mitch van Hayden: OMFG! Nobody could do this better.
Year 2003
Lagerfeldt - Dutch Breeze/Robocop 3 (Progressive Uplift)
condor: You know, othere remixes were great but this remix is historical.
zera: I hear the song already for years. And I will hear it still many years. Ingenius.
NecroPolo: That's what I'd call a proper sonic threatment! Not my style but I don't really care when I meet such high quality work.
Thomas Detert - Supernova (the slow tune)
Amok: OMG… Powerful, Epic, Awesome… Speechless…
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.
TNT: Since 8 years it's a pleasure listening to this and it's still one of my favorites.
Mordi: Lovely rendition of a nice tune
Chainsaw: Very great
bar: The art of Vangelis+The sound of Neuronium+The touch of Suzanne Ciani=one of the best tune on RKO
Year 2004
chilli_uk: Does it for me - the variation of instruments and voices just blends so so well. Stunning
denise: Great
Sodden: Fantastic tune!
YogibearRenoise: Best Sweet RMX!
snorski: Brilliant
Tas: How spoilt are we!!! This is now the 3rd version of this tune… All 3 are excellent! And very different
DHS - The Human Race (Bando alle Seghe)
knut_musketier: It's great!! Vow!!!
aricz: Mmmmmmm, smooooooth and beeeeautiful! Soothing stuff, yummie😊
load_error: Splendid work, atmospheric, emotional, solid… And the ENIGMA basis rocks!!!
Year 2005
Makke - Artura(Dublin Delight Mix) feat. Andreas Wallström
nettuno: … A Celtic song? WOW!
westerling: Great and original remix, but I wouldn´t mind if the vocals were louder.
Peter W: These lyrics, these lyrics are horribly great! What a cool idea, and to pull this off! OX Great job guys!
Marcel Donné - Something Stranger Remake
humorguy: Zero to 3 minutes is the great foreplay, From then to 5:57 is the orgasm… Pure delight
cat: Marcel JARRE Donné 😀
Skitz: I can admit to cumming when I heard Feekzoids original remix - and this just had the same effect… A new pair of shorts please!
Makke: Holy Christ! Yes!!! At first listen I thought This will get a Very Good vote. Then came the choire, and it all just came together in pure perfection. Pant creamage galoure!
Danceaway: I met Glen again on Saturday night at B. I. T, we had a chat and I asked him when he is doing more remixes and he said he had just uploaded this track and well, pure beauty and those choire vocals are perfect!!! THIS GUY IS THE NO. 1 remixer without doubt
prowler: Wonderful as always by Glyn. Mmm, the Recovery has been on my SID-playlist for 20 years now, which does not make things worse. Thanks Glyn!
Year 2006
Andy Gilmour & LMan - Robocop Title
chabee: Good work! Well done!
mfe: Except for one cheesy niggle with this piece that makes me cringe, the rest is about as good as it gets!
Zieman: An instant favourite!
moog (Sebastian Bachliñski) - Tristess
widar: Amazing, simply amazing! The best?
humorguy: A fantastic composition, a fantastic rendition and can I just say- it's bloody FANTASTIC (did I say that already?!)
nickenstien: WOW!! This is fantastic, have been listening on a loop all day! One of those tunes that when it is finished you need to hear the start again, and then the middle and end again, so you just play it over and over. AWESOME MOOG!!!
machinae supremacy - Sidology 2 Trinity
weasel: Hahaha!! Remixae SUPREMACY!!! Great version again, guys!! Yeah…
chainblade: This is just awsome! Not as good as episode 3, but still this is outstanding
fastrobplus: 7:07 to 10:21 is your best work ever.
YEAR 2007
Reyn Ouwehand - Green Beret (live at The Church)
Zilog: Unbelievably cool. Period.
arraknis: One of the best I ever heared!
vurtx: As a remix its a masterpiece anyway, but for it to be live is just a true genius at work
Dafunk - Destruction - The New Beginning (rmx)
_steve_: Fantastic sounds. Absolutely brilliant track
infamous: Brilliant. Nothing else needs to be said.
Peter W: Here's that dreamy sound again with a taste of a melodic trance breeze, great stuff!
emrebulsat: Very nice. I like Dafunk's stuff
moog: This tune I'm listening over and over again with my mp3 player.
infamous: There is nothing this man touches that doesnt turn to gold, absolutely stunning tune.
YEAR 2008
Mordi - Plastic Pop (I Miss You mix)
Nebdar: Pure awsomnes. It is simple but very breath taking to, listen it…
Ryrynz: You gotta like this kinda slow sweet beat type music to appreciate this remix… Something more upbeat would have been cool. Production is top notch and that's why im giving it red.
selvatico: Simply outstanding
Dafunk - Hardcore Power (We Believe In Goa - Remix)
BeeZerk: Top notch tune, clear production, great transitions, prof arrangement and perfect lenght. The hookline is the thing I like the most, awesome work.
Caboose: This is nice!
migu: Simply great!
Peter W - Stargate (Not As Trancelucent As)
Amok: Just great…
exo: Once again you deliver, Peter. 😀 Effortless flowing musical energy.
Zilog: Simply PERFECT
YEAR 2009
Firestorm - Commando (Sound of SceneSat Edit)
Peter W: Knockout!!!
Makke: An obvious candidate for C64 Remix of the Year in my opinion. Absolutelly brilliant!
Maegnuz: The perfect movie soundtrack, but not really worth listening to repeatedly and by itself. Nevertheless needs a full score!
Jogeir Liljedahl - Synth Sample - The Stationary Ark
chabee: I love it!!!
LMan: Sweetness. The kind of remix I'd label definitive.
Alucard: Pulls you in a trance and keeps you floating.
YEAR 2010
Arne: Awesome one - absolutely great remix!!! Chappeau!
ulfepulf: Jeje
cyphax: This is just beautiful. I love it.
Chabee - Baboon (Skydive ReMix)
C64ever: Really good this, nice and mellow to listen too.
Metal_VIB: Pure porn! A tad too mellow for my taste though, but a really good arrangement of the track.
TheZee: A beautiful blend of sounds! You've got real talent mate, keep up the good work!😀
SIDrip Alliance - From First to Last (AROK12 tribute mix)
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!!!
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!
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.
YEAR 2011
moog (Sebastian Bachliñski) - Jazzcat (007)
_steve_: How can this be rated bad?! - were you even listening to the same song as everyone else?
LMan: The name's Funk. Moog Funk.
nettuno: Excellent, melody, arrangement and a style unique. WOW!
Ryrynz: Once again Mordi delivers us beautiful sounds.
Dees Productions: The perfect mix of a perfect song. Like to drizzle honey all over the floor and just roll around!
omoroca: Wonderful, as always! Mordi=Jogeir? Added to my collection.
Peter Clarke - Ocean Loader 3 (Cinematic remix)
Staticborris: Excelent. Love the movie score feel to the track, keep up the great work
Musoman: This was MY favourite Ocean Loader, brilliant
MattMaybee: Wow! Really different but really good!
YEAR 2012
bastard: Thanxxx!
Shark: Best version by far IMPO, love the emotion in the main lead! Great work as usual!
Comajim: Aah, nice composition and melody!
Andreas Wallström and NecroPolo - DMC demo IV 2 (Celtic Mission mix)
rotteroy: Horns up!!!
Mordi: Sweet track!
drm: Awesome. Reminds me of Joe Satriani!!!
teo: Great remix, has it all what's needed!
drm: Love the guitars!!! Awesome!!!
Chainsaw: Just awesome great. This rocks!!! Red smile, because there is no higher one!
YEAR 2013
N3XU5: A masterpiece 😃
Mayhem: Not a SID familiar with, but the remix sounds great 😊
Ryrynz: Nicely done.
LukHash - Supremacy (youtube vid)
DSMarine: As the vote says… Simply Outstanding!
JustPhreak: Solid and powerful remix! Thumbs up, LukHash!
_steve_: Very powerful chip mix. Another fantastic mix
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!
weasel: Yeah!!! What LMan said!!! 😃😃😃
Cyanuric: A little thin if you ask me but cool stuff nontheless!
YEAR 2014
Slaygon - Platoon (Inexperti belli)
80sFreak: Just awesome!
mfe: Brilliant mix of this song, well done. Though I would have left out the vocal sample, personally.
defiance: This is amazing…!
Robert Engstrand - The Mansion Gardens (Last Ninja medley)
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.
LaLa: An excellent, high quality, creative remix with an emotional touch. I wish the lead sounds were less loud, though, because they dominate the otherwise excellent backing. Impressive work, a keeper for sure! Thanks for sharing it with us!
NecroPolo: Very nice and fluent production with superb vocal tracks. My 2 picky notes are: 1- for energy it feels a little like an aeroplane with spinned up engines that doesn't take off at the end; 2- I really miss some witty outro that matches the brilliant track.
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!
LaLa: Cinematic! Epic! Orchestral! Welcome back, Markus!!!
rico: … Gives me a lot of Game of Thrones vibes - in a very good way!
Year 2015
Slaygon - Never Die (Skitz lives forever)
Rock: Beautiful track!
Jonazz: Oh… Yeah my film composer do it again! He really are on fire…!
Jojje70: Incredible. Touching. Inspiring. Simply beautiful…
Dr Future - Fist II - The Legend Continues
linus: Extremely lovely!❤️
Kate Eternal: Purrrfect!
LaLa: Lovely arrangement, Western-style oriental ambience done right.
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.
Dr.Piotr: Lindsey Stirling she played Mr. T
YEAR 2016
Jac: This is really good. Sitting at work, should go home, but want to listen again!
Ripper7575: This is the best version of Cybernoid 2 in my opinion. Very good quality of sounds.
Mordi: Cool! Very original take on the source. I like the mood.
Johan Andersson - Out Run - Splash Wave (surf mix)
LaLa: 100% Beach Boys feeling.
ChrisBond: What can I say, perfect Beatles like 😊
hillsman: Loving these Surf remixes! I really like this one and its perfect for Johan's style
hillsman: Catchy! Quality!!
L0rd3vyL: Awesome!. … Just awesome!
NecroPolo: Despite that I hate dancing and dreamy stuff to quite a high degree I'd be a fool not to see the values of this quality track. Great work and a floor filler contender on a demoscene party.
YEAR 2017
SIDNIFY - Supremacy (Overprime mix)
Flyingsaucer: Wonderful!!! Very Very Nice!!!
Sascha Michael Theel: Outstanding!!! I love it!!!😀
Ryrynz: Great stuff
HighCSharps: Awesomeness in one word!! Thanks
Mordi: Well done! A pleasant listening experience. Edit: Relistening two months later. It's really nice!
russ: Awesome. Really enjoying this 😀
YEAR 2018
FastLoaders - Commando High Score
L0rd3vyL: Love this remix. Amazing work, Jarle.
LMan: Super sweet rock ballad. All thumbs up!
The Breaker: This is some one Awesome Top Gun, Commando Retro Remix for sure. 😃
FastLoaders - Ghouls and Ghosts
Uglybob: Progressive
L0rd3vyL: Lovely.
Ryrynz: Professional. Excellent.
YEAR 2019
Peter Clarke - Firelord - Symphonic (a nod to Glyn)
Breadbox Bill: I love it!
_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.
bastard: Absolutely wonderful arrangement!
Glyn R Brown - Firelord (from 8Bit Symphony)
Tas: It's Glyn and his name is the new word for better than epic! So, This is full of Glynness!😃
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!!
grin: I really love these interpretations, very effective ear libricators!
mrt: Fantastic work! Thanks
rnuls: Fantastic song from Jogeir
Mordi: Dane meets Liljedahl! Highly enjoyable!
YEAR 2020
Mordi: Awesome track, Peter! Your britishness is really shining through in this one, with the ELO references.😃
Unzen: Epic tune as per usual!
Paulie68000: One of my all time favourite arcade pieces; I love the seamless blend of genres from the opening strings to the guitar break near the end. Pure class.
Peter Clarke, ziona & Slaygon - Tales of Boon (The Collaboration Mix)
Poppykuk: Another musical journey with peter clarke. I hear the other players and it all works beautifully together. I love the way the soundscape changes.
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!😉
NecroPolo: Welcome to the movie 😊
SIDNIFY - The Last Ninja - The Wilderness
JLD: Superb!
MatrixRevolution: Amazing!
Bistecca104: Wow! Just WOW!
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.

BIT 2025 Remix Compo now accepting submissions!

Comments