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
Dumper: Beautiful tune, great choice of instruments.
Bjorn H.: One of the first C64 remixes I ever heard. Went with me on numerous travels. Two or three thumbs up.
jlrcuesta: One of the best remixes. Excellent sounds and structure.
92%
Nebdar: This tune has sole and purpose… Similar to the Twin peaks Tv series tune
Zilog: This is AWESOME!
eliot: The original can not be beaten by any remake 😀
93%
Nebdar: How such a small tune can be so much beautiful
countzorg: Shimmering
Trydowave: Best version of zoids. Obvious Jarre influence. Great stuff
92%
Year 2001
machinae supremacy - Great Giana Sisters
Breadbox Bill: Excellent!!
worgor: The best interpretation of this theme ever - keep on rocking!
NecroPolo: Instant get. Very few arrangers can reach this musical competence. The only downside is the small amount of machinae supremacy C64 tunes.
96%
Tonka - Last Ninja - Palace Gardens (Loader)
Cifu1978: Really nice remix, with good tunes, good vibrations and good memories.
REYN: Best energy, best buildup, best drum programming EVER!!! Gigantic!!
germantaz: As it already says: OUTSTANDING!!!
93%
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!😉
90%
Year 2002
Glyn R Brown - Firelord - Symphonic
chosc: This is my favourite song here on remix. Kwed. Org
Zoldex: Astounding!
cosmic_gerbil: This is way cool… It reminds me of Lord of the Rings somehow
96%
Mahoney - Armageddon Man (Vocal Jazz feat. Karin Öjehagen)
Tasslehoff: Through the Soul
archon: Always loved this version from day 1! Great arrangement, vocals, performance. Love it!
sophisticated: OMG, what a fab song! Gänsehaut pur!😉
95%
Glyn R Brown - Gordian Tomb Adventures
Dumper: Absolutely stunning.
Ansoe: Powerful, magnificent!
Gregory Atlas: Just awesome!
95%
Year 2003
Lagerfeldt - Dutch Breeze/Robocop 3 (Progressive Uplift)
infamous: Outstanding
Zilog: No trouble here whatsoever, great track!
chainblade: One of the best remixes out there
93%
Thomas Detert - Supernova (the slow tune)
humorguy: I give this an Outstanding, because it Satnds Out from the rest by quite a margin. Excellent.
Mordi: Awesome! I had no idea this tune was on this site. Wtf!
TNT: Since 8 years it's a pleasure listening to this and it's still one of my favorites.
93%
Gildan: Sit back, put your feet up and enjoy!
Chainsaw: Very great
Mordi: Lovely rendition of a nice tune
91%
Year 2004
PICRARD: Wow what a theme!!! Great!!!
Mitch van Hayden: Classis meets Dance! And it really works. Great tune!
foxx: Outstanding! Amazing masterpiece!!!
97%
chilli_uk: Think Ive just come - awesome work
LMania: Wow! That must be Marcel's best remix of all times. Amazing!
Zieman: You can fall into a SWEET, endless near-sleep while listening to this 😊
97%
DHS - The Human Race (Bando alle Seghe)
NecroPolo: Excellent rendition. No more, no less.
condor: You have started with Enigma like drums, Jarre's like voices, and style of Deep Forest. Awesome!!!
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
dacke: Wicked!
stallkerl: Great God!. … This is magnificent, this is brilliant!. … By far the best remix I've heard so far! (I just LOVE this celtic stuff!)
NecroPolo: AYYYEEE!!! 😃 Yikes! Me likes!
95%
Marcel Donné - Something Stranger Remake
Waz: Marcel just completely rocks my world, again! An excellent improvisation on a quite limited SID with plenty of emotion and feel, and working around the original tune. Superb stuff.
cat: Marcel JARRE Donné 😀
ahovland: Don't have words😊
92%
global: Such a sweet song… I love it!
mythrilnazgul: This is amazing. I love it.
saulc12: Filled with sweet and mellow fruitfulness - sheer bliss
92%
Year 2006
Andy Gilmour & LMania - Robocop Title
humorguy: I am from London, UK. Was lucky to be 2 years in NY in the 80's this is what you could have heard on the radio, driving up the coast to Marblehead. Brilliant.
gibs: Yeah that piece rock, and has a very very very good sound… Very good production with good arrangements… Very proffessional
andy_mitchelluk: Brilliant. Takes me back to the old days again! A*****
95%
moog (Sebastian Bachliñski) - Tristess
gibs: The lead synth is not a problem for me. I like it. Great piece.
drax: Damn, Sebastian you did again. You got pretty close to how I played it on the piano when I composed it 😉… Really nice production aswell… Love the piano and the strings!
sergi80x: Great fusion between antique & modern instruments, good melody
93%
machinae supremacy - Sidology 2 Trinity
westerling: An absolutely great musical adventure!!!
fastrobplus: 7:07 to 10:21 is your best work ever.
bahamut_ger: What a great Mix!!!
93%
YEAR 2007
Reyn Ouwehand - Green Beret (live at The Church)
dream_19: This is ultimate!
moog: Did I mention I wanna join to Your church?😊
humorguy: Amazing.
97%
Dafunk - Destruction - The New Beginning (rmx)
bratac: Excellent, it has melody and yet is trancy.
prowler: It seems like Dafunk is really in the zone right now, producing like sonic wanderer did some years ago 😀
Skitz: Dafunk needs a god damn recording contract! Everything he is producing lately is seriously good and commercially viable!
93%
Makke: It can only be Dafunk!
eliot: Thiz time he got it right…
clarence: This is really something cool!
93%
YEAR 2008
Mordi - Plastic Pop (I Miss You mix)
Xking: I love this tune. Very good singer and lyrics.
Zilog: Beautiful!!!!
_steve_: Wonderful!
93%
Dafunk - Hardcore Power (We Believe In Goa - Remix)
migu: Simply great!
plokolp: Hey Dafunk, this tune makes me want to go out and buy the biggest, baddest speakers I can afford. Awesome.
Caboose: This is nice!
93%
Peter W - Stargate (Not As Trancelucent As)
Dr-Duke: Very well done Peter W! (Not my fault but I love trance) 😊
xo: Su-bloody-perb.
Makke: All I can say is: Propper job, Peter! Very well done.
92%
YEAR 2009
Firestorm - Commando (Sound of SceneSat Edit)
_steve_: Torn between orange and red… Red wins 😊 This tune is really fantastic.
Dumper: Eftos, at least he doesn't copy other peoples tunes like you do. Great Remix.
Melaure: Excellent
96%
Jogeir Liljedahl - Synth Sample - The Stationary Ark
chabee: I love it!!!
fastrobplus: This is in my opinion the best remix of 2009.
Badla: Totally badlsk! Awesome.
95%
94%
YEAR 2010
SarahKreuz: Sweet? Never heard of it. I GUESS it`s a C64 Game, eh? XD This song is strong, got a powerful sense of emotion and reminds me a little bit of Jogeir Liljedahl`s tracks (especially @ 4:30 min). Great tune. And now SHUT UP-I wanna listen to it once more.😉
chabee: Amazing!
mfe: Love the execution of this version.
95%
Chabee - Baboon (Skydive ReMix)
Karmar: Beautiful
Melaure: Excellent!
Dees Productions: Great pads, sweet leads, fresh bassline, fine percussions = Lovely choon! Can't wait for your next masterwork! Respect.
92%
SIDrip Alliance - From First to Last (AROK12 tribute mix)
maindrian: Makes me want to dry hump my speakers. It's THAT filthy. The lead does feel a little flimsy over the top of all that crunchy guitar, but boy, oh boy, does that guitar crunch.
Arne: All in all a very good sounding remake of different Last Ninja musics. Thumbs up for this music!
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!
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?
jokesoldier: No need to say that's really, really, really nice& smooth 😊
Mordi: Been listening to this regularly since it's release on SceneSat Vol 2. Outstanding as ever.
93%
Dees Productions: The perfect mix of a perfect song. Like to drizzle honey all over the floor and just roll around!
Ryrynz: Once again Mordi delivers us beautiful sounds.
soppa: One of my personal favorites, could listen to this all day long.
93%
Peter Clarke - Ocean Loader 3 (Cinematic remix)
MattMaybee: Wow! Really different but really good!
Pandarific: I absolutely LOVE THIS!
YogibearRenoise: This sounds really great and is now one of my favs of RKO! Could you please make an orchestral version of song 1 in HVSC of Tai-Pan? That's my fav sid of you! Thanks for this!
93%
YEAR 2012
mfe: This one just pips Moog's version as my favourite. Well done!
The SIE: What else can I say… All above said is true. Except schallmauer's shout.
Ryrynz: Pro job. I would like to hear it however with a softer and smoother more expressive lead. This rings near the edges of perfection, It could've been one of the best.
94%
Andreas Wallström and NecroPolo - DMC demo IV 2 (Celtic Mission mix)
Dees Productions: Wow, such a great sound and energy in this song. I really like this!
rotteroy: Horns up!!!
truck: \m/ worthy comment I'm just not coming up with right now here
93%
L0rd3vyL: Awesome. Love me some rock, and you do Armand's tune supurbly.
teo: Great remix, has it all what's needed!
LMania: Thank you for pointing out the tragic fate of Armand, his outstanding SID, and this outstanding remix.
93%
YEAR 2013
Marcus: Great, awesome! Wall Of Sound like Razmo said before!
Zilog: Beautiful
betelzeus: NIiiice! Can listen to this all day
93%
LukHash - Supremacy (youtube vid)
celina w: Wow!!!
p2: Love it! Just like all the other work of LukHash!
AmiC64: For me the BEST Remixer EVER!!! ZAJEBISTE!!!
93%
BeeZerk - BeeZerk - Blasphemy (Feat. Pallaso & Kage)
LMania: Wow this is some serious billboard-charts-wothy summer pop!!
bastard: Impressive production. If I'd known the original tune, I would have rated it red++
archon: Wow, great mix and fitting the vocals in just perfectly!
93%
YEAR 2014
Slaygon - Platoon (Inexperti belli)
Jojje70: Awesome guitars, very well produced with lots of atmosphere!
Kate Eternal: Wonderful!
The SIE: Outstanding it is…
94%
Robert Engstrand - The Mansion Gardens (Last Ninja medley)
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!
slaygon: Absolutely gorgeaus! (although slightly over-compressed)
chabee: Great!❤️
93%
Markus Schneider - Enlightenment - Druid II
Ahriakin: Great work! Another for the 'cant believe that's a C64 remix' playlist for the family 😊
Marcus: Just aewsome!
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)
Ziphoid: Nice twist compared to the original SID which still can be recognized in this very enhanced state. Too bad it's a bit short, but I think this requires a play in a Cozy Corner in the future. 😊 Well done!
Rock: Beautiful track!
druu: Bass came in and so did the goosebumps! Insta-Red. 'Nuff said!
96%
Dr Future - Fist II - The Legend Continues
ChrisLo: Wow! Perfect piece, arragement, sounds, ambient!
Kate Eternal: Purrrfect!
chosc: Hello! Well Done man, your tune is so wonderful and sometimes it remembers me of the old kung fu movies.
95%
MRT - Eagles (Easy Flight mix)
Ryrynz: Wow, that's quite the remix.
LMania: Lovely style.
blubberdiblub: Wow, just wow! The reverberation creates a dreamy atmosphere, the bass line so powerful and the strings simply lovely.
93%
YEAR 2016
symbols: Most Excellent Sir! Bodayshus!
Snake1: Very cool remix!
Megaboost: Absolutely Fantastic! Haven't heard anything this good in Years.
96%
Johan Andersson - Out Run - Splash Wave (surf mix)
Aule: The Beach Boys would have done it exactly that way!
Breadbox Bill: Great jazzy remix!
hillsman: Loving these Surf remixes! I really like this one and its perfect for Johan's style
94%
hillsman: Catchy! Quality!!
LaLa: When listening to this tune I'd like to stand on a hilltop and yell out: This is what the scene is about!!! Kickass 80s feel coupled with a kickass demo tune.
L0rd3vyL: Awesome!. … Just awesome!
95%
YEAR 2017
SIDNIFY - Supremacy (Overprime mix)
ShakeZpear: Wow - gimme more of this!
XxDUSTYxX: That's so dope! |m|
DJs. DoMoDo: Great remix music 😀
97%
NecroPolo: Not my kind of stuff at all (there is no blood) but it is quality at its best. Great work!
Ryrynz: Would like something more like Apollo2k's version but no denying the quality of this.
HighCSharps: Awesomeness in one word!! Thanks
94%
96%
YEAR 2018
FastLoaders - Commando High Score
LaLa: Wow! Just wow! Perfect!
_steve_: Simply amazing. Love the improvisation around 1:28-1:50 - very Hans Zimmer Top Gun Anthemesque
nettuno: Grest execution, with a very good improvvisati in????
96%
speedy: Uhh, what to say. Great track!
Marcus: The perfect mix! The shouts speak for themselves. Could be a Hans Zimmer score!
marcel: Is there a superlative for epic? If there is, than this remix is it! Amazing bit of work Sir!
95%
FastLoaders - Ghouls and Ghosts
Amon73: Uno dei migliori che ho ascoltato qui 😊 Ci vorrebbero più FastLoaders nel mondo 😊 Perfetto!
L0rd3vyL: Lovely.
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.
JustPhreak: Outstanding work!
Breadbox Bill: I love it!
96%
Glyn R Brown - Firelord (from 8Bit Symphony)
Marcus: Glyn really has the feeling to arrange an orchestra track with all his dynamics and emotions (very quiet to thundering loud). I loved the old one and the new one is just great again.
L0rd3vyL: Awesome
Mano: Top notch.
97%
97%
YEAR 2020
peterparker: Nice and fitting guitar solo!
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.
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)
NecroPolo: Welcome to the movie 😊
Glyn R. Brown: The more I listen to this track, it just gets Better & Better 😊 Great work Guys…
XxDUSTYxX: Excellent collaboration! Thank you very much for this Remix, ziona, Slaygon and Peter Clarke!😊
94%
SIDNIFY - The Last Ninja - The Wilderness
hillsman: One of the best remixes on RKO… Period.
MatrixRevolution: Amazing!
Bistecca104: Wow! Just WOW!
94%
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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