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.
jlrcuesta: One of the best remixes. Excellent sounds and structure.
Capitaine: Crazyyy! It's just the original tune atmosphere. Many thanks for this 😊
92%
Zilog: This is AWESOME!
mfe: To take something so simple and make it this atmospheric requires skill. Kudos!
Dumper: Absolutely brilliant.
93%
countzorg: Shimmering
humorguy: Oh sorry fell up from somewhere really nice. Big fat red one!
Melaure: Excellent, I have found Jarre's fealings in this tune 😃
92%
Year 2001
machinae supremacy - Great Giana Sisters
ladyblue: Power!
witzzard: This simply rockxxxx 😊
Gungung!: Just brilliant!
96%
Tonka - Last Ninja - Palace Gardens (Loader)
Tpmccusker: OOOF, good start! It's so fun and wild, it reflects the original so well!
Dr Hambone: Absolutely perfect from start to finish apart from the snare build up at 1.15 which I find a bit over the top. Well done. This is my favourite remix I've heard!!!
Nebdar: Awsome remix cool one with proper soul
93%
DHS - Max Headroom (Orbital 3241 Elevator Mix)
madrigal: Wonderful remix, DHS is a guarantee for quality!😉
plokolp: Love this. 2 tunes in one.
chairmankaga: One of my favourite SID remixes.
91%
Year 2002
Glyn R Brown - Firelord - Symphonic
amfr: This is great!
cactus007: GREAT!
hazel: You are my hero!!😊
96%
Mahoney - Armageddon Man (Vocal Jazz feat. Karin Öjehagen)
Mrcookie: Marvelous!
Tas: Sexy sexy vocals
sophisticated: OMG, what a fab song! Gänsehaut pur!😉
95%
Glyn R Brown - Gordian Tomb Adventures
madrigal: Wonderful, with such barbarian epic style. Glyn, this is your masterpiece!😊
Reverend Kirdneh: This tune is epic!
brix: WTF?! ! This is great!
95%
Year 2003
Lagerfeldt - Dutch Breeze/Robocop 3 (Progressive Uplift)
bordeaux: Still one of my favorite remixes ever after 3 years!
schnaggi: Yeeeeah!
LaLa: Totally awesome! Great punching beat, well-balanced mix, just one awesome piece of remix!
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.
Dumper: Truly wonderful.
93%
myicq: This one on repeat, in a flight across the atlantic against the sunset. Simply awesome!
exo: Simply a great song.
Chainsaw: Very great
91%
Year 2004
Ryrynz: Awesome remix.
kwed: Glyn says this is an unmastered/unfinished mix. I can't for the life of me hear anything wrong with it. Superb!
Kicsipati: Awesome
97%
Skitz: CS-80 RULEZ 😊 This is the opener for Sidologie 2 surely!
Dumper: Very nice indeed.
LaLa: Vangelis meets Sweet - the result is so good, I think it's even more emotional than the original… Wow…
97%
DHS - The Human Race (Bando alle Seghe)
NecroPolo: Excellent rendition. No more, no less.
aker: Great, delectable music!
Netopejr: This is what a REMIX means! Inovative, personal and - last but not least - PROFESSIONAL!
94%
Year 2005
Makke - Artura(Dublin Delight Mix) feat. Andreas Wallström
slaygon: Such a hilarious song, that I couldn't hold myself from doing my own version of it!
alexanderband: That´s how to do it.
tball: Brilliant, especially the lyrics. Not sure what else to say.
95%
Marcel Donné - Something Stranger Remake
Tas: Ding, dang and dong!
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!😉
NecroPolo: Some synth epic stuff never hurts. Great work.
93%
tazuk: Sounds very Mike Oldfieldish, which is not a bad thing 😀
o2: This is so damn nice.
dafunk: Sooo beautiful! In places reminds me of enya and enigma…
92%
Year 2006
Andy Gilmour & LMan - Robocop Title
Mordi: I had to listen to it a few times to grasp its outstandingness. =P
tw1l1ght: Pure atmospheric bliss!! Love ❤️
ifadeo: OUTSTANDING!!! No need for more words…
96%
moog (Sebastian Bachliñski) - Tristess
soppa: Whenever I get fed up with customers at my work, I just put my voip in to paperwork mode and sit back and listen to this! I love how moogs remixes are of great quality and mixing but still have that oldskool demoscene feel to them!
gibs: The lead synth is not a problem for me. I like it. Great piece.
carpii: One of my favorite remixes. Seems not everyone likes the extreme lead, but I think it contrasts perfectly
93%
machinae supremacy - Sidology 2 Trinity
fastrobplus: 7:07 to 10:21 is your best work ever.
LokkoLori: This is Supremacy… Literally
weasel: Hahaha!! Remixae SUPREMACY!!! Great version again, guys!! Yeah…
93%
YEAR 2007
Reyn Ouwehand - Green Beret (live at The Church)
Carruthers43: Magnificent progression
Hypnox: Absolutely stunning. Top-3 c64 remixes eva!
stainless_steel: Awesome rulage by master reyn rockin the curch. Amen!
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!
Man from Stars: I like it all impresinve rithmic music for me.
sidbrowser: Great to listen while driving in my car! Top Remix!
93%
infamous: There is nothing this man touches that doesnt turn to gold, absolutely stunning tune.
the_jinx: Great feel to it… Wonderfull 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!!
93%
YEAR 2008
Mordi - Plastic Pop (I Miss You mix)
Makke: Not at all my cup of tea, but it's a fresh take on Plastic Pop, and very professionally executed. I'd drop the autotuner, but hey, that's just me.
baztd: Fantastic. I love it!
Amok: Mordis masterpiece. Awesome production. The vocals fit perfectly. Hats off, mate 😊
93%
Dafunk - Hardcore Power (We Believe In Goa - Remix)
Agemixer: Nicely advancing one, good development since the original which is awesome aswell! I just love all the melodic silent moments in the middle and especially all those dafunk style, strong low modulation sounds… Kickass!
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.
brix: First I thought it was just very good, but from 4:00 the tune really gets the shit going! Outstanding stuff. Partytime!
93%
Peter W - Stargate (Not As Trancelucent As)
exo: Once again you deliver, Peter. 😀 Effortless flowing musical energy.
Dr-Duke: Very well done Peter W! (Not my fault but I love trance) 😊
Varan: Builds up the mood very nicely the first minutes and then releases a nice melody. Very dreamy indeed. The ending feels a bit flat though.
92%
YEAR 2009
Firestorm - Commando (Sound of SceneSat Edit)
_steve_: Torn between orange and red… Red wins 😊 This tune is really fantastic.
cyphax: Wow, technically outstanding. Sounds wonderful, I definitely hope to hear more remixes like this.
Patosz: Keep it going!
96%
Jogeir Liljedahl - Synth Sample - The Stationary Ark
Waz: Deliciously good and sounds smooth and clear throughout.
ulfepulf: Beautiful! A bit more dynamic piano, and this is perfect.
Melaure: Masterpiece
96%
horizoner: Speechless…
NecroPolo: Haha, I got ya! You get a. Sid file, just run through your MORDIFIER plugin - and that's it 😊 Quality work, as always.
bratac: Massive! Perfect!
94%
YEAR 2010
xo: OMFG - a masterpiece!😀
cyphax: This is just beautiful. I love it.
pie vs pie: Two words… Monster Remix, no scratch that… 4 words… Remix of the year 2010
95%
Chabee - Baboon (Skydive ReMix)
Unreal: Yeaa! It is a great remix now!! I loves the feel, and the various elements and samples in the music! Congratulations, I am waitin' the next one, my friend!😊
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!!!
Metal_VIB: Pure porn! A tad too mellow for my taste though, but a really good arrangement of the track.
92%
SIDrip Alliance - From First to Last (AROK12 tribute mix)
Mordi: Flakey lead, but otherwise great.
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.
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)
nettuno: Excellent, melody, arrangement and a style unique. WOW!
Mordi: Been listening to this regularly since it's release on SceneSat Vol 2. Outstanding as ever.
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%
_steve_: Great as usual… Very chilled
NecroPolo: Drax gets Mordified. I like both factors.
LaLa: Per-fect. Soft to the ear, smooth to the brain.
94%
Peter Clarke - Ocean Loader 3 (Cinematic remix)
hillsman: The best Ocean Loader? Check. The original composer? Check. Win! Win!
_steve_: Fantasitc. Like the slower pace of this one
Staticborris: Excelent. Love the movie score feel to the track, keep up the great work
93%
YEAR 2012
SPechmann: Awesome…
Chordian: Absolutely wonderful remix. The chorus bits invoke true frisson.
zajos: 😊 😊 😊 Sounds amazing! Up to date, pro sound still reminds me of the original era.
94%
Andreas Wallström and NecroPolo - DMC demo IV 2 (Celtic Mission mix)
Mordi: Sweet track!
drax: Pure awesomeness!!! One of the best remixes I have heard 😉
karter: M/ awesome!
94%
L0rd3vyL: Awesome. Love me some rock, and you do Armand's tune supurbly.
XxDUSTYxX: Awesome Remix, so much energy! Arman was a legend. He and his music will be missed.
bordeaux: Great tribute, awesome guitars - thanks a lot!
94%
YEAR 2013
Nebdar: You hit my soft spot witthis remix too great job
horizoner: Really Outstanding!
betelzeus: NIiiice! Can listen to this all day
94%
LukHash - Supremacy (youtube vid)
p2: Love it! Just like all the other work of LukHash!
L0rd3vyL: My favorite remix of this tune. Good job, LukHASH!
eisei: Love the video too
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!
weasel: Yeah!!! What LMan said!!! 😃😃😃
omoroca: Brilliant! Amazing! This year's summer smash hit! Added to my collection.
93%
YEAR 2014
Slaygon - Platoon (Inexperti belli)
Nightmare23: Great one, the speech at the end was a bit sloppy and could have been better.
Mordi: Very nice soundscape! Not familiar with the original tune.
c64glen: Brillant. Sounds very dirty to start with and then has some glorious guitars.
95%
Robert Engstrand - The Mansion Gardens (Last Ninja medley)
bahamut_ger: Oh my God. VERY NICE MEDLEY. Thank you for that one. One of the Best I heard so far
Wolf1982: Killer!
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.
93%
Markus Schneider - Enlightenment - Druid II
rico: … Gives me a lot of Game of Thrones vibes - in a very good way!
Gocab: Nice take and realy great hollywood sound.
LaLa: Cinematic! Epic! Orchestral! Welcome back, 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!
Zatuffli: Describe emotions with music. I am excited! Simply brilliant! Good Work!
96%
Dr Future - Fist II - The Legend Continues
chosc: Hello! Well Done man, your tune is so wonderful and sometimes it remembers me of the old kung fu movies.
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
Kalell: Great and very suggestive Atmosphere!
95%
MRT - Eagles (Easy Flight mix)
mfe: Takes a few too many liberties with the melody for my liking, but it's well mixed.
JustPhreak: Awesome job!!
LaLa: Very chillax. Clean and refined, unique and personal. Me like!
94%
YEAR 2016
Samarium13: Very punchy feel, great beat!
spavatch: Excellent remix, wonderful in every way!
MatrixRevolution: I Love Cybernoid!
96%
Johan Andersson - Out Run - Splash Wave (surf mix)
Blackstar: Love it!
Supergrobi123: Beautiful, nicely-balanced Remix
Breadbox Bill: Great jazzy remix!
94%
verm71: Exquisitely produced thumpy dance track!
bgmnt: One of the best!
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.
95%
YEAR 2017
SIDNIFY - Supremacy (Overprime mix)
Sascha Michael Theel: Outstanding!!! I love it!!!😀
teo: What a great first remix! Igy tovább!
Ryrynz: Great stuff
97%
Mordi: Well done! A pleasant listening experience. Edit: Relistening two months later. It's really nice!
JustPhreak: Really nice!!
Shargo: MRT and Danko o/ O/ o/
94%
96%
YEAR 2018
FastLoaders - Commando High Score
TbB: I want back in time… GOD! I miss my c64 😉 Please write at least 15 words. WTF?!😊
Amiga1200: Woooooow man!
DSMarine: This tune always hits me in my weak spot, and this version is superb!!
96%
marcel: Is there a superlative for epic? If there is, than this remix is it! Amazing bit of work Sir!
nsky: Well done!
Anthony Walters: Awesome! - Hollywood is calling…
96%
FastLoaders - Ghouls and Ghosts
Mordi: Nailing all the arpeggios on guitar. Impressive remix!
Uglybob: Progressive
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!
JustPhreak: Outstanding work!
97%
Glyn R Brown - Firelord (from 8Bit Symphony)
_steve_: This is simply amazing. The only way to top it is being at the live performance in June
Mano: Top notch.
celina w: This remix is really amazing!
98%
symbols: Funkyness!!
c64glen: Outstanding. Unfamiliar with the original but there Pink's Who Knew in there.
rnuls: Fantastic song from Jogeir
97%
YEAR 2020
Mordi: Awesome track, Peter! Your britishness is really shining through in this one, with the ELO references.😃
Ryrynz: Oh my lord. Is anyone else basically after a version of this but with a bit more of a drawn out emotional vibe to it?
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.
96%
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.
MagicMosher: You guys should absolutely keep up the work together the harmony between the 3 styles of music takes me on a journey
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!
Bistecca104: Wow! Just WOW!
Ryrynz: Doesn't get much better than this, it's got all the elements of a top notch remix, love the fresh new SID sound, what an evolution! Holy shit @3:00, bro we need more remixes from you here!
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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