VG Frequency’s June 18, 2005 Pimp Section
Not too much for me to go through means that I could knock this out in a couple of hours, which is not only good for you and me, but good for America. The summer rundown gets back on track with material from June 12th through 18th.
Alexander Prievert - Donkey Kong Country 2 “Ye Olde Brambles 2006″ [VGMix2 #4362]
Everyone loves brambles. Just from judging at OCR for a year, I’ve heard a number of people try to tackle “Stickerbrush Symphony”, most of them not really gaining any measure of success. Alex here knows where his bread is buttered and sticks pretty closely to the original composition, simply giving the source material more of a sound upgrade in this simple electronic conversion. Very repetitive, but if you really love the theme that bad I suppose if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
Bladiator - Final Fantasy 8 “Moontang” [VGMix2 #4359]
Karl always does a good job taking some average samples and working the magic on them. This take on “Waltz for the Moon” envisions the piece in a new dance style, opening up with a very flowy, natural-sounding piano intro before transitioning into some spicy tango carried by strings & accordion for the peoples. Anything with a sequenced accordion is automatically sexy. And you’ll either love of loathe the “Hoo hoo” at 1:56. Very dynamically constructed stuff, further using the second half to build the momentum even further with a piano joining in. If this was live, the FF fans would mess themselves. Luckily for them, Blad doesn’t give ‘em the full monty.
chthonic - The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time & The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening “Anthem of a Misguided Youth” [VGMix2 #3667 / OC ReMix #1364]
Man, I dunno why people weren’t feeling the clap-driven intro here. I usually hate the use of claps, but how can you help loving them when they’re used skillfully like that? Ben Briggs followed up his incredibly catchy Super Mario 64 OC ReMix debut with this equally tricked out take on Z64’s “Gerudo Valley” featuring the tasteful and well-integrated reference to “Ballad of the Windfish in there that all the musicians seem to be fascinated with these days. Kids, it works. You like vibes and Spanish-sounding guitars in there too? Who am I kidding, the whole Zelda thing already sold it for most of you anyway. chthonic shows his potential versatility & consistency nicely here.
DJ Crono f/Yuko Isamiyama, Takumichi, Keishi & Daisuke - The Legend of Zelda 1 “Ware o Sukui Tamae” (a.k.a. ‘Save My Soul’) [VGMix2 #4365]
Jovette Rivera be back at it again with friends via some liberal synth rock & vox spin on the often-mixed Overworld theme. The phone call opening with Yuko on this one was nearly worth the price of admission (free) alone, so be sure to see what that’s all about. At 5:19-long, the length is a bit much for the idea, with some brief vocals from Crono only showing up at 2:43. The mixing was particular messy, which frankly is always a problem for Crono’s material, but despite being cluttered together and clippy, the sound is somehow relatively sharp. Needs to be re-mixed, but if you’re a fan of Jovette’s stuff, this is yet another solid offering to flag down.
the funktionalists - “Southern California Sky” [http://www.zykomusik.com]
zyko’s latest band completed their second jam session on June 10th, producing another full album’s worth of material for fans of the funk to get funky. Much like the funktionalists’ first session releases, these are some very loose and unpolished tracks, so don’t be walking in here like “dizzamn, this be straight from the studio!” or you’ll look (and feel) stupid. weed, Bryce & Ryan keep it simple, but they really come together nicely within some of these tracks, especially the spotlighted “Southern California Sky”. Guitar lead + effects = Geetar bias. Very effective stuff right there that has a simple structure but really is a quintessentially stylish and laid-back jam track. Don’t miss out on others in the session like “Simian Alien” and “Pink Love” for the full experience.
Ichitootah - “Pompoms and Candied Chestnuts” [Original Remix Competition 23]
What a strange creature this was. It felt like a doo-wop song given an electronica conversion. Don’t believe me? No dice, you’re supposed to. Besides, it’s not like that the whole way through, so just keep an open mind. Ichi grabbed the uncontested win for OCR23 by fiddling around with some original material from Nasenmann. At 4:46, the idea kinda runs thin by the 3-minute mark, so I can’t give it the full plug, but Ichi continues to remain a force in both the PRC & ORC competitions.
PICK OF THE WEEK: Jared Hudson - “One Spring Morning” [4 Seasons]
Jared has his second season-based composition in this vibrant original. Hanging out with Jared early this year let me know how much of a crazy bastard he is, but when he’s not busy investigating the latest racing games, saying “pour over” in a German accent (!), hunting Bambi, learning from industry mover/shaker Chad Seiter, and studying at Berkelee, he’s creating engaging pieces such as “One Spring Morning.” As soon as I heard it, I was absolutely captivated by the beauty of this orchestral piece. It really emotes the traditional motifs found in other pleasant & upbeat scores like Princess Mononoke without coming across as utterly cliché. Mixed with more clarity, this would be deadly. It’ll still put you in a satisfying coma.
Joshua Morse - Sonic the Hedgehog 1 “Marble Dash” [OC ReMix #1365]
Alright, so when I first heard this, I said to myself “This be groovy, but that piano sample be too fakey and so do the strings.” They are too inhuman-sounding to me, but when you’re presented with something this incredibly arranged, you just end up looking past it. I’ve heard Josh offer some very conservative AND very liberal mixes, so I was glad we had something right here that was right in the middle. Equal parts interpretation and complete originality, I was just amazed at this mix of Masato Nakamura’s “Marble Zone”. Described by djp as any combination of house, disco, and funk influences, some have decried this mix for being too long, while I say “Hell no! Make this 15 minutes!” At 6:20, the mix manages to evolve the whole way through. Relatively recent changes in the staff of OCR over the months allowed Joshua to reconsider submitting here again, and you’ll certainly be glad for it.
Main Finger - CastleVania 1 & CastleVania 3 “Beware of the Stalker” [VGMix2 #4344]
CastleVania plus beats brings the groove bias like nobody’s business here courtesy of Jesse Gregory. The arrangement is fairly simple and straightforward, starting off with techno beats and moving on to a string/piano duet before fusing the two ideas together for the finish. I won’t lie, the first section is probably the best part in my opinion, but the material is classic and catchy which should be able to rope you in to give it a sample. So, you know…give it a sample.
Noir w/Brendan Evans, Nate Levin & Kevin Alexander - “City of Ruin & Rain” [Evidence of Weather]
Noir provides some subdued but progressive stuff with this 10+ min original that’s rough around the edges but shows a lot of promise for an even fuller, more rehearsed version. Alongside “The Bright Path”, these tracks are both studio demos from a crew Eric put together for his senior recital at the Oberlin Conservatory. Things really took a nice turn after the 6:30-mark, as these bros really hit their stride for the last few minutes. Could have used some more meat on the bones, but considering what the recording was put together for, this is some worthwhile stuff.
Reuben Kee - “A Piece of Heaven” [http://www.reubenkee.com]
Hey, more woodwinds for ya. Reu pieces together some orchestral flavor for you just to make sure Jared’s not the only one putting some your way for this week. The piano here is a little plinky and thin, but the overall presentation is relaxing and lush, adding to the mix some touches of New Age for the listener who needs everything. There were some nice subtle dynamic changes before a more pronounced increase in intensity was worked in at 3:36 with the arrival of some trademark instrumentation in Reu’s repertoire. What can I say? The man can write, and he also does a great job of establishing a memorable style. Very fitting material for the ending of a game, is it not?
Starblaze - F-Zero 1 & F-Zero GX “Blue Blazes” [VGMix2 #4354]
WHAT IN BLAZES?! Evan Pattison is back once again with some electronica that satisfies the groove bias within me nicely. This stylish remix of “Mute City” takes the perennial favorite and weaves it with the F-Zero GX material of “Infinite Blue” as well as a story mode track. When the familiar Mute City melody kicks in, it’s a slice of goodness, which only makes it unfortunate that it wasn’t referenced more than once. Mr. Pattison, don’t tease the community like this! Cool stuff, but I can’t help demanding a new version called “Bluer Blazes” that features more of the Mute City-ness I came to expect. I’m just a bastard when it comes to wanting the old stuff. Get your fix of two different eras of F-Zero thanks to Starblaze.
Vurez - Mega Man 6 “Flurry of Frozen Fury” [VGMix2 #3851 / OC ReMix #1366]
So I remember playing this one on my show when it hit VGMix and had djp listening to the show while chatting with him on the side. This “Blizzardman Stage” remix particularly caught Dave’s attention. And while djpretzel readily and genuinely hands out props for the quality material that makes it on OCR, speaking as a staff member he’s not one to go “Whoa!” a lot. The man’s hard to catch off-guard and impress. So when Pretzel was won over by “Flurry of Frozen Fury”, I felt good knowing that Don here would finally get posted on OCR as soon as he submitted it. A lil’ nudge-nudge and here it is. Vurez already had a nice batch of MM6 mixes available at VGMix, and this one arguably outshines them all. For purely sequenced material, it’s definitely punchy but incredibly sexy. Sax = sexy, folks. To the point, don’t miss out on this one for any reason whatsoever.
Not TOO much going on this week, but some worthwhile selections came out nonetheless. Be seeing you, music lovers and haters.