VG Frequency’s June 26, 2004 Pimp Section
Liontamer wrote…
Ormgas.com, OverClocked ReMix’s unofficial internet radio station, wants YOU for its jingle contest, now underway and set to end on July 10th. We need artists, remixers and anyone willing to have some fun with a microphone to check out the contest and submit 20-to-40-second station identification style jingles, and if you’re one of the top 3 entrants, you can clothe your body with hot OMG FREE Ormgas.com gear. As long as your entry is quality, you can potentially earn radio infamy along with other legends (like Liontamer) as one of Ormgas.com regular jingles, so be sure to check out more information at the OCR forums thread as well as the full set of contest rules over at http://oc.ormgas.com/news.php?extend.36. Antonio Pizza, SgtRama, Neskvartetten & OverCoat are already in the game with their own entries, and I encourage you reading this [Larry points at you] to consider submitting your own jingles in support of Ormgas while you get in the hunt for free, fashionable swag. Please don’t delay. July 10th’s the final deadline.
Relatively light week of stuff for the week ending Saturday, June 26th, but I was busy as hell, so this all stayed incomplete on my laptop for a few days. Ah well. Better late than never, brothers and sisters:
Arkimedes - Shenmue 1 “Dreaming While I Wake” [VGMix2 #1253 / OC ReMix #1205]
I’ve been waiting for Jaron’s latest OC ReMix to hit the site for quite a bit ever since it was pimped the the OC Works forums. This is some downplayed, yet unique light techno that a whole bunch of people have compared to Moby with pretty cool lyrics and occasional vocoding and delay effects that accentuate the vocals, which, as you likely know, flow more like spoken-word verses. This is an important mix, in my opinion, when it comes to expanding the styles of music that are covered by the game remix community, so you owe “Dreaming While I Wake” a listen simply based on that. Great stuff that could pass for a mainstream release. If Moby can do it, Arkimedes certainly can. Keep an eye out for his Soul Calibur VGMix, “A Different Kind of Hero,” for more of Jaron’s work that’s similarly poised to make it to OC in the coming months as well.
ArseAssassin - Kabuki Quantum Fighter “Take the Red Pill” [OC ReMix #1204]
The name’ll leave some scratching their heads, but now Tuomas Kanerva’s made his mark on OCR. It’s always interesting seeing people develop in different ways, as time leads to change and many have gone different routes to improving their mixing ability, whether that be VGMix1, the old-school IMC contests or the more recent PRC challenges. Double A’s been showing his own self-improvement through the People’s Remix Competition with mixes like the Kirby’s Block Ball mix “Happy Island of Pink Fluffs” for PRC11 and the liberally-arranged FF Tactics mix “The 4th Dimension” for PRC13. Double A now makes the leap to OCR with some harder-edged Kabuki trance. It’s not my cup of tea, so I can’t BS anyone and give this my ringing endorsement, yet I know from Tuomas’s PRC work that he’s got talent that I often enjoy hearing. Be on the lookout for more quality stuff from ArseAssassin, as he become a name you’ll (easily) remember.
The Brothers Wogan - “Argh the Bees” [Mother’s Day 2004] - Feedback
For Mother’s Day a little while ago, Solomon & Gwilym whipped up this insanely stupid and fun beat poetry. If you forgot to buy your mom a card this year, hook her up with this track from the rappin’ Wogan bros. And don’t mind their accents. Trust me, those are the least of your worries.
debeerguy (Kevin “Lorenzo” Sisk) - Sonic & Knuckles “Machine Gun Hedgehog” [VGMix2 #1483]
Here’s the latest electrorock from Kevin that isn’t gonna kick you in the face or anything, but does a great job of melding original composition work alongside the Act 2 Boss theme of Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles. When incorporated, the actual boss theme itself could have used much more on the arrangement side, but the combination of original and source tune lines worked very well. I didn’t really pick up on why Kevin dubbed this “Machine Gun Hedgehog,” but this is some decent stuff that caught my attention.
mv - “Green Ashes” [http://home.no/mistermv] - Feedback
Xavier Dang knows how to create a relaxing, laid back vibe with a lot of his mixes, yet this new original track of his is something that’s even softer and something I’d more readily expect to hear over at SoundTempest, as it sounds like a wonderful, suitable piece for running around within an RPG. mv says it’s short and repetitive, but also that he enjoys it, which I figure is how most of you would judge this as well. Simple guitar and piano work is essentially what’s going on throughout the short but sweet “Green Ashes.” You know mv would never steer you wrong, so don’t make the mistake of passing up this relaxing original work.
Mythril Nazgul - The Critic “The Kritic” [The People’s Remix Competition: Animation 2]
Aight, so I’ll level with ya: the track link doesn’t work, because the mix is no longer hosted. And I wanted to hear this stuff so bad. So you’re gonna have to settle for aluminum’s 2nd place mix of the theme song of The Critic, “Theme from ‘The Critic’ (aluminum’s Irresponsible Mix).” It’s still pretty funny stuff though. PRC:A3 is already underway, so hopefully I’ll be quicker on the uptake when it comes to covering that. I can’t win ‘em all. Damn, I wanted to hear that winning Critic mix. Y’all bug the hell out of Mythril until he comes up with the goods.
Protricity - Zombies Ate My Neighbors “Neighburgers” [OC ReMix #1202]
When Ari finished this mix back in May, he said that this was his best mix. The fact that “Neighburgers” doesn’t come from Donkey Kong Country 2 like most of Prot’s other mixes will likely lead most fans to disagree with the claim that this is Prot’s best stuff. That’s the bias of nostalgia for you. Of course, I liked “Forest Birdcussion” the best out of all of his mixes, but I can say that since I’ve never played either game. :-P So why would Prot consider his newest OC ReMix to be his personal best work? For me, I believe it lies in the level of rearrangement. Listening to the source tune of “Boss Battle” from the ZAMN soundtrack, the mix follows the same structure for quite a while. But even here, the tempo is slowed down so that it would function better as a hard rock track, not to mention the fact that Ari gave this mix the EarthBound treatment in that he fashioned something a bit more melodic out of strangely sequenced source material. Nonetheless, comparing the mix with the original is necessary in order to really appreciate the effort made in dynamically rearranging the source material into what we have before us now. There are a lot of original ideas here beyond paying homage to Joe McDermott’s stuff. Of course, I’m not Protricity, so I can’t specifically tell you any or all of the reasons this is his favorite remix so far, but if you make the effort to compare Neighburgers with it’s inspiration, you may understand a bit about why he likes it so much. Maybe it’s just the gigasamples. True, that’s probably it.
S.S.H. - Super Robot Taisen MX “The Watchdog of Hell” [http://www.ssh.ne.jp]
Since there isn’t too much going on with releases on the Remix64 scene, I didn’t wanna leave everyone high and dry on some of the international flavor, so we’ll pimp out some Japanese material instead. Live House S.S.H. released this mix in late April for the recent Japanese PS2 release Super Robot Taisen MX (a.k.a. Super Robot Wars MX in the States), and this one is some of their trademark upbeat synth rock style as opposed to some of their heavier live instrument work. As opposed to sounding like a heavily retooled arrangement in regards to instrument quality, this sounds a lot more in the style of in-game music. You’ll understand the analogy completely once you check this one out.
TexasRowan - “Lost Plain of Unforgotten Sorrows” [CompoST 21]
There must not be enough Heaths making music, so, believe it or not, Unknown’s little sister Rowan is also getting in the game with a quality original composition of her own. In fact, her take on a wasteland theme for CompoST 21 beat everyone else out, because Rowan’s got it like dat. She’s like a young prodigy, mind you, so I’m looking forward to hearing her release more material whenever that happens. The foundations are solid, so as she hones her craft and eventually goes for riskier, more ambitious projects, you’ll really see her start to shine. Just why is the Heath family full of such capable musicians? It must be the genes. Or the Wheaties. You gotta eat your Wheaties.
TO - Final Fantasy 8 “Dolletrocution” [The People’s Remix Competition 18]
Some judging delays have been holding up the momentum of both PRC and IMC, so the compos have been feeling the pinch. While IMC will be on hiatus until things get back on track, PRC19 is underway under the command of Mr. Barber. And why is that? That’s because TO conclusively won PRC18 with this interesting hybrid piece that features an ethic-esque (see, I can make up words easily) wind pipe, some nice thick strings, shrill modulating electrosynths and his near-trademarked industrial percussion. I thought sections like the one from 1:18 to 1:41 needed more emphasis on the melody for the foreground, but the mastering presents a semi-lo-fi feel, so that’s part of what you get with the complete package. Lee’s selection of Chrono Trigger music for PRC19 is bound to be met with a large response, so be ready for some interesting things there.
trickwaters - Dragon Warrior 4 “Seven Fantasies for Piano: I Overture” [VGMix2 #1715]
I’m wondering why Pat hasn’t submitted anything to OCR (that I’m aware of at least). trickwaters has released several of his older tracks at VGMix, including this first part of a 7-part series covering the music of Dragon Warrior IV. This piece is a pretty straightforward piano-driven effort, but one that continues to highlight trick’s skills. At times, the piano felt a little dry, but this is simply a nice, flowing piece, as Pat continues to carve out his niche among other skilled pianists on the remixing scene. Nice stuff you should check out, and if you haven’t heard of Pat’s work before, this is certainly a nice introduction for you. The other tracks in this suite (as well as trickwater’s entire body of work) is freely available at http://www.betterthanbach.com.
Ubik - Adventure Island 1 “Tribal Warfare” [VGMix2 #277 / OC ReMix #1203]
Brian Davis brings another VGMix joint over to OC with this hot breakbeat mix that left me scratching my head at first. When I thought about it though, this was kind of the reaction that I first gave Ubik’s 2002 FF3 mix “The Dark World (Crystal Abyss Mix)” when I first heard it. The layout is strange, but there’s an unknown factor that kept me from passing it over. You may have to listen to this mix several times to acclimate yourself to the structure here, but I think it’s well worth it if you’re a fan of them phat b33tz. Hot stuff. And an easy mix to show off to people who might like the d’n'b style, but aren’t necessarily video game music fans.
Unknown - “Sand in the Eye” [CompoST 7 / SoundTempest]
Not forgetting the “other” Heath, Ty adds to his growing collection of tracks at SoundTempest with this quick shot of Middle Eastern flavor done in the style of a desert theme. Excellent ethnic feel that genuinely gives off a traveling-through-the-desert feel. Do yourself a favor and click the SoundTempest link so you can listen to all of Unknown’s original works available at the site. Ty’s body of work here is much more diverse than his OC ReMix work would suggest, so check them all out and listen to a skilled hand at work.
zircon - Chrono Trigger “Calamitous Judgment” [http://www.zirconstudios.com]
Pretty much anyone who’s a fan of OCR knows of Spekkosaurus’s CT remix “The Trial in Concert,” which is a very high benchmark when it comes to touching the “Kingdom Trial” theme. I can’t say I can recall anyone else ever touching the theme, but Andy here comes out swinging with his latest release. Spekk’s treatment of the source music was much more of a laid back affair while “Calamitous Judgment” involves a strong but simple beat foundation along with orchestral and electronic elements. If you enjoyed Star Salzman’s hybrid arrangement style with the Mega Man 2 soundtrack with mixes like “Tickle My Wily” and “When You See the Flashman, Duck and Cover,” then I have a feeling you’ll really enjoy zirc’s own approach, which means that you absolutely can’t pass this up.
zircon - “Face Off” [CompoST 22]
zircon’s also keeping up with his winning ways on the CompoST side with this dramatic fight theme. Someone’s gotta put Unknown in his place right? Who better than SoundTempest’s creator and founder. This is a quick, very up-tempo shot that’s both serious and action-packed, all parts of a formula that make up a quality original game music composition. Very cool stuff from Mr. SoundTempest, and, at 54 seconds, certainly a piece that leaves you interested in the direction and wanting more.
As I noted in my S.S.H. remix pimp, the European scene has been a little slow this month since R:K:O and AMIGAremix have been backed up with submissions, so you’ll have to be patient while things get back on track.
Rayza encourages any interested OC ReMixers to hit up BemaniStyle.com at http://bemanistyle.com/sims and check if one of their remixes has had a DDR-style stepfile created for it. Lots of mixers are already represented at the constantly updated database. The best way to search BemaniStyle’s database is by track/remix name rather than artist name, so check it out and see if you’re represented.
Spyder, of “Electric Gear Solid” fame, has a very interesting original WIP, which from the looks of it is tentatively called “G5.” If more progress develops on it, I’ll definitely let you know. Inspired by the source tune of the recently OC-rejected “Isla Nublar Jam”, Danny B has an SNES Jurassic Park mix in the works. Keep your eyes out. Vigilante’s Donkey Kong Country 1 remix of “Aquatic Ambiance” for Gorilla con Gusto just needs some final tweaks, but it’s great work and finally something the breaks the stereotype of “no one’s actually rearranges Aquatic Ambiance.” You’ll really enjoy it when it finally comes out. After a lil’ hiatus, Adhesive Boy hosted AB Radio this past Saturday, so I’m proud of my protege. Except that he’s not my protege. And we hate each other. Hopefully, I’ll be back on schedule for next week. Take it easy.
June 30th, 2004 at 9:07 am
No Megaman this week???