OCR01367 - Dizzy the Adventurer 'Mix Dizz'

[djpretzel]

What did you think? Post your opinion of this ReMix.

[ProjectSpam]

Haha, this is indeed some catchy shizz. As I expect from Makke mixes, this is a very unique take on what I assume is limited source material. Awesome. Infectious. I'll definitely be listening to this quite often.

Great work, makke; keep it up. :)

[Navi]

Hot.

[Cyan_Ide]

I briefly glanced down at the blue of a new item in my RSS feed, where it said "Dizzy the Adventure." The first thing that came to my mind was "Could that be Mix Dizz?" Sure enough. This has been one of my absolute favorite remixes for a long time. Catchy and fun, the lyrics stick in my head for hours after I hear it. Also, when I was at school and played Halo 2 on Live (please save your anti-halo 2 sentiments for somewhere else, here's not the place) I zoned out and went on a running riot a couple times in slayer with this song in the background, so that was kind of cool too. A fun beat and memorable lyrics make this song a must-listen.

[Captain Saucy]

I love the old-school vibe this song has going. And I really didn't expect the vocals, as not too many songs on OCR have any vocals at all. Overall a great piece.

[CC Ricers]

Ha, I've played this game before. And remember my dad saying how the music always made him fall asleep.

I heard this at VGmix so I already know how great it is. Not overly ambitious, but a very nice upbeat tune. The vocal lead really has character.

[RimFrost the Tourianist]

Wild. I liked it at once :P

[watkinzez]

Good bouncy fun. Now bring on your Madballs mix!

[Kilu]

<3

[ChloroPhil]

"Well how am I supposed to know? I never even played this game before" hahaha. I remember my neighbor used to play it and I'd be like 'noooo lets play something 2p' and then he'd be like "dude," and keep on playing... Anyways, fun song, nice and snappy. Great jorb.

[Txai]

Indeed. This is hot.

The beginning started with a cool panning effect around the guitar. The voices are very powerful. In terms of instrumentation, the organs did a very curious arrangement, and the drums did a nice stereo effect bumping my head. Great guitar. This ReMix is very short; my only complaint. Could have more. Quack!

[chthonic]

The mastering on the drums leave a lot to be desired... where's the snare? I need SNARE! Otherwise, this is extremely fun and the style is incredibly refreshing.

-chth

[Pedda]

This one was really cool :P Will listen to this often... Love it :D

[DJ Riott]

This song is so original and catchy -- The organ(s) were my specific favorite and the music overall was close to some new alternative rock bands (a bit too happy, but combine the vocals of kasabian and the rock/organs of the caesers) >> Crisp and clean - Good work with this mix, I'm sure it will be a classic from here on!

[Rexy]

Heck, I feel priveledged to see some material from Makke. His C64 works as a solo artist and as part of the C64Mafia are really amusing to me, and this is no different. I'd remember this for its catchy and upbeat atmosphere as well as a lot of production polish that I often expect from the slew of Commodore mixes that I've been gestured to. He's one of those reasons why those types of mixes are worth listening to.

It's only fair that I show my full analysis on this ;)

---

Remix

In terms of familiarities with the target material, this is one of the strongest aspects that I've managed to recognize with the mix, which has been able to match with the joyful nature of the original as well as shine as a unique addition to the Commodore section. All this has been showed by a very flowing progression that has been able to make out with that core aspect of the track, as shown with a very strong polished execution in practice here. One thing that I think I see as a core problem for me - and it can be a hindrance for some - is that the arrangement of the source material is terribly conservative outside from the more dynamic ending. I can say that the structuring helped to try and make up for it though, which has been shown with some strong associations to make the different parts of the piece tie together flawlessly. Some of those transitions should have felt a bit dynamic though, but it's still very pleasing to listen to especially with its Brit rock (?) structure. I also was hoping for the song to go on for a bit longer though, but for the point of an upbeat tune that may not be necessary. I can't say I ever played Dizzy the Adventurer, but comparing it to the NSF it's definitely got a strong aspect to make it stand alone from it in its execution alone.

Creativity

The vocals have done well to provide an affective way of layering the mix out; I don't care if they're meant to be relating to the game or anything, but it's shown to fit the "fun" aspects behind the target genre. However, outside from the spoken proportions in the middle ("How am I supposed to know? I never even ever played this game before…") and the dynamic melodic elements in the ending, there didn't seem to be many creative aspects that have expanded from the source material. Lucky for us, the sections transition well enough in a very cunning way to make the vocal transition to be smooth enough to work out in total. The vocals in fact help maintain the fresh pace alongside some of the leveling techniques as shown upon the other instrument to help lift up the atmosphere on various instrument aspects to make it freshen out. Even here repetition is lightly minimal throughout; if anything I'd point at hints of it on the drum riff or the chorus, however it can be argued that those aspects are typical in upbeat pop so I'm down with that. So in terms of the entertainment factor I came to appreciate much of the more simplistic aspects that came through it, and that's something that has done well to show a very clever vocal track towards the site. Even though I feel some of the true Dizzy fans may want more than that, it's still well worth that listen when it comes to detecting an interesting performance here.

Production

I found the production aspects to be one of the strongest aspects towards the mix, which has been shown with a good range of techniques to make Makke as he is. There's been some strong sampling with some of the keyboard instrumentation and possibly the drums, and I appreciate much of the characteristic tendencies as taken towards that aspect of the track. The choice of EQs is very well rounded and I appreciate a lot of the frequency tendencies taken through -very realistic for a piece of its genre. One quirk that has had me though was that in spite of the activity brought upon them, the drums felt a little bit empty especially with the thin sounding snare drum as chthonic pointed out, so I'm sure there can be some way to manipulate that sound to a stronger and more energetic quality to it. (I'm thinking the type of drum settings in "Walking on Sunshine" by Katrina and the Waves, a similar pop song with a similar approach to atmosphere.) The recorded elements were very clean and well showcased for what they were, which I think was showcased the best with the vocal quality as showcased here. I thought the guitars sounded a bit distant though, but if that was for an authentic sound it still fared well. The sound balance was well established, as was the panning, so that has shown that even through the listening experience Makke is capable of providing some well rounded production techniques to make his own creative arrangements stand out. Very solid work through that aspect.

---

Well yeah, i managed to dig a lot of the foundations upon the tech settings and the overall flow of the performance, and I often expect no less from some great commodore arrangers. However, one thing tha that has often quirked me from those type of people no more than not was that the arrangement was way too conservative, so don't be afraid to add in some extra creative bits to make it sound more like you instead of "Dizzy and the Adventurers". That's what I think ended up hindering the track if anything much.

but as a fun vocal track, I still managed to enjoy a good chunk of what came down. A very interesting no-brainer that's done its job well, and i appreciate what came through of it. Good work to you Makke, and let's see you come forth with some more musical material in the future. :)

[Pedda]

It would be cool if u posted the lyrics :D

[ProjectSpam]

It would be cool if u posted the lyrics :D

Yes, it would be. :roll:

Look a little below djp's write-up. :P

[Pedda]

Look a little below djp's write-up. :P

Huh?

[ZaphIin]

Hah, I really like this remix. Very happy and fun and definetly catchy. It's been loopin for a bit now and I'm sure it'll be stuck in my head when I eventually stop listening to it. Good job on this.

[IC]

I don't feel like doing any deep analysis of this song (I'd rather just listen to it!), but I'll just say this: it's frickin' awesome. Super catchy, cheesy, sweetness.

[YoshMaster]

WWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Man this is GOOD!!!!!!!!!!

It's the first remix ever to go to my "Music Mp3" as well as my regular "Game Mp3" playlists!!!!!!!! It TOTALY sounds like a professional "real" (hate the term but hey you know what I mean) song!!!! :D

This is soooooo happy-catchy-cooooool!!!!!!!!!!!

The vocals are GREAT too!!! You found a VERY catchy way of singing the vocals and I must say I LOVE your voice because its so..... "not pop music-like":)

My good it's on loop for 42 times already:P

I'll be singing this song 4EVER :D

[OmegaSephiroth]

lol! I love it. It may have some odd lyrics and all that but I like it, grows on ya. Like that part "I'll be surprised if anyone listens to this...right here we go!"

[YoshMaster]

the only thing I have to say is that the bass is a little too strong so it's hard to heard the vocals if I don't listen with headphones.... :( it sounds not toooo good in the car :(

[Fray]

I read this in a music production book somewhere: "People tend to mix their own vocals too low." So true. The vocals are way too quiet in this otherwise-awesome remix... I can understand wanting to hide little weaknesses in your singing, but it's better to do this with layering, chorus, reverb, or overdrive/distortion than to do so by just turning the track down.

Otherwise, this is great. If this is a "love it or hate it" remix, I'm in the love it camp :) :)

Edit: if you're in the "hate it" camp, you suck!

[Orion_Black]

This remix is awesome. It has a kind of Doo-wop style among other things. The lyrics are great and are humorous. The music complements itself well.
This Remix makes me want to get up and swing dance.

[Dafydd]

lol awesome :)

Sounds very professional, in all its simplicity. Did you do it all by yourself, or did someone help you out with vocals or such?... Oh and good on you for remixing an until now uncovered game. :)

[Deathtank]

I found this lil mix in the 1000-1700 remixes torrent, and I gotta say it was love at first listen!
Totally rocked my world!!!! :p

[DJMetal]

Holy crap. I've been listening to this song ever since I dl'd the torrent, but for the longest time I thought it was a song by the Clash. I mean that as a compliment of the highest order, and I love this song. Great job.

[Jaybell]

Man, where'd this guy go? He's great and this is great and oh man great great great

[YoshMaster]

Yeah it's too bad he kinda disappeared from OC Remix...

BUT he has a lot of songs on http://Remix.Kwed.Org from the C64 and they are mostly all awesome!

[Deathtank]

we need more makke!!!!!!!!!! >=(

[Rozovian]

Two things:

Awesome! :D

and..

Bump. Y'all oughta listen to this, it's awesome. :D

[OA]

Super fun- The vocals are a little low in the mix, but wow, excellent work. Clever and cheeky lyrics, good production, and a total sense of style, this is a great and unique mix.

I loved the semi-breakdown where Makke has a conversation with himself, very clever and cool.

Highly recommended!

[DragonAvenger]

Totally infectious, cute, and cuddly. This has a lot going right for it, which makes it a winner in my book. Love the doo-wop back-ups and organ throughout. This really fits the genre and has some very cute lyrics to book. Check this one out, really.

[WesternZypher]

Thanks to Yoshmaster for mentioning Makke's other songs on kwed. This remix is kinna' nutty - it's just short enough to be enjoyable, but I'd probably start to get that special kinna' happy-insane-grinny-grin if it went on much longer than it actually does...:lol: