OCR01376 - Sonic & Knuckles 'Lava Reach'

[djpretzel]

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

[Red Shadow]

Holy shit, Jivemaster is back!

It should go without saying that I like the mix. His music is part of the reason I returned to the site after my initial visit. :P

[Sadorf]

while a lot of people wont feel the same as i do... i was not the biggest fan of jivemaster's music, but thats just me.

THIS however, kicks ass.

so yeah..good work and shit

bye

[Dahlia]

Nooooooo! Israfel was one of my favorites. I felt a familiarity on the panel, seeing one who appreciates form and development so. Well, thanks to Israfel for providing the service for so long. I imagine it's a fairly taxing job, what with the massive flow of submissions. Hope to see some mixes from him soon.

Almost forgot to mention THIS mix! Very nice! Welcome back to the site, Jive!

[ViludeMortiae]

Well, I've been listening to OCRemix for the past couple of years. Enjoying mostly everything that DJP and the Judge Panel has pumped out for download.

I've enjoyed Jivemasters older mixes. 'Sonic the Hedgehog 3' - Dub Island comes to mind. I thought that arrangement was great, one've my favourites.

This new arrangement of 'Sonic the Hedgehog 3' - Lava Reach just blew that opinion out of the water there.
The opening synth I thought was a nice rendition for preluding the mix. Drums and hihats seem very crisp and not so post-human.

Overall I really enjoy your mix.

YES

[OverCoat]

Welcome back, Joel. I missed you! Where have you been??!?!

Well anyway, this song got me to download your other songs. I already had them but when several years pass, .mp3 files are bound to disappear :).

Listening to your older songs again after such a long time just reminded me of how awesome this site really is, or was, or whatever. Being on this site for so long sorta made me forget that, I suppose. Makes me want to... submit a song :D but I have nothing good enough right now.

Anyways, I have a question, Jive! What happened to your rock band? :) Quite some time ago, you posted some band demos or something, and it was this rock band! I was like "Jivemaster, Mr. Techno in a rock band?!" and it was pretty interesting. Anyways, how goes the band?

[Jivemaster]

Anyways, I have a question, Jive! What happened to your rock band? :) Quite some time ago, you posted some band demos or something, and it was this rock band! I was like "Jivemaster, Mr. Techno in a rock band?!" and it was pretty interesting. Anyways, how goes the band?

Hi guys, thanks for the comments on the mix. Glad to be back officially.

Seattle, the original group I was part of has since disbanded, however my new group The Melicious Neo Zeed (http://mnz.jivemaster.com) is alive and kicking. Songs from the album are available on the site.

-Jive

[OverCoat]

The Melicious Neo Zeed

lol

Hey wait a second! I remember 1012kb! But that was from your other band D: ?

[RimFrost the Tourianist]

This piece reminds me alot more of flashy Amiga games ,than of Sonic ones. Although it's a nice effort (especially the rock part towards the middle), it would take me some time to fully appriciate the wholeness of the tune itself. It's just almost too chaotic. But i'm probably delusional, since chaos is what Sonic games are all about :twisted:

Nice work there Jivemaster.

[Txai]

Jivemaster is really good. His old mixes are still enjoyed. And this is probably his best work.

It is very wide, aww... 6:40 of fun. The resources of instrumentation are quite awesome. The drums are very powerful and the selection of synths are very good. The guitar was played nicely, and the electronic voices did an excellent contrast here. I like the technique of filter used on the transition, the invasion of stereo field is really great on this ReMix. The arrangement is my favourite part: Lava Reef and Hidden Palace Zone are a good choice to do a song of electronic style.

Very clean, not repetitive, not boring...really solid and great job! :)

YES.

[Insane2757]

THis remix is more than six minutes of pure good. I loved every second! Woo!

[Samuru]

Great awesome job there Jive man, glad to have you back and I hope those remixes just keep comin'. I just love this remix, it's pure beauty, I couldn't stop listening to it. Superb.

^_^

[Geoffrey Taucer]

um... this is over 6 megs. Did the limit increase or something?

Anyway, great mix.

[GrayLightning]

um... this is over 6 megs. Did the limit increase or something?

Anyway, great mix.

The actual limit is 6MB (6,291,456 bytes)as can be found at http://www.ocremix.org/about/?artid=4. This mix is 6,219,776 bytes. No problems there.

[Liontamer]

um... this is over 6 megs. Did the limit increase or something?
Nope. Size: 6,219,776 bytes

ReMixes should be no larger than 6MB (6,291,456 bytes).
And just to stay relevant, this mix be double dope dope.

EDIT: Bah, Gray ya smelly bum, stealing my damn thunder!

[Navi]

Hell yeah.

[Linearity]

It's Jive!

I like this, from my initial listen. I have heard some of those sounds before too, but not for a while, and they are a welcome familiarity. They remind me of the good techno that I don't have anymore. I like what you did with Lava Reef. You took the catchy bits, made them deeper, and had them dance around in the bassline. Good work.

And I'm glad you're back. I never knew of you when you were around, but I knew of your mixes, and I like them (I'm a big Sonic fan too, so I'm glad you covered those in such breadth).

[Less Ashamed Of Self]

It's pretty good.. it has a decent amount of groove to it, very fun and tasty... but by the time I remembered the source tune (which was closer to the end... the last minute) it dawned on me that THAT was my favourite part.

Left me wanting either more, or a fresh take.

Meh, I'm just complaining... I'll definitely listen again soon.

[Dahlia]

um... this is over 6 megs. Did the limit increase or something?
Nope. Size: 6,219,776 bytes

ReMixes should be no larger than 6MB (6,291,456 bytes).
And just to stay relevant, this mix be double dope dope.

EDIT: Bah, Gray ya smelly bum, stealing my damn thunder!

I hope Jeremy Soule sends in another mix that's 6,291,457 bytes. :P

[Flash Strife]

Sweet, I've been looking forward to this since I read that you were working on something new for OCR on your forums, and it doesn't disappoint. Nice work, hope we don't have to wait another 2 years for your next mix. :wink:

[Axnollouse]

Its great to see you back (the first OC Remix I heard was Chemical Juice). This is great but my fav of Jivemaster's is rAAw Battery. This a close #2

[nodspaw51]

Amazing...could have only come from the master himself.

[Rexy]

Sweet, new Jivemaster. During my early days of downloading music here, this guy dominated a good amount of my playlist and to see him come back with some more material after a 3 year hiatus brighened up a good part of the past week for me. I did have some thought over the qualities of degrading elder mixers over time, but with other people achieving similar feats on this site recently (Shael Riley, Krispy and EgM spring to mind here) it’s inevitable that they still have what it takes, and I respect that. :D

So yeah, having checked out a good range of his material in the past it’s fair that I come back with some feedback on this one.

---

Remix

As a fellow Sonic fan/mixer, I can say that similarities to both sources are pretty much evident here, which is what I have often come to expect from Jivemaster's work. I understand this is a remake of a creation from 3 years ago, but there are some parts of the execution that could have been looked into - going towards that opening synth in the intro, I wasn't too down with some of the B flats and E flats in the opening progressions; that made the music sound a bit more menacing than the usual if not a bit too chaotic. Some may also think that the restriction of the chord structures in the Lava Reef section have brought that area down, but for me I found it to showcase in a pleasing fashion. There's plenty of variance on some of the backing components of the theme as well as a good amount of original components to be able to make it stand out. I appreciate the two-half structure of the song, given the first 3 and a half minutes or so is dedicated to Lava Reef and the other 3 and a half for Hidden Palace, so that was well clever. However, if there's something that I think could do with a look into it would be the transition into the two halves; seemed to feel a bit sudden for me with some of the synths slowing down and some of the instrumentation continuing on at a regular tempo. Even there I felt there could have been a bit more going on during the Hidden Palace segment but it has still coped fine. I know that I have criticized this portion a lot, but even here I still found it funky enough to make sure it stood alone for what it was, as well as offering just as much variety for a Lava Reef arrangement as Malcos's and Rayza's posted adaptations here.

Creativity

The two-half structure has got a lot of life granted to them both; the Lava Reef area is shown to be very deep and menacing, while the Hidden Palace has carried things over to a more mellow situation. So I can say the structuring of the two different moods and much of the original components have done well to make sure they stood out well enough to make them feel part of the mix instead of being two separate songs in one file. For a groove-based piece there's a fair amount of added components placed within the track to be able to refresh it every now and again, and for that I managed to dig what came through. In terms of repetition I barely sensed much at all given the feel granted to both sides - if anything it may be with some accompaniment riffs early on but other than that I barely sensed anything. In terms of the entertainment factor I found this to be very clever stuff, and I felt this has worked as an affective return to OCR. Even with that in mind I know he can kick ass a lot more than this, but it's still got a lot of charm that has made it stand steady.

Production

I think for an electronica mix some of the elements have aged/are ageing a bit, especially some of the synth guitars and the drum progressions, but even here I found much of the synth textures to be very unique to be able to call their own and fitting for Jivemaster's style. Even his attention towards EQs and sound processing is well refined enough to add a good amount of life towards the sounds, so that has shown he has been able to add enough polish to make them stand well defined. The voice samples integrated into the track ("now, it is time" being an example of which) have managed to add enough of a flavor towards the atmosphere; even though some of the recording qualities sound a bit lo-fi, much of the processing, especially with the panning techniques at around 2:40, have still worked well to aid towards some added flavor here. The sound levels are also decently done and have added as much energy as expected with Jive's material, so I can say this has done fine to maintain a strong quality of the audience's interest. I found the panning to be well defined and spacious enough to fit in its place; some may find it to run a bit thin at first but I was still able to identify with what came through here. In terms of technical aspects some of the stylistic traits of this user are slightly ageing but even here I still feel that much of the technical aspects still show that he has what it takes to generate some interesting coverage to make it stand onto the site. Very solid stuff to hear even after a 3 year hiatus. :)

---

After looking at the judges' decisions I understand the close vote. I feel that some of the executional aspects have hindered this more so than not, as well as a few light tech concerns. Even though some of his skills are ageing you can't deny that the overall arrangement is very clever and well thought out. There's a good amount of defining between the two sources to make the structure work well enough, and can be seen as pretty much of an epic mix to take in.

so yeah, even though I feel this isn't one of Jive's best mixes out there, it's still very good to hear from him again. Well done, and let's see him contribute a bit more to the site.

The people at OCR have been spoiled rotten with some fab Sonic stuff as of late, I hope they enjoy this too.
Aw man, I'm priviledged. :lol:

[Zekian]

I was browsing mixes tonight, unable to find anything I really liked, and then I saw that Jivemaster - the master himself - finally had a new mix out.

Once again, I am blown away.

Thank you, Jivemaster. This mix is outstanding. =D

[Liontamer]

After looking at the judges' decisions I understand the close vote.
Well, just to clarify, after Joel read the in-progress judges decision vote that I sent him (at the time 4Y/5N), he really did a phenomenal job revising this mix thanks to some perspective from other judges as well as listening to the mix again with a fresh set of ears. If the posted form of this mix had hit the panel with the production & arrangement revisions it now has, it would have easily went 4Y, though I'd honestly say that it would have been direct posted actually.

And for those glad to see some older faces back on the OC front page, we've got another one coming back relatively soon that will make you very happy definitely.

[Rexy]

After looking at the judges' decisions I understand the close vote.
Well, just to clarify, after Joel read the in-progress judges decision vote that I sent him (at the time 4Y/5N), he really did a phenomenal job revising this mix thanks to some perspective from other judges as well as listening to the mix again with a fresh set of ears. If the posted form of this mix had hit the panel with the production & arrangement revisions it now has, it would have easily went 4Y, though I'd honestly say that it would have been direct posted actually.
Yeah, I understand that he put up a revised version during the posting process. Even if you do say it would easily go 4Y, that's one black man's opinion :) Still think it would have been close though.
And for those glad to see some older faces back on the OC front page, we've got another one coming back relatively soon that will make you very happy definitely.
If it's McVaffe I swear I will bear hug the hell out of everyone I see. :)!!

[Nario]

Excellent job Jivemaster! It's been a LOOOONG time since I've heard anything *new* from you, so I'm glad to see your name again. Hopefully you'll mix more Sonic music, as I never ever can get enough of those mixes of yours.

I really like what you did around 4:20 and so on. That was pretty sweetnessful. I also like your synth's.

I know this next part will sound like a praise PM, but to be honest, it was really you that helped contribute the encouragement for me to start mixing music, whether you intended that or not, considering that you wouldn't have known me. ;) I guess it was the percussion from 'rAAw Battery' that really started getting me to think about it and then pxFury submit 'Trippin' on Ecstacy' and that was it. I wanted to become a remixer and you helped!

Thanks, if you can understand me that is. ^.^;; Wait, this is still a review or whatever isn't? Whatever. Regardless, good luck with your next remixes, as I'm looking forward to hearing more from you.

[KairoAnnunaki]

Excellent job Jivemaster! It's been a LOOOONG time since I've heard anything *new* from you

I would like to second this. This is very nice, and very enthusiastic to me. Great job, keep up the awesome work. ^_^

[DeathChronx]

I found this song really enjoyable! Im going to listen to it a few hundred more times ^_-

[Maco70]

Jivemaster is my hero... This is a great remix, and so are all of your other remixes. Jivemaster, you rock man. :D

[supertrunkten]

Nice, another Sonic Remix, god I love em all...

[Heyjohnny]

Great remix, I love the kind of messy bass noises, kind of an ultrabassed out square/Electric Guitar sound and then at 1:31 the clean track comes in. I absolutely love the drums in this song, and I love the non-repetitiveness of it.

Nice, another Sonic Remix, god I love em all...
:D I'd have to agree

[BlueMage]

Awesome track, and from a fellow Brisbanite too! Lava Reef and Hidden Palace are two great tracks to work with.

I would say this is old-sk00l Jivemaster stuff, but simply put, it's better than that. Much, much better.

If you run any live gigs man, I may just be tempted to check them out.

[GammaUnit01]

Reminds me of something you'd hear in Sonic Adventure

[Nobbynob Littlun]

I agree, this sounds like something you might hear on Sonic Adventure's (stellar) soundtrack, even though I don't much care for it myself. I will say that the "Now, it is time." is plain awesome. Thinking back to the Battery song, putting in those little phrases is one of your strongest points Jivemaster.

"Now, it is time."

[DistantJ]

So, the return of Jivemaster. The guy's done some REALLY enjoyable stuff which has appeared on here in the past.

My views on this might be seen as a little controversial, perhaps even as herecy, but especially in comparison to Jivemaster's older submissions, I think this mp3 is going to have to go into my freezer to stop the large amount of cheese contained within from going bad and stinking out the place.

Jivemaster uses quite well designed sounds, most of which sounding quite traditional, like something played with a minimoog, which is always a good thing, if you ask me. The filtering effects (mostly envelopes, so that the filter changes with each note as opposed to globally around the song or sequence) are rather predictable, though, and almost seem crude and unnecessary - everything seems to make, forgive me for the onomatopoeia, a "wow" or "bau" sound. The synths do have personality, though, and are easily distinguishable from one another.

We are smashed across the head with some really nice, powerful percussion, but this has a bit of a stink of cheese in it, too, it almost seems a little too overdone, especially with the same chord pattern and background music follwing it through most of the song. Some REALLY nice drum sequence programming though, just perhaps the percussive sounds chosen/created are a little too O.T.T.

Then, to my surprise, an electric guitar comes into the mix, thus maxxing out the cheese-factor. Next stop: videogame angst central. Something feels missing here, too. It gives me the feeling that this was intended to feel really heavy, but instead feels quite draggy and seems to try too hard and fails to achieve it's intention.

A pretty nice transition into the Act-2 theme. This section of the song is far better, in my opinion. We get treated to a very nice, relaxed melody with minimalistic, but still complex drum sequences, which, rather than trying to spank you around the head until you think it's cool, actually lies nicely underneath the music creating an atmoshpere and rythm for the section, and nicely filtered and equalized synth voices along with a few harp-like sounds and a lovely bassline, giving us more of a chilled, Jean Michel Jarre-esque tone. This section, to me, is the song's redeeming quality.

So all in all, an average song, the first half I found myself particularly unimpressed with, but transitioning into a very pleasant second half. I find myself thinking if he second half was extended and more was tried with it, and the first half cut off, I'd be speaking very highly of it in this review.

(...Nothing personal, Jivemaster!)

[NeOmega]

I have had this one on my playlist since it came out.

Like a fine wine, it just gets better and better with age. It seems to have broken so many music rules, and still came up smelling like roses.

...and that smooth ending is just fantastic, a perfect climax.

[Dr. Wily]

Great mix, love it. This is one of those tracks that really does get better with age just as Neomega said.. normally I don't go for this electronica genre but this is absolutely the best of its kind I've heard on OCR! It's repetitive without getting old and has a nice steady buildup to some really cool synth at 3:30-40ish, the true climax of the piece. Everything before 3:50 is gold.. it does peter out a somewhat after that but still rolls along nicely. Indeed, he is the Jive Master.. some great home-grown talent, hopefully next time not so long between drinks!

[Drack]

Drack canned response: Don't mess with the chord progressions when the original sounds great! (Cadence point at 1:55-2:00).

This mix is great. I liked the development and arrangement. I didn't like the voice samples and some of the panning effects, but the arrangement more than makes up for it. Very full sound, and the effort shows. I didn't like how the bass synth kinda petered out before the transition to the 4:00 section. Most of your panning FX worked well, but some didn't (first half, like the voice samples). I like the way you used reverb. EXCELLENT transition into Hidden Palace at 5:00. I don't like the "bow" synth you used for the lead here, but the background instrument is perfect, it could come out some. Nice work :nicework:

Playlisted!

[Ageha]

Burnt and in my car. :) Best remix I have heard of this song to date.

When the grinding buildup comes in around 3:00 I just die. I usually rewind and play this part over again in my car every minute because I'm a sucker for it.

Hot in both respects, that's all I've gotta say.

[Bummerdude]

Man, these Sonic remixes is just getting better and better. I'm one of the persons that never heard of Jivemaster, but after a remix like this I'll probably never forget him.
The Lava Reef Zone was a cool place in the game, annoying at some times when you suddenly lost your 4500 rings you'd collected, but I guess that's life. This arrangement reflected the style of that place very good, all the samples that's being used sounds very good together, and there are hardly no low quality samples nor annoying instruments.
This remix has sky rocketed up to my top five list, although this is the first time I'm listening to Jivemaster's pieces. It's just great.

Sorry to hear that Israfel has stepped down, he could make some impressive orchestral remixes. I must start reading pretzel's comments on the new remixes, it's kind of embarrassing to get to know matters like this a couple of months after they've happened.

[Arwen]

Holy cow...I love this mix. Lava Reef was one of my favorite zones because of the music. This remix captures the mystery, the chaos, and the danger of the zone. I know there are some others who didn't like it, but as someone who was nuts about Sonic, I am really happy to have it. It's true to the original feel of the game and it brings back some very happy moments from my early teen years.

[42]

It's kind of strange to here a tune that's been treated relatively light hearted in other remixes to now be so techno and Mortal Kombat-esque, especially with the "Now, it is time." sample.

This is still a cool remix though. It's definitely hardcore, techno, climatic, and dire. It has this air of finality throughout the mix; it's like the background anthem for the final fight of two lifelong rivals where they know that one isn't going to survive. if that makes sense >.>

[Level 99]

o_o I love those drums. While not the most refined mix I've ever heard, this is really fun and moving. It does feel a little long with the song's length, but this is a great take on the source with a good amount of production quality and rhythms that really make me want to go running in a late 80's montage-style. Guitars were a nice choice, but that section where you introduced them sounded just a tad awkward with the way you had the drums going. Overall, still quite good.

Edit: there's a section in the middle that really reminds me of a Real McCoy song. Can't place my finger on it, though. Just a funny imagining, because their songs are a guilty pleasure of mine.

[OA]

Pretty good stuff, with a lot of variation to keep the track interesting through the long duration. I liked the synths and percussion, and the theme itself is a classic.

[Crulex]

"Now, it is time." Freakin' love that sample right there. I think it really fits the zone well and I fancy the way you paced this ReMix out, from the building beginning to the breakdown. The guitars worked so well in this one and it seems to give the mix a boost without being frantic. I can't hear anything that would make me dislike the mix, as even the breakdown keeps the beat going. Love it.