[djpretzel]

Original is in source tunes folder, Darxide (Source tune).mp3

Remixer Name: AkumajoBelmont
Game Remixed: DarXide
OCRemix Name: 'Starman (don't lose yourself)'
Platform: Sega 32X
Original Composer(s): Adam Salkeld & Richard Jacques

Heyah:) I've chosen to remix this track from the 32X game 'DarXide'.
It's an awesome 3D update of Asteroids that had a fantastic soundtrack, and great graphics and gameplay.

Obscure games need more recognition, and DarXide is one such game. Thankfully it is available for Symbian phones and Pocket PC's, so those of you with that hardware available to you, i URGE you to hunt this game down! I have a Nokia 6600, and i play it ritually every day:) You will not regret grabbing it in the SLIGHTEST... it's fantastic port (eclipsing the original in many ways), an a gem that deserves to be recognized as the downright classic that it is:)

I was going thru the soundtest in the game, and i stumbled across this little ditty (i have included the source file with this e-mail). It grabbed me straight away. It strikes me as a really lonely track, sounding sad and melancholy. It's brief, and repetetive, but it's power and the effect it had on me cannot be understated.

So i decided that i would expand on this great little melody (which sound's eerily like Danny Elfman's theme to the original Batman movie), and build an awesome trance track around it. Influenced by the brilliant soundtrack to the original Wipeout (the PSOne version), i set out to create a track that just rolls.... puts you in that trance like state and gets your blood pumping. Also i wanted to keep that 'floating in space' feeling that is present in the source... so i took the riff and melody from the source, and added new sections... new chord progressions, quasi-symphonic elements, many a new melody, and vocoder vocals.
This is my first track using such vocals, and i am happy with the way they turned out.

The lyrics i have written, incase you're interested, are as follows:
________

I have travelled across the sky;
A thousand million light years past the edge of time.
I take for granted what nobody can;
To travel far beyond is just my masterplan.

I'm flying alone.
Don't cry, or i'll never get home.
________


I also, in an earlier version of the track, planned to include a conversation between a human and 'Starman'; though, the reaction i got to it was pretty dire, so i took it out. Though it's still in there (albeit reversed and in the background).

As trance music is by nature, repetetive, i've tried my best with this song to vary things up without taking away from the 'rolling feeling' i wanted this track to have.

Also a side note- i don't believe you will find the ending to be too much of a copout. It fits the nature of the song, and is supposed to sound like say, for example, you open a door from inside a space craft that leads out into space, and all of a sudden, the sound stops. As it apparently does in space. I did my best to wind the song down in a manner that prepares the listener for it's coming. And it fits the context, but some people just have a thing against finishing a song in this manner. But i believe it fits and works quite well...

I hope this song takes you on a ride... and i belive you'll find it quite a pleasant journey too...

Cheers,

Robbie Sabo (AkumajoBelmont)

[Liontamer]

Source tune: http://melchior.djpretzel.com/ocrjudge/upload/Source%20Tunes/Darxide%20(Source%20tune).mp3

[Liontamer]

Pretty skillful stuff adapting this to trance, and GOOD trance at that, as I've heard too many shitty trance subs in my time on the panel. Played this one back on VGF57 and having now heard the source (thanks by the way to Robbie for mailing that to me before this hit the panel), I was impressed again by what 'Jo brought to the table.

This had a slightly stock trance sort of feel, but the sounds/samples were used very effectively, the production was solid, and the arrangement was oh-so-sweet, including some brief but well-created lyrics, and tasty vocoder effects. In particular, the effects on "I'm flying alone. Don't cry, or i'll never get home" were very stylish.

Nice instrumental section at 1:50, followed by that reversed convseration idea around 2:06, which was a great move in salvaging an otherwise detrimental idea. That lead at 2:24 was a little too shrill for my tastes, and I felt something else could have meshed a bit better, but that's a fairly subjective gripe. The ending was a perfect fit from a personal standpoint. Thanks for elaborating on the inspiration behind the idea there.

I've had nothing major to criticize, and this was cool stuff for a remix from such an obscure game. I'll admit, I didn't expect such awesome stuff from Robbie based on his Eternal Champions rejection from way back when. I knew he'd make it here, but at the same time I didn't think he'd be bringing the goods so consistantly this soon and this impressively. Solid stuff per the usual, Robbie. You've become an incredibly reliable name as far as I'm concerned, and I definitely look forward to whatever you have coming up next here, which looks like Jazz Jackrabbit "Have You Ever? (Down in Medivo)".

YES

[Vig]

Fairly slick synthpop. good concise arrangement, not long enough to get boring. Pretty good production, nothing really obviously sloppy standing out.

my gripe is that the vocoder and some of the leads sound a bit crunchy. this may be intentional, or it may not be. i think it's detrimental. but regardless,

YES

[Harmony]

Good crisp sounds for the most part. As Vig mentions, the exception are the vocals which I think would work better with a creamier feel, especially when they are exposed towards the beginning. Not bad at all though.

The development through 1:11 was a little slow. The intro synth and vocals are interesting however the other supporting elements in the understandably extended intro feel rather flat. A thicker bass and a layered or more punchy kick would help to fill out that section. In any case the build is steady and the song gets really engaging approaching the breakdown at 2:23.

There is a good amount of creative arrangement, especially given the genre so no complaints there. I think that the cut-off ending worked well in this mix.

The limited criticisms I have are easily outweighed by the cool lyrics, clean production and decent arrangement. Good stuff.

YES

[Israfel]

I would imagine that the main reason this was sent to the panel is that the source tune is unfamiliar. But in anycase, this is some pretty slick stuff; no serious criticisms here and I'm sure the listeners will dig this.

YES