[djpretzel]

Remix name: The Monsaic OC ReMix
Game: Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee
Original Song: Monsaic Lines Background melody
Original URL: http://www.doulifee.com/prc/TheOrich...nsaiclines.mp3

Game isn't added yet so here's some information:
Platform: PC and PSX
Composer: Ellen Meijers
Publisher: GT Interactive
Designing Company: Oddworld Inhabitants

First thing I want to clear up is that the original source material is quite short. There's no midi, so I recorded the track from in the game. As you can hear the source music is only about 15 seconds long, but there's a clear melody there that I really liked while I was playing the game.

I wanted to bring out the more atmospheric and tribal essence of Oddworld that Meijers seemed to really dig. I feel the way I've remixed this is similar to the music from one of the later oddworld games (Stranger's Wrath) which made good use of acoustic guitar and woodwind instruments. I've used a flute, pan flute, acoustic guitar, orchestral strings, hollywood strings, and bass as well as acoustic drums from RMX and a tribal drums soundfont for the percussion.

I ran it past a few people to try to iron out the mix and get it as right as possible, I'm happy with where it is, so hopefully you are too.

~TO

[GrayLightning]

What we have here is a similar situation to the lockdown with the Rellik situation. Extremely short source material and expansive mix. But this, to me is a far easier situation. The expansions here are so apparent and overt.

Taking a very short source material and expanding it like this was quite clever and it works. I'm not sure if TO intentionally mixed this for electro-new age, but it is apparent he knows the genre well. This sounds like a great Enigma piece. It does what it's supposed to without fuss and without fail. Arrangement is top notch, as is the composition. It's incredibly hard to sequence for guitar and an admirable job was done here. What makes this mix for me though is the great rhythm complimenting the atmosphere. There's a lot of electro-drum/percussion along with Native American rhythms and percussion that really add to the piece. The woodwind works to compliment this especially well also. Woodwind bends also add a nice series of articulation to the mix.

Production in general is very good. No complaints there, other than I wish the acoustic drums were slightly more sedate.

My main gripe of the mix is the ending. I don't think it does the mix justice. Would have preferred a nice long fade out in this context.

I haven't been thrilled with TO's latest mixes since his Clairvoyant Elegy, until now. This is what it should be and it does what it's supposed to. Best electro-new age submission I've heard on this site. Enigmaesque through and through, and that's a good thing. Superlative. YES

[Liontamer]

Pretty good ambient/new-age stuff here, indeed making a lot out of a little source tune. I wouldn't even bother relating this mix to "Dreaming on Distant Shores", because, as Gray pointed out, with Rellik's mix the source tune usage was far from overt. As soon as the track opened up, the source was recognizable and the atmosphere was relaxing.

I thought the lil' percussion hits up until 1:23 were too tepid, so I liked when Lee beefed things up with thicker perc work after 1:24. After around 2:00, the ambiance created by the strings felt a little too muddy to me, and the melody could have shown through better, but otherwise things were good.

Wouldn't have minded some more attention to the higher frequencies to make things sound sharper, but that's not a meaningful knock against the piece. I would also like to hear Lee venture into some new percussion ideas down the line, cuz I don't quite feel that what he used gelled as well as possible with the rest of the mix.

We hit some nice original material at 2:44 with some very ethereal wind SFX and wind instrumentation. I liked the light stuttering perc stuff at 3:13, which was a nice, subtle way to introduce the idea of a few more stuttering perc shots at 3:20 & 3:23. A nitpick, but I also have to wonder what the point of using that stuttering percussion just a few times without bringing it back later on in the track.

The source material cycled back in at 3:24 with the thick beatwork returning at 4:06, and some nice little embellishment including additional some acoustic guitar embellishments, first prominently heard at 4:08. Good way to go for another iteration, adding some new instrumentation ideas into the mix that preserved the flow, but added some more meat for a strong finish. That's something I would have liked to have seen in OverCoat's SD3 "Path-ology" mix that worked very well here.

After a string of really iffy and rushed submissions, I'm really glad to have heard something more solid from Lee right here that doesn't leave any questions as to the level of arrangement. Stay consistent with this kind of stuff, and it'll be nothing but gold. You fans out there can beg Lee for a version without the drums in there, because you gamer geeks need some good make-out music with which to woo the ladies.

YES

[Sam Ascher-Weiss]

Good Stuff! Gradually evolving textures, ambient percussion and the like to paint a lush atmosphere with timbral depth to spare. Innovative use of limited, though powerful, source material and intoxicatingly hypnotic rhythms. I can easily sum up this mix in one word:

YeS

[zyko]

excellent work. you knew the zyko'd love this

i love how you bring it in gradually and progressively - that's the way to do it. when it gets into its main groove, its already earned my attention. very effective instrumentation. relaxing, englightening listen

as for the issue with the source. what we do here is artistic interpretation and the length of the source is irrelevant, in my mind.

this is an instant winner

YES