ReMix: Sonic the Hedgehog 3 'IceCapped'
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- Game: Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (Sega, 1994, GEN)
- ReMixer(s): McVaffe
- Composer(s): Bobby Brooks, Brad Buxer, Darryl Ross, Doug Grigsby III, Geoff Grace, Jun Senoue, Scirocco, Tatsuyuki Maeda, Tomonori Sawada
- Song(s): 'IceCap Zone: Act 1'
- Posted: 2001-01-07, evaluated by djpretzel
McVaffe does Sega! Yahoo! This is one of my very favorite McVaffe pieces, and lord knows he's got a lot of great ones, so that's saying a lot. Starting off things with a beautiful delayed harp bit, McVaffe brings in a house beat with a rapid bassline, the addictive flute melody, a great gated AND filtered pad, and then cuts it with some brilliant drum / processing work, only to reenter with the melody being carried by a piano. It's dash fuckin' smart, and you best start grabbing right now so you can hear it all the sooner. There are ReMixes that are great, and then there are ReMixes that you'll be listening to 10 years from now that you burn to a cd so you can play 'em in the car. This one, for me, falls into the second category big time. McVaffe at the bottom of his game is still worth listening to; McVaffe at the top of his game is sensational, and not to be missed, even if it means sacrificing friends, loved ones, or important appendages. Dig.
Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the Lets put it this way, the beat to this on a sub system...rattled my
house and royally ticked off my surrounding neighboors LOL
11 out of 10 just because this is the best Ice Cap revision EVER!:lol:
- Im_Just_Shawn on January 19, 2010
11 out of 10 just because this is the best Ice Cap revision EVER!:lol:
- Im_Just_Shawn on January 19, 2010
Of course someone as prolific as McVaffe would have tackled IceCap
at some point. There are a lot of subtle layers going on, and the
delayed harp is awesome- excellent treatment to create a great
hook. The filtered percussion break was pretty inspired, and the
trck builds to a great call and response between the flute and
piano. It lacks the super punch of modern OCR tracks, but it
definitely holds up well.
Classic stuff. :-)
- OA on January 12, 2010
Classic stuff. :-)
- OA on January 12, 2010
Ha at the OCRPG for this being the desert music. Ironic
immortalizations...
This review thread doesn't have ten+ pages... why? It's McVaffe. It's IceCap. People, what are you waiting for? I don't care that reviews didn't exist until more than a year after this was released - come back and give this its due recognition!
Then again, I couldn't give this an impartial review if I tried. My harp bias is even stronger than my piano bias (and yes, that is frighteningly possible), and here we have both! Though, even then, 'it's all in how you use it'. But oh baby is it used.
I know you all have ears, but let's do a play-by-play together to fully appreciate this. It opens with harp and synth, working first melody and (initial) bass line, respectively. Drums enter, transitioning from muted to open. While that's happening, flute is layered on top, playing the main melody (over the harp for some nice counterpoint action), and the drums culminate in a hi-hat pseudo-break. New loop: everything returns (with the hi-hat action), and another, deeper synth fades in - with its own line, of course - to round out the low end. This time around, the harp gives way to flute so the main melody is emphasized; and then, as the piano takes over for the flute, the higher-pitched synth rises for more even more melodic emphasis. But that's not all! After the return to harp, another, somewhat wah-wah-ish, synth line is added. The deeper synth exits for four measures ahead of time, lightening the sound for one of McVaffe's hallmarks: a sexy breakbeat solo with some nifty panning. But it's not just a drum break, it's also a segue to a few lone piano notes, where that lovely echo is given a chance to resonate. Then, slick as can be, the harp starts playing behind the piano. Oh and guess what: along with the wah-wah there's yet another layer of synth, this time slightly funkified. And a layer of glass music! The man never quits - not in layering or in ingenuity! Quick drum break and return to initial arrangement (with wah-wah and deeper synth included), but not without a twist, as the flute takes lead while the piano does a new interpretation that truly (ice)caps the mix. Then everything drops except the drums and the first two synths with an ending - drums and wah-wah only - that I swear was designed to be perfect for looping.
Yes, it's beautiful trance. But it's intricately layered, deftly crafted, beautiful trance. This still, nearly nine years later, holds its own against the best. And it's still, by far, my favorite IceCap.
My hat's off, McVaffe.
- K.B. on December 2, 2009
This review thread doesn't have ten+ pages... why? It's McVaffe. It's IceCap. People, what are you waiting for? I don't care that reviews didn't exist until more than a year after this was released - come back and give this its due recognition!
Then again, I couldn't give this an impartial review if I tried. My harp bias is even stronger than my piano bias (and yes, that is frighteningly possible), and here we have both! Though, even then, 'it's all in how you use it'. But oh baby is it used.
I know you all have ears, but let's do a play-by-play together to fully appreciate this. It opens with harp and synth, working first melody and (initial) bass line, respectively. Drums enter, transitioning from muted to open. While that's happening, flute is layered on top, playing the main melody (over the harp for some nice counterpoint action), and the drums culminate in a hi-hat pseudo-break. New loop: everything returns (with the hi-hat action), and another, deeper synth fades in - with its own line, of course - to round out the low end. This time around, the harp gives way to flute so the main melody is emphasized; and then, as the piano takes over for the flute, the higher-pitched synth rises for more even more melodic emphasis. But that's not all! After the return to harp, another, somewhat wah-wah-ish, synth line is added. The deeper synth exits for four measures ahead of time, lightening the sound for one of McVaffe's hallmarks: a sexy breakbeat solo with some nifty panning. But it's not just a drum break, it's also a segue to a few lone piano notes, where that lovely echo is given a chance to resonate. Then, slick as can be, the harp starts playing behind the piano. Oh and guess what: along with the wah-wah there's yet another layer of synth, this time slightly funkified. And a layer of glass music! The man never quits - not in layering or in ingenuity! Quick drum break and return to initial arrangement (with wah-wah and deeper synth included), but not without a twist, as the flute takes lead while the piano does a new interpretation that truly (ice)caps the mix. Then everything drops except the drums and the first two synths with an ending - drums and wah-wah only - that I swear was designed to be perfect for looping.
Yes, it's beautiful trance. But it's intricately layered, deftly crafted, beautiful trance. This still, nearly nine years later, holds its own against the best. And it's still, by far, my favorite IceCap.
My hat's off, McVaffe.
- K.B. on December 2, 2009
Sorry, I need to say this. This is about the umpteenth up-beat
dance remix I've heard with a synth flute as the lead instrument,
and I think that takes away from the mix. Like, it's really soft
and cottony, and it makes the mix sound weak. Sorry, flute and
dance don't mix...
- KogeJoe on January 27, 2007
- KogeJoe on January 27, 2007
This man a genius with this song. I downloaded it a while back and
i'm still listening it to do this day.
- Dr.d on December 10, 2006
- Dr.d on December 10, 2006
Yah, I've heard so many different mixes for icecap. It's a favorite
to do! I'm always on the look out for the best of this track, and
this one has remained the one to warm my heart the most. Forever
excellent.
- SillyJayJo on October 23, 2006
- SillyJayJo on October 23, 2006
Defend wrote: McVaffe found the best mood to extract from Icecap, and did so with great care. Soft, but cool and pumpin'.. how do you beat it?
I think you might have answered your own question. There have been so many variations of this song that it's difficult to create something original with this melody.
That's not to say it's impossible! I agree, I'd like to hear more attempts at this tune.
- Slimtoad on May 26, 2006
So there's a few of us that found OCR because of this mix.
Basically, this is a beautiful thing. This is the remix that made me realise they're not all dinky and sampley. Before hearing this, every mix I'd heard was.. quaint. All I wanted was a nice Icecap mix, and there were a few, but then I found this. Imagine being someone who didn't know remixes came this good, and who just wanted another dinky Icecap. Then imagine hearing this start playing. I was gobsmacked. "There are real remixes out there... ". McVaffe took the tune I loved, the level I loved, and made it into this beautiful thing. That's what I like the most.. this pays respect to something I loved. McVaffe didn't hype up Icecap, he admired it and looked after it. By creating such a quality mix, McVaffe's piece, more than any other, says "This is what Icecap is".
The downside is that its years later and still nothing has touched this. I'd love to hear a take by The Wingless. McVaffe found the best mood to extract from Icecap, and did so with great care. Soft, but cool and pumpin'.. how do you beat it?
- Defend on May 26, 2006
Basically, this is a beautiful thing. This is the remix that made me realise they're not all dinky and sampley. Before hearing this, every mix I'd heard was.. quaint. All I wanted was a nice Icecap mix, and there were a few, but then I found this. Imagine being someone who didn't know remixes came this good, and who just wanted another dinky Icecap. Then imagine hearing this start playing. I was gobsmacked. "There are real remixes out there... ". McVaffe took the tune I loved, the level I loved, and made it into this beautiful thing. That's what I like the most.. this pays respect to something I loved. McVaffe didn't hype up Icecap, he admired it and looked after it. By creating such a quality mix, McVaffe's piece, more than any other, says "This is what Icecap is".
The downside is that its years later and still nothing has touched this. I'd love to hear a take by The Wingless. McVaffe found the best mood to extract from Icecap, and did so with great care. Soft, but cool and pumpin'.. how do you beat it?
- Defend on May 26, 2006
This song simply hits the spot no matter what mood I'm in. The
first song that comes to mind when I think of McVaffe.
- Wanderer on February 1, 2006
- Wanderer on February 1, 2006
I think it's worth noting that this mix can still hold its own
almost five years after its inception.
It's funny because it reminds me of a lot of the more recent mixes on the site (which have been getting
better and better). It's one of those mixes that can either calm you down or pump you up. And most importantly, this songs stinks like a McVaffe mix. It still reeks of excellent production quality and well implemented
ideas.
- Broken on February 1, 2006
It's funny because it reminds me of a lot of the more recent mixes on the site (which have been getting
better and better). It's one of those mixes that can either calm you down or pump you up. And most importantly, this songs stinks like a McVaffe mix. It still reeks of excellent production quality and well implemented
ideas.
- Broken on February 1, 2006
Ahh... the first song ever heard from OC remix. Brings back
memorires a little bit (mainly the 56k download speed) but FRIGGIN
AWESOME SONG!!! I still listen to this song frequently. McVaffe
probably made the best Ice Cap remix I have ever heard.
- Adun The Untouchable on December 22, 2005
- Adun The Untouchable on December 22, 2005
Best. Ice Cap. Remix. Ever.
No lie everybody, this has got to be one of the best remixes on this site. Not only will Sonic fans agree (with their hearts full of ecstacy), but those who will just hear this remix most likely will fall in love with it too. Made in 2001? So what? It sounds like it was made just a year ago. The quality of this mix is SO GOOD I didn't even realize it was made back in 01. I can't say much more, since I don't know music technicalities, but I swear that this mix will please ANY Sonic 3 fan. I loved it back in the day, and I still love it now. Love the strings and eh...that woodwind instrument :oops:
Loved EVERY BIT of this goddamn song. 10 outta 10 no doubt. Quality OCRemix work right here, do your ears a favor and dl it.
- SynthesizedStampede on December 21, 2005
No lie everybody, this has got to be one of the best remixes on this site. Not only will Sonic fans agree (with their hearts full of ecstacy), but those who will just hear this remix most likely will fall in love with it too. Made in 2001? So what? It sounds like it was made just a year ago. The quality of this mix is SO GOOD I didn't even realize it was made back in 01. I can't say much more, since I don't know music technicalities, but I swear that this mix will please ANY Sonic 3 fan. I loved it back in the day, and I still love it now. Love the strings and eh...that woodwind instrument :oops:
Loved EVERY BIT of this goddamn song. 10 outta 10 no doubt. Quality OCRemix work right here, do your ears a favor and dl it.
- SynthesizedStampede on December 21, 2005
Crank up the bass and turn up the volume! McVaffe really did a
great job with mixing the harp and the drums together, and then
adding the choir EP to it.
- NinjaTails on December 20, 2005
- NinjaTails on December 20, 2005
