ReMix: ActRaiser 'Fill More Funk'

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Yes, another break from electronica genres for the pretzel (I'm on a roll). This is Yuzo's all-powerful Fillmore theme from Actraiser, and let me start off by saying that if you want a (friggin' fantastic) techno mix of this, check out McVaffe's Freestyle submission - it won't disappoint. Given that McV already covered this territory and that it was one of his very best ReMixes, I felt no need to go down that road, and something about the song just screamed funk to me. Probably the jiggy slap bass from the original, which I decided to keep (if dramatically change the notes of). Also, the piece has a lot of brilliant transition segments, which I really emphasized here, almost more than what I would consider to be the main verse / chorus. Like my Swankyvegas mix, this is no loops, no quantization, recorded at-tempo, and all done on a Yamaha Motif. Main ingredients are as follows: acoustic drums, slap bass, electric piano (70's style Rhodes), wah-guitar, distorted electric jazz guitar, flute, and three organs - two B3's with different stops and a Farfisa. It's a pretty short mix, not very indulgent, and though I did do some mastering in T-racks you might have to fiddle with EQ a bit depending on your bass-treble preferences. I'm happy with it mostly because I always wanted to hear the verse melody with some alterations - specifically, going up in the fourth measure and doing some slides, which jazz guitar works well with, and I also always thought the downward run I use as an intro would be great with some syncopated funk drums. Since I always wanted to do this, I'm now content and can die (mostly) happy, but hopefully you'll enjoy it too.

― djpretzel

Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
Drunk Review # 1... I will probably not number them all but what the heck!
Filmore is basically a great stand-alone video game song that you can always refer someone to, regardless of whether or not they played Actraiser.
I like this remix a lot, in fact I have never listened to it before now, but my first impression is that it's a definite keeper.
It's a spazzy funk song that has a lot of good flow to it. I actually can't believe this was posted way back in 2002.
The guitar synthy lead is actually quite nice and subdued... But in a good way, as in, it doesn't need to compete with the other instruments to stand out. The bass guitar has a nice funk to it, the lower rhodes also adds a very nice drop in the bottom that keeps the song nice and filled, that the real bass doesn't have to fill out in the spectrum. Teamwork.
That flute has nice random stabs... And it's timing really adds that just needed pinch of... well whatever it is, to open the spectrum a little more and even with all tiny stabs, helps the atmosphere a lot. Good choice. Overall you can tell there was a real good energy in the creation of this song. Things fell into place. Everything is in sync, and there's nothing awkward.
The drums/bass really work well with the rest of the other instruments, making the song more than just a sum of it's parts. I especially enjoyed the breaks, and the solo at around 1:25.
This song has a lot of good energy to it, it also makes me think of Castlevania.
Also I <3 rhodes forever. I'm not gonna do a number rating or anything. MERRY CHRISTMAS! DRUNK!

- Monobrow on December 5, 2010
Great djp piece with lots of human elements and improvisation. 0:35 I love how the rhodes come in here to add more flair to the chorus. 1:05 the modulation on the bass is really cool.

- SubNormal J3 on November 15, 2010
I wish the lead was a little louder, though the second lead that comes in had more body to it. Percussion was good, and a little dirty. Can't have funk without some dirt, imo. Mixing is a little muddy though in some spots. Dirt good, mud, not as good. ;-)
The B section was a little sloppy too, but there are some nice original riffs (especially in some of the transitions) giving this a personalized spin beyond the genre adaptation. A pretty nice solo too, leads into a bongofied breakdown. The section next that keeps teasing with the first 3 notes of the melody is easily the best part of the mix though. I love when mixers take a snippet of the melody and create something new around it, and it is one of the cooler instances of the technique i've heard in awhile.
A few rough spots, but overall a good listen, and some excellent ideas.

- OA on March 18, 2009
I rather like this for the "chill" feeling if nothing else. I can definitely identify the source material, but there's just enough variation to keep the listener on their toes (or the ear equivalent -- earlobes perhaps?).

- uthlu on June 22, 2008
Yet another review on my way to 1000, this is one of the first ones I got to that finally opened up a breath of fresh air and made me sure I wanted to keep going. Great beat, fresh funkiness served up djp style.
This with its counterpart "Fill More Freestyle" by McVaffe really showed an early different perspective on the same tune.

- bladiator on June 12, 2008
Back in summer '02 when I listened to all the mixes from A-Z, this ActRaiser mix was one of the very first ones to gain my attention. It helps that the source material was excellent, but djp's old school style was really standout at the time versus OCR's other artists. While managing to have a writing style and range of sounds where you could pretty much tell when a track was his, he usually had some ultra-funky results that ended up not sounding too similar. This one in particular was excellent.

- Liontamer on May 14, 2007
Wow, it's definitely got some funk on it. I love the whole addition by subtration thing you do at 1:31.

- DragonFireKai on April 30, 2007
The funk is with you, DJPretzel. No complaints, even tiny pointless ones. I *really* dig 1:49 onward, especially. Excellent arrangement and just overall groovy. And funky.
Glory to Actrasier. Now how about a GBA release?

- Keiseth on January 25, 2006
Good arrangement and tone programming. I really like this remix; very funky and fun.
/me tries to think of criticism... I'll get back to ya on that.

- meccaneer on October 2, 2005
Whenever djpretzel does something funk, you can always expect some impressive material. This is no different. The drums, said many times before me, are very well done, though they take over the sound scape a bit too much during the solo in the second minute. Speaking of solos, pretzel's forte doesn't disappoint here- great work.

- watkinzez on September 19, 2005
I prefer McVaffes version of this but this one has alot of great sections

- jordex on September 22, 2004
Definitely one of the best Actraiser remixes to date so far! I also have to agree with a previous poster that I enjoy when it best at 0:52 . Great work!

- Viceroy on September 22, 2004
Quality work, as expected from the webmaster. I found the flute to be the most exciting part of the tune. Somehow the synth-guitar didn't sound annoying, and was actually very cool! I really liked the intro, the drum break around 1:40, and the guitar at the end. Pretzel is the Motif master.

- MrNemo on August 23, 2004
This remix sounds intelligent, I like what DJP did with the flute, it's as if it was taunting you.The soloin' break from the melody is very cool, and I don't find the song repetitive at all due to the attention to the little details. It does take a couple of listens before even liking it, but I prefer this one to Mcvaffes's.

- HumpteeFree on March 2, 2004
I could NOT believe what i was hearing..Pretzel this shit is a classic. I love it i can't stop listening to it. In fact my dad is really big into funk and i played it for him and he thought it was some stuff from HIS day. Now that is a very good compliment. MAJOR MAJOR PROPS!!!!!
I feel this is the best OCR the site has to offer

- Al Capwn on February 27, 2004