ReMix: Combatribes '74 Floors'

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Combatribes

I know I've said this about certain games in the past, but I really never expected to get a ReMix of Combatribes. I also never expected that it could yield such an interesting ReMix from guitar-wielding OCR regular K. Praslowicz. I must have dropped twenty bucks worth of quarters into this game back in the day. It's your typical Final Fight-esque side scrolling beat 'em up, except that the screen only scrolled so far in either direction (on the stages I played anyway). The real attraction - as the pic that K. graciously attached to his submission illustrates - is that you get to bash clowns. Something about maiming funnymen with big red noses is immensely therapeutic. Or so I've read . . . at any rate, it's great that this was ReMixed, as it preserves a little bit of arcade history and helps save this unique title from obscurity (well, at least a little). Mix itself is ambient rock; begins with vinyl static and a haunting, distant, chiming guitar. Slowly, gradual (slow-envelope) pads come in, then bells (with nice harmonics I might add) lead into the full-blown drums + guitar. The first real break has some great stripped down alternate drums at 2'16" and wailing guitars sounding similar to dolphin cries (well, they do!). Guitar solo in the last third of the mix is odd because it floats around the melodic base but is at times at very odd intervals. Doesn't at any point really come at you with a full-force melody or climax, but I like that as this seems like a track that's meant to float in, out, and around, leaving the listener with sort of a haunted emptiness. Or something like that - at any rate, if you like rock and even more ambient I do think you'll find the soundscapes that K.'s created in this mix worth exploring. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Recommended.

― djpretzel

Discussion: Latest 12 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
Very cool intro with the vinyl sound. The intro builds slowly, but that's not really a bad thing. The different elements in there are pretty cool. The lead guitars sound pretty cool! The panning really makes them sound polished. The drums, while they do drive a little more than your other mixes, sound pretty rigid for the style of music you're aiming at. However, the track, as a whole, sounds very experimental and trippy, and I'll be honest, I kinda like it. The improv sounds off. You may have meant to soudn like you were in two different keys, but it was a bit distracting for me. The ending was nice except for the synth cutting out at the end. A fade out of it would have been good :).

- tweek on October 27, 2009
The intro & outro sound like a collab with mutagene. Cool stuff.

- Liontamer on March 22, 2009
Muted at parts, which makes it sound kind of like music from a survival horror game. However, it takes off at parts, especially the awesome guitar bit at the end. Very good stuff!

- justinj212 on January 10, 2009
Part of the introing static sounds like a walking leather boot to my ears, and I like it that way. Each added instrument is very tasteful, particularly the piano and the bells. The ambient breakdown halfway through is full of oxygen; i.e. it "breathes" a well-earned time-out after the first round of guitar shredding. It also evokes a sense of calm determination as I imagine myself ascending a 74-floor-tall skyscraper. Sweet stuff.
P.S. I miss the animated GIF that used to be on the ReMix page. :(

- Polo on December 10, 2008
I like this. It's relaxing, oddly enough, and I enjoyed closing my eyes to this.
Drums come in a bit weak, I would have liked more presence in them. Overall, the sounds can get a little strange, but it all fix the mix, so while they might be not the most pleasant to listen to, they add up to a cohesive whole.
Nice job.

- DragonAvenger on August 21, 2008
The opening record and synth ambience is very cool, and once the song starts, it's very nice.
The drums at first seem pretty weak, especially the snare, with a tinny ride cymbal, but the beat shifts to a filtered style and is a little more tolerable.
Everything else that is going on is very cool. Exploring sonic territory like this can be pretty painful, but there is plenty of melody going on as well to keep interest, and the soundscape is pretty involved.
One minor issue is that the song cuts slightly before everything fades completely. A jarring way to end, and probably unintentional, but it doesn't ruin an otherwise cerebral and interesting mix.
I like it.

- OA on July 3, 2007
This is a great mood piece, and deserves a bit more recognition in my humble opinion. Probably one of my favourite mixes now, kudos to K. Praslowicz

- Master_Yoshi on March 21, 2007
The intro noise is a little uneccessary, BUT: Man, does this Remix go to places! Definitely shows Praslowicz roots of loving the Pink Floyd. I especially love the end where Praslowicz plays some nice guitar leads =)

- DarkCecil13 on December 25, 2006
Good stuff. But has noises undesirable in beginning. I interest me for the sources of instruments used in this work. Nice guitar.

- Txai on January 13, 2005
[b]Notes from author:[/b] I can remember the first time I played this game in the arcade. It was during a vacation to Wisconsin Dells(The most tourist oriented town that I've ever experienced). The game really got stuck in my head because at the time, it was the most violent video game I had ever played. A decade later with the use of emulator technology, I was able to do something my pocketfull of quarters never allowed. I could play this game and get past the third level before I ran out of money. I didn't play it again to scout for music to mix up. I just wanted to relive the experience, but when I hit ACT V in the game, the music immediatly grabbed me and I knew I had to do it.
During the development of this track, which was something like 4 months btw, I kept changing my mind about what type of song I wanted this to be. Originally I had planned something similar to Clint Mansell's work of the Requiem for a Dream soundtrack. At some point in the middle I think I then decided I wanted to make this a droning shoegazer song. And then at some other point I decided we needed more Pink Floyd style remixes to listen too. In the end a little bit of each ended up making it into the mix.
This is also a prime example of why I love live instruments. If you listen to the guitar solo that comes in around 3:12, there is an akward squeak at about 3:13. This comes from me complety fudging up on the fretboard and ending up makeing that sound, I don't even know how the hell I made it, and probably will never reproduce it. The little fluke ended up staying just because I though it fit with the song, and I thought it sounded pretty unique. If I had been using midi driven guitar for the part, this would have never happened. Everything would have been in time, on key, and very sanitary. I like little flukes like this and leave them in my songs all the time. They keep the human touch present.

- K. Praslowicz on June 13, 2002
This snuck its way into my Silent Hill 2 OST playlist. Crafty. K. Praz at his finest, IMHO.

- bartkusa on June 9, 2002
Combatribes '74 Floors'
K. Praslowicz serves up another hit! This one starts out very soft and ambient, but you can tell it's building to something... then the drums hit and you realize you were right. This isn't one of those mixes that grabs energy and doesn't let go - instead it ebbs and flows, like the use of cheesy cliches (:D). Enough variation is provided to keep it interesting, and then some. You really have to experience this one to believe it. Highly recommended.

- orkybash on May 27, 2002

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