ReMix: Contra 'Snow Field'
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- Game: Contra (Konami, 1988, NES)
- ReMixer(s): tefnek
- Composer(s): Club Kukeiha, Hidenori Maezawa, Kyouhei Sada
- Song(s): 'Ice Fortress (Tsundora)'
- Posted: 2005-05-22, evaluated by the judges
YEAH! I think a lot of people have been waiting for some Contra badassness ReMixin', and I know my own quite dated attempt ain't exactly cuttin' that mustard, but tefnek is more than up to the challenge with knockout big beat coverage of the theme from the snow field stage that introduces brothers-in-arms Bill Rizer and Lance Bean to the Chemical Brothers by way of extensive breaks, filtering effects, mangled + tangled synths aplenty, well-assimilated acoustic guitar, and copious, infectious groove. Brandon begins by quoting the illustrious Buster Poindexter with his comments:
"hot, hot, hot. It’s pretty difficult to do something interesting with :34 seconds of source material but what’s here is amazingly engaging and packed full of 4:20 of groove. I’ll echo Gray by saying that the synth processing is top frickin’ notch. Would have liked to go out on a more upbeat note but the intro makes up for it with its no non-nonsense thrust into action. The solo synth guitar section from :44 and it’s integration with the rest of the elements is very slick. Great stuff all around."
Contra's a little tricky to remix because of the relative brevity and speed of its motif-laden score, but this approach turns that into an advantage by similarly jumping from pattern to pattern and introducing some wild effects and variations at the same time. I haven't played any of the newer, next-gen incarnations of Contra, but I have to think tefnek's cut would shine on any of their soundtracks. Big beat's too fun to die out, and it fits Konami's classic like a Mattel Powerglove, intimidating a young Fred Savage and cutting a lethally sharp image in the same breath. It's also a style tefnek excels at, so you've arguably got the right genre for the game AND the right man for the genre, and that's a twofer that conjures up some fun material, indeed.
Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the I always love a cliff-hanger of an intro, and this song delivers on that front. The back-beat of this song is so infectious that it sticks with you for ages ( the proof is in the fact that it compelled me to randomly post about it today.) The synths are sick as well. I just love the syncopated feel of this track. The only thing that I'm not wild about is the tetris-esque bridge in the middle of the song. It just seems like an abrupt change of pace.
Ahhh, it feels good to get that off my chest.
Now, Tefnek, post moar muzak.
- Broken on January 11, 2010
- CovaH_Havoc on October 27, 2009
The cool ending was icing on the cake.
- OA on October 27, 2009
- Dhsu on November 10, 2008
- Al Capwn on July 5, 2006
- Less Ashamed Of Self on November 9, 2005
Contra music is hard to remix too, so that's saying a lot.
- Bobwillis on September 22, 2005
- Dectilon on June 28, 2005
- kablammyman on May 25, 2005
Dectilon wrote: Brilliant, I need not say more. But I will. You all know the instruments that are in there, you all know the drums, but there are still few pieces of this genre that really feels like there's been thought and work put into it. With 34 seconds, this great song was made. And if that's all it takes, I'll be pushing reload until your next one is up ^^
Don't forget to check out tefnek's previous remixes;
http://www.ocremix.org/detailmix.php?mixid=OCR01167
http://www.ocremix.org/detailmix.php?mixid=OCR01232
http://www.ocremix.org/detailmix.php?mixid=OCR01280
And also, his website (http://www.tefnek.com/) has some great originals - my favorites are "para bellum" and "damn i'm cool".
- zircon on May 25, 2005
