ReMix: Dark Cloud 'Moon Dust'
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- Game: Dark Cloud (Sony, 2001, PS2)
- ReMixer(s): Blue Magic
- Composer(s): Tomohito Nishiura
- Song(s): 'Ocean and Moon'
- Posted: 2005-05-30, evaluated by the judges
Very peculiar, this mix is. Quoth Damon Campbell, alias Blue Magic:
"This is a little something I've been working on for the past week or so. It is a relaxing remix of the "Moon Sea" theme from Dark Cloud... The original song didn't really have much of a melody so I did my best to make up for it."
Chromaticism is the name of the game here, as an otherwise relatively normal downbeat groove is laced with some unorthodox chromatic interjections and motifs. There's actually a snippet of the core melody that sounds just like the chromatic descension from the Zelda 64 intro, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. It's important to note that such chromaticism was an integral part of the source material as well, and doesn't represent an addition on Magic's part, but a conscious decision to keep those elements in. Gray and analoq both felt that while the original style lended itself to such dissonance, the adaptation into a mellow groove made it stick out. Others disagreed; Mr. Shariq writes:
"I'm in agreement with Jesse and Israfel; the chromatic stuff is a bit odd, but I think that it isn't a major detractor to the overall piece. Some will like it, some will not; it's definitely weird, but I think that it adds some uniqueness to the mix."
My take is that it works fairly well, but it changes the nature of the work - it's hard to listen to as background music, which is usually the context for downbeat, laid-back grooves like this, because the juxtaposition is going to be a bit jarring, especially at lower volumes, where the details might be obscured. That being said, given a degree of focus, it's a pretty serene, atmospheric track, and Damon's specifically done a great job at bringing out a strong melodic presence. It's somewhat challenging source material, but he didn't dumb it down and created a grabbing piece. I particularly like the highpass filtering on the intro and the deep, resonating bass and complimentary kick drum; the overall production is rich and fills up the right spaces in the EQ spectrum. I'll echo Larry's sentiment that some of the short-release strings are problematic, both in terms of the samples used and their volume, but everything else blends in sublimely. Quirky but ultimately enjoyable, and definitely not your run-of-the-mill downbeat, "purdy" groove.
Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the Nice choice of synths, I can really get into them, and the chromatic runs are unobtrusive, and blend pretty well into the track.
Completely sweet ending as well, except the mp3 cut off at the end a few seconds early, before the sound had completely faded.
I like this one, nice work. :-)
- OA on April 4, 2008
- Radiowar on June 23, 2006
pokezel wrote: Sorry to be the annoying guy who does this, but the Moon Stage was definatley from Drack Cloud 2.
Have you ever even played Dark Cloud? Doesn't seem like it. Hell, I'll even give you the track number for the song on the OST: 35, "Ocean and Moon".
Apologize for being the annoying, [i]mis-informed[/i] guy. Dark Cloud 2/Dark Chronicle didn't even have a track REMOTELY like this one.
Strife. wrote: The soundtrack wasn't exactly spectacular, and there actually wasn't music playing for a lot of the game
I'm with Kaleb.G. It had great music, just most people were too busy whining about the game to really notice the music. The best tracks are the ones you didn't hear that often in game (it had some great boss battle music).
- Tir on April 9, 2006
Mr.Michael wrote:I particular like the highpass filtering on the intro and the deep, resonating bass and complimentary kick drum;
Not like DJP to make a gramatical error... odd.
OMG, there'z no err0r!
- Liontamer on July 20, 2005
I particular like the highpass filtering on the intro and the deep, resonating bass and complimentary kick drum;
Not like DJP to make a gramatical error... odd.
Anyway, I agree that this is very hard to put on as background music, but oddly I have found that that hasn't stopped it from fitting in with my playlist for mellow OCReMixes. Go figure, nice stuff, BlueMagic. Background sounds kind of Metriodish, I guess if you listen to the piano and close your eyes and think about night time, the background could symbolize stars pretty well.
- Mr.Michael on July 20, 2005
Kaede_X wrote: You used the same melody from Jay-Z's "Reasonable Doubt".
Pretty cool.
yea that's right!!!
I was listening to this track thinking I was going crazy :x . I knew it was from a hip hop song. As a matter of fact I was listening to Games 300 bars and when the Jay-z's sample came up I remembered this song since it sounds similar. Props on this one. the creators got a good ear for hip hop.
- imm0rt4l on June 18, 2005
Kaede_X wrote: You used the same melody from Jay-Z's "Reasonable Doubt".
Pretty cool.
Wow. I was wondering if anyone was gonna catch that.
But yeah, I was influenced by that background melody. I figured it would fit the mood that I was trying to set perfectly.
- Blue Magic on June 7, 2005
pokezel wrote: Sorry to be the annoying guy who does this, but the Moon Stage was definatley from Drack Cloud 2.
The source material may also be used/revised in Dark Chronicle, but it's from Dark Cloud. Thanks.
- Liontamer on June 4, 2005
Anyway, on to the review.
Very good mellow. Reminds me of the low, laid back Moon theme. It doesnt detract form the original's vibe, which is very positive. I do think it could make a very nice background tune, even though it is a bit complex for one. I wish it was longer though. ;_;
- pokezel on June 4, 2005
- Nobbynob Littlun on June 4, 2005
Theres so much going on but the melody keeps everything together, especially how its always coming out of the left ear
The pianos the best thing in the song along with the synth lead. I think if the drums just stuck with a simple beat it would clean up the song a bunch
but nonetheless it's a good song, I've had it on repeat for quite a while
- jordex on June 1, 2005
Beautiful feel overall, a worthwhile and satisfying listen. Definitely recommended.
- Ichitootah on May 31, 2005
My basis of affliction is not a matter of them simply being off tune, but rather, the disturbance they create to the designated ambience. It is so relaxed and straight-forward, and then some [b]random[/b] bright colors spring into the air. It just doesn't quite blend with the chilling guitar riff or piano.
Maybe the original intention of the source material is to give it that goofy, mysterious aura, but here, coming from bare-bones listening, I hope I can get my hands on a version without our little intruders :wink:
- Souliarc on May 31, 2005
Strife. wrote: The soundtrack wasn't exactly spectacular, and there actually wasn't music playing for a lot of the game...
Actually I don't remember any part where there wasn't music playing. I thought the game had some great, unique music. I haven't listened to it for a while, but I can think of at least a half-dozen Dark Cloud songs off the top of my head that I'd gladly stick on a playlist.
Anyway, I reviewed Moon Dust back on VGMix, but I believe that was an older version. I'll have to see how this one turns out.
- Kaleb.G on May 31, 2005
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