ReMix:Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee "The Monsaic" 5:31

By The Orichalcon

Arranging the music of one song...

"Monsaic Lines"

Primary Game: Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee (GT Interactive , 1997, PS1), music by Ellen Meijers-Gabriel

Posted 2005-09-01, evaluated by the judges panel


New month, new mix, new game, as TO gives us our first ReMix from the peculiar Oddworld universe. Before I go further, a non-sequitir nod to William Shatner - I just now heard his cover of Pulp's 'Common People', with Ben Folds at the helm, and that shit just flat out rocks. My late summer anthem, to be sure. Mr. Barber writes:

"I wanted to bring out the more atmospheric and tribal essence of Oddworld that Meijers seemed to really dig. I feel the way I've remixed this is similar to the music from one of the later oddworld games (Stranger's Wrath) which made good use of acoustic guitar and woodwind instruments. I've used a flute, pan flute, acoustic guitar, orchestral strings, hollywood strings, and bass as well as acoustic drums from RMX and a tribal drums soundfont for the percussion."

Going off rather minimal, short source material, TO's expanded things quite a bit, with a neo-Western feel (Yul Brynner in... Westworld), complete with ambient wind effects, a good, bad, + ugly-style flute, and deliberate acoustic guitar. It's a bit more melodic than TO's stuff, and vaguely reminds me of Simon and Garfunkel's 'El Condor Pasa' (If I Could) at times. GrayLightning writes:

"Taking a very short source material and expanding it like this was quite clever and it works. I'm not sure if TO intentionally mixed this for electro-new age, but it is apparent he knows the genre well. This sounds like a great Enigma piece. It does what it's supposed to without fuss and without fail. Arrangement is top notch, as is the composition. It's incredibly hard to sequence for guitar and an admirable job was done here. What makes this mix for me though is the great rhythm complimenting the atmosphere. There's a lot of electro-drum/percussion along with native american rhythms and percussion that really add to the piece. The woodwind works to compliment this especially well also. Woodwind bends also add a nice series of articulation to the mix."

Not sure about the Enigma likeness, but perhaps I just haven't heard enough beyond the gratuitous Sadeness and Return to Innocence to call it; certainly, though, the woodwind pitch bends are clutch and are eventually what seal the Western vibe - having played only this title from the collection of Oddworld games, I can see how this arrangement might resemble some of the newer material, as there's a definitely a Western vibe going on in Stranger's Wrath, for example. It's good to see the rather creative series of games that stemmed from the original, Flashback/Out of this World style 2D title get some coverage here, and TO's M.O. works nicely with the atmospheric nature of the material. Good stuff - moody, but in an enveloping, enjoyable, non-emo way.

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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WesternZypher
on 2013-02-20 13:45:20

And lo, he stretched forth his palm, and beheld its likeness carven in the face of the great white orb above.

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Polo
on 2011-04-27 01:44:51

*sigh* SUCH a lonely vibe at play. It has shades of sorrow, loss, and feeling burdened, but they're titillatingly mild. The mix doesn't try to pin down my attention, it doesn't elude my senses, and it almost puts me in a trance as it gently tugs at my heartstrings. It treads some floaty, almost ambivalent ground. Whew.

To echo GrayLightning, my only gripe is the cutoff ending. But the more I listen to this, the more I can easily forget that detail and just lose myself in the serene soundscape. 3 3 3

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Ascendancy
on 2009-03-17 19:48:09

i could definitely use this for meditating. i love new age stuff man so i'm going to be totally bias in this review =]

i love how you started out with the flute very melodic with that atmosphere behind it. the percussions are nice gives that tribal feel to it. though it gets repetitive i have no issue with it. this piece is very relaxing, i sleep to this sometimes =]

good productions and arrangement. 9 out of 10

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Marmiduke
on 2009-02-01 22:32:14

Nice meditation on a theme. The melody really folds in a rhythm, like listening to the patterns of waves on a beach. I really like that. Of course all the variations are there, but they're not emphasised, which is cool and allows for a smoother ride.

Of course, it isn't Abe's Odyssey without Abe mumbling or belching or something, and I for one am very happy the mix is detached from the game in that regard. Some things can only be fully appreciated in isolation.

When the music is this strong, extended runtimes and repetiveness are not a flaws but gifts. Thanks TO.

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OA
on 2008-05-30 11:21:39

Pretty interesting style here, laid back and organic feeling, but decidedly electronic sounding. It has a good flow and the pacing is nice, and works very well as background music.

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Dunther
on 2006-11-20 10:12:21

I love it...is sooooooooo relaxing!

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meccaneer
on 2005-10-07 11:13:50

OmegaMan has some good points on the East/West feel. But, to stick to the tune: I dig it. Very solid and balanced; nothing too over- or underpowered. Easy on the ears. I dunno what criticism I can offer... repetitive? But, that's the nature of ambience isn't it? Don't change a thing!

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Ichitootah
on 2005-09-10 01:27:55

Heh. I played this game, don't remember much of the BGM though. Anyway, this remix is quite impressive. I really love the sort of lonely feel it has at the beginning, that is augmented as the track moves forward with additional instruments. It kind of keeps that feel throughout, at least to me, with the flutey trails and minimalistic guitar, as well as, of course, the wind sfx and ethnicy percussion. Hmm, weird sentence there. Anyway, good stuff. Keep it up.

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PlastikBag
on 2005-09-06 19:14:35

Enough genre crap (:wink:). Music is music. This is great music.

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Baruch - Vampire Lord
on 2005-09-03 01:50:56

New Austrailian it is. You're right, it does kind of have a 'sun rising on the outback feel,' minus the didgeridoo. But at least we all agree on one thing. Excellent mix.

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RimFrost the Tourianist
on 2005-09-02 20:32:40

Slow paced and quite moody. And a nice choice of instruments i think. Good stuff !

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Qyzbud
on 2005-09-02 05:00:49

Woah, this is an inspired elaboration of a really simple source... I love Abe's Oddysey, and the minimalist ambient sounds accompanying the eerie gameworld. I very much like how you've brought out the melody and percussion, added an impressive array of instruments, and without departing far from the vibe of the original sounds (actually, I hear the slight departure as an excellent choice), have come out with something truly listenable.

At 3:20, the drum stutter sounded out of place to me. Apart from that, very solid sounding mix.

New-Australian... Works for me. =)

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OmegaMan
on 2005-09-02 04:25:50

"New Australian" it is.

Great work...

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The Orichalcon
on 2005-09-02 03:42:47

Perhaps I should explain it then.

It's not meant to be american anything. If it sounds native american or whatever, it's purely by accident. What I was going for was to bring the Oddysee music up to the same style of music that was in the latest title of Stranger's Wrath.

You can argue over style's and what flavour it has, but in the end, it's just meant to be a nice tribal and atmospheric sounding mix with a bit of power in it. Consider it New-Australian then.

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OmegaMan
on 2005-09-02 02:09:57

This thread is for you, TO. Not history.

You're request has been understood. Won't happen again (perhaps a private message next time)...

Let me just reiterate for all the fellow viewers out there:

"Do you see what kind of in-depth tangential debate can come from such an inspiring track?"

It really is a piece deserving of several threads: Native American history, Old American Western history, Japanese history, film history...the remix really resonates with so many varieties of themes...download it!

Great work again.

M

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


Primary Game:
Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee (GT Interactive , 1997, PS1)
Music by Ellen Meijers-Gabriel
Songs:
"Monsaic Lines"

Tags (3)


Genre:
Ambient,New Age
Mood:
Chill
Instrumentation:
Additional:

File Information


Name:
Oddworld_Abe's_Oddysee_The_Monsaic_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
5,381,565 bytes
MD5:
a71d6f09f7402f6cde5b07e494931063
Bitrate:
128Kbps
Duration:
5:31

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