ReMix: Mega Man 2 'Nuclear Flash'

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Mega Man 2

Techno-surf-rock-orchestral-chiptronica! FTW! In what's sure to be a crowd-pleasin', rump-shakin' ReMix in the tradition of "Dirt Devil", Andy and Juan (alias zircon and Sixto) follow their previous collab up with a balls-to-the-wall Mega Man 2 "Flashman" piece. And all is right with the world. Seriously, the 1700 series of mixes is getting off to a fantastic start, as already we've got some killer tracks. "Flashman" has certainly been covered up one side and down the other; he's just a boss who can't say no, it would seem, and mixers have taken advantage of his loose morals time and again, with myriad rock and electronica mixes. So, what's a ReMixer, or in this case pair of ReMixers, to do? The approach here seems to have been to pile everything PLUS the kitchen sink in, schizophrenically straddling multiple genres while retaining enough cohesion to not come off scatterbrain. Mr. Aversa writes:

"First off, credit where credit is due. This is something of an emulation of the DNB/rock group Pendulum, one of my favorite new artists. In fact, it was heavily inspired by a live performance of their song "Intro" from their LP "Hold Your Colour". In the live performance version, they used a progression that's identical to one from the Flashman theme, and had a sick guitar riff on top (quoted in this remix at 1:11 and onwards.) This striking similarity inspired me to do a whole remix in the Pendulum style, though since I can't emulate things very well I added a good amount of my own personal style. The end result is probably the heaviest remix I've ever done, with basically maxed out volume, massive drums and bass, brutal guitars (courtesy of Sixto) and some insane synth action. However, it doesn't take itself TOO seriously... there are a bunch of 1950s-style "surf" riffs plus a melodic quote from the old Megaman cartoon theme song. Anyway, Juan and I are really happy with how it came out; hope you enjoy it!"

How could one not? This is a mix that, as Andy says, doesn't take itself too seriously, has a shitload of fun, but also represents the formidable smorgasbord of arrangement and production skills he's been picking up over the years. You've got enough ideas here to spawn off several awesome mixes, but since awesome mixes in those styles have already been made, having everything enjambed into an almost stream-of-consciousness single arrangement is rather fun. ONE FLASHMAN MIX TO RULE THEM ALL!!? Or not... you may prefer mixes that are more stylistically consistent/conservative, which is cool, but one thing there should be no doubting is that this piece pulls no punches, kicks, or even off-color remarks. Subtle? Hell no. It's almost Tarantinoish, not because of the obvious surf-guitar cameo (though it helps), but rather for its sheer over-the-topness and flagrant adaptation, homage to and mutation of form. Nuclear Flash, indeed; awesome stuff from zircon and SS, who pair up quite well for these types of juggernaut arrangements.

― djpretzel

Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
I enjoyed the first part of the song... after the surf tune, kinda reminded me of a strange B-52s bit.

I think my favorite part was actually the slowdown at around 2:10. The whistle with the strong ... violin? stabs was fun.
I did think it ran a bit long at the end, maybe by 20 seconds or so, but overall, I enjoyed it.

- LnGrrrR on April 1, 2009
Hold Your Colour has been a much loved album for me for quite a while, so I definately dug this. I haven't checked out In Silico yet (I know, I'm idiotically slow at getting around to it). Anyway, it's really awesome to see the really strong Australian music scene having some sort of cultural impact somewhere. We're all just lucky the influence has fallen into the hands of a community of such capable and talented people.
As for the mix, do I really need to gush more? It bottles the raw power of Pendulum without feeling to imitative (even though, let's face it, there's a striking similarity). Partly due to the genre hopping, the mix feels more of a carousel of different moods, contexts and interpretations connected by a running melody, completely avoiding what could have been a "What if Pendulum covered Mega Man 2?" scenario. We have enough of those, and we won't have a short supply of them from future submissions.
Freaky good mix and proof that OCR is still as rich with ideas as it ever was, perhaps even moreso. Peace.

- Marmiduke on January 28, 2009
This mix, the intro especially, reminds me of how in action movies during the climactic explosion time slows down and leaves the heroes running in slow motion in front of a giant fireball that's about to consume everything.
One can almost feel the heat while listening to this mix.

- 42 on December 18, 2008
This mix just brought back a wave of nostaglia for me... sweet memories of the 8 bit gen. Nice way to remix the track and add a bit of that surfer rif in there.

- crimson_tear222 on July 25, 2008
Oh yeah ! zircon, Sixto Sound ! Continue your ReMix madness, it's incredible !

- Chernabogue54 on July 16, 2008
Haha, yes, that's exactly what I was referring to Brak. :)
Thanks again for all the feedback guys.

- zircon on July 14, 2008
Tables;409360 wrote: Haha I was looking for a voice clip for a while too, but then I reread the description: a "melodic" quote from the old Megaman cartoon theme song. I guess that means he slipped in a part of that song randomly into this song here (at what I believe is that part between 1:59 and 2:03).

Go listen to the intro to the old Mega Man cartoon:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvhFfFg1EtI&feature=related
They say "super fighting robot.... MegaMan!" Only about 100 times, lol. Between 1:59 and 2:03 is where he put the "melodic quote." You should recognize it as the notes behind the the words.

- Brak on July 14, 2008
Was listening to this today, and it kicked serious ass. Great work both of you. I will check out that group that Zircon mentioned he was influenced by, because anything that sounds like this is worth putting in my playlist! Thanks again for a great track!

- XiaoXiaoNeo on June 13, 2008
This mix freaked me out at first - it came up in my playlist, thought "Hmm, not bad ... don't recognise it though." Yet, I can't say I was entirely surprised to see both Zircon and Sixto on it.
I'd like to say I particularly like the "Surf's Up" reference mid-track. I think it's "Surf's Up" - it has a distinctly surf-rock feel. All in all, a definite keeper.
But then, I think everyone knew that - it was made by both Sixto and Zircon.

- BlueMage on May 21, 2008
Tables;409360 wrote: Either that or Metallica's Seek And Destroy.

I was thinking the exact same thing.

- Sixto on May 20, 2008
Hy Bound;409065 wrote: Great stuff, but am I the only person that didn't hear the voice clip? I must have listened to this song about 15 times now and I have yet to hear the voice clip. Oh well, great song either way. I really like the surf guitar, btw; comes totally out of nowhere and kicks bunyuns.

Haha I was looking for a voice clip for a while too, but then I reread the description: a "melodic" quote from the old Megaman cartoon theme song. I guess that means he slipped in a part of that song randomly into this song here (at what I believe is that part between 1:59 and 2:03).
Don't worry, I got confuseded too.
Oh and I have to comment... uh, wow. Listening to 'Showdown', Pendulum must like Megaman or something, wow. Either that or Metallica's Seek And Destroy.

- Tables on May 20, 2008
Great stuff, but am I the only person that didn't hear the voice clip? I must have listened to this song about 15 times now and I have yet to hear the voice clip. Oh well, great song either way. I really like the surf guitar, btw; comes totally out of nowhere and kicks bunyuns.

- Hy Bound on May 19, 2008
Thanks for the comments everyone!
Just wanted to note, now that the new Pendulum CD is out ("In Silico") you can listen to track 1, Showdown, which has the progression/riff that inspired this remix. I wasn't aware it was gonna show up there but apparently that's where they got it from for their live show.

- zircon on May 16, 2008
The first thing hinting at Pendulum as a source of inspiration is the very long intro; not exactly something I like, but it's okay.
The bassline is great, as are the high-energy parts of the song; you really nailed the Pendulum style. Simply great. I felt that the surf guitar was a nice addition; its part is only short, but sweet.
The one thing that really irks me is the breakdown from about 2:00 on; it's just too long.
tl;dr version: more energy, less intro and breakdown.

- Martin Penwald on May 7, 2008
This is a pretty cool track. Sounds like there's a bit of the last Sigma stage from Mega Man X near the start. Like the voice clip, it's perfect. All in all a sweet remix!

- Mirby on May 3, 2008

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