Posted 2008-07-10, evaluated by the judges panel


Did you know that in the UK, TMNT were initially known as "Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles"? They finally changed it, I believe, but still... what self-respecting kid would look up to a mutant hero? A mutant ninja, SURE - hell, any type of ninja, really - but a mutant hero just seems a little sad. But I digress; many of us enjoyed the four-player arcade version of TMNT 4, with its flamboyant, color-coded joysticks, and the SNES port used Mode7 to great, Foot Soldier-lobbing effect. It also had a fantastic, memorable soundtrack, even better than I remember most of the music from the actual cartoon being, and threw in some stage title voice samples for style points ("Big Apple.... 3AM"); basically the opposite of the mocking, infuriating samples from Bubsy.

Sixto Sounds, who's been rather ubiquitous lately, and some n00b named zircon teamed up for this rockin' and rollin' arrangement of TMNT4's 'Sewer Surfin'' track, which as it turns out this zircon guy collabed on before, with tefnek. Juan writes:

"When I was a kid and got my very own Super NES system one Christmas, my dad would take us down to the movie rental place every weekend. We would each pick one game. My sister always wanted to get Super Mario All-Stars. For me, it was usually one of two games; Street Fighter II or Turtles in M!@#$@~!n' Time. Awesome game. JAWESOME. Listening to the soundtrack now takes me back to those good ol' days. Days without worries or responsibilities. Just us kids being kids. *sigh* Anyway, the soundtrack is pretty much rocked out as it is. I just had to do the typical Sixto thing and rock it out a little more. I wanted to go all 80's hair metal on this and use some vintage guitar rock tones and synths. The guitar tones were no problem, but the synths were pretty generic. I'm no good with synths. At all. So, at the very last minute, zircon begged me to let him into the remix, so I obliged. He used his tehcno wizardry to conjure up some phat synths and whatnot. Really helped the mix, I think. Enjoy!"

The same piece also previously inspired chumble spuzz's tastefully titled 'Turd Surfers,' so clearly there's something about moist human waste floating around underground that appeals to these guys... or perhaps it's just that the original track IS pretty damn awesome. Andy writes:

"I loved the concept of this mix as soon as Sixto sent me a work in progress... after all, 80s-style hair metal fits the Turtles perfectly. I ended up programming all the synth sounds and adding some material in the form of an intro and a solo later on, but while Sixto definitely did the majority of the work (guitars, drums, arrangement), I think the addition of the over-the-top sweeps and screaming leads are the icing on the cake."

Non-sequitir: Was anyone else ever troubled that, episode after episode, April was always wearing the same yellow outfit? Did she wash that thing? No wonder she didn't mind hanging out in sewers with large tortoises. What DOESN'T smell is this mix; you might simply assume that, with Andy and Juan on board, it's a no-brainer... and you'd be right. While this tune has definitely been arranged impressively before, the glam-rock, indulgent, and generally spiffy treatment SS & Z have put together is different enough to be fresh and enjoyable enough to... enjoy. Profusely. Things intro with some nice B3 rock organ, which I haven't heard Andy or Juan use too much, but get glammier with the wall-o-synth at 0'22", channeling the Van Halen "Jump" sound just a bit. At 1'50" Juan's inner Eddie takes over with a mean lead and lets loose. 2'55" yields a surprising breakdown that, while brief, helps change up the dynamic level before the conclusion's onslaught. At 3'38" Andy enters with a synth solo... quirky patch choice: a quackish attack that sounds more fusion than glam rock, but it's brief and colorful so it's all good. The panel did look at this, but most of what they had to say was unintelligble nonsense thanks to the shenanigans of a certain JJT.

2008 seems to be the year of Sixto collabs... there's more where this came from, but Mr. Medrano has already made a huge dent with some epic collabs, and artists like Shariq and Andy really match up well, resulting in seamless, rockin' takes on classic tracks. Awesome.

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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ddrfr33k
on 2020-12-07 19:23:22

When my wife and I got married in 2017, we used this song as our grand procession into the reception. It also happens to be my opening and ending theme to my live streams, so it just made sense. My family loved it, and so did the DJ! I think he kept the song for playing elsewhere, I know he kept Darkworld Jazz by Gux...

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RiverSound
on 2012-08-09 08:54:25

Simply put, my favorite rock mix on the site. 2 veteran artists teaming up to remix a definitive 90's video game theme? A match made in heaven.

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Grimm
on 2010-09-15 23:00:00

I still have a shirt that says Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles on it from when my family visited Europe many years ago.

Oh, and this mix is awesome :)

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Level 99
on 2010-07-02 16:18:22

Along with Duck Tales - The Moon, the SMB theme song, and Zelda, this is one of those source tracks that immediately comes to my mind that embodies video game music. Once you hear Sewer Surfin', you're almost guaranteed to never forget it the rest of your life. And what Sixto and Zircon did here was give it absolute justice.

The intro build is exactly as my dream remix of this would be, and the organs used throughout are beastly. It's a great balance in the mix between the show-stealing guitars and all the additional reinforcement. I especially enjoyed the solos, and Zircon's use of a synth lead that sounds suspiciously like a modernized version of the bass from Alleycat Blues is icing on the cake. Throughout, this song is just tops, and ridiculously awesome production.

The only version I can think of that might rival it is Nase's Turtle Wank, but that's a different approach with different goals. Give me either mix on any day and I'll be happy as a clam. Or a turtle.

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Mirby
on 2010-02-23 16:40:09

"They say music can alter moods and talk to you..." Sure, a line from a rap song, but it applies here. This track has to be one of my favorite tracks from Sixto Sounds. It's upbeat, it has heavy guitar riffage, and it's over way too quickly. So-called n00b zircon contributes to the upbeat atmosphere, and together the Sixto-zircon combination is as lethal as it is enjoyable. The song itself has the source material remix continually playing throughout the track, giving it a faithful feel. All in all, a great track that makes me happy whenever I listen to it (sometimes three times in a row), and hopefully it affects others in the same way.

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Crulex
on 2010-02-11 16:26:59

I really dig the intro. This definantly has 80's and TMNT written all over it. The guitar work was the highlight of this mix. The breakdown was a very nice touch and this was well worth it. Hopefully Turtles in Time gets more love.

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OA
on 2009-12-01 12:38:46

Totally gnarly straight-ahead synth rock featuring 2 of my favorite mixers? RADICAL!

Excellent synths, guitars, pace, and even though the arrangement is pretty similar to the original, the source is tubular as well.

An awesome, awesome track.

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metalsnakejuice
on 2009-05-22 08:37:37

This song blew my mind, the guitar work was amazing to listen.

Good job.

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LuketheXjesse
on 2009-01-26 17:03:36

One of the best parts about this mix is just the overall sound. Your sound quality is excellent! The solo at 1:48 is awesome as well. The awesome, bluesy transition at 2:58 is an excellent change of pace, then the energy comes right back in with a keyboard, then (another) badass guitar solo. Great work!

totally 80's

I don't get this though.

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42
on 2009-01-25 23:50:05

This is great and totally 80's, but, well, don't get me wrong, this mix is still great stuff,

but after listening to some of Sixto and Zircon's other collabs it's kind of hard to compare...

Still, though, awesome job. :nicework:

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Mr Azar
on 2008-10-29 17:49:24

GREAT stuff! For some reason though, I prefer the name "Subterranean Surfing".

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WillRock
on 2008-10-08 16:33:29

Wow... sounds like satch with synths... really, really good, my fav by sixto so far, his playing reminds me of satch a lot.

Zircons synths also are awesome, a little cheesy, but that is part of its charm 8D

Awesome, I can't wait to hear what else you guys come up with!

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relyanCe
on 2008-08-16 10:39:10

This has gotta be one of the best remixes I've heard! Sixto, you are my HERO! If I could play a quarter as well as you can, I would be content. Keep this goodness coming!

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SwordBreaker
on 2008-08-08 16:37:28
Thanks for all the comments folks. Also, for your listening pleasure, an amusing render that happened when I played the audio file back at a higher pitch...

http://www.soundtempest.net/Kawaii_Turtle_Supaa_Water~Surfu_Doujin_Arrange.mp3

LOL. That could fit well in the game, actually. Slow that down a notch and you'll get the tempo of the original track. :P

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KyleJCrb
on 2008-08-08 13:09:00
I literally laughed out loud reading this, as I had been thinking the exact same thing, although not expressed so eloquently. ^.^

And for that reason, I was kinda dismissive of the song at first. "What, ANOTHER Sewer Surfin' mix?" But I shouldn't have been. This really is a slickly awesome track with unparalleled energy. This will literally rock your socks (and other miscellaneous articles of clothing) right off.

I wouldn't mind a hundred more Sewer Surfin' remixes. Bring 'em!

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


Primary Game:
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time (Konami , 1992, SNES)
Music by Harumi Ueko,Kazuhiko Uehara,Mutsuhiko Izumi
Songs:
"Sewer Surfin' (Stage 3 BGM)"

Tags (4)


Genre:
Rock
Mood:
Instrumentation:
Electric Guitar,Synth
Additional:
Origin > Collaboration

File Information


Name:
Teenage_Mutant_Ninja_Turtles_4_Subterranean_Kamikaze_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
4,640,203 bytes
MD5:
30ae041fa8e50574bba7d641c60eb216
Bitrate:
147Kbps
Duration:
4:07

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