ReMix: NiGHTS into dreams... 'Escape into the Twilight'

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NiGHTS into dreams...

Comin' at you live from Aruba, I'm taking time out of my hard-earned (I think, at least) vacation to keep the gears of OCR a churnin'. What have I been up to? Anna and I are chillin' at the Occidental and basically just relaxin', and I've been getting deep into Crush, which has to be one of the best handheld games (and game soundtracks) I've ever enjoyed. I was also sure to load up my Sansa wanna-be iPod with tons of tunes, ReMix and otherwise, and one of the tracks I now invariably add to such playlists is Skrypnyk's Mario-RPG-meets-DJ-Shadow gem 'Last Night a DJ Kidnapped Mallow.' So mellow, so atmospheric, glacially paced and yet intricate... definitely fantastic stuff. Andrew's cornering the market on OCR for the particular blend of downbeat, ambient hip/trip-hop he employs in his mixes, and he follows things up with another great track, this time from NiGHTS. The suspended, floating feel the mix evokes works nicely with the nighttime imagery conjured up by the source material; I had a harder time envisioning any material relevant to the game while listening to his SMRPG piece, even if I loved the non-game imagery it did suggest. Here it's a bit easier to put yourself in the game's universe, although Skryp did stray pretty far in terms of liberal arrangements. Larry had some concerns along this line:

"Part of the reason I felt this used enough of the source material was because of the way Skryp retained the (quiet) beat pattern of the original (two pairs of beats on 1 and 3 in "Gate of Your Dreams", if I understand that correctly), but beefed them up and expanded their role. It was viable arrangement to me since the tone and general pattern was derived from the source tune. If those drums hadn't have been involved so integrally, I would have NOed the arrangement for being too liberal overall."

AnSo sees the potential crit but agrees w/ Larry that it's not overly problematic:

"Yeah this is neat. You truly are a master of percussion and it really gets the track to new heights. The production is solid and the deep bass drum really sets a great mood for the piece. This reminds me of the band mum a lot. As Palpable and Larry both pointed out, it's a tad liberal but it's not liberal enough to reject. I thought the source was present most of the time and when it wasn't the track still referenced to the original in terms of chords and mood. Nice harmonization and interesting instrumentation."

Though this isn't from the Christmas NiGHTS version of the game, it nevertheless has a pleasant, somewhat wintry feel to it... I could see it being used as ambient BGM for a futuristic nativity or something such; definitely more upbeat than its rather melancholy Mario predeccessor. Very serene, clear textures and Andrew's amazing drum work make this a piece you can disappear into as a listener, and not want to come back from. Transporting and enveloping - another keeper from Skrypnyk.

― djpretzel

Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
I downloaded this song a long time ago, but I've listened to it substantially since. Mainly, when I have to read a book for school, this song actually makes me enjoy the reading, because its soothing, and a moving piece, but not on the distracting side. Great background music, only thing I can listen to while reading lol. Thanks for this mix.

- Nickno on July 16, 2012
This is one of the most beautiful arrangements from NiGHTS into Dreams, I always listen to it in iTunes even after all this time. It calms me down when I'm having an "off" day I visualise myself on my deathbed, lost, heartbroken, damaged in life's battlefield, however, NiGHTS is there to help repair me to move forward in life.... yeah... deep I know :P

- FlashX on June 10, 2012
This is so soothing and peaceful...I wish it had gotten an honorable mention on the recent album! I fall asleep to it some nights.

- WesternZypher on October 19, 2011
i checked this out when it was posted and i still listen to it pretty regularly. i listened to it a little earlier today and was reminded about how much i love this remix. i've been coming to this site since "terra in black" and this is definitely one of my favorite remixes here. awesome work.

- ambinate on May 25, 2011
Has nobody seriously noticed this yet?
[img]http://img52.imageshack.us/img52/7007/nightsintospectrum.png[/img]
(Spectrum view from 4:00 to 4:12.)
The scaling is a little off, but it's pretty obvious that Skrypnyk is being sneaky here.

- sci on December 13, 2009
Great percussion, it's perfectly paced for the atmosphere you created. This reminds me a lot of most of [i]Suburbia[/i] in terms of how easy it is to zone out and completely forget what you were doing while you listen to it. I use this mix to fall asleep sometimes, and honestly it's hard for me to fall asleep unless it's dead silent. You know you've accomplished something if a (non-boring) remix can put me to sleep :-)
Great adaptation of the source, this is the kind of music I think of when I hear NiGHTS. Pweease contribute something to Level 99's project! :-P

- Emunator on December 3, 2009
Great percussive ideas - gives a little drive and variation to an otherwise chilled-out and fairly minimalistic mix. Beautiful soundscape; this is a track I could simply float away to. Nice work :nicework:

- halc on December 2, 2009
Had fun listening to this, by far my favorite today.

- metalsnakejuice on September 24, 2009
The unusual electronic sounds throughout the mix sort of threw me off when I first listened to it, but they grew on me quickly and now I can't imagine the piece without them. A very relaxing mix.

- Lucentas on December 6, 2008
Pretty relaxing stuff with a twist. The woodwinds add a great character to it, and the percussion is very unique. This is something you can just chill to indefinitely, and it evokes a lot of different visuals.
The piano and bells are really nice, and overall this track reinforces my respect for the NiGHTS music; just about every mix of it on this site is rock solid.
Recommended.

- OA on August 29, 2008
Great remix. Wonderful percussion, and a very relaxing atmosphere overall.
The heart monitor going "beeeeeeeeeeeeeeep" at the end freaks me out a bit, though. Such a relaxing, soothing piece, and in the end, someone dies. Bummer.

- Martin Penwald on August 16, 2008
This is my favorite Skrypnyk piece ever. Its so slow and atmospheric, yet for some reason feels like it has a bunch of energy behind it. It is very enjoyable to just sit and work to (I'm on my 11th repeat right now!). Very very nice work my friend. VERY!

- Hy Bound on August 5, 2008
Suffice to say, I friggin love this little piece of lovely. It's so soothing, & makes me feel... happy. Happy & serene. Friggin awesome dude, I liked it on the wip boards, & have grown to love it since then.

- The Joker on July 27, 2008
I love songs like these...
Nights definitely needs more remixes.

- diamondfalcon on July 24, 2008
This is just a really great, ambient piece of music. Hats off!
Oh and I will totally chime in with approval for the static effect. At first I thought that my speakers were having a seizure but then it was all ok.

- Master_Yoshi on July 24, 2008