ReMix: Hitman: Codename 47 'Contract Cleaner'

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Hitman: Codename 47

A huge & hearty congratulations to Andy & Jill - their wedding was awesome, from the serene, Secret of Mana-esque setting of the ceremony to the amazing musical performances at the reception, it all came together beautifully. Their first dance was to Deliverance of the Heart; while possibly not the first time a wedding couple has danced to an OC ReMix, it had to be the first time that mix was also a collab between the two of them. I've already congratulated them personally, but on behalf of the community I'd like to thank them for all the music they've made individually & collectively, and all the music, memories, and joy they'll now share with us as Mr. and Mrs. Aversa!

We didn't have a particularly appropriate mix lined up, so I'm now going to segue awkwardly into talking about Hitman. Let's see... "When you think about it, marriage is LIKE contract assassination, in that..." - no, that won't work at all. How about:"The bond between a Hitman and his employer is like the bond of holy matrimony"? Probably not... it's essentially unsalvageable, thematically. However, as we wish Jill and Andy our best, we can also congratulate Sonicade, aka Kentaro Fischer, for a huge comeback mix. His first, very promising track was posted back in October of two-thousand three, so it's been almost six years between that FF9 mix and this new arrangement from Hitman. He writes:

"The Hitman games are one of my favorite series. I became a fan of Jesper Kyd through playing the games and have wanted to remix one of his tracks for awhile. I went with the Main Title from Codename 47 because I liked the tone as well as the melodies and strong strings. Hope you enjoy it!"

Sonicade's debut mix had some pretty hot production, and it's good to see that six years has only sharpened his game: Cinematic brass and strings soar over a thick electronica beat, with James Bond-ish stabs, a slick, gated synth solo pitch-bending riff, and the Middle Eastern intro motif that starts the whole thing off making a comeback later on. Following a beat drop at 2'46" we get follow-through into an extended acoustic piano solo at 3'03" that's really quite beautiful. Arrangement up until this point is fairly conservative, but the solo piano adds a lot, and the additional elements (gated synth riff, bell counter-melodies, etc.) Kentaro throws in throughout fit in perfectly. It's definitely a more additive approach to arrangement, taking the original and peppering it with additional hooks & components while reconstructing the beat/backing bits, but it certainly works for me. Check out more of Kentaro's original/compo work over at www.sonicade.com; sweet stuff, good to see you back!

― djpretzel

Discussion: Latest 12 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
Great mix! I really enjoyed listening to this one. It's got a very electronic sound. It reminds me of some of the music from the original Unreal Tournament. I'm keeping this one for sure.

- Gabriel on September 12, 2009
I've not heard the original, so I'm taking this from a completely original-song standpoint. The song, while taking a while to reach the real meat of the mix, is a great moody buildup that plays very well on the somewhat-recognized gypsy scale (I dunno if I'm right in what it's called, but you know what I'm implying!). The drums are crisp, if just a little on the flat side, but I love the snare you used. And when the bass fuzz comes in, followed by the processed drum fill...that was pretty sexy.
The brass is nicely leveled and the bell chime adds a lot to the progression. The production is excellent for the most part. It's a more laid-back groove that makes me think of a CSI cutscene, actually. When it switches up the base chord and the piano starts to play, I really ended up grooving to it.
While not an epic or overly-glamorous mix, this is something I can chill out to and is well above my standards of a well-made song. It is hard for the song to be boring, and while I do have some small problems with it, they don't detract enough to take away from the mix as a whole. Great job!

- Level 99 on September 1, 2009
This has a lot more melody than I was expecting from a game called "Hitman", but I guess that's just me assuming. This has a surprisingly almost triumphant feel to it, which I find pretty neat. The brass hits add a really nice flavor, I'm definately a fan of that.
Overall, I feel like there wasn't much in the way of direction of the piece, but it doesn't bother me that much in the end. Just something I noticed while listening. That and the beginning got just a tad (and I mean a very little) repetative.
Other than that some nice work!

- DragonAvenger on September 1, 2009
I haven't played the Hitman games, but this has a great 90's dance sound and atmosphere, and the style is very nostalgic for me. The middle section with the modulating synths is excellent. Send us more stuff, dude!

- Palpable on August 25, 2009
I kill anyone who passes up this mix. Loved the subtle usage of the theme throughout most of the track; it was pretty intelligent arrangement. Definitely hope we hear more from Kentaro!

- Liontamer on August 10, 2009
Very relaxed and chilled remix; not exactly what I'd expect from a Hitman mix. Has a very interesting sound to it. Digging the piano.
Nice work. Shame only so few people seem to have listened to it, judging by the number of comments so far.

- Martin Penwald on August 10, 2009
Some really cool textures and a bunch of really well chosen sounds make this feel very polished right off the bat. Everything clicked well, and though it sounded a bit more upbeat in some sections than you'd expect a hitman game to sound, it still sounds sophisticated and cool.
A few things that seemed overlooked was the lack of a strong transition to the modulation about halfway through made it stick out a bit, and the ending seemed to be abrupt, but overall this was pretty great.

- OA on August 9, 2009
Kind of cheesy, but remixing game music is mostly like that, and I like anyway.
More random (I could go into the positives, but I already said "I like") comments: the transition 2/3 the way through and the abrupt ending are both awkward. And the piano during the ending could have been more to the forefront/clearer. That's about it for the negative, besides potentially being beefier overall. Phat bass and Beatdrop quality needed to be perfectly ideal. Actually this reminds me of Beatdrop's Guardian Legend ReMix once the bass gets deeper and somewhat more when the strings enter. I can hear it being overlaid in a song mashup already!

- Audity on August 1, 2009
It's great to see this was accepted and thank you for the comments. I'll do my best to submit another track before another 6 years passes. :)

- Sonicade on August 1, 2009
I didn't realize there was a way to reinterpret this theme, really. This is wonderful, if a bit airy and distant. Congratulations on your comeback, hope it won't be another 6 years until your next mix :)

- Dafydd on July 29, 2009
Not really familiar with the hitman soundtrack I've only played the second one but hearing this I can definitely hear this being in a hitman game. Productions great, strings were sweet and the piano solo was very cool. Overall nice piece =).

- BlackPanther on July 28, 2009
What did you think? Post your opinion of this ReMix.

- djpretzel on July 28, 2009

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