ReMix: Mega Man X 'Braincooler'
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- Game: Mega Man X (Capcom, 1993, SNES)
- ReMixer(s): Rozovian
- Composer(s): Makoto Tomozawa, Setsuo Yamamoto, Toshihiko Horiyama, Yuki Iwai, Yuko Takehara
- Song(s): 'Chill Penguin Stage'
- Posted: 2009-10-13, evaluated by the judges
Our last Mega Man X mix was posted back in 2006? What the heck is up with that? Pure, unadulterated shenanigans, that is, and Rozovian is here to put an end to it. Rozo ritez:
"I call it... Braincooler. It was originally planned to be something of a three track medley, which is why the name is alluding to Brainsick Metal. But... no. It just didn't want to go that way.
I've recently started trying to keep the number of tracks to a minimum, which is the same approach I had with Beyond Velocity and it seemed to work out well. Here I had to route my 7 midi tracks (and two tracks with audio loops) to a myriad of buses and auxes. That, plus the dozens of automation tracks made it a bit scary to work on towards the end. I suppose I've found my style. Or a style, at least. Like EYOD, this is a bass-based track with long bends, long break-downs, key change... and eggshaker. :D Didn't expect the eggshaker to become such a success, but I don't mind. And here it is again.
It wouldn't have taken this long or turned out this good without the help of the WIP board, the #ocrwip channel, and the Judges that I turned to during the making of this."
Nice props! I like the title; it makes me thirsty, but in a not-unpleasant way that is far from incompatible with wanting to listen to some cool, refreshing electronica. Which, fortuitously, the artist has provided; Rozovian continues with his (relatively) minimalist, restrained electronica that's sleek, slick, and chill. Appropriate, then, that he's provided us with with our first coverage of the 'Chill Penguin' theme. Get it? See what I did there, etc.? The kick here is quite round & deep, which bothered me a bit until the rest of the drum track filled out with the aforementioned shaker and snare. Synths aplenty dominate the landscape, with leads, pads, and gated accompaniment, but I especially dig the drop around 2'12" into what sounds like a cave, with a bell lead and cross-panned water droplets - reminded me of Edward Norton finding his power penguin ("slide!") in Fight Club. The arrangement does take awhile to get going and at first seems a little pedestrian, but eventually fulfills its potential, which is basically what OA said:
"I agree that the first half was lacking a bit of excitement, but by the second half, there was a lot of cool ideas moving around. The bass overall was pretty cool, i loved the huge drops that were frequently used. The beat was really boring as it built up, but as more and more melodic elements started interacting, it became more driving and worked a lot better. I thought the keychange was a little weak, but it worked; i just wish there was a larger build, or a melodic lead in to it. It seemed a bit abrupt as is.
Production was nice; good balance, clean and clear, and good textures. I've got no complaints here. So despite what I thought was an average beginning, it really did pick up into something both creative and cool."
Cool... and chill. Appropriate, since October temperatures are finally starting to fall. Solid stuff from Rozo that provides a long overdue dose of MMX mixage.
Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the Rozovian already saw the writeup one of my authors did on my blog for this track, but in case anyone else wants to check it out, the link is above.
- OutSpoken on July 5, 2011
Always like Rozo's stuff. I expect more of it. :P
- JaDE ARaN HaRuNo on July 4, 2010
I always love how Rozo picks such cohesive sets of synths and sounds for each of his remixes, it makes everything silky smooth and nothing ever sticks out like a sore thumb. It's easy to get lost in his remixes because of this quality.
This is a nice benchmark for him in terms of production and sound design, but after hearing what he's done in tracks like "Eye of the Storm," I can see how much he's improved in a short time. Nice work all around, Rozo! :-D
- Emunator on December 21, 2009
It's that "chill eletronica" (ohohoho, chill in a chill penguin track, ohohoho) that Rozovian has worked their magic with in other tracks like "Eat Your Own Dust", and it's a style I know I'll keep coming back to.
- ZealPath on December 4, 2009
Main lead is well developed; reminds me of the Jazz Jackrabbit 2 soundtrack, in a good way.
- Txai on October 31, 2009
- Martin Penwald on October 31, 2009
- 1makes2 on October 25, 2009
- BlueMage on October 24, 2009
Any way you look at it this mix is a great listen. Glad you were able to get it posted!
- jintoreedwine on October 20, 2009
- Scrap McNapps on October 19, 2009
The sound track is not so much as being techno, but lightly with all other instruments being sounded that matches its beauty and old school technique of its originality. Without a doubt, this is one of the best examples, works, and originality of Megam man sound tracks.
Hands down /o,o/ & great job.
- ChaosPlayer on October 17, 2009
- bjnartowt on October 15, 2009
- Jewbei on October 15, 2009
- BlackPhantom on October 15, 2009
