ReMix: Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance 'Swingin' with Death'

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Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance

While one can never truly get enough Xenogears, it's still a little liberating to be posting something different; up next we've got a newcomer with a short-but-impressive debut mix from Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance. Nase, aka Joshu Skowronek, has actually been around a good while, but we're finally posting something of his, and a wonderful something it is; he writes:

"Not a whole lot to say...it converts the original into swing, and while I was pretty conservative with the melody (I just like it so damn much), I hope there are enough other variations and additions fitting in with the different style for ya, plus some original content in the middle part. Oh, one more thing: I found this one to be way more enjoyable with the volume cranked up."

Damn straight! Things intro in epic orchestral, but the swingin' starts soon enough. Really, really different arrangement, here: bass is funk, piano is more jazz, and the clav solo... I don't care WHAT that is, it's delicious. Sampled ensemble brass can always be rough, but I find it sounds better when there's a lot of swells, which are used effectively here. Check out 2'26" - WTF? Gritty, malfunctioning synth textures, right in the middle of swing-funk-jazz, that intro'd orchestral? Sure, why the hell not... it's more than a little bipolar, but Castlevania is often so gothic and modal that it's cool to hear this approach taken. In three minutes, Nase has managed to construct an arrangement that dabbles in a few different styles and really nails some specific elements - bass and clav come to mind - while maintaining an overall sense of structure. Vinnie writes:

"Reminds me a lot of old-school OCR subs, including my own Oedo Hop. There's a playfulness with the source material that's downright infectious. You did a lot of filling in of background parts and soloing over the chords that set it apart from just being a funky cover. Sure, there are moments that get piercing and samples that are on the weak side, but it's a pretty easy YES call to me."

OA adds:

"The strength of this track is really the arrangement, all kinds of awesome things happening here. Textures are great, there are some great effects in some parts, and everything sounds balanced to me... I also gotta echo that this is an awesome source track to remix, and you definitely did it justice."

Soloing is tight, infectious, and like Vinnie says, everything seems playful - it sounds like the artist had a lot of fun putting this together, wasn't too self-conscious and experimented a bit, and managed to do both while also honoring the source material. Oh yeah, if you happen to have a fever, and the only prescription involves a certain percussive instrument, Nase got you covered with some hot cowbell action, too. Excellent timbral variety and fine-grained control of bass writing make for a memorable, unique, and refreshing debut mix. Definitely looking forward to more!

― djpretzel

Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
This tune SCREAMS Monkey Island 1.

- New80s+ on August 21, 2012
Grand opening that drives right into a jazzy funky little tune? Well, alright! Not a fan of the horn either, but the rest of the instrumentation had me tapping my foot severely. I swear I heard something around 1:30 that reminds me of another game, but I'm drawing a blank on the name. I love how this bounces around and doesn't sit in one place the whole time. Not crazy about the ending, but all in all, this is one fine ReMix.

- Crulex on April 11, 2012
http://reoganworks.blogspot.com/2011/05/song-of-week-365.html
This was a fantastic debut for Nase. Really brings some flair to a style I haven't heard much of.

- OutSpoken on July 5, 2011
Great mix, I've always been a fan of the more funky mixes (djp, Fortuna Favors the Funk FTW!) and this fits in very well. It is a bit crazy with the different styles and all but I like that too. The Eminem sounding bit at 0:54-1:14 and repeated later is pretty cool as well (has nobody else pointed this out?).

- paperCrane on March 4, 2011
Awesome! This is same tune Shnabubula remixed (not on OCR, it was on vgmix back in the day).
Nase, you are my new favorite remixer. This arrangement blows my mind. It's even too good for me to say anything intelligent about it. you have reduced me to this: NICE FUCKING JOB DUDE!!

- ella guro on December 4, 2009
Pachi Risu really nailed it - this track is deceiving, but the breakdown from orchestral to jazz was actually pretty well done :-P I'm personally glad you opted to go for a funkier style rather than what you seemed to be setting up, because you did good. Some of the samples were a bit iffy but absolutely nothing to fret over, considering the arrangement quality :-) Really killer debut track, hope to hear more from Nase soon!

- Emunator on December 1, 2009
The intro was pretty deceiving to what was to come, which caused some chuckling soon after. Again, I love this ReMix for it's jazzy and funk nature. Thumbs up for being entertaining.

- Pachi Risu on November 11, 2009
The intro makes it sound as if you're in for an orchestral remix, but nononono, what follows is actually much better. Lots of variation, lots of different instruments, all around fun. And I have to admit that I wasn't terribly bothered by the horn.

- Martin Penwald on November 6, 2009
I really dig your arrangement and the personal touches you added to this mix ^_^. The horn does leave a bit to be desired, but no worries, it is still an enjoyable listen :) .

- jintoreedwine on November 5, 2009
A-RoN;608539 wrote: Pal, before I go further, let me say that no one mentioned how awesome the clav is on this track...

uh, for the record:
djp's writeup wrote: and the clav solo... I don't care WHAT that is, it's delicious


- djpretzel on October 29, 2009
Pal, before I go further, let me say that no one mentioned how awesome the clav is on this track...anyway: this is one funky swing hippity hop-like mix that Premier would have sampled if the horn samples were more realistic. Unfortunately, horn samples are hard to come by...especially in the funk/swing/jazz/hip-hop category (that reminds me, I wonder where SelectaNovel got his horn stabs; I gotta get me some of those). And were there some chip elements in there too? Buddy, keep on submitting! This track is amazing; and yes, I'm sure you'll find some good horn sounds.

- A-RoN on October 29, 2009
Good, fun stuff, and awesome arrangement, Nase!
It was strange to see your name here on the OCR homepage, though! Nice work!

- ProjectSpam on October 29, 2009
Me like a lot. I can not get enough of this.
Hope to see more.

- metalsnakejuice on October 29, 2009
Sam Ascher-Weiss;608175 wrote: Nase is the greatest of all time. I'M NOT WORTHY!!!!!

Pfffffffff

- Nase on October 29, 2009
Nase is the greatest of all time. I'M NOT WORTHY!!!!!

- Sam Ascher-Weiss on October 28, 2009