ReMix: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past 'Exodus to Sanctuary'
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- Game: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (Nintendo, 1991, SNES)
- ReMixer(s): Ari Kessler, Keith Maxwell Button, Marshall Skinner, Olarin
- Composer(s): Koji Kondo
- Song(s): 'Sanctuary Dungeon'
- Posted: 2009-11-05, evaluated by the judges
What's this? A ReMix directly inspired by... another ReMix? It's happened before, and as long as the two pieces are sufficiently distinct, there ain't nothing in the playbook that says it's not allowed. You may remember Olarin, aka Bradley Mellen, from his FFVI mix last year; he writes:
"This was recorded in January of 2007, when I got some fellow musicians together to make a short demo, and to see if I could manage a passable recording on cello (which I'd been playing less than two years at that point). I initially had little thought of submitting this to OCR, as the whole idea to record the tune had come from listening to the excellent Neskvartetten ReMix "Ganon's Temple", and I figured that track had already pretty effectively covered the idea of a euro-jazz rendition of Sanctuary Dungeon. However, after repeated listening, I've decided that although the approach was similar, our instantiation is sufficiently distinct from theirs in form, instrumentation, mood, and interpretation to be worth a submission. So I'll leave the decision to you guys as to whether this version warrants posting another jazz reading of Sanctuary Dungeon to the site."
piano: Ari Kessler
bass: Marshall Skinner
drums, recording/mixing: Keith Maxwell Button
Very mellow, and the presence of cello almost instantly grants it a very distinct sound from Neskvartetten's track. I agree with the judges that the cello seems panned a bit too far left, and while Bradley sounds better on cello after two years than I did on euphonium after four, there are still some tuning issues here and there. Spiraling is kept to a minimum, and generally there's a lot of space and less soloing, as well. AnSo writes:
"Yeah, I really dig this. A bit distant but not so much that it hurts the track. Would've loved the cello to be less panned but that's personal preference. Nice interpretation of the source, 2:09-> in the piano was really clever. Even during the more solo-oriented pieces you at least use the chords and hint to the source. Playing was overall good but I thought the intro was a bit too loose, especially in the piano, but nothing major. Not bad, not bad at all. I dig."
OA adds:
"Arrangement here is great, and is different enough from previous mix to stand on its own. There were a few slight intonation issues in some spots in the cello, but the small rough patches were smoothed out overall by a collection of good performances, and the whole ensemble gives the piece a languid-yet-alert vibe that just sounds sophisticated. I can imagine this track being played in a posh hotel filled with movie stars from the 50's."
The overall feel of the piece seems almost seasonal, very appropriate for a Fall/Autumn setting, and I think Bradley's improved his sound and that his "cello recording experiment" session resulted in a moody, enjoyable Zelda mix.
Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the - Crulex on April 13, 2012
- champ the hippie on January 23, 2012
I also love the very meandering, nonchalant below street level coffeehouse atmosphere presented here. I also do like the lead cello a lot. It feels really distinctive and it's something I don't really hear too often in a capacity like this.
The sound scape/textures here are really interesting. Everything is so sparse, minimalistic, and disconnected but in that really good way that's a hallmark of jazz music.
All in all, I really love this track a lot and it's so going onto my jazz playlist.
- 42 on December 29, 2009
I think what would've really helped this mix is if you went off the beaten path and expanded the depth of the song more. The source tune has some good ideas, but I never really liked its execution. I think if you guys had expanded it some you would've had a real winner.
Now, my negativity here is purely on the arrangement level. The execution was done well, so you have nothing to worry about there. You really nailed the autumn mood too, which is awesome. Overall, I'd say this is a pretty good mix, given my predisposition to not caring for the original track.
- Triad Orion on December 9, 2009
- Level 99 on December 8, 2009
Lots to love in this mix! One of the better Zelda jazz renditions I've heard, and there have been lots of them around this site! :-)
- Emunator on December 1, 2009
This sticks pretty close to the original except the section in the middle that I like a lot (especially around 1:50). I kind of wish that part was taken further, actually...the mix feels really short to me, even at 3:38. The whole thing has kind of a sparse, disjointed feeling to it that I like. I do sometimes feel like the different instruments are playing in isolation from each other (which could partially have to do with the panning) and not really feeding off each other as much as they could. I don't really think that's an intentional effect either, cause if it was it could be exploited more. I also feel like arrangement-wise could stand to do a little bit more in the parts with the melody, but at least the instrumentation is pretty well done there.
I think I like this overall. I still feel like it could've done more, but it's still not bad work. I agree with what DA said about it being tentative and lacking some confidence in places, but that's something that has just more to do with having not as much experience than anything else.
- ella guro on December 1, 2009
OA;612375 wrote: Way moody and the imperfections give this track a lot of character. I do wish the tuning would have been a little more on, but it's still a very capable mix.
I agree. Just like Bahamut, however, I wish there would be more interpretation; apart from the part around the 2 min mark, the remix stays very, very close to the original.
- Martin Penwald on November 17, 2009
- OA on November 10, 2009
- Dafydd on November 10, 2009
This captures the original in a mellow fashion, but I feel like it is too short and just ends. I would've liked to hear more, as this plods fairly slowly, so it never even gets the chance to develop into much more than the original.
- Bahamut on November 8, 2009
I feel like the weakest moment is when the cello first comes in. Just a little more volume/confidence could have made that section much tighter overall. After that the mix settles in nicely and I have few complaints. Creative work, I'll be looking for more from these guys.
- DragonAvenger on November 6, 2009
- jintoreedwine on November 5, 2009
- Salluz on November 5, 2009
I'm all for awesome instrumentals, and this song pulls it off with mellow lounge style. Great work!
- MechaFone on November 5, 2009
