ReMix: Super Metroid 'Berinstar'

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Super Metroid

Brazilian bad-boys 8 Bit Instrumental rocked our sox with their Top Gear ReMix back in 2008, and now they return with a mellower Brinstar arrangement of Super Metroid. The title "Berinstar" is actually a little puntastic, since the mix pays homage to the group's Brazilian roots:

"On this arrangement we were inspired by the little phrase in the middle that uses the minor seventh and the first tones of the minor scale, which is also a traditionally used on “capoeira” (that is a kind of fight style originally from Brazil). So we used a traditional instrument from “capoeira” that it is called a Berimbau. We decided to not use the B section of the original music because it was not in the same mood, so we used only the one part of the original music. Anyways this is a very kind of chill out tune with acoustic guitars, cool bass, guitar with some reverb to help out on the mood, some soft drums, and the Berimbau. Of course the name that we decided for the song its totally inspired on the Berimbau."

These guys put together some excellent rock arrangements, but it's quite cool that they dialed it back a little and put together a track that explores their Brazilian roots. I hope you all enjoy the variety of artists and music that OC ReMix offers as much as I do - I think I'd only heard of this instrument a few times, and didn't have a clear picture of it in my mind, so I found this track both enjoyable AND educational. I think I over-quote Vinnie, but he usually does clock in with opinions closest to my own, so it's like he's doing my work FOR me:

"I love the stark, contemplative approach taken here. Gorgeous mood, very intimate. This could have easily been boring, but the small details in the live playing and the short length make it perfect background music that doesn't overstay its welcome."

Pretty much; this arrangement just wouldn't work without live playing and the intimacy created by the imperfections and rich textures that come with it. I like the juxtaposition of immediate, very proximate instrumentation with textures that are more distant and haunting. Every instrument gets its own space and you can hear the most minute articulation details very clearly. It's not rocket science, but it's really different, atmospheric, and goes somewhere with Super Metroid that I certainly haven't heard before, and which I dig, so kudos to the whole group for getting inspired & turning that inspiration into something legitimately cool and unique!

― djpretzel

Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
Very relaxing remix with an interesting choice of instruments. I wish the arrangement would be a bit more daring, though; except for the part around 1:30, this does not really go beyond the source.
Nevertheless, nice work, and a worthy addition to the remixes of this wonderful soundtrack.

- Martin Penwald on November 20, 2009
Very enjoyable.

- metalsnakejuice on November 20, 2009
Really excellent.

- Theophany on November 14, 2009
Good Remix. Kudos.

- Pachi Risu on November 14, 2009
I agree about the timing, but overall it's a very refreshing, relaxing ReMix.
Bom trabalho! :-D

- Vitor Machado on November 13, 2009
lofi and charming, this song is all about the vibe. I like the texture of it overall, and when they all come together on a unison line is really cool.
This is super repeatable, I could jam on this for hours. :-D

- OA on November 10, 2009
The timing is a bit sloppy at times, and sometimes it feels like the drummer meant to do some kind of fill but almost dropped the sticks and didn't. Overall though, this is very cool. The recording and mixing leaves nothing to ask for.

- Dafydd on November 10, 2009
I like very much the chill vibe that's going throughout the mix. Even the faster movement in the middle can't shake that feeling, great job on that. The textures are quite nice as well. DJP said it right that the contrasts really bring this together, along with the live playing.
My favorite section is right around 1:30 or so. That is where I feel like the style really comes out just right. Nice work on this.

- DragonAvenger on November 9, 2009
love the berimbau... the song could've definitely use more length and arrangement though.
Parabéns pelo som :)

- LuIzA on November 8, 2009
It's got a nice live sound to it that I've come to love from you guys, but I've gotta say that it feels strange hearing a song that moves so slowly be so short... It feels like there's a lot of room to expand here that didn't really get covered, like this song is just a very small segment of a larger version.
That's not to say that what's here is not enjoyable, because it definitely is... I just feel like it's missing a lot.

- Emunator on November 8, 2009
This isn't an 8-bit instrumental! :-P
So from what I can tell, this is fairly minimalistic. My main problem though is that it's too short, and it doesn't really go further from the original source. Definitely not a fan of this unfortunately.

- Bahamut on November 8, 2009
I've been chilling to this song for the last 20 minutes. Any song that can let me do that without getting bored deserves respect. Excellent.

- MechaFone on November 8, 2009
A-RoN;611327 wrote: Excellent opener and pad leads so far. This is alot more calm than most of 8-bit Instrumental's stuff. It kind of reminds me of the GooGoo Dolls for some odd reason. Other than the neat drum/shaker variation in the middle this is pretty much just a relaxing mix of one of my favorite songs in the soundtrack. Nothing too far out, nothing too mellow either. Just right for someone who needs a relaxing song to chill to after a long day at work.

8/10

I'm not hearing the Goo Goo Dolls. The guitar riffs around 1:10-1:30 can follow from some songs like Lazy Eye or Only One, around their power-pop mid-90s sound era, but the rest is a very bass-driven, slow-paced atmospheric piece more in tune with spaghetti western than GGD. (/end GGD fanboy mode)
It delivers what it promises, and sounds nice. Not my favorite Brinstar mix though, a bit too limited in scope.
Reminds me of Luis Bacalov's Summertime Killer off the Kill Bill 2 OST. This mix feels like it could fit in that soundtrack/movie.

- Pander on November 7, 2009
Excellent opener and pad leads so far. This is alot more calm than most of 8-bit Instrumental's stuff. It kind of reminds me of the GooGoo Dolls for some odd reason. Other than the neat drum/shaker variation in the middle this is pretty much just a relaxing mix of one of my favorite songs in the soundtrack. Nothing too far out, nothing too mellow either. Just right for someone who needs a relaxing song to chill to after a long day at work.

8/10

- A-RoN on November 7, 2009
What did you think? Post your opinion of this ReMix.

- djpretzel on November 7, 2009

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