ReMix:Secret of Evermore "Canine Labyrinth" 8:09

By Shnabubula

Arranging the music of one song...

"Dog Maze"

Primary Game: Secret of Evermore (Square , 1995, SNES), music by Jeremy Soule, Julian Soule

Posted 2009-12-11, evaluated by djpretzel


In 2004, we overhauled the site design again (v4), Jeremy Soule sent in his epic 'Terra' mix, our second album was released in the form of Kong in Concert, and the infamous Russian-Nigerian Liontamer joined the judges panel...

...and pretty much became the Riker to my Picard; I definitely want to thank ALL judges who have ever served on the panel, and who continue to serve, but Larry Oji does deserve a special shout out since he's aided the site in innumerable additional ways, in spite of his body odor and fondness for professional wrestling. We posted 194 ReMixes in 2004, which ain't too shabby; KiC set an amazing standard for what a coherent, consistent album project could be, so props to director Binnie Katti on that one. The v4 site design finally came close to what I always envisioned - something powerful, which gave us the flexibility to cross-reference information easily. Architecturally, it laid a foundation for the site's code and design, much of which still remains in one form or another, today.

2004 was also the year when an artist named Shnabubula made his debut with a very creative Guardian Legend ReMix. You never know with these sorts of things... sometimes an artist submits an amazing, promising piece of music, and then we never hear from them again. In Sam's case, we heard from him seventeen more times, and this mix makes nineteen mixes total. He's basically in his own world, manipulating matter, defying gravity, and forging a musical cosmos, with each new arrangement containing a planet's worth of ideas, textures, and harmonies. Whether it's one of his earlier, more eccentric pieces, or his later jazz work with LSD, the common denominator is an intensely musical mind, and the ears and dexterity to extract from that mind some truly beautiful compositions. Sam writes:

"I've been wanting to submit this forever and now thanks to the filesize limit increase I can. I'm especially proud of this because it was entirely improvised and I was just barely familiar with the source being that I hadn't played it several years, but basically I got lucky, everything just clicked with the performance, recording it was a risk that paid off. This is from the same session as "Sugar, Water, Purple" and "Stone Eyes" believe it or not."

I'm gonna believe it; those are two great pieces, and so's this. Sam's one of those guys who can dredge up mixes from half a decade ago and have them sound fresh, new, and completely contemporary with his more recent stuff. This is a completely epic and loooong solo piano improvisation; the note count on this beast must be stratospheric. There are a lot of folks who can and have put together some amazingly impressive solo piano performances, but to do an 8+ minute improvisation, and have it come out sounding like this? Suffice it to say, Sam is elemental, singular, and OCR wouldn't be the same without him; this is a fantastic homage to Soule's Evermore soundtrack, and an amazing performance.

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
avatar
Crulex
on 2012-04-24 10:15:28

Wooo, boy, this was a long one. But for good reason. The piano was nicely built up and the playing was nicely done. I didn't hear any production issues and the arrangement was nice. This ReMix could really be good for listening to while reading. Excellent.

avatar
ectogemia
on 2011-08-23 09:52:07

And just when I was beginning to think I was good at improv.

This makes me feel like I'm a toddler plinking around on one of those rainbow-keys Playskool pianos.

You're really something special...

avatar
Monobrow
on 2010-03-24 14:16:14

Whoa.

I didn't even realize this was posted until now. I blame traveling across USA forever in December.

Anyway... This has always been my favorite song by Sam... For years. I am so glad you guys upped the size limit for this amazing song to finally be posted. It was on Tha Sauce for years.

The intro to this song is just amazing... When he finally gets to the real meat at 1:20, I just die every time. This song really means a lot to me, so I am glad that it has been brought to a broader audience. It's also a song now that brings me back to a very different time of my life, when everything about it seemed so up in the air, and in a haze. Makes me a little sad actually.

5:40 - 5:44 really strike me every time. Everything there is so powerful and moving. Then, everything after just slowly takes me back down, not to earth, but off somewhere, and then leaves me there to contemplate...

Best piano song on the site now.

avatar
DrunkenSage
on 2010-01-11 22:17:09

Superb. I played SoE just past when I was able to warp from place/time to another. I'm not sure I remember this jive from the game? I have an idea, but... If it wasn't so in-depth, i might have remembered it later. Very good sir. Better than alot from Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock, I think. It pains me to think that the ill folks that actaully care and acknowledge for great game compositions, prolly work unloading trucks or washing dishes; answering phones; placing orders? You should have a career in music composition or preformance. I hope ye' do.

avatar
Martin Penwald
on 2009-12-30 16:24:44

Never played SoE, so I can't say anything on how the source tune was used, but as a stand-alone piano song, this works very well.

Why's the volume so low, though? Makes it kinda hard to listen to it as part of a playlist without having to adjust the volume.

avatar
Bahamut
on 2009-12-22 11:54:08

I have to be honest - I don't like improv generally. I also have a hard time recognizing anything that sounds like something from Secret of Evermore.

There's a lot of proficiency on display here though, as one can expect from Shnab. At the very least, it's hard not to enjoy the skillful playing that he brings to the table, and with a large degree of coherency maintained in this 8 min piece.

avatar
jintoreedwine
on 2009-12-17 13:21:32

Simply beautiful, enough said :)

avatar
ella guro
on 2009-12-13 22:43:19
This is definitely Sam at his finest. I don't mean to sound unappreciative of the talent that he's shared with the community, but a lot of his mixes are so fast-paced, technical, and spastic that I have a hard time listening to them as background music.

That's cause they ain't background music! They're "listenin'" music.

This mix is great. I will try to edit with more thoughts later.

avatar
DragonAvenger
on 2009-12-13 21:45:11

I can't believe how Shna does this. It's an enviable talent to be able to sit down and throw together an amazing piece, let alone a remix, out of nowhere. Loving this all the way through.

Am I the only one feeling almost a little bit of FFX piano tracks in here? I don't know if it's the tone of the piano or what, but I'm getting that vibe, oddly enough.

avatar
metalsnakejuice
on 2009-12-12 07:14:27

I must say it is a wonderful piece to listen to. It something that i would listen to on a peaceful evening.

Love it.

avatar
BlackPanther
on 2009-12-12 02:23:11

Dude! You are such an amazing piano player. You and Ronald Jenkees are the reason I decided to try my hand at the piano and I'm not gonna give up as long as you guys continue to make sweet as shit with this piece being a perfect example from you, Shnabubula. The whole time I'm just like shakin my head, snickerin, and sayin, "OH MY GOD" from the secksiness and execution of this piece. Thank you for makin me do that lol xD.

avatar
42
on 2009-12-11 22:57:33

Whenever I here something like this that was improvised, my brain just threatens to freeze up. Every note in it feels so deliberately placed that for one to come up with them on the fly is so, to quote Vizzini, inconceivable.

This mix serves as a reminder to me that "more than mortal" men such as Hercules and Paul Bunyan still exist today.

Most assuredly, this is a mix that belongs in every collection.

avatar
artemisjaeger
on 2009-12-11 17:50:00

When I saw another SoE arrangement by Shnabubula up on the page, I threw my hands up in excitement.

Very happy me. The song is amazing, and perhaps even more so than usual - they're always fantastic, but this stands out.

avatar
OA
on 2009-12-11 17:43:21

Really pleasant work that does work well with both active or passive listening. I am completely unfamiliar with the specific source track, so i'll just assume it's well arranged, though to be honest Sam could just record himself jammin' on the piano for 8 min and i'd be very entertained.

Very good stuff, I approve. :D

avatar
Platonist
on 2009-12-11 17:30:46

Secret of Evermore - Collaboration (Take 2) RTS Mix anyone?! :P

yes, i've always loved this piece, and i've had it on my walkmanphone from time to time as well, i love walking around down town or somewhere else too for that matter, listening and TRYING to analyze what must be the internet scene's most creative musician. i always fail :tomatoface:

top notch

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


Primary Game:
Secret of Evermore (Square , 1995, SNES)
Music by Jeremy Soule,Julian Soule
Songs:
"Dog Maze"

Tags (4)


Genre:
Jazz
Mood:
Instrumentation:
Piano
Additional:
Arrangement > Solo
Time > Duration: Long

File Information


Name:
Secret_of_Evermore_Canine_Labyrinth_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
7,914,441 bytes
MD5:
eb01967ff3a1007f0e738832dd28b8ab
Bitrate:
128Kbps
Duration:
8:09

 

Promotion

8-bit Jazz Heroes - Press Start
View All

Latest Albums

View All

Latest ReMixes