ReMix: Secret of Mana 'Step Off My Flower Bed'
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- Game: Secret of Mana (Square, 1993, SNES)
- ReMixer(s): Nase
- Composer(s): Hiroki Kikuta
- Song(s): 'Danger', 'Orphans of the Storm'
- Posted: 2010-02-05, evaluated by the judges
Crazy. Nase's previous mixes were already unique, frenetic concoctions of swiftly sequenced part-writing and lower-fi textures blended with more realistic instrumentation, and with this latest Secret of Mana mix, things only get crazier. Half the source material - 'Danger' - was the same inspiration for Sam's legendary 'Dueling Consoles,' which certainly casts a long shadow. Nase gets out from under that, though, and does his own thing, executing his trademark lightspeed sequencing on slap bass parts that almost get detuned by the Doppler effect, they whiz by so fast. Joshu writes:
"Ok, this is a relatively liberal one...the idea was to carry the original into more catchy funk territory, and to do that, some of the parts had to be altered quite drastically. 0:37 and 1:09 are good examples of that. whatever similarities are left there are to be found in the bassline and overall rhythm, mostly. Apart from some transitions though, no section is entirely original, and many are obvious enough i think. This is way closer to what I'd consider my own style than the last two mixes i submitted, so I just hope it all works out :)"
Interesting comment, since the last two mixes were so conspicuous and unique, but either way, all three of his pieces to date have been satisfying rollercoaster rides. People talk about BPM all the time, but I think in the "NPM" metric (that's notes-per-minute), Nase is consistently hitting copious compositional homeruns. Of course, quantity is nothing without quality; OA writes:
"Arrangement is crazy here - i love it. Some sections do feel pretty liberal, but there is a lot of source throughout and a lot of variation of it. Even when the main melody isn't front-and-center (and it does make many appearances), the rhythm and chord structure is present. Distinctly over 50%, so good enough for me. Production is solid throughout, with pretty decent samples mixed with some chips. No qualms about production from me. Well balanced, and clear, some of the strings are a little dry, but nothing too distracting. I loved the tonal variety of this, and the rhythms were awesome."
All the other judge comments were basically variations on "OMGAWESOME," and were well-deserved in my opinion; I especially like that Nase added the secondary source to bring in some auxiliary melodic material. 1984 may have been an Orwellian dystopia, but OCR01984 is a Skowronekian utopia - great stuff!
Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the You can really hear Nase's talent here, as the approach could easily result in an ugly mishmash collection of instruments. And yet when listening to it, the possibility of that prospect doesn't even come to mind.
I guess what I love most is that it is a constantly evolving, fluid entity that is something distinct every few moments, but still adheres to the same consistent design throughout. It gives us a taste of a whole range of flavours; a musical buffet if you will. Coupled with the insane arrangement, its an extraordinarily good formula. This is one I need to remember for when I get a craving for pure, awesome production bliss.
- Marmiduke on March 15, 2010
- CC Ricers on March 7, 2010
10/10
- A-RoN on February 25, 2010
1:43 has an almost spooky vibe to it. 3:30 and following is just balls to the wall awesome.
Now submit Turtle Wank, dammit!
- Martin Penwald on February 24, 2010
vitorgatti;648993 wrote: But... 0:25~0:35 = Resident Evil 5 - Versus Mode - In-Game Lobby?
I wouldn't know haha.
The only thing in here that's consciously stolen from something other than Secret of Mana are the horns at 1:41-1:51. they're a (pretty lame) variation of that awesome breakdown in MJ's 'Jam', right before the rap section.
- Nase on February 24, 2010
But... 0:25~0:35 = Resident Evil 5 - Versus Mode - In-Game Lobby?
:P
- vitorgatti on February 23, 2010
- Rhythmroo on February 12, 2010
Awesome stuff. :-)
- OA on February 12, 2010
- 42 on February 9, 2010
- WolfenAmphithere on February 9, 2010
- ProjectSpam on February 7, 2010
