ReMix: Wave Race 64 'Serenity's Wake'

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Wave Race 64

Sole Signal (formerly Audix and always Greg Michalec) writes:

"This remix marks my arrangement of one of my favorite game themes. The style is a little more reserved than what I usually do, and reminds me somewhat of Disco Dan's Riptide mix. I just redesigned my website and realized that I don't have half as many remixes actually released as I have halfway done sitting around on my hard drive. Hopefully this submission (and others) will help to rectify that. :)"

Nice to see some Wave Race action up in here, specifically Wave Race 64; I was unfamiliar with this source, but figured since it's Kazumi Totaka it pretty much has to be good. Turns out I was right, so thanks to Greg for shinin' a light on it. Mix intros with some rain and ambient pads, then a small synth melody starts off and gradually grows into something bigger. Very major-key, upbeat vibe, with cross-panned bongo riffs on top of a straight four-on-the-floor dance beat, and tons of filtered, shiny synthesizers. Love the dropout section at 1'45" with mellow piano chords underneath... it feels like a watery oasis, which is completely appropriate given the source material. Greg definitely panned a lot of the synth leads pretty hard left and right on mixdown... occasionally, on headphones, a couple synths went too far left for my taste, but the opposite - dumping all elements into the center and essentially ignoring the stereo spectrum - is a hundred times worse, so kudos to using that space.

What I specifically dig here, beyond the solid groove and straightforward, enjoyable arrangement, is that the production has an overall sheen to it that gives the highs a lot of breathing room and emphasis, making the whole piece seem like a light breeze on a cool, refreshing shore. In other words, the production really syncs up with the atmosphere of being near the ocean, and I think that adds an intangible benefit to what's already a strong track. Great work from Sole Signal, good to see his first submission in 2010 and our first Wave Race mixage, and looking forward to seeing what else he has in store for us this year!

― djpretzel

Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
i was up one night hot and thirsty, and as i was playing on the site. i stubble across your mix, and would`nt u know it i was feeling cooler at the end of your song. nice enjoyable mix. i give it a snes and xbox 360 controller up.

- DJ_BATTLETESTED on July 24, 2010
So is this a cool summer mix or a cool winter mix? I don't care. I just like it. This definitely goes on my summer playlist. The prominent percussion thing gets repetitive, would have been nice to have that one thing more varied, but nothing else detracts. Really cool track. :D

- Rozovian on May 28, 2010
In his write-up, djp mentions how this remix evokes images of a "cool, refreshing shore", and I agree, though probably with a different kind of "cool" in mind. To me, the remix sounds like something you'd hear in an arctic kinda stage; very open, very chill, very white, very fresh.
Nice work.

- Martin Penwald on March 7, 2010
Sole Signal;649706 wrote: For fans of the music, just happened across this cool video; it's an Owl City cover of the main theme. Pretty sweet.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSKrRuYWRN4&feature=related

Awesome, thanks for sharing!

- Geoffrey Taucer on February 25, 2010
Thanks guys!
For fans of the music, just happened across this cool video; it's an Owl City cover of the main theme. Pretty sweet.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSKrRuYWRN4&feature=related

- Sole Signal on February 25, 2010
Sole Signal's stuff keeps getting better, and he graces us with a pretty relaxing/grooving song here. I love the whole feel the song has, great work!

- Bahamut on February 17, 2010
the song takes away the original atmosphere of the OST and makes it sound...robotic.

yeah that's my feeling. i love wave race's music (well, everything by Totaka), though in this arrangement the things i originally liked are all... gone :( the laid back latin feel and lush instrumentation. and where are those glorious jazzy harmonies hiding? admittedly the title music isn't the best example of this on the OST though.
regardless, it's a convincing arrangement, and has some slick production. solid execution for what it is.

- Dave Harris on February 15, 2010
This game had such a laid back soundtrack

- a_d on February 14, 2010
Decent remix. A bit messy instrumentation at times, and the song takes away the original atmosphere of the OST and makes it sound...robotic.

- Swordfyre on February 13, 2010
Oh my god this is awesome. It just feels so fresh.

- yosefu on February 12, 2010
Yes!
Glad to see the mixer of my favorite song [URL="http://ocremix.org/forums/../remix/OCR01706/"]Day's End[/URL] back in business.
This is an absolutely awesome mix. Calm, confident, and sounds gorgeous.

- Igami on February 12, 2010
I love this theme so much- this is a really done rendition of it as well, with a lot of subtle, and some not-so-subtle shifts and additions to it. I think there is a bit too much panning for headphones, as the middle feels a bit neglected, but there are so many cool things going on throughout, that all that use of space lets you distinctly hear each thing individually.
Really great upbeat stuff, just my thing, and having it done so well is awesome. Nice work indeed! :-)
PS.
Another great version of this theme was done a few months back at DoD by Scaredsim and Harjawaldar. Really nice stuff as well, but very different.
[url="http://dod.vgmix.com/past/2009-08-august/01-Scaredsim,Harjawaldar-WaveRace64-Sand-DoD.mp3"]here[/url]

- OA on February 12, 2010
This is wonderfully chill and relaxing, but it still maintains that quality Aud-- err... [i]Sole Signal[/i] feel :-) I love the level of respect you have for the source tunes you remix, but at the same time it never feels like I'm listening to a remake or a cover of the original. Greg knows how to do a conservative(ish) remix right, more people should take note of this!

- Emunator on February 12, 2010
The source ranks among my all-time favorite VG tracks, and you've certainly done it justice. Nice work!

- Geoffrey Taucer on February 12, 2010
Waverace 64 had great music! This remix is awesome!

- kabelux on February 12, 2010