Posted 2010-06-04, evaluated by djpretzel


I hope Joshua forgives me, but I'm gonna keep this one short & to the point: It's Morse, it's SOTN, it's from Sonata of the Damned, and it's awesome. Some day I hope these wandering Latinas meet up with the mamacitas from Frank's valley for some girl-on-girl, castlevania-on-zelda action, but until that fateful day, enjoy some more jm. The artist writes:

"Here's another arrangement that was slated to be released on Resurrection. I wasn't happy with where it was at the time, so I decided not to release it. 'Wandering Ghosts' was one of my favorite source tunes from Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, so, at the time, taking a stab at it was a no-brainer, and after 2 months of a love/hate relationship with the arrangement, I'm finally free of it!"

Emancipation, artistic or otherwise, is almost always a good thing. If you're following along at home, yes, it seems increasingly likely that the entirety of this EP will end up being posted as individual mixes here on OCR, which is both an exercise in deja vu AND a testament to the consistency & quality that jm brings to his game. Let me throw in some adjectives & phrases that actually describe the music, just so I'm not slacking: excellent guitar, upbeat jazz/latin/disco vibe, energetic ensemble brass, organ hits, riffs, licks, & slides, and - it's jm, right? - a funky, Weather Report-ish bass. That's all I'm gonna say, and that's all I need to say - grab it if for some reason you haven't already!

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 14 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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Crulex
on 2012-08-30 09:16:06

Yep, this is Morse's style for sure. Cool use of some voice clips and that area around 1:50 and on was more my kind of funk: the dark funk. Yeah, things are more fun on the dark side, and with Morse letting this jazzy tropical sounding ReMix loose (along with the other songs on the album), even the dark side can get a move on.

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Rexy
on 2012-02-12 16:09:13

Yeah, the source itself already had a hint of light funk with the clean guitar lead and latin pop sound to it, and thus I do indeed see it fitting really well with Joshua Morse's style. Nice pick!

So what we have is this generally dry soundscape that managed to emphasize more of the mood of the source going by instrument selection, started by the classy organ writing before going into the clean guitar lead rather early on. As the track goes on, a lot of the writing would soon end up becoming very traditional JM flare with the keys/string writing and attention paid towards the drum work, as well as additional spotlights being given towards those keys and expressive modulated light synths. But odds are if you enjoy his style of arranging it would be down your alley a lot; not the most obvious connections to the source, but they didn't need to be if they are simply to provide a solid groove.

Let me give high appraisal to something that caught my attention within the setting - the brass placement. The trumpets to me with their free moving texture sound really great to me as well; they are hard enough to sound convincing at all, but the slide work and attention to humanisation came off as one of his best attempts at conviction for me, and I am so happy for them. :D

For my first experience on hearing something from Sonata of the Damned, it's definitely a good starting direction. I'm pretty sure I should take a look at the rest of the album down the line, and may even get a kick out of arrangements for the Castlevania titles that I am apparently more familiar with, but for what it is, it's another win for JM :)

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Bahamut
on 2010-12-07 22:28:21

You know, I originally wasn't such a fan of this song, but this is pretty enjoyable. I think I needed time to digest this one, as the beginning wasn't my cup of tea originally, but I enjoy this one quite a bit now like the rest of the album.

In particular though, it's hard not to be in a happy mood when listening to the song unless you are in that bad of a mood or your picking apart too narrowly. It has a nice upbeat happy bounce to it a 70s feel to it that just flows well.

I know this isn't a terribly substantive review, but in short, Joshua Morse doesn't disappoint and even if it appears that he does, take some more listens :) .

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EmpyClaw
on 2010-12-06 13:21:46

This song is so much fun and so energetic. I was having a crappy morning, and this brought me to a much more pleasant place. I feel like I'm at some fun Latin disco inhabited by vampires. Starting at 1:48 I really start to fall in love with this. I also love the variety. It doesn't stay in one place for too long. Spectacular mix. ^_^

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Polo
on 2010-10-31 02:08:27

A few extra notes since my album review:

- The organ has a spiffy sound to it when it plays staccato chords, and it sure helps encourage the festivities to start up.

- Every time the activity level's high, the party rave atmosphere is solid and contagious. w00t.

- During the long-winded closure, I would've liked it if either 1) the guitar was just a little braver in getting its tunage flowing or 2) the section was slightly protracted, so that the patterned organ and piano could still help guide the collective energy to rest without making their presence seem tedious.

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DragonAvenger
on 2010-08-16 15:48:15

Very Morse, which means it's very good. Love the atmosphere, as usual, which makes me want to get up and dance with the music. Nice work!

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Less Ashamed Of Self
on 2010-06-16 18:05:45
Morse's mix unfailingly make me extremely horny.

....

I mean happy.

Well I mean horny.

I had this in my set list but after playing it a few times that organ bridge is just a little too distracting. Maybe I can crop it/loop it in a way that will work every time.

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Level 99
on 2010-06-16 09:08:04

This was probably one of my favorite, if not my favorite, song off of the SotD album, mostly because of the guitar work. Not much to say really, as it's the same level of quality as the rest of the album. Cool rhythms!

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Koka2785
on 2010-06-09 18:20:20

The beginning threw me off for just a bit, as I'm a stickler for intros, but I was gleefully surprised with the rest of the song. I share DJP's view of this, a different tone, but not so much to make it seem forced, and it blends wonderfully! It seems to have many layers going on simultaneously, which echos your own agenda in the game but then you meet others with their own, and so I think it reflects it superbly. Such a great song, worth multiple listens(download), and even now I appreciate the intro, excellent work JM!

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Geoffrey Taucer
on 2010-06-05 23:14:53

Morse's mix unfailingly make me extremely horny.

....

I mean happy.

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OA
on 2010-06-05 15:40:31

i'm a fan of wandering Latinas, and i'm a fan of this song too. Nice work as always, JM!

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LostChronos
on 2010-06-05 09:39:30

Perhaps the crack is getting to me, but I thought that this song had already been posted before??? :sleepdepriv:

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MechaFone
on 2010-06-05 05:06:10

Fantastic. Mr. Morse puts a lot of heart and Latina attitude into this song, and it almost reminds me of Spanish radio (the only example I've ever really heard was through GTA, but still)

Again, fantastic. I love the SOTN soundtrack, and it recieves great justice here.

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djpretzel
on 2010-06-04 22:43:40

What did you think? Post your opinion of this ReMix.

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


Primary Game:
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (Konami , 1997, PS1)
Music by akiropito,Jeff Lorber,Michiru Yamane,Rika Muranaka,Tomoko Sano,Tony Haynes
Songs:
"Wandering Ghosts"

Tags (8)


Genre:
Hip Hop,Jazz,Latin
Mood:
Funky
Instrumentation:
Acoustic Guitar,Brass,Electric Guitar,Organ
Additional:

File Information


Name:
Castlevania_Symphony_of_the_Night_Wandering_Latinas_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
9,867,527 bytes
MD5:
bf7e0db802fc02af2d1724f2f35e47ff
Bitrate:
246Kbps
Duration:
5:17

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