ReMix: Teen Agent 'A Village's Welcome'

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Teen Agent: The Root of All EvilTeen Agent

More Teen Agent, this time orchestral, from the ever-impressive VHD. He writes:

"My experience with this game began just a short while ago, but in that time, I've come to learn that its composer had quite a knack for writing arrangement-friendly melodies. The "Village" theme is rich in melody and catchy chord structure (not to mention its bass lines), and orchestrating it has truly been a great experience for me, as I rarely arrange light-hearted/major key pieces. Hopefully, the fun I had will reach each listener."

Definitely upbeat, fanfarish fare, dainty & pleasant; I'd even say this would work as good Christmas music in a pinch, as it's got that effervescent, major-key charm. Excellent use of solo winds (trills!), choral elements, orchestral percussion, ensemble strings (love the portamento later on), brass (badass Tuba run) - there are some real elated highs, here. Love the exposed flute cadenza towards the end and the overall dynamic is great - full of pomp & circumstance, I think the artist captures the feeling of homecoming, of a community coming together, and as I mentioned it also just seems to seasonally fit w/ Thanksgiving, Winter holidays, etc. It's emotional, it's rich and full of character, and even employs some cues that seem to mix in humor and charm. The diversity of instrumentation, playing styles, integration of percussion, and the soaring choir really just sparkle. The fun that the artist clearly had making this mix is conveyed in full, and as a listener I for one shared it in full. A highlight of both this album and Vampire Hunter Dan's works to date, I'm really wowed by what he did with the source material; fantastic.

― djpretzel

Discussion: Latest 14 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
It does sound like it would work for a small village during Christmas. It just has that happy joyful feeling that kinda makes you feel at home when you listen to it. Lots of grand instrumentation to give it that true orchestral appeal, like you be seeing it live. Very nice, VHD.

- Crulex on September 24, 2012
Say what you like about Teen Agent, but even the more obscure games out there has their fair catch of catchy melody lines, and of course the Village theme is a huge standout and compliments Dan's majestic style of orchestration well.
And indeed, djp may have mentioned something about Christmas in the writeup but I can indeed imagine NiGHTS on top of Twin Peaks during a gentle snowfall with that trilled intro. :razz: Going into the arrangement though, it manages to keep with the fundamentals of the source, namely going with the bass line and melody, and using it to capture something that might reflect a very lively and bustling Soviet village in mind.
Even the dynamics are great, going from the dynamic louder parts that comprise of most of melody section A and the gentler contrasts of section B with the softer oboe and brass parts contrasting each other, with one of the highlights being the trilled section at 3:11 really bringing the tension for the arrangement remarkably well. The only suggestion I had would've been to either extend the trills or fade it out suddenly so that it didn't end up being so sudden, but otherwise it made for a powerful transition to that steadier-progressing ending with the key change and everything.
All in all, a very sweet and well-realised work from Vampire Hunter Dan! I am sure Brandon was very proud of his contribution towards the Teen Agent project, and for me with his rising contributions in the field of orchestration it can be seen as a project highlight. Nice going! :nicework:

- Rexy on December 28, 2011
Love it...but it cut off while I was listening to it off of rainwave cuz of slow Internet, wargh...must download and relisten immediately!

- WesternZypher on December 14, 2010
It's hard not to like VHD's music, and this is no exception. Dave mentions that it sounds like Christmas music, which makes it appropriate that I'm listening to it right now then.

- Bahamut on December 7, 2010
Sweet, sweet choir. I often have trouble getting into orchestral mixes, but the choir kind of grabbed me on the first listen and drove the piece home for me. Good job!
--Eino

- evktalo on December 7, 2010
Really excellent stuff, with a wonderful mood, and very well done sequencing; I love how VHD's arrangements really breathe and seem to have a lot of life. The transitions, attention to detail, textural variety, and mix of timbres is so refined, I'm exceptionally impressed. Wow.

- OA on December 7, 2010
Jovial. Bouncy. Cheerful. Energetic. It makes me smile. ^_^ I love the choral elements. Some really solid work. Great orchestration. Wonderful!

- EmpyClaw on December 5, 2010
I agree with DJP about how it's nice to hear something happy and cheerful from VHD. As usual he's pulled out his awesome orchestration skills, and it's easy to hear lots of great things from this. There are plenty of nuances that really make this work well, again very typical (and enjoyed!) from VHD. Likin' this.

- DragonAvenger on December 5, 2010
I enjoyed this one. It was light and "Christmasy" and had a nice warm get-together feeling.

- MechaFone on December 5, 2010
This is nicely peppy, and I really like how it was described as full of pomp and circumstance. I wouldn't rate this as Christmas music like or overly emotional. But this does feel like the incidental music Disney would play over the beginning of their film as the scene pans over some 19th century Autumnal European village. O.k. so that was kinda ultra specific. But there is a nice Autumn/Fall of the year vibe to it. I also like the sweeping motions it sometimes engages in. It gives it the grandiose nature a hero's return needs. That's another vibe I'm getting from this; it's not like the music that would be played at a king's coronation or home welcoming, but more of the kind that a village's hometown hero would receive. e.g. something honest, familiar, simple, and close knit yet still reverent and deserving of recognition.
Needless to say, the more I dwell on this the more I appreciate this song. Definitely worth checking out.

- 42 on December 4, 2010
I would have to rate this as probably my new favorite Vampire Hunter Dan mix! I love this mix! Very well done bro! Keep up the amazing work.

- Loning on November 28, 2010
...Incredible! Such an epic, happy, peppy scale!

- Xbob42 on November 24, 2010
My favorite VHD song evar. :3

- Brandon Strader on November 22, 2010
What did you think? Post your opinion of this ReMix.

- djpretzel on November 22, 2010