Posted 2011-01-10, evaluated by djpretzel


What's this? A completely awesome Armored Core tribute album from anosou & OC ReMix??

We're not even halfway into the first month of 2011, and it's time for our first album of the year! Our 21st arrangement album hails courtesy Mattias Häggström Gerdt, and focuses on the music from the mecha-centric series. Check out the awesome trailer, help us seed the torrent, and of course the individual MP3s, artist comments, & more info are all available at answer.ocremix.org.

As an additional sidenote, we really, really, really appreciate any help you can provide in spreading the word by sharing on Facebook & Twitter using the upper-right-corner links on the album homepage!

Director, creator, & arranger Mattias writes:

"Armored Core. High speed mecha action. Few games make my adrenaline pump as hard as Armored Core. There is something magical about building your own machine to take on the world. The music in the games was always a big part of that for me.

I was introduced to the series with Armored Core 4 and it was through the music I felt I had to explore the rest of the series. What I discovered was an amazing repertoire ranging from techno to rock and even orchestral. Kota Hoshino's music especially floored me as some of the most unique and appealing music I had heard in a video game. The amazing vocal lines, the no-nonsense rock, the club beats, the bombastic choirs, it all had an incredible personality while still working within the game. This was music I wanted to show my respect for, so I set out to create a tribute album.

After four months of sporadic work and a successful preview release at Comiket78, the album is now complete. 11 pieces of music arranging 15 tracks from the Armored Core series. All made in Propellerhead's Reason and Record with a little help from a guitar, a bass and some great vocalist friends."

The vocals that Jill & Deia contributed really enhance Mattias' arrangements, and the lyrics channel the same vibe as the source, which could be described as "Engrish" but I'll just label "fanciful". At any rate, the entire album is amazing; Joshua Morse set the precedent for a one-man (w/ additional performers) OC ReMix album with Sonata of the Damned, and now that formidable work has some very good company. THE ANSWER was physically released at Comiket, as Mattias mentions, and I know that was a huge deal to him and is indeed a pretty cool accomplishment. Regarding this debut ReMix, MHG writes:

"Nothing comes quite close to Kota Hoshino's music when it incorporates vocals. From his wonderfully unorthodox score to Evergrace to the anthemic one-liners in Armored Core, I can't help but love every second. Super Monkey Likes Daddy, the source track, is a modest tune with some delightful female (?) vocals singing out-of-context lyrics. It was also one of the first Armored Core tracks I fell for when I bought the Nexus soundtrack, so for THE ANSWER it was one of the tracks I was determined to arrange. And what better way to arrange it than make a dancefloor hit?

Some bass-slapping, side-chaining, head-bobbing hours of work later I had a good foundation of pumping dance music. To really make the mix complete, and to pay tribute to Hoshino's love for vocals, I once again stole the voice of the lovely Deia. She recorded some one-liners and sent them over and I spent a good evening or two throwing all kinds of effects on them, finally settling for what's in the track now. The light, airy feel of Deia's vocals (which I, in some cases, really abused with some flanger, tremolo etc.) became the perfect contrast to the pumping bass(es). It was great fun to record some live bass and guitar for a an electronica remix like this too, something I haven't done much before THE ANSWER.

Feel free to bob your head, tap your feet and sing along. Then check out the rest of THE ANSWER!"

Like we needed your permission ;) I personally have a hard time not loving any mix named "Hyper Monkey Likes the Dancefloor," if only on the basis of amusing Simian Night Fever imagery (Time of the Apes FTW), but thankfully the music delivers on the titillating promises of the title, and is a wonderful introduction to the world this album creates - an extended trip inside the mind of an amazing ReMixer/composer, paying homage to a series of games with some truly distinct & diverse music.

2011 is still very, very young, but already Mattias, Deia, and Jill have provided us with an album that will stand the test of time as a fantastic tribute to the Armored Core series and a fantastic addition to OverClocked ReMix!

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 10 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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Black_Doom
on 2015-12-02 10:45:35

OMG, this bass! It's so... So... SO... Ugh. I don't know. It's just extremely good. And I also think the vocals are pretty tasty and they fit here very nicely. Exceptionally groovy tune.

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Bahamut
on 2012-07-15 21:18:37

This song has a pretty nice groove and is kept light throughout. Not much for me to say here, I think the song is one of those that makes clear what it is trying to do and does it.

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Rexy
on 2011-12-16 13:57:37

Personally, I am disagreeing with this "airy vocal" stance. In the original they already had an airy presence albeit within a drum'n'bass style setting, so I feel cool with the type of presence being given in this track as well.

As for this track, progression-wise it stays very safe towards the source material, and lyrically so do the vocals for that matter (again, like with "We Can See No.373" it's no deal breaker), but there's been enough done towards the writing in the background and the light vocaloid-like presence starting at 1:45 to really make it stand out from the original.

I had no idea that the guitars and bass were recorded live (something that I acknowledged that Mattias had done in the past with his early PRC submissions), but hearing them back I now certainly can't imagine the track without their presence. I even thought when I first heard it the bass - which I thought was a synth one with a ridiculous amount of wah-achieving envelope filters - was one of the key elements that really managed to add some flow, and it makes it all the more sweeter to know that it's a live instrument too. Excellent stuff!

Aside from a little source conservation, I felt that this mix is very close to perfection, and at the time was a great way to be introduced to Mattias's Armored Core arrangements. And with Deia's airy presence complimenting the atmosphere really well, this track is definitely something that should be taken pride over. Nice work you two! :)

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Melbu Frahma
on 2011-12-13 13:07:04
Great bass line, synths, and beat. I think Deia's vocal lines could have been projected a lot more, as they feel a little too airy for most of the mood, and feel a little overpowered.

Gotta second that - honestly felt like the weakest part of the mix was the vocals, just because of how - to steal OA's word - airy they were in a lot of places when compared with the rest of the track. It's still definitely good stuff, though - awesome synths and bass, and a beat that makes it next to impossible not to bob your head. Or your foot. Or your finger. Or something.

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OA
on 2011-12-05 15:46:10

Great bass line, synths, and beat. I think Deia's vocal lines could have been projected a lot more, as they feel a little too airy for most of the mood, and feel a little overpowered. I think the vocoded 'i can try' works a lot better than the previous lines, though. Overall a pretty sweet mix, with awesome filtered transitions and a high energy level.

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Crulex
on 2011-12-02 20:25:40

Yeah! Bring on the electronic beats! This is an absolute head-nodder and the energy just makes you want to move! The vocals fit this ReMix perfectly and pulled the mecha-computer feeling off very well. Great job.

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Level 99
on 2011-12-02 11:26:10

This adequately sums up my feelings about this song:

tumblr_l5zo9hm1Rf1qb4ekvo1_500.gif

A great song for cruising or cramming homework. Anso never fails to impress, and Deia never fails to woo.

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NegimaSonic
on 2011-01-10 16:09:47

well today it snowed so clearly I must've been bobbing my head to the future...

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Slenit
on 2011-01-10 12:51:29

Amazing! I'm looking for a job and I throw on the album, all of the sudden my head starts moving back and forth to a new beat. I'm really getting into it, and boom! It's this very one posted here. Hats off to the AnSo and everyone else on the album. You've made being unemployed, and finding that no one wanting to hire a .NET programmer enjoyable! Now that is a feat.

Edit: I actually got a job offer shortly after posting this. I credit Matthias for this turn of events! Also, this mix and its incredible funky bass rocking all the way throughout. If you bob your head while listening to this, you too may experience 1) gainful employment, 2) happy experiences with the opposite sex, 3) happy experiences with the same sex, 4) be a better person.

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djpretzel
on 2011-01-10 11:29:58

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

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


Primary Game:
Armored Core: Nexus (Agetec , 2004, PS2)
Music by Kota Hoshino,Tsukasa Saitoh,Yukinori Takada
Songs:
"Super Monkey Likes Daddy"

Tags (5)


Genre:
Mood:
Instrumentation:
Electronic,Synth,Vocals: Female
Additional:
Lyrics > Lyrics: Existing
Lyrics > Lyrics: Original

File Information


Name:
Armored_Core_Nexus_Hyper_Monkey_Likes_the_Dancefloor_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
7,828,863 bytes
MD5:
6094cebc0c0dbb6b9c55ccfb84b2badb
Bitrate:
217Kbps
Duration:
4:45

I want
say that I'm
the one forever

I can try

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