ReMix: NiGHTS into dreams... 'The Nemesis Schema'
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- Game: NiGHTS into dreams... (Sega, 1996, SAT)
- ReMixer(s): Avaris, Level 99, prophetik
- Composer(s): Fumie Kumatani, Naofumi Hataya, Tomoko Sasaki
- Song(s): 'NiGHTS and Reala', 'NiGHTS and Reala : Theme of a Tragedic Revenge'
- Posted: 2011-07-08, evaluated by djpretzel
- Album: Featured on NiGHTS: Lucid Dreaming
We now return to your Lucid Dreaming mixflood, already in progress... thanks to Verizon showing up and my getting FiOS back at our new house. This ReMix from Level 99, prophetik, and Avaris is really crafty & intelligent, blending rock/metal with jazz, then adding some electronica-style stuttering into the fray and applying some DSOTM-esque clock & misc. FX for a piece that defies comprehensive categorization - and is all the better for it. Director & ReMixer Stevo writes:
"NiGHTS and Reala is an iconic track, pitting NiGHTS against his antagonist equal, Reala. They're matched in power and abilities, providing a near-stalemate of a boss battle. I wanted to convey the malice and animosity Reala has for the hero of the game, and how intense the battle between them is. The destructive guitars are always vying for control with the crisp saxophones, provided by Prophetik. With Avaris’s mixing help, this grand confrontation between nemeses is given proper treatment."
Sort of like a battle of the genres, played out between protagonist jazz and antagonist metal, but as Stevo mentions, both are given equal weight & energy - nice concept. The intro is downright sepulchral, with mad cackling and disturbed monologue transitioning to guitar-led rock & electronic undertones, until sax takes over a counter-riff that's extended past the lead guitar as a jazzier motif takes over... then BAM back to metal, with some stutter edits that I think made a lot of sense and add to the friction. The clock at 2'25" can't help but make me think of Pink Floyd's "Time," especially as things get a bit quieter & smoother - fantastic dynamics, enhanced greatly by Brad's performance & tone. A mix of elements, dynamics, and genres like this could easily have ended up being a trainwreck of incoherent cacophony; it takes patience, planning, and skill to have something this elaborate and contrasting reach its full potential, and major kudos to all three artists for making that happen. Warranting repeated listening, while this arrangement speaks to the breadth that Lucid Dreaming offers, it represents the depth even more. A complex, intense, well-executed vision!
Discussion: Latest 10 comments/reviews; view the “The songs I’m most proud of that I have in progress are one track for the NiGHTS project, called The Nemesis Schema…” So spoke Stevo when I interviewed him last year. Let’s see what his pride and joy has become. Right off the bat, it’s quite ominous. 0:15 begins a very creepy vocal clip. I’m guessing that’s Reala. Epic guitar at 0:36. I can feel the intensity of the track right off the bat; this is one hell of a face-off between the two. I can now see why Stevo was so proud of this song even at that time. More awesome guitar at 1:58. Clock ticking at 2:36 or so, quickly joined by prophetik on the sax. This really breaks up the song while retaining the breakneck speed it had previously. Seriously, this tempo is like hypersonic. Or not; if it was, I couldn’t hear the extremely high levels of epicity contained within. Stevo’s guitar picks up shortly after the sax, and at 3:40 or so it comes back. Seriously, I can’t really keep up with the awesomeness; it takes the entirety of my attention, so quite literally all that is contained here is my train of thought while listening to this. And this song… it’ll be atop my most-played list in a very short time. Sudden end at 5:03. I WANT MORE!!
This song is just awesome.
- Mirby on December 23, 2011
Love what you guys all did here in building a song around two instruments that often tend to be dominant and getting it to mesh together in an entertaining fashion!
- Bahamut on December 15, 2011
- Crulex on December 14, 2011
Fantastic job, you three! My face is melted by Stevo's guitar, soothed by Brad's sax, and then its mashed together by Shaun's intense mixing skills!
- HitoriJaNai on December 7, 2011
Nice work, gents!
- OA on December 7, 2011
- DominusVita on July 9, 2011
<3
- DiGi Valentine on July 8, 2011
Anyway, of all tracks shown in the trailer, this was the track that I was looking forward to the most. I didn't play NiGHTS, sure, but of the soundtrack that I heard, "NiGHTS and Raela" clearly became one of my favorite tracks and so when the project came out, this was one of the first tracks I decided to hear.
Overall I got to say it was a very impressive collaboration. The intro was awesome with the reference to the infamous mis-interpreted line in the game ("There is no Nights"), the arrangement feels faithful while still being able to branch out, and the production in general felt really sharp for the most part, which definitely showcased the guitar/saxophone duetting in a very positive light. If there's anything I may have to nitpick it's some elements of the drum programming in the beginning being a little 'meh' to me, but it starts to pick up more interestingly as the track went on.
In other words, you three did amazingly well on this track and really did it justice. See you three in the listening party chat on Sunday when I gash more praise on you :)
- Rexy on July 8, 2011
