ReMix: Mega Man 'Wonderful Shadows by the Electric Sheep Orchestra (stereo)'

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Game: Mega Man (Capcom, 1987, NES)
ReMixer(s): fredrikd
Composer(s): Manami Matsumae
Song(s): 'Cybersheep's Dream (Sheep Man Stage)', 'Elec Man Stage'
Posted: 2012-05-29, evaluated by djpretzel

We're back from a short rest and we've got some amazing Mega Man (One AND Ten - our first coverage of the latter!) mixage from newcomer fredrikd. This fantastic debut really captures a retro, Mad Men-era vibe with authenticity and style; the artist writes:

"My entry for round two of the GRMRB 2011, hosted by DarkeSword at OverClocked Remix. I tried to recreate the atmosphere and mixing qualities of the early sixties. "Wonderful Land" by The Shadows was my main inspiration."

Think heavy tremolo elec. guitar, shuffling rhythm acoustic guitars & ride cymbals, hard-panned vintage kick/snare, and of course legato string accompaniment. Not quite the lounge aesthetic of a retro act like Combustible Edison, but not too far off - lounge coupled with Spaghetti Western, or Santo & Johnny's "Sleep Walk," for instance. Almost like an older 60's brother to ilp0's 70's 'Morning Walk in the Burning City,' also from Mega Man; like ilp0, fredrikd has a great ear for not just the instrumentation of the era, but the production AND arranging as well, so the whole piece just feels right. The integration of melodies, and hearing that familiar progression from the first Mega Man slowed down & re-contextualized, is really slick - it sounds so natural, so "of the era" that it's almost surreal. Granted, I wasn't alive back then - I'm old, but not THAT old - but I've seen enough television and especially films from that period to have a pretty good notion, and this exceeds my expectations based on the artist's own description.

Understated, and certainly not about shock & awe, this is nevertheless a superb arrangement that is deceptively brilliant; everything sounds so intended & authentic that you almost take it for granted. I'm really happy that Shariq's competition elicited responses - and submissions - like this. So while electric orchestras of light may make some pretty catchy tunes, it turns out those of the sheep persuasion are great, too. Awesome, memorable debut from fredrikd - definitely interested in hearing more!

― djpretzel

Discussion: Latest 14 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.

Sounds sooo much like The Shadows! Oh my goodness, you nailed that sound :)

- The Radical Sifu on June 17, 2012

When I saw "electric sheep orchestra" in the title, I just had to check this out. And I'm glad I did. It's not really my style, so I probably won't be putting it on my playlist, but it was perfect to listen to on my break at work on a boring Saturday. I enjoyed the mellowness, and I loved the excecution.

- meboeck on June 2, 2012

I hadn't realized there was a void on OCRemix until this song filled it.
Reminds me of some of Dick Dale's more mellow works, and it makes me wonder if there's some great surf guitar out there. I'm definitely checking out djP's references there.

- Nobbynob Littlun on May 31, 2012

Superb track!! I feel so relaxed after listening to it :)

- YoshMaster on May 31, 2012

Makes sense. I forgot that SheepMan hailed from that entry.

- Maxx Skywalker on May 30, 2012

Maxx Skywalker;863380 wrote: Where's the MegaMan 10 remix?

I think it's a reference to the other source used for this remix.

- Melbu Frahma on May 29, 2012

Where's the MegaMan 10 remix?
Also, I'm getting a wonderful Dick Dale/Beach Boys vibe from this remix.

- Maxx Skywalker on May 29, 2012

Wow, that's pretty sexy guitar work. I really like the slow, steady jam that's going through my headphones right now. Nice work.

- Gario on May 29, 2012

I can't get enough of Elec Man mixes. This one's pretty slick. The arrangement reminds me of Sirena Beach from Mario Sunshine.

- Hydrargyria on May 29, 2012

this mix begs the question... what's up with all the mellow mixposts lately?
i'm not complaining, just curious. :P

- Mirby on May 29, 2012

Definitely one of the most memorable tracks from the competition. It works really, really well. Nice job.

- Hylian Lemon on May 29, 2012

I guess androids do, in fact, dream of electric sheep.
/obligatory Blade Runner reference :tomatoface:

- Skyline Drop on May 29, 2012

Ah yes. The mix that almost beat mine in the second GRMRB. This was one stellar mix, talk about a shock to the system when I heard it. Its fucking good peeps, and its vastly different to anything we usually hear on OCR. Download it!

- WillRock on May 29, 2012

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

- djpretzel on May 29, 2012