ReMix: NiGHTS into dreams... 'The Desert Had a Strange Dream'
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- Game: NiGHTS into dreams... (Sega, 1996, SAT)
- ReMixer(s): Dj Mokram
- Composer(s): Fumie Kumatani, Naofumi Hataya, Tomoko Sasaki
- Song(s): 'The Dragon Gave a Loud Scream'
- Posted: 2012-06-08, evaluated by the judges
- Album: Featured on NiGHTS: Lucid Dreaming
From newcomer Dj Mokram comes a funky ethnic jam off of Lucid Dreaming:
"I'm a big fan of some in-house composers at Sega, namely Fumie Kumatani, Hideaki Kobayashi, Kenichi Tokoi and Naofumi Hataya. Lucid Dreaming is a project I'd wanted to join, but didn't think I had what it took to either be a part of it, or honor the composer(s). When the source re-opened very late in the project lifespan, I quickly expressed my interest in tackling it. I wanted to take the song as far away as possible, and noticed that the verse's melody had kind of an oriental feel to it. Immediately, I thought of using instruments from the Anatolian folklore. Dumbeks, darbukas and tablas for percussion. Zurna, baglama and kanun for strings. Added a layer of indian folk with some tremolo sitars coupled to a bar violin and a sarangi for good measure. Then, I introduced a contrasting Asian flavor with some ehru and doubled kotos, playing for a bit with the NIGHTS hook. Later on, I included some orchestral and electronic elements, such as gregorian choirs, a 5-strings lakland bassline and some synthetic drums to complement the piece and make for a more interesting/varied listen.
Thanks to the feedback and encouragements from Stevo, DiGi and others, I managed to find confidence in myself to deliver this little arrangement."
Definitely a cornucopia of world (i.e. non-traditional/Western) instrumentation here, and it all gels together cohesively for a piece that takes NiGHTS - along with the familiar 'Dreams Dreams' motif - for an exotic, cultured ride. halc writes:
"this is probably the most polished mix I've heard from you in terms of samples and sequencing. coupled with (as always) a strong arrangement, I think this one is passable on both fronts. the mixing does get a bit muddy at times but I really enjoy the overall product a lot. nice work."
Emunator adds:
"Very unconventional direction to take such a weird, difficult-to-mix source tune. Definitely enough source in there when you take into account the Dreams, Dreams cameo. The remix itself make very good use of some unique samples I don't hear very often/ever in remixes. Nice percussion lines too. The ending is kind of a copout, but overall this one's a YES."
It's not easy to sequence all of these instruments into a believable, expressive whole, so there's props due on both the arrangement and the production, which benefits a great deal from sample fidelity, attention to panning, and some licks/phrases that sound sampled themselves, lending the proper articulations for heightened realism. Overall, a new watermark for Mokram & an excellent, unexpected & distinct contribution to Lucid Dreaming!
Discussion: Latest 12 comments/reviews; view the Anyways, in short - Nice one, i'm happy for you dude :)
- DiGi Valentine on June 12, 2012
- pu_freak on June 12, 2012
- Mikeaudio on June 10, 2012
Mad props to Stevo for giving me the opportunity to be a part of Lucid Dreaming.
Apologies to Andrew and Deia for wasting their valuable time with my low self-esteem.
Huge thanks to Larry for the eye-opening reality check. *bows respectfully*
Lasty, reading djpretzel's kind words gave meaning to this 3+ years musical adventure.
Maybe (just maybe), I wasn't only making worthless crappy music all this time.
@Guifrog: This humbles me to say the least. I'm nowhere near as good as you make it sound.
But if this little song inspired you to delve further into world music, then I couldn't be happier.
We should collab someday. ;)
For anyone interested, I made a music video for the arrangement a while back: http://vimeo.com/26786498
The positive response to the mix gives me strength to overcome my disability and keep on improving. :)
- Dj Mokram on June 10, 2012
Must confess: I've never really got much into the deep details of world music, and this description of yours just confirms how much I still have to learn. I suppose I'm not dedicating myself as much as I could, but still, I'm eagerly looking forward to develop my skills further, so I can successfully apply my ideas as well as you do here.
Killer, crisp, sandy percussion work btw. Choice of instruments n' style reminds me of my own way of mixing things xD
- Guifrog on June 9, 2012
DANCE
--Eino
- evktalo on June 9, 2012
I was sold at "funky ethnic jam."
- Melbu Frahma on June 8, 2012
The ethnic sounds in this track are clean and well used. There's a clarity to this track that I don't normally hear in your tracks, and I like it. This is a sexy beast, and I hope to hear more get posted by you, man.
- Gario on June 8, 2012
Love this track, and it goes so well with the rest of the album despite being very different stylistically.
- Kuolema on June 8, 2012
- DusK on June 8, 2012
