ReMix: Sonic 3D Blast 'PaNic AttaCk'
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- Game: Sonic 3D Blast (Sega, 1996, SAT)
- ReMixer(s): Blue Magic
- Composer(s): Richard Jacques
- Song(s): 'Panic Puppet Zone: Act 1'
- Posted: 2013-01-19, evaluated by the judges
- It's been too long since we posted something from Damon "Blue Magic" Campbell (that sounds like a really peculiar boxing name...)
- It's been even longer since we posted an arrangement from Richard Jacques' excellent Sonic 3D Blast soundtrack for the Saturn.
- It's also been awhile since we posted a ReMix from a Saturn game that WASN'T NiGHTS ;)
So, trifecta achievement unlocked!! Great to see Damon back; this submission got held up a bit due to multiple versions, and unfortunately he lost his project files so we're stuck with this particular render of the track @ 48Khz, but I'm glad he revisited the rejection from all the way back in 2004 (!!) and reworked it, since the result is a unique, stylish bit of electronica. It's killer to get a resub/rework eight years later, as it reminds us 1. To never give up! and 2. We're so old! The artist writes:
"It was really difficult to go back and read over those comments, but I kept trying and learning, and over the years I've improved a little bit, imo. So, I think I'm ready to try it again. I was influenced by alot of Deadmau5e's work and I decided to do a little experimenting. At first, I was just making a dance beat, but as time went on, I started to integrate bits and pieces of the Panic Puppet song into it. It wasn't really my intention to even submit this, but I started liking the groove and I got alot of positive feedback on it. So, here goes nothing!"
We mentioned at our MAG make-a-mix panel that arrangements can often start life as originals that just get a source melody gradually injected at some point during gestation, and here's a good example. I really like the clicky, zappy percussion bits that Damon has going over a heavy four-on-the-floor kick, and the piano gives a relatively constant melodic grace & presence. Game FX are incorporated tastefully, and while the bass might wobble & gurgle here and there, it mostly stays away from breaking into a full dubstep cadence, focusing on a continuous, transporting momentum. Shariq says:
"I like it. It's got this really cool kind of menacing vibe to it. Even though it's actually kind of a downtempo four-on-the-floor, it doesn't really plod. I get a really good sense of energy. I like all the little synth and string embellishments throughout the track. Really nice work."
Ditto everything he said; this mix shows off some new tricks, blends dubstep elements with a more downbeat dance style in a way that seems very natural, and resuscitates an arrangement that was initially rejected a long time ago in a galaxy very, very ours. Kudos to Damon for picking it back up & restructuring it, as the result is an excellent jam & homeage to great OST!
Discussion: Latest 9 comments/reviews; view the - WesternZypher on May 11, 2013
- Crulex on March 26, 2013
Dat percussion. Mixing some clicky 8-bit sounds into the percussion and incorporating some light wubs was a good way to mix things up a bit in the middle of the track.
In general, it is a bit slow, IMO, but not terribly so. Good change-ups, and overall some alright sound design. Good work dude.
"Magically bluesome." he said with a straight face.
- timaeus222 on January 22, 2013
- Black_Doom on January 21, 2013
- Esperado on January 21, 2013
- Kanohi on January 20, 2013
- SuperiorX on January 20, 2013
- MechaFone on January 19, 2013
