ReMix:Chrono Trigger "Oh, Traveller from an Arcane Land" 3:53

Well, 2013 is on its last legs, and while we didn't accomplish everything we set out to accomplish, this was nevertheless a phenomenal year for OCR. We posted more mixes (231) than in any year since 2002, released some jaw-droppingly amazing & shockingly diverse albums, officially attended eight conventions/events, partnered with Eidos Montreal to release a smokin' Deus Ex EP, and worked with Capcom to honor the 25th anniversary of Mega Man with our first commercial album. That's pretty frackin' incredible, in my book, and I'm proud of all the hard work from staff & artists that made it possible. This was a TON of logistics, coordination, & music to pack into a single revolution of the Earth around the Sun; I've no doubt that 2014 will pose similarly formidable challenges, but for at least 48 hrs, it's time to relax, kick back, and savor the accomplishment.

...except for me, that is. I'll still be getting no sleep and changing dirty diapers. But have an age-appropriate drink (or ten) on me, eh?

We're gonna cap off an excellent year with an excellent mix, from Homeslice (Joshua Clark), who follows up his No More Heroes debut ReMix from August with this sweet chip/dubstep electronic take on 'Secret of the Forest' from CT:

"Chrono Trigger is still, to this day, my absolute favourite JRPG. I loved every aspect of the game (with a special mention to the soundtrack which is, to say the least, phantasmagorical) and after about my 4th play-through I realised a remix was in order and this was the result. Hope you enjoy :)"

Fellow dad (I can say that now!) Nutritious writes:

"This is the kind of stuff I've been digging lately and it's nice to hear it done well. Getting a Daft Punk Tron vibe for sure on the intro. Source connection is clear, but used in a creative manner. Larry's right that the backing sequence does tend to get relegated to more of a backing foundation part, but the lead holds down the main theme in the foreground... Production is really fantastic here though. Loving the full, wide bass line. Really good change-ups in synths and patterns to keep individual sections from getting too repetitive. "

Ditto all that; I think 2013 has certainly been a year of people having a knee-jerk reaction to the "dubstep" label, but like any genre/subgenre, it's really a contextual thing, or at least should be - there's ample variety & room to maneuver while still employing staple ingredients, resulting in tracks that blur plenty of lines and have made converts (or at least opened minds) on several occasions. Joshua does a great job of taking chiptune/retro elements and swirling them into a more modern electronic aesthetic, and the source remains identifiable even through all the deliciously dirty mutations. Definitely hoping to hear more where this came from next year; congrats to Mr. Homeslice on the year-ending mixpost, and here's wishing everyone a safe & happy New Year's celebration!