ReMix:The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask "Eclipse Apocalypse" 2:19

By Blue Streaks

Arranging the music of one song...

"Calling the Four Giants"

Primary Game: The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (Nintendo , 2000, N64), music by Koji Kondo, Toru Minegishi

Posted 2014-07-02, evaluated by the judges panel


At 2'19", this dubstep/classical hybrid is a short-but-sweet & darkly epic treat from newcomers Jonathan & Sean Dreyer, aka Blue Streaks; the latter writes:

"We don't like to let things get stagnant. We tried to incorporate the concept of the archetypical monomyth through the dynamics and sections of the song, representing Link's journey. This was produced using Renoise. Hope you enjoy it!"

The production here is VERY distinct, with all traditional/acoustic instrumentation (including a very lovely piano and some thick choral chords) kept lofi & subdued, with wild & exotic synthetic textures occupying the foreground. We don't see too many submissions from artists using Renoise, so I'm tempted to attribute at least some of the uniqueness to that, but it's really more of a textural thing - unorthodox and compelling, to say the least. Judges unanimously agreed; WillRock writes:

"This is interesting. Production is... bizzare. Its murkier and less punchy than i'm used to hearing when it comes to dubstep, but it feels very deliberate. Its got a cool stylistic sound to it, thats for sure. Variation is there, like fishy, I dig the piano. I'm also a little unsure about the length, but we've had mixes under 2 minutes pass before"

Even the curmudgeonly Vig was on board:

"Short and sweet. I didn't even really notice anything about the mixing the first time around because the arrangement had me so captivated. The artist has managed to successfully blend pitch dark harmonies with electronic elements. Definitely one of the more evocative submissions I've heard in a while. Tense."

And Emunator, as well:

"If you'd described this concept to me in words, I'd have been extremely skeptical about how well it could possibly work. However, you guys clearly went above and beyond the call in adapting this song to dubstep... TONS of little details keep this one fresh all the way throughout, and your use of sound effects and fills keep me enthralled as the track develops. Love those piano runs and other orchestral elements, too.

Color me impressed, guys. I honestly don't even feel like this track would benefit from a longer runtime, I think you adequately touch on a lot of ideas and reach a satisfying conclusion in 2 minutes and 20 seconds. Not a single second seems wasted."

Judges really said it best and hit all the high points; within a deceptively short runtime, Jonathan & Sean paint an insanely rich & detailed picture, packing flourish and interest into every dark corner that each hard-hitting electronic pulse leaves in its wake. A very musical approach to a dubstep aesthetic, finding equal meaning & opportunity in between the impacts; you can count me as a fan as well. Definitely anticipating future submissions from the Dreyers; in the meantime, enjoy this lean & mean debut and check out their SoundCloud for original stuff, including genres like "Stripper Folk" and "Trashy Eurohouse" ;)

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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Black_Doom
on 2015-12-07 23:57:44

"Caling the Four Giants" is pretty much an iconic source from LoZ:MM, so it's cool to hear it done in such way. It's really epic. Whenever I see the word "dubstep" in the description, I usually prepare myself for dirty, in-your-face music, but this is very different - it's much more melodic, without jaw-dropping breakdowns and such, but still very pleasant. Love the piano section @ 1:05 a lot - what a wondeful touch! Sick song.

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Lv16
on 2014-09-10 12:47:27

I've been an OC remix fan and lurker for 11+ years and I've never written a review until now. This mix was so incredible I couldn't remain silent. The layers are powerful, the MM samples are well placed, and just when you expect more, it comes to an end. Which I hate, but I love at the same time. The mix concludes when I'm craving more and does an excellent job at drawing me back in. I've listened to this track many times and I don't expect to stop any time soon. This, for me, is perfection.

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Tuosev
on 2014-09-05 04:19:24

I am totally getting the feeling that this song is "epic and dynamic," just as bluestraks was aiming for. I've hit the play button at least six times (including the first) and I never hear the exact same song twice. As I listen to it again for a seventh time, I finally notice a Navi sparkle sound effect at 0:11 for the first time, not to mention that there is just so much going on that I notice and focus on different sections each time because my focus can't handle the whole thing at once.

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timaeus222
on 2014-07-05 03:04:14
Amazing track almost completely ruined by OTT loudness-oriented mastering, completely destroying the dynamics necessary to really carry this track into the level of energy that it needs.

This is actually not mastered that loudly since the mixing is so murky. The less treble you perceive, the quieter something usually seems. Think about when you stood outside a room trying to hear music inside the room playing at a normal volume with the door already closed. Sounds dull, right? Something like this at 0:48 is much louder, so this ReMix wasn't mastered with the goal of being loud, and you don't have to flip tables over loudness. :lol:

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metamorphosis
on 2014-07-05 01:59:06

Amazing track almost completely ruined by OTT loudness-oriented mastering, completely destroying the dynamics necessary to really carry this track into the level of energy that it needs.

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Bejack
on 2014-07-04 14:38:30

I love this song! Been listening to it a couple of times in a row to memorize it so my brain can play it back later. My favorite part is between 1:01 and 1:58. This is the kind of sound i would like to be able to produce one day, still a lot of learning to do though. Great work!

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Draconiator
on 2014-07-03 13:04:09

I actually think that's why I never do anything anymore, my ears hate what comes out of my speakers, lol

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OverClocked PodCast
on 2014-07-02 20:29:40

Man, this arrangement is crushing; sort of like the world is being chiseled away piece by piece and there's not a thing you can do about it, but you're going to try. I love it.

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timaeus222
on 2014-07-02 20:02:25
Hey everyone. I'm Sean, one of the brothers of Blue Streaks. I really appreciate the support.

A few comments.

1. I wanted it to be short, to the point, and constantly interesting. I didn't want to repeat things just for the sake of making it longer, and I think the variation in here is enough to keep you entertained, hopefully.

2. This wasn't meant to be dubstep. I know some people on OCR tend not to like dubstep, but this was just supposed to be epic and dynamic.

3. I don't know why anybody would "feel really strongly" about the sampling, but I'm sorry if you can't enjoy the piece because of it. I think we really did more than add drum loops (which we didn't). We actually make a lot of our sounds from scratch, too. Guess we'll just try to write something else soon to win your support :)

I'm SO happy to see this posted up here. I love this website and video game music.

Glad you're going to keep going. Actually, the sampling doesn't affect enjoyment (or mine); it's just a caveat in the site submission standards, so it's something that is looked into whenever a case like this comes up. Sampling too much may sound like copyright infringement to those "automatic song identifiers" on YouTube perhaps (:lol:), but it's more about the personalization you can put into writing something from mostly scratch, from my perspective.

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bluestreaks
on 2014-07-02 17:51:21

Hey everyone. I'm Sean, one of the brothers of Blue Streaks. I really appreciate the support.

A few comments.

1. I wanted it to be short, to the point, and constantly interesting. I didn't want to repeat things just for the sake of making it longer, and I think the variation in here is enough to keep you entertained, hopefully.

2. This wasn't meant to be dubstep. I know some people on OCR tend not to like dubstep, but this was just supposed to be epic and dynamic.

3. I don't know why anybody would "feel really strongly" about the sampling, but I'm sorry if you can't enjoy the piece because of it. I think we really did more than add drum loops (which we didn't). We actually make a lot of our sounds from scratch, too. Guess we'll just try to write something else soon to win your support :)

I'm SO happy to see this posted up here. I love this website and video game music.

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Liontamer
on 2014-07-02 16:15:29
Re-emphasis:

This mix goes way beyond just adding drum loops. Using the original audio isn't explicitly prohibited; historically such mixes almost never pass for other reasons. The modifications made to the original source are substantial here: lots of added instruments that significantly change the sound, feel, and genre.

I agree that the judges all seem to have missed this--it should have gotten a mention in the judgment thread--but it's not an autofail on those grounds IMHO.

Yep, those lazy Js should have noticed that direct sampling and pointed it out. :lol: That said, you're right that it's not a standards violation. You're allowed to directly sample the original audio, but on an arrangement level, the modifications made to it have to be substantial. Dj CUTMAN's MiG-29 mix (http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR02882) is an even better example of a heavy-direct sampling approach that nonetheless works on an interpretive arrangement level.

In this case, I wouldn't object to a judge NOing on the changes for this mix not being enough in the big picture, but I also don't have a problem with anyone going YES or I would have challenged it.

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MindWanderer
on 2014-07-02 14:21:08
While I LOVE this, I'm not too sure I could sound off on this, because unless my ears are playing tricks on me, this does not follow standards explicitly.

Re-emphasis:

Taking the original game audio and simply adding drum loops or using an existing MIDI file and assigning new instruments does not qualify as substantial or original arrangement.
This mix goes way beyond just adding drum loops. Using the original audio isn't explicitly prohibited; historically such mixes almost never pass for other reasons. The modifications made to the original source are substantial here: lots of added instruments that significantly change the sound, feel, and genre.

I agree that the judges all seem to have missed this--it should have gotten a mention in the judgment thread--but it's not an autofail on those grounds IMHO.

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Draconiator
on 2014-07-02 14:03:09

While I LOVE this, I'm not too sure I could sound off on this, because unless my ears are playing tricks on me, this does not follow standards explicitly.

It's one of the bad things about being a musicphile, unfortunately.

http://ocremix.org/info/Submission_Standards_and_Instructions 4-2b states:

Taking the original game audio and simply adding drum loops or using an existing MIDI file and assigning new instruments does not qualify as substantial or original arrangement.

Whereas it is not THAT extreme, my ears have nevertheless picked out some nuances. I have bolded the relevant part. I have compared the original to the remix, and the backing in the ReMix has the same exact timbres as the original does. While it is awesome, I would have went "NO, resub" based on the fact that it uses the in-game track, sampled excessively.

I agree that it does completely awesome things OVER it.

No idea why the judges didn't pick up on that. and I've never felt so strongly about this either.

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evktalo
on 2014-07-02 13:37:57

What a fantastic sound, what a fantastic arrangement. I love the combo of lofified mellotron-esque chords bubbling chippy synths, but there's just a lot to love here in terms of sound. I also very much appreciate the brevity, everything is packed into a perfect length and I can't imagine more that wouldn't be less. I can always press play again.

(wooooo renoiseeeee)

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timaeus222
on 2014-07-02 13:28:48

I agree with Will that the production is rather odd, but it's cool hearing something this murky still sounding quite good. It keeps things from sounding too abrasive, but at the same time, there's that single-voiced center-panned bass gluing the piece together. The piano was well-written too. Very deliberate notes.

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


Primary Game:
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (Nintendo , 2000, N64)
Music by Koji Kondo,Toru Minegishi
Songs:
"Calling the Four Giants"

Tags (7)


Genre:
Dubstep
Mood:
Dark
Instrumentation:
Electronic,Orchestral,Piano,Synth
Additional:
Time > Duration: Short

File Information


Name:
Legend_of_Zelda_Majora's_Mask_Eclipse_Apocalypse_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
3,430,719 bytes
MD5:
5f2c2ed69e06fd6697ee76bbb59358fc
Bitrate:
192Kbps
Duration:
2:19

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