ReMix:Harlequin "Coming to Chimerica" 5:03

By Binster

Arranging the music of one song...

"In-game 3"

Primary Game: Harlequin (Gremlin , 1992, AMIGA), music by Barry Leitch

Posted 2014-08-20, evaluated by the judges panel


Binster! IT'S BEEN 8+ YEARS!! If you're not familiar with Martin's work, DEFINITELY check out his previous six mixes for some awesomely creative arrangements! I confess that I'd never even heard of Harlequin before, but composer Barry Leitch should certainly ring a bell for anyone fond of amazing VGM from the Commodore/Atari ST days of yore - which in a perfect world would be everyone :) This plucky electronic 80's dance jam is catchy as all hell, in addition to incorporating a lot of chip/SID-style elements and bookending with clocks ala Pink Floyd's "Time" off DSOTM. The artist writes:

"Here is my new remix. I hope you like it. It's a remix of the Amiga game Harlequin - a nice and jaunty tune which I've given a bit of a bombastic rework. It was produced in Reason 7, and I named it "Coming to Chimerica" after the fictional land in the game (and a hat-tip to the Eddie Murphy movie Coming to America). I hope you accept the remix - currently, Harlequin is lacking in recognition for its excellent soundtrack."

All sorts of bonus points (at least 3000) for the mix title & reference - if you haven't seen Coming to America, I'm slapping you in the face RIGHT NOW, and will continue doing so until you begin watching. Sexual chocolate. The intro/outro ambience+fx give this a distinct feel, but when things are in full effect it's very much an infectious groove with an indefatigable bass. 2'53" to 3'22" offers a nice breakdown & riser, and the whole thing is just do dern HAPPY. This arrangement does play it quite conservative for large swaths, but the production is a creative interpretation in and of itself, and things start branching out more after the first couple minutes. Nutritious writes:

"Liking the clean production work here. Crisp beat, good separation of parts, nice filled out soundfield. Nothing to really gripe about on that front. As mentioned, this initially keeps it pretty close to the original, arrangement-wise. However, Binster starts getting more and more creative with his interpretation throughout the track, keeping things fresh. Speaking of Binster, we haven't heard from this guy in a while! I remember his older stuff being on my ocr playlist for a looong time. It's nice to see early ReMix pioneers (as I see them, at least) returning with new stuff. Liking this mix and hoping we hear more from him soon."

I'd like Binster to do a ReMix of Sparkster, just for the sheer "-ster" suffix synergy. Martin's always had his own thing going on & the mixes he's sent in have been diverse in both texture & source material, and always enjoyable. I'm gonna check out the rest of the Harlequin soundtrack, lovely to get some much-needed Amiga action, and more love for Barry Leitch in general is never a bad thing. Great to hear from Binster after all these years, and I'll second Justin's comment that it'd also be great to hear more!

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 5 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
avatar
Crulex
on 2014-08-23 20:33:29

Loving the mix title. This is a little ball of fun, isn't it? Truly something that can make someone happy by listening to it, I'm sure. Some chip, some bounce, a little bit of clock SFX in the beginning and near the end, lots of cool additions and arrangement ideas that make this work. Considering that everyone is saying that it's bit close to the original in certain aspect, I may have to check out this OST soon. Very nice.

avatar
binster
on 2014-08-21 05:27:04

Ugh, I KNOW Emblem180 - Harlequin is sooooo over done now. Next remix I do, I'll give an underdog a bit of attention... maybe one of the Final Fantasies..

;)

avatar
VinnyMac
on 2014-08-21 00:03:33

I am not sure what I was really expecting before giving this a few good listens but I can say without a doubt we have a delightful and somewhat bubbly remix here from a classic game I have not thought about in a long time! The first literal thought when hearing the intro was, Back to the Future?!...what the...oh I see! The title 'Coming to Chimerica' is clever and I laughed a little when I realized why Binster named it as such. What we have here is a fantastic combination of hard hitting drums, bass, and sounds which bring many 80s and early 90s memories to mind like the many hours I spent playing Galaxian. My only criticism is that I felt the ending was more abrupt than I would have liked before the final set of clocks. It's not terrible, but I would have played it out for a few seconds more.

avatar
OverClocked PodCast
on 2014-08-20 20:04:54

Seriously? ANOTHER Harlequin ReMix? Uggghhhhhhh.

Beyond the overplayed nature of the source tune, I was delighted to introduce this song to my ears, both of which approved. The bouncing drums and bass at 0:43 really do it for me. Were this ReMix a piece of armor, it would doubtless yield +14 Happiness.

avatar
djpretzel
on 2014-08-20 15:24:33

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

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


Primary Game:
Harlequin (Gremlin , 1992, AMIGA)
Music by Barry Leitch
Songs:
"In-game 3"

Tags (5)


Genre:
Mood:
Happy
Instrumentation:
Chiptune,Electronic,Sound FX,Synth
Additional:

File Information


Name:
Harlequin_Coming_to_Chimerica_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
7,359,761 bytes
MD5:
73f34fc639ec57a7bb40cb50967c8829
Bitrate:
192Kbps
Duration:
5:03

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