ReMix:Undeadline "Marching Towards Roshufa's Spirit" 5:25

Given that we've gone entire YEARS without an MSX mix, it's pretty cool to be posting one on January 2nd :) Jorito (Jorrith Schaap) takes on T&E's SHMUP Undeadline with some energetic dnb-complextro-rock that even (tastefully) employs an iconic "yeahyeahyeah" vocal sample:

"I originally started on this Undeadline remix 5 years ago, in a bit of a rock vibe (for giggles sake you can find it here), but never finished it (and, to be honest, I'm glad I didn't). Undeadline is maybe an obscure gem, but a gem it is (it won the game of the year award in Japan in 1989, IIRC).

Fast forward to 2014, where I participated in the People's Remix Competition and won with my "Enter the Illusion" track which found its way to OCR. Because I won, I got to pick a track for the next round, and, being the MSX home computer nostalgist that I am, I wanted this to be an MSX track. Spent quite a bit of time looking for a good MIDI, couldn't find any and decided to convert my earlier abandoned attempt to MIDI.

During that, I got re-inspired by the track again and decided to work on a PRC bonus track myself. I didn't want to go for another rock version, but felt like doing something electronic. In true Jorito style, I blended some unusual genres together again, my weird take on drum & bass and complextro in this case. The complextro bass part felt a bit empty, so I filled it with a vocal sample that I blatantly stole from Moby's track "Go." Moby probably doesn't care because he stole it too. After that, I basically sat on it for a year to get some feedback and do some last polishing and I'm satisfied enough with it now to declare it "done."

So, here it is. I hope the world is ready to enjoy some more classic MSX game music. More to come!"

First off, I'd just like to say that Jorito's probably accrued 5000+ "legit" points for arranging largely unsung VGM sources - keep doing what you're doing, man :) This is high-energy, fun stuff that maintains a Japanese shooter vibe but upgrades/modifies the original in the process; it still somehow comes off like more of a rock track than an EDM track to me, personally, but that's NOT a bad thing. Judges were unanimous; Sir_NutS writes:

"The arrangement is where this song shines, as usual from Jorito, we get a very fun and creative arrangement that takes the original to new places. A very high-energy track that flows well and has some imaginative writing."

Most judges did ALSO feel like certain modern EDM elements being utilized could be executed better from a production perspective, specifically w/ regard to sidechaining (or lack thereof) and more aggressive wubs/breakdowns, but no one felt these picks-of-the-nit were prohibitive to enjoyment or approval. Whether it's old-school or new-school, it's true-school, as Jorito's love of VGM deep cuts comes through and we get a fun, electrified romp; good stuff!