OCR02435 - *YES* Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Ep. 1 'The Obsequious Heterophobia of Dr. Melefam Buttfink'

[OceansAndrew]

Remixer name: Meteo Xavier, bLiNd

Name of Game remixed: Sonic The Hedgehog 4

Name of individual song remixed: Splash Hill Zone 1

Remix title: The Obsequious Heterophobia of Dr. Melefam Buttfink.

Comments:

Howdy. I am Meteo Xavier delivering yet another remix attempt that was mastered by bLiNd. Jordan was extremely generous in doing this for me so I would like to list him as a collaborator.

As usual, I had strict possibly idiosyncratic artistic ideas and goals for how I wanted to do it. This time, I wanted to use this track, which I claimed I would remix someday anyway when it was first leaked, as a means to pay tribute to the earliest music I can remember moving me - which is super robotic sequenced 80's late 90's super happy and super cheesy electronic music. This time my goal was not to shy away from my remix weaknesses: mechanized sequencing, repetitive drums, overproduction, etc. but dive right into it and build on them into a unique track. All the repetitiveness, and cheesy guitar samples and all that is intentional. I wanted a track that sounded more conventional and played with the main melodies (see below) much more than my previous mixes and really really interpret and work with them. I cite Erasure, "Waiting for a Star to Fall" by Boy Meets Girl, "Vivid" by Hiroki Kikuta, Pretty Hate Machine by NIN, and "Blue Monday" by New Order as my main sources for this track, among others.

And, also as usual, this remix eventually developed major problems that I could not fix. Everything was going fine and I was nearly done until I came back to the computer and a shitload of my settings were all fucked to hell. I couldn't even start over mixing it it was so bad. I was able to get it to a half decent balance though I could not fix the overcompression. Some of the lead synths were also very problematic and no matter what I did, they came out differently each time. The synth drop out at 1:44 is one example and if it didn't do it there, it would do it elsewhere. Thankfully, bLiNd was willing to work on it some more and help me get a better balance out of it, and he did it for free because he's the awesomest guy in the world.

So its flawed, like all my other stuff, but I still think its worthy of Ocremix. This is absolutely the last remix of this kind I want to do and, God willing, if it gets accepted, I can call it good and not submit anymore problematic material like I have been. After this its going to be higher quality material that isn't repetitive and off balance.

So, thank you for your time and I hope you will be forgiving and generous of my remix which, eq and compression issues aside, I think is my best and most unique to date.

Here is the break down of source:

0:20-1:05 - Melody A, B, C

1:27-1:40 - Melody A

2:08-2:36 - Melody B, C

2:53-3:13 - Melody A

3:13-3:27 - Melody B

3:27-4:13 - Melody A and B

156 seconds of source material interpreted and recognizable.

- Source

0:01-0:12 - Melody A

0:13-0:24 - Melody B

0:24-0:34 - Melody C

If there is anything else I need to provide or could reasonably fix for your standards to push this through, I would be happy to do it. Thank you for this opportunity.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQXktcBcXh8

[halc]

the rhythm guitars were pretty ugly, thankfully they're not too exposed for long. otherwise I enjoyed the textures here, I esp. liked your main synth lead. the non-stop kick and snare pattern gets boring- I don't mind me some 4-on-the-floor, but some more varied backing percussion would really spice this up.

nice blend of source and original material. the arrangement is a strong point here for me- I really loved everything after the texture drop at 2:35; a welcome change of pace. fadeout ending was a copout, but oh well.

this suffers from some minor, basic issues that Meteo even addressed in his sub-letter, but ultimately I think it's a pretty solid track with a great arrangement and passable production.

YES

[DragonAvenger]

I'm a bit on the fence on this one, because of a few issues that are pulling it down. A lot of the arrangement ideas are fine, but I feel like they get overused and become repetitious. Along with that, the uninspired drumwork isn't helping out the situation.

On the other hand, as I said, I like a lot of the ideas you have here, and the 80's feel is great. The soundscape reflects the pop textures, and you use the synths well for the genre.

I'm curious what the other judges will say, but for now I'm going to say

YES (borderline)

[OceansAndrew]

There are a few issues for me, like those drums, but they are authentic. Overall I really liked the arrangement. Production seems fine enough.

The remix name is horrible.

Yes

[Palpable]

Not really feeling this apart from the re-arrangement ideas and the writing of the leads. The drums and bass really needed to do more - they repeat the same patterns over and over until the breakdown. I liked that section but it didn't make up for repetition before it. The guitars are ugly and the song is really lacking punch. Sorry Meteo, can't sign off on it.

NO (resubmit)

[Vig]

I don't know what it is today but every track I've heard has had a great groove with an awkward lead. This track has similar problems. The groove and rhythm section in general is really great, but the leads seem almost tacked on. Perhaps they are a bit too loud, and perhaps it's that the underlying tracks don't seem to interact well with the leads.

I'd say there are things to tweak here, but there's nothing here really holding the track from passing.

YES