Liontamer Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 (edited) At long last, I present the track I mentioned a while back at MAGFest when we were discussing the Tim Follin project. Remix Title: "Dolphin with a Shotgun" Remixer: Mazedude Game: Plok - http://ocremix.org/game/298/plok-snes Original Track: "Shotgun" Description: A remix of the "Shotgun" theme from Plok. Original theme by Tim Follin. The idea here was to take one of the goofiest tracks from the Plok score, and arrange it to sound as though it was from the soundtrack to Ecco: Defender of the Future, which was also composed by Tim Follin. An odd experiment, but fun, and I'd been wanting do an "underwater" style remix for a while. I know that for many, a remix that goes to a completely different genre, feel, and sound from the original can be weird. But, it can also be a great chance to show the power of arrangement. Such is what I did here, by taking a goofy, silly Plok track and re-working it to sound like the aquatic, ethereal feeling of the Ecco score. If you listen carefully, closely, and pay attention to the string, choir, keys, and leads in my remix, and compare them to what the tuba plays in the original Plok track, you'll hear the same melodies. There's also a brassy counter melody, the brassy chords, little xylophone bits, and more from the original that all correlate to the material in the remix. Granted, I spiced things up a bit with the arpeggios in the background and some added harmonies, but the actual notes heard all should match the original. Incidentally I've made it easy to compare that two one after the other on my site - http://www.mazedudemusic.com." That detailed enough do ya think? Let me know if you need anything else. If you're interested, there's also the opposite concept - an Ecco track in the goofy style of Plok - on http://mazedudemusic.com. Look for "Flipper Costume." All the best, Mazedude EDIT (2/24): Got a breakdown from Chris: ORIGINAL - 0:00 - 0:08 - tuba theme REMIX - 1:22 - 1:57 - synth lead ORIGINAL - 0:15 - 22 - tuba and xylophone REMIX - 1:58 - 2:32 - synth lead and accomp. REMIX - 0:46 - 1:20 - soft strings and choir ORIGINAL - 0:08 - 0:15 - tuba secondary melody REMIX - 2:33 - 2:50 - bells melody, w/ some decoration ORIGINAL - oompah oompah chords REMIX - soft, ethereal string and choir chords; easier to hear at beginning Hope that helps! If it's still too abstract, don't worry about posting it, just move on to my more popular "Torvus Chips" Metroid Prime 2 remix from HoH 101% Run. Mazedude PS - To really hear the main theme smoothly in the remix you'll need to play it at like, 400% speed. Edited January 1, 2014 by djpretzel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted February 16, 2013 Author Share Posted February 16, 2013 I'll be honest. As first blush, it seems too liberal, which could be more of a byproduct of slowing it down and simplifying the melodies, but it's not readily apparent to me as of yet. But I asked for a breakdown, and Chris compared some of the part writing, which is included in the above submission comments. I still don't have a first A-to-B grasp of what's here. but I'll ask. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vig Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 Oh no, not another Plok remix....the last one I had to vote on left me with some serious emotional scarring.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vig Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 Oh mazedude, why you got to remix this source in such a creative way??? YOU"RE KILLING ME! Okay, I went back and forth and back and forth, and indeed I did hear the source. What's there to say. Your remix is beautiful right in the soundscape, it never wears out its welcome, and I can't really complain about anything. YES timaeus222 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nutritious Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 (edited) What? There's a Tim Follin project? Oh THAT old thing... Checked out Chris's site and I have to say, it would be really nice to have a little "compare to original" button while judging. So yeah, wow. This is a tough one to judge from an arrangement perspective. I really had to depend on the provided timestamps to figure out exactly what's going on. Not sure how I feel about this arrangment yet, TBH. Gonna let it marinade for a while. The production has all of the Mazedude charm & creativity we've come to expect, so no issues for me there. EDIT: Ok, so I've finally come back to this one. Re-analyzing source usage and some careful listens did bring more to light in my mind. Thanks to Larry for the breakdown as well. If you're here looking for Plok nostaglia, you should probably check elsewhere. HOWEVER, if you are here looking for more crazy Mazedude creativity, you've come to the right place. YES Edited August 5, 2013 by Nutritious Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonAvenger Posted May 31, 2013 Share Posted May 31, 2013 Definitely a clever and interesting approach here; Chris went for a distinct style change, and I think he achieved a good result here. It definitely takes a few listens to wrap your ead around the mix and where things are situated, but I think once that's established there's plenty of recognizable source here. Dunno how the crowd's going to react to it, but I thought it was enjoyable none-the-less. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted August 3, 2013 Author Share Posted August 3, 2013 Finally. Took me a long while to wrap my head around this piece, but (after a lot of back and forth comparisons) I hear the source in there. I rearranged Chris's breakdown to make more sense in following the arrangement: REMIX - soft, ethereal string and choir chords; easier to hear at beginning (LT Note: :11.25-:37.5 of the arrangement, though Chris would possibly argue it lasted until :46) ORIGINAL - oompah oompah chords (LT Note: looping in source background from :00-:07) REMIX - 0:46-1:20 - soft strings and choir ORIGINAL - 0:15-0:22 - tuba and xylophone REMIX - 1:22-1:57 - synth lead ORIGINAL - 0:00-0:08 - tuba theme REMIX - 1:58-2:32 - synth lead and accomp. ORIGINAL - 0:15-0:22 - tuba and xylophone REMIX - 2:33-2:50 - bells melody, w/ some decoration ORIGINAL - 0:08-0:15 - tuba secondary melody --------------------------------------------- The track was 3:27.75 long, so I needed 103.875 seconds of overt source usage for the pass on arrangement: 11.25-37.5, 46-1:11.5, 1:21.5-1:47, 1:57-2:03, 2:05.75-2:13, 2:14-2:19, 2:50-2:54.75, 2:56.5-3:03, 3:05.5-3:08 = 109.25 seconds Once I got past the source usaeg threshold I was looking for, I stopped, so there's definitely more I'm not counting. This arrangement'll definitely (and understandably) fly way, way, way over people's heads, so if they don't like this, I get it. Slowing the tempo AND changing the rhythms of the melody like this (e.g. 1:22's section) gets pretty dicey, but those source parts are there, just like Chris said they were. I wouldn't speed up the track 400%, but 150-250% did help, for anyone curious enough to try. In a vacuum, I love it. It's too abstract to appeal to most people as a Plok arrangement, so I would have liked something a bit more melodically straightforward, but that's more a subjective concern than anything else. It's definitely a liberal take, but as long as the source usage is clear to me, I'll allow it. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nutritious Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 Updated vote. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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