OCR03274 - *YES* Clystron 'Orbital Space Junk'

[Chimpazilla]

Sup guys, NutS here with another track.

 

So, Thomas Detert.  Not as well known as other c64 legends such as Jeroen Tel, Rob Hubbard, Rowlands or Follin, but a legend in my book.  I love his style and many of the soundtracks he composed are on my best-of-videogames playlist.

 

Clystron is an obscure game (I have never played it myself) with a soundtrack that I love.  The title theme in particular caught my attention immediately years ago.  I've always wanted to remix it for a while but only recently I felt I could do something good enough with it that I would feel proud of showing to Detert himself, which I did, and happily, he liked it.

 

So here's my take on Clystron's Title theme.  As with a lot of the great c64 themes, the original takes things slowly to create a mood and then hit you with the catchy theme.  I decided I wanted to take that route as well, so I take my time introducing several grooves and motifs along with the driving beat before hitting the chorus section.  Modern EDM dictates that you should drop the meat of your track around the first minute, but I was more worried about making a good tribute than following conventions, even if that may seem odd to some listeners.

 

This also complements my genre decisions, as this is done in the style of Big Beat with modern EDM flair on top.  Think those late 90's to mid 00's  Big Beat songs that were mostly based on establishing a catchy groove and hard hitting beats and bass (meat beat manifesto, propellerheads, etc.) , but with the modern gritty synth and bass sounds, drum sampling style and unpredictability of modern EDM.  I tried to blend the styles equally and I am happy with these results.

 

Arrangement-wise, I decided to keep the chorus melody mostly intact because it's just that good.  Everything else is modified in some form, and accompanied with layers upon layers of modulating synths, glitched vocals, effects, beloved c64 arps and extra stuff, all of my own design as always.  I did managed a little solo improv section in the breakdown that modifies the original chorus, but IMO the original catchy chorus can't be topped .

 

[Chimpazilla]

Cool source tune!  Never heard of the game but I see why you wanted to remix this.  The remix is very cool, awesome low beefy kick and great groove.  I'm loving all the gated arpy stuff going on.  Mix is a little crispy in the highest highs.  The soundscape sounds a little samey after awhile, and in the second half, the theme is repeated verbatim quite a few times, although there is a little variation on the theme at 3:20-3:32.  I'm not recognizing any source from 1:03-1:49 but I'm enjoying all the new textures being introduced.  (maybe this section is a variation on 1:00 in the source tune, 2:19-3:04 might also be from this section of the source, this is a little unclear to me)  Overall, I'm digging it.

 

YES

[Liontamer]

Needed at least 139.5 seconds of source tune usage in this piece for the VGM to be dominant in the arrangement. Didn't sound close, but like I do when original writing fits like a glove with source usage, I timestamped what I recognized directly from the track just to be sure.

:01.75-1:00.75, 1:48.5-2:18, 3:04.5-3:18, 3:29.5-4:38 = 170 seconds or 60.9% overt source usage

The adaptation to EDM was awesome, and the original writing sections that weren't from the actual source tune were seamless, sounding more like rhythmic changes or tweaks rather than Mike doing his own thing. Everything locked together perfectly there. Love the energy here as well. If you didn't know any better that this was from a C64 title, this could fit in well in Streets of Rage Remake. Props to Mike for a great tribute to Thomas Detert and his music!

YES

[Jivemaster]

Mike has made contact with me with concerns that he submitted a slightly earlier version of his track. His new version can be found at the original link here (also posted in the OP). He leaves the following note:

 

I've forgotten to move the updated version of the track from my desktop to the dropbox folder, resulting in an older version being submitted. I mostly added more vocal sample variations, made the lead play more naturally and added a few details here and there, and the mixing/mastering is slightly improved. It's nothing major really but I wouldn't want the old version up if the track is approved. I apologize for this and I will be more diligent about updating my songs in the future.

 

 

[Liontamer]

Mike has made contact with me with concerns that he submitted a slightly earlier version of his track. His new version can be found at the original link here (also posted in the OP). He leaves the following note:

Link is a 403.

[DragonAvenger]

Great catchy source to use here. The transition into EDM is pretty flawless, and your use of the sounds (sound effects?) is very fitting. I'm listening to the first version you sent us, so I'm not sure what the improvements are in the updated version. I'd have liked the bass to have a little more oomph to it, though, so hopefully that comes through in the update!

 

Nice work!

 

YES

[OceansAndrew]

Pretty nice percussion and synth work, it's well done. I do feel that some of the sections drag a bit without changeups, but the song presented is strong enough that it really is a good overall package. Nice work. 

 

Yes

[Emunator]

Link updated in the first post with a non-404'd/WAV encoding. Any judges who have already listened to this want to check out the new version and make sure it's kosher?

[Liontamer]

S'fine.