OCR03498 - *YES* Retro City Rampage "Retrohead Five"

[Chimpazilla]

Here we go! No rush, I know there are already a few Mazedude mixes in the queue, and I appreciate the FFV track making the home page recently.

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Remix Title: Retrohead Five

Game: Retro City Rampage (http://ocremix.org/game/749/retro-city-rampage-xb360) 

Original composer: Jake Kaufman

Original song: Retro City Rampage Title Song
 

Description: 

So, the "Ignition" remix already on the site (http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR02418) already addresses the original remix competition from 2012, which incidentally I was also a part of... and yeah, I didn't win. In fact, my track was a little too old-school trackery to really get the attention of the contestants and judges... but darn it, years later, I still like my version, and want to share it. And, if I may, I paid ridiculous attention to detail in matching all of the notes and solos/leads from the original, so, maybe that'll count for something.
 

So, while being a Jake Kaufman remix, this is also another homage to a famous tracker by the handle "Basehead." He was a major influence to me as I was learning the art form, and was one of the members of a legendary group known as "Five Musicians" in the tracking scene. (Piece it together and you'll see why the remix is titled as such.) My arrangement deliberately uses a lot of Basehead's own samples and tracking nuances.
 

Fun fact, I met Basehead live in person, once. And, it was at a live performance in Los Angeles of Jake Kaufman himself, doing live chiptunes (before he moved there, I might add). And... oddly enough, it was also the first date I had with my wife Julia. I was introduced to Basehead, and while at any other time it would have been a huge honor and a valid cause to drop everything and spend the evening with the guy, my attention that night was on my future bride. So, cordially, I said something along the lines of "it's a pleasure to meet you Basehead, now if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to my date." And the time of writing this description, Julia and I have been together for 10 years now. And, we still remember that night fondly.
 

So, long story short, this silly remix holds within all its various references quite a story, and subtle mental ties that signify a lot in my personal life. I don't know if that will make the music more enjoyable, but regardless, enjoy the story.

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All the best,
 

Mazedude

 

[Chimpazilla]

This is cool and weird and stylistically lo-fi.  I don't know this source, and listening to the source it is wild and frenetic, and so is the remix.  I can hear the attention to detail that went into it, wow.  I think I'm left with an overwhelming feeling of dissonance after hearing the entire track though, it is sonically nebulous both in writing and sound choices.  There is very little break from that drum groove.  It's mixed really loudly as well (-5.2db RMS).  I planned on liking this because Mazedude... but I'm not too sure about this one.

edit 12/21/16:  Alright, let's do this.  YES

[Gario]

Love that talking bass, I've gotta say. Very cool source, too, and this has a really neat, almost chill approach to it. The production is clean (considering it's Mazedude, that's no surprise), and damn if it isn't an interesting arrangement (again, Mazedude, no surprise).

It's not perfect, though. The arrangement, while strange, does tend to stay in the same place for long periods of time, utilizing the same instruments for the same purposes, which tends to wear on the listener after a while. There's some effort to drop instruments, bring them back, etc., which helps break things up, but that whole static feeling does linger.

The drums do seem to groove for long periods of time, as Chimp says, but I don't think that's an issue with the drums themselves (I mean, I don't think 'Drums are playing throughout the whole track' would be a valid point against virtually any other track). However. due to the relatively static nature of the soundscape, it doesn't help that the groove contributes to that soundscape. I think it's less an issue with the drums, though, and more an issue with the rest of the soundscape in combination with it, which as mentioned above does sound static.

All of that being said, the arrangement does have a very interesting sound to it, and the production is solid. I'm not 100% sold on the soundscape, but I don't think it's quite enough to bring it below the bar, since there are measures taken in the track to help alleviate this somewhat (the dropping of instruments from time to time, there are breaks in it, etc.). Especially considering how interesting the details of the track are, I think it would serve well on the front page. Nice to see more Mazedude, as always.

YES

[Jivemaster]

Sly and dirty mix, great transformation of the source tune to a slow groove with original personality. Some great lead work and generally trippy synths throughout, creates a nice contrast through the track. I enjoyed the production elements you have dotted through the mix, such as the delay signal panned to alternate ears. Leads and percussion nicely fill the upper register, as the bass grooves below. Mixing is clear.

The breakdown and build-up around 2:55 was a nice change of pace but was a tad overdue. Mix felt it went a little too long because of that, but there were lots of parts dropping in and out over time to keep things fresh. Great to see you drop back to remind us how it's done

YES

[Sir_NutS]

As expected from Mazedude this is a very complex arrangement that explores the original in ways that completely transform the source.   I'm always impressed by this man's arrangement abilities.  I have to quote Gario on the following:

On 10/25/2016 at 3:10 PM, Gario said:

All of that being said, the arrangement does have a very interesting sound to it, and the production is solid. I'm not 100% sold on the soundscape, but I don't think it's quite enough to bring it below the bar, since there are measures taken in the track to help alleviate this somewhat (the dropping of instruments from time to time, there are breaks in it, etc.). Especially considering how interesting the details of the track are, I think it would serve well on the front page. Nice to see more Mazedude, as always.

I agree on the soundscape comment, it feels rather static.  The arrangement never stops evolving but for some reason this seems a bit less dynamic than other stuff by him.  Perhaps this is due to most of the exploration of the motifs is done in the leads while the groove tries to glue things together by not moving too much.  I will agree on the compliments for the detailing, which is again another perk we expect.  Overall, not perfect, but enjoyable as both a casual and trained listener.

YES