OCR04524 - *YES* Sonic the Hedgehog 3 "Taiga/Tundra"

[Chimpazilla]

Name - Michael Hudak

Song arranged - Ice Cap Zone from Sonic 3

Name of my ReMix - Taiga/Tundra

My Bandcamp - https://michaelhudak.bandcamp.com/album/polar

 

Ice Cap Zone has a lot going for it, from the bassline, to the main melody, those repeating chords, and the twinkling arps. Just a great (maybe timeless at this point) tune, and great utilization of the Genesis' sound capabilities. This version is deconstructed, with no more than two of the elements that make the original great playing together, so some people aren't going to like it. It was satisfying to pull the original apart though. This goes on a journey that starts in a snowy forested area and ends in the midst of a freezing, endless tundra. Lots of granular clouds attached to reverbs attached to more granular clouds in the ending. "Ice" has connotations of shimmering, stabbing, glossy sounds, and "snow" feels more smeared, more diffused...I wanted to combine those two idioms with this piece.

 

Part 1 has the chords being played by a pad, and then the bass and randomly resonating strings play the melody. Part 2 has the "trees" playing the chords, and the cold, stuttering sound plays a modified version of the bassline. Then a flute comes in with the top line again. Part 3 is the chords and melody, diffused, detuned, and distorted. I think the source is pretty simple to hear so I'm foregoing a timestamp breakdown this time, but thanks to the judges as always.  

 

[Liontamer]

It's not unpleasant, but it's also not pleasant; the opening minute's just there, so we'll see if it goes anywhere interesting. 1:19 shifted more toward the opening moments of Act 2's version (and you hear more of Act 2's backing writing invoked from 2:10-2:45).

I know there's a method to Michael's madness. I've also heard tracks of his that I enjoyed that I know others wouldn't, and I think this is more in that vein, except that others may enjoy it and I didn't. I don't actively dislike it (and I wouldn't soft-pedal it), but it doesn't hook me. It's certainly a valid sound design exercise where I like some of the moments, and I hear and recognize the source material being in there. Do I wish it were more melodious in the treatment though?

YES

[prophetik music]

hooooo boy, first couple chords are indicative of a bad trip.

that intro is really, really weird. i can see myself dismissing it right there if it was just in a random rotation. there's some great resonance in the bass elements after that though, and the altered chords you get from that resonance is neat. the timbre is very thin though. a lot going on that is just so quiet, or is actually not really anything.

after the initial bass elements, 1:22's woody clunks in the synths take a while to coalesce into something that's actually ice cappy, but the schmears that layer in around 2:00 are much more helpful. the subsequent time-based res chirps alongside the arp is really a neat concept, and the block chords with no attack are immediately recognizable within the context of the earlier melodic content. 3:15 is heavily distorted and continues the crazy train approach, and it kind of blurves it's way towards the ending fade.

this is way more difficult a vote than i expected. it's intensely weird in an r/surrealmemes kind of way and i honestly think it might be a little too far on that side of the curtain. much of what's after 3:00 is only tangentially related to the melodic content in a shapes and colors way, not necessarily because the pitches or rhythms are the same. and then it ends. it takes serious work to sound this strange.

i can't imagine anyone wanting to listen this regularly, although of course that's not a requirement. the technical proficiency is obvious and clear throughout, though, and it consistently does reference the source material for >50% of the track. it even has what i'd call a standard theme and variations form, albeit horribly mutilated. this is a pass, but it's probably pretty close to the arthouse 30-minutes-of-balloons-floating-in-a-room is-this-cinema line than i'd want to go very often.

 

 

YES?

[Emunator]

This feels much more like a sound design showcase than a traditional arrangement, but I don't necessarily think there's anything inherently wrong with that approach either. The scraped metallic tones evoke a feeling of exploring an abandoned industrial complex that has been buried under an intense frost. Despite going through several different motions as you approach the source from different angles, all of the sound design feels incredibly cohesive. On repeat listens, I found myself loving the subtle rhythms that percolate up from the granular clouds. For those brave enough to stomach it, I do feel like this is rewarding on multiple listens.

Not everyone's cuppa tea, but it works for me!

YES

[DarkSim]

Ice Cap Zone has been done to death, but this exhumes, assembles and reanimates it as never before. I've said before how much I love Machinarium's soundtrack, and Tomas Dvorak's compositions for that game have a wonderful, rich texture and timbre to the sound design that mean you can almost touch the sounds. What you've managed to accomplish with this Ice Cap remix approaches Dvorak's work on Machinarium, and that's a massive achievement. The metallic resonance on the lead in particular from 0:32 is extremely reminiscent, but also the bass sounds, and the tinny, granular percussion.

I've listened to this 3 or 4 times now, and I do enjoy it very much from an academic point of view. It's sort of the opposite to a regular Ice Cap mix that might be enjoyed for the bouncy beat and catchy melody. Here, the enjoyment lies in the sound design, so if you're more of a producer than a listener, there's a lot to appreciate here.

YES