OCR04722 - *YES* EarthBound "Bonhomme de Neige" *PROJECT*

[Emunator]

ReMixer Names: Ridley Snipes, Earth Kid

ID: 17937, 16844

Email: 

YT: https://www.youtube.com/@ridleysnipes

Game: Earthbound

Song: Snowman

Arrangement Title: Bonhomme de Neige

What a beautiful piece of music Snowman is. It's also quite short and only uses 4 chords. And then there's me only using half of that.

 

I don't know what possessed me to put this song in 4/4 but it just felt right. A lot of my musical ideas lately have been less about melodic development and much much more about capturing a vibe - just living in a moment of time. Why French? I'm not really sure either, but it works just as well under the "impressionist" umbrella haha. There's a little more source DNA if you put the supporting parts under a microscope, but I really just wanted to walk the core melody out into the cold sunset.

 

The vocals make this track, in my opinion. All the sound design and engineering choices were based around the would-be vocalist and I'm so happy that I could have Natalya (Earth Kid) lend me her talent to really bring this home. I had her voice in mind from the beginning and she absolutely nailed it - exactly the vibe I wanted and a fitting mood for an emotional tribute.

 

Cheers!

RS

 

Source:

[Liontamer]

Cool Xmas vibes to start with the sleigh bells, though that of course fits with EarthBound not just Christmas. Interesting to switch "Snowman" to 4/4 and simplify the melodies; it's referenced throughout for most of it, so no need for me to even timestamp it. If you want lovely vocals, give Earth Kid a call, for sure.

Mixing should be clearer, IMO. I feel like the drums are more of a thud without some high-end sharpness. More of a lo-fi approach to the mixing than what I personally felt this needed, but nothing I can't look beyond re: personal bias.

Good stuff from Trevor and EK, I hope they collab again!

YES

[prophetik music]

initial piano and pads hit have a really neat lower-fi vibe, and the drums, bass, and eventual vox reinforce that. nat's voice is perfect for something like this. there's some really nice swells in here like at 1:10 where the flow just carries you along. the song grooves through a few up and down sections from a dynamic perspective, and finally hits a real break at about 1:57 for a few seconds where the beat drops. the guitar in the subsequent section sounds great, and when it's layered with nat's voice both sound even better. the end isn't really prepped but it does a good job of settling down, and it's done.

this is great. i really like the mixing approach actually, i think that the muzzy softness of it is calming. what a great track.

 

 

YES

[MindWanderer]

Yeah, I normally hate the lo-fi approach, but it works here. It's deliberate and tasteful. Nice ethereal soundscape, and I agree that the vocals are perfect. I would have preferred an ending that didn't just trickle off like that, but in an arrangement like this, it's not a mortal sin.

YES

[Emunator]

"I really just wanted to walk the core melody out into the cold sunset." What a beautiful turn of phrase that perfectly captures the intangible feeling I get from listening.

This arrangement evokes such a pure sense of nostalgia and timelessness while simultaneously feeling incredibly modern in its production choices. The washed-out dream pop guitars and keys and Tame Impala-style filtered drums could genuinely go toe-to-toe with professional indie pop productions from the modern age. It's a testament to Trevor's meticulous attention to technical details and an incredible ear for building a satisfying sound palette. The arrangement itself is fairly no-frills and doesn't delineate far from the initial concept, but does exactly what it needs to, stripping back the iconic Snowman melody back to its core and reshaping that into one of my favorite OCReMix submissions that I've heard in years.

YES