OCR00632 - Zelda II "Temple Trance"

[Mr Azar]

Still played, still great.

[AeroZ]

Yeah, can't agree more.

I grew up with this one

Listened to it for a long time until I realized that there was a homepage called ocremix.org

[Polo]

Temple Trance makes me picture Link zooming his way through a multitude of false walls, mirrors, and alternate dimensional portals in one of the palaces. He's fleeing Wizrobes, Moas (those flying eyeballs), an Ironknuckle statue that looked at him funny, and other spooky enemies while being haunted and taunted by images of the helplessly sleeping Zelda. The source's feeling of "you can run but you can't hide" is seriously ramped up here.

The DSP/modulation in just the first several seconds is a mesmerizing hook. It's the first of many instances of a synth given a gradual volume tweak, which in my mind plays the part of a distance marker that approaches and recedes on Link's warped-out journey. At 4:30, he comes to realize he can't for the life of him find his way back, and so he fades into oblivion.

Progressive and dreamscapish.

[rig1015]

I eat, drink, and play Zelda games more than people should. I've loved Trance since 1996 when in was only underground. I had to hear this!

I had high hopes and they were not let down. The way the source was used on the synth's was lovely. And I loved the bass kick drop outs and pop backs, those allowed for smack drops of the beat and bLiNd did a good job of hitting us with those.

I felt that the transitions from one feeling or bit of music into another shifted like an old truck but it was not that bad.

I really enjoyed it. And now have it in the playlist.

[unixgeek42]

I stumbled across this about a year and a half ago and since then, it has managed to keep a number 3 spot in my top 25 most played on my iPod. It is the perfect mix of the energy of trance and the eerie pain-staking memories of Zelda 2. I've yet to see a song on ocremix to match it. I'd love to hear more along these lines!

[OceansAndrew]

Not quite the level of ridiculousness of bLiNd's more recent work, but still very solid, this takes a great theme and cranks it way up. Nice effects, good transitions and breakdowns, and a whole lotta drive, I definitely dig this track. Excellent work, dude.

[Yoshiboy]

I really love The Legend of Zelda series. And putting the temple theme from Zelda 2 into a trance is cool!

[avaris]

Some really cool composition ideas and originality in this mix. This one's got soul, and no matter how dated some of the production might seem in comparison to blind's current work this will still remain an enjoyable piece of music.

[Nutritious]

Was bLiNd ever NOT good at music? This piece is pretty old, but it's still super catchy and fun to listen to. Jordan effortlessly weaves original melodies and material into his staple Trance genre - but without it ever feeling forced or awkward. No small feat. Great change-ups in the drums and sections to give the mix plenty of variety. He has improved a ton since this mix, but that doesn't detract from how good even his old stuff is.

[yosefu]

I'm not familiar with the original tune but this is pretty cool but not my favourite from bLiNd's other work. Overall i enjoyed it, so thats cool in my book.

[Marmiduke]

Hard to believe that even this far back, bLiNd was making tracks of this quality. It's also hard to belive bLiNd was ever a noob at mixing. The more you know.

I see this as a clear stepping stone to the successes of bLiNd's later work. Everything done here plays out extremely well; there's a heavy focus on pacing and arrangement over just plain driving beats, there's also some nice variation and a distinct improvement over his first mix.

These points would all be magnified and used better in the future, of course. But I think this mix deserves the recognition for laying a lot of the groundwork.

It's the first of many top-tier mixes.