Liontamer Posted May 22 Share Posted May 22 OC ReMix team, Hello again! Mazedude's back with another release, and yes, another tracker homage. -- Remix Title: "Tangerines for Moose" Game: Earthworm Jim 2 System: Sega Genesis (although it also came out on SNES) Year: 1995 Composer: Tommy Tallarico Original Composition: Anything but Tangerines (also known sometime as just Tangerine) WAV file: -- Description: Fun fact, in early 2024 I was looking at my list of tracker homages, checking out which trackers I had mimicked a lot over the years, and contrarily who I hadn't yet paid homage to, even though they had been a big source of inspiration as I was learning the art form. As part of a fun exercise I even started to map out what game themes I would choose to arrange as part of a stylistic tribute, keeping in theme with the game remix by way of tracker homage motif. Interestingly enough I landed on Anything but Tangerines from Earthworm Jim, as potential for a tracker homage to Tito, per his 1995 tune "Mooserun." (Note that Mooserun was darn impressive due to the insane amount of brass/sax/jazz samples used in the track, not a simple style to mimic by any means.) I loved the idea, but I put a pin in it... who knew when I would have time to explore such an idea. Fast forward a couple months, and out of nowhere I get an email asking me to contribute to Earworm Jam, a remix album commemorating the 30th anniversary of Earthworm Jim, and would I like to make something for it. What timing! Enthusiastically I said yes, and could I claim the Tangerine theme from EWJ2 while I was at it. Sweet. Claimed. Then... I had to make it. Good gravy that was difficult. Tapping into the sampleset that Tito established... that was hard! Making it work for Anything but Tangerines and also nailing the original theme, the notes of the guitar solo, hitting the flow while keeping the funk style intact... yeah, that was difficult. But I did it. And I'm very proud of the final result. Behold, "Tangerines for Moose." -- Let me know if you need anything else! All the best, Christopher "Mazedude" Getman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prophetik music Posted May 23 Share Posted May 23 wild original as expected. big brash drums and bass samples used here. the limitations of the tracker are immediately obvious as it's kind of a dense soundscape, and kind of muddy, but chris gets so much out of his tools. the melodic material in the brass sounds fantastic - i love the little vibrato on the end of the sustained notes. there's a screaming sax solo at around 1:10 and some other funky synth work through 1:40. there's a bit of a break there and then we're back full speed at 1:43. there's some more ensemble work with the organ carrying the scalar melodic theme for a bit, and a shout chorus at 2:31. it blows through some ascending fanfare elements and then it's done. tracker music isn't my thing by any means, but it's easy to see the skill here. this is an energetic and appropriately quirky approach to a crazy track from a fun soundtrack. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hemophiliac Posted June 25 Share Posted June 25 Surprised this doesn't have more votes yet. Man, this is a fun throwback. And it's weird to call this a throwback, simply because it's "tracker-style". Chris is so good with trackers and the arrangement is fantastic. 1:08 was a great time to change things up (including key) and take a different direction for a while. Good break from the semi-chaos of the original here. The flying bass runs are awesome, and really embellish the original very well. No complaints from me. Easy, YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emunator Posted June 25 Share Posted June 25 I feel like any Mazedude track with the word "Tangerine" in the title is going to be have high standards to live up to, but immediately I hear that he's up to the task. I've been diving into a bunch of retro-inspired romplers myself this past week, and it's given me a really deep appreciation for some of these quirky sounds that haven't exactly maintained their foothold in the soundscape of modern pop music. The deeply gated drums, impossibly expressive lead synths, the gurgling basslines, and... orchestra hit synths? Is that what those are? I can't even tell, all I know is that it scratches my eardrums in a way that only Mazedude can. The arrangement is respectful of the original and expands on it. I couldn't have asked for more, we're sure lucky to have you around after all these years! YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted June 25 Author Share Posted June 25 Not a fan of how lossy & crunchy the mixing feels; why so muddy? Nice textural shift at 1:08. Yeah, I just don't get the mixing, but I'm stubborn as a moose there; it sounds like someone had a boombox and then recorded the playback from that speaker. :-D Not that it would excuse it for me, but "Mooserun" doesn't sound like this either, so /shrug. No question the arrangement's strong, which is the Mazedude way. The arrangement's strong, so it's a squeaker for me. YES (borderline) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts