ReMix:Rayman 2: The Great Escape "Disconnected" 3:09

By Ben Briggs

Arranging the music of one song...

"Staff Roll (Th)"

Primary Game: Rayman 2: The Great Escape (Ubisoft , 1999, N64), music by Eric Chevalier

Posted 2006-05-15, evaluated by the judges panel


"Okay so I was talking to Rayman the other day, and he was pretty mad about the whole not having any of his games on OCR. So I was like, hey dude you don't have any arms or legs so maybe I should do a remix. And he was like good plan little man. I told him that was a strange thing to say because I am much taller than him and not to mention I am real and he is not."

Undoubtedly a true story from the ReMix's creator, Mr. Briggs. Personally, I find it somewhat politically incorrect to have pointed out Rayman's lack of interconnecting limbs so matter-of-factly, but I'm one of those crazy blue state people, so what do I know... I could personally never understand how Rayman got his name; unlike the nefarious evildoers that people the Mega Man universe, who are all intuitively named after their respective abilities, Rayman seems like an enigma wrapped in a puzzle bunched up inside the minds of some zany French guys. Nevertheless, his first game was one of the few highlights of my brief experiment in Atari Jaguar ownership (just a youthful lark, really), and his second set of appendage-challenged misadventures I recall the Dreamcast incarnation of rather fondly. Now chthonic, who seems to have one too many H's in his pseudonym, happily provides Man Ray with some happy mixage. Synth bass intros, drums at 0'08" with a funky lil hat and a pattern that builds to the chirpy + cheerful synth lead at 0'23". Check out the extensive cross-panning on the lead - Ben paid a lot of attention to this aspect of the lead, and it's alternating left/right playfulness works. Yankee Doodle makes a brief cameo, then the sitar's whipped out for some funkiness, which segues bizarrely into a sort of evil, mad-scientist organfest, leading us all the way back to the original happy-go-lucky synth motif. For some reason, the riff here reminds me of the catchy-as-all-hell and cheesy-beyond-belief organ solo from the golden oldy "Sugar Shack". Shariq says:

"wtf yankee doodle lol

Yeah, this is supertite. Nice percussive work, with some neat breaks here and there. This is totally feel good music. I love the use of triplets all over the place for pickups. Slick stuff. The overall package is nice; good sounds, fun groove."

Jesse was a bit more critical but was still won over by the sheer sugary sweetness, which he is of course terribly susceptible to:

"This mix has a lot of subtlety that is done particularly well. Panning, percussion hits, breaks. The instruments are simple, but tight. countermelodies (like the flute) are really cool. The mix is weaker when looking at the big picture. The groove is pretty much the same throughout. There isnt so much escalation as there is switching off between instruments and ideas."

I'll agree on the lack of escalation, but it's Rayman, man... he's all about just kickin' it. You can't afford to escalate too much when you've got nothing connecting your torso to your extremities, so instead you go with the flow and cook up whatever whimsical and strange musical concoction you can, which is exactly what Mr. Briggs has done, albeit in his typical, beyond-competent, correctly appendaged fashion. Catchy, sugary stuff that plays around the material with both enthusiasm and craft.

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
avatar
OA
on 2009-10-05 15:52:53

Rayman is one of the best things to come out of France besides Scaredsim, Baguettes, and French women, and it's only fitting that he gets a funky and funny remix.

The percussion is excellent, and though the groove doesn't change up drastically throughout, there are a lot of cool fills and stops thrown in to keep us interested. The breakdown percussion right after the Yankee Doodle segment was especially good, and I loved the panning in that segment. Sample quality is a bit lofi, but melodically and harmonically everything clicked.

A really creative and interesting mix. :-)

avatar
Martin Penwald
on 2006-06-05 11:37:47

I should paypal a dollar to you for this great song.

avatar
Benjamin Briggs
on 2006-06-04 15:21:40
And I also love the breathed "Rewind" at 2:20.

SOMEONE CAUGHT THE REWIND!

I'd paypal you a dollar, but I'm far too uncommitted.

avatar
Martin Penwald
on 2006-06-04 09:06:19

Wonderful stuff we have here. Very cheerful and happy. The yankee doodle gave me quite a strong flashback, reminding me of the days when we we're playing NorthSouth on the Amiga 500. And I also love the breathed "Rewind" at 2:20.

Nice work, keep it up.

avatar
CE
on 2006-05-26 13:51:16
(BTW they mispronounced your name in VGDJ)

YES!

Even though she said it right back when it was with Rayza. They even made fun of it, I remember. They reviewed your My Turn To Dream mix and then commented on how the correct pronounciation made them sound like a gay salesman or something. They still didn't get it right.

el oh el

avatar
Benjamin Briggs
on 2006-05-26 13:33:23
(BTW they mispronounced your name in VGDJ)

YES!

avatar
CE
on 2006-05-26 12:35:50

Oh hell yeah, Rayman is my favorite platformer series. Ever. I like it better then that so called "platform master" Mario.

I love the remix. Seriously, everything... well Yankee Doodle was uncessary but whatever. You friggin rock Chthonic.

(BTW they mispronounced your name in VGDJ)

avatar
watkinzez
on 2006-05-23 04:03:35

Well, that took me a while to figure out the title reference.

avatar
Yhoko
on 2006-05-17 21:55:44

Excellent work, gotta love it!

avatar
Salluz
on 2006-05-17 19:36:05

I have an ecellent musical ear, so I can do without them, but the thing is, eversince I could make a beat, I've been on a quest for Rayman 2 midi songs. If you know any sources, just throw me a link. :)!!

avatar
Moppo
on 2006-05-17 09:45:28

When the string part comes in at 1:44 and the little weird noise that sounds like someone hitting glass bottles at 2:06, they sound exactly like the instruments from the game. Well done! I can't wait for more of your work!

avatar
Benjamin Briggs
on 2006-05-16 23:09:09
OMFG.

THANK YOU.

You cannot imagine the estatic frenzy I went into when I saw this on the front page. 3 friggin years of looking for a -decent- Ray!remix and I finally have it! :D I'm giddy with joy.

Quite obviously, I really like this. At first I thought that familiar Rayman tune I know and love wouldn't make an appearance but fortunately it did. Then I was like "wtf was that yankee doodle lol" but that fit in well with the remix. Like the fact that the robo-pirate theme was added 'bout halfway through the song, and that lil string instrument thingie that's part of the game as well. Heck, everything sounded more Rayman-ish as the music progresses.

I would go on but I suck at reviews so I'll do the favour of saving page space here. I'm downloading this as I type and god, just this alone made my whole miserable day. Once again, THANK YOU :mrgreen:

this is why I remix, people

well, this and for pure selfish personal satisfaction

avatar
Rayeli
on 2006-05-16 22:47:54

OMFG.

THANK YOU.

You cannot imagine the estatic frenzy I went into when I saw this on the front page. 3 friggin years of looking for a -decent- Ray!remix and I finally have it! :D I'm giddy with joy.

Quite obviously, I really like this. At first I thought that familiar Rayman tune I know and love wouldn't make an appearance but fortunately it did. Then I was like "wtf was that yankee doodle lol" but that fit in well with the remix. Like the fact that the robo-pirate theme was added 'bout halfway through the song, and that lil string instrument thingie that's part of the game as well. Heck, everything sounded more Rayman-ish as the music progresses.

I would go on but I suck at reviews so I'll do the favour of saving page space here. I'm downloading this as I type and god, just this alone made my whole miserable day. Once again, THANK YOU :mrgreen:

avatar
A-RoN
on 2006-05-16 18:00:22

I've been waiting ever since I found OC ReMix for a Rayman mix.

This song is great. It always gives me a feel of almost being inside the game. The beats are tight and human, and the composition pays homage to the original tunage with the same pizzacato riff you find in most of the game levels.

Excellent job!

10/10

avatar
Salluz
on 2006-05-16 17:46:39

This mix, I'd say, is wonderfully abstract, but at the same time it is well-structured. I assume that this was produced and remixed on FL Studio by the talking synths.

This game was one of the best in its day; it had its goofiness and its depth, making it a game suitable for a wider age range than most action/adventure/strategy games. I'll have to look at the details of this mix to find out WHERE THE HECK YOU GOT 'DEM RAYMAN MIDIS FROM! (That is, if you used a midi).

The music in that game is some of the best music in all of game musicdom!

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


Primary Game:
Rayman 2: The Great Escape (Ubisoft , 1999, N64)
Music by Eric Chevalier
Songs:
"Staff Roll (Th)"

Tags (4)


Genre:
Mood:
Happy
Instrumentation:
Electronic,Synth
Additional:
Regional > World

File Information


Name:
Rayman_2_Disconnected_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
4,612,552 bytes
MD5:
acb460eea35132b5be0681a523aa626f
Bitrate:
192Kbps
Duration:
3:09

Promotion

8-bit Jazz Heroes - Press Start
View All

Latest Albums

View All

Latest ReMixes