ReMix:Faxanadu "Ce pays me rend mauvais" 4:48

By Nurykabe

Arranging the music of one song...

"Castle of Dartmoor"

Primary Game: Faxanadu (Hudson Soft , 1987, NES), music by June Chikuma

Posted 2009-06-08, evaluated by the judges panel


Well, I had a long, carefully thought out writeup ready for this mix... then I was smited by the God of technology, and the whole thing disappeared into a void. I assure you it was eloquent and provided sage wisdom and thoughts not just on the mix in question, but on life itself. I'm gonna try this FF plugin and see if it's worth a damn. Long story short, this is a unique, very stylized ReMix that takes the source melody pretty verbatim but pairs it with an interpretive accompaniment that channels the scores from Jeunet & Caro films like Delicatessen and Amelie, combined with 8-bit chiptuney goodness. Because I am still frothing at the mouth due to the unfairness of the universe, I think quoting the judges comments would be an excellent way to fill out the writeup. Andy says:

"So the arrangement issue boils down to whether its acceptable to have the main melody being played nearly exactly like it is in the source, with a very similar instrumentation for most of the mix. Does the original writing and expanded harmonies make up for it? I thought there was a lot of creative writing that was added to build on the original. This is a tough call for me. The production is rough in spots, and in particular I'm not fond of the main beats, but I think ultimately this is a creative interpretation that does pass our bar. The melody is not as creatively interpreted as I would have liked but the supporting writing and new counter-melodies, riffs, and harmonies makes up for it IMO."

zyko adds:

"the vibe is what floors me. very rarely does a piece of music that i get to hear at the site truly transcend the physical musical elements to the point that it warrants this kind of consideration purely based on how it makes me feel. i mean, there's no way that the mixture of uber-processed and subdued drums, a distant, warm and muddy acoustic guitar, some NES-y chip leads, weird percussive breaks, other aural oddities and what sounds like it was filtered through a water bong... could work this well.

but it does.
very creative, very bold, very smart. very good in my book"

And, last but not least, Vinnie writes:

"This is really great stuff, the mix of guitars, subtle glitchy beats and FX, and NES synths, with the occasional woodwind thrown in. I think you really nailed that folktronica sound (sadly, that's actually the genre name). The fact that the original NES synths are so upfront does make this borderline, but the amount of processing on them means it's acceptable. I don't think anyone can accuse you of "taking the original game audio and simply adding drum loops". There's a lot of creativity shown in expanded the original material, and there are parts without the NES synths, besides. Each segment sounds very unique, yet the progression is not random either."

The panel attempted to contact the artist for some changes, but that never happened, and hence there was a massive delay in this being posted. The writeup I lost explained this a bit better, but going forward we're going to wait three months to hear back regarding requested changes, and if we don't, we'll then make a final judgment as to whether that mix will be posted or not, as-is. Great, fresh stuff from Nurykabe - check out his cryptic-but-enjoyable website for art, games, and more très bien musique.

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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blahpers
on 2021-10-12 13:35:37

Putting the remix back in OCRemix, rearranging a ton of source material while augmenting it with an ecelectic assortment of instruments and electronica.

Fantastic.

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Black_Doom
on 2021-01-18 16:54:45

Lovely! The electronic parts of this track sound quite simple at times, but sometimes simplicity is the key - and this is definitely the case here. Add super warm, intimate-sounding guitar, and you've got yourself a pretty fun piece of music. The glitched chips are actually pretty cool, and the lead at 2:17 isn't something I've expected, but something I've enjoyed for sure. It's a shame OCR didn't recieve any other stuff from this guy, but oh well :)

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ViRiX
on 2010-08-24 22:01:08

Hm this is pretty interesting. I like the parts near the end where it gets kind of glitchy. I also like the arpegated square waves too. It kind of reminds me of some of the stuff in bomberman.

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Kruai
on 2009-09-24 10:35:42
kruai on Twitter had IMO the best English translation of the title, i.e. "This country sickens me". So for anyone wanting to know what this meant, there you go!

Despite my NO, which was more on a policy level, I thought this was a solid piece of music. Haven't heard anything from Nurykabe in a while, but I do hope he sends something new our way.

Hey, I'm here too :)

I like this piece a lot. Another one straight onto my iPod!

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Bip
on 2009-08-11 20:38:02

This piece was weird, very weird the first time I heard it. I listened to it again because it actually drove me to curiosity, and then to sheer madness as to how I was actually enjoying listening to it. Not enjoying as in "It's really good" but more "Listening to this is improving my mood" and that rarely happens. There's a handful of songs on OCR that do that to me, but ...this one caught me by surprise. Having only the faintest experience with the source, I can't comment on how close it is to the original composition, but I will tell you that this will ABSOLUTELY be included in my future OCR playlists.

I don't know what else to say about this song. I'm confused.

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Martin Penwald
on 2009-06-24 16:00:37

Digging the use of the chiptune, but I think it should have taken a backseat a litte bit more often. I really like the intro and outro, and some of the breakdowns are really nice, but I think the other instruments should've come out a little more.

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LuckyXIII
on 2009-06-19 21:48:46

This also is in my favorites collection. An OCR classic, I'd say. I'm not familiar with the source material, but I like the use of the chiptune. And the composition is layered with nuancet though it makes me think more of The City of Lost Children than Amelie.

The tone is just - not bizarre, nor arcane, but eccentric. The tone takes me back to childhood playing NES games I never quite understood but was fascinated with nonetheless.

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Coucou
on 2009-06-13 05:33:23

An important work, and a lot of good work, is this remix.

Interessing variations of one theme, in my opinion.

It goes into my favorite OCRemixes collection.

Thanks!

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VARDOCK
on 2009-06-12 17:43:21

I love it. I have been waiting for this to come out for months. I was not disapointed.

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Liontamer
on 2009-06-11 09:22:35

kruai on Twitter had IMO the best English translation of the title, i.e. "This country sickens me". So for anyone wanting to know what this meant, there you go!

Despite my NO, which was more on a policy level, I thought this was a solid piece of music. Haven't heard anything from Nurykabe in a while, but I do hope he sends something new our way.

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SoulinEther
on 2009-06-10 22:45:44

cet oeuvre me rend calme, relax, ....bon.

I'll agree with zyko - there's a good vibe about this one. It really does put a smile on my face. I'm usually interested in melodic variation but... this is just fascinating to me. I'm not annoyed at all by the fact that I'm hearing the same melody over and over; it's sort of like a fun ostinato to me.

And I mean, the melody does get a little varied at the end. Very briefly. And once. Still neat.

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ChaosPlayer
on 2009-06-10 00:12:50

Old school game touch tune to it, very nice beat, and a nice melody to it. :-o Really A+ must listen track.

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Nerfherder
on 2009-06-09 22:57:01

Erm, Wall of Text approaching. Sorry. :oops:

Like mv, I am a diehard Faxanadu fan and I'm sad that there are only two remixes from this game to date. The soundtrack is amazing and I feel that many remixers would like it if only they had the exposure to it. If I had any kind of remixing ability, I would definitely rectify that oversight, but for now I'll take what I can get.

On my first listen the intro guitar sounded a bit wonky timing-wise, but after subsequent listenings it makes more sense and doesn't sound out of place. I guess knowing what to expect helps a great deal in that regard.

I liked where the section at 2:18 was going...until I realized that it actually wasn't going anywhere. Given the fairly straightforward repetition of the main melody up until that point, hearing the variation made me expect more to come, but instead all I got was the same four measures thrown back at me...twice.

I really liked the section at 3:12 for two reasons: a) you finally got to the B melody! Hooray!; and B) it's very reminiscent of Metroid-style music and remixes, of which I am also a fan. It's a small departure from the previously Frenchy, Amelie-type sound but I still enjoyed it.

The R2D2-esque whistles at 3:39 get a mention from me as well just because I think that's awesome.

The rhythm chords at 4:01 remind me of...something. I can't think of what, unfortunately.

Overall, I thought it was good except for the part at 2:18, as stated. I agree with SmartLX that using the NES chiptune lead (or an excellent approximation of it) is not instrinsically bad. I rather enjoyed it.

However, I also have to agree that more variation of the main melody would be a very welcome addition. And this is coming from someone who could seriously listen to the Faxanadu chiptunes all day long. The way the song is structured makes me think that this piece could have been titled "Variations on Faxanadu Final Area Theme," except that the variations are everywhere but the main melody. Don't get me wrong, it's still good, but it could have been better.

In conclusion, we need more Faxanadu remixes. Posthaste.

P.S. I hope that wasn't too bad for a first-time post. :

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Mtlbro
on 2009-06-09 03:28:36

Well this sounds . . .nice :)))

I really like when things pick up at 3:59 . Guitar sounds amazing love the panning.Nice subtle strings throughout the piece

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vindkast
on 2009-06-09 00:18:29

Very cool, I like this a lot. Thanks for making this, and thanks OCR for posting it. Props to DJP for CJ reference.

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


Primary Game:
Faxanadu (Hudson Soft , 1987, NES)
Music by June Chikuma
Songs:
"Castle of Dartmoor"

Tags (4)


Genre:
Mood:
Chill
Instrumentation:
Acoustic Guitar,Chiptune
Additional:
Effects > Glitching

File Information


Name:
Faxanadu_Ce_pays_me_rend_mauvais_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
5,444,823 bytes
MD5:
81f53272be254c717ea5eeceaeb97058
Bitrate:
148Kbps
Duration:
4:48

 

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