Arranging the music of one song...

"Dark Mountain Forest"

Primary Game: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (Nintendo , 1991, SNES), music by Koji Kondo

Posted 2009-10-03, evaluated by the judges panel


Fantastic tracked/chiptunish Zelda:LttP ReMix from Platonist; judges panel were digging this, but I think I'm more enamored of the piece than they were, especially the joyous last minute, an intricate menagerie of interweaving, modulated synthesizer awesomeness. Jonas' previous mixes from 2008 had a similarly polished, refined clockwork of retro-chic oscillator soup going on, but I think this is my favorite work yet; he writes:

"Well Here it is, the second track in my Zelda-Forest theme Series - yes the source is called "Dark Mountain", but it also appears in the Dark World Lost Woods so I'm gonna stick to my theme-thing ;) the mix is made with Impulse Tracker, well, actually it's its windows clone Schism Tracker, and since I used some of the special features of it in this particular remix, like the filter envelopes (not available in original IT) i would like to state this clearly this time....I've been working on this track since the summer of 08 and i finally got access to a real studio and its wonderful monitors so i think this mix will sound even better than my usual new stuff. i used Wave Lab for post processing/mastering and encoded it to mp3 with Lame.

I tried to keep the track shorter and less repetitive BUT since I love to <-expand-> I just had to go the expansionist route once again, dividing the two parts into two longer parts, just like I did with "Forest of Hysteria" and "Diamond Worlds", and I'm gonna have to tell you (*grins*) that if you didn't like the previous Zelda remix due to its noisy appearance and feel, you shouldn't dis this mix, because it's not of the same character.. not even close.. this is because I don't like to stick to one and the same theme or sound through out all my tracks/mixes/songs/w/e... =)"

I'm glad I'm not the only one who hears the Imperial March when listening to the source; zircon writes:

"This vaguely reminds me of Infected Mushroom - mainly the drum and bass sequencing. I'm a sucker for heavily-layered stuff, and once a lot of instruments were going at once, I thought the full texture and rhythmic syncopation were just awesome. The arrangement here is really great. It drives home the main melody with lots of original writing and some excellent variations. The source tune was a little boring (and more than a little Star Wars-influenced) and I think Platonist's interpretation was much more interesting. Jonas, you're getting better and better with each sub. Keep it up!"

This is a truly great mix that really develops and picks up towards its conclusion, delivering melody, harmony, and boatloads of synthetic, bubbling waveforms. Check it out, then check out Platonist's previous mixes if you haven't already, and keep an eye out on reuniverse.org for the extra-curricular activities of Jonas and some other very familiar OCR names. Looking forward to hearing more!

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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shinco
on 2010-08-21 22:35:04

I gotta say, I love all of your remixes, especially your Legend of Zelda ones. Something about them is just so wonderful! ^_^ Thank you for adding wonderful music to my life! ^_^

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phazmatis
on 2009-12-09 16:08:59

I could tell from the beginning that this one would be epic... I wasn't disappointed!

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Emunator
on 2009-12-03 01:54:22

Alright, this one took a long time to grow on me but I think I'm finally coming around. Something about chiptunes mixed with the mood you set up for the song just took a bit of adjusting to, I guess :-P There's a lot of attention paid to detail in the processing and arrangement and I think that effort shows through in the final product. The unconventional, sorta-glitchy drums really add a subtle boost to the track, too.

This is definitely a different kind of chipstyle than I'm used to hearing from the likes of halc or AeroZ, but a welcome change nontheless! :-)

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Martin Penwald
on 2009-10-25 06:33:21

Yesterday morning, I woke up at 5:30am, and this tune was playing in my head. Now that's what I call leaving a lasting impression.

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Crulex
on 2009-10-24 11:18:23

Sweet stuff! This tune never gets old and the beat of this ReMix is sick! Great!

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yosefu
on 2009-10-09 23:12:20

This is very cool and well thought out mix. Great stuff!

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metalsnakejuice
on 2009-10-07 00:55:03

Decided to listen this today. A nice well put together arrangement.

Great work.

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Platonist
on 2009-10-05 18:50:12
Despite my 'no' vote on this, I am generally feeling this one. Once it hits the main theme it's really strong.

I still do think that the beginning part gets a bit overly cluttered, but what's in there is good to go, it just needs better separation.

A decent and unique take on the source. :-)

^^ yeah, as i wrote in my previous post. i agree more or less on that. i was a little ambivalent about it before i submitted the mix, but decided that it was the way to go considering the chiptune-ish feel of the track in general.

oh, and thanx ^^

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OA
on 2009-10-05 14:41:05

Despite my 'no' vote on this, I am generally feeling this one. Once it hits the main theme it's really strong.

I still do think that the beginning part gets a bit overly cluttered, but what's in there is good to go, it just needs better separation.

A decent and unique take on the source. :-)

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Bahamut
on 2009-10-05 03:14:10

Ok, this is pretty cool - nothing like any approach to Death Mountain I've heard. Songs using the chiptune style of production amongst other elements on OCR is almost nil, so this is a welcome addition, especially with how well it is integrated with the other instruments here. It somehow keeps a sense of mystique you get from the original, and adds a certain level of urgency you don't see in the original.

Love it!

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Jaredin
on 2009-10-04 09:03:13

Just listened to it.

Really nice, yes does seem a little repetative at times however that dosnt detract from the overall pieces greatness.

Nice arrangement, certainly worth adding to any fans collection!

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halc
on 2009-10-04 04:36:55

lovin' the chippy-ness man, lovin' it. great remix :nicework:

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Platonist
on 2009-10-04 04:32:13

oh well looky here. ^^

notes:

i agree with the judges to some extent, it is a little muddy and the panning could've been expanded, but somehow i felt this direction was the way to go.

otherwise, im pretty happy with it. enjoy!

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Metroidfan10
on 2009-10-04 04:11:03

I really like the part that starts at 1:37. It has a very industrial feel to it; it almost reminds me of Fear Factory from Donkey Kong Country. Overall a very cool and unique remix.

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Level 99
on 2009-10-03 23:19:34

Wow....if I ever heard this in a game back in that day and age I'd be pretty floored...or have a mad chiptunes rave party. This is, well, pretty kickass. I love the first half how it's basically the buildup of adding more complicated synths and such, break it down again, and bring it back for the resolution. All of these old-sounding digital-thingamabopers come together and, in their fusion, make something that sounds much more than the sum of it's parts (not saying the parts itself are in any way negative).

Added to the "game dance party" playlist. Very cool.

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


Primary Game:
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (Nintendo , 1991, SNES)
Music by Koji Kondo
Songs:
"Dark Mountain Forest"

Tags (3)


Genre:
Mood:
Instrumentation:
Chiptune,Electronic,Synth
Additional:

File Information


Name:
Legend_of_Zelda_A_Link_to_the_Past_Ghost_Grove_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
5,940,506 bytes
MD5:
0ea4bc50f2fd9805cf474589522ea1a5
Bitrate:
192Kbps
Duration:
4:04

 

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