Posted 2010-01-14, evaluated by the judges panel


This is some damn sexy Castlevania from Kunal, who we hadn't heard from since 2007, off of the Bad Dudes' Resurrection album. It has clearly been too long is all I gotta say, because ktriton has upped his already formidable game with ace production and seriously brilliant textural juxtaposition. I really have nothing remotely negative to say about this mix, and I find a lot of the ideas and instrumentation refreshing and immaculately executed. From string swells to R&B snaps to creaky EP to the transition from electric bass to synth bass, this is sickness and slickness, joined at the hip. And that's without even mentioning the acoustic guitar that drives the whole piece, with its myriad articulations, sweet mixing, and perfect performance. The whole thing screams pro, but in a subtle, confident-but-not-obnoxious voice that oozes with creativity. Kunal's expressed concern that some of his arrangements may be too liberal for the site, and while that may still be the case for some of his stuff, in this instance the panel was unanimous that this was more VGM arrangement than original. Swede writes:

"Obviously I wouldn't mind some more overt source usage from Kunal next time but this particular arrangement is safe to pass in my opinion. Production is clean and crisp, arrangement is hot and everything is well put together. I especially dig the attention given to the ghost notes in the drum patterns. Guitar sounds excellent too, very smooth to combine soft sounds like that and the electric piano with the busy drums. Great performance too, very nice dynamic playing."

Yeah, ditto all that on the crunchtacular and spot-on drums. There are individual stylistic elements here that remind me of posu and Morse, but it's really got a style & vibe very much its own, and I dig it big time. Hopefully you will too - a hearty welcome back to ktriton!

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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Crulex
on 2012-07-18 11:39:58

I would love to know what it is about Castlevania songs that lend themselves so well to these kinds of funky, groovy ReMixes. But forget the details, as DJP pointed out, this does remind me a bit of Morse's work with the 'Vania stuff, but this sounds amazing. Smooth, with a bit of a dark creeping vibe to it, and throw in the spanish sounding guitar for good measure. A great days work for the symphony of the night.

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Villainelle
on 2010-01-30 18:58:03

Finally, someone remixed Wandering Ghosts! Phenomenal work riffing it up here. Yeah, the percussion is a bit hissy, but it's venial. Props props.

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DCT
on 2010-01-29 19:02:34

This was always one of my favorites from "Resurrection." I dig the sexy rhodes; another homerun from Kunal.

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Martin Penwald
on 2010-01-29 17:06:54

Nice, smooth and jazzy remix, just how I like them. The Spanish guitar is a nice touch, and the strings add the dash of creppy atmosphere that really makes this a Castlevania remix.

Wonderful.

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Bahamut
on 2010-01-22 01:22:48

Hm, how come I don't remember this track? Weird.

I also agree with Audity somewhat - I too had an issue with the high end on the drums being too loud.

Otherwise, this song has an interesting groove to it. It approaches the song in a more seductive direction with it focusing more on the guitar being played with a more spanish flair to it, if that makes any sense. A nice listen though!

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DiggiDis
on 2010-01-20 07:06:35

Kunal's always amazing. LOVE the drum work here .. And the rhodes progression immediatly reminded me of 'Buena Vista Social Club - Chan Chan' .. getting in that mood followed by the constant changes of mood/paste etc. .. Plain Awesome.

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martinstatic
on 2010-01-18 10:39:09

50/50 on this, would have liked to hear more Dance Of Pales, but I think the Wandering Ghost atmos was spot on, so nice work :)

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Mustin
on 2010-01-16 21:44:04

This is my favourite track off that collection. Maybe my favourite "smooth" Kunal track (favourite rockin' one is "The Bad Ending"). I've listened to it probably a thousand times already. I'm not sure, but I think I rendered the Rhodes for him 'cause the one he had originally wasn't as hoppin'. But either way, it's the arrangement here that is awesome. I love it. I LUB IT

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ChaosPlayer
on 2010-01-15 20:43:42

Breath taking sound track ever listned to from OCR. I'd have to say this marks as my 1# favorite sound track (being mellow) on my Ipod that's for sure. The only thing that turned me off was at 2:33 with the strange growling noise and chain draging for a moment. Other than that, pure "ear candy" to me.

A+ must listen.

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MechaFone
on 2010-01-14 14:34:33

This was one of my favorite songs from this soundtrack.

A fantastically original take on this ballroom dance type song. Wonderful, thank you for this!

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Audity
on 2010-01-14 14:03:42

It's great.

I just wanted to say that there's a little bit of extra treble in the high-end percussion, which, according to my experience and producer-headphones setup, is a common problem in many many songs really.

I like playing my songs loudly. And, in order to hear natural instruments (e.g. high notes of pianos and guitars) at their maximum quality -- by boosting up high-end EQ -- doing so primarily results in ear piercing, whenever there's such percussion 'in the way' in many songs out there.

It depends on the mindset and audio setup of the person, but I think that a tiny bit more tweaking and consideration for many artists will make for an always enjoyable listen.

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halc
on 2010-01-14 11:16:38

this is great. awesome drum rhythms. love the strings, they're very pretty :3

oh, and that ending was sweet as hell

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OA
on 2010-01-14 11:06:02

Exceptionally excellent. I love the guitar and drums, and the keys lay a great backing. Super smooth work, I love it. :-)

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LostChronos
on 2010-01-14 10:37:30

This would be perfect for the secret hidden jazz groove bar in that one level in the upside down version of the second part of the game,....yeah. Smooth. I was almost expecting some rock guitar riffs to pop in there somewhere since that's almost all I have ever heard from SotN. :-o

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djpretzel
on 2010-01-14 03:16:25

What did you think? Post your opinion of this ReMix.

Sources Arranged (2 Songs)


Primary Game:
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (Konami , 1997, PS1)
Music by akiropito,Jeff Lorber,Michiru Yamane,Rika Muranaka,Tomoko Sano,Tony Haynes
Songs:
"Dance of Pales"
"Wandering Ghosts"

Tags (3)


Genre:
Jazz
Mood:
Funky
Instrumentation:
Acoustic Guitar
Additional:

File Information


Name:
Castlevania_Symphony_of_the_Night_Wet_Dreams_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
5,732,916 bytes
MD5:
bfceefccc6ab13cd7170da7ec39e7e99
Bitrate:
160Kbps
Duration:
4:42

 

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Published 2008-10-30
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