ReMix:Mega Man X5 "affirmation" 4:15

Sexy, downtempo ambient jazz/hip-hop jam from melody off Maverick Rising; Peter's another artist where I love every mix we've posted to date and can loop them for ridiculously long periods of time. He writes:

"the x5 ost has always stuck out to me among the vast mega man catalog, and i love the melancholic overtones in this particular track. a big creative influence was the recently departed Nujabes (rip), whose jazz-infused hip-hop style inspired me on many levels and whose passing encouraged me to re-evaluate the lack of jazzy goodness and phat beats in my own songwriting style. the crackle in the beginning represents x as he slowly regains consciousness after the fight with sigma, and the title comes from x's self-doubt and perpetual search for truth amidst the carnage caused by the eurasia crash and the loss of his partner zero."

Album director Wes "Bahamut" Cho writes:

"This track is a quite nice rendition of the ending song of Mega Man X5. It maintains a nice, calm & laid-back vibe to it similar to the original, while the bass gives it more of a Korean R&B feel in addition. Peter did a good job maintaining the role of the original while adding his own flavor to the song, and paying a tribute to the late Japanese hip hop artist Nujabes."

I can't quite place that secondary lead - sounds like a hammered dulcimer, to me - but it adds a very nice, unique feel to the lead piano & synth accompaniment, contributing to that "dusty attic" aesthetic that's echoed in the use of static. Judges had some production gripes that were mostly addressed by this remastered version; the intonation on the descending motif at 2'01" strikes me as strange, almost like an emergency alarm going off over top of the otherwise mellow groove, but none of the judges mentioned it, so your mileage may vary. Overall, I really dig the weathered, relaxed picture melody's painted, the mixed melodic instrumentation adds variety, and I think this track was an excellent, atmospheric addition to the album.