ReMix:Sonic the Hedgehog "Sonicquarium" 3:31

By The Cynic Project

Arranging the music of one song...

"Green Hill Zone"

Primary Game: Sonic the Hedgehog (Sega , 1991, GEN), music by Masato Nakamura

Posted 2013-03-28, evaluated by djpretzel


The Cynic Project (Alex Smith) debuted on OCR back in 2011 with a memorable, creative arrangement of 'Green Hill Zone,' and now he returns in 2013 with... a memorable, creative arrangement of 'Green Hill Zone'!?! Yep, and the two ReMixes are really rather different, which is both required by our standards AND kinda nifty; such source revisiting reminds me of Sadorf's two takes on 'Vents of Medusa' from Ecco GG. The artist writes:

"The intro to this mix is based off my own track "Julie's Aquarium" which is where Sonicquarium comes from (credit to my wonderful wife Julie for the name). My goal for this remix was to create a lush arrangement with high production value using the EWQL symphonic orchestra library. When I began work this winter, I had just bought the "close mics" expansion for EWQL which was the primary inspiration for the instrumentation. I developed and reworked this mix over a long period of time and made many drafts so I could capture a variety of techniques I was learning about orchestral arrangement at the time (like the trills on flute/violin and programming for contrabass)

This mix is intended as sort of a sequel to my previous mix April Rain, and a conclusion to my series of GHZ remixes so that I can focus on remixing other tracks from the Sonic series."

Contrasted with "April Rain," this mix is less upbeat & poppish and has a floatier, mellower sound that blossoms into much more of an orchestral vibe as things progress. Harp & chromatic percussion intro with faint ethereal choral elements & pads, creating a delicate, bubbling, underwater atmosphere before picking up with ensemble strings @ 1'02" and then rolling snares @ 1'20" - nice alternate pizzicato articulation on the strings! Any significant similarity to its predecessor would probably be related to the clarity, spacing, and EQ - everything is discrete & clean, reverb is used frugally, and even during larger ensemble portions, there's a really good sense of immediacy and presence. Great stuff from The Cynic Project, whose arrangements have a paradoxically positive attitude to them and who has now provided us with TWO very different but equally creative & enjoyable mixes of the same source!

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 10 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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Jello_Snake
on 2021-01-22 23:05:59

Extremely chill. Like a Lullaby.

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Defend
on 2013-09-17 14:53:29

Wow, so refreshing to hear Green Hill done in such a pleasing way. I would have preferred it without the upbeat sections at all, that's just me, but it's full of beautiful moments anyway. It also sounds very legit, like it's not battling with the "videogamey" vibe at all to produce something that is simply really nice to hear. I just love the piano and strings... and coupled with how genuine it sounds as non-game music, this would now have to be my favourite GHZ mix.

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Samuru
on 2013-04-26 21:09:58

Wow, so soft, so peaceful. I really dig this kind of music, and perfect for my instrumental playlist for studying, etc. Thanks so much, God bless ya, great tribute to Green Hill.

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Skotios
on 2013-04-03 02:36:49

Green Hill April Rain (another version on The Cynic Project's Site) and this remix have been my two most favorite videogame remixes for like the past 6 months. I find them amazing because I've never been a huge fan of the original source compared to other sources but these remixes have changed that for me!

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Crulex
on 2013-03-29 09:18:13

So relaxing in the opening, but it picks up nicely in the second half. This is really cool, and I could almost hear this being a watery level take on the Green Hill Zone like the Mario World ocean was compared to the above land theme........you know, if Sonic could actually swim without dying. Lovely little ReMix right here.

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SuperiorX
on 2013-03-28 20:41:06

Oh yeah I've had this on my playlist for quite some time too. Such a great song!

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jimmyslaughter
on 2013-03-28 18:18:24

This is a really smooth track. I could totally play Minecraft or SimCity 2013 to this.

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Argle
on 2013-03-28 17:37:18

Oh man, I've had this track in my playlist for like a year. I didn't even know it had a name, I just thought of it as "that really cool Sonic mix".

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Gario
on 2013-03-28 17:04:35

Mmm, tasty mix. I really enjoy contrasting this track to your last one - they kind of belong to one another, as a pumping beat and a reprieve.

Very well done, you guys.

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djpretzel
on 2013-03-28 16:17:50

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

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


Primary Game:
Sonic the Hedgehog (Sega , 1991, GEN)
Music by Masato Nakamura
Songs:
"Green Hill Zone"

Tags (5)


Genre:
Mood:
Mellow
Instrumentation:
Harp,Orchestral,Strings,Woodwinds
Additional:

File Information


Name:
Sonic_the_Hedgehog_Sonicquarium_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
5,954,048 bytes
MD5:
04d9a2eab284284c87aed4820f5d8c34
Bitrate:
222Kbps
Duration:
3:31

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