ReMix:Plok "Dolphin with a Shotgun" 3:28

More Plok... more Follin!! Mazedude ensures we start the year off legit, with an amazingly dark & atmospheric piece that still works in some quirk. With a game like Plok, and a title involving porpoises that, in spite of lacking opposable thumbs (or fingers, for that matter), are still apparently toting some mean boomstick, you wouldn't necessarily guess this mix would have such a transfixing aura. Chris explains:

"A remix of the "Shotgun" theme from Plok. Original theme by Tim Follin. The idea here was to take one of the goofiest tracks from the Plok score, and arrange it to sound as though it was from the soundtrack to Ecco: Defender of the Future, which was also composed by Tim Follin. An odd experiment, but fun, and I'd been wanting do an "underwater" style remix for a while.

I know that, for many, a remix that goes to a completely different genre, feel, and sound from the original can be weird. But, it can also be a great chance to show the power of arrangement. Such is what I did here, by taking a goofy, silly Plok track and re-working it to sound like the aquatic, ethereal feeling of the Ecco score. If you listen carefully, closely, and pay attention to the string, choir, keys, and leads in my remix, and compare them to what the tuba plays in the original Plok track, you'll hear the same melodies. There's also a brassy counter melody, the brassy chords, little xylophone bits, and more from the original that all correlate to the material in the remix. Granted, I spiced things up a bit with the arpeggios in the background and some added harmonies, but the actual notes heard all should match the original. P.S. To really hear the main theme smoothly in the remix, you'll need to play it at like 400% speed. :)"

I certainly hear the Ecco influence, and listening to this mix makes me picture submerged caverns, bio-luminescent flora & fauna, and David Attenborough doing some serenely-informing voiceover work - very transporting, in other words. MZD's statements above should make it clear that the arrangement is very liberal, making some unorthodox compositional mutations in the transmogrifying journey from whatever Plok is into a dolphin; thankfully, Chris provided a breakdown that aided in analysis. Vig writes:

"Oh Mazedude, why you got to remix this source in such a creative way??? YOU'RE KILLING ME! Okay, I went back and forth and back and forth, and indeed I did hear the source. What's there to say. Your remix is beautiful right in the soundscape, it never wears out its welcome, and I can't really complain about anything."

Jesse can't complain... about anything? In other news, hell freezes over; Nutritious manages expectations:

"Re-analyzing source usage and some careful listens did bring more to light in my mind. Thanks to Larry for the breakdown as well. If you're here looking for Plok nostalgia, you should probably check elsewhere. HOWEVER, if you are here looking for more crazy Mazedude creativity, you've come to the right place."

I'm not entirely sure how many people out there are desperately seeking Plok nostalgia - it's an elusive demographic to quantify - but I think Mazedude has done right by Follin's source while clearly morphing it into something very, very different, albeit similar in aesthetic to another of Tim's soundtracks. Very meta, very musical, and well... very Mazedude!