ReMix:Harlequin "Coming to Chimerica" 5:03

Binster! IT'S BEEN 8+ YEARS!! If you're not familiar with Martin's work, DEFINITELY check out his previous six mixes for some awesomely creative arrangements! I confess that I'd never even heard of Harlequin before, but composer Barry Leitch should certainly ring a bell for anyone fond of amazing VGM from the Commodore/Atari ST days of yore - which in a perfect world would be everyone :) This plucky electronic 80's dance jam is catchy as all hell, in addition to incorporating a lot of chip/SID-style elements and bookending with clocks ala Pink Floyd's "Time" off DSOTM. The artist writes:

"Here is my new remix. I hope you like it. It's a remix of the Amiga game Harlequin - a nice and jaunty tune which I've given a bit of a bombastic rework. It was produced in Reason 7, and I named it "Coming to Chimerica" after the fictional land in the game (and a hat-tip to the Eddie Murphy movie Coming to America). I hope you accept the remix - currently, Harlequin is lacking in recognition for its excellent soundtrack."

All sorts of bonus points (at least 3000) for the mix title & reference - if you haven't seen Coming to America, I'm slapping you in the face RIGHT NOW, and will continue doing so until you begin watching. Sexual chocolate. The intro/outro ambience+fx give this a distinct feel, but when things are in full effect it's very much an infectious groove with an indefatigable bass. 2'53" to 3'22" offers a nice breakdown & riser, and the whole thing is just do dern HAPPY. This arrangement does play it quite conservative for large swaths, but the production is a creative interpretation in and of itself, and things start branching out more after the first couple minutes. Nutritious writes:

"Liking the clean production work here. Crisp beat, good separation of parts, nice filled out soundfield. Nothing to really gripe about on that front. As mentioned, this initially keeps it pretty close to the original, arrangement-wise. However, Binster starts getting more and more creative with his interpretation throughout the track, keeping things fresh. Speaking of Binster, we haven't heard from this guy in a while! I remember his older stuff being on my ocr playlist for a looong time. It's nice to see early ReMix pioneers (as I see them, at least) returning with new stuff. Liking this mix and hoping we hear more from him soon."

I'd like Binster to do a ReMix of Sparkster, just for the sheer "-ster" suffix synergy. Martin's always had his own thing going on & the mixes he's sent in have been diverse in both texture & source material, and always enjoyable. I'm gonna check out the rest of the Harlequin soundtrack, lovely to get some much-needed Amiga action, and more love for Barry Leitch in general is never a bad thing. Great to hear from Binster after all these years, and I'll second Justin's comment that it'd also be great to hear more!