ReMix:Sonic 3D Blast "Enigmatic Melody" 4:39

For his third posted mix, Arceace (Ben Clifton) takes on the Genesis incarnation of Sonic 3D Blast with a watery EDM jam anchored by a rubber-band saw bass & shimmery piano, bells, and bubbling synths. After a couple revisions/resubmissions, Ben writes:

"I'm throwing this one at you again! I've focused solely on increasing the production quality and mixing of the final track this time around. I would really like to thank timaeus222, SuperiorX, and G-Mixer for giving me some wonderful feedback on the WIP forums."

DragonAvenger comments on the final form of this arrangement:

"Sticking with it really paid off here. I love your opening build, and while things never get super thumpin' in terms of energy (it's not meant to be) you've done a great job of adding a lot more life since your original sub. There are a lot of little details and intricacies that really bring this together, and I can definitely tell that you've spent a ton of time working on the tweaks that, while not overtly noticed, really push it over the bar. Kudos!"

What strikes me as unique/intriguing about this mix is the offset of an EDM-ish style foundation against ambient natural FX (water), combined with the changing structure & emphasis on the beat. The beat here shuffles, skips, grooves, and drops out entirely, and it's an oddly sparse instrumentation at times, but I think it works. So does Palpable:

"This is my first time hearing this, so I can't compare it to previous versions. Love the intro, it takes a lot of skill to make such a subtle build that smooth. Even though the song proper doesn't kick in till 1:45, it never lacks direction - you can tell that it is building towards something. I was expecting something fuller at that point, but the sparse shuffling beats were an interesting twist. As I kept listening, it grew on me and when the piano came back in, it really clicked. Hard to believe this is a fourth resub, because this is an easy YES. A beautiful, confident song with some risks taken."

What he said; Vinnie's analysis often tends to line up with my own, so I regularly CTRL-C/CTRL-V his judgequote and just toss my two corroborating cents in ;) The Saturn version of 3D Blast tends to get more love, so it's nice to see its counterpart getting some love, and I'm glad Arceace persisted with revisions, as the end result features production that sells the arrangement. Distinct, interesting stuff that's ALSO pretty dern easy to just tap yer toes to!