ReMix:Metroid Prime 3: Corruption "Entropic Dream" 4:33

We kick off the last month of 2014 - after a much-needed four day vacation - with a gorgeous, atmospheric Metroid Prime 3 arrangement from Pyro Paper Planes, with assistance from Laura Intravia, off of 101% Run. Buzz-phrase one-liner testimonials invoking "It's like X meets Y!!" are often reductionist and/or lazy, but "It's Like Metroid Prime Meets American Beauty!!" really DOES kinda sum this one up... which is a great thing in my book. Christopher explicitly acknowledges the strong influences:

"One of my favourite moments in a video game is when you encounter an environment or moment that contrasts everything you've encountered up until that point. In Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, that moment was when you come across Planet Elysia, Skytown. The setting is so peaceful when compared to the hostile locations up until that point. Kenji Yamamoto, Minako Hamano, and Masaru Tajima capture this beautifully with the original Skytown track (which is also featured in the epilogue of the Metroid Prime Trilogy).

The lore of the planet even leaves more to the imagination; sentient robots going into hibernation for hundreds of years, to only perceive the world through their dreams. I really wanted to capture those moments in life where everything just stands still, in a dream-like state. I took heavy inspiration from the works of Thomas Newman and Jeremy Soule, to which their work always manages to put me in a state of tranquility.

For the lead instrument, I chose a very gentle piano. I paired this up with little ambiances throughout the track, such as atmospheric effects or whispering enigmatic passages. This really helped shape the overall piece into a sense of delicateness. The dulcimers worked very well, conveying both an ancient, yet mechanical colour. The final touch to the piece was Laura Intravia's exquisite vocals, which added a final organic layer to the soothing piece.

"Entropic Dream" is probably my favourite composition. It encapsulates the style of music I love to listen to and create. Sometimes, it's the little nuances in a piece that speak loudest. If you listen carefully to "Entropic Dream," you might hear something new. As a musician, I hope to inspire listeners to enjoy the little moments in life, to stop for a minute in their day and to enjoy the world for all its sound."

The entire aesthetic really nails the intimate, up-close-and-personal piano with the contrastingly distant, pensive melody & pacing, which is definitely Newmanly. If you beam that pianist up from whatever Hollywood studio he's playing in and beam him back down to a cold, alien world, you begin to get the picture; scraped textures, evolving pads, and an icy tension enveloping a warm, emotive piano. Larry writes:

"Chris's vision of this source tune is a great contrast to DarkeSword's take on the same theme back in 2007 with "Yellow Valkyrie." Led with lovely piano work, PPP's established a shimmering atmosphere that quickly draws you into its ethereal imagery. Props on the Thomas Newman and Jeremy Soule mentions as well; I'm sure Dave will agree he's hit the mark there in terms of the inspirations. Laura's spoken word contributions are a very subtle, purposefully understated presence in the piece. They're not meant to be understood, so they're perfectly produced and placed within this indistinct dreamscape."

Newman piano with Soule accompaniment :) Of course, it also definitely has its own unique voice, and it's quite cool to see PPP pairing his passionate piano persuasion w/ ambient atmospherics. Great stuff that achieves its design goals and takes us on an otherworldly journey!