ReMix:Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner "ADA" 3:43

Anti-Syne!! It's been too long!

We conclude our FIVE MIX FLOOD of arrangements from new and/or obscure games as Jack Lewis (huge fan, especially of his last three mixes) returns after a couple years of silence with our first ReMix from the Zone of the Enders franchise - a stunning, futuristic synth/vocal robotic space opera that channels E.L.O., "Hide and Seek," and actually reminds me thematically of AkumajoBelmont's classic DarXide (32X) jam from days of yore; Jack writes:

"It's been a long time since my last submission. I make it over two years since my last non-album track, so here's a ReMix I've actually been working on for a while now.

If you don't count my PaRappa track, this is my first ReMix to feature lead vocals. I've always been a fan of artificial sounds, so all of my own vocals here are heavily processed, plus the idea here was to make the female vocals sound like the A.I. in Z.O.E, "ADA," so these are synthesised and, again, heavily processed.

Originally, this track was a lot heavier and driven, but I couldn't get it to work how I wanted, so I scrapped most of it, stepped out of my comfort zone and went for a far more ambient piece then I've ever done before, taking my main inspiration from "Go" by Delilah."

Chimpazilla simply writes:

"Wow, this is so cool. Love the lyrics and the vocoding. Mesmerizing track!"

While very much its own piece of music, the vocoding & overall aesthetic do channel the above references for me, all of which I have very positive connotations. This is drifting, intergalatic pop, an interstellar radio transmission from an age defined by technology indistinguishable from magic; very cool, nails the mood. Liontamer writes:

"I've been a fan of "Kiss Me Sunlights" from the original Z.O.E since my college days, and hold it in high regard not only for the cool Engrish vocals, but for being one of the modern tracks that demonstrated what was emotionally possible on the day's CD-based systems (as compared to my N64). :-) I'm thankful for Jack sending this in, as I'm new to "Beyond the Bounds," which is a pretty odd theme. In my opinion, I really thought Anti-Syne did well focusing on BtB's chorus and smoothly connecting it with the verse from "Kiss Me Sunlights" with some of his vocals and piano. This one feels dystopian, robotic, and dark, yet (slightly) hopeful if you're paying attention to the lyrics.

No shade against Delilah's "Go," but I'd argue the warbling synth line here in "ADA" was used in a more lively and sophisticated way; credit to Jack for adapting a cool bit of sound design into something even more interesting. I've hoped for a Zone of the Enders series OC ReMix for quite some time, so it's great to have Anti-Syne make it happen with a brilliantly-produced piece referencing both the first and second games!"

While embracing the inarguable futurism of rising synth arpeggios (as ubiquitous in our coming years as grids full of blinking lights with no observable purpose, if you believe Star Trek TOS!) and of course employing vocoding both consciously AND contextually (relevant to the game world, as Jack explains), the actual underbelly of this ReMix is more of a 20th century ambient R+B jam, which is unobtrusive & minimalist enough to let all the spacey effects & mechanized vocal texture shine. Since this arranges material from the first AND second Z.O.E games, technically this five mix flood has delivered arrangements from SIX previously unmixed games. Bonus! Very stylized, very distinct, a complete departure for Jack in terms of overall tone, and an awesome tribute to some of the great vocal VGM on the Z.O.E soundtracks; highly recommended!