ReMix:Sonic Adventure "Red Barrage Aquarium" 6:54

Question: What happens when a bunch of ace session musicians with legit killer studio chops get together and jam on a slick & funky tribute to the music from Sonic Adventure?

Answer: THIS!

Seriously badass debut from a group of fellas who very clearly know what they're doing, contributing to an arrangement that takes full advantage of that knowledge & offers up our first ReMix of Sonic Adventure since 2012, and an early highlight of 2016! Lots of musicians here with extensive pro credits, Wikipedia pages, and aforementioned studio chops of potent lethality. Check the links below; they've practically all worked with a who's who of pro musicians:

• Peter Fernandes - arrangement, keyboards, production
• Brett Garsed - guitar solo
• Richard Hallebeek - backing guitars
• Ric Fierabracci - bass
• Shane Gaalaas - drums

Yeah.

Peter Fernandes writes:

"Hi, all, Peter Fernandes here, first-time submitter! I did an arrangement of a couple of my favorite tracks from Sonic Adventure. I love the soundtrack from this game, so I wanted to do a cover with some of the best guys I know!

I've been producing video game-inspired music for a while now, but this is my first straight-up cover. Sonic the Hedgehog games to me have always had wonderfully varied soundtracks, combining rock, electronic, funk, and Latin music even from the first games in the early 90's! Sonic Adventure on the Sega Dreamcast I think carries on that tradition of excellence in a real way, and I picked two of my favorite tracks from the Hot Shelter level to remix: "Bad Taste Aquarium" and "Red Barrage Area," written by Jun Senoue and Kenichi Tokoi, respectively.

The result is a funky fusion piece (with accompanying in-studio video performance) that features an extended guitar solo from one of my favorite guitar players, Brett Garsed. Dutch guitarist Richard Hallebeek plays all the backing guitars including the funky comping and some really badass rock riffs that I pulled straight from the original material. Rounding out the rhythm section are LA session musicians Ric Fierabracci with some great slap bass and Shane Gaalaas banging the drums (he also provided me with some awesome multi-angle fills in the video). I did all the keyboard stuff and production including a synth solo towards the end over my favorite groove from the song. All of the parts, instrumentally, in the two source tracks are so well written; I really wanted to assemble a crew that could lay down the law technically, but also bring new life to two tracks that are now over fifteen years old!

After months of work putting this whole thing together, it's really an indescribable pleasure to see this music come back to life! Also look for the 2014 release, Q.E.D., featuring the entire line up from this arragement on iTunes, CD Baby, Abstract Logix, etc.!"

Larry Oji writes:

"Gotta give this one credit; though we don't require OC ReMixes to sound like the original tracks in terms of instrumentation, tone, style, or mood, we're cool with that approach as long as substantial interpretation is there. This is a great example of an arrangement that personalizes the performance of the source material, yet this sounds like it would 100% fit like a glove on the original Sonic Adventure soundtrack, going for almost a middle ground of jazzy rock compared to the rock and funk styles of the two sources. Definitely on the same wavelength as OA in enjoying the energy & talent of Peter, Brett, Richard, Ric, and Shane; great job, gentlemen!"

Great job, indeed; judges weighed in with unanimous & unilateral praise, largely as a formality and just to vet the arrangement. if you've been waiting patiently for an SA ReMix to be posted, your ship has certainly come in, and at 6'53" & doing double duty on the source material, this is almost like getting two. From the impeccable solo work to the funky wah guitar to the bass to the drums, every last part is personalized and imbued with the full vitality of an amazing performance, and the arrangement ties that all together and capitalizes on it. Great stuff: substantive, musical, impressive, & a whole bunch of fun!