ReMix:Mega Man 9 "Big Brute Force of Nature" 3:38

timaeus222 hits us up with a large & in charge EDM take on Mega Man 9's "Tornado Man" theme with big, meaty beats, an arsenal of synths, and crystal-clear production:

"Well... I don't usually like to rework old music, but I guess in a way, I kinda did, this time. :) I had an old Tornado Man ReMix (called "Whipping Up a Tornado," also in the style of D&B, still on the WIP forums) that I had basically given up on, because I didn't properly use a compressor back then, and I was trying to do edits with it still on in the Master track - bad idea! That aside, I started completely over and did another ReMix of this source tune from scratch, taking influences from zircon and Lindsey Stirling (especially her Shatter Me album; do go check that out). Also, I guess you could possibly consider the ReMix title a little happily accidental tribute to the game show Chain Reaction (Big Brute, Brute Force, Force of Nature).

Anyways, when I was initially working on this, I actually wanted to do something sorta like Dream Theater... but it didn't reeeeally turn out that way. It was still fun to write though, especially in the breakdown section in the middle. I'd say 2:16 is my favorite part, when I was riffing on the intro hook in the original; I found it rather catchy. In a sense, this is kinda pop-y in structure, and I'm glad, because it led me to depend on differentiating what's already there while keeping a would-have-been-copy-pasted structure rather than simply writing something completely new to keep things changing. It was a fun experiment, and I think it melodically and harmonically takes the source in a new direction, even compared to the other Tornado Man remixes on the site. Also, many thanks to Nutritious for giving me some feedback that motivated me to take this to the next level. :D This is fairly straightforward source usage (but not simple, IMO), so no need for a breakdown this time. ;)"

DragonAvenger writes:

"The reverb here is really tastefully done, the space is wide and boomy, but everything is still very clear. Straightforward in terms of source usage, but definitely has its own style. Nice work!"

Emunator adds:

"This piece is surprisingly vibey and understated. The drums and bass are inherently energetic and powerful, but the synth patches are silky smooth throughout. It captures and holds my attention without shouting "LOOK AT ME!" like a lot of high-energy, uptempo electronica tends to do. Despite that, it's also very nuanced - lots of fun melodic variations and processing tricks keep this fresh without compromising the overall mood of the piece."

I like that the drums here have some trappings of a more traditional kit, with tom fills and what not, and as Wes says there are some more subtle details under the chutzpah & mojo. From an arrangement perspective, there's no single idea that reaches out & grabs me as being particularly dramatic, but the aggregate of all the changes results in a more energetic incarnation that successfully merges older & newer EDM components into a single, very enjoyable package. Great stuff!