ReMix:Super Mario 64 "The Slumber of the Beast" 2:42

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO... US!

OC ReMix turns 17 today, which means you just don't *understand* us, we wish you'd stop trying to control our *lives*, and can we borrow the car Thursday night? Among other clichés ;) One of the highlights this year celebrated a different birthday, that of my daughter Esther, who will actually be turning THREE in about a week; time flies when you're barely surviving & sleep deprived! This ReMix from DaMonz (Emery Monzerol) off of Esther's Dreams puts a pleasant, swaying, & mellow chip-jazz spin on Super Mario 64:

"First of all, I send my wishes of joyous celebrations to Her Highness the Pretzel Princess and Her whole family, in honor of Her day of birth! :-)

Now, let's get down to business. Trying something different, once again. "The Slumber of the Beast" (pun very much intended... I'm really sorry) is officially my first "non-hyper" ReMix to be completed. It's a satisfying change of pace for me, and an interesting leap out of my comfort zone. My main objective was to keep everything as minimalistic as possible. I wanted to try to have "just enough" in order to keep things interesting throughout, and to make sure the track still had a meaning and told a story. It's a super fun approach, and I think everyone should try it at least once. I hope everyone will enjoy this short jazzy jam!

With that being said, I'm amazed at how many tracks have been done so quickly for this project. Congratulations to everyone who participated! I think it's a great way to express our gratitude to Daddy Pretzel™. ;) Thanks again for everything, Dave, and congratulations!"

This album really was something special; I deeply appreciate everyone coming together for it, and I hope that all gamers but especially gamer parents & gamer bambinos will enjoy it for years to come! Larry writes:

"I've only been around OCR for 14 years as a fan, but I have to give much respect to djp for starting this place 17 years ago, and the community that's formed around Dave's goal to honor game music. Since my daughter Robin and OC ReMix share the same birthday, December 11th, I'm currently (but only BRIEFLY) ducking out of her 1st birthday party to set up an appropriate mixpost today. There's no better way to celebrate OCR's birthday than with a track celebrating the birth of the OCR founder's first child, so let's enjoy this chillaxation from Esther's Dreams.

Having enjoyed his work on the Shuttle Rush soundtrack and his past OC ReMixes, it was wonderful hearing Emery apply his chippy and upbeat sound palette to a more relaxed source tune like "Piranha Plant's Lullaby." The light and bouncy nature of this one was a perfect fit for the album's Playtime disc, with rhythmic changes and grace notes aplenty that comfortably added an innocent, bouncy feeling. :-)

When so many talented artists stepped up to create for Esther's Dreams, it was just one of a number of examples that prove how versatile, creative, and driven this community is towards creative interpretations of video game music. As we slowly approach 20 years in at this point, may the dream never end. HAPPY BIRFDAY, OCR! :-D"

Mellow, clean mix... minimal, but not minimalist per se, as there's plenty of motion & direction, with plucky chips and a synthetic soundscape blending over acoustic drums. It almost sounds like an application of the Super Mario Galaxy aesthetic to Super Mario 64, with the omission of any orchestral component; good stuff!

This year has been a *bit* slower than previous years, but that's mostly because we've been taking care of long-standing issues & getting our ducks in a row... 2017 should be gargantuan, if all goes well. Seventeen years is a long time to endure on the intarwebs, and changes are necessary & inevitable in ensuring another seventeen years... we're working hard to lay the groundwork for that evolution, so I'd like to thank Larry (happy birthday, Robin!), all site staff, Emery & everyone else who chipped in on Esther's Dreams, AND the entire community at large for keeping things moving forward!!