ReMix:Undertale "Sunny Day Drive" 4:10

HAPPY 2017!!

We start the new year off on an upbeat, positive note with an 80's synth-pop Undertale ReMix from Just Coffee (Gian Descallar), who follows up his catchy Mega Man 8 debut from March of last year with another sweet treat:

"The wind in your cape... The sun on your skull...

It's everyone's first time enjoying the surface in years. Papyrus decides to spend it on a free and open highway, with nothing but the sun on his face and the wind in his cape.

Out in the sun, drives the awesome one...

Hello OCR, here is my remix of Undertale's wonderful track "Hopes and Dreams." The feeling I'm trying to convey from this remix is one of freedom on the open road, speeding down a highway from who-knows-where to you-don't-care.

I was a bit more conservative with this one because the original track really just sticks and it made this quite difficult for me to stitch another track in there. So I decided to just give it an 80s makeover. I kept the main melody and changed very little with the chord progression. I felt the key change could've used an interesting flourish, but I didn't want to disrupt the buildup leading up to it. So it's pretty much vanilla in that sense except for most of the backing parts that weren't. I kept the bass at a nice and steady pulse all throughout to act as a kind of engine that keeps the energy going.

I finished this a fair bit after the MM8 remix, but I kept it to myself for a while because I didn't have much confidence in it. But I present it to the panel now to learn if I did well with it or what I could've done to improve it. Whatever your thoughts on it, I look forward to hearing your feedback. Cheers!"

Pretty darn solid, Gian; it's perhaps a little straightforward, with no real curveballs, but it effectively executes a pleasant, synthwave aesthetic on a source that's melodically strong & amenable to the treatment. Larry concurs:

"As both an aside and a shameless plug, if you need even more upbeat greatness in another vein from this soundtrack, snag LongBoxofChocolate's licensed Undertale jazz album The Lesser Dogs!

I know Gian wanted some critiques on this one, but I didn't have much beyond his own self-reflection; obviously there could be more interpretation of the sources here, but he shouldn't sell himself and this melodically conservative version short on the fun, creativity, and effectiveness of his '80s-inspired adaptation. For all you folks that hated 2016 and need a fresh start in 2017, I hope you're filled with determination (and smiles) at Just Coffee's handiwork! :-D"

Ditto all that; it's gonna be a great year for VGM, a great year for OCR, and hopefully a great year for every last one of you... thanks to Just Coffee for helping us get it started off in the right direction!