ReMix:Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars "Oyster Me Timbers" 2:46

Last up, for today at least, are Phonetic Hero & Hylian Lemon with a badass orchestral-dnb-chiptune jam that turns a family of bivalve molluscs into a verb; Pete writes:

"Ben took up the reins on this track after I'd started with a VERY barebones WIP, and, of course, sent something way more awesome back, taking it in a completely different direction than what I'd started. 90% of the track was his doing, and then I came back at the end to re-write the drums and add a couple things here and there, then do the final mixdown. Took me FOREVER to land on the kit and perc writing that you hear in the final track, but I think it turned out alright. Experience was 10/10, would Oyster again."

Interesting alley-oop-alley collaboration process, but the results speak for themselves: this is a great blend of orchestral, chip, and something like dnb, with each aesthetic fully-realized and still successfully integrated into the whole. Plus: DOPE BASSOON BITS. Big fan of the instrument and love to see it used; I threw a contrabassoon into my own ReMix for the album, so it seems the entire bassoon family is getting repped pretty solid. Album co-director DaMonz writes:

"This one was initially started as a very haunting acoustic take on the original piece. But then, our favorite Phonetic Hero was joined by his Hylian partner, and the piece evolved into an intense chipfest of madness. The amazing drum work shown here hits hard when it comes in and shines all the way through, while the melodies and chord progressions get twisted in particularly clever ways. All of this really gives a unique taste to this track that cannot be found in the original source track, even though the ReMix does a great job at preserving the original’s mood and general feel. Very impressive work from Pete and Ben!"

Yeah, gotta say, brilliant work; doing genre mashups like this isn't uncommon nowadays, but it's hard to give orchestral elements the breathing room & depth they deserve, and they sometimes end up as window dressing for the EDM/electronic side of the house. That pitfall is squarely avoided, the chip work is superb thanks to Ben's well-established prowess, and then on top of all that you've got intricate beatwork that spirals around the whole affair with true spark. I'm glad the original vision for this arrangement shifted & evolved as the collaboration progressed, because the end result is a highlight on Window to the Stars and a very creative, engrossing, and enjoyable experience. If a young Danny Elfman went demoscene and then learned how to make sick beats, he might have made something like this. If that's not weirdly-hypothetical but still deeply-complimentary praise, I don't know what is - excellent stuff from pH & HL, highly recommended!