ReMix:Earthworm Jim "Launch the Cow!" 3:15

MkVaff is back!

Again. Again ;) Mike Vafeas returns to OCR after another hiatus with an energetic & groovy take on "New Junk City" from Tommy Tallarico's score to Earthworm Jim!!

"It's been quite a while! I'm not hailing this as a masterpiece by any means, but I just finished it and it came out pretty nifty, so I wanted to send it along in case you guys wanted to feature it on the site.

I was originally going to wait till I had something more grand and impressive to submit as the first track under my new handle, but my new direction is more about going on a creative journey than any grand, cohesive artistic vision. I'm admittedly quite rusty at remixing, and I learned a lot of new LIVE techniques from working on this piece, but putting it together (though at times frustrating!) was still a blast.

Thanks, guys!! Hope you enjoy!"

Sometimes we get trapped up in expectations - our own, or our perceptions of others' - and it can end up dictating our creative process too much or, worse, curtailing it. I think Mike's got the right idea in enjoying the journey & the exploration part and not worrying unreasonably about the end result, especially in a comparative sense. If you dig what you made, you had fun making it, and you grew as an artist, that's really a win-win regardless of anything else that happens. If others dig it too & it happens to work for being featured on OCR, so be it!

This mix checks those two boxes, in my book, with a bit o' swagger & funk, plenty of synths, some more modern accompanying synth FX, and a strong downbeat. Additional layers are added as things progress, which gives listeners a good opportunity to identify the ingredients as they are introduced. I think swapping out the organ lead for something else at some point would have addressed what I like to call "lead fatigue" and helped differentiate the sections of the arrangement, and I also think bringing in some more aggressive drums & drum processing would have been a cool way to up the energy towards the end, for more dynamic contrast & development. Larry writes:

"That said, the rhythmic variations to the source tune right from the get-go and the textural variations with the instrumentation over time were both crucial in providing substantial enough interpretation."

Good stuff; not better than MkVaff's best arrangements, sure, but a solid & fun return - be on the lookout for more as a veteran of the scene gets back into the game!