ReMix:Metroid Prime "This Binary Drifter" 7:13

We interrupt our Arcadia Legends mixflood to wish you a merry xmas & happy holidays with a chill, wintry downtempo/glitch Metroid Prime piece from DDRKirby(ISQ) [Timmie Wong]:

"Surprise -- I actually do more than just 9-bit chiptunes!

As the title of the mix alludes to, this arrangement is heavily inspired by BT's This Binary Universe album, which was WAYYY ahead of its time in the way that it blended downtempo ambient melodies with crazy circuit bending glitch sounds. This album is still inspiring me over 10 years (!) after its release in 2006 -- last July I actually released an entire album of songs in that style.

This particular remix comes courtesy of Cole Wardell, who requested a remix of the "Phendrana Drifts" theme as a reward bonus for my Patreon campaign. I figured that the downtempo ambient/glitch style of This Binary Universe and Sentience would be a perfect fit for something out of Metroid Prime. [Spoiler alert -- I was right!] I bounced back and forth between 7/4 and 4/4 time and focused on the main "Phendrana Drifts" source, but also managed to fit in the distinctive whistle motif from the "Chozo Ruins" song, as well as some references to the main Metroid theme.

This mix took AGES to write, especially in comparison to my normal speedy workflow, and there were a lot of sections which I reworked and/or tossed out entirely along the way. Despite that, I'm really proud of the end result, and am pretty excited to show OCR a different side of my music. I like to experiment with a lot of different sound sources when I'm writing in this style, so there's very heavy use of Paul's Extreme Sound Stretch, foley-style percussive sounds, and "stutter edit" glitches. I also utilized the Sonic Forest and Sonic Ocean Impact Soundworks libraries, which worked quite well for providing interesting background textures.

I hope you enjoy a taste of something a little different!"

REALLY cool stuff; a perfect winter holiday chillout jam. The arpeggio run that reverses samples on the way back up is but one of many textural highlights & sound design stocking stuffers - Timmie really layers things exquisitely here & applies FX generously but tastefully and with craft. Larry Oji writes:

"It wouldn't by Xmas on OCR without some sort of snow, ice, or holiday-related ReMix, so we're proud to keep that tradition going. (And speaking of tradition, don't forget to grab the forum community's An OverClocked Christmas v. XII!)

For anyone familiar with This Binary Universe, BT's stylistic influence is very apparent, particularly the glitching. Yet since the sound palette is distinct, this isn't approaching a soundalike exercise at all, and DDRKirby's indeed shown off some new angles to his music here. Ironically enough, this isn't one of Timmie's products of an insanely fast workflow, yet the 7-minute runtime seems to effortlessly melt away. Lovely and engaging from start to finish!"

What he said; this shows another side to Timmie's music which is every bit as vivid & compelling as his chippier stuff, reflects the influence of the legendary BT in a way that gels perfectly with Metroid Prime, and offers up a gorgeously chill & transporting soundscape that channels the season. Enjoy it, and for those celebrating, merry xmas from all of us at OCR!