ReMix:Killer Instinct "Dawn of the Instinct" 3:34

By Paul Hadame

Arranging the music of one song...

"The Instinct"

Primary Game: Killer Instinct (Rare , 1994, ARC), music by Graeme Norgate, Robin Beanland

Posted 2019-08-06, evaluated by the judges panel


Stranger Things meets Law & Order in this slick, gritty, cinematic + synthwave take on Killer Instinct, from Paul Hadame. This is Paul's third featured mix, following up from DKC3 back in 2015 and a DKC1 sequel in 2016. Great to see more music, and the vibe continues to favor large, expansive soundscapes & ambient elements. This reminds me at times of the Streets of Rage intro music, which in turn reminds me of Law & Order, and then whenever I hear a pulsing analog bass of a certain tempo, it does tend to conjure the Stranger Things intro, however generally. Beyond those aesthetic reference points, Paul's laid down a larger, more ambient world for the KI source to inhabit; Rexy notes some of the changes:

"I'm down for the direction you took the framework. It's got some gorgeous textures, effective use of reverb to give it a hint of a post-rock vibe, and that wet guitar feels surprisingly lush despite the risky ambiance in play. The source material is also clearly there, but the track only uses the pads and melody from it, and they worked well to contribute to this spacious soundscape.

...As for interpretation, there is plenty of it going on via the other instruments with the added original guitar melodies, filtered arpeggios, and other additional pads on top of the source representation."

As a sidenote, ReMixer, composer, & sound mangler extraordinaire N-JekteD (Mick Gordon) went on to score both the Doom reboot AND the Killer Instinct reboot with some truly blistering sound design & energy - small world! The guitar here is deliciously synthetic, and the whole initial intro - up until the ingame vox sample at least - definitely conjures some hard-boiled true-crime teledrama, albeit of a more futuristic variety, at least for me. The fadeout ending is a bit of a bummer; the material itself doesn't facilitate it, but in addition the fade curve is a little abrupt, sounding more linear instead of exponential. prophetik music adds:

"i think that this is a great example of how to take a song and do almost the same thing, but not quite. i appreciated the fx clips and the consistent dynamic contrast that was presented throughout, and the space that's been allowed to exist really gives a great backdrop for when the rest of the mix is going. i also really like the attention paid to the lead to keep it interesting and varied."

Roger all that; no one was feeling the ending, but everything else is large & in charge, giving "The Instinct" a synthwave/cinematic makeover of sorts, for increased gravitas & impact. More great work from Paul; enjoy!

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 5 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
avatar
CJthemusicdude
on 2024-04-23 11:58:18

I really enjoyed the vibe of this remix. The vox sfx were extremely well placed and the transitions were incredibly smooth. Excellent remix here!

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Crulex
on 2022-01-29 16:49:20

Orchid’s original stage and the feel of Ultratech in general always gave me the feeling of a gritty and dark yet somewhat beautiful city vibe, so this synthy take on the main theme really hits the spot for me. KI is one of those game franchises that I will always enjoy hearing more love for. Ending didn’t bug me as much because that’s how the original character select theme ended on the ost as well, so I’m used to it. Very nice mix.

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WesternZypher
on 2019-08-07 12:32:33

Agreed that it imbues the original tune with weight and tension and feels right at home as the intro to the gritty and dark fantasy 1990's counterpart to the SF movie in some alternate reality. Short and unsatisfying ending though - has that "builds up to nothing"-itis about it that some remixes that start off promisingly suffer from.

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timaeus222
on 2019-08-06 23:14:35

I really like the spacious vibe here. I think you nailed the style you were going for. Maybe the ending could have been more than just a fade-out. It could even have been one final hit at 3:24 that you let die out normally.

avatar
Liontamer
on 2019-08-02 14:06:30

What did you think? Post your opinion of this ReMix.

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


Primary Game:
Killer Instinct (Rare , 1994, ARC)
Music by Graeme Norgate,Robin Beanland
Songs:
"The Instinct"

Tags (7)


Genre:
Cinematic
Mood:
Dark,Suspenseful
Instrumentation:
Electric Guitar,Electronic,In-game FX,Synth
Additional:

File Information


Name:
Killer_Instinct_Dawn_of_the_Instinct_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
5,716,190 bytes
MD5:
a0167eaa5098488650366c433b89ed4b
Bitrate:
209Kbps
Duration:
3:34

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