ReMix:Golden Sun "Smooth Sailing" 5:32

The first half of our featured Golden Sun: A World Reignited mixflood concludes with Deedubs & some unexpected-but-always-appreciated bossa nova, as he teams up with TSori for some loungey, ultra-swank vibin' on "Set Sail! Through the Karagol Sea" - Deedubs (Mike DeWeese) writes:

"Bossa nova is a style of music I've wanted to explore since high school. At the time, I was introduced to Jobim's "Desafinado" by, of all things, Family Guy: Live in Las Vegas. In an album full of humor you'd expect from mid-'00s Family Guy, "Desafinado," listed as "Slightly Out of Tune" on the album, stands out as not just the only non-comedic track on the album, but also a wonderful treatment of the tune with Walter Murphy's lush orchestrations and Seth MacFarlane's subdued vocals. I've loved bossa nova ever since.

A while after completing one remix for Golden Sun: A World Reignited, I got the sudden urge to take on another track and finally follow through with doing it in a bossa nova style. After listening through several of the available tracks, the moment I heard "Set Sail! Through the Karagol Sea!" I knew right away that it was going to be perfect for bossa nova. Now I don't have a singing voice quite like Seth MacFarlane's (I wish), but I felt flugelhorn and trumpet, which I am MUCH better at, would more than suffice.

To assist me with the 4 flugelhorn/trumpet parts that I wrote for the remix, TSori was kind enough to help me out. I played the 1st (solo) and 3rd parts while he covered the 2nd and 4th parts. Big thanks to Logan for his hard work on practicing and recording my difficult sheet music! I know that 3rd page was a doozy!

Other than some fancy-shmancy cabasa shakes also recorded by me, every other instrument was done in MIDI."

• Deedubs: arrangement, flugelhorn, trumpets 1 & 3, samples
• TSori: flugelhorn, trumpets 2 & 4

I think "fancy-shmancy cabasa shakes" COULD give "rad timbale licks" a run for their money. If you're paying close attention, you might observe that many artists involved w/ Arcadia Legends also contributed to A World Ignited, and that can ONLY be a good thing; much respect & admiration for both albums, and specifically for Deedubs' contributions to both albums. Those who might previously have dismissed OCR for not having enough flugelhorn should be heartened & doubly-persuaded by this mix, which features not one but TWO flugelhornists, flugelhorning their flugelhearts out. If that doesn't reignite your world, you might be dead inside. TSori (Logan Thomas) adds:

"If I had to pick one absolute favorite source tune from Golden Sun, it would be this one. I was very surprised by the unique direction in which Deedubs took this, and I was just blown away by the arrangement. What a great piece! Even more thrilling though was getting asked to be a part of it. Working with Deedubs is always a pleasure and getting to play on a remix of this source in particular was an unexpected privilege. The unusual harmonies and rhythms coupled with the inherent intonation challenges of a flugelhorn made this a rather difficult (page 3!), but also equally enjoyable piece to play. Deedubs' performance here is outstanding, and I'm glad I got to join him."

Mike's a versatile, powerhouse arranger but a double-threat as a formidable musician, and he leveraged both those skillsets, with a performance assist from Logan, for this mellow, relaxed-fit groove. It still has more than enough spice (I'm looking at you, rhythmic changeups, three-part chromatic harmonies, & especially you, 4'16" trumpet solo) to keep your interest, but it's also swanky-70s-supervillain-hideout-approved in its smooth, undulating aesthetic. Bravo.

We hope you've enjoyed this initial foray into Golden Sun: A World Reignited - be sure to check out the whole album, share it with your friends (and like-minded acquaintances), and stay tuned for more!