ReMix:Plants vs. Zombies "Cerebral" 3:02

Avaris (Shaun Wallace) continues our flora vs. necro-fauna flood with a cinematic, hybrid electronic/acoustic hip-hop instrumental that blends micro-percussion, some spooky background ambience, & piano/guitar:

"Chimpazilla approached me about participating in the project. I decided to jump knowing how dedicated she is. I went for a laid back hip hop track with tones and textures that enhanced the feel of the original source. I have been doing a lot of synth work lately, so I wanted to get back to using some organic, natural instruments. Hence the combo of piano, acoustic guitar, and plenty of bell tones and textures layered throughout. This track came together fairly quickly, but the last 5% was a doozy. Thanks to everyone on the project for the spirited debates to iron out some of the final details. ;)"

Judges approved, but also felt like this could have developed a bit more - Shaun went for something subtle/reserved, and while it never really breaks out of its (enchanting, well-realized) shell, DragonAvenger was okay with that:

"I think it takes the source into a fun direction, and has a lot of nice sounds that work well together. I think opening up into some more sounds and some more bombastic sounds (Wes worded it just right) would bring this up a notch, though I think having the track be a bit understated works in its own way, too."

Shaun could easily have incorporated another source or extrapolated from this source to round this up to four minutes and introduce a clearer climax or point of interest (solo, breakdown, etc.), but not every track *needs* that additional structure/arc. This takes a building, suspenseful source and meditates on it, with a textural emphasis on drums - given the bird sounds in the background, I think this qualifies as BIRDCUSSION, which is always high praise. I love the blend of hand drums & synthetic perc FX, and the wide panning applied to both so that they're easily distinguishable. There are lots of sonic details hidden in the mix, something the artist excels at, and the initial simplicity yields to deeper appreciation on repeat listens. Something a bit less flashy, but still quite enjoyable, immersive, and - yes - cerebral from Avaris. Enjoy!