ReMix:The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time "And the Woods Shall Dance" 3:16

STILL MORE NEWCOMERS!! The injection of fresh musical diversity & creativity continues as theStyg (Adam Halpin) debuts with a brilliant, epic arrangement of "Lost Woods" that's filled to the brim with folk/world instruments from all over, seamlessly blended with orchestral fare:

"This is a remix of "Lost Woods" from The Legend of Zelda. It's definitely not uncharted territory, but I've had an arrangement in this style in mind for ages now and just had to get it out. I can't say I was without inspiration! A lot of mine comes from some of the neo-classical or world music I heard growing up, and other Zelda cover projects like Theophany or Symphony of the Goddesses. One part manifestation of my interest in ethnic instrumentation, one part Karl Jenkins impersonation. It uses a lot of instruments from around the world, featuring primarily African instruments (kora, ngoni, bolon, Fula flute, kalimba, calabash) and some Andean instruments (pan flute, charango, ocarina). An Irish low whistle doubles the melody at parts.

The choir is sampled using these libraries layered together:

• Soundiron - Voices of Gaia (Francesca soloist)
• Soundiron - Venus Symphonic Women's Choir
• Strezov Sampling - JADE Ethnic Orchestra (Longsong Mongolian Quartet)

Made with Logic Pro X. Samples running through Native Instruments Kontakt 6, Best Service ENGINE, and Orchestral Tools' SINE Player.

Thanks again for the opportunity and the great advice all around! I ended up sorta revamping my mixing/mastering workflow a bit to accommodate larger tracks like this one, so hopefully it paid off!"

Fantastic details in the email submission... and fantastic details in the mix itself - there's an arsenal of instrumentation from Africa & South America, and the overall compositional vibe leans Celtic, so you've got a beautiful + global palette of sounds that's evident right from the very start, with an active, layered bed of plucked, blown, strummed, & whacked attack transients. On top of that, symphonic components are introduced, with prominent strings on melody, epic/soaring brass for the more cinematic bits, and attention paid to blending everything and keeping it intelligible. It's the type of mix that shows off not only an impressive sample library collection, but also (and more importantly) the skills to wield it & integrate everything effectively. Case in point, the layering of three choral libraries to produce a richer, more natural/dynamic sound which elevates that component & makes it harder to pin down as being sampled. Very good stuff, indeed! Judges were unanimous but we *still* got a revision which improved on the original submission per panel feedback, making a great mix even better. Emunator was a fan, but also touched on the more general nature of arrangement:

"I'm consistently amazed by the number of ways that different artists approach this source. If I'm being totally honest, I've never liked the Lost Woods theme because (in my opinion, anyway) it doesn't capture the sense of wonder and mystery that I would expect from an endless forest maze. This is one of the reasons I so deeply appreciate remixing as an art form - it gives you a chance to re-contextualize a particular theme in a way that, to some listeners, might fit the mood of the original game even better than the original composition.

I think that's exactly what you've done here - it borrows some of the rhythmic bombast of later Zelda tracks like Deku Palace, but fleshes out the soundscape with a wide array of unique instruments and rhythms that shake up the Lost Woods theme and give it new life! I constantly find myself picking up on new rhythms and riffs that I didn't catch on the first or second listen - there's a lot to love here!"

The part-writing is dense (one could say "maximalist") but, especially in its revised form, I think Adam's done the work to connect all the dots & balance everything to the point where it all feels functional, necessary, & transporting in its sheer variety. It's only 3'21", but the ideas are fully developed, the instrumentation is a layer cake of international awesomeness, and Kondo's source theme has been recast in a new time signature & inspired, enveloping array of sounds. Fantastic debut from theStyg, very much looking forward to more!