ReMix:Metroid Prime 2: Echoes "G.F.S. Jukebox Playlist: Track 1" 6:07

After the (yummy) slice of olive loaf we had for the previous ReMix, it's time to drop a coin in and get extra classy with TheManPF's jazzy & rockin' DoD-medal-winning Metroid Prime 2 piece! I always love these unplanned tangential lil' mini-theme that inevitably happen when staging these tracks: ZackParrish's last featured ReMix was a case where he arranged Uematsu without realizing it, whereas here TheManPF arranged well-known music from a game series he's actually never even played, but got by with a little help from his friends, Zach Chapman & newmajoe:

"This is a jazz/rock arrangement of the tracks "Title" and "Menu Select" from the 2004 video game Metroid Prime 2: Echoes. This arrangement was done as part of the Metroid Redux month in Dwelling of Duels back in February 2022, and got 3rd place out of 25 tracks, it was also the first time I got to the top 3.

The arrangement is divided into two halves, one for the "Title" theme, and another for the "Menu Select". I never played a Metroid game, but I found these two tracks back to back while scavenging and I couldn't decide for one, so I did both, starting as "Title", moving to "Menu Select" at 3:33, and back to "Title" at the last section. The song is done in a loose, jazzy style with a focus on piano, with a mental image of a person sitting on a Galactic Federation cruise spaceship while jamming out to the ship's jukebox. Some portions use chord progressions from the sources as jam sessions for different solos. This is also the first time I used vocoders in a song (even before "W3 4RE TH3 ROB0TS"), and, while it does have lyrics, since we don't know what the original is saying, I'm keeping it a mystery for this one too. (: (It's nothing vulgar, I promise.)

Zach is once again playing all of the bass, and my friend, Joe, is responsible for the keyboard solos (both piano and Rhodes). I did everything else, i.e. arrangement, drums/strings sequencing, mix, guitars, vocals, and played the piano bits that are not solos."

Just goes to show you that great VGM is great arrangement fodder for talented musicians, whether or not they have nostalgic connections to it as players. Speaking of players, I'd be remiss if I didn't shoutout Zach Chapman in particular, because his bass performance is excellent, the rug that really tied the room together, if you will. :-) Speaking of plays, judge prophetik music's play-by-play vote pointed out moment after moment of highlights that flowed so seamlessly:

"some filtro to start it, but the vibe at 0:15 is immaculate. i really liked the rhodes at 1:05, and the handoff there to let the EP take the lead was nicely handled. the keys solo through 1:45 was nice [...]. the recap at 2:07 was nicely done - similar to before, but some nice personalizations to mix it up. the lush pad work at 3:00 or so is really nice, and a fun change from the earlier instrumentation.

3:33 has the menu theme start up, and it's again well-realized into the style. the vocoder stuff was fun if unintelligible. the arpeggiated section at 4:52 was just so good, what a great idea there. the melodic material comes back around 5:02 and it's just got such verve, i love the way that you've arranged this section. there's an outro at 5:38 and that's a wrap.

this is a great track and shows a ton of creativity in adapting the tracks to the style. nice work."

We judges can be tough to impress, yet alongside prophetik, judge Emunator also got caught by our trio's Phazon Beams of brilliance:

"Too easy - you managed to squeeze a TON of juice out of these source tunes but craft it up into something wholly unique and fresh. [...] The melodies have been twisted up and often rely on the chord progressions to bridge the gaps, but you come back to the source material frequently enough that, even with the very jammy, improvisational approach to arranging, you're never far from Metroid material for long. Production is clean and polished, the sequenced instrumentation fills a solid supporting role, and this is generally firing on all cylinders from a technical standpoint.

You're definitely on my radar by now, your recent submissions have been consistently stunning and showcase a diverse range of talents."

A diverse range of talents indeed across TheManPF's OCR subs so far, thankfully with many more to come! Here, there's tons of fun dynamic contrast, and, like the other panelists, I was impressed by the different styles that arose from the different sections of the title theme. This never stays in one place too long; interesting changeups at 3:32 & 4:52 in particular, with the fun & funky keys and the guitar crescendo, respectively. You can just sit and listen to Zach's bass, the piano, the drums, the guitars, whatever you want to fixate on, and enjoy the detail work behind everything. So much strong musicianship on display here from TheMan, Zach & Joe, it's unreservedly worthy of repeat plays on the jukebox! :-)