Tunic "Dark Revelations" 4:34

Earlier this year I played Tunic and... holy moly! What a game. It perfectly mimics an experience I've never even had but I guarantee you SOMEONE has. Maybe it was being gifted a used game in a foreign language from a clueless parent. Maybe it was a game you had to buy from a foreign market because they never did a port in your language. Regardless, all you have is a manual in a language you don't understand, some pictures, and some scribbles in the margins from the last poor sucker who tried to play it. Go play Tunic, right now! Well, not RIGHT now, listen to Gaspode's latest offering first. He has the distinction of being the first ReMixer to tackle Tunic on this website, and maybe it's just me, but there is definitely a pride to be had from being the first on a particular game. From the artist:

"»Tunic« is a great game with a lot of depth, mysteries, and even its own secret language. But what stands out for me even beyond the quality of the game is the soundtrack. According to its composer, »Lifeformed«, it was created over a period of seven years. When the story gets tighter, you find yourself in a kind of production facility and the fitting music emphasizes the strange and threatening vibe. This is »Ooze Control«, a piece that hits from the first seconds with its vast soundscape.

I took the main 16-notes melody that starts around 0:49 and created something rather simplistic and bass-oriented. To include a bit of variety, I used the part starting at 1:21 for the middle. Then, the main melody returns and gets faster and, after that, I added a solo on top. I hope you like my remix and if you didn't play the game already, you should definitely give it a try."

Gaspode has come out swinging in the past few years, including a frankly ridiculous 13 mixes posted last year!! His oeuvre is a diverse electronic smorgasbord that doesn't lend itself to being pidgeonholed, and he's also been going completely ham making the videos for many of the current ReMixes on YouTube. So what has be brought for Tunic? The original "Ooze Control" is dense and ominous, replete with flurries of arpeggios, but Gaspode pulls back on the throttle and goes much more downtempo. The arrangement starts very minimalist, almost empty in places, with a smattering of pads, FX, and a simple beat/bass groove. Props for nearly dropping out completely at 1:16, that was a ballsy move that shows confidence in your material. Sometimes silence can be incredibly powerful, but for me personally as an arranger it's mentally quite hard to commit to something like that. From there Gaspode builds with a sweet sustained vibrato lead sound and more layering. At 2:43 we get a downright saucy lead... I love those pitch bends!

Judge prophetik music liked the unusual source material take and song structure:

"this is a really unexpected representation of the original! there's a really great shape to this track, and the natural build that you've built in works really well."

Judge Liontamer had this to say:

"Gaspode did an effective job weaving together his arranged and his original composition segments. This had quite a different character to it than the original, more skulking and cerebral, mainly in part due to that awesome bassline. Cooler than the other side of the pillow."

Once the track gets going, there is a real slow motion swagger to it, really helped along by the swung nature of the groove. "Skulking and cerebral," that's a good way to put it. Meanwhile judge Hemophiliac, like me, commented on the excellent use of minimalism:

"I really like the use of space in this. Some dramatic silence as well as vertical space is nice. Minimal without feeling sparse at all. Excellently produced track. The pause right before the bigger sound at 1:20 is a highlight for me, as well the unexpected PWM C64-esque chip sound that comes in around 2:45."

Whether you are a Gaspode fan, a Tunic fan, or both, this spacious and offbeat treatment is a worthy addition to your OC ReMix collection.