ReMix:Alex Kidd in Miracle World "No One Can Do It Better" 4:35

By djpretzel

Arranging the music of one song...

"Swimming"

Primary Game: Alex Kidd in Miracle World (Sega , 1986, SMS), music by Tokuhiko Uwabo

Posted 2002-05-23, evaluated by djpretzel


Where to begin? At the beginning. This ReMix has special significance to me personally, as this theme - the underwater music from the first level of the indefatigable Alex Kidd in Miracle World - was probably the first videogame music I listened to regularly outside of a game. I actually placed a cheap, Radio Shack tape recorder next to my Master System and recorded THIS SONG in particular so that I could listen to it in the car on the way to school, etc. This was like, age 7 or 8, mind you. So, if there's a single piece of video game music that I could trace the inspiration for my involvement with game music at large back to, this song would be it. It occurred to me that I should ReMix it recently when I considered that I wanted my next mix to be hip-hop. I've always felt Alex Kidd and hip-hop would go well together - the Kidd is just down with the street, that's all, and he needed some representin' in the genre. I attempted to fulfill this vision with my initial Alex Kidd ReMix, one that I was never really happy with. It never clicked like I wanted to - it ain't that bad, but Alex deserved better. I needed to revisit the material.

Now, what I came up with is a ReMix that is very much love-it or hate-it, the way I see it. If you're not with me at 1'55", you probably fall into the second category. I'm happy with it though - it doesn't sound much like my other ReMixes at all, and I exercised great restraint with it. This piece took longer to make than any of my other mixes, believe it or not. Why? I kept adding things on top - extra melodies, effects, more scratching, you name it. But every time I added something, I scrutinized it something fierce, and ended up removing it in favor of keeping things more roots R&B / hip-hop style, with a stripped down feel. It's essentially an electric piano (courtesy Emagic EVP73 VSTi), deep electric bass, a swirly Reaktor synth, and some loops and FX. Oh, and some cheeze synth brass from FM7 :) I do want to add that the title/sample refer to Alex Kidd himself, not me, just in case you were thinking I was getting into that competitive thang. Anyway, I truly love the source material to death in this case, and the simple fact that I could ReMix it in a fashion that I'd even be willing to listen to makes me happy. I suppose highlights would be the chromatic riff at 1'26" and the syncopation between all parts on the chorus. I feel I have closure with the Kidd after making this mix, and can move on, which is what I was shooting for. Hope you enjoy ^^

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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Txai
on 2016-01-31 10:14:02

Add some Françoise Cactus vocals and this one would fit right into Stereo Total's My Melody album. And that is a good thing.

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djpretzel
on 2015-06-23 22:27:29

For 2002, this is actually pretty good! I liked it! One of your better old ones IMO. This is very listenable, even today. Cool e. piano sound! I wonder if you've tried the jRhodes3 soundfont yet; that's my favorite free e. piano sample, and probably the best free one you can get in terms of round robins and tone (otherwise I just use my synthesized e. pianos, or I whip out Neo-Soul Keys).

Neo-Soul is great - I use that + AAS Lounge Lizard.

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timaeus222
on 2015-06-23 20:26:04

For 2002, this is actually pretty good! I liked it! One of your better old ones IMO. This is very listenable, even today. Cool e. piano sound! I wonder if you've tried the jRhodes3 soundfont yet; that's my favorite free e. piano sample, and probably the best free one you can get in terms of round robins and tone (otherwise I just use my synthesized e. pianos, or I whip out Neo-Soul Keys).

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Drachefly
on 2014-06-30 15:27:50

This tune is so similar, this track would also count as a remix of Contact, from the Phish album Junta (if anyone were keeping track of that). The rhythm, the line? Right out of it.

The tires are the things on the car that make contact with the road...

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Nase
on 2011-04-25 10:34:40

ahh, haven't listened to this one in ages. feels so nice.

by now, it's actually a double dish of nostalgia, taking me back to both '93 (my cousin's SMS) and '03ish (omg vg remikses wtf awezom!).

it's a classic.

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OA
on 2008-04-23 15:21:02

Upbeat and cheerful, I can totally relate to DJP's story of recording game music onto a tape. I specifically recorded NES and SNES music, but the end result was pretty much the same. My poor parents, being forced to listen to the same game music tapes over and over in the car :-(

Anyways, I generally dig the non-quantized feel to this, and the lofi drums are pretty hot, as well as the scratches. The vocal clips are middle of the road for me, and the sustained synth that comes in later on is a little too cheesy.

some of the soloing has a few strange note choices, like that chromatic run, but overall this is a fun mix. Nothing to completely wet my pants over, but i've been listening to it on loop for the last half and hour, and it put me in a good mood. :-)

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Audity
on 2006-11-01 12:29:19

I thought I would be the only one to really like this song when I came into this review thread. But it seems there are rabid fans of the original game. Myself, I've never played it :). But I like most of it quite a bit. Very different sounding, though perhaps too different sounding during the "climax" sections. I never really liked those, as they sound like something 5-year olds would hear while riding one of those circular-moving "rides" in front of huge retail stores. Well, I don't like this song as a whole TOO much, but can really hit the spot occasionally. A keeper.

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gothakane
on 2006-05-18 14:27:36

I'm not a fan of Hip-Hop, but this is excellent! This was the game I played most on my 1st console, and apart from the motorbike music, this was my favourite :D I especially love when it gets to 1:55 and really heats up!

I also like the little "Jan-Ken-Poh!" at the end ;) (paper scissors stone)

Very very nice!

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DarkWolf
on 2005-11-15 09:52:23

This is a good remix, quite different from the original, but still manages to capture the theme of Alex Kidd. Aisde from the scratches this is perfect Alex Kidd elevator music.

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Trilliann
on 2005-03-10 01:15:08

I loved the mix. The other mix for Alex is not that good, it takes a while to identify the song, but this one is sweeeeet.

I used to play Alex the Kidd for hours - now I look back and it's oh such a silly game. Anyway, thanks for the song!!!

Trilliann

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watkinzez
on 2004-12-16 21:16:08

Alex the Kidd in Miracle World was my first videogame, so this tune bowled me over with nostalgia when I first heard it. It was the only game I had for the Master System (except for a light gun game called Wanted, which I couldn't play as I had no light gun), and as I sucked at gaming back then, I never finished it. The furthest I got was the first helicopter stage.

On its own, this song is pretty damn funky, but it's the memories for me that make this one of my favourite remixes. About seven years after I got my Master System, I received a Nintendo 64 for Christmas and thus Nintendo from then on had my attention with their games, especially Rare's N64 classics, but I always look back at how my gaming life started with fondness.

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jordex
on 2004-09-21 23:02:28

Wow, this is a great song. So laid back. Its the kinda song I can hum along too (even though I don't know how it goes)

This a very soothing remix, its quiet but fun at the same time

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Bilbo_Baggage
on 2004-02-16 07:51:41

Well this is the first video game i ever bought and yep soon as you dipped into the water, the tune was just so very relaxing and was one of the coolest pieces of music i have ever heard in a game. For me this remix was always going to be good as long as it kept that original piece in there. Love the way DJ P wraps the song up too 8)

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Durinthal
on 2003-12-15 22:50:34

Very nice piece that's fairly laid back throughout, and much better than his first go-round.

The only bad thing I can say about it is that the melody from 1:54-2:32 and 3:31-4:08 seems too loud to me, but that's probably just because of my headphones. It's almost certainly going on my regular listening list.

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Hadyn
on 2003-09-12 09:04:41

Yeah, that's cool :D

~raven

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


Primary Game:
Alex Kidd in Miracle World (Sega , 1986, SMS)
Music by Tokuhiko Uwabo
Songs:
"Swimming"

Tags (5)


Genre:
Hip Hop
Mood:
Funky
Instrumentation:
Electric Piano,Synth,Turntable
Additional:

File Information


Name:
Alex_Kidd_in_Miracle_World_No_One_Can_Do_It_Better_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
7,568,914 bytes
MD5:
79f6b0af49c86b3a0f335d138ba00f7b
Bitrate:
217Kbps
Duration:
4:35

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