ReMix:The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time "Anthem of a Misguided Youth" 3:41

By Ben Briggs

Arranging the music of 3 songs from 2 games ( view all )...

"Ballad of the Wind Fish (Instruments Ver.)", "Gerudo Valley", "Title Theme"

Primary Game: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Nintendo , 1998, N64), music by Koji Kondo

Posted 2005-06-13, evaluated by the judges panel


Ahhh, Gerudo. Great theme, one of Kondo's best and most immediately identifiable, especially from his more recent repertoire, which has gotten its fair share of homage to date. When I mixed the piece myself way back in 2001, I was just getting into Gigastudio, and was happier with the altered resolution to the main melodic motif that I came up with more than anything else. Mr. Briggs, who sent in a dynamic first submission of Mario 64 back in February. And, much as the Detroit Pistons have proven this year (even if the finals are looking rather uphill), his second appearance puts to rest any notions that his initial mix was a fluke. Offering up his own uniquely titled and decidedly different take on Gerudo, chthonic melds electronica, breaks, jazz, and latin influences to create delicious fusion. A deep sub bass anchors breakish drums layered with bongos, woodblock, guiro (which always somehow takes me back to elementary school music class), acoustic guitar (solo + some good strummed 'n filtered passages), vibes/marimba, cello and violin, electric piano, acoustic piano, and a cornucopia of supporting and leading synth textures. Ben says:

"This one's... different. Lots of stuff in here that screams "I'm trying new things! Look at me!" Anyway, the main theme I was trying to get across with this piece is the fact that the Gerudo people are all theives, not knowing any differently. This is their anthem. All of the sorrow, guilt, and weight of immorality is balanced with a sense of sisterhood and acceptance, which is what I tried to convey with the "happier" sections of the piece."

Not sure if I could necessarily read that much into it, even as an English major, but I'll at least heartily concur with the first bit - there's a LOT of variety here, a lot of ideas, and they're pretty damn well-integrated - even given the plethora of timbral tradeoffs, it never really feels like "look at me", but rather a whole, logically-structured arrangement that simply happens to have a lot of different players, who all have their lines to deliver. None of the instrumental appearances scream 'cameo' but instead feel well-placed, duly considered, and necessary. Quoth Harmony:

"The intro had me a little worried. The claps and the strings just didn’t sit well with me but when that first PHAT warm bass note fills my headphones at :14, everything comes to life. This has a wonderful smooth latin jazz feel to it created by a triangle, congas, claves, and a guiro clicking away behind the simple but beautifully played classical guitar. The samples aren't amazing but they are all used quite effectively. This all fuses seamlessly with the synth elements. Props for 2:12-2:33 man and great use of the game samples at :56, :58… Rearrangement is right on. Not a significant departure from the vibe of the source but this is certainly nothing less than a show of even more of the chthonic creativity that brought us Fleeting Ecstasy. Very enjoyable. Is it this simple to make a cool mix or does chthonic just make it look like it is?"

Frankly, if you've got a variety of ideas for instrumentation in a given mix AND can make them work - can make them make sense and not seem like gratuitous window dressing - I say go for it. Ben's done just that, raising some chicken-and-egg questions about whether the mix was written for the individual instruments or whether the instrumentation drove the arrangement to some extent. Regardless of the answer or balance, the important point is that it sounds like both were the case, which is exactly where you wanna be. This does share some similarities in tempo/pacing with Gerudo mixes that have come before it, and I remember putting some latin elements in Interlude, but there's no doubting that Ben's mix is its own beast, or rather beauty. Excellent second mix that lives up to and exceeds the promise of the ReMixer's initial work, and both should be and deserves to be well-received and heavily rotated in playlists everywhere.

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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Cedar Sun
on 2018-09-03 13:47:42

Can't believe it took me a couple years of being a serious OCR and Ben Briggs fan to finally get around to listening to every Ben Briggs remix on this site. But yeah, this one's still my favorite. :)

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BLAHMASTER
on 2016-10-07 15:15:08

Hands down my favorite interpretation of this song! Excellent!

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Black_Doom
on 2015-12-10 12:19:15

Gotta love some damn vibes as always :) Yeah, definitely lovin' them! I actually love all of Ben's mixes that involve acoustic instrumentation, even though it's not entirely live (or not?). The guitar playing is so sweet. And the overall latin/jazz feeling of this track is just insane. Awesome work!

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OA
on 2010-05-06 14:03:46

Nice textures, and some cool arrangement to a very recognizable source tune. Production is solid, and the synth backing with the acoustic guitars is awesome, and definitely close to my heart. Cool beats and a perfect running length make this a great mix to jam to, I dig it!

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42
on 2009-02-03 18:39:35

oh....

this is just soooooooooooo freaking good. :-)

I absolutely love the part at 1:44.

The sound bites that are weaved and worked in are amazing.

It's like ambrosia for the ears, if that makes sense....

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Nohbody
on 2007-05-09 10:37:48

Of the 10 Gerudo Valley remixes on this site, this is by far my favorite. Great use of piano, and really good transitions from part to part.:-D

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ResEvil07
on 2007-01-01 16:58:26

This theme is one the most remixed songs on the site. However this remix stands out above the rest. With innovative percussion and some excellent latin beats this song makes for an wonderful listen to any music fan.

Wow, is really all I can say. The opening with what sounds like handclaps leading into the bass and percussion was fantastic. It is a rare occurance to hear such incredible acoustic guitar playing. Also including the sound effects was a nice touch. The piano part at about 1:30 was very effective in bridging the sections.

Overall this is ABSOULTELY incredible. I enjoy listening to it over and over. I want to hear more, please!

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Random Hero
on 2006-05-29 20:42:29

Just wanna say this is probably the best song I've downloaded in a long while (from anywhere). I just bought OoT last weekend (yes I know :oops: , I am usually 10 years behind the times when i comes to video games :( ). I really love this piece.

Cheers

Random Hero

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Warthog_X
on 2006-02-23 17:50:25

Good song! Even if the Gerudo song is cliched this one still manages to pwn hard!

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lady zelda
on 2005-12-31 16:22:06

I love it when a remix explores such a wide variety of sounds and instruments. Not only that, it works! It adds those innovative quirks (for lack of a better term) that would not otherwise be presented without the guts to explore new musical boundaries. There's no stopping you now, chthonic! Keep it up!

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OmegaDonut
on 2005-12-30 01:56:43

It's a lot easier than I thought it would be.

And I don't even play the guitar (although I own three).

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DJ Skratch 'n' Sniff
on 2005-12-30 01:52:49

Out of curiousity, is it easier than you thought it would be, or harder?

-chth

Easier actually. It somehow seemed more complex in my head. I guess I'm just more used to figuring out good old 8 bit and 16 bit tunes.

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Benjamin Briggs
on 2005-12-30 01:28:53
I just finished tabbing out the guitar parts, so here it is:

Guitar Tab (.png image)

Version of the ReMix with no guitar leads (so you can play along!)

You'll have to set the paper to landscape if you want to print the TAB. Enjoy!

-chth

Well, sweet. That's awfully cool of you. As a guitarist myself, I can appreciate this.

Out of curiousity, is it easier than you thought it would be, or harder?

-chth

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DJ Skratch 'n' Sniff
on 2005-12-30 01:10:55
I just finished tabbing out the guitar parts, so here it is:

Guitar Tab (.png image)

Version of the ReMix with no guitar leads (so you can play along!)

You'll have to set the paper to landscape if you want to print the TAB. Enjoy!

-chth

Well, sweet. That's awfully cool of you. As a guitarist myself, I can appreciate this.

avatar
Benjamin Briggs
on 2005-12-29 22:44:35

I just finished tabbing out the guitar parts, so here it is:

Guitar Tab (.png image)

Version of the ReMix with no guitar leads (so you can play along!)

You'll have to set the paper to landscape if you want to print the TAB. Enjoy!

-chth

Sources Arranged (3 Songs, 2 Games)


Primary Game:
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Nintendo , 1998, N64)
Music by Koji Kondo
Songs:
"Gerudo Valley"
"Title Theme"
Additional Game:
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (Nintendo , 1993, GB)
Music by Kozue Ishikawa,Minako Hamano
Songs:
"Ballad of the Wind Fish (Instruments Ver.)"

Tags (5)


Genre:
Hip Hop
Mood:
Instrumentation:
Acoustic Guitar,Electronic,In-game FX,Synth
Additional:

File Information


Name:
Legend_of_Zelda_Ocarina_of_Time_Anthem_of_a_Misguided_Youth_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
5,394,280 bytes
MD5:
c2ce55045a1f0285ce30e53ebecea7f3
Bitrate:
192Kbps
Duration:
3:41

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