Posted 2005-09-07, evaluated by the judges panel


Just got done watching the Agassi-Blake quarterfinal at the US Open, which was truly, in a word, epic. Started off very one-sided, with Blake's speed making Agassi look his age, but then a rally in the third and fourth sets illustrated Andre's conditioning, and when the fifth set went to a tiebreaker, which ended as close as it could get, at 7-6, with Agassi taking it, well... just plain classic. Speaking of classics, chthonic got inspiration for his latest ReMix from one of AE's old, great gems:

"I like this one a lot. It was basically an attempt to stay faithful to a genre (Trance) while at the same time deviating furiously from it. I think I succeeded, and the end product is really quite... well, odd. Anyway, I'll let the music speak for itself because I am too lazy to think of all the notable things. Hopefully it will get some of you people out there in the Internet dancing. Oh yeah, the Metal Man reference is actually just a reference to AE's "Stainless Steel", the mix that got me interested in making music of my own. "

Things get started quickly - no extended ambient intro waiting for the drums or bass to drop, or long, cumulative/additive phase. Rather, Mr. Briggs gives the people the "phat bassline" they so clamor for, moves every zig, and intros with a nice thick analogue synth bass, squishy hats, and then quickly snare rolls into a kick-drum anchor after a harp does a nice, subtle little run. There's quite a number of Zelda themes that cameo in the mix's four minute time-span, but Link's Awakening remains the dominant source - it's less a medley and more a series of nods/homages, with a consistent thread throughout. Weed says:

"i am most impressed by how you played to the strengths of the themes; its hard to explain but you can't force a source to do something it isn't cut out to do sometimes... and here you fit a bunch of different shit together by using them in situations and places where they fit perfectly and together form a tapestry of coherence. i know that makes no sense but listening to this, even the cameos by various other videogame themes is fluid within the whole mix. very nice."

I'll go with that, for the most part - I did feel that the key changes at 3'33" and 3'35" began to feel like too much was being done, too late in the game, to incorporate that specific melody. In general, rapid key changes in trance are gonna be tricky, so that might be it too. However, that's a few seconds or so out of four minutes, and zyko's point is still pertinent - there's a lot of themes being woven into a trance tapestry, and while that could come off as being awfully tacky and insulting to those melodies, it instead just plain works, due in large part to the ReMixer's ability to competently transition and to keep things compositionally fresh in a genre that places emphasis elsewhere. It is still faithful to the genre, as Ben suggests he was shooting for, don't get me wrong, but it also goes quite a few places, melodically, in four minutes, which your average trance track usually doesn't aim to accomplish. The last sentence of Larry's play-by-play summed things up nicely, so I'll just end with that, and echo the sentiment:

"Well put-together and a great third ReMix."

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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Crulex
on 2023-11-05 02:07:31

Hell of a lot of energy and properly danceable as a good trance track. Nice little nods to other themes which added more to the mix. Another fine piece from the Briggs collection.

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KærvekTM
on 2021-09-21 06:30:46

Shamelessly downloading this. *continues dancing maniacally whilst being late for work*

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cruzzer2
on 2014-07-31 04:13:15

Aside from this site bringing back many memories of my childhood with the music being embedded in my head, I thought I’d find some stuff here I could use when I work out. I been trolling this page for years (since 2001) but I finally registered in this past week, I'm sure I have to read some FAQ so I don't look like I dumb nut but aside from that, I just found this tune. :banghead:

This is definitely a strong mix that I had to download for my long runs, or to play while lifting. This "5 hit combination" of themes gets me engaged right away with generating movement with this "knockout song." The transitions are clear, with a hustle, subtle and flow, Hyrulian style; giving this mix quick high energy. :lol:

If I was to put a small workout video to inspire others to hit the gym from this site, this is one of the two I'd choose from.(Dream Fighter being the other, crazy that both mixes have the word "DREAM" in it.)

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kitty
on 2013-11-04 02:04:05

Whenever I see Ben Briggs' name as the artist of a remix I know it's time to get up and dance and this track doesn't disappoint. There's a lot of source material in this song and they're put together flawlessly. Recommended!

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OA
on 2010-08-27 12:47:14

Sick remix, and the thought put into the different parts really worked well. The AE metal man homage was classy and very obvious, even if the part itself was subtle. Very cool idea. :D

Overall a really solid and well done mix. Strongly recommended, check this one out!

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Marmiduke
on 2009-08-31 09:40:28

I completely forgot this existed! Don't you love it when you accidentally discover something awesome that you weren't even looking for?

Link's Awakening sucked up my childhood like a sponge, so I in turn am a huge fan of anything that allows a window back to those sweet, chiptune-fueled times. What I really like is this mix is almost like the fabric of my memories folded back on itself several times to create the ultimate nostalgia hit, with a dance beat to boot.

Besides my own personal affiliation with the source, this is still a stellar work. The arrangement is tight and transitions are superb. It feels less like a medley and more just a trancey festival of Zelda. The themes are given adequate attention, and they are very strong themes so it's not like they really needed too much labouring anyway. The fluidity comes across as the most important aspect of the mix, and also the mix's biggest success. I'm a fan of this mix, can you tell?

By the way, don't you just love threads with fights in them? That's some great entertainment right there.

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SoulinEther
on 2009-01-06 22:31:00

So.. I like it. High energy. Fluid (I can't figure how many themes you put in here, but I know there are many, and I'm too lazy to look at the mix's page again to count.. but they sound compatible). It necessitates multiple listens. And when I think you're taking something away, you bring it back, but more interestingly (perhaps that was just that one instance near the end). Hurray for a review that confuses even me.

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Ryu2Wolf
on 2009-01-06 21:36:21

Neato! So much more futuristic than this Zelda was in its time but in a really cool way. I really like the echoing between L and R stereo since it caught me off guard (plus you didn't over do it). Overall, truly complex and kept me well interested throughout.

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Liontamer
on 2008-05-22 02:25:06

It may simply be due to not having received any subs for a while from Ben, but this is a guy who hasn't gotten his due yet as being one on OCR's most talented members.

I voted on this back in the day (naturally), but the strength and energy of the arrangement, and the top-notch production are simply unmistakeable. I was surprised reading those old 2005 posts by some of the more outspoken/blowhard critics, as I had totally forgetten about their comments. Not worth the time they took to type 'em. :lol: I certainly hope we hear more from Ben.

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Broken
on 2006-05-14 13:59:07

Edit: I totally reviewd the wrong Zelda song! Go me :P

Well, I might as well give my two cents on this then. This mix has a great bass-line, interesting synth lead line, and excellent panning and arrangment among other things.

I definetly reccomend it.

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Slimee
on 2006-05-14 10:59:59

This is one of my favorite remixes I have in my collection. Because whenever I listen to it, I feel like I'm in a club or something, it's got such a great beat, a beat that you can like dance to haha. I really love this mix, and can stick it on loop for hours on end without it ever getting old.

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Dr. Wily
on 2006-03-17 21:41:01

This is definitely one of the better Link's Awakening mixes.. I've always loved the Wind Fish Ballad and it's a nice take on it with the heavy synth and bass that I love much more than Influence of Koholint. What really spiced it up were those little cookies contained within.. you listen and go 'omg that's Metalman!'.. the others were more subtle and only picked them up after listening a few times. This is a rockin mix, excellent work.

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ncjason77
on 2006-03-05 22:16:52

this is by far one of the best loz remixes i've heard. does anyone else think of megaman 2 metal man stage at the one minute mark?

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diamondfalcon
on 2006-02-20 15:49:45

This is the best Zelda remix I have. Hits the themes well, nice trance feel, and is joyful! Great job!

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Rainman DX
on 2006-01-12 17:37:16

My initial appreciation for this song extended only as far as I was pleased to find a piece that, I felt, remained the truest to the Ballad of the Windfish, the tune I thought most exemplary of LoZ: Link's Awakening. As I listened to it more, however, and added it to a playlist of my favorite Legend of Zelda songs by OCR mixers et al., I found that its complexity was what was most appealing: multiple layers, each that complimented each other, held together with a melody that is just superb.

As a rule, I have never been a fan of diverting from a single piece, single game, in the hopes of not taking on too much without doing justice to each individual piece. In this case, I was willing to overlook that, as chthonic gives minimal regard to sticking to even a single series. (The Metal Man Theme reference, for example)

As for the ending, while it does not, say, satisfactorily round off the piece as a whole, it leaves room for a nice transition into, in this case, Theophany's Aquescent Symphony. And when making a playlist, I would argue that the transition between the pieces is equally important as the pieces themselves.

Overall, it is one of my favorite OCR LoZ ReMixes.

Sources Arranged (5 Songs, 4 Games)


Primary 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.)"
Additional Game:
Mega Man 2 (Capcom , 1988, NES)
Music by Manami Matsumae,Takashi Tateishi
Songs:
"Metal Man Stage"
Additional Game:
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (Nintendo , 1991, SNES)
Music by Koji Kondo
Songs:
"Dark World"
"Overworld"
Additional Game:
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Nintendo , 1998, N64)
Music by Koji Kondo
Songs:
"Windmill Hut"

Tags (4)


Genre:
Trance
Mood:
Instrumentation:
Electronic,Synth
Additional:
Regional > World

File Information


Name:
Legend_of_Zelda_Link's_Awakening_It's_My_Turn_to_Dream_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
5,852,066 bytes
MD5:
28f460c32ece321af006a117d1cb52e1
Bitrate:
192Kbps
Duration:
4:00

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