ReMix:Mega Man 6 "Odyssey Beyond the Falls" 3:50

By Vurez

Arranging the music of one song...

"Centaur Man Stage"

Primary Game: Mega Man 6 (Nintendo , 1993, NES), music by Yuko Takehara

Posted 2005-09-29, evaluated by djpretzel


Purdy. It sounds like Don's gotten his hands on one of the better ethnic instrument libraries out there, ala Early Instruments or RA, or something, as the sonic factor has been upped from even his previous, impressive level with this downbeat Greek groove. Vurez writes:

"Odyssey Beyond the Falls is a joining of ancient Greek music with water - at least that is what I was going for with this mix. I used a pan flute, harp, plucked violin, mandolin, hand drums and a very old south east European monophonic bagpipe instrument (the gaida) to get a Greek-like sound for this mix. Lots of chorus and strings were used for representing the aqueous qualities of the stage."

Definite Mediterranean feel, and while the ethereal mixed and "bum/dum" lower male choral work give it a spacier, more new age angle, I could still see chilling on a coast with a gyro and tsipouro whilst listening. Actually, Don mixes pensive/serene with celebratory pomp, as sections like 1'14" (that bagpipe is excellent) get some fanfare going on, conjuring images of Greece the empire, as opposed to Greece the laid back place that resembles the Pastoral segment from Fantasia. The arrangement is excellent, and plays off the quality of the samples - this is a ReMix where the arrangement and production have an inextricable, symbiotic link: I can't imagine attempting such a piece without high quality materials to sculpt with, but by the same token, the arrangement is clearly there, and uses such materials with ability and nuance. Part of the art in utilizing ethnic samples lies in playing parts that are believable for the instruments in question - mv did a great job with this on 'A Foray into the Eastern Horizons'. It's not just having the sounds, it's having a good musical grasp on how they should be used, both at the part level as well as the bigger picture of the context they fit into. The melding of exotic + authentic plucked and piped melodic leads with some conspicuous and dramatic choral work, along with a varied percussive groove that's well dispersed across the stereo spectrum, add up to a ReMix that's very unique in its roots and what it aims to envision, and one which by my measure succeeds at its goals. I dig Vurez' other mixes quite a bit, and if you haven't heard them yet you should check them out post-haste, but I also think this represents a somewhat more original, mature vision from an arrangement perspective, and corresponding notch up in production, too. Mega Manopolous gets all Athens up in that, thanks to Mr. V - particular, sculpted, and often beautiful work.

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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Crulex
on 2013-06-25 09:18:42

The Greek sound coming off of this ReMix is terrific. Loved the pan pipes and grand, yet easy going, vibe of it. It fits Centaur Man very well and the quality here is top notch. I can hear where some people say that it sounds a bit Arabian at some points, but either way you interpret it, it sounds great.

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Snow Taradien
on 2010-12-13 20:23:57

Not trying to seem like a jerk, but I can't be the only person who noticed the resemblance to Porcelain by Moby.

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tweex
on 2010-08-25 20:21:44

Ah, there is the pan flute in the intro that we heard in Don's previous mix. I love the tone. THe intro had a midi quality to it that I wasn't a huge fan of, but I can over it. I love the hammer dulcimer sound. The faint chanting sound of the mens choir was a nice touch. And holy hell, Bagpipes. Christ Don loves to throw all kinds of unconventional stuff in his mixes. I'm loving it as it keeps me on my toes. The soft breakdown section with the mellow percussion and the pan flute was beautiful. What sounds like a distorted harp is a really cool addition. The tone of the tambourine is really nice as well. This is a fairly simply arrangement, but the simplicity is where the beauty lies. Love the boys choir in there at the end. Wow, Vurez, keep it up!

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Vurez
on 2008-10-10 11:16:59

Finally! Someone did some good remixes of MM6 (my personal favorite of the series, possibly tied at 1st with MM2). I've been waiting for a long time for some (hint hint, other remixers, come on. Four out of eight bosses and no other themes covered yet...let's see some more mixes from this great game!)

Thanks! You do know about my MM6 album right? All the bosses were covered on it - http://www.vurez.com/arrangements.htm

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Cybermouse
on 2008-09-27 22:04:08

This is probably going to sound odd now that this track, and the other MM6 mixes, are old news, but let's assume I just found out about this gem of a tune and go from there...

Finally! Someone did some good remixes of MM6 (my personal favorite of the series, possibly tied at 1st with MM2). I've been waiting for a long time for some (hint hint, other remixers, come on. Four out of eight bosses and no other themes covered yet...let's see some more mixes from this great game!)

Way to go Vurez. Awesome stuff, this. Matches Centaur's theme with a precision and uniqueness not often found in mega man music these days (with the exception of Passing of the Blue Crown).

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OA
on 2008-04-23 16:55:21

The bass sample is glaringly out of place here at the beginning compared to the higher quality sounding stuff. As the track fills out, it's a little better but still apparent. The rest of the samples are fantastic, and well used as well.

The fact that this is a megaman song completely blows my mind, as I certainly didn't expect somethning so thoughtful sounding from a series that generally attracts rock and electronic genres. Vocal samples are also very good.

Very nice stuff throughout.

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MrBogus
on 2005-11-03 01:57:15

Maybe my mind has been polluted by the soundtrack of Gladiator*, but this song hits the Greek flavor in quite a few places, but misses in some other areas. Overall, when I hear a new piece by Vurez, I get more of a feeling like I'm in the Wild West, as in the type Clint Eastwood is famously associated with. Nothing wrong with that in itself.

I've listened to all of Vurez's released mixes on both OCR as well as vgmix, and sometimes his style works well with the source tunes, and other times not so well. I can gladly say that this lies in the former camp. Beautiful in the same mystic way that girls with olive skin and piercing green eyes are exotic.

Mmmmmm. On second thought, I guess this mix does a better job of capturing the Greek essence than I had originally thought. Awesome.

* Gladiator was a movie about the Roman empire, but I'll be damned if the soundtrack didn't sound Greek-ish.

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Martin Penwald
on 2005-10-13 08:27:33

Great mix; the male choir went right into my ear.

But to be honest, this doesn't really remind me of Greece. When I listen to it, the pictures that I have in my head are from Arabia, way back in the past (especially after 3:06). I can see a caravan of camels, are some lonely prince on his horse almost flying through the desert to save his kingdom/rescue the princess/get some beer at the next gas station.

Not very MegaMan-ish at all, but one of my favorite mixes right now.

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meccaneer
on 2005-10-06 21:16:40

Is this a MegaMan game or Tropico? Medhead has some excellent points. Per usuality, I dig the tune but, must offer criticism:

1. It's lacking the energy of the typical MegaMan mix. Who wants to kill evil robots when they could sip Pina Coladas on the beach?

2. The varying use of instruments from around the world is unique and done well. However, they all sound kinda... not real. The bags, for instance, have no drone. I believe that's been mentioned.

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Liontamer
on 2005-10-03 16:17:51

Hahaha! Sometimes Ormgas has a glitch where the song listed and the song currently playing don't quite match up, so that's where the mix up came from. Neon oughta get the track himeslf and edit in a real review.

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Vurez
on 2005-10-03 11:26:33
I'm preaty sure that alot of this song is taken from FF6's Town (Ruins ver.) Theme, either way, the Pan Flutes are very nice, and the techno beat in the background is very catchy and neat, the ending's a little sharp though...

79/100 :D

[EDIT]

W-wait a second, this isn't the same version as the Ormgas one, What in hell?!

Huh, I haven't heard it on ormgas. There are panflutes in my mix, but no techno beat. I wonder if there was a mix up.

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Neonlare
on 2005-10-02 08:43:00

I'm preaty sure that alot of this song is taken from FF6's Town (Ruins ver.) Theme, either way, the Pan Flutes are very nice, and the techno beat in the background is very catchy and neat, the ending's a little sharp though...

79/100 :D

[EDIT]

W-wait a second, this isn't the same version as the Ormgas one, What in hell?!

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Akaisen
on 2005-10-01 19:29:31

This song gives me the same feel as "Lost Underworld" from Earthbound. Maybe it's just me.

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Karth
on 2005-10-01 10:40:14

You've definitely pulled off a Greek vibe here. Nice work with the mandolin, by the way - you got it to sound authentic in several areas.

I really liked the way you arranged the choir. It blended well with everything.

And of course, the sections following the key change (one of which was near the end) sounded great. The male choir and the orchestral cymbals gave it that powerful, "movie score" feel for a while.

My singular gripe is that the flutes sometimes lacked reverb, which might have sounded nicer.

I almost forgot to compliment you on your very professional use of that bagpipe patch. It sounded absolutely SWEET.

Excellent job on this song overall. Keep up the great work - I hope to see more of this caliber from you in the future.

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Vurez
on 2005-09-30 15:05:41
On a very positive point, I've been listening to this and Vurez's other MM6 mixes from "that other site" vgmix.com ;-)

Very professional sounding. Now comes the criticism ;P

MedHead, you made a very valid point about hearing no drone. I found a good link, along with sound samples of what this particular instrument should sound like..

http://macedoniadirect.com/music/instrum/gajda.htm

And yeah, I hear no drone, but still is a wonderful remix.

Huh, you're right. The gaida does drone. Oh well, I guess it probably sounds more like a shawm in my mix which is still okay with me.

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


Primary Game:
Mega Man 6 (Nintendo , 1993, NES)
Music by Yuko Takehara
Songs:
"Centaur Man Stage"

Tags (5)


Genre:
New Age
Mood:
Instrumentation:
Strings,Woodwinds
Additional:
Regional > Mediterranean
Regional > World

File Information


Name:
Mega_Man_6_Odyssey_Beyond_the_Falls_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
5,351,781 bytes
MD5:
d1e2d357286d022961ac66436b8336ae
Bitrate:
183Kbps
Duration:
3:50

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