ReMix:EarthBound "Zombie Lounge" 2:56

By Mazedude

Arranging the music of one song...

"Threed, Zombie Central"

Primary Game: EarthBound (Nintendo , 1994, SNES), music by Hirokazu Tanaka, Hiroshi Kanazu, Keiichi Suzuki, Toshiyuki Ueno

Posted 2007-11-28, evaluated by djpretzel


Chris writes:

"Behold... another Earthbound Remix by Mazedude... also from the Bound Together project. Not a new mix, but one that's not on the site yet. My fans seem to love this one, so here ya go."

There are two divergent paths in the woods of arranging Suzuki's iconoclastic score to Mother 2: try to coax order and sanity out of the zany abyss of chaos, or... embrace it. With more traditional themes like Twoson, the former approach is doable, but some of the stranger, less cuddly BGM would require significant amounts of extrapolation and synthesis to bring into a mainstream genre feel. So, why bother? Mazedude to me seems particularly well-suited to ReMixing EB because he himself, in his natural habitat, exhibits much of the peculiar relationship with sound and arrangement that Keiichi Suzuki does. Oft hath I pondered the remote but tantalizing possibility that Christopher Getman is actually Suzuki's Caucasian lovechild, borne from the fruit of his musical loins to go forth and spread the seed of zany, elaborate musical composition throughout the land. Or not. This piece is very true to the source's general tone, expanding the instrumentation out and making things... a bit creepier. The tuba-like bassline in the original made it sound like the zombies were overweight and perhaps even affable, whereas Mazedude's zombies are a little leaner, and as we all know, hungry zombies are dangerous zombies. Some of the digital synth mangling stage left is VERY slick, and adds to the menacing, deliberate procession. It's not particularly "lounge" music, which is what the title suggested, so those looking to mellow out in their pads and sip martinis to curiously juxtaposed lounge musings of the living dead may be disappointed, but it's definitely Mazedude, definitely different, creative, and disturbing, and in fitting those criteria, pays appropriate homage to its source material.

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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42
on 2009-12-27 21:59:10

The setting here is amazing. It feels like haunted carnival music where every 3rd or fourth note is unnecessarily drawn out and sharped or flattened. "Zombie Lounge" feels so appropriate for this mix, like there's twenty or so zombies stumbling around some back room of some barroom lounge. It has a very nice creepy edge to it without actually instilling a sense of dread in the listener. Very nicely done and definitely one of the more funner atmospheric tracks out there.

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Sir_Downunder
on 2009-12-12 02:46:34

This is a pretty cool track. You think from the name its going to be a chilled track, but the distortion in this takes in creepier, more suspenseful direction.

Overall, another great track from Mazedude

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DragonAvenger
on 2009-12-01 17:36:59

This is just a fun mix. Not something I'm going to relax to, not something to dance to, actually...not sure what you do with it, but it's worth a smile or two.

Seriously, fun. Listen to it.

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Opterion
on 2009-01-20 13:14:13

Ah...one of Mazedude's now 45 remixes, each one as unique as the next. This one, in particular, is as distorted and disturbing as possible, although that's probably to do with the source tune :. Great, as usual, but it doesn't really go anywhere after the last theme starts at 1:50. It sounds amazing, don't get me wrong, but I feel like I'm left hanging as the song just fades out on that last loop.

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evktalo
on 2008-03-12 15:04:37

Ahh, this one is lovely. Fantastic mood from the start - in fact, the intro is extremely well done. I like those muffled pads or something like that, they're instantly recognizable. One yummy groovy piece of earcandy, this.

If it's too short for you ... just play it again!

--Eino

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ilp0
on 2008-03-08 08:50:34

Awesome remix! Just love it. I'm currently playing the game (just past Threed) and this mix has the same strange athmosphere that I like so much in the game. And the length of the song is just perfect,, quite a few good pieces get spoiled by unneccessary repetition. Very nice job

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Martin Penwald
on 2007-12-15 15:31:07

Mazedude at his best, once again. Not as spaced out as some of his other mixes, but still true to his unique style. As usual, he manages to create a very eerie atmosphere.

The only complaint I have is the lenght. Could really have used about 30 or so more seconds.

Good stuff.

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skcoder
on 2007-12-05 20:21:24

I like it. You are able to create a refreshing interpretation of the earthbound soundtrack. EB was one of my favorite games...when I had time to do things other than study...those were the days...

Not sure the exact time, but at around 3/4s into the song you use some different sounds. My biggest complaint would be this part. These sounds kind of drown out the rest of the mix, IMHO. Also the song comes to an end to quickly. Granted, there isn't much source material, but I hate when a mix ends too soon.

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OA
on 2007-12-04 11:03:16

Can zombies strut? This seems to imply they can.

Cool layered beats and the lead synth sounds like you kicked R2D2 in his robot junk. I love it!

I think it ended way too early; it has a longer intro, so I was expecting a few more sections once it did finally get going with a melody, but it just kindof faded out. ;_;

Really cool, but too short.

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Izgert
on 2007-12-02 12:17:15

I LOVE this song. Been playing a lot of Resident Evil lately and the mood is just so weird and creepy (in a kitsch kind of way).

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Harmony
on 2007-11-29 16:49:17

Nice. This ongoing love affair that you have with pitch-bend is a very good thing :)

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Mr. Fox
on 2007-11-29 11:40:53

This is by far my favorite arrengement from Mazedude. The sound design, the interesting melodic and harmonic choices not only embrace EarthBound style of composition, but enchance it. The single golden pearl of this song, however, is the lead at 1:50 - amazing choice of sound and interpretation.

Also, I can't lounge to this. Maybe Zombies can, tough.

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Trenthian
on 2007-11-29 09:42:28

Nice to see it here.

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Jaybell
on 2007-11-28 21:25:52

Oh hey, it's Mazedude, and he's awesome again. What's up with that? How is every mix he makes so awesome? I do not know.

Anyways, this is classic Mazedude right here. We've got crazy drums, trackery synths, wierd sounds, all coming together to make this song. It's a little on the short side, but this is forgiveable because IT IS MAZEDUDE for gosh sake!

If you haven't heard Bound together yet, what the hell? Download it download it. It was awesome when it was released and it's still awesome now.

Awesome.

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djpretzel
on 2007-11-28 21:21:26

What did you think? Post your opinion of this ReMix.

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


Primary Game:
EarthBound (Nintendo , 1994, SNES)
Music by Hirokazu Tanaka,Hiroshi Kanazu,Keiichi Suzuki,Toshiyuki Ueno
Songs:
"Threed, Zombie Central"

Tags (4)


Genre:
Mood:
Dark
Instrumentation:
Electronic,Synth
Additional:
Usage > Halloween

File Information


Name:
EarthBound_Zombie_Lounge_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
4,602,948 bytes
MD5:
e6684856e830f5c057445a639a0c028d
Bitrate:
205Kbps
Duration:
2:56
album cover
Published 2005-10-31
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