ReMix:Myst III: Exile "American Wheels of Wonder" 3:29

By Mazedude

Arranging the music of one song...

"Wheels of Wonder"

Primary Game: Myst III: Exile (Ubisoft , 2001, WIN), music by Jack Wall

Posted 2008-09-01, evaluated by djpretzel


Somewhat breaking the trend of newcomers is veteran Mazedude with another gem off his American Album; if the sheer variety and quality of the pieces from this album and the fact that so many are being posted here hasn't convinced you to go and download the whole thing yet, perhaps a strong punch to the face would be persuasive? Seriously good stuff... for this track, our first from Jack Wall's score to Myst III: Exile, Chris writes:

"This one's a bit of a style homage to trackers I admire. Specifially Chris Hampton (Beek) and Ryan Ross (Firestar.) Beek's tune "Mercury Dance" is a phenomenal piece of chill tunage, and creates its own style. Firestar's "Fields of War" is the same, albeit a bit heavier. For this remix of "Wheels of Wonder" by Jack Wall, I have combined elements of those two pieces, in fusion with a touch of Jeroen Tel influence, and a whole bunch of my own ideas, and made what you hear here. It's a bit of a leap from the original tune - which was mostly ambient - but hey, that's why they call it a remix."

Indeed. Definitely a mellow, laid-back groove here, with an undulating bowed glass type pattern acting as the bed for downbeat heavy hip-hop, almost industrial beats. The first 1'18" is sorta intro, with soaring synth lead. The synth here could have been easily swapped out with violin if The Dude had wanted a more cinematic vibe, but he was going for the tracker influence, so synth lead - especially of the doubled up harmony variety circa 2'28" - was mandatory, as was the attention to detail for modulations, pitch bends, etc. that Chris always brings to his game, whether he's going for a tracker sound or not. The constant glassy pattern that intros and remains in the background sorta channels Schala a bit, for me, simply because I've heard so many mixes of that theme, but it's great that Mazedude did this album and really exposed all of us to a LOT of previously unmixed source tunage from American game composers. This is yet another in a great list of selections from the album that he's submitted to us, and it joins its forebears proudly as an additional face on the musical Mount Rushmore of ReMixes that Chris has constructed.

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 14 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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Sir_Downunder
on 2009-12-17 00:18:28

I love how atmospheric this piece is. Mazedude seems to have this knack for creating things that are creepy and borderline freaky. The mix of echoes, industrial beat and synth lead really ties this mix together.

Great job, mate.

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Shadow Wolf
on 2008-11-03 22:32:08

Alright dude. I don't know if this is specifically a quality of tracker music, or if it's just one of your many musical talents, but some of your songs just sound downright CREEPY to me. Minotaur Nightmares springs to mind immediately there, but this does the same thing. It makes me feel lonely, confused, and uncertain. Ironically, much like I would feel if I was playing a Myst game. It feels urban, industrial, and 'grungy' as well. This is what Myst would sound like if somehow took you down a badly lit and deserted street in the southside of Chicago. While it was snowing. I love the glass chime work (I don't know if that's what it is, but that's what I'll call it) that underlies the mix. Then the synth lead comes in and adds more creepy and it's just a beautiful package.

I had the American Album for a long time, and for some reason this never jumped out at me like it does now. The album got deleted when I purged my library to make more space, but I'm thinking that was a mistake and I need to go download it again. Great piece.

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Jaybell
on 2008-10-10 23:21:58

Basically fantastic.

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OzymandiasVolt
on 2008-09-28 18:17:01

I've had this mix for years. It is still as awesome as the first time I heard it. Dark and relaxing. American Album was full of shiny goodness. Nicely done, Mazedude.

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Martin Penwald
on 2008-09-20 15:16:25
Great use of echoing, and a nice blend of instruments.

I concur. Also, the bells are great.

Very interesting mood mazedude creates here; somewhere between creepy and plain weird. Very unique.

Keep on rockin'

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OA
on 2008-09-15 16:38:22

Mazedude did a great job developing vibe on this one, it starts off so barren and alone. Awesome work getting that feeling of vast emptiness; the bells are especially haunting, and though it never really picks up to the type of chug i'd associate by glancing at the song's title, it does pick up, and has plenty of careful movement.

The synths are fantastic and really give a great color to the solid foundation. Beautiful and really introspective.

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Harmony
on 2008-09-12 01:03:34

Very slick Mazedude, especially that phat beat -- it drives this mix beautifully.

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DragonAvenger
on 2008-09-06 17:29:01

Don't know the sorce, but I'm loving this track. Mazedude always brings good stuff to the table, and this doesn't dissapoint.

Love the opening (vibraphone?), and a great lead in with the percussion. Great use of echoing, and a nice blend of instruments.

Really great work, everyone should take a listen to this one.

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csthenexustech
on 2008-09-04 15:09:04

Dang it maze dude!!! Why do you gotta be so good! Now I have to reburn my car mp3 cdrom again... sigh. Just kidding. Keep rocking. You got talent.

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Palpable
on 2008-09-02 19:59:02

Great sound, dude, starts atmospheric but becomes so heavy. I haven't heard the original but I could see this fitting a game really well in its own right.

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MicroProcessor
on 2008-09-02 06:28:10

This is my favorite track in Myst 3 and I have to say that this was my favorite from the American Album as well.

I really enjoy the style that this was remixed in, and it's of game music that I really enjoy.

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evktalo
on 2008-09-01 14:19:19

Very nice. Love those wailing chip leads. :) I'm keeping it!

--Eino

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VerSus22
on 2008-09-01 11:04:40

This ReMix is pretty groovy, I like this. Great job Mazedude! :razz:

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djpretzel
on 2008-09-01 10:23:22

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

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


Primary Game:
Myst III: Exile (Ubisoft , 2001, WIN)
Music by Jack Wall
Songs:
"Wheels of Wonder"

Tags (3)


Genre:
Hip Hop
Mood:
Dark
Instrumentation:
Synth
Additional:

File Information


Name:
Myst_3_American_Wheels_of_Wonder_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
5,667,051 bytes
MD5:
862de1ea7f1fbd58043c4c5eab38f064
Bitrate:
213Kbps
Duration:
3:29
Featured on album...

The American Album


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Published 2005-11-14
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