ReMix:The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening "Waking the Fish" 4:30

By WillRock

Arranging the music of one song...

"Ballad of the Wind Fish (Instruments Ver.)"

Primary Game: The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (Nintendo , 1993, GB), music by Kozue Ishikawa, Minako Hamano

Posted 2009-11-28, evaluated by the judges panel


Well, happy post-Thanksgiving to all the Americans out there, and happy... weekend? ... to everyone else. I rather like Thanksgiving... while the historical foundation/context may have involved a merely temporary collaboration between colonizing and indigenous peoples, the nature of which ultimately ended up going in a much different (tragic) direction, the abstract concept of taking some time to articulate what you're thankful for, and why, seems worthwhile. Plus: Turkey's good. So's Willrock's latest mix, which I was meaning to post yesterday, but got distracted while playing some BioShock & New Super Mario Bros. Wii w/ Vinnie. The artist writes:

"God knows where the inspiration for this came from :P All I know is that I decided to remix the ballad of the wind fish, one of my favorite game themes, in a style that I have never tried before (and one that you guys are tbh probably sick of) :P Needless to say, it has taken me a while, but I have done it, and I think it is a little better polished than my previous subs so far."

Wow... I'm not sick of this, or anything like it, at all - I've always loved the source, too, and this is my favorite arrangement of Willrock's to date. It's accessible, upbeat, and provides the best foundation yet for Will's soloing, which is par for course, i.e. awesome. The synth patch used for most of the solos reminds me of Daft Punk's 'Digital Love,' which Vinnie and I were just talking about yesterday as being particularly badass, and the overall structure is easy to get into while also making significant alterations to the melody that keep things recognizable but functionally unique. Palpable writes:

"I can always expect some great synth solos from Will at this point, but I also thought the new writing and chords for the simple Wind Fish song were very creative and worked like they were always meant to be written that way... This has a whole lot to like, and it's probably still my favorite arrangement Will has done."

Ditto. Most judges did point out that the drums could have been a bit more interesting, which I can see, but this was a very minor qualm with a supremely solid & soaring mix. Will just keeps getting better, and this piece proves it - awesome work that I, for one, will definitely keep coming back to!

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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Crulex
on 2012-04-16 15:34:36

Diggin' the electronic sound of this one. Lots of energy and while I agree with the judges that the drums are a bit meh, the whole ReMix is great. This is a risk that I think paid off extremely well for you, WillRock. As for "not getting the sound right", I think that actually helped this ReMix by sounding a hair off. It came off unique and cool, so kudos.

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WillRock
on 2010-12-22 15:04:59

This mix was my first take on trance music a.k.a. bLiNd style. As you can hear, I didn't quite get the sound right, but something a little different seemed to come out here, which still worked.

As far as the source goes, its a classic, and I took it in a VERY risky direction (my sister said I'd ruined ballad of the windfish when she first heard it)

I was experimenting with alot of cool phasor effects and other backing effects at this point to enhance my soundscapes, and I also wanted to make a synth solo that rivaled Daft Punk's Digital Love. The solo synth was crafted by me from a preset to mimick that sound, and it turned into my standard GuitarSynth patch I use for many of my later remixes and beyond.

Considering that this was more of a failed experiment than a successful one for what I wanted to achieve this has seemed to become a favorite. This mix for me basically says that sometimes, good things can come from something not coming out quite the way you intended ;)

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Gasaraki
on 2010-02-10 00:41:01

I love synth and I love solos so as far as I'm concerned, this is AWESOME.

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Nareusm
on 2009-12-27 21:16:30

At first I wasn't quite sure what to make of it, it sounded alien and not as all as I wanted it to sound. However as the song started getting into it I started hearing what I can only describe as awesome. It might start out sounding nothing at all like Ballad of the Wind Fish but soon enough it turns into a great remix of a great song. It may not have been what I was looking for when I browsed over to one of my favourite portable games, but it definitely does do the song justice and will definitely make it into my Zelda playlist.

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42
on 2009-12-15 20:20:53

Cooooool...

The techno here feels calming and smooth while being energizing.

This strikes a weird balance between being interesting to listen to and, well, not; there's some stretches where it feels very monotonous.

Other times it does have a very good groove going on, and those other times feel like a rest.

In the end, I have to admit that I do like it, but imo its about a minute too long.

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Rozovian
on 2009-12-13 10:44:44

About time I caught up with reviewing your stuff, Will. Now you have to get more posted. :P

I remember this one from way back, and liked it then. I also remember commenting your your kick drum fills coming in at the wrong times and THEY STILL DO! :P At least some of them, in the intro.

Overall, this is as your stuff usually is, Great synth writing, retro sound. The use of strings and piano gives it a different vibe from your usual stuff, which the source naturally contributes to as well. Not a bad thing.

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Dramon
on 2009-12-11 16:21:32

I know already posted, but seriously this mix is awesome. Brings me back to mid-late 90s gaming.

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Martin Penwald
on 2009-12-11 15:53:36

I'm with DragonAvenger on this one. The first half doesn't do anything for me; it's so...vanilla. Production's good, but I just don't like the sound.

The breakdown and all the soloing that follows is much better; this is where the remix starts to shine.

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metalsnakejuice
on 2009-12-05 08:14:11

Willrock sure can rock da house. Good work:razz:

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jcbq
on 2009-12-03 23:51:27

wow and i thought your tal tal hights remix was good... great job! I can see this being used for either a racing game like mario kart or as credits

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WillRock
on 2009-12-03 21:28:52

Thanks for the positive reviews guys! ^-^ Reading these reviews has really brightened what has been a somewhat average week... keep em coming! :D

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Elex Synn
on 2009-12-03 20:41:32

Dear gawd this is beautiful. :puppyeyes:

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Dramon
on 2009-12-03 05:18:23

Thats really cool that you got Ronald Jenkees to collab on a track with you...

just sayin....

jk foreals though man, good work. love the synth work.

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Lynx
on 2009-12-02 23:02:44

This remix absolutely blew my mind. Very impressive work.

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Sir_Downunder
on 2009-12-02 21:51:37

This is some good stuff right here. That synth lead sounds awesome, the pitch bending you've done with it in particular is really top-notch.

Nice work, Will. :nicework:

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


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.)"

Tags (2)


Genre:
Mood:
Instrumentation:
Electronic,Synth
Additional:

File Information


Name:
Legend_of_Zelda_Link's_Awakening_Waking_the_Fish_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
4,409,048 bytes
MD5:
5cd5c00cbd602b2418f8bb204abade87
Bitrate:
128Kbps
Duration:
4:30

 

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