ReMix:Uru: Ages Beyond Myst "Thanks for Dinner" 4:31

I totally get the "ambient with beats" feel on this one. Quite nice.

Such ambience...

I really liked the shift from 3:40-3:46, but the tension fell away at 3:48, a bit prematurely. It's the only flaw I can find.

ETA: Also, this makes me think of FF7 remix "Full of Hope" and Wizball "Transformation"

That must have been one hell of a dinner. Anyway, this ReMix is very cool. That bassline and the beat just sounds so right, and it works so well as the focus of the intro and outro, with the rest of the substance filling in the middle. This is the kind of song that makes you feel cool when listening to it while walking down a hallway. Love it.

After reading the story, I'm getting the significance on the kindness of being given food by djp, and that should make good sentiment

The track manages to maintain its original atmospheric style, while at the same time it managed to emphasize the atmosphere a lot with the very appropriate room spacing and use of percussive effects. The minor chord substitutions at 2:45 and onwards were a good use to keep building up the approach you've got going, and this gradual building of tension complete with some well utilised and separated EQs have shown a very keen ear even after having taken a break from the community for so long.

There are a couple of criticisms I have with it though. Firstly, that key change at 3:40 comes off as rather sudden to me; with the same type as fill as applied in most of the others in the track, I may have expected something a bit more dynamic to clash into it, like with some added concert bass drum writing as well to compliment it perhaps?

In addition, the groove you have going is fine enough as it is, though I can't help but think that the main drum riff doesn't have much change done to it at all. The additional ethnic percussion was good, but maybe some more in range of the drum loop's position on the panning grid could've done some good.

Otherwise, it's a nice track; not a revolutionary track by any means, but a very calm and sweet addition to the Myst coverage on OCR. Hopefully it wouldn't be another 8 years before you send something over again

Really like what you did with this!! Much more trancy and epic going straight to the ipod

The original composer of this piece, Tim Larkin, made a post on the Myst Online forums expressing his enjoyment of the ReMix. Congrats, Tansunn!

Just like djp, I expected something more ambient when I saw Uru on the frontpage. And while this remix is certainly more lively than I expected, it's not bad or anything like that; quite the opposite. It flows beautifully, the lead synth (which I just typed as "lynth" before I corrected it) is awesome, and 3:40 onwards is, as previous posters pointed out, the high-point of this remix.

Well done, and I hope to hear more from you (again).

Very nicely done. Though I've never touched any of the Myst games, I'm sure that by the example set here that they have their own charm for each one, soundtrack wise.

For this, I can appreciate the trancy feel with the ultra smooth soundscape that invokes visions of games like Eve or your choice of space flight games with fairly long times in between the action. But to see it as colorful and an abstract beauty of sight and sound this plays well indeed in such a vision.

The emotional crest (really the closest way to describe it) around 3:40 with the second chorus synth and the key change was quite an epic part for me until the drop-off to the ending, which works for me very well.

I'm sure bringing forth games and songs that aren't well trod would be a nice niche for you and many others to those of us with limited exposure to these sources.

Until next time.

I normally am turned off by the kind of cheesy synths that this mix has to sport, not to mention an intro that toys dangerously with repetition, but everything comes together in such a nicely textured, expansive way... I shall enjoy it in years to come.

Smooth and chill stuff, this gets looped a lot at work. I really like the lead synth, and the classy textures. Very nice and restrained work. I'd have probably given in to the temptation to solo on this. XD

Fantastic reworking of Tim Larkin's Badlands theme into a much more electronica sound. The original track was one of my favorites from Uru, and this manages to retain all of the emotion of the original. I'm getting in a serious groove listening to it.

And as a little fun fact, the source wasn't used in the boxed Uru: Ages Beyond Myst release in 2003, or its two expansion packs (though it did appear on the original Uru soundtrack). It wasn't until the release of the Age called Minkata during the GameTap days of Myst Online: Uru Live that it actually found its way in-game.

(Also, everyone should totally play Myst Online, because it's free and stuff.)

Because the sources share a common tone as well as certain key players, this mix is able to gather and strengthen those factors in such a way that the end result not only pays direct homage to them, but could very well be another source song from the game. Samples are modulated gradually and judiciously, allowing both the mix to evolve and the mood to stay laid-back but focused. To name a few versatility upgrades:

- The buzzy bee-like synth pattern (intro) tends to creep into the sound field, often at the tail end of the wavy, pitch-bendy, Egyptian-like lead (1:07, 2:30), and it appears anywhere from gauzy to shimmering as it faithfully plays in one of two different keys like in Cave Music.

- The Egyptian lead recites its own source notes, note patterns of other source synths, AND original material.

- The gum-throaty bass synth (0:21) resembles the opening grooves in Cave Music and Middle but accentuates the same moments in the beat a little differently, and the drums couple light and hard thumps like they're played by the son of Bigfoot (i.e. you don't mess with them).

Also, I CANNOT STOP DANCING TO THIS - everything just draws me in, without fail.

One of my new favorite ReMixes.

Absolutely wonderful mix, it grabbed my attention right from the start and held it until I was left wanting more after the last second. Great job.

I love it. digging the textures, the melodies, the soundscape, the kick, the journey...it's cinematic, dynamic, and so far from anemic.

Not familiar with the source, but this song stands on it's own just fine. I love how intense it is, while at the same time not being overly energetic. I respectfully have to disagree with Monobrow about the solos. While it may have been fun, I feel that a solo would have drawn too much attention to itself, and this song seems to deliberately try and sit in the background. It's one of those peices that relies more creating a cool ambience (and does so quite well) than it does on hooks and flashiness. Even the key change was subtle (which is impressive btw).

Also, the tone on the lead is PERFECT. And that wah-sounding rhythmic synth is pretty sweet too.