ReMix:Kirby's Block Ball "Breakout" 5:17

By SREYAS

electronic piano synth resubmission

Arranging the music of one song...

"Stage 1"

Primary Game: Kirby's Block Ball (Nintendo , 1995, GB), music by Ryoue Takagi, Sukezo Ouyama

Posted 2010-04-19, evaluated by the judges panel

New mix from a new artist & a previously unmixed game - I always love these. This time we've got Sreyas Krishnan, aka Hollidayrain, giving us a catchy electronica mix (with some acoustic elements) of Kirby's Block Ball. This was subbed twice before, so it's a 2X resub, which is a testament to Sreyas' determination and ability to take the panel's feedback and hone & refine his track. He writes:

"I decided to give this another shot. I felt bad about my last resub because I kept exporting it and continued to sound really lo-fi. Eventually it got so muddled that I couldn't use it anymore. The compressor I was using was wreaking havoc on me and I was really unhappy with the quality of...everything, especially the bass synth. So, basically, I started over from scratch. I used a lot of ideas from the first two, but it sounds extremely different.

Just as an aside, Larry, I wanted to make note of your comment about my growth as an artist. So, to see exactly what you were talking about, I decided to go back and listen to my first ever OCR submission back when I was 14 (2006)...WOW. The discrepency between then and now is absolutely unbelievable to say the least."

Personally, that's fantastic to hear. If OCR can be a motivating force and help people improve their craft over not just months, but years, that really means a lot to me. Of course, artists improve over time independent of and maybe even in spite (literal, actual spite!) of us, but - at its best - the panel can provide guidance and feedback and serve as something of a compass. This mix has good, varied instrumentation that extends beyond straight electronica, including acoustic piano and some ethnic percussion, and also varies up the dynamics well with plenty of four-on-the-floor beats but also some nice breaks, fills, and dropouts. Melody is catchy as all get-out, and while at times I wanted different levels here and there and more aggressive production, all in all there's a really good balance of toe-tapping and interest-holding. Vinnie writes:

"Huge step forward for Sreyas with this mix, both in production and arrangement, and great to see him growing as an artist. I love the way the melodies from the original are used in this new context, they fit beautifully. Somewhat reminiscent of Willrock."

I hear that, too - this mix shows some of the same promise Will's earlier stuff did, and also employs synth solos in a similar fashion. Often cantankerous veteran judge Vigilante adds:

"cool production, and while the arrangement isn't exactly groundbreaking, It does have enough going on to keep me from getting bored. The occasional drum groove variations were certainly appreciated, although more would have been nice. There's not a great deal to complain about, so I won't."

Sweet. I've looped this a few times now and I'm not sick of it, especially with the variety and ideas Sreyas has thrown in to keep things interesting. Guiro in the intro beats, for example, or the generally groovy gating work throughout. I also love the source, and wasn't familiar with it prior to this mix, so props there. VERY solid, enjoyable debut from Hollidayrain - I'm already psyched to see what he comes up with for his next mix.

― djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
avatar
urdailywater
on 2013-02-24 23:27:45

I still love this song even after almost 2 years. I like to listen to music to help me relax and take a breather from life, and this song in particular really helped me get through some tough emotional times after moving away from my parents for college.

Thank you so much for being persistent with this one and resubmitting it. This is easily one of my favorite songs on OCR.

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Crulex
on 2012-08-19 19:13:14

Pretty good trance track. The energy had just enough "umf" to it to keep the beat going and there was enough instrumentation to keep me interested. I really enjoyed the break down in the middle before building it back up to finish strong. Fantastic ReMix with a hint of classic OCR in it.

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The Biznut
on 2010-08-16 13:13:20

Just caught up on my mixposts, I was about 70 behind... was listening to random selections on my way home. Still haven't heard them all, but so far this is the pleasant surprise of the bunch. It had my full attention in about 3 seconds and never let it go, had a big grin on my face from start to finish. I supremely enjoyed the subtle variations, and the lead synth melody is killer. I downloaded it yesterday and am in danger of over listening already :-) I look forward to more Hollidayrain in the future!

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Rozovian
on 2010-05-28 06:19:21

I like this one. The lead took a while t get used to, it's too simple for the rest of the instrumentation, and yet it now fits just fine. Gives the track its own style. The track overall is varied, even its repeated parts just flow on nicely, really hard hitting, danceable, listenable... One of my favorites among the 2010 mixes so far.

There's a few compression things that bother me with this mix, how some parts just seem squashed and crowded, and then there's that some of the instrumentation sometimes seem to disappear in the mud (tho imo never the lead). Doesn't detract enough for me to not like the track. Nice work. :D

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Hollidayrain
on 2010-05-09 22:04:56
This probably sounds more negative than intended, but this remix sounds like OCR anno ~2002. The arrangement, the choice of sounds/instruments, the production...all of it reminds me of OCR of yonder.

Which, as far as I am concerned, isn't necessarily a bad thing, seeing as how I listen to the old trance remix rather often.

Martin, thank you buddy, I take that as a compliment! I was definitely going for 'listening' style trance than raving-style. As long as the production wasn't too bad :).

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Martin Penwald
on 2010-05-09 15:55:47

This probably sounds more negative than intended, but this remix sounds like OCR anno ~2002. The arrangement, the choice of sounds/instruments, the production...all of it reminds me of OCR of yonder.

Which, as far as I am concerned, isn't necessarily a bad thing, seeing as how I listen to the old trance remix rather often.

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Mtlbro
on 2010-05-03 00:19:06

This track definitely has moments, like the piano solo halfway through and the synth builds so it has the MTLBRO STAMP OF APPROVAL whatever that's worth

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Waxius
on 2010-04-27 08:27:32

Hats off to you my friend. I've been a avid listener of OCREMIX for quite a few years now. When I listen to a new song submission I can usually tell if it is "Re-Playable" with-in the first 15 seconds or so. You got my attention from the very start, and I have been playing it and replaying it for the last two days now.

I give each song a full listen, and then decide if I'm likely going to put it on my computer or ipod. Some songs never make it.

With THIS song, however, I saved it after the first 10 seconds, and I KNEW that the rest of it would be great, and you did not disappoint!

I liked it SO much that I registered my account just so I can post and tell you about it!

Great Job!

~David

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chevymeister
on 2010-04-27 01:19:13

Wow, this is my favorite techno mix on this site other than 'energy tank'.

+1 to you my good sir. 3

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Hollidayrain
on 2010-04-23 00:59:33

Bahamut, good call mang. Definitely not the best EQ work, at all. It seems like when I made this almost a year ago, I didn't bother checking my master parametric....seems like it's missing an entire band at points.

Oh well, at least you're not a judge, otherwise I might've taken the axe ;).

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Bahamut
on 2010-04-23 00:23:01

Hm, so one of the first things I notice is how thin this song seems to be in the mid frequency areas early on. The song could benefit from more instrumentation I feel.

Other than that, there's some good ideas here, but I get the overall feeling that a lot more needs to be done in the production realm to get this up to snuff.

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OA
on 2010-04-20 10:42:56

Beautiful and upbeat, this track made my morning. Reading through the various resubs, I'm really happy you stuck with it and got this where it needed to be. I personally appreciate it a lot, since I wouldn't have heard it otherwise. :-)

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taelusramza
on 2010-04-20 08:23:45

This is great stuff! Goes down nice and easy... very relaxing to listen to!

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LostChronos
on 2010-04-20 08:13:01

Nice trance. I always love this stuff. This gets the glow sticks going.:-P

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Mirby
on 2010-04-20 01:22:12

I actually have this game! ^_^ Border Line scores are a pain to get, but still! Great remix, too!

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


Primary Game:
Kirby's Block Ball (Nintendo , 1995, GB)
Music by Ryoue Takagi,Sukezo Ouyama
Songs:
"Stage 1"

Tags (4)


Genre:
Mood:
Instrumentation:
Electronic,Piano,Synth
Additional:
Origin > Resubmission

File Information


Name:
Kirby's_Block_Ball_Breakout_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
7,700,089 bytes
MD5:
372362f4bd719032f77b6603c3d5b307
Bitrate:
192Kbps
Duration:
5:17

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