Posted 2011-08-01, evaluated by the judges panel


Otakon 2011 was, as always, a great time, made even more memorable with our attendance of Distant Worlds Baltimore & interview of the man himself, Nobuo Uematsu, as well as conductor Arnie Roth. It was truly unforgettable - thanks to Chris @ Distant Worlds for working w/ Larry to set that up, thanks to Stevo for letting a veritable army of OC ReMix & nightsintrodreams.com staff crash at his place, and thanks to everyone who attended our panel. Seeing & hearing firsthand the appreciation for VGM and for the awesome work ReMixers and site staff do is always very motivating, so hopefully now that the dust has settled we can pick the mixpost pace back up!

2011 has been by far the best year ever for Pokémon fans on OCR - Missingno alone was a watershed for the series' representation here, but we've got yet another non-album track from a previously unmixed title, courtesy newcomer TheGuitahHeroe, aka Jamison Randall. While his name might have suggested stadium rock, this dramatic electronica track w/ piano and syncopated ethnic percussion doesn't disappoint; the artist writes:

"Anyway, I'd like to start off by asking a question: Why the HELL are there no remixes from this game on the site?! The music from this game is incredible, and I think there should be some remixes of it! That being said, this is my remix of the Temporal Tower theme from PMD2.

I started this off as a fairly liberal dance-type arrangement, and I didn't really establish any kind of real lead until 00:48, which is when the original melody starts up on piano. I thought piano would really portray a calm feeling throughout the first half of the mix, which would later break down, then build back up again. In the second half I pictured sort of a "pump-em-up, calm-em-down" idea, and juxtaposed a fast "Boston-esque" organ solo with some sweet flutes. I also used the break at 1:32 to transition to a different rhythm, which is a lot closer to the original. . . then, just when you think it's gonna start being just a copy of the original, the organ solo pumps up and says, "Nope, don't think so." :D"

The first version of this was actually rejected primarily because the kick & snare were mixed very quietly relative to everything else, but thankfully Mr. Randall was able to perform some post-production tweaking by layering a new FL kick track in Audacity:

"Seeing that this remix was originally made with a demo version of Mixcraft 4.5 (which I cannot access or buy now), I can't change anything about the way the song was arranged or the articulations or anything of the sort. Basically what I did was I used FL Studio to create a more powerful bass drum than the one Mixcraft had to offer (Mixcraft doesn't offer that much). Then I used Audacity to combine the remix track and the bass drum track. Along with a few added effects that Audacity had to offer and a slight change in equalization, this was the result."

I for one am damn glad he took the time to do what he could, because the revision allowed the track to breath a bit more AND get past those pesky judges, and the arrangement has some wonderful spiralling & terraced solos, with intervals that soar sky-high then dive down & graze the surface. The blend of synthetic instrumentation with piano, a thick gut-pumping beat, ethereal choral pads, cross-panned bongo-esque perc., and then the synthier second half... reminds me of some of WillRock's stuff, which is a great way to debut on OCR, but also has enough of its own character. Hope to see more from TheGuitahHeroe, whether it involves guitar, heroism, or just more great music!

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
avatar
Crulex
on 2012-11-05 11:20:02

Loving the use of choral sound along with the driving beat and melody. Very danceable and I'm glad to see another good Pokemon ReMix get hit with a good ReMix. I love how this blends atmosphere and electronica in such a way that they complement each other than fight with each other. Fantastic arrangement here, man.

avatar
Bahamut
on 2011-12-15 09:44:44

I couldn't help but djp to the song as soon as it started - good job setting the base of the mix down here. The usage of the piano to start off with the melody is done well, as that buildup to begin the mix can make it difficult to progress from there. I feel the mix ends too soon though for all that time spent building it up in the beginning. It wanders around and then goes to the end - not a fan of that. There's good stuff here, I just think it can be taken to another level though :) .

avatar
Martin Penwald
on 2011-08-24 15:11:49

Bloody awesome; there's just so much going on in this remix. The wonderful choir around 0:40 and 2:00, the lovely piano coming in around 0:50 (both of which remind me of Metroid, for some reason), nice synths around 2:30, and an awesome flute (?) to top it all off at 2:45. Outro is well-executed, too.

Great stuff.

avatar
Jules
on 2011-08-13 09:41:44

It's about time we get some PMD arrangements on OCR, these games have consistently amazing soundtracks and definitely deserve some love here.

Temporal Tower is one of my favorite tracks of all time. Since I tend to compare arrangements to their respective sources, arrangements usually have a hard time impressing me when I already like the source a lot.

But this one is actually pretty good. The backgroundish melody reference at 0:11 totally gives me the shivers on every listen, absolutely genius. That kick is amazing and production in general feels top notch. You also packed in a lot of variety so it doesn't get boring at all, even if one already knows the source inside out.

So, huge props to TheGuitahHeroe here, I've listened to some of your stuff on YouTube, and I'm definitely looking forward to hearing more from you! :)

avatar
Strife89
on 2011-08-12 21:23:54

I've also been listening to this one since some of its earlier WIP days, and it's awesome to finally hear your finished version. Wonderful track - I have a tendency to listen to it ten times in a row when it pops up in my playlist! :)

avatar
yoshi1001
on 2011-08-12 00:08:01

It's about time someone remixed something from this sub-series. I actually bought Explorers of Sky solely because it had the "Sky Jukebox" sound test feature.

avatar
SuperiorX
on 2011-08-08 21:51:51

Nice mix! It's good to see GuitahHeroe posted on here! Your GRMRB tracks were great, keep it up!

avatar
Drazil
on 2011-08-08 06:22:51
Why the HELL are there no remixes from this game on the site?! The music from this game is incredible, and I think there should be some remixes of it!

My thoughts exactly! Thank you so much for remembering the game everyone else apparently forgot. This remix is awesome!

avatar
DoubleBro7
on 2011-08-07 11:51:10

You're right about that! Personally, I've always wanted something along the lines of the credits music from PMD Red/Blue, but, man - This song is like I've died and gone to VGM heaven!

avatar
Helios42
on 2011-08-05 23:43:48

Past time someone did something from this game. Amazing, moving story. And a beautiful soundtrack, esp in the last few stages of the game.

Someone needs to do the Primal Dialga theme. This must happen.

TGH; I loved your stuff in the GRMRB. Esp. Blowin' 'em Outta the Water. I am so stoked to hear what else you are going to be coming out with, it is not even funny. Can't wait for your next Pokemon mix!!!

Because you really always capture the themes really well, and have a great story to your music.

avatar
TGH
on 2011-08-03 18:24:14

Hey, just stopped by to say I'm REALLY happy you guys are enjoying my mix :D Thank you loads for all the nice comments!

Expect another Poke-mix from me soon :D

avatar
LazarCotoron
on 2011-08-03 02:04:11

Just saying thanks for showing Mystery Dungeon some love. These Pokemon spinoffs are absolutely great games and have the story that I've felt the main line series is missing. On top of that, the music is top notch. Digging your remix!

avatar
NegimaSonic
on 2011-08-02 17:31:16

I remember this from WIP too. I'm glad it finally made it. I knew this was awesome. Hope The Greatest Loss of All one day gets here too. Keep up the PokeMusic

avatar
DaMonz
on 2011-08-02 15:17:35

I knew you'd make it there TGH! You're incredibly talented and you definitely deserve to be on OCR. Keep making awesome stuff, please! :-D

avatar
timaeus222
on 2011-08-02 13:17:55

Wonderful arrangement! I've been following this one since it was a WIP, and I'm quite surprised it made through the Judges Panel. To be honest, I'm very glad because it's the first Mystery Dungeon remix EVER! Props to you, man. I love Mystery Dungeon.

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


Primary Game:
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time (Nintendo , 2007, NDS)
Music by Arata Iiyoshi,Hideki Sakamoto,Keisuke Ito,Ken-ichi Saito,Ryoma Nakamura
Songs:
"Temporal Tower"

Tags (6)


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

File Information


Name:
Pokemon_Mystery_Dungeon_Explorers_of_Time_Temporal_Despair_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
4,292,460 bytes
MD5:
4e59e025daf4d3877475ac2f7ec3d5d7
Bitrate:
160Kbps
Duration:
3:30

Promotion

8-bit Jazz Heroes - Press Start
View All

Latest Albums

View All

Latest ReMixes