ReMix:Super Metroid "Avien" 5:17

By Theophany

Arranging the music of one song...

"Maridia - Rocky Underground Water Area"

Primary Game: Super Metroid (Nintendo , 1994, SNES), music by Kenji Yamamoto (I), Minako Hamano

Posted 2011-08-06, evaluated by djpretzel


Theophany writes:

"Hopefully I’m not late in submitting for the Metroid 25th anniversary, but if so it’s alright. I’ve wanted to make this for a few years, so a release date is less important to me than the fact that I finally accomplished what I set out to do. Since Relics of the Chozo, Avien’s song “Noumenon” has been my all-time favorite video game remix. It’s emotive, haunting quality is found in much of the music that has profoundly influenced me over the years and inspired me to produce. While I never knew Avien, I am thankful to have had the chance to know his music. This track is a tribute to him. Despite the dark, ethereal mood, I wanted to make something that feels the way Noumenon did for me—intimate, personal, and from the heart. The ghostly vocals in this track are the mark of a similar influence on me, a UK producer named Burial. Beyond the poetic significance, mixing their styles felt like the best possible way I could pay tribute to Avien, and the otherworldly beauty of Maridia."

For those who may not be aware, Avien (Christopher Powell) was a talented ReMixer who passed away tragically early in his life. On the 25th anniversary of the original Metroid, this amazingly atmospheric downbeat/trip-hop arrangement is a beautiful, truly haunting tribute to the original game, its classic 16-bit sequel, the entire series, and to a fantastic artist who left us too early. I'm blown away by the space this mix creates; the intro reminded me a bit of Amnesia: The Dark Descent, in terms of creating layers that extend outward into infinity and pairing them with closer, "right behind your shoulder" elements. There's JUST the right amount of sampled vocals and - later - beats to give the piece structure and make it "songlike" in terms of developing, and when you combine that with the supple, psychoacoustic details that Theophany has painted, the end result is art, pure and simple.

A striking, indelible tribute.

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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Jragyn
on 2013-05-20 00:06:33

To make this easy, I simply agree with pretty much the unanimous decision that this is a truly beautiful and deep piece of work.

I just wanted to throw my towel in with the winners that I too love this remix.

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DeepChild
on 2013-03-11 10:55:25

Doing a bit of catch up on Remixes, so I just recently came across this. I'm just blown away. The first time I heard it amid a batch of newly downloaded mixes, I just stopped working and sat and listened. It was just...mesmerizing. Thanks for sharing it with everyone!

EDIT: Also, I concur in full with Dubanubiel above.

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Crulex
on 2012-11-07 10:09:20

Whoa, this is chilling and perfect for the season. The atmosphere in this ReMix is almost indescribable and I would never have thought that a hip-hop beat could be so ethereal. The vocals are indeed haunting and the whole ambiance could be either creepy or darkly wondrous depending on how you look at it. Love that piano use as well.

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Dubanubiel
on 2012-10-26 11:14:10

Theophany's Bioluminescence on HoaH was definitely my favourite song on the whole album (which is saying quite a lot considering how it is my favourite OST remix album). But then this same caught my attention. I doubt I could count how many times I've listened to it this week. An absolutely amazing song with so much emotion. I'm not normally into such downtempo music but, Theophany, you've won my ears over. Please keep producing such top notch music!

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Bahamut
on 2011-12-15 09:17:58

Theophany has been quickly getting on my radar for his work in general, but especially in some of his album project mixes which you all will get to hear soon with Wild ARMS and DKC 3. This mix is no exception either though with how it blends electronic orchestral elements in a solemn and sad mix full of solitude. The irregular (in terms of how it fits on a superficial level) beat later on serves to highlight it in a way, building a bit of a feel of panic into the song.

Theo's crafting of this mix is incredible, and his work is fast becoming notable on a high level to me - keep it up!

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Martin Penwald
on 2011-09-10 11:20:52

Incredibly haunting and atmospheric. Raises the bar for both of these IMO.

I can definitely hear the Burial vibe.

Same here.

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flext
on 2011-09-09 10:27:47

Every time I listen to this piece I get chills. It's haunting and beautiful. Thank you for this mix. Defiantly one of my favorites.

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ectogemia
on 2011-09-06 22:23:53

This is amazing, perhaps the best ambience I've ever heard.

A lot of pieces have given me chills. A lot have brought tears to my eyes.

This is the first to have done both.

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Fridge
on 2011-09-06 00:09:53

This isn't really quite my style of music (I tend to need something a bit more active to appease my short attention span), but I am somewhat familiar with Burial, particularly "Archangel", and the crackly ambience here indeed reminds me quite a bit of his work. Beautiful production work here, with the great, deep soundscape, and piano/vocals tinkling over top. Nice mix, and even if not quite to my taste it'll certainly make nice background music while reading and such.

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Perigryn
on 2011-08-17 17:39:40

Wonderfully beautiful mix.

It's so haunting, yet bittersweet. The whole time, I felt like the song was crying out for someone, awaiting their return, though deep down knowing they could never come back.

Great work on this, a definite download.

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Marim
on 2011-08-17 11:51:34

http://reoganworks.blogspot.com/2011/08/song-of-week-41-avien-by-theophany.html

Here's my blog writeup for this song. Awesome job, Theophany! :-)

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CC Ricers
on 2011-08-13 13:07:35

There is some amazing ambience going on here. I can definitely hear the Burial vibe. Instant download for me.

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Bradums
on 2011-08-09 13:22:33

I've listened to this song about a dozen times now, and it's a firm choice for my OCR playlist. I really appreciate the ambient, haunting atmosphere in songs like this; and after reading the background of the song, I think it lends a mourning respect for Avien.

Very well done.

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evktalo
on 2011-08-09 08:27:01

I think everything I could say has been said in previous reviews.. this is a damn fine track, and will see a lot of listening to from me. I just downloaded the EP too, and I'm looking forward to hearing it.

--Eino

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TheKrow
on 2011-08-08 22:23:03

Gave me chills, nuff said.

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


Primary Game:
Super Metroid (Nintendo , 1994, SNES)
Music by Kenji Yamamoto (I),Minako Hamano
Songs:
"Maridia - Rocky Underground Water Area"

Tags (9)


Genre:
Ambient,Downtempo,Trip Hop
Mood:
Dark,Spooky
Instrumentation:
Choir,Piano,Sound FX
Additional:
Usage > Halloween

File Information


Name:
Super_Metroid_Avien_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
7,686,429 bytes
MD5:
5253877f4334406893b91ce8ceb08549
Bitrate:
192Kbps
Duration:
5:17

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