Posted 2011-10-10, evaluated by djpretzel


Our next stop Around the World takes us to India, where Protricity hath enlisted the assistance of bustatunez, Jeff Ball, and Stevo:

"This remix is part of the project Around the World, the Super Dodge Ball remix project. I initially wrote it to support the underdog remix project of a game I never played, but eventually came to appreciate the soundtrack quite a bit. For the longest time, I was not enjoying working on the song, which I considered a disjointed mess. I have to thank Monobrow for pushing me so hard to finish it. I am much happier with the final, slightly-more-jointed, slightly-less-messy version. Additionally I have to thank remixers Level 99, bustatunez, and Jeff Ball for improving the song considerably by lending their live instruments to it. I wish the project well. Good luck."

Great to see Jeff's name appearing on a mix - we've hung out at PAX a couple times, and his (freely available) score to Astroman is good stuff. And of course, this is Prot's first mix in awhile, notwithstanding the collab on Katie's Summoning track, so that's good news. At 6'24", this is one of the longer tracks on AtW, and it uses that time wisely, incorporating a bunch of arrangement ideas coherently, changing up tempo & groove more than a couple times, and blending electronic & acoustic/ethnic components in resplendent, energized harmony. The phrasing on some of the runs and patterns is authentically intricate, and the ritardando and subsequent breakdown section at 1'46" is a highlight. Co-director Walan writes:

"Longtime OverClocked ReMix veteran Protricity takes listeners on a journey with this arrangement of the "Team India" theme. This remix continues the ideas started in the original song and expands them into a Middle Eastern-influenced odyssey with the help of bustatunez on flutes, Level 99 on guitar, and Jeff Ball providing expert violin work. Production- and arrangement-wise, this track is truest to my original idea for Around the World."

Definitely nailed Alan's original concept, so kudos there, but also props for the sheer magnitude of this arrangement - while the album itself is presented as a global journey, this mix feels like an excursion unto itself, with plenty of sights to see and only the necessary, appropriate amount of repetition. Great title, great collab, great mix, and a truly epic stop along Around the World's multi-culti musical expedition.

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 10 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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Bahamut
on 2011-12-06 17:18:16

This is a pretty big 5 man collab. This shows off some nice ethnic flairs to it, and definitely makes me think of an indian chase of some sort. I think the mixing sounds off here, as well as possible overcompression? It sounds like some of the instruments are a bit cluttered and it hurts the ethnic sound from sounding full. The song meanders quite a bit which is ok, although not as much my cup of tea. Good job overall, although I would love to hear a cleaned up version of this.

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Crulex
on 2011-12-05 10:18:41

I gotta say, when I saw Protricity, Level 99, and bustatunez on the list, I knew I was going to love this. And a nice debut for Jeff as well. You guys nailed this theme so hard. The Indian influence was very prevalent and I loved the addition of the violin. Big ups for getting a little rock in there as well, making it a harder hitting ethnic masterpiece. Nice change up around the 3:35 mark and the ending was pretty cool. Recommended for sure.

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Locke
on 2011-12-03 18:03:33

Except for the violin (which was excellent), the mix was rather average for me, although the small techno parts were nice. I'm not a huge fan of the Indian-type genre though, so that's no surprise.

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WesternZypher
on 2011-11-10 15:24:40

It's a real treat when we get songs on OCR that push past the typical 3.5 min boundaries - this creates an entire exotic landscape and takes through it on an aural rush of a tour.

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Monobrow
on 2011-11-06 20:55:28

A+++++++ WOULD LISTEN AGAIN!

Totally best review!

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Rexy
on 2011-10-14 06:52:55

Nice shameless self-promotion, Katie. :razz: Anyway...

I admit, in my early days at OCR I was a HUGE Protricity fangirl, and even now I still hold high regards towards his influence on the site. So to see him write something on Around the World may not have been much of a surprise due to his involvment in Tales, but it was definitely worthwhile to see him return here again.

What I appreciate about his style the most is that for many of his ideas they tend to go by a rhapsodic nature, capturing several different essences at once while going through. "Dodge Mahal" is no different, with its starting from typical Prot affair in regards to the varied drum writing and synth/guitar use (props there Stevo for your contrubitions!), before going towards some creative variations on the theme in steadily more downbeat styles and capturing more of the Indian wilderness soundscape.

In particular when going later and later into the track, bustatunez's flute performance throughout - though a little dry in parts but may be more of a nitpick - really lifts up this progression tenfold, with some very expressive work throughout that further brings the atmosphere to life. Excellent stuff.

In a way though, the flow could also be seen as a double-edged sword. While it does indeed fit Walan's original creative decision in a highly-polished way, one may not help but think that most of the energy towards the track were emphasized near the beginning, therefore somehow starting to lose its punch as the writing became increasingly steady.

I do however understand that there were difficulties in writing the track, and for any artist it may be seen as a huge burden just to get out there and finish it. But I am glad in the end that you did (mostly under Katie's persuasion), because as it stood I saw it as one of the best team themes on the album. Nice work from all four of you :)

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Monobrow
on 2011-10-10 19:08:03

You're welcome. I enjoyed listening to him working on it through the whole thing, I was excited about it, which is probably what he meant, and I had to nag him a couple times too :P. I have no idea how he viewed the song as a "mess" like he says, then again I view all my songs as a mess (even after finishing them) lol.

ALSO JEFF EDWARD BALL IS THE BEST! He plays some violin here but he's an extremely talented guy and you should check his stuff out!

Stevo really gave a lot to this guitar, as it wasn't the easiest part to learn, so yeah you did great!

And Lukas sure whipped out those flutes really fast. His flute solo at the end really closed the lid very well I think, and actually lead into the next track on the album which I hear is quite nice ;J

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KyleJCrb
on 2011-10-10 17:47:13

Another one of those tracks that still blows my mind whenever I listen to it. THANK YOU KATIE for keeping on Prot to finish this, and of course thanks to Prot for helping out with the project and bringing out the big guns with some awesome instrumentalists. And to think, this is only the second-biggest collab on the album!

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Giga Bowser
on 2011-10-10 15:38:56

Its nice to see that prot has participated its been ages. Well Thanks to everyone for this wonderful mix ^^

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djpretzel
on 2011-10-10 12:58:31

What did you think? Post your opinion of this ReMix.

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


Primary Game:
Super Dodge Ball (CSG Imagesoft , 1989, NES)
Music by Kazuo Sawa
Songs:
"Vs. Team India"

Tags (7)


Genre:
Mood:
Instrumentation:
Electric Guitar,Strings,Synth,Woodwinds
Additional:
Origin > Collaboration
Regional > Indian
Time > Duration: Long

File Information


Name:
Super_Dodge_Ball_Dodge_Mahal_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
11,450,953 bytes
MD5:
daf445123c6cde64b6199e2613aa1b6f
Bitrate:
236Kbps
Duration:
6:24

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