ReMix:EarthBound "The Great Blizzard of '9X" 3:25

By halc

Arranging the music of one song...

"Snowman"

Primary Game: EarthBound (Nintendo , 1994, SNES), music by Hirokazu Tanaka, Hiroshi Kanazu, Keiichi Suzuki, Toshiyuki Ueno

Posted 2011-12-25, evaluated by djpretzel


Happy holidays!! While most of us probably aren't getting a White Christmas (at least here in DC, no snow in sight), that's not a problem, since we've got our first Earthbound ReMix in OVER TWO YEARS (how'd that happen?) courtesy halc, and it brings its own blizzard of chiptuney goodness:

"This is a track I made several years ago (while I was playing through the game), but never submitted. Ben told me recently that I most definitely should have, so I took another pass at the mixing/mastering and I'm pretty happy with the way it sounds now. :) I wanted to make this mix as 'overtly chippy' as possible (pretty much everything is tweakbench's peach and triforce, along with a few soundfonts), but with a ton of processing. Took some inspiration from ella guro's (formerly Adhesive_Boy) epic mix of the same theme, so there's a few shoutouts in the mix. :D"

There's something special & unique about EarthBound's soundtrack, and it can be hard to put your finger on, but both mixes of this wintry theme capture it in their own way. I'm glad Drew revisited this piece for a few reasons - first and foremost, it's an excellent, layered, chipper arrangement that's "overtly chippy" as he says but still achieves a full, rich sound w/ the processing he's applied, but also, DAMN, we really needed an EarthBound mix; two years is just too long! Last but not least, the timing works out well, as we can provide some sugary virtual chiptune snow RIGHT on time for Christmas. Not quite the same thing, but it won't cause frostbite or car accidents, plus you can (kinda) dance to it, so there's that.

Here's hoping all celebrating today give & receive everything desired, and most importantly enjoy the time with family or friends!

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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Necrox
on 2015-12-10 15:34:05

Nice balance of chiptune and... non-chiptune. Not my favorite mix of his, but solid.

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Executor
on 2015-07-01 02:10:54

Innocent nostalgia are the words I think of when listening to this. There is that joyful feeling I associate with halc's remixes, and it works wonderfully with the source and holiday theme.

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TillyFun
on 2013-03-23 13:21:19

Amazing :D

Just to focus on the different layers makes for a splendid listen. ^_^ And the multiple layers creates an image of waves of white fluffy Ninten-snow c:

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Martin Penwald
on 2012-04-12 11:56:08

Oldie but goldie. Very well balanced mix of chiptune and modern elements.

For some reason, the part around 1:10 gives me a FF7 vibe, probably due to the synth used.

The long silence at the end of the track bothers me a bit, though, especially when this song is part of a playlist.

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Crulex
on 2011-12-31 19:33:50

Very happy and wonderfully chippy! Perfect sounds for a great Christmas day, even if it was pretty much a green one. This has halc's great chip-tune style written all over it and all of it was enjoyable. Nice work.

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halc
on 2011-12-27 00:36:52

thanks everyone for the comments, and of course djp for the christmixpost. definitely an oldie of mine, glad people are still digging it. :3

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ryankeeton
on 2011-12-26 20:42:28

Merry Christmas! It's hard not to smile listening to this track. Great, full sound and use of effects. Nice sequencing on the drums/percussion. And I was fine with the song length

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WesternZypher
on 2011-12-26 19:58:19

Has a great, whimsical, skipping down a snowy street feel to it, but also feels way too short, imho.

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Mirby
on 2011-12-26 02:14:40

The source track here is so beautiful; it fits the "ice level" musical style while not really being for an ice level (more like a snow-covered town, at least in the original game). halc masterfully chippifies the source (even more so than its original feeling) while adding little references to other songs. It's a great listen, and a must for any fan of the source. Or the series. Or halc. Or chiptunes...

Okay, it's a must-listen for HUMANITY. There.

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ectogemia
on 2011-12-26 00:21:04

Very nice, this is much more well-mixed than when I first heard it. This soundtrack makes me so damn nostalgic. Combine it with chiptunes and chrimbus, and you've got a recipe for ol' ecto wishing he were 12 again. Nice work :D

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Rexy
on 2011-12-25 19:49:23

Happy Christmas! Yes, it wasn't a white Christmas out here in the UK either (though we did have a hint of light snow last week), but with halc at the wheel it could soon be made whiter than Larry contracting the flu. :razz:

So it starts out very different from the source with the rhythm part providing a different set of chords, before going into a more faithful adaptation of the source. And for the second go-around at around 1:30 it does start playing with a lot more melodic ideas that show his ways of improvisation. Even the ending felt gentle with the slightly thinner texture (made up for with some incredible stereo shifting work) going into the second phase of the melody, and the filtering out at 2:54 was neat too; a very subtle way to end the track and I dig it.

Though, this track's guilty of having too much silence at the end - 10 seconds at that. I admit, I'm guilty of this too on one of my own subs, but it might be a fishy oversight for the casual listener.

So in terms of halc arrangements, he had definitely stepped up arrangement-wise since this one, but it managed to stand the test of time well with the way the simple chiptune synths were handled and processed as they are. A very appropriate Christmas submission, so way to go :)

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Nonamer
on 2011-12-25 15:07:10

Chiptunes and Christmas? Sign me up! This is definitely one of my favorite tracks in the Mother series, ever since I heard it in Brawl. I'm glad to finally see a remix of it.

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urdailywater
on 2011-12-25 10:40:18

Are you kidding me? You finally submitted this? :D Super awesome. This is one of my favorite halc tracks and i love its finally on ocr. Merry christmas everyone. :)

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Red Shadow
on 2011-12-25 10:15:34

heeeeee this is fun

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djpretzel
on 2011-12-25 09:32:08

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

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


Primary Game:
EarthBound (Nintendo , 1994, SNES)
Music by Hirokazu Tanaka,Hiroshi Kanazu,Keiichi Suzuki,Toshiyuki Ueno
Songs:
"Snowman"

Tags (4)


Genre:
Mood:
Instrumentation:
Chiptune,Synth
Additional:
Time > Tempo: Fast
Usage > Winter Holiday

File Information


Name:
EarthBound_The_Great_Blizzard_of_'9X_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
5,000,492 bytes
MD5:
48389638e7fd0e3e7faa069aeb60131f
Bitrate:
192Kbps
Duration:
3:25

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