ReMix:Mega Man "Wonderful Shadows by the Electric Sheep Orchestra (stereo)" 3:42

By fredrikd

Arranging the music of 2 songs from 2 games ( view all )...

"Cybersheep's Dream (Sheep Man Stage)", "Elec Man Stage"

Primary Game: Mega Man (Capcom , 1987, NES), music by Manami Matsumae

Posted 2012-05-29, evaluated by djpretzel


We're back from a short rest and we've got some amazing Mega Man (One AND Ten - our first coverage of the latter!) mixage from newcomer fredrikd. This fantastic debut really captures a retro, Mad Men-era vibe with authenticity and style; the artist writes:

"My entry for round two of the GRMRB 2011, hosted by DarkeSword at OverClocked Remix. I tried to recreate the atmosphere and mixing qualities of the early sixties. "Wonderful Land" by The Shadows was my main inspiration."

Think heavy tremolo elec. guitar, shuffling rhythm acoustic guitars & ride cymbals, hard-panned vintage kick/snare, and of course legato string accompaniment. Not quite the lounge aesthetic of a retro act like Combustible Edison, but not too far off - lounge coupled with Spaghetti Western, or Santo & Johnny's "Sleep Walk," for instance. Almost like an older 60's brother to ilp0's 70's 'Morning Walk in the Burning City,' also from Mega Man; like ilp0, fredrikd has a great ear for not just the instrumentation of the era, but the production AND arranging as well, so the whole piece just feels right. The integration of melodies, and hearing that familiar progression from the first Mega Man slowed down & re-contextualized, is really slick - it sounds so natural, so "of the era" that it's almost surreal. Granted, I wasn't alive back then - I'm old, but not THAT old - but I've seen enough television and especially films from that period to have a pretty good notion, and this exceeds my expectations based on the artist's own description.

Understated, and certainly not about shock & awe, this is nevertheless a superb arrangement that is deceptively brilliant; everything sounds so intended & authentic that you almost take it for granted. I'm really happy that Shariq's competition elicited responses - and submissions - like this. So while electric orchestras of light may make some pretty catchy tunes, it turns out those of the sheep persuasion are great, too. Awesome, memorable debut from fredrikd - definitely interested in hearing more!

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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hdefined
on 2019-01-25 00:01:48

This arrangement would be hilarious if it wasn't so freaking beautiful. What a brilliant interpretation, and performance.

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Crulex
on 2013-08-28 10:56:06

Pretty slick ReMix with Elecman and Sheepman. So mellow and relaxing, it nails down the 60's era pretty well. Lovely little easy-going ReMix you've got here. Very nice.

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The Radical Sifu
on 2012-06-17 15:14:18

Sounds sooo much like The Shadows! Oh my goodness, you nailed that sound :)

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meboeck
on 2012-06-02 15:45:40

When I saw "electric sheep orchestra" in the title, I just had to check this out. And I'm glad I did. It's not really my style, so I probably won't be putting it on my playlist, but it was perfect to listen to on my break at work on a boring Saturday. I enjoyed the mellowness, and I loved the excecution.

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Nobbynob Littlun
on 2012-05-31 17:13:58

I hadn't realized there was a void on OCRemix until this song filled it.

Reminds me of some of Dick Dale's more mellow works, and it makes me wonder if there's some great surf guitar out there. I'm definitely checking out djP's references there.

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YoshMaster
on 2012-05-31 14:41:09

Superb track!! I feel so relaxed after listening to it :)

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Maxx Skywalker
on 2012-05-30 03:20:01

Makes sense. I forgot that SheepMan hailed from that entry.

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Melbu Frahma
on 2012-05-29 23:16:25
Where's the MegaMan 10 remix?

I think it's a reference to the other source used for this remix.

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Maxx Skywalker
on 2012-05-29 21:46:13

Where's the MegaMan 10 remix?

Also, I'm getting a wonderful Dick Dale/Beach Boys vibe from this remix.

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Gario
on 2012-05-29 20:20:30

Wow, that's pretty sexy guitar work. I really like the slow, steady jam that's going through my headphones right now. Nice work.

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Hydrargyria
on 2012-05-29 19:02:53

I can't get enough of Elec Man mixes. This one's pretty slick. The arrangement reminds me of Sirena Beach from Mario Sunshine.

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Mirby
on 2012-05-29 18:59:04

this mix begs the question... what's up with all the mellow mixposts lately?

i'm not complaining, just curious. :P

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Hylian Lemon
on 2012-05-29 18:51:50

Definitely one of the most memorable tracks from the competition. It works really, really well. Nice job.

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Skyline Drop
on 2012-05-29 18:49:29

I guess androids do, in fact, dream of electric sheep.

/obligatory Blade Runner reference :tomatoface:

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WillRock
on 2012-05-29 18:45:49

Ah yes. The mix that almost beat mine in the second GRMRB. This was one stellar mix, talk about a shock to the system when I heard it. Its fucking good peeps, and its vastly different to anything we usually hear on OCR. Download it!

Sources Arranged (2 Songs, 2 Games)


Primary Game:
Mega Man (Capcom , 1987, NES)
Music by Manami Matsumae
Songs:
"Elec Man Stage"
Additional Game:
Mega Man 10 (Capcom , 2010, WII)
Music by Akari Kaida,Hiroki Isogai,Ippo Yamada,Makoto Tomozawa,Manami Matsumae,Mari Yamaguchi,Minae Fujii,Ryo Kawakami,Shusaku Uchiyama,Yasuaki Fujita,Yu Shimoda,Yuko Takehara
Songs:
"Cybersheep's Dream (Sheep Man Stage)"

Tags (6)


Genre:
Rock
Mood:
Mellow
Instrumentation:
Acoustic Guitar,Electric Guitar,Strings
Additional:
Origin > Competition

File Information


Name:
Mega_Man_Wonderful_Shadows_by_the_Electric_Sheep_Orchestra_(stereo)_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
5,425,030 bytes
MD5:
aa7d9beac6c8a7445b2be6e771dbbe1e
Bitrate:
192Kbps
Duration:
3:42

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