ReMix:Mega Man 3 "Hot Pursuit in the Lost City of Wily" 7:07
By Disco Dan
Arranging the music of one song...
"Dr. Wily Stage 2"
Primary Game: Mega Man 3 (Capcom , 1990, NES), music by Harumi Fujita, Yasuaki FujitaPosted 2012-10-01, evaluated by djpretzel
DISCO DAN! #OCR02500!!
For ReMix #OCR02500, we wanted to post something special. Mirby was suggesting that since someone named "Dave" (Wise or... otherwise) was responsible for the last few five-hundred interval mix milestones, the trend should be continued, but "Dan" is pretty close, and we couldn't resist highlighting this MM3 mix, our first from Mr. Cabrera since 2007's DKC 'Riptide' track. Dan debuted back in 2001, and in the years that followed he was responsible for some hugely (& deservedly) popular arrangements, with 'Triforce Majeure' standing out as a personal favorite - and not just because I helped name it. Dan was present at one of the very first OCR meetups, in NYC with AntonioPizza & Digital Coma among others, and there was this surreal sequence of events where he had an accident in Central Park, hit his head, and actually had to go to the hospital. Don't worry, it all worked out and he recovered, but for a brief moment he apparently HAD amnesia, and ALL he could remember was that he had written a mix CALLED 'Green Amnesia' - good one, too! It seems like decades ago, and it actually WAS a decade ago, and I think I'm reminiscing mostly because this site has been active & vibrant & moving forward for a VERY long time. To that end, a brief look to the future:
- Following this release of OCR02500, sometime in the NEXT TWO WEEKS, we will be releasing an UPDATED TORRENT that includes fixed ID3 tags for ALL mixes and higher-quality encodes for hundreds of mixes. It will be glorious.
- We will shortly be announcing an awesome stretch goal for our kickstarter, which as of right now is at $82K (!!)
- With the new torrent finally in place, you can expect a couple mix floods & a return to more frequent posting.
- We've got an upcoming EP that should rock and will take a few people by surprise!
- DKC3 album is being reviewed & will see a Q4 release!!
- We continue to work on the next version of the site, V6, and can't WAIT until it's finally live!
So the future is bright, we haven't backed down or slacked off one bit, and you can expect a steadier stream of awesome to henceforth emanate from our storied halls. Q3 2012 has been the rockiest period for the site in a long while, but we're past that, we're moving on, and it's time to start chewing bubble gum, running out, and kicking ass.
With that, I'll cede the stage to the first Disco Dan mix I've had the pleasure to post in a LONG while, a 7+ minute electronica Mega Man 3 jam on 'Dr. Wily - Stage 2' that has the same straightforward, energetic & enjoyable attitude that made Dan's past mixes so fun. He writes:
"As for remix comments, there was some inspiration from "Maniac", though I don't know why. The part near the end with the arpeggios was inspired by the soundtrack from "Mysterious Cities of Gold", or so I think. Yup. That's about all. Let me know if there are any questions. Thanks!"
The arps actually reminded me of Limahl's theme to 'NeverEnding Story,' personally - I could almost hear a mashup working as I listened. While there's a bit of repetition in the last couple minutes that could have diverged more, Dan does use the opportunity to explore the arpeggios and play with them a bit, and the overall arrangement is direct, upbeat, and just plain old fun to listen to. DD always excelled at putting together mixes with a lot of running patterns, strong core melodies, patience, and an approachability that makes them damn hard not to like, and this is no different. Great stuff from an artist who helped define OCR in its early years and who's still got the skills today; here's hoping we see & hear much more from Disco Dan in the OCR02501-OCR03000 stretch, which I'm sure will continue to amaze, surprise, and resonate with lovers of VGM everywhere!
Discussion
on 2013-11-19 15:03:06
Disco Dan is one of those classic ReMixers that you just love to listen to, be it new or older stuff, and to hear his take on Dr. Wily's 2nd stage from MM3 (which is one of my favorite Wily castle themes) is terrific. Love the electronica/dance work here, mostly because of the arrangement and the placement and build of the energy. What I mean is it doesn't come off as menacing but it's certainly built as a more dire trek than the more heroic takes on themes like this and Wily 1 from MM2 that I've heard. Fits the fight against Wily a bit better to me. Nice work, Disco Dan!
on 2013-08-16 19:29:52
Not much to say but wow.. Great to see Disco Dan back at it again.. I'm a big fan of mega man mixes and this
one definitely doesn't disappoint.. Nice walk down memory lane with this one
on 2013-02-13 18:53:30
I like it. It's catchy. Sounds really good. But after some four or five minutes, feels kind of repetitive. I think shorter would have been nicer.
on 2012-10-25 19:53:29
Simple, enjoyable, head-pumping stuff. A classic Mega Man remix, and one that I'll be listening to a lot.
I thought the mix on the YouTube upload sounded a little muddy, but after downloading the MP3 I'd say the production is fantastic!
on 2012-10-11 07:49:51
It's funny, I was just listening to "Bubble Man Funked Up", and my copy of the file apparently doesn't have the artist tag as "Disco Dan". It's "Dwcdisco@hotmail.com".
I've been listening to your stuff for well over ten years now, and this latest one doesn't disappoint! Keep them coming!!
on 2012-10-09 22:12:50
A strong, catchy beat that you can dance to. Also, the always enjoyable Mega Man melodies. Disco Dan is always at the top of his mixing game, and this one is no exception. As a Mega Man fan myself, I highly recommend this remix!
on 2012-10-04 02:45:51
===================================================
Hot Pursuit in the Lost City of Wily (Mega Man III)
===================================================
by Disco Dan. You may remember him from such remixes as Blaster Master's "Prolouge in A Minor" and the Genesis/Mega Drive port of Mortal Kombat's "PITiful (part 1)".
I have not written a review since OCR00563 10 years ago, when the site was still an orange subdomain of Overclocked.org. And 5 years I ago I promised Dan a review on DKC - "Riptide" (a bent promise, but one I still intend to keep).
James Todd Smith said, "Don't call it a comeback! I been here for years. I'm rockin' my peers, puttin' suckas in fear."
I don't know how else to better describe the the atmosphere surrounding the newest ReMix from OCR foundationary old-school staple, Disco Dan. He has not lost any of his voice; and though I'm out of practice I will try not to lose mine. Old school ap review coming up:
The nutshell:
8½ slices.
The details:
Up-tempo maracas/shakers. Disco Dan trademark. The song gets you geeked with these for 8 seconds, with a synth assigned to the OST's "Square B" channel fading in gradually. At 0:20 you get what I've been calling the "Club Technochocolate main melody teaser". It's a hard hitting, 4 note techno synth teaser, which upon first hearing, made my heart (prematurely) sink. "Oh no," I thought. "Not this crud." Silly me. I'd forgotten this was a Disco Dan track. It gets better...much better.
Twenty-five seconds in greets you with a quick drum intro followed by a scratchy funk bass synth and a hard hitting drumline. The SqB channel fades back in at a higher octave and is beautifully harmonized starting at 0:39 (again, another DD trademark). The OST's 2 second intro is played and from 0:53 - 1:19 the main melody is played with the OST's "Square A" channel as the same techno synth we heard earlier in the teaser.
At 1:19, any remaining skeptism is slayed. Disco Dan is here.
With a quick jam of the drums the chorus is introduced and is comprised of Dan's signature disco beat and claps. SqB's high BPM married with the bassline keeps the foot tapping. A bit of ambient synth strings in the background keeps the song enveloped and prevents the ear from getting hungry. But the star of the chorus is SqA's "Moroder Synth". In djp's posting write-up, he compared it to The Neverending Story. I agree...80%. It's definitely Giorgio Moroder-ish, but to me it sounds closer to
. Whatever. It's hot. And it brilliantly seizes your attention.But Dan's not satisfied. So about 15 seconds later he harmonizes it in the MIDDLE OF THE LOOP(!)...for 10 seconds. Then they diverge, like two happy children running side by side who then playfully split up and chase each other. I loved it.
The song then returns to the main melody and loses the claps temporarily. After one loop, SqB is harmonized with a higher pitched club synth. Another brief drumfest at 2:12 heralds the return of the chorus. After one loop of the chorus, we are introduced to an arpeggio'ing "wet-wah synth". I've been calling it the "MCoG synth", as it sounds similar to a whistle used in Haim Saban's track "Esteban's Adventure" from "The Mysterious Cities of Gold". My guess is this is where Dan derived the name of the ReMix from ("...Lost City of Wily"). If you're not familiar with the show, you may not pick up on the similarity. If you are familiar with MCoG, slow this part of the ReMix down to 70-75% using Chronotron or Pacemaker for Winamp and it becomes all the more apparent.
2:37 - 2:40 = SICKNESS. Can't explain it otherwise.
2:40 begins the bridge. Everything is cut off except the maracas, a hihat, the bassline and 3-hit echo-y drum kicks. A couple of echoed sound effects and the overall ambience reminds of one of Donkey Kong Country's "Mine". You almost expect a pan flute to come in, but a quiet SqB rejoins the fray at 2:53, this time as a light organ synth. When I review a song, I often slow the tempo (not the pitch) so as to Rain Man my way through it; and at 50% speed SqB sounds eerily similar to
. And I'm no Ferengi, but I believe I hear Dan's beloved cadenza strings lightly supplementing the mine as SqA.3:06 begins an almost 40 second long freestyle with the Moroder synth. Beautiful contrast with the hurried tempo of the SqB synth + maracas vs. the slow keyboard dancing of the Moroder. 3:48 begins the fade out of the 3-hit drum kicks, SqA, and the strings. By the time you get to 4:00, there is only the bassline, the maracas, and SqB; the mix has essentially hit the reset button which means...
4:13 - 4:17 - Club Technochocolate main mel teaser.
There is no drum solo to kick things back into gear like after the first teaser. Dan gets right back to work with SqB and a brief fade in of the percussion. The OST intro is played again and 4:27 brings us back to the main melody, but the analytical ear will notice that the drums are a little more playful this time around. It keeps a repeated section of the song from sounding EXACTLY like its predecessor. Smart move. Deliberate musicianship.
SqB's harmonization comes back around the 4:40 mark for about 13 seconds, followed by the drums again heralding the arrival of the beloved Moroder synth chorus...and there's a lot that goes on in a short time here:
5:06 - enter MCoG wet-wah; 5:09 - harmonize Moroder SqA; 5:17 - diverge SqA harmony; 5:19 - lose EVERYTHING but percussion and MCoG wet-wah, 5:33 - re-enter bassline; 5:46 - re-enter SqA Moroder synth.
6:00 (yes, six minutes into the song and you're not tired of it yet) - the SqA Moroder synth has been for the most part harmonized with occasions of divergence. Now both instances freely dance their own performance, yet still in harmony. At 6:14 the ambient synth strings make their final return and prepare to close us out. The song continues to play with the bassline at the end of a measure and 6:25 bids us adieu to the fading Moroder synth. About 5 seconds later, the bassline also begins its fade out followed quickly by the percussion.
By the time you get to the last 17 seconds of the song, there is only the MCoG wet-wah and the ambient strings, which dreamily fade you to silence at 7:06.
Freakin' brilliant.
Disco Dan is an admitted perfectionist and it shows. The man has a raw talent and ear for music, tone, feel/mood, thickness, layering, tempo, and definitely harmony. Dan is a purposeful musician. If he uses a trick of sound or an audio technique, it's never gimmicky or used as filler. It's deliberate and well-fitting. I love his use of juxtaposition. The "SICKNESS" break at 2:37 - 2:40 and the de-layering/re-layering from 5:19-5:46 are wonderful examples and are my favorite parts of the song.
I'll close by noting that Disco Dan has the incredible ability to take source material I can't stand and make it desirable. This is not a track I'd have chosen. Neither was Mega Man 2's "Heat Man", but "Rapid Fire" turned out to be one of my favorite ReMixes and "Hot Pursuit in the Lost City of Wily" will join those ranks. It didn't even FEEL like 7 minutes, yet he knew that any longer would have been too much. *smh* Natural ear.
Adult gummy vitamins shows us that candy can be good and good for you. Disco Dan peeks into OCR after a long nap to show the whipper-snappers that he is still busting out notes and melodies that aren't just yummy to the ear, but nutrious for it too.
Folks, these opinions are just that. I'm hardly a remixer. I'm a listener. But if you've been a regular visitor to the message boards since July 10th of 2001, you already know that. Please, listen to this track more than once before you make your own opinions. Listen to it through decent speakers. And keep comin' back.
Kudos Cubaníto.
Well done.
on 2012-10-02 07:42:52
Great remix, I almost always love classic Mega Man remixes, this one to me has a kind of, oh idk, a dance club techno style to me. Since I don't know different music styles I might be wrong, but at any rate, this really is a great piece! keep up the good work!
on 2012-10-01 22:31:27
honestly?
i feel honored to be namedropped in a disco dan mixpost. that guy... he's one of the reasons i was able to open up my musical tastes and begin to truly explore all the site had to offer. seriously, such good mixes; still have Blue Lightning on my phone to listen to, and Rapid Fire will forever hold a place in my heart, along with Triforce Majeure. this'll get there soon enough too i'm sure.
great mix, and yeah
dan's close enough to dave.
on 2012-10-01 20:48:57
If there was an OCR Hall of Fame, Disco Dan would be in it. It's always amazing when OG's return 3
on 2012-10-01 20:32:20
Disco Dan!
Aw yeah, I'm glad you found time in your busy schedule to toss OCR another remix, after all this time. Still love your minimalistic style to this day - glad to see that you still have it.
Still couldn't resist another MM3 remix, though - gotta love it
on 2012-10-01 19:18:40
Oh hell yeah, Disco Dan!!!! I remember listening to all of DD's old Mega Man 2 3 mixes back in high school in the early 2000's. They were some of my favorite mixes back in the day (and still are ). Classic stuff right there. This is so fitting for mixpost #2500, one of my favorite Wily stage themes too. Disco Dan + Mega Man 3 = some old-school OCR awesomeness!
on 2012-10-01 18:51:49
djp, I would like to add that prior to that meetup mentioned in the write up there was a meetup involving me, you, Dan, and DigitalComa in Centreville . I still have the pics to prove it, buwhahah.
As for the mix, good stuff. Needs more techno though .
Sources Arranged (1 Song)
- Primary Game:
-
Mega Man 3 (Capcom
, 1990,
NES)
Music by Harumi Fujita,Yasuaki Fujita
- Songs:
- "Dr. Wily Stage 2"
Tags (5)
- Genre:
- Dance
- Mood:
- Instrumentation:
- Electronic,Synth
- Additional:
- Time > Duration: Long
Time > Tempo: Fast
File Information
- Name:
- Mega_Man_3_Hot_Pursuit_in_the_Lost_City_of_Wily_OC_ReMix.mp3
- Size:
- 12,591,607 bytes
- MD5:
- 5212d72db5ae5f0e538dc35c3b050c45
- Bitrate:
- 234Kbps
- Duration:
- 7:07
Download
- Size: 12,591,607 bytes
- MD5 Checksum: 5212d72db5ae5f0e538dc35c3b050c45
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