ReMix:Sonic Adventure 2 "Blue Blur Your Brain" 3:26

NSFW SANIC! Partners in crime Mike and Joel, collectively known as Helicopter Knife Fight, had a great track on For Everlasting Peace: 25 Years of Mega Man (YOURS for only $9.99!), and now make their non-commercial debut on OCR with an EDM/hip-hop rap vocal arrangement of "Scrap Brain" (Sonic 1 - Master System) and "Lost Colony" (Sonic Adventure 2); Mike writes:

"So this one was done for the Sonic Zone Remix Competition 2014. I had this idea before the competition started, which I talked about with Joel, and, as usual, my excitement transferred to him and we got really hype about it. Although it was only a concept in my mind at the time, I had a very clear idea of how the song was going to be, and in an amazing turn of events, the song actually ended up almost exactly how I pictured it.

This was due (in no small part) to Joel's enthusiasm when we work together. He nailed the concept and execution and it was probably the most seamless collab we've done so far. We're becoming a hive mind of mixing, beware!

Anyhoo, I picked "Scrap Brain" as my source to mix for the competition, but I ended up using more of my opponent's source, which was pretty damn good, and I quickly adapted and fell in love with it. The arrangement wasn't too complicated, because both songs fell in the same key, so it was a matter of making an awesome, high-energy mix. Joel provided the rapping parts, while I provided the vocoded vocals and some of the backings. The arrangement was mostly me with some spot-on polishing and corrections by Joel. As for Joel's comments I leave you this:

me: I'm gonna write the email. Do you want to add any comments about it
Joel: Mike told me to rap on his track so I did cause I'm apparently his bitch
me: yes, yes you are

We hope you enjoy our work."

Vocal ReMixes are always dividing, rap mixes perhaps moreso, and then there's an entire demographic that cannot weather f-bombs of any type... this isn't for them, and that's all I'll say about that. Not really a straight hip-hop or rap joint, this is more of an upbeat, EDM track that benefits from rapping along with some vocoded melodic bits. I really like the glitching/FX applied to the last words of each stanza, which help transition into the vocoder refrain. Beats are big & meaty, and the bassline keeps pace and gets busy; Emunator writes:

"The bass writing and production is a big highlight of this collab. At first, I felt that it was mixed too loudly, but it fell into place nicely after the rest of the instruments dropped in. The vocal processing was also done really well on the raps - Joel's got some great flow! I wasn't as big of a fan of the vocoded parts on this, but they were definitely serviceable and worked great as a background element. WTF at the "bestiality" lyric though? :) Can't hate on it, but I definitely did a double-take when I first heard that.

This is just the level of quality I've come to expect from you guys. A lot of the source usage seems relegated to synth parts that are pretty low in the mix, but fortunately the Lost Colony bassline is present throughout the whole track so that firmly grounds this as a remix even though the rapping is arguably the main focus."

It's a little sassy... lyrically & musically. Redg was positive but did have a little constructive criticism:

"The flows are well performed and you've incorporated some smooth vocoder effects. Production quality is tight, good attention to detail in the sound design. The bassline makes source usage clear.

My only complaint is that the package is very workmanlike. Can't knock that really, but I do like to hear more exploration of the unusual timbres, strange rhythms, sublime madness, Lovecraftian horrors, etc. Good track & solid execution tho."

I agree that something out of left field or just a little more unorthodox could have been a good addition; as simple as a modulation, blue note, brief change in syncopation, etc., even. Of course, it's already bucking the trend to do a vocal/rap arrangement with original lyrics, and I think the attention to detail that was paid on processing the vocals in myriad ways to keep them fresh is what made the mix for me, along with dat bassline. It's also just fun to hear Jivemaster jive. If you're on a helicopter but NOT knife fighting, or if you're knife fighting but NOT on a helicopter, EITHER way you're not getting the complete experience. Download this ReMix from Mr. Molina & Mr. Bird to remedy that situation & enjoy the beats, flow, and compositional mashup of two great Sonic themes!