ReMix:Sonic & Knuckles "Volcanic Glass" 3:47

Eladar (Darren Malley), composer of hit indie game Mythic Ocean, made a pretty awesome debut on OCR as part of A World Reignited, and now returns with an EDM/downtempo take on S&K's "Lava Reef Zone":

""Volcanic Glass" is a synth-heavy arrangement of Acts 1 and 2 from Sonic & Knuckles' "Lava Reef Zone." I always loved the inherent juxtaposition of Lava Reef, environment-wise: the fiery magma of Act 1 vs. the cool, almost ice-like crystal structures of Act 2. Likewise, Act 2's background music is such a great reinvention of Act 1's, and together they fit their respective level designs perfectly.

So the goal with this remix was to try and blend the smooth intrigue of Act 2's theme with some of the intensity of Act 1's. Genre-wise, it's a mix of things -- early on there's some downtempo/chillout vibes, but later it gets more energetic. I suppose there's some synthwave influence too (plenty of analog-style leads and pads). Hope you enjoy!"

DarkeSword actually blended these SAME two themes into a ReMix all the way back in... 2003! You know, seventeen years ago :) He writes:

"Yeah I really dig this. A lot of reverb but it's a nice atmosphere. Cool arrangement; I like how you're using elements of both Acts to create a single piece of music. Sound design is great."

Well I suppose he WOULD like that, yes... judges were unanimous, but did pick some nits on (brief) muddiness/mixing issues; Rexy's analysis of the arrangement, specifically, was insightful:

"I'm impressed with how you used the sources. The framework essentially boils down to ideas from act 2, then act 1, then back to act 2 and act 1 with entirely new integration - which is a sweet way to explore the similarities and differences between both sources. You allowed for transformations in the melodies to shape up this framework - and except for 22 seconds combined from the bookends, the VGM is present entirely, so no problems with dominance whatsoever. The backing element integration got used straight, however, but as they are responsible for carrying the source through when melodies are absent, there was no need to change them up in the first place... "

It's a smart, creative arrangement with chill production that develops over time, and since we haven't had an S&K mix in a couple years, it also checks that box nicely. Great to see Darren back after his superb contributions to the GS album - enjoy!