ReMix:Kid Icarus: Uprising "Black Feathers in the Sky" 3:15

MkVaff (Mike Vafeas) provides our first ReMix of the Kid Icarus franchise in over 17 years (!), and our first featured mix from the 3DS sequel, Uprising, AND his own 50th featured mix posted on the site (!) with this upbeat Latin dance/pop take on "Chapter 6: Dark Pit"- and he's got a lot to say:

"Originally, I began creating this song for the latest BadAss album. I worked on it for a few days and as the song began to take shape, I was liking the direction it was going in, but also realizing that the sound and feel was not at all what the heart of the album project was about.

I thought hard about scrapping this track and starting again from scratch, but then decided instead to try and come up with a new idea for the album project. I did end up coming up with a completely new song and idea for the project, but then a few weeks later decided that I liked this song enough to go and finish it for its own sake, even if it did not fit the criteria of the original project it was originally created for.

This one was a challenge in that I felt daunted by just how fantastic the original source material is. The original has the feel of a super-high-quality cover on its own, and trying to put a spin on it that did the source material justice while being different enough was tough.

I wanted to retain some of the acoustic feel from the original, but since I can't play guitar, I decided to just sample and chop up some acoustic guitar samples I had. It doesn't sound that convincing, but I liked the effect enough to run with it and place it throughout the song.

On a personal note, I'm submitting this during what seems like an never-ending escalation of coronavirus cases in the city that I considered a second home during my college years. I'm not terribly far from New York even now, and I've spent all too much time in the past few weeks watching the news and subsequently feeling almost too paralyzed by anxiety and fear to engage with anything as "frivolous" as music during this time of great crisis.

After taking a step back and putting into perspective some of the absolutely heroic work being done by some people I know personally in and around NYC in the fields of healthcare and law enforcement, I reminded myself that it's also up to me to do whatever small part I can within this grand tapestry we call life to share whatever gifts I have with others in an effort to hopefully contribute to an air of positivity, encouragement, and healing in these dark, strange times. If this music can make someone smile, dance, or be inspired - if only for a brief moment - then it was unquestionably worth my effort to put it out into the world.

Enjoy, and please be safe and be well!"

What he said; independent of even the pandemic, it can be hard to stay positive in the face of "modern culture" & social media... but ya gotta try, and I think being creative & getting your creations out there for others to experience is part of the puzzle. Or part of the solution to the puzzle. It's a metaphor. I guess. Either way, I'm just glad Mike went back and finished this - it's a fun track that I could easily imagine Shakira singing over, sort of a Latin/dance pop vibe (as a point of reference), but with the interesting key modulations on the lead at points. I think the chopped guitars generally work quite well; there are moments where, due to the combination of syncopation, chopping, and panning, it gets a little *busy*, but only in passing. Rexy writes:

"Remixes originally intended for projects can go either way with differing experiences, so I find it neat to see Michael finish off a track that strayed too far into an upbeat territory for its intended use in the new BadAss release. He's not wrong about the source - created from the mega-skilled hands of Motoi Sakuraba - having a fantastic composition all on its own. By composer alone, that's a tall order to follow!

He did, however, note the "super high-quality cover" aspect with the core ideas introduced in its first minute and their development happening throughout the rest of the run time. Hence, what he did arrangement-wise here was take those core ideas and change them up further. I sensed minor modifications and padding to the A section for the track's hook, potent usage of a solo to bridge two differently textured hooks together, the countermelody at 2:06, and only exploring the rest of the source's initial ideas within the track's final quarter. The production remains as balanced and vibrant as what is expected from him, too. While I feel the reservations on using sampled guitar rather than a real performer, there had been enough attention done to both give it some realism with varying articulations and add points of interest with glitching whenever the melody takes a backseat. If Michael's goal was to make us feel uplifted with the power of music, he certainly knocked it out of the park and kept mindful of the bar at the same time - highly recommended!"

Huzzah! Chippy synths, chopped guitars, and a generally positive demeanor make this easy to like & nod along to, with a catchy melodic hook, engaging additions/details, & a good sense of development. I still haven't played Uprising, and this might just be the push I needed. Great work from MkVaff; enjoy!