ReMix:Sonic Unleashed "Rainfall Rush" 6:23

Trevor "Manny" Burch marks the debut of a new project, The Good Ice, with a phenomenal hybrid rock/EDM/cinematic take on Sonic Unleashed:

"Hello! My friend (Nick Bello) and I are thrilled to be launching our new music project, The Good Ice. What started as a quick and dirty chill trap sketch eventually blossomed into this 6+ minute *thing*, which we hope will be the site's debut track for Sonic Unleashed. I've never played the game myself, but upon introduction to the source I was immediately hooked by the atmosphere. A dark jungle kissed by twilight, the rays scattered by rivers and waterfalls. An ancient temple silhouetted against the horizon; a hog of hedges and memes.

This piece is quite the departure from our normal fare, both technically and creatively. Bet you weren't expecting ambient trapwave technorock. I could not even begin to list all the new techniques we attempted, compounded by being on the literal opposite ends of the country mid-quarantine, but we're very happy with the result so far. We definitely want to do more songs from Unleashed. We hope to bring more music in the future!

close shave, piece of cake, wooo

Thanks and enjoy."

After back-to-back snow storms, our front walkway is still covered with the Bad Ice, so this is a great change of pace. Trevor & Nick made some serious magic with Aaron & Daniel in LongBoxofChocolate, so my expectations were high coming in to this... and were exceeded :) The first minute or so does definitely have the makings of a killer ambient/chill trap arrangement; coulda easily gone that way and dropped in an 808 beat and some stinkopated hi-hats and it would have been, in a word, dope. But the second the kick enters, your inner Admiral Ackbar will observe that it is not, indeed, a trap, as things veer into rock territory... with EDM elements. Keeps you guessing, but in a way that feels completely natural & musical & which Trevor/Nick take their time exploring & exploiting. Truth told, I still probably would have loved the trap mix this could have become, but I think most great mixes suggest woulda-coulda branches & possibilities in that fashion, and here we get instead a beautiful chimera that resists straightforward categorization. Faseeh clocked in with our first Sonic Unleashed mix back in March of last year, so the timing didn't work out on the firsties, but now that mix has some very deserving company. Judges were unanimous; I am obliged to quote Emunator's take, which gets into some of the origins/backstory:

"What an incredible journey this track has taken! It's been a treat hearing it evolve since its inception; I know this originated as a simple trap sketch, but your commitment to the concept and willingness to experiment with non-traditional trap instrumentation, such as kit drums, electric guitar, or brass, elevates this to much higher levels. Although it starts off unassuming enough, each additional layer, instrument, and melody introduced serves to amplify the drama. It's a wonderful contrast to the mellow new-age instrumentation beneath it.

Of particular note to me are the deep brass/guitar chugs that first enter at 2:43, and the flittering that follow, and the full-blown commitment to the 4-on-the-floor trance rhythm at 3:42. When you finally reach the climax at 4:41, everything clicks perfectly into place and fully delivers on the potential that's been teased up til that point. It's such a badass, cathartic release of tension that speaks to your skills as arrangers and sound designers.

Your submission letter doesn't do justice to how much work went into getting this track to this point, but I'm glad you got here! Bravo."

Everything Wes said; to evolve the intro trap sketch in these directions is impressive in its own right, but the aesthetic ambiition of the arrangement concept is made real by some superb sound design & execution. Awesome stuff, can't wait to hear what The Good Ice comes up with next!