ReMix:Pokémon Red Version "Violetville" 3:45

We've got our final Halloween season drop courtesy of Chimpazilla (Kristina Scheps), who visits the first Pokémon game's creepiest locale, Lavender Town, with a nice electronic groove accented by touches of unsettling laughter, groaning, and mu-haha's to rattle your cage. But why would she do this to us??? Well, you see, the dichotomy made her do it, as she elaborates:

"Hi, guys! It's been a while since I opened Cubase to write or remix, but I have always wanted to remix "Lavender Town" and capture its childlike, thinly-veiled hopelessness. I wanted to combine beauty and ugliness (and I had fun with Wow & Flutter), and give the listener a sense of lighthearted discomfort while also being groovy. The first section is a mellow halftime groove that follows the source arrangement pretty faithfully, moving into a short fever-dream transition into the final upbeat section. Writing this remix was therapeutic for expressing my feelings about the clown world we currently find ourselves inhabiting these days!"

We do indeed live in a clown show, but it could be worse -- you could be trapped in Chimpazilla's twisted version of Lavender Town, aka "Violetville". Chimpa is a frequent go-to in the VGM arrangement community for mastering services, so you can consider it a lock that everything's gonna be super, super clean and super, super punchy. Emunator evaluated this one and had nothing but respect for how Chimpazilla added complexity and depth in her treatment of this fan-favorite theme:

"Lavender Town is such a simple melody that has been tackled in so many wildly different styles over the years, but despite that, I'd be hard pressed to find an artist whose style is more of a natural fit for this hauntingly off-kilter source than Chimpazilla. Through her expansive remix catalog, she has proven herself a master at taking simple melodies and building entire worlds around them through clever sound design and a ton of ear candy. While the simple 4-note Lavender Town arpeggio is nearly always present, the micro-beats and synth layers build up a rhythmic tapestry that is deceptively complex and extremely rewarding, especially on repeat listens.

The use of sound effects - a staple of nearly every Chimpazilla arrangement - is done quite skillfully here to tell a story. The "fever dream" transition provides a moment for contemplation before locking down into a groovy 4-on-the-floor beat and really driving things home. That transition adeptly captures the feeling of doubt and hopelessness that often precedes a breakthrough moment of catharsis, but regardless of what is going on in the world or how much time is spent away from the DAW, Kris always knows how to find her way back on beat!"

On a sincere note, having to take unwanted breaks from making music can be a trial, so I'm glad we've got Kris back in the mix doing what she loves and what she's spent a great deal of time excelling at. Even when she trolls us and makes us listeners uneasy with her music, we're happy to be caught in the sonic spider-web. It's All Hallows' Eve, after all. But please don't spook us again, Kris... OK? Promise??? (Happy Halloween!)