ReMix:EarthBound "Winters Is Coming" 5:09

It's time to shift from the ice to the snow! Is it really a proper winter VGM playlist without the unofficial mascot track, Mother & EarthBound's "Snowman"? I dunno, it doesn't feel right to me if we don't have it, so we're grateful to share jnWake's impressive wintry mix of jazz and rock into a fitting fusion for EarthBound's seasonal classic! Money and deadlines make the best motivators, and while DoD (and this scene in general) doesn't wave any dollars around, they sure do love to conjure up those monthly deadlines, which whipped jnWake into gear on what you're about to hear:

"Even more from Dwelling of Duels! A chill, somewhat jazzy and pretty synth heavy remix of "Snowman" from EarthBound. This one's from the 20th year anniversary in September 2023. That one was a big month and this track placed 12/59, which is honestly pretty decent!

Anyway, I'm gonna try to keep it brief this time. Unlike most of my remixes, this one wasn't born from an intention to remix. Instead, I was jamming on my keyboard and somehow came up with the somewhat unusual chord progression from the intro (FMaj7 - CMaj7x2 - GMaj7) and then, improvising over it, for some reason, I started playing the main melody from "Snowman". I thought it sounded pretty cool and archived that idea in my mind for a while. For DoD's 20th anniversary, I was a little short on time, so I decided to revive this idea and develop it further from my initial improvisation. Most of the track is built over doing fun chord/key variations over the source. I had a lot of fun building it, so I hope you enjoy!"

"Snowman" is a beautiful and whimsical theme, and Wake managed to keep the feeling bright (the piano at :58 is a treat) while also amply increasing the energy, leaving judge Emunator full of the Winters spirit:

"This is an easy one for me, this was one of my favorite entries from this Dwelling of Duels month. The first couple of minutes introduces an already fresh spin on the source material, and it only gets stronger as the track progresses and you cut into a more progressive jazz fusion style at 2:17 that reminds me of David Benoit's 'Urban Daydreams'. From there, it's smooth sailing through incredibly fluid soloing and unpredictable funk progressions. The breakdown at 3:42 was a contender for the most memorable moment of the track, but honestly, this thing is chock full of them."

Indeed, there's lots of great moments, with fellow judge MindWanderer also remarking, "It's a fun, light, dynamic arrangement. Lots of interesting elements, easily enough to keep the listener engaged for the full 5 minutes." When you're hooked, you're hooked, so what are you waiting for, a snow shovel, coal, and a carrot??? Go put a smile on everyone's face with jnWake's invigorating reimagining of this awesome winter anthem! :-)