ReMix:Metroid Prime 2: Echoes "Black Ice Mire" 4:38

The Emunator Productivity Tour™ continues as Emunator wades through the swampy morass of Metroid Prime 2's "Torvus Bog"! A lot of helping hands were involved, including on the production side:

• Emunator: arrangement, sequencing, production, mastering
• Gamer of the Winds: alto flute
• Sirenstar: additional vocals (intro and outro)

Additional Contributions:

• Chimpazilla: additional mixing, mastering
• ZackParrish: vocal processing

Heavy-hitters abound in our line-up, and Emunator needed all the help he could get, because the normally warm bog has gone surprisingly chilly, leaving this track in cold, cold limbo for quite a while! Emu elaborates on how he manuevered his way out of the metaphorical ice:

"I'm finally closing the loop on another arrangement that's been stagnating for WAY longer than it ever should have. I started remixing this in 2015 and, over the course of the next 8 years, put about 65 hours toward finishing it and ultimately not getting very far from where I started. I was locked in loop mode for years and unsure of how to actually transform it into a complete musical statement. In 2023, I finally broke through that creative wall and started making rapid progress.

The concept is pretty simple - what if "Torvus Bog" was done in the style of "Phendrana Drifts"? I've always found the Metroid Prime series to be one of the most technically impressive, atmospheric game soundtracks, and way ahead of its time in terms of sound design, so I challenged myself to capture the magic of those textures and sounds with my own tools. The bulk of the sound design was built in Omnisphere. I also chopped up some drumloops from the original sample pack called Uncivilised G'rooves that Kenji Yamamoto used heavily in the original score to really give it that authentic Metroid Prime industrial organic vibe. Lastly, I employed a copious amount of ShaperBox 3, a new plugin I recently purchased which helped add a rhythmic pulse to everything from the bassline to the iconic Prime sine lead. I'm not saying that you can always just throw money at shiny new plugins to get over creative block, but in this case... that's pretty much what happened.

What started as a sound design experiment really started to come together in 2023 with some help from Theophany, who helped me workshop the track and gave me some pointers on how to make my bass way less boring. (Check out his own "Torvus Bog" remix that he released earlier this year that I tried really hard not to consciously rip off as I was finishing this!) Gamer of the Winds and Sirenstar also contributed some wonderful live elements, adding additional air and organic texture to the soundscape that I couldn't have pulled off on my own. Extra shoutouts to Chimpazilla for her help with getting the mix and master sounding great, and to Zack for lending his Melodyne skills as well. Thank you all for helping me get this one to the finish line!"

The arrangement didn't come together quickly, and it beat Emunator down under the weight of some unwieldy project files, which the ReMixer literally described as a "dumpster fire". :-D Yet, as unglamarous as that may sound, the track itself sounds exceptionally polished and cohesive, so there's something to be said about riding the (Prime-inspired sine) waves of fits & starts and trusting the overall process, even a chaotic, extended one such as this. Thankfully, nothing sounded shambolic to judge MindWanderer:

"What a sound palette! The industrial synths combined with the woodwinds and the vocals make for something I've never heard before, and it sounds great! I would have liked more of the vocals: opening with them and then having them return only briefly a couple of times was a bit of a tease. This is lovely and creative. Strong work."

Hey, how can you be surprised at wanting more Sirenstar in there? It's like "I gotta have more cowbell, baby!", so if her vocals leave you wanting to hear more, dive right in! Meanwhile, Gamer of the Winds' accents here were a beautiful touch for the texture as soon as they arrived in the intro. Aside from his fellow evil judge co-hort Chimpazilla, I'm not even sure Emunator knew any of the other collaborators -- GotW, Sirenstar, or ZackParrish -- back when he started this in 2015. Here's a hint though: recruiting allies is a powerful unlock in both perspective and skills. Is there something promising in your life that you've yet to manifest? There's the old adage, if you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go as a team. Just look at how Emu's writer's block was blown to smithereens once everyone else lent their talent & insights to the picture! As a result, enjoy lots of familiar, authentic Prime sounds coupled with a significant rise in the energy level compared to the original "Torvus Bog". We're not stuck in the muck anymore. ;-)