ReMix:Earthworm Jim 2 "Tangerines for Moose" 3:06

Mazedude's gotta squeeze the juice out of the headphones with this tracker-made tribute to Tito and tangerines! Need something fun to celebrate 30 years of Earthworm Jim? The 'Dude abides:

"Hello again! Mazedude's back with another release, and, yes, another tracker homage.

Fun fact, in early 2024, I was looking at my list of tracker homages, checking out which trackers I had mimicked a lot over the years, and contrarily who I hadn't yet paid homage to, even though they had been a big source of inspiration as I was learning the art form. As part of a fun exercise, I even started to map out what game themes I would choose to arrange as part of a stylistic tribute, keeping in theme with the game remix by way of tracker homage motif. Interestingly enough, I landed on "Anything But Tangerines" from Earthworm Jim 2 Level 1 as potential for a tracker homage to Tito, per his 1995 tune "Mooserun!". (Note that "Mooserun!" was darn impressive due to the insane amount of brass/sax/jazz samples used in the track, not a simple style to mimic by any means.) I loved the idea, but I put a pin in it... who knew when I would have time to explore such an idea.

Fast-forward a couple months, and, out of nowhere, I get an email asking me to contribute to Earworm Jam, a remix album commemorating the 30th anniversary of Earthworm Jim, and would I like to make something for it. What timing! Enthusiastically, I said yes, and could I claim the "Tangerine" theme from EWJ2 while I was at it. Sweet. Claimed. Then... I had to make it. Good gravy, that was difficult. Tapping into the sample set that Tito established... that was hard! Making it work for "Anything But Tangerines" and also nailing the original theme, the notes of the guitar solo, hitting the flow while keeping the funk style intact... yeah, that was difficult. But I did it. And I'm very proud of the final result. Behold, "Tangerines for Moose"."

Nothing worth doing is easy, but we're glad Mazedude's never been dissuaded by musical challenges! Judge prophetik music praised Maze on how well he wielded his sounds and added meat to the "Tangerines" theme:

"wild original as expected.

big brash drums and bass samples used here. the limitations of the tracker are immediately obvious as it's kind of a dense soundscape, and kind of muddy, but chris gets so much out of his tools. the melodic material in the brass sounds fantastic - i love the little vibrato on the end of the sustained notes. [...]

it's easy to see the skill here. this is an energetic and appropriately quirky approach to a crazy track from a fun soundtrack."

Fellow panelist Emunator fancies demoscene muzak himself, so he had a special fondness for the oddball, product-of-their-time instrumentation choices:

"I feel like any Mazedude track with the word "Tangerine" in the title is going to be have high standards to live up to, but immediately I hear that he's up to the task. I've been diving into a bunch of retro-inspired romplers myself this past week, and it's given me a really deep appreciation for some of these quirky sounds that haven't exactly maintained their foothold in the soundscape of modern pop music. The deeply gated drums, impossibly expressive lead synths, the gurgling basslines, and... orchestra hit synths? Is that what those are? I can't even tell, all I know is that it scratches my eardrums in a way that only Mazedude can. The arrangement is respectful of the original and expands on it. I couldn't have asked for more, we're sure lucky to have you around after all these years!"

The scene's collectively lucky to have Mazedude in it, no doubt; his reverence for tracker musicians from back in the day's unrivaled, and his latest earworm is a great present for a franchise that also made a lasting impression in the 90s. :-) Be sure to check out the full Earworm Jam album for more quality EWJ tributes!