ReMix:The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom "Down" 4:04

Down, down, down the abstract music depths we go, as Chimpazilla (with help from Emunator) makes folks drink the Tears of the Kingdom, plus some nods to other Zelda games. Emu normally does more equitable collaborations with Chimpa, but this time he airdropped some additive sound design that Chimpa subsequently manipulated:

"Kristina and I are always on the same wavelength, so, at this point, we collaborate so seamlessly. In some cases, our collabs are much more intensive, and other times, we'll just punch in for the last 10% on a track that's nearly finished just to offload some of the creative lift. This case was the latter - while I thought the song was totally rad as-is, I also saw a few places for some ear candy. So, I locked in and placed a ton of sound effects, one shots, and melodic riffs for a couple of hours and exported about 15 different WAVs. I told Kris to use me as her own "personal Splice pack", and she ended up finding a home for nearly everything I made! Not that this track needed anything from me, but I'm thrilled to be a part of it regardless!"

Meanwhile, ain't nobody dethroning Chimpa as our resident Zelda turbonerd (a term of endearment!). Though at the time of submission, she'd finished her third run through the game, she's likely on her 39th New Game+ by this point, I'd wager:

"I have been playing Tears of the Kingdom obsessively since it came out in May of 2023. I am already on my third playthrough. This is an amazing game with so many excellent musical themes. "Labyrinth Depths" is one of my favorites. It seems to be a variation of the BotW/TotK "Lost Woods" theme, but in the style of the "Depths" theme. The "Labyrinth Depths" theme plays in the depths level of the three mazes, before and after you fight the boss down there (a Flux Construct III). I love this theme so much. It sets a tense, unsettling mood as you prepare for the boss fight. After the boss fight, I find myself just letting Link idle down there, soaking in this weird and wonderful tune. But I thought... what would this song sound like with drums? And other stuff too?

Like many of the musical themes in TotK, the "Labyrinth Depths" theme is leadless and ambient, relying instead on layered and scattered motif and delay patterns. I tend to avoid remixing ambient themes because they are difficult to work with, having limited or no motif for the listener to grab onto. But in this case, I had to do it. This remix is more of a groove or vibe than my typical arrangements; it is more freeform, a little nebulous, perhaps even a little disorienting in its structure.

I began this mix by analyzing the "Labyrinth Depths" song, figuring out the BPM and replicating the little motifs and patterns as well as the random bass segments and big bass blasts. From there, I added drums and established a groove. I had fun doing a ton of LFO filtering and delays on top of delays, adding my own motifs and bits of other Zelda themes, experimenting with atmospheres and textures, playing with various weird SFX, and replicating that reverse-choir bit in the intro and outro.

The primary source for this remix is "Labyrinth Depths" (it plays through the entire remix other than the very beginning and end). In the intro and outro, you will hear my recreation of the short reverse-choir motif from "Prologue: Beneath Hyrule Castle" (timestamp 2:17). In the final chorus (at 3:02), I used "Riju's Theme" from Breath of the Wild as the lead motif. I also included bits of the original Legend of Zelda "Overworld" theme.

Initially, I had invited Wes to fully collab the track with me, and he wanted to, but he was busy with other tracks at that moment. I was too excited to wait for him, however! Within two days, I had the full arrangement written. Wes did come through with some amazing additions though, to include some luscious bells, an exciting string ensemble part, some percussion and a ton of electronic sound effects, which finished the piece off perfectly. Wes and I work so beautifully together, and this time is no exception!"

No rundown of the gear involved, eh? Alright, KEEP your precious secrets, Chimpa! :-P When we post music by the actual judges, it can feel navel-gazing on some level to then quote *other* judges remarking at how good their colleagues are. Yet, these daggum judges... skills for days, so prophetik music had to speak to it:

"cinematic pad opening with the aforementioned reverse choir effect. the augmented fourth triad that gets used throughout is a really interesting element of the original and i like that you really lean into that as a melodic anchor amidst all the swirling pads. similarly, the super-rhythmic approach with the arp and delay on it is a neat way to keep it moving while there's all the ear candy around it.

we get a real beat at 1:24 and the bass blat right before it is a great transitional element that comes right from the source. the snare in this section is my favorite part. there's a bit of overworld theme around the 2:40 mark that's a fun easter egg.

we get some time through the 'chorus' with riju's theme at 3:02, and i really like the lead instrument choices there. there's some twang to it that's really neat to catch. there's some sfx outro and it's done.

this is, as expected, superb. the sound design is just next level throughout. excellent work."

So much ear candy and granularity when it came to the audio details here, and all retaining the main source's unsettling rhythms, which left Hemophiliac haunted as well:

"Dark, creepy, mysterious and an atmosphere that can put you into a trance while listening.

Loved the reversed choir as an intro and outro, it's a unique sound for sure. Production is awesome, and sound design is very lush from top to bottom.

The Labyrinth (Depths) is there almost the whole way through, hard to miss it. You really did a fantastic job of adding to something so minimal and keep it familiar and in the forefront of the track. Excellent work."

Agreed, quite a nice result introducing some flow & structure behind this more skeletal theme, alongside great mixing with nice heft to the sounds! Particularly as the track gradually builds, it can seem like an odd duck because it's a Tears of the Kingdom theme, sure, but that's a feature, not a bug. :-D Best of luck finding your way out once you fall down Chimpazilla & Emunator's groovy, labyrinthine lair! :-)