ReMix: Alex Kidd in Miracle World 'NoOneCanDoItBetter'

Download MP3
5,496,791 bytes, 4:35, 160kbps

• Trade-in your Games or Anime DVDs!
• OC ReMix Shirts & Merch
• Games:
  • DS | GBA | GC | PS2 | WII | XBOX | 360
  • Imports & Pre-owned
• Anime:
  • DVDs & Merchandise

Where to begin? At the beginning. This ReMix has special significance to me personally, as this theme - the underwater music from the first level of the indefatigable Alex Kidd in Miracle World - was probably the first videogame music I listened to regularly outside of a game. I actually placed a cheap, Radio Shack tape recorder next to my Master System and recorded THIS SONG in particular so that I could listen to it in the car on the way to school, etc. This was like, age 7 or 8, mind you. So, if there's a single piece of video game music that I could trace the inspiration for my involvement with game music at large back to, this song would be it. It occurred to me that I should ReMix it recently when I considered that I wanted my next mix to be hip-hop. I've always felt Alex Kidd and hip-hop would go well together - the Kidd is just down with the street, that's all, and he needed some representin' in the genre. I attempted to fulfill this vision with my initial Alex Kidd ReMix, one that I was never really happy with. It never clicked like I wanted to - it ain't that bad, but Alex deserved better. I needed to revisit the material.

Now, what I came up with is a ReMix that is very much love-it or hate-it, the way I see it. If you're not with me at 1'55", you probably fall into the second category. I'm happy with it though - it doesn't sound much like my other ReMixes at all, and I exercised great restraint with it. This piece took longer to make than any of my other mixes, believe it or not. Why? I kept adding things on top - extra melodies, effects, more scratching, you name it. But every time I added something, I scrutinized it something fierce, and ended up removing it in favor of keeping things more roots R&B / hip-hop style, with a stripped down feel. It's essentially an electric piano (courtesy Emagic EVP73 VSTi), deep electric bass, a swirly Reaktor synth, and some loops and FX. Oh, and some cheeze synth brass from FM7 :) I do want to add that the title/sample refer to Alex Kidd himself, not me, just in case you were thinking I was getting into that competitive thang. Anyway, I truly love the source material to death in this case, and the simple fact that I could ReMix it in a fashion that I'd even be willing to listen to makes me happy. I suppose highlights would be the chromatic riff at 1'26" and the syncopation between all parts on the chorus. I feel I have closure with the Kidd after making this mix, and can move on, which is what I was shooting for. Hope you enjoy ^^

― djpretzel