ReMix: Super Hang-On 'Smooth Ride'

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After a hiatus in Sin City, aka Las Vegas, I'm back with a couple ReMixes to post. Had a good time, overall - didn't win or lose much, but did catch the 'Star Trek Experience' at the Hilton, which for even a mild Trekkie is pretty cool. Brought home some "Romulan Ale", which disappointingly tastes like really shitty beer (think San Miguel) with a load of blue food coloring. Of course, it was 65+ degrees there, and I had to return here to Virginia and dig myself out of almost two feet of snow :( So, that explains the brief lapse in mixes, but tonight we'll just pick right back up, first with a hip-hopish mix from Sega's super follow-up to the classic cycle racer 'Hang-On' from Malcos. We haven't heard from Malcos since May of last year, and while this isn't his strongest material to date, it's different, it's good, and it's great to see him mixing again. As mentioned, this is more jazz/hip-hop, a change of pace from his usual smooth techno fare. A contemporary drum kit & pattern, upright acoustic bass, and both electric and acoustic pianos comprise the rather spartan assortment of instruments - easily could have been a monosynth solo with tasty portamento or something of that nature, but Malcos keeps it more reserved. Essentially, while the overall arrangement, mixing, and instrumentation are solid, with a nice choice on the reverb in particular, you have to follow both the pianos pretty closely to pick up the variation and progression, otherwise things can sound repetitive. Judges noted this, and I think it's a fair comment to make - while certainly it's laid-back stuff, something towards the end - another instrument or mixing alteration or dramatic addition/subtraction or key change - could have helped add some direction. That quibble aside, I like what Malcos has to offer in the jazz/hip-hop arena quite a bit. The upright bassline especially is tight and really completes the groove - something with less motion would have been very detrimental, so it's good this important element was covered well. I would love to have heard some call-and-answer 'dueling banjos' style tradeoffs between the acoustic and electric piano - restraint is good, and as I often note is not my personal strength - but this could be a bit too restrained. Bodes well for the future, and is totally worth your time and very mellow chill music :)

― djpretzel