ReMix: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past 'The Darkness And The Light'

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Could it be? Is it really? Believe your eyes and ears, the second to last mix of the night and the second Zelda 3 ReMix comes from none other than the man, the myth, the legend, McVaffe. He's sorta fallen out of the music scene, or at least the game ReMixing scene, and this mix doesn't necessarily (fingers crossed!) represent an intention to return - we all have priorities in life that people need to respect - but regardless, for tonight, for this one track, we've got some McMagic for ya. This is another extended mix as well, at almost six minutes, and halfway through segues into the classic Zelda theme. Starting out though, it almost sounds like Time Circuits from CT, with rising tibetan bell / gamelan style chromatic percussion. Chord progression and percussion enter, followed by a nice alto flute lead, with a more dedicated drum bit coming in at the one minute mark and soonafter doing a nice stop/chop effect that'll make you do a doubletake for a skipping CD. Like with all McV mixes, the devil (i.e. the quality) is in the details - subtle accentuations, one-off effects, and tiny inflections add up to a whole far greater than the sum of its parts. Though the tempo doesn't change, the tone does (as the title might have clued you in on), from more contemplative to mysterious to sentimental to majestic, and the ReMixer does a good job of these changes in tone being natural - for what is essentially a medley, things are glued together with a pretty effective adhesive, and you end up getting a sampling of Zelda 3's soundtrack in a laid-back, orchestral trip-hop style, with slick production and consistent instrumentation. This isn't McVaffe's best mix, nor is it his most interesting or experimental, but it is clearly a mix of his calibre, and that alone is saying spades. An excellent combination of familiar themes in a neatly wrapped little box, with a bow on top, this is a quality Zelda 3 mix from someone who, over the years, has helped make OCR what it is. I remember working with McVaffe back when we initially debuted our database-driven site design, which he helped me troubleshoot, and while I know he's got other time constraints now, I still miss his consistent contributions. Like I said, this mix is no sort of guarantee that he'll be back with more, but if it's the last then it's the last, and if not all the better - either way, it's a great piece from a great ReMixer.

― djpretzel