ReMix: Terranigma 'Blue (Shooting Star Mix)'

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This is yet another policy-setting ReMix submission; essentially, we've recently recieved this and other submissions of mixes by mixers who've covered the same piece previously and have those mixes already on the site. In some cases the submissions are "updates" that sound very similar to the existing ReMix, with a couple upgrades here and there, and in other cases they are different enough to stand on their own as separate arrangements of the same song. I like to think of OCR as a canon - a living, developing, entity, no doubt, but also something that has a history. If mixers were constantly submitting minor upgrades to existing pieces, those versions might indeed be technically superior or better-recieved, but there's an aspect of longevity and "timeliness" to saying that a given mix was submitted on X date by X ReMixer, and rewriting that (potentially) every week would lose some of the legacy. The end result is that modified, arguably improved versions of some mixes on OCR might very well end up existing elsewhere on the net, but the benefit is that the site represents a timeline of what each contributing ReMixer was doing, creatively, at a given point in time, and points us more in the direction of moving forward rather than rehashing the past. There's also the argument that review threads for replaced mixes would be outdated, and that some might prefer the original to the upgrade, as is often the case with consoles, operating systems, and Hollywood remakes. It wasn't an easy decision, there was a lot of discussion and arguments either way, but I strongly feel this is the right call.

However, when the submission in question is more than an upgrade, but an entirely new arrangement, the story's a little different. We will evaluate such mixes on their own as well as relative to their existing counterparts, to ensure both pieces can stand on their own, and decide accordingly. In the case of this Terranigma ReMix from Ziwtra, the panel determined it was both a strong enough mix on its own, and different enough from the artist's previous mix of the same song, to warrant posting. This should not be a frequent occurrence, but in this instance such criteria were met. If all of this talk of policy and evaluation sounds terribly bureacratic to you, just forget everything I said and download the mix, 'cuz it's pretty darn good. Relative to its predecessor, you've got a funkier, looser beat with a bit more syncopation going on, tighter, cleaner production all around, some enveloping ambient processing and DSP, more synth, ixnae on the alliopecae and more overt nature effects, and a longer, more groove-oriented vibe, with lovely stereo string stabs, percolating, tightly-sequenced synth arpeggios, and an ephemeral, cross-panned lead. There's a lot of layering, and a great deal of cross-play between them, which is true to the mixer's style of more elaborate combinations and juxtapositions, but the enhancement and definition of each is improved here such that you can very clearly appreciate everything going on. As Binnie puts it:

"This 'upgrade' is sonically improved and most important and key, arranged differently enough for it and the old version to stand separately on their own."

Probably a better overall mix, but definitely a different mix than his previous interpretation of the theme, Ziwtra's latest is shimmering, decidedly futuristic, and engrossing.

― djpretzel