ReMix: Sonic the Hedgehog 'Live at the Springyard'

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There's good mixes, great mixes, and then there's tracks that might be good or great but are first and foremost memorable due to being... singular. Unique. Something that probably would never have had a remote chance of being brought into this world, in any vaguely similar form, were it not for the ReMixer in question. Regardless of its reception, I'd like to think my recently completed arrangement from the anime Gilgamesh is such a piece, but moreso in that case because it's an anime very few people have even seen. But I digress (self-promotingly so, no less); with his second submission, Harmony not only proves that his initial Secret of Mana mix was no fluke, he one-ups it with a superb Sonic the Hedgehog ReMix that's got technique a' plenty, style to spare, and is just such a singular, unique work, featuring vegas vocals (somewhat reminiscent of some of the singing from Nilsen's incarnation of Sonic CD), acoustic guitar and piano soloing, dynamic drumming, bookended live ambience complete with applause and trusty nightclub atmosphere, and a dramatic ending that's got a tasty mini-drum solo of sorts. And hey, just for kicks, he even sings the Sega logo music at the mix's outset - a detail that should truly ingratiate him for life with us sega fanboys, even though Brandon himself admits to the heresy of having preferred the SNES:

"I was always an SNES man myself but I can’t deny the greatness that was Sonic 1. That soundtrack has been stuck in my head for years and the Spring Yard Zone is one of my favorite VG themes of all time. Some of the WIP forum comments on this remix mentioned that this is a nice change of pace, but honestly this is generally my style. Acoustic sounding stuff is always fun to do to me. Drums, keys and bass were all “played live” on the keyboard then lightly quantized and tweaked. I think that this allows for some levels of humanization and variety that’s really difficult to get with just a mouse, even though some of the better remixers on this site who only use mice have accomplished it beautifully.


Equipment used on this Remix:

- Casio CTK-551
- Cakewalk Sonar 2
- My trusty acoustic guitar
- gotta mention the egg shaker...good stuff"

Egg shaker indeed. This is just a fun piece of music - it doesn't take itself too seriously, but at the same has some seriously competent arranging and performance going on, and the entire concept of a live performance works perfectly with the jazzy, already sorta Wayne Newton vibe of the original. Production is smooth, and vocal processing well-attuned to the showy "doo-wop" nature. Everything sits well, there's nary an off note to the respective guitar articulations and piano performance, and I'd say the mixer succeeded greatly in efforts to humanize and polish the mix, especially the keys and drums. Brandon's first mix was a great track, but I think there's more of a clearly identifiable (metaphorical) voice present with this composition, in which his musical skills are matched with a two-scoops helping of gusto and pure, undiluted imagination.

― djpretzel