ReMix: Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty 'Salsa Snake'

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¡Si, Señora! Newcomer Xtormrage, in real life one mild-mannered Jorge Luis Boscan, gives us a salsa makeover of the indefatigable MGS2 main theme:

"Took some time to assemble the percussion, but it was really fun making this tune. I've never enjoyed making a song/remix this much."

Firstly, disclaimer: this is definitely one of those mixes where arrangement picked up some slack for production. Some significant slack, actually, reminding me of the earlier of Dr. Fruitcake's two submissions (to date), which was strong on arrangement but not breaking the sample bank. These sorts of tracks do put us in quandary, because OCR is specifically not a MIDI site, and yet sometimes the relative audio quality of nevertheless exceptional arrangements does stray into General MIDI territory. Jorge's arrangement well capitalizes on what it's got, though, and let's face it - no matter how great your samples are, doing a latin arrangement rife with sax and brass is going to be difficult. Articulations, dynamics, and the overall arrangement are actually more key than having the best samples in the world, and the remixer handles all three gracefully and skillfully. Plus, the percussion - yummy. Nothing less than stellar, and perfect samples in this instance. The rhythm track alone is a compelling reason to download and enjoy this mix, but the real spotlight is the conceptual transmogrification of this militant, epic orchestral theme into a salsa piece - sounds difficult even on paper, to me at least, but from the very outset it's apparent Jorge is deadset on achieving this goal, and he never waivers. Senor Baranowsky got jiggy with the ethnic instrument identification game:

"Take it from me, i've been getting into latin percussion pretty hardcore lately, and these skins are quite well done. We've got the tumbao on the congas, we've got shakers, some cymbals, and rad timbale licks. The mixer does well to use cowbell when it's appropriate, and not in Bruce Dickinson-style excess. It's beyond my current abilities to recognize whether it's in 3:2 or 2:3 casscare, but it sounds like there's an effective use of both, in moderation. A drum kit, with ride cymbal work, might have filled up the percussion a bit more, but there's nothing wrong with sticking to the classics.

We've got the genre-authentic piano that provides a groove rather than trying to be the star, and the electric bass is certainly kosher for the more pop-centric salsa sound. It's not Pancho Sanchez, but it's fun, sounds convincingly hispanic and is very successful at adapting a tune in a way that I never saw coming. Great Work here."

RAD TIMBALE LICKS - now there's a phrase you just don't hear often enough, eh? At any rate, most judges cited brevity, samples, and some questionable panning decisions on the saxes as salient issues, but the arrangement ultimately won them over. You've gotta respect the conceptual cajones at the very least, even if you're not into the genre per se. I have this gut feeling that the teeming masses have been crying out for RAD TIMBALE LICKS, and Xtormrage, with his initial mix, delivers timbale licks that are indeed radical, and a whole lot more. Sounds like Jorge had a blast making this mix, and I'm guessing it'll have a similar effect on many upon hearing it. Fantástico!

― djpretzel