ReMix: Mega Man 6 'Odyssey Beyond the Falls'
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- Game: Mega Man 6 (Capcom, 1993, NES)
- ReMixer(s): Vurez
- Composer(s): Yuko Takehara
- Song(s): Centaurman Stage
- Posted: 2005-09-29, evaluated by djpretzel
Purdy. It sounds like Don's gotten his hands on one of the better ethnic instrument libraries out there, ala Early Instruments or RA, or something, as the sonic factor has been upped from even his previous, impressive level with this downbeat Greek groove. Vurez writes:
"Odyssey Beyond the Falls is a joining of ancient Greek music with water - at least that is what I was going for with this mix. I used a pan flute, harp, plucked violin, mandolin, hand drums and a very old south east European monophonic bagpipe instrument (the gaida) to get a Greek-like sound for this mix. Lots of chorus and strings were used for representing the aqueous qualities of the stage."
Definite Mediterranean feel, and while the ethereal mixed and "bum/dum" lower male choral work give it a spacier, more new age angle, I could still see chilling on a coast with a gyro and tsipouro whilst listening. Actually, Don mixes pensive/serene with celebratory pomp, as sections like 1'14" (that bagpipe is excellent) get some fanfare going on, conjuring images of Greece the empire, as opposed to Greece the laid back place that resembles the Pastoral segment from Fantasia. The arrangement is excellent, and plays off the quality of the samples - this is a ReMix where the arrangement and production have an inextricable, symbiotic link: I can't imagine attempting such a piece without high quality materials to sculpt with, but by the same token, the arrangement is clearly there, and uses such materials with ability and nuance. Part of the art in utilizing ethnic samples lies in playing parts that are believable for the instruments in question - mv did a great job with this on 'A Foray into the Eastern Horizons'. It's not just having the sounds, it's having a good musical grasp on how they should be used, both at the part level as well as the bigger picture of the context they fit into. The melding of exotic + authentic plucked and piped melodic leads with some conspicuous and dramatic choral work, along with a varied percussive groove that's well dispersed across the stereo spectrum, add up to a ReMix that's very unique in its roots and what it aims to envision, and one which by my measure succeeds at its goals. I dig Vurez' other mixes quite a bit, and if you haven't heard them yet you should check them out post-haste, but I also think this represents a somewhat more original, mature vision from an arrangement perspective, and corresponding notch up in production, too. Mega Manopolous gets all Athens up in that, thanks to Mr. V - particular, sculpted, and often beautiful work.
Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the Cybermouse;457104 wrote:
Finally! Someone did some good remixes of MM6 (my personal favorite of the series, possibly tied at 1st with MM2). I've been waiting for a long time for some (hint hint, other remixers, come on. Four out of eight bosses and no other themes covered yet...let's see some more mixes from this great game!)
Thanks! You do know about my MM6 album right? All the bosses were covered on it - http://www.vurez.com/arrangements.htm
- Vurez on October 10, 2008
Finally! Someone did some good remixes of MM6 (my personal favorite of the series, possibly tied at 1st with MM2). I've been waiting for a long time for some (hint hint, other remixers, come on. Four out of eight bosses and no other themes covered yet...let's see some more mixes from this great game!)
Way to go Vurez. Awesome stuff, this. Matches Centaur's theme with a precision and uniqueness not often found in mega man music these days (with the exception of Passing of the Blue Crown).
- Cybermouse on September 27, 2008
The fact that this is a megaman song completely blows my mind, as I certainly didn't expect somethning so thoughtful sounding from a series that generally attracts rock and electronic genres. Vocal samples are also very good.
Very nice stuff throughout.
- OA on April 23, 2008
I've listened to all of Vurez's released mixes on both OCR as well as vgmix, and sometimes his style works well with the source tunes, and other times not so well. I can gladly say that this lies in the former camp. Beautiful in the same mystic way that girls with olive skin and piercing green eyes are exotic.
Mmmmmm. On second thought, I guess this mix does a better job of capturing the Greek essence than I had originally thought. Awesome.
* Gladiator was a movie about the Roman empire, but I'll be damned if the soundtrack didn't sound Greek-ish.
- MrBogus on November 3, 2005
But to be honest, this doesn't really remind me of Greece. When I listen to it, the pictures that I have in my head are from Arabia, way back in the past (especially after 3:06). I can see a caravan of camels, are some lonely prince on his horse almost flying through the desert to save his kingdom/rescue the princess/get some beer at the next gas station.
Not very MegaMan-ish at all, but one of my favorite mixes right now.
- Martin Penwald on October 13, 2005
1. It's lacking the energy of the typical MegaMan mix. Who wants to kill evil robots when they could sip Pina Coladas on the beach?
2. The varying use of instruments from around the world is unique and done well. However, they all sound kinda... not real. The bags, for instance, have no drone. I believe that's been mentioned.
- meccaneer on October 6, 2005
- Liontamer on October 3, 2005
Neonlare wrote: I'm preaty sure that alot of this song is taken from FF6's Town (Ruins ver.) Theme, either way, the Pan Flutes are very nice, and the techno beat in the background is very catchy and neat, the ending's a little sharp though...
79/100 :D
[EDIT]
W-wait a second, this isn't the same version as the Ormgas one, What in hell?!
Huh, I haven't heard it on ormgas. There are panflutes in my mix, but no techno beat. I wonder if there was a mix up.
- Vurez on October 3, 2005
79/100 :D
[EDIT]
W-wait a second, this isn't the same version as the Ormgas one, What in hell?!
- Neonlare on October 2, 2005
- Akaisen on October 1, 2005
I really liked the way you arranged the choir. It blended well with everything.
And of course, the sections following the key change (one of which was near the end) sounded great. The male choir and the orchestral cymbals gave it that powerful, "movie score" feel for a while.
My singular gripe is that the flutes sometimes lacked reverb, which might have sounded nicer.
I almost forgot to compliment you on your very professional use of that bagpipe patch. It sounded absolutely [i][b]SWEET[/b][/i].
Excellent job on this song overall. Keep up the great work - I hope to see more of this caliber from you in the future.
- Karth on October 1, 2005
krale wrote: On a very positive point, I've been listening to this and Vurez's other MM6 mixes from "that other site" vgmix.com ;-)
Very professional sounding. Now comes the criticism ;P
MedHead, you made a very valid point about hearing no drone. I found a good link, along with sound samples of what this particular instrument should sound like..
http://macedoniadirect.com/music/instrum/gajda.htm
And yeah, I hear no drone, but still is a wonderful remix.
Huh, you're right. The gaida does drone. Oh well, I guess it probably sounds more like a shawm in my mix which is still okay with me.
- Vurez on September 30, 2005
- Yhoko on September 30, 2005
Very professional sounding. Now comes the criticism ;P
MedHead, you made a very valid point about hearing no drone. I found a good link, along with sound samples of what this particular instrument should sound like..
http://macedoniadirect.com/music/instrum/gajda.htm
And yeah, I hear no drone, but still is a wonderful remix.
- krale on September 30, 2005
I like the "bum" voices, and enjoy how right around the 1:18 mark how things pick up pace. There are many parts of this piece that I think are great, and my dislikes are a far shorter list.
I've assembled my list with an approximate time frame for each criticism. Realize these are just personal opinions, and despite the upcoming criticisms, I still think the song is great.
0:00-0:07
I thought the opening stumbled along a bit, and almost made me reconsider letting the song continue. I'm glad I had more patience, but despite my repeated listening, I still find the opening disatisfactory.
0:08-0:33
While the flute works well at 1:50, I don't think it worked well here. I can't tell if you used samples or if you had the actual instruments played (I suspect the former - either way, it's a testament to the quality). It seems to my ears that it was a flute sample played on a keyboard: it has a very on/off sound to it.
0:35-0:51
The horn (I believe it's a horn) sound cuts off here as well, just like my prior complaint. Also, there are a few places where the horn seems to stumble on a note, or at least add a new one in there by mistake.
2:13
All the other voices sound great, but these ones played here don't sound as good.
2:32
The mandolin cuts off rather strangely here; it mimics what a midi file would do when too many voices play at one time.
2:45
Personally, I would add a little reverb to the bagpipe. Also, I don't hear the typical drone associated with bagpipes.
3:11
I don't like the stattaco rythym of the flute here.
3:50
That's it? It cuts off so suddenly!
[img]http://www.flagmandesign.com/files/ratings/089.jpg[/img]
- MedHead on September 29, 2005
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