ReMix:EarthBound "SnowBound" 4:49

By bLiNd

Arranging the music of 2 songs...

"Snowman", "Winters' Wake Up Call"

Primary Game: EarthBound (Nintendo , 1994, SNES), music by Hirokazu Tanaka, Hiroshi Kanazu, Keiichi Suzuki, Toshiyuki Ueno

Posted 2005-10-31, evaluated by djpretzel


While it may not be particularly spooky, Halloween is as good an occassion as any to debut an Earthbound arrangement project, which is exactly what Joe Cammisa and a group of talented artists from all over the place have done, unveiling Bound Together - An EarthBound Remix Project today to anxious fans. BT's status as an independent project has probably helped it to attract remixer talent from multiple sites and communities, thus representing some voices you may or may not hear in an official OCR site project. I still think there's room for both approaches, but there's no arguing the list of contributing artists to Joe's project is both impressive and varied. Joe writes:

"The only thing to say about this project is that I got the best musicians around to make the best music for the best cause. For that I thank all of them from the bottom of my heart. They love this community and support what this project stands for. We are all truely 'Bound Together' here. Now, let the music speak for itself from here on out..."

That's a whole lot of "bests" in that first sentence, there, but I think you can take that as a sign that Joe's proud of the results, as well he should be. You can check out the rest of the project at earthbound.joecam.net or just download the torrent straight away. Now, before going into the juicy details on Jordan's (excellent) mix, I'd be more than a little dishonest in not mentioning that up until very recently, I myself was on this project, and the fashion in which I dissociated from it wasn't exactly 'amicable'. You'd get ten different stories from ten different people, but my own take is that because I was uninformed up until the last minute of someone on the project that I'd rather not collaborate with, even in a symbolic sense, I withdrew my contribution. I still question the goal of "unifying" the community by an invitation-only mixer selection process that keeps some people, namely me, in the dark BUT... forget all that for a second, and remember this: EarthBound has an amazing, peculiar soundtrack, and everyone involved has done a great job arranging its many quirky gems. You don't NEED an agenda or a loftier goal (or me for that matter) to justify this project, because - sans drama - the end result works on a musical level. The game's music and these artists' interpretations are both strong enough to stand on their own without any sort of higher ideological theme; while my part in things didn't work out, it don't much matter.

On to greener pastures... or, rather, snowier tundras, as the case may be. Jordan writes:

"This is a euortrance style remix of snow woods from the snes earthbound. Its pretty high quality pumpy dance music, and its a liberal approach to the original. You can still identify the melodies for the most part. I wrote a lot of extra parts and decided to use the tent music as the ending."

The last time we saw bLiNd on OCR it was March of '04, with his Extreme-G work, but he's clearly been keeping himself busy and hasn't lost one iota of the sheen and class he brings to the trance thing. Things get started pretty quickly, with a wide, expansive groove laid down lickety-split as verb-drenched synths percolate and things build towards the four-on-the-floor at 0'42". The thematic introduction at 1'22" is what really sets the mix out, as it's far more chromatic and varied than the typical melody you'd transplant into the middle of a trance track, but Jordan handles it well. Things go back into traditional territory for awhile, but there's a few more tricks up the mix's sleeve, with a nice ambient oasis at 3'14", followed by that rarest of beasts, the trance ritardando. The last minute is a very hypnotic rendition of the tent music that reminds me of some of the very hypnotic musics off the generally excellent Robot Carnival soundtrack. I've somewhat inevitably spent more time talking about logistics than bLiNd's mix, but it's everything you'd expect from him, which speaks tomes, and makes the often-challenging EarthBound soundtrack familiar, welcoming, and ice cold.

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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Necrox
on 2015-12-08 18:28:57

A bit "trancey" for me at first, but it's enjoyable. Love how synthetic 3:27 sounds. The outro was a bit of a letdown for me; after the slowdown I was expecting a groovy halftime or something. Still solid overall.

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DjjD
on 2015-12-06 11:51:41

Man, this song...

I can distinctly remember where I heard this song first, and it wasn't on here, surprisingly enough. In the same year that this mix came out, is when the PSP-1000 lineup arrived in the USA. I'd spent a lot of time just messing around with the PSP adding modded material such as universal remotes, SNES ROMS, and naturally...PSP Revolution. It used a lot of the songs that Stepmania had already popularized.

...and bLiNd's remix was one of them.

Despite all that, bLiNd's mix really served as a great source of inspiration. Before this, I doubt I'd heard many electronic remixes of video game music. I'd go as far to say past this remix, any of bLiNd's remixes are worth listening to. Great stuff. :)

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YoshiBlade
on 2015-12-02 02:39:27

So this was 2005 and it sounds as fresh as fallen snow way ahead of its time...all most too far ahead of it's time. Which leaves me with 2 possibilities 1) bLiNd is a time traveler and goes back in time to taking all the great music from the future and sharing it with us a-la Marty Mcfly or 2) He is/was/will continue to be just a really great musician. I think we all know the answer so, thank you for this Remix, from whatever age/dimension you hail from, you magnificent musical maven!

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Elsewhere
on 2010-01-24 20:57:59

This mix is so great. I don't really feel the Earthbound in it though, but that doesn't make it any less awesome.

Great work.

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OA
on 2010-01-22 18:31:13

I dare bLiNd to make a track that isn't completely awesome, expansive, and epic in every way.

Double-dog dare him.

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Polo
on 2009-12-10 17:16:07

The way this starts, I can almost imagine bLiNd literally throwing a trance bomb our way, expanding upon explosion. Nice and in your face. (Is that an oxymoron? No matter.) I like the sparkly chirps at 0:39, 0:49, and elsewhere as they cheerfully say hello at key points on the driving beat. Momentum stays thick and constant, plowing through even the more serious section of Snowman (1:23 and 2:45) like it's hurrying across Winters for fear of frostbite. What it lacks in finesse it makes up for in intensity. At 3:12, the wind dies down and the threat of freezing to death isn't as dire, and Winters Wake Up Call presents a much needed repose. A fitting outro compositionally, although the feel of it leaves a little something to be desired.

Put another way, Snowbound tastes like a powdered donut: prominently sweet and sugary, but it's that initial, immediate rush of awesome I crave when I'm absorbing the basic filling at the end.

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Roihu
on 2009-10-24 10:19:44

Wow.

This is just...

I don't even have any words for this.

What made you think to do something like this?

It's just amazing.

This track gets your attention from beginning to end (albeit, the end lacks a bit compared to the rest). I definitely won't be skipping this track any time soon.

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yosefu
on 2009-08-17 01:23:22

This is just one track that i can never get sick of. Great job bLiNd.

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theeggman85
on 2009-08-14 02:45:08

Simply amazing. In fact I just made an OCRemix account for the sole purpose of letting bLiNd know how awesome this mix is! The first 24 bars is pure magic, I've looped this song at least 20 times on my iPod. Well done, love this.

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Opterion
on 2009-01-16 01:24:29

Well I suppose there's not much new to say here, 'cuz to me, and to so many other people that agree, this mix is definitely one of those that can be set on repeat for a week and I'd still not be tired of it.

While I can't figure out exactly where each part is from (I've played it, it's familiar, but it's been awhile), that won't make me skip this track anytime soon.

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Duokun
on 2008-11-05 21:08:47

Awesome awesome song we have here! The opening was a humungous attention getter that kept me tapping throughout the entire song. I love the effective wintery sound of it without the use of those standard jingle bells. Don't get me wrong. The bells are baller, but they shouldn't be in every winter-themed song.

The more "down to earthbound" finisher was a nice way to tap it out.

Pro skills going on here.

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Effef
on 2008-10-20 20:13:10

Easily one of the top three remixes on the site. Such high quality work.

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RavenCloud
on 2007-01-21 03:41:18
Damn I really like this song. Doesn't really remind me of Earthbound, but I thought it was a really cool take on a song I did like from the game. It sounds like something that could have been in SSBM on the Earthbound stages. I had been wanting to hear some trance lately too. I think my favorite part of this song is how it ends with the bells and the "post-wake up" Hotel song. V. good stuff, Mr. bLiNd.

I agree. This is a great music, even great to listen over and over. I can't get tired of it ^^ 3 O.o A+ a must listen!

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MisterBiggler
on 2006-01-06 17:43:52

Damn I really like this song. Doesn't really remind me of Earthbound, but I thought it was a really cool take on a song I did like from the game. It sounds like something that could have been in SSBM on the Earthbound stages. I had been wanting to hear some trance lately too. I think my favorite part of this song is how it ends with the bells and the "post-wake up" Hotel song. V. good stuff, Mr. bLiNd.

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Meliarune
on 2005-12-07 11:31:19

Extremely beaty. This is just really fun to listen to and totally danceable. But then, what bLiNd tracks arent? ;) I loved the melody, the bass did it's job and the beat was constant. Kudos on the ultra-smooth loss of tempo near the end. The ending itself is what left me wondering though, as the track could have ended at 3:56 and it would have been just fine. The dragging synth kind of threw me off after the infernal beat, kinda feels like the music has to stretch itself for the sake of lasting a little longer. Great track nonetheless. 9/10

Sources Arranged (2 Songs)


Primary Game:
EarthBound (Nintendo , 1994, SNES)
Music by Hirokazu Tanaka,Hiroshi Kanazu,Keiichi Suzuki,Toshiyuki Ueno
Songs:
"Snowman"
"Winters' Wake Up Call"

Tags (5)


Genre:
Trance
Mood:
Instrumentation:
Electronic,Synth
Additional:
Time > Tempo: Fast
Usage > Winter Holiday

File Information


Name:
EarthBound_SnowBound_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
8,244,129 bytes
MD5:
40ac05864b0a6fcd3d4d821212759d4e
Bitrate:
225Kbps
Duration:
4:49
album cover
Published 2005-10-31
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