ReMix: Sonic the Hedgehog 3 'Aquatic Pressure'

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Sonic the Hedgehog 3

In addition to being what Ed Harris experiences as he's falling down the Abyss whilst breathing the funky pink water in James Cameron's late 80's aqueous sci-fi adventure, "Aquatic Pressure" is now also a Sonic 3 mix from newcomer Red Tailed Fox, aka Caio Moraes Ferreira. In addition to having a real name that's approximately twenty-three times cooler than my own, RTF's put together a varied, funky arrangement that Shnabubula pulled an assist for, giving Caio some pointers that helped the overall. Speaking of said assist's contrasting improvements, the bubula offers:

"It strongly reminds me of Janet Jackson's "Pleasure Principle" actually!

I liked the first version but felt that it didn't significantly feature the source and it never settled into a groove without providing enough action to draw attention away from the inconsistency.

Both problems are more than solved. The melody is in there all over the place, and where the action originally became subdued, it now continues to build until we're finally ready for the break at 3:50."

The strength is definitely in the arrangement and variety, as there are still some latent production issues and aspects that sound preset-ish and lack uber-sheen; particularly, the ensemble strings and brass utilized are a bit anemic. Drums at times sound like they're on tracks, but the mixer does a good job of addressing this with some bongo-only breaks that also expand the percussive stereo field nicely. It's essentially a techno mix, with a few hybrid orchestral elements, an arrangement that varies things up and progresses enough to remain interesting throughout, and some mean pitch-bends on the glide lead. I admire the number of ideas and variations Caio's been able to integrate without missing a beat, and while substance is outweighing style on the arrangement-vs-production-o-meter, things are still competently mixed - nearly six minutes of music are filled with more traditional electronica vibes leaning towards jazzier motifs with EP into the third and fourth minutes, and there's nothing glaringly grating to really single out, just a few aspects that aren't as shiny as they could be. analoq's simple, direct words sum up why that ultimately doesn't matter too much:

"i wanted to reject this but i'm hearing a bit too much effort in this one to toss it out at this point. this remix belongs in a time where every keyboard player owned a korg m1 and a minimoog, this has an 80s synth sound that you'd expect to hear on tv either as a themesong or a commercial background. it's not a sound i'm particularly fond of, but it's one that feels reminiscent. while it's entirely possible this wasn't what the remixer was going for, i connect with this at that level. either way, this guy had a lot of fun with the hydrocity zone music, and here he is sharing it with us."

A great first mix, with room to grow, that nevertheless has enthusiasm, energy, and a multitude of well-implemented ideas; hope to see more from Red Tailed Fox in the future.

djpretzel

Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
For me, early Sonic (read: not the drastically modified soft-rock moods of the 3D games) were always about catchy 90s electropop. So the lesser quality samples in this mix are totally redeemed by the fact that they suit the source material. Whereas if you did the same thing to something like more traditionally inspired music like Super Mario Bros., it would seem more out of place.
However, I'm not a sample freak. If it is arranged well, then sample quality shouldn't come into it. And the mix is arranged more than well enough. Never boring, very Sonic, very Hydrocity. The break in the last third might have seemed completely tacked on if it wasn't so charming. Nice work all round. I'm a fan.

- Marmiduke on December 23, 2008
I can't believe I had overlooked this until now. Truly amazing and creative arrangement from Mr. Ferreira. Sonic 3 & Knuckles is gotta be my favourite soundtrack ever (I probably know all those songs by heart) and this mix took me waaaay back. :-D
And, damn, it is so SWEET (a.k.a. bom pra caramba)!!!
Virei seu fã, Caio! Can't wait to hear more stuff from you in the future. \o/

- Holy Land on June 10, 2008
Im pretty sure this was the first OCR track I heard :p

Excluding the Hedgehog Heaven remix album, since I downloaded that from elsewhere

Yeah, this track I thought was pretty okay at first, and actually couldnt remember what it was from (I had only briefly played Sonic at that point, and couldnt get anywhere in Hydrocity Zone) but it eventually became a favourite on my commonly played tracks. You could say this track is what made my initial dislike of the Hydrocity theme into lov xD

Great track, clearly

- Ragnor on April 14, 2007
thanks :) ill give Reason a shot, considering i have no clue of how to use Acid in any useful way :P. i don't know how to make original sounds and thus use loops, and nothign will come of that that sounds nearly as good as this.

- Mistform_Mk2 on April 11, 2007
Reason 2.5 back then. Right now, 3.0. But you can easily do better with Acid, IMO.

- Mr. Fox on April 10, 2007
Hi. I'm new, and I was wondering what program was used to make this... I use Acid, but am unsatisfied with it.

- Mistform_Mk2 on April 10, 2007
The best music in Sonic 3, and you improved upon it?!?! <head explodes>

- Vertigo88 on April 27, 2006
I'll be perfectly honest - this did not appeal on first listen. Not that the production was poor, or the arangement horrible .... it just didn't click for me initially.
Well, I listened to it a few more times, and it grew on me considerably. The gunshots are cheesy-awesome. There's a flow to this that builds and fades at least twice throughout the track.
And it's decently suited to walking at a relaxed pace.
Comfortable 6 (>75%).

- BlueMage on April 18, 2006
I don't know what I can add, but this mix is great for the most part. Some of the more abstract sequences in between the more conservitive coverage bore me a little, but I've always enjoyed a straighter cover to a song then a really abstract mix. The Hydrocity Zone is indeed one of my favorite game tunes of all time, and this is some excellent and [i]much-needed[/i] coverage of it.
A big thumbs up. 8/10

- I_am_Torgo on December 27, 2005
I absolutely love this remix. I've grown up with Sonic, and everytime I pop in Sonic Jam to in my Saturn, and play Sonic 3 locked on to Sonic & Knuckles, I ALWAYS love getting to Hydrocity Zone and listening to the music. ALWAYS.
With this remix, I no longer have to play the game to hear the music. It is similar to the original, but has such a twist to make it into a song I can love more. What I ABSOLUTELY love though (even though I know it's not intentional because it's kinda my mind's judgement)is how at around 2:50-3:00, I ALWAYS think that it's the end of the song. But then I look at my CD Player, and omg I have about half of the song left. Hell yes.
But I'm not sure how I would judge this on terms of those who haven't played the game. In terms of music, I'm not skilled in trying to see things from the other side. However, for fans of the game, and the Hydrocity Song, this remix is STRONGLY recommended. Very good work, does the original justice.

- SynthesizedStampede on December 18, 2005
I like it alot.

- StormEagle83 on December 10, 2005
Sorry to sound like I have nothing new to say, but I like this remix very much.

- Cutter on December 8, 2005
This may be my favorite Sonic remix on the site. It's definitely in the top 3 at least. When the theme finally kicks in at 1:28, I get shivers. This has variety, stays close enough to the original without being a carbon copy, and it just sounds incredible. Absolutely amazing.

- Zekian on November 30, 2005
Wow. This is absolutely freaking awesome. I loved the original song (Especially act 2) and this does a VERY good job at staying true to the original song and still keeping varied. It never really sticks with one style, but somehow manages to keep the original beat almost intact. Definitely going on the favorites list.

- TX-419 on November 21, 2005
I admit I've been a Nintendo-Fanboy back in the days, so I don't really know the original. But I still enjoyed this mix, especially the slower (1:57) and melodic parts (4:04) as well as when it picks up some speed (3:01).
Awfulness at its best.

- Martin Penwald on November 13, 2005

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