ReMix: Castlevania: Circle of the Moon 'Time's Anxiety'
Download MP3
- Game: Castlevania: Circle of the Moon (Konami, 2001, GBA)
- ReMixer(s): GrayLightning, Rexy
- Composer(s): Hiroshi Mitsuoka, Sotaro Tojima
- Song(s): Clockwork
- Posted: 2006-03-15, evaluated by djpretzel
March would seem to be the month of birthdays, as right after Liontamer and Sephfire comes Sir GrayLightning (honorary knighthood), with a Rexy collab hook-up on Castlevania: CotM. I heard an initial version of this and had some advice on the processing that I'm glad was taken to heart, as initially some of the winds were a little dry. The overall arrangement is delicate, composed largely of same-tempo interweaved melodies over quantized arpeggios that do convey a strong sense of time, an intricate clockwork of composition. That is not to say the whole thing feels like it's "on tracks" - although I do think a bit more variation in tempo and less quantization would have helped, as things are, the piece has enough emotion in its arrangement and dynamics to counterpoint whatever humanization of note timing and length might be lacking. Flute, oboe, electric piano, mixed bells (it's GrayLightning, man, what did you expect?), assorted percussion, solo and ensemble strings, harp, some patented 'epic brass' french horns (same patch used here for those playing along at home), and some other goodies I'm sure I missed round out a very broad timbral palette. Rexy did the initial arrangement first and then GL rebuilt it from the ground up; I think you can hear her particular arranging style and his predilection for mixed instrumentation (which is usually drinkin' heavy from the keg of chromatic percussions)... whether or not the collaboration resulted in a piece that resonates more than a solo effort from either artist would have is arguable, but this juxtaposition did produce unique offspring that probably wouldn't have come about any other way, and in over six minutes, develops and explores thoughtfully and with variation. There's a certain elegance to the very steady pacing, call-and-answer melodic line, and discrete space afforded each element that gives the piece focus and clarity. It's not the most elaborate arrangement compositionally, but the diverse throng of instrumentation that's been applied balances that out. I'd like to hear either live, unquantized recordings of solo parts or mouse-editing to achieve a comparable effect in the future, as I really think it'd more effectively contrast flowing lead parts against more metrical accompaniment. That being said, this is an enjoyable and deep ReMix, one that both mixers can be proud of and which gracefully adapts the Castlevanian source material. I'm running low on happy b-day shoutouts lately, but I can always spare one for Gray, so while he's enjoying his newfound 24-dom, check out and enjoy his and Rexy's latest mix.
Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the Concerning the ending, a darker ending would have been something that I almost did, but prior to writing it out I personally felt the subdue nature of the rest of the mix meant that something like that could be overkill. And even if I did, the mix's title would have been entirely different (its original name was "Betrayal of Time" when writing it, fact fans).
The lighter ending ended up coming from a personal experence that I faced with family relationships (hah, same source of inspiration as "Tomorrow's Wake"; go figure). Things started to become somewhat brighter in spite of facing a personal struggle, so I needed to try and reflect that mood as a source of inspiration. (Hah... I am a complete sucker for stuff like this.)
And there we have it, the direction for the ending in a nutshell. :)
- Rexy on March 28, 2009
I'm afraid I wasn't a big fan of the big sunshiny happy ending - I would've much prefered something that went with the rest of the piece's minor mood, or at least something that didn't sound so outright happy, at least not when the rest of the piece is somewhat dark. Still, the rest of the song is so good that it's just forgiveable. That may sound pessimistic, but it's not a bad listen by any means - goin' on the player.
- windkirby on December 24, 2008
When I was listening to this song for the first time, I was reading I, Robot. And now, for some reason, everytime I think about this song I think about robots, the Three Laws, Trantor and the might of the Galactic Empire as well as the genius of Psychohistory.
- Subz1987 on February 27, 2007
don't assume that it's a "collab gone wrong" as falsely accoused (sorry to say that).
My mistake. I still like the original much better.
- kingcomrade1 on December 13, 2006
I thought I was more proud of this version to be honest, especially with the additional production embellishments and the abandomnent of an odd choice of using a low flute instead of a timpani roll in a few sections. In an essence, the arrangement in both versions is still at least 85% all me, yet in both versions Gray was there to help out in making the track come to life, no matter how long it took.
While the comparisons are being made (or lack thereof?), can someone tow Liontamer in here? I remember he played this on one of his VG Frequency "best of" shows, so he might know a little more of what's being talked about.
- Rexy on December 11, 2006
- Fusilliban on December 11, 2006
- kingcomrade1 on December 11, 2006
- MooMan1 on April 5, 2006
Thanks to everyone for the comments and your time.
- GrayLightning on April 3, 2006
It's actually pretty amusing that you liked the 2:44 bit; I actually did something clever there as far as the arrangement goes for that part. From then til 3:28 I put in some (slightly liberal) easter eggs relating to Castlevanias 1-4. Only Gray seemed to know about that prior to the mix's posting; I was surprised no one really spotted it up until now.
I spoke with Liontamer on VG Frequency concerning the original version of the song just over 6 months ago, and I mentioned how it reflected some of my Summer experiences. That said, other musical influences I ended up feeling when incorporating some parts of the mix down included Chrono Cross (the opening progressions are almost remeniscent to the opening of "Time's Scar"), Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories (the music box progression at 2:35 had a similar approach in mood to "Truth" from the game's score) and Starfox (5:22-5:39 has a chord progression that matches at least the first half of the map screen music; another track I've somehow grown fascination with).
If anyone wanted to know that, now they do ;)
- Rexy on April 2, 2006
I [i]really[/i] like this song. I haven't been listening to OC ReMixes lately, but this was really a breath of fresh air in comparison to all the Epic Metal I've been dousing my ears in (I've been trying to get a good feel of what metal is so I can compose it easier for a fighting game I'm working on). Listening to this song really made me realize what I've been missing out on while I was listening to non OC ReMix stuff. Anyway, on to the ReView.
The song starts out quiet with that bell synth. Then an oboe comes in with the melody. It sounds really good. When that next synth comes in, it reminds me a bit of a few Legend of Mana songs, though I can't remember exactly where they would be (I think one of them is the Mekiv Caverns song).
At 1:37, when the strings start arpeggiating, that really reminds me of an Ys I song, even the progression itself, though I can't put a name to it right now. Right afterwards there's the distorted bell sound, which totally reminds me of Temple of the Ancients from Final Fantasy 7 (another song I liked).
After that section, I really like the clocktower feel until 2:35-ish. At 2:44, I [i]really[/i] like this part. I can't even put my finger on what it reminds me of, but I think it just sounds awesome and is not a bit out of place.
I really like how the bell-ish sound in the background really gives the feel of a clock ticking somehow. The strings are great, as well.
At 4:52, the song sort of has an anti-climax, but quickly recovers into a new subsection for the ending.
I have listened to this song so much, but I can't get enough. Damn it, Gray, why is it that every song you have a role in creating has this effect on me? I really like the instrumentation here and I'm not sure if it could be better chosen.
My only problem is at the end it sort of throws a whole bunch of new material that wasn't presented anywhere else, but even that works and sounds good. I really like the detache strings that hop into the mix every now and again.
2:44-3:05 is the highlight of the mix for me, though. I'm not quite sure why, but that part really seems powerful. I got it! It reminds me of a few of the songs from the OVA, Tsukihime (where Vampires actually play a main role, very fitting). I'm impressed that there are so many different elements crammed into one song. It really makes it full of flavor and interesting. I will continue to enjoy this song for a long time.
Good job Rexy and Gray, this is awesome, and a new favorite of mine.
- Garde on April 2, 2006
I hear similarities between this and some of the other stuff I've heard from Gray (Mahabarath Highlands in particular, to a lesser extent Sacratus Bellator and maybe even AfterLife) - maybe it involves the same sound fonts or something? In any event, the similarity's not bad, I like all of those.
I can't easily draw similarities between this and Rexy's other stuff, except for the part where I like it.
I didn't think of Ray Lynch when I first heard this, but now that I see it mentioned - yeah, there's a bit of a similar groove. (I like this more than the Ray Lynch I've heard, though.)
djpretzel wrote: I do think a bit more variation in tempo and less quantization would have helped...
It's possible I'm misinterpreting the term "quantization," but I like it. Given that the original piece is called Clockwork, and the remix title is "Time's Anxiety," I like the driven-by-clock-pulse feel that a lot of the piece has. If it came on too strong it'd probably be too much for a 6:14 piece, but as it is I'm a fan.
This is pretty damn good. I generally approve of the Rexy/GrayLightning combo and wish them success with any possible future endeavors.
- Fusilliban on March 23, 2006
But, seriously... when are you new-agers gonna join us in the 21st century?
- meccaneer on March 22, 2006
- PumaJones on March 22, 2006
Content Policy
(Submission
Agreement and Terms of Use)
Page generated Sat, 04 Jul 2009 11:17:25 -0400 in 0.3359 seconds
All compositions, arrangements, images, and trademarks are copyright their respective owners. Original content is
copyright OverClocked ReMix, LLC. For information on RSS and JavaScript news feeds, linking to us, etc. please refer to resources for webmasters. Please refer to the Info section of
the site and the FAQ available there for information about the site's
history, features, and policies. Contact David W. Lloyd (djpretzel), webmaster, with
feedback or questions not answered there.
