ReMix: Mega Man 2 'Wily and the Deep Forest'

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Just saw The Strokes in Glen Allen, VA, fulfilling the second of two New Year's resolutions, the first of which - completing my home studio by getting part of my basement finished - was knocked out a few weeks ago. I guess I'll need to either make mid-year's resolutions or just rest comfortably on my laurels until 2007; the latter sounds pretty appealing. Diggi Dis brings us a very different Mega Man 2 mix; initially, I was a little put off by the unprocessed and less than awe-inspiring strings, and was wondering why the drums seemed to be in different physical environment, processing-wise, than everything else, but it all eventually makes sense. Though judges cited it, I'm not sure myself if a better string sample would have fit as well, as the piece has a sort of kitsch to it as is that'd be lost if everything were overprocessed. Diggi works in Wood Man, Wily, and the End Theme all in one, and there's some truly fantastic soloing and transitions involved in getting from point A to point B. In looking over the panel decision, I think they spent most of their time on the string and piano samples simply because there's nothing else to criticize - upbeat drums are varied, you've got beautifully greasy rhodes soloing, a funky bassline, laser synth fx, absolutely stellar attention to panning + the stereo field, tight sequencing, and just a very polished feel. The ReMixer cares enough to make every last fill unique, employing temp changes, phasing, triplet stops, and other tricks at the end of almost every four-bar section, of which there's quite a few, given the tempo. This is a fantastic example of a mix that's been labored over and shows it, in the processing, instrument selection, transitions, sequencing, and total package. The mellow acoustic piano ends the piece on a perfect, bitterwseet note that ritardandos into lounge territory. At over five minutes, things never even begin to get dull, largely because DD brings his A-game and has a longer transition playbook than the Detroit Pistons. It's an aggressive piece that starts off a little shaky but only because you've probably heard a good number of pieces that start with clean piano and strings and never end up going anywhere or doing anything; Diggi has them accomplishing more than an army of Forrest Gumps, and the attention to detail again is simply superb. It's this last aspect that most impresses me and makes this one I'll return to often, because the ReMixer probably would have had his mix posted without such details, and he probably could have guessed as much, but he still went the distance and added the icing and the cherry and other accoutrements. Great, funky stuff from Frank.

― djpretzel