ReMix: Raptor 'PlectraSubCity'

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Well, it's late and I'm beat, but I wanted to get a mix in before I head off to Philly this weekend for Video Games Live; spoke with Tommy Tallarico for a good half hour yesterday and it sounds like it'll be a blast, plus I'll hopefully get the chance to meet him and a few other notable game composers as well. I remember playing the shareware demo of Raptor back when Apogee were making waves in the PC game publishing world - anyone else remember Rise of the Triad when it originally came out? Cool stuff. Anyhow, TO sends in our first Raptor mix, recalling the glory days of DOS gaming, long before even the initial 3DFX/voodoo push had begun. The ReMixer writes:

"Tried building a climax, but doesn't work for this style of piece. I decided to get rid of the call to "wake up" halfway through the mix and just let it evolve naturally and serenely through the second half of the mix. I kicked up the strings another level about 3 minutes in and boosted the bass since I thought it sounded flat last time. The vocals are a tad louder since some mentioned that they were subdued last time. They're intentionally subdued in the second half of the mix, they're supposed to take a background role there, where-as they're a focal point in the first half."

You read that right, vocals - no lyrics, per se, but instead vocalizing that plays more of an ambient than straight melodic role. Jesse took issue with the progression/intervals at 2'30", but while it might not be orthodox, it's far from dissonant. Other judges noted the general structural simplicity, but felt that to be an aspect of a groove-oriented genre, and that enough development was present to avoid any auto-pilot syndome. Gray writes:

"One thing I can see some judges possibly having a problem here is the lack of dynamics and building, but for these types of genres, constancy is the name of the game, so I don't have any problem on how this was executed. Definitely reminds me of the early electronica/new age composers like enigma or tangerine dream (to a lesser extent). Having had the opportunity to look at TO's project file, I have to say I came off impressed by the creativity he has in using his tools. A lot of the sounds he used are rather unique and in a solo instance don't sound anything too interesting, but combining all these various elements together makes one one outstanding soundscape. For example how TO made the bell synth sound like a chorused electric guitar."

Generally laid-back, atmospheric piece, where the salient component is really the vocal element that, while not mixed to the forefront, still attracts the ear; I could easily see TO perfecting this sort of addition and adding live vocalizing, or even lyrics, to future mixes, if the arrangement called for it. As it stands, this is a great chill piece that's filled with electrified, organically "squishy" layered percussion, multiple synth elements, a cool little guitar harmonic distortion blip, vocals, and ethereal pads. My biggest complaint is actually that the fade at the very, very end of the mix curves too quickly at 3'47" - felt like it needed just a couple more seconds, on a more gradual decline. Timing a fade perfectly is actually harder than it sounds, however you'd only really notice the (arguable) truncation on headphones, listening closely. Good stuff; transporting in its aesthetic as well as its source material, which deserved the attention.

― djpretzel