ReMix: Parasite Eve 'PMS'

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Nice title. Kunal's latest ventures into the seldom-tread world of Eve and her parasite, one of Squaresoft's late 90's CG-laden titles, with a soundtrack by Yoko Shimomura. Yoko's worked on a bunch of very high-profile soundtracks, including SF2 back when she was with Capcom, but I think PE was her first time working on the Playstation. As another interesting bit of trivia, every one of Kunal's five mixes has been from a different game, each of them RPGs or action RPGs. Clearly there's something inherently appealing in the types of scores written for the genres that resonates with the ReMixer, and that resonance has provided us with some great arrangements, this track being no exception. Things intro with solo piano over phonographic static that some felt was a little intrusive, but certainly creates a maudlin, sepia-toned nostalgia. That ambiance is interrupted by a string run that leads into low brass hits, setting the stage for an electro-industrial groove that comes in and essentially shifts things into hybrid mode, transforming a melancholy wax cylinder piano recording semi into an electrified, electronic Optimus Prime chimera. The static continues intermittently, but a vinyl feel is applied to the production throughout. There's some slick chromatic string runs and some impressionist piano soloing towards the end; salient ingredients in an already tasty stew of mixed d'n'b style percussion, an interesting, aggressive synth bass that pulls some neat stuttering effects, and an orchestral ensemble. Note that this mix, like Dhsu's, is also from the Bad Dudes EP that OneUp Studios put out; hopefully these mixes being posted will shed some more light on what was clearly a pretty solid project. BGC liked the mix, but commented on the compression, which I'd roll into the intended vinyl effect:

"All around, pretty cool stuff. I like it. Interesting arrangement as well as interpretation. There are a few times where I couldn't help but cringe at the compression--seems there may have been a couple volume issues you may have overlooked before your final render, such as 0:45 (where the breakbeat comes in), 1:39, 2:26; pretty much anywhere there's a build and crash. it'll only bug the listener if they're actively listening for it though--otherwise it doesn't really detract. Anyway, pretty energetic and otherwise engaging take on the original themes. Definitely good stuff."

This'll be a fun ride for most, and the only thing I see raising some eyebrows is the production decision to emulate vinyl, in more ways than one. There are more than enough other elements present that I'm not sure this effect was called for; it certainly doesn't detract much, and it avoids coming off as gimmicky as it's consistently and professionally applied... I could go either way. Kunal does his own thing and does it well, though, consistently making what others would consider odd decisions work quite effectively, revealing the hidden allure of some peculiar source tunes in the process. Any time of the month's a great time of the month for PMS!!!

Yes, I just said that.

― djpretzel