ReMix: Sonic & Knuckles 'Robotnik Radio'

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Steve writes:

"As Project Chaos was closing to be finished, it turned out that boss 2 was free and i was nearing the end of iMushroom, so i said, hey i'll give it a try. Unfortunately i accidentally began working on boss 1 (s3andk) instead! But i made a pretty nice WIP anyway because i was in the zone. The intro is a little garage-jazz style, but after about one minute, the beat comes in. If you're observant you'll hear a number of samples from the Sonic games. Some people have complained about not recognizing the source, but all i really did was replace and restyle the chord progression to something more spicy. Special thanx to; Binster, Dryer Lint, Azar and Sindra for helpful feedback."

GaMeBoX is on a roll, as his second piece off Chaos maintains the high level of quality his initial sub did, and the overall high production values that the entire project enjoyed. Steve's got a very strong ability to mix lo-fi sounds with more realistic and/or processed ones and achieve a vibe that's flavorful and textured. Things start off with radio dial fuzz, bit crushed drums with upright bass, piano, and a lounge EP vibe. Note how the primary kick/snare combo is crushed but the ride cymbals employed are clean; good example of the aforementioned juxtaposition. Things change up a bit at 0'58" as hip-hoppier drums kick in and funk gets infused. The overall sound is cleaner from here on out, but Steve does a downright genius job of using in-game samples and motifs throughout the remainder of the piece. It's honestly rather scary how he's been able to use these sounds in a new context, not simply as static samples but as dynamic, living instruments. The classic Sonic "spring" sound is the primary and probably most obvious example of this, but there are many others. While the panel was unanimous, I still feel after reading their decisions that I liked this piece a good deal more than some of them; I really don't have a significant bone to pick on either side of the arrangement/production continuum. Larry augments the above play-by-play with some of his own:

"Piano sample opening things up doesn't sound very realistic, but is performed decently and also had some nice effects on there to compensate for the sounds. Nice segue at :59 to some tite beats. Lead comes in at 1:16 and is really too dominated by the beatwork, but the clean production makes it less of an issue than if other people did the same thing. Very tasteful use of the Sonic 3 SFX at 1:49, especially the spring noise being played around with like that. Excellent changeup in the lead instrumentation at 2:06; same at 2:23 to keep it moving."

This mix really showcases how to embed in-game samples into an arrangement in a fashion that is transparent, musical, and increases the nostalgia/wow factor without being gratuitous; what were previously FX become instruments and motifs unto themselves, which is a nifty feat. I love Steve's new style on both of these Sonic and Knuckles pieces; it fits the material like a glove, and he pulls it off with panache and ability to match.

― djpretzel