ReMix: The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 'Inverting the Tower Temple'

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I actually cast the tiebreaking vote on this during the most recent OC ReMix meetup in the fine, fine city of Baltimore, MD. We all hung out at Jill's place, played a little Apples to Apples, jammed, and - taskmaster that he can be - Larry insisted we also get some judging done since we had four judges plus yours truly in the same room. Half the panel was concerned about the level of arrangement involved in this Majora's Mask sub by newcomer GSlicer, and the other half thought it was adequate if not overwhelming. I think the crux of the issue was that the melodic components involved were largely unaltered, and that certain sections are repeated verbatim. And, well, both of these things are in fact true: the melody is extremely close and there's some repetition that feels a bit lazy. What DOESN'T feel lazy is the bassline; it's jumpin' all over the place and alternates between a straightforward octave pattern and a far more interesting groove very effectively. Did I base my entire vote on a bassline? Nope. Could a bassline, however, be strong enough to compensate for other aspects of a submission that weren't as strong? Depends... I wouldn't rule it out. In this case, in addition to a funky bass, there's a funky groove and accompaniment, which contextualizes the melody in an entirely different fashion and makes for a great dance track. Yes, it's not the ReMixing equivalent of Mozart, but it's a solid take on the theme, competently produced, and has salient + less common positive traits that compensate for melodic conservatism and structural repetition. Plus it got my head bobbin' and my toe tappin', an alternative litmus test for such works. Jill summed this one up nicely:

"This is solid. Nice groove, decent production, and plenty of variation to keep things interesting. I'll agree with Larry that some of the countermelody seemed a little off, in the section from 2:01-2:32, but there weren't any actual sour notes... just... strange voice leading. I'd rather not read into things too deep with this one, though. It's enjoyable as is, and exhibits some great effort all around."

Basically, read the judges decision thread and see what you think. Odds are that if you're into zelda and electronica of any sort, which has to cover a rather ginormous demographic, you'll probably dig one way or the other, but if you're particularly invested in the inner workings of our decision-making process, it's a good read. In order to understand why a piece like this, which is enjoyable enough and sounds pretty sweet as well, would necessitate a tie break and have difficulty passing, you basically need to understand the emphasis placed on arrangement vs. production, and how various criteria play into that. This is a good mix to illustrate that dichotomy... plus it has a funky bassline. Good first effort from GSlicer, who hopefully will add a few tricks to his bag and follow-up with a sophomore mix that remains just as fun and groovy but fleshes out the rest of the anatomy as well.

― djpretzel