Posted 2014-01-21, evaluated by djpretzel


In case you missed it over the weekend, Apex 2014: A New Challenger!! was released, featuring fourteen tracks from twenty-four artists, arranging themes from ten different fighting games that comprised the Apex 2014 tournaments. We already featured the 800-pound gorilla three-part Smash Brothers hip-hop extravaganza from OverClocked Assembled, so now it's time to branch out a bit, with our first ReMix from Tekken Tag Tournament 2 and ALSO our first mix from ANY Tekken game since 2002! Ivan Hakštok offers up a frenetic blend of high-energy rock & EDM with this arrangement of several Tekken themes from TTT2 & T3:

"I've been a huge Tekken fan since I've first played Tekken 3 when I was only 6 years old, so when the first Apex album was announced and I saw Tekken Tag Tournament 2 on the games list, I wanted to remix it but I didn't have the chops to pull off the ideas I had. When the 2nd album was announced, I saw that TTT2 was again on the list and I took another shot at remixing some themes from it.

My style is usually rock music with added synths and electronic elements, but this time I went the other way around - electronic track with some rock elements, so working on it helped me improve my electronic music skills a lot. I made a dubstep-ish part in the middle which I'm really proud of because I like dubstep, but I rarely try to do such music, and it turned out better than expected. Second part of the song contains some Tekken 3 cameos - I felt obliged to do that because Tekken 3 is the game that introduced me to the series and is still one of my favorite games of all time. :)"

I was gonna say, this sounds more like an electronic mix that has some rock/metal elements added than vice-versa; cool stylistic switcheroo for the artist, and I think it worked really well. Album director DarkeSword writes:

"I really love Ivan's music. He's such a great rocker, and I knew he'd bring that high energy I was looking for to his Tekken track, but I wasn't expecting something with so much of an electronic tilt from him. I love that floaty ethereal feel he brings when "Night Falls" makes its appearance, contrasted with the obligatory wubs all modern electronic music demands–nay, deserves."

The wubs are incorporated in such a lovely, melodic context that they're almost polite :) I love the very clear, discrete components here - it's very easy to follow all the parts, even when there's a lot going on, and it makes the whole ride more enjoyable. Cross-panned arpeggio synth runs, a tapestop effect, some radio-style processing, and a generally firm grip on the maximalist soundscape add up to a fantastic piece. Ivan debuted on the site just last year, but already he's made a name for himself, and this third mix may be his best yet. Tekken returns to OC ReMix with style, energy, and an exciting, fuel-injected blend of modern genres!

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 9 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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Daniel Caton
on 2015-12-02 10:11:36

There’s an interesting combo here of dubstep, crunchy guitars and slap bass and I think you absolutely nailed it. As others have mentioned, the guitars might be a bit hollow. However, that doesn’t actually bother me. It works well enough with the style you have, so I can't really bring myself to care about it much. I especially like the part from about 2:00 to 2:54 where each instrument gets its own time to shine. While that’s certainly a technique that’s been done before, I really think you pulled it off well. Good job!

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Black_Doom
on 2014-05-26 12:47:39

Man, I really love 'Night Falls' here, when it appears. It sounds really ethreal. I like how from hip-hopish track with acoustic guitar it tramsformed into a very nice electronica piece. But the whole track is awesome nevertheless. The instrumentation is really tight: pounding drums, juicy synths, tasty guitars and DAT SLAP BASS @ 2:07 make this track one of the hilights of the album and one of Ivan's best works.

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Crulex
on 2014-01-23 10:49:22

So, I have to say that I'm really loving the arrangement style of electronica with rock interwoven in it. That's something I've love to hear a lot more of, because it just seems to take electronic tracks and give them that kick that I can get behind. Even if it's similar the other way around, it just seems different enough to make this stand out. Either way, it's great to hear a lot of Tekken themes get some love in a way that is entertaining and quality. Well done, Ivan, great ReMix.

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timaeus222
on 2014-01-22 00:57:28
AAAAAAWWW YEAH! juicy synths everywhere!

I was about to hit up the album thread and say "yo, O'ssembled is loving the limelight, and I'ma let you finish, but are you folks ever gonna post some of the *other* tracks from Apex?" Really good album overall, and this one is fun to listen to. :nicework:

...

Congrats, Ivan!

Exactly what I was thinking. I was like, "Man, Jordan, why you go and win djp over? You're making us pale in comparison. D="

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Damashii!!
on 2014-01-21 21:33:19

AAAAAAWWW YEAH! juicy synths everywhere!

I was about to hit up the album thread and say "yo, O'ssembled is loving the limelight, and I'ma let you finish, but are you folks ever gonna post some of the *other* tracks from Apex?" Really good album overall, and this one is fun to listen to. :nicework:

I liked the dubstep part since I've been craving wobbles for more than a year now, but I find it's best to not even mention wobbles and just let people find out for themselves so they don't jump the gun with assumptions. :tomatoface:

dat Jun Senoue-ish bass line is straight money.

more Apex14 tracks, please.

Congrats, Ivan!

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AngelCityOutlaw
on 2014-01-21 18:37:03

While the guitars do sound rather thin and I'm not a huge fan of some of the synths sounds, this is pretty awesome and I'm glad to hear some Tekken Tag 2 remixin'!

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Wina A. Kamlongera
on 2014-01-21 15:16:05

8-O Tekken mix!

Man, I love this arrangement! I quite liked the dubstep parts, felt like a nice contrast to the section that came before it. It's pretty cool how you've used the various sources (especially when you bring in 'Night Falls'). Perhaps it's because of how you've structured your piece but like it was mentioned in the write-up: it's very easy to follow and more enjoyable for it.

This is definitely going onto the playlist I do my writing to! Again, great arrangement, man!

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timaeus222
on 2014-01-21 13:44:01

Not sure the dubstep part really clicked IMO, but maybe it's just my personal bias against excessive use of bitcrush-y "yai" basses.

Elements were generally distinct enough. Noticed the Cinematic Synthetic Drums drop. Guitars were a little bit hollow and the drums were a little mids-heavy, but not enough to really detract from this. The production is a little hot overall, like at 2:28, but it's Ivan's best mix thus far. You and your seven sources. :tomatoface: Great job man. Keep on improving! :grin:

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djpretzel
on 2014-01-21 13:29:51

What did you think? Post your opinion of this ReMix.

Sources Arranged (7 Songs, 2 Games)


Primary Game:
Tekken Tag Tournament 2 (Namco Bandai Games , 2012, XB360)
Music by Akitaka Tohyama,Ayako Saso,Go Shiina,Keigo Hoashi,Keiichi Okabe,Nobuyoshi Sano,Rio Hamamoto,Ryo Watanabe,Shinji Hosoe,Taku Inoue,Yoshihito Yano,Yuu Miyake
Songs:
"Night Falls (Ending)"
"Plucking Tulips (Tulip Festival)"
"Tekken Tag Tournament Piano Intro -Massive Mix-"
Additional Game:
Tekken 3 (Namco , 1996, ARC)
Music by Keiichi Okabe,Nobuyoshi Sano
Songs:
"Jin Kazama"
"Lei Wulong"
"Nina Williams"
"Yoshimitsu"

Tags (7)


Genre:
Rock
Mood:
Aggressive
Instrumentation:
Electric Guitar,Electronic,Synth
Additional:
Arrangement > Medley
Time > Tempo: Fast

File Information


Name:
Tekken_Tag_Tournament_2_Get_Ready_for_the_Next_Battle_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
7,887,476 bytes
MD5:
cee71ecbbd256910e1064881eaa26a95
Bitrate:
237Kbps
Duration:
4:22

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