Posted 2015-01-08, evaluated by the judges panel


Awesome, completely different take on classic Zelda themes - one would expect nothing less from judge & sound mangler extraordinaire Brent Wollman. Brent started out with some PC mixes, then meandered into console territory with Metroid (a natural fit given its experimental nature to begin with), and has now gone FULL MAINSTREAM (!) with Zelda, but have no fear - this is still iconoclastic stuff, accessible from a source perspective but still challenging, inspiring, & transporting. He writes:

"Featuring the notable talents of Brendan Hannigan in the outro section.

Breakdown:

  • Intro-2:00 - The Underworld theme all the way. There's a little interlude with no real source usage near the beginning just before the plunge.
  • 2:00-3:00 - "The Goddess Appears"
  • 3:00-3:55 - Underworld theme is back with vengeance
  • 3:55-4:38 - "Game Over"
  • 4:38-out - "The Goddess Appears""

You'd be able to easily identify the themes even without the breakdown, for the most part, although "Underworld" really gets the snot kicked out of it the second go-round... in a beautiful way. Nutritious writes:

"This is one of those mixes that defies simple categorization. Each new section used the original melodies in a creative and unexpected way. Really liked how things built up into a very full sound around the 3:10 mark. Of course, as soon as I say that it immediately switches into this crazy, twisting, mangling version of the dungeon theme.

Super creative & fun. As Larry mentioned, I think there will be quite a few detractors of this one. Too often with any sort of dark, downbeat electronic style there's the "oh noez this sounds liek dubstep, we hates it, precious!" Regardless, cool stuff in my book."

Nice "Dubstep-Hating Gollum" impersonation, Justin ;) Of course, we all know the REAL Smeagol likes it raw & wriggling, and I think this satisfies both of those criteria. And then, just in case you were getting comfortable with the galvanized sound design sorcery, Brent pokes you in the spleen with some rather smooth, mellow jazz as the arrangement concludes. Palpable sums it up well, as per usual:

"Man, I love Brent's stuff. This cycles through several different songs and styles but with enough panache to make it feel like a connected piece; in fact, the only real criticism I can make of the song is that it's medley-like. It helps that Brent lays the crazy FX on so heavy in his songs - it's the metaphorical rug that ties the room together, makes it sound like a DJ mixing whatever random records are sitting on his floor. 1:41-2:02 was trippy as hell and an especially freaky section for anyone who's played the games. Wonderful soloing from Brendan to close it out."

From the orchestral amuse bouche to the main course, which sounds like someone melting consumer electronics (and a side of dubstep), to the would-you-like-some-jazz-with-that? dessert, this mix has all the telltale signs of musical & mental instability, lovingly handcrafted by Chef Wollman, with Brendan's assistance. Bon appétit!!

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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Necrox
on 2016-06-12 20:19:08

Really nailed the delay section. Lots to complement in the sound design department overall. The jazz sounds great; it added that extra quality that put the mix together. Kudos for being eclectic.

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Chernabogue
on 2015-12-20 16:18:50

A very bizarre remix, yet again from Redg. Don't hate on me but even if I can feel the hard work in this remix, I'm not a big fan of it. The 2:05 part reminded me of The Dark Knight's soundtrack (The Joker's theme) and was the best part. Nice job. :)

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OverClocked PodCast
on 2015-01-20 13:30:03

I'm so confused! And happy. And horrified?

This ReMix is like a Magic Eye in that you need to give up and unfocus your mind for anything to make sense-- and then, when it finally does, oh does it. Oh does it. Does it?

I love it.

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Blaze Moonspear
on 2015-01-18 17:36:29

Well that was a thing.

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Crulex
on 2015-01-12 13:24:18

Hmmm.....this is such a bizarre mix, as was the case with Cancer, but the difference being that I know the sources to this one and so I have more of an understanding to the sounds and distortions going on, which I think helped me. A little bit too much distortion at some points for me, but that's just a personal taste thing, not a real complaint on the merit of the ReMix itself, as I recognize the grit that it brings to this mix on a dubstep level. Interesting on how it sort of turns into a smoother jazz version of Goddess at the end. Such a weird mix, but certainly not a bad one. Nice job.

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Black_Doom
on 2015-01-11 11:30:47

Yes! Million times yes! At first I didn't believe my ears: I heard orchestral intro, which I didn't expect to hear, but then... Well, I got some usual Brent's magic - some weird dubstep-ish, glitchy as hell, but always so brilliant music :) Also, for some reason, that moment at 2:45 reminds me of one of his masterpieces - "I Tried". And, damn, this one has jazz outro... So awesome 3

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bluestreaks
on 2015-01-11 01:04:35

Really like the integration of the Game Over music, especially. Very impressive overall!

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Emunator
on 2015-01-10 01:17:43

Well this is really fascinating! I love the unusual style fusion, I feel like you explored a lot of new ground compared to your past work. There's a part of me that wants to hear a full arrangement of "The Goddess Appears" just based on the last 2 minutes of your track, but it bookends this nicely and gives the listener a relaxing reprieve if they make it to the end ;-) Really great, subtle integration of orchestral elements throughout the song, as well. Love the rapidfire heartbeat integration at 3:19, I felt so tense when I heard that the first time!

If I had to critique anything on this, it would be the tape stop effects, which don't really seem to sync perfectly to the rest of the song every time and actually make this sound jittery in an unintentional/distracting way. For example, 2:39, 2:55, and especially 4:38 just seem... egregious, and break up the song flow without feeling deliberate, like a lot of the other glitches/fx in your song do. Also, most of the mix feels a touch dry, could very well be an intentional mixing choice but it leaves some of the more minimalist sections sounding just a bit too sparse.

I've really walked away from this with a lot of respect for you as an arranger, and find myself absolutely captivated by what you've created here. Very glad to see someone like you doing something completely different from the rest of the crowd!

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DimeTower
on 2015-01-10 01:05:17

If you don't know the source tunes, this might be unlistenable (depending on taste). If you DO know the source tunes, buckle up and hang on - what a unique, bending, totally on the edge arrangement. Truly felt like it was telling a story of battling to survive, barely surviving, getting healthy, getting hurt again, NOT surviving, and then moving onto a mellow afterlife. Excellent, unique, intriguing - a great piece.

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Cephalo the Pod
on 2015-01-10 00:51:40

Yeah, this was definitely made by the same Remixer who made Cancer.

What is surprising is that it's even creepier than Cancer.

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CyberSkull
on 2015-01-08 20:49:37

Bold bizarre, I like it.

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timaeus222
on 2015-01-08 18:47:57

I heard this in the workshop. And I survived. :grin: This is one eclectic mix in a sea of mangled samples. :-)

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Chimpazilla
on 2015-01-08 18:10:40

This is the first song I heard from Brent... and well... I'm just gonna go ahead and quote myself, as it still holds true:

Words fail... this is sooooo strange... and wonderful... emotive cinematic intro, tiny fairy bells, glitching, grungy dubstep, wait what, jazz? You surprised me repeatedly. I LOVE THIS.
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Snurfsnarf
on 2015-01-08 17:40:01

Hot dang, hearing the melody sneak its way through those distorted sections is really incredible. I particularly like how the distortion sticks around just long enough to knock your socks off without becoming overbearing or losing its edge. Great production quality all around, and that outro was a pleasant and welcome surprise. I'll be listening to this one for a while.

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KonradZuse
on 2015-01-08 17:01:58

It started out really good, but as in most if not all VGM songs, Dubstep... DOESN'T BELONG!

It's hard to mix melody(VGM) with something that kills it (Dubstep).

Would love to hear this song without all the wompings going on... I feel it would be a very good song.

Sources Arranged (3 Songs, 2 Games)


Primary Game:
The Legend of Zelda (Nintendo , 1986, NES)
Music by Koji Kondo
Songs:
"Game Over"
"Underground"
Additional Game:
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (Nintendo , 1991, SNES)
Music by Koji Kondo
Songs:
"The Goddess Appears"

Tags (13)


Genre:
Dubstep,Experimental,Jazz,Symphonic
Mood:
Dark,Quirky
Instrumentation:
Brass,Chromatic Percussion,Saxophone,Strings,Synth
Additional:
Effects > Glitching
Origin > Collaboration

File Information


Name:
Legend_of_Zelda_You_Will_Not_Survive_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
9,434,726 bytes
MD5:
3bdcde087867f6f03a43e1c5b0bc03d8
Bitrate:
210Kbps
Duration:
5:55

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