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Smash The Record: The Record

Smash The Record 2017: The Record
Catalog Number OCRA-0064
Release Date Sep 14, 2017
Publish Format Doujin/Indie
Release Price Free
Media Format Digital
Classification Arrangement
PublisherOverClocked ReMix / /


Tracklist

Disc 1

01 Smash and Burn (Super Smash Bros. for Wii U) 3:12
02 The Ultimate Armor (Mega Man X5) 3:23
03 The Journey Never Ends (Super Mario Bros. 3) 6:00
04 Alucard's Blood Donation (Castlevania: Symphony of the Night) 3:49
05 Sound Barrier (F-Zero) 3:19
06 The Super Star Returns (Kirby Super Star) 4:16
07 Choose Your Destiny (Super Smash Bros. Melee) 3:13
Disc length 27:12

 

Notes

Smash The Record: The Record
Comments from album director Shariq Ansari (DarkeSword) and ReMixers
Album freely available at http://smashtherecord.ocremix.org

I'm excited to present Smash The Record: The Record! Smash The Record is a wonderful event that aims to raise funds for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital through their St. Jude PLAY LIVE program (http://stjude.org/get-involved/at-play/video-game-charity-event.html). We've put together a fantastic album of FREE remixes of a few of the games and series featured at Smash The Record to help highlight the amazing work done at St. Jude. If you enjoy this album (and I hope you do), please head over to Smash The Record's website, check out the stream, and donate!

- Shariq Ansari (DarkeSword)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. WillRock - Super Smash Bros. for Wii U "Smash and Burn"
Source: "Menu"
Original Composer: Keiki Kobayashi
Original Arranger: Junichi Nakatsuru

DarkeSword: WillRock's always a reliable pick when it comes to putting together an event album. He brings his signature synthy rock stylings to the already-classic Smash 4 theme. Love the solos and embellishments, especially in that middle section. Fantastic.

WillRock: This was made in a very small time frame and could have ended up a bit rushed. Luckily, the source I tackled was stupidly awesome and was a very natural fit into what I consider my signature sound. It ended up being one of my stronger efforts, IMO.

2. Nabeel Ansari - Mega Man X5 "The Ultimate Armor"
Sources: "X vs Zero"
Original Composer: Naoya Kamisaka

DarkeSword: Damn, Nabeel. When did you get this good?

Nabeel Ansari: Shariq needed a quick mix for the upcoming Smash The Record event, and asked me to pick from MMX or Kirby. I figured I hadn't done anything from MMX series yet since my younger days in the Remix Battles, so I did a metal arrangement testing out a lot of my sample libraries that don't see much use, namely a lot of Shreddage products and the Matt Halpern drums from GetGood Drums. This mix is 100% sequenced, and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. I picked "X vs. Zero" because I had been earlier frustrated with existing remixes of it that didn't quite capture the open feel of it in the source, and I wanted something that did.

3. JohnStacy - Super Mario Bros. 3 "The Journey Never Ends"
Source: "Ending"
Original Composer: Koji Kondo

DarkeSword: I really like this track. I played trumpet way back in the day and I really appreciate some good brass. Really straightforward yet fun take on the ending to SMB3. Love when the entire horn section is backing up the lead. John did a great job with this track.

JohnStacy: This was originally started for the Smash The Record EP, but that lined up perfectly for the insaneintherainmusic Jazz Challenge this year, so I produced it for both (with a YouTube video for the challenge -- http://youtu.be/nY1mnWJj-xU). I've done a lot of performances of this source tune before, but they were all fairly close to the original style (as Latin, or a beguine, for instance). This time, I went in a different direction, trying to do it in the style of something Jerry Hey would appear on.

I've recently discovered the magic that is Jerry Hey and his horn section. I used 2 trumpets, 2 French horns, and 2 trombones, which is similar, but replacing the tenor saxes with horns and adding a bass trombone on the bottom. I experimented with mic placement and saturation attempting to capture a similar sound to theirs in the 80s and 90s. Although I missed the mark, I did produce something I am very proud of.

I've learned that a lot of music is playing to your strengths and making the best of what you have. A lot of my arrangements end up in the key of G-flat for some reason. They don't start there when I'm working, but somehow end up finished in that key. How weird. I would have liked to have done a vocal track, but because of the time constraint I couldn't find a vocalist fluent in the style, so I just did it as a French horn solo, because that was my best bet.

So, I present my arrangement, "The Journey Never Ends."

Equipment:
Horn: Alexander 103 (Houghton H3e mouthpiece)
Trumpet: King Superior (Bobby Shew Lead mouthpiece, Bach 3C)
Trombone: King 3BF Concert (Giddings & Webster Chocolatero mouthpiece)
Bass Trombone: King 7B (Benge 1 1/2G mouthpiece)

Recorded with MXL 990 and 991 microphones with a Scarlett 2i2 interface.

Sheet music: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B_Cu9-K1nAROTU02OHd4TUVwOWM

4. Gario - Castlevania: Symphony of the Night "Alucard's Blood Donation"
Source: "Dracula's Castle"
Original Composer: Michiru Yamane

DarkeSword: A confession: I've never played Symphony of the Night, and, to be quite honest, I've only dabbled in some of the Game Boy Advance Castlevania games. But the music is iconic, and I'm a fan. Greg really delivers a driving, high-tension chippy electronic track here. Love the triplet feel. Great.

Gario: Shariq had a sudden request for the album, and I saw he requested Symphony of the Night as one of the needed tracks. Interestingly enough, there was a track that I've wanted to do from that soundtrack for about a year now, so it seemed the best time to tackle it.

Why the opening stage from that game? Because a year ago I failed to submit a track for a competition to remix it, and it had been eating away at me ever since. So, if anyone was wondering what could've been, here's my extremely late submission to the Cacophony of Incarnation compo of yesteryear. For everyone else, enjoy a bouncy blood donation from Alucard.

He doesn't have blood, you say? I never said the blood he's donating would be his...

5. Nutritious - F-Zero "Sound Barrier"
Source: "Mute City"
Original Composer: Yumiko Kanki

DarkeSword: Love the huge sound that Justin brings to the track. Big drums, big synths, big guitar sound. A great take on a classic track.

Nutritious: Despite growing up playing the original F-Zero as a kid, it was only years later that I began to really appreciate the amazing soundtrack. Going through the GX soundtrack and hearing how creatively they explored the original themes in new ways inspired me to try my hand at the iconic "Mute City" theme. Given the short deadline, I was working on the track right up to the night before, only to finish and have the theme continue to relentlessly run through my mind, preventing me from falling asleep. I hope this track also leaves a lasting impression on the listener, but hopefully not to the same extent.

6. DarkeSword - Kirby Super Star "The Super Star Returns"
Source: "Clash! Gourmet Race"; Cameo: "GREEN GREENS"
Original Composer: Jun Ishikawa

DarkeSword: I'm a long-time Kirby fan, but it's been years since I wrote a Kirby remix. "Gourmet Race" from Super Star is such an iconic and well known song, and I wanted to try doing something fun with it. So, here's my synthy, electronic take on it. Used a lot of new sounds and libraries I've never used before. There's a lot of Reaktor and Super Audio Cart in here. I hope everyone enjoys. Look for the "Green Greens" cameo.

7. DaMonz - Super Smash Bros. Melee "Choose Your Destiny"
Sources: "Menu 1," "Final Destination"
Original Composer: Hirokazu Ando

DarkeSword: So. Much. Syncopation. But what Emery manages to do here is great; it's syncopation without sounding too "stabby," which is something a lot of artists can't balance. A pretty straightforward take on the source tunes, but I've gotta say: that transition into Final Destination is both tricky and deft. Great work.

DaMonz: I've always wanted to remix the Melee menu theme. A simple, memorable melody backed with awesome syncopated string chords, and attached to a lot of great memories. I had to give it a shot.

My main intent with this remix was to try to kick the intensity up a notch or two, but without going too over-the-top. I wanted to find a way to keep a bit of a minimalist feel to contrast with the high energy of the track. My starting point to achieve that goal was to have an intense DnB drums track, but with low-profile, clear-cut samples and subtle fills (note that there are no toms or cymbals for the entire track). Once that was clear in my mind, the next step was to layer multiple punchy-crunchy poly synths with marcato strings to get those syncopated chords up and running to serve as the harmonic and rhythmic backbone for the entire track. After that and some spacy pads work for the breakdowns and buildups, it was basically just a matter of bulldozing through the arrangement and sprinkling a little soloing here and there for good measure.

For the record (hohoho!), this was definitely the fastest I've ever been for making a remix (4 sittings, probably a little over 10 hours of total work time), so this is an interesting milestone for me. I had a blast making it, and I hope everyone will enjoy!

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Added
Sep 13, 2017 09:28 PM
Edited
Feb 21, 2020 12:15 AM
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