ReMix: Mass Effect 'Uncharted Depths'
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- Game: Mass Effect (Microsoft, 2007, XB360)
- ReMixer(s): Hy Bound
- Composer(s): David Kates, Jack Wall, Richard Jacques, Sam Hulick
- Song(s): 'Uncharted Worlds'
- Posted: 2011-01-05, evaluated by the judges
Double mixpost to kick off the year sounded like a worthy notion, so to keep ilp0 company we've got Hy Bound with some atmospheric, ambient Mass Effect electronica. Decidedly different from Tyler's other, more beat-driven arrangements, this is a deliberate, exploratory mix that channels the same vastness and scope the games so effectively capture. He writes:
"So I was super excited for Mass Effect 2 to come out last November and decided to try and write a “dark second chapter” version of the Galaxy Map music. It turned out decently, but was forgotten amid the other projects I was working on. Then, about a week ago I decided to go back through and listen to a bunch of old projects and this one stood out as promising, so I rewrote it based on my thoughts from playing the actual game - So the idea is that the music is set to a scene of debris floating out in space. Then, the camera pans over to show the breached Normandy drifting through space above a planet, pans over some more to reveal the Collector ship as it surveys the wreckage and takes off… symbolizing the 3 escalating “acts” of the song.
Anyway, I had a ton of fun with the sound design and writing the vintage-y synth patches. Hope you all enjoy it!"
The emphasis on sound design really comes through, with a dynamic, very futuristic soundscape. Larry writes:
"The build was slow, just like the source, but the backing 8-note pattern that's the foundation of the source was in play the whole time, and the further expansion and melodic references were solid. Good stuff, Ty! We definitely don't get enough subs from you. Great work, and it's wonderful to hear another side of your music!"
Ditto that from Vinnie:
"What an evocative arrangement - when I listened to this, I couldn't help but close my eyes and lose myself in it. Case you were wondering, I pictured that scene from Avatar with the glowing seeds in the trees. I only read your description after the fact, but your scene fits too! The Mass Effect soundtrack really lends itself to this kind of "put more stuff on top of the original track" approach. Give us more music, Tyler!"
And I'll just lazily corroborate everything they both said; great additive arrangement that enhances + expands the atmosphere of the original, and definitely shows a different, equally compelling side of Hy Bound's music.
Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the - Crulex on October 10, 2012
- Codamadius on December 3, 2011
- Sole Signal on October 20, 2011
Doulifée;743564 wrote: i'm also an old sci-fi fan and that song feeling fit.
Same here, and I gotta agree that this remix conjures images (or rather sounds of) classic SciFi stuff from the 70s/80s.
Which fits right into the whole Mass Effect shebang, considering that the games take quite a few elements from that era, too.
- Martin Penwald on March 2, 2011
This remix gives the source way more power and emotion, not to mention its extremely nostalgic as well. :)
- Skinner3D on March 1, 2011
I'm Commander Shepard, and this is my favorite mix on the Citadel.
- Matt E. Waldman on January 9, 2011
- Ursa Major on January 6, 2011
- Doulifée on January 6, 2011
- big giant circles on January 5, 2011
- VNilla on January 5, 2011
- Melbu Frahma on January 5, 2011
- Swanky on January 5, 2011
