ReMix: Teen Agent 'Trapped'
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- Game: Teen Agent (Union Logic, 1995, DOS)
- ReMixer(s): Brandon Strader
- Composer(s): Radek Szamrej
- Song(s): 'Cave', 'Prison'
- Posted: 2010-11-22, evaluated by djpretzel
- Album: Featured on Teen Agent: The Root of All Evil
Our 19th album, Teen Agent: The Root of All Evil, has been released at http://teenagent.ocremix.org!
This one's our most obscure yet, featuring seven official album tracks and seven bonus tracks arranging Radek Szamrej's soundtrack to Polish adventure game Teen Agent, which is something of a cult hit. You can actually check the game itself out over at GOG.com if you don't believe me ;) As always, you can grab the entire album through bittorrent, lossless + MP3, or download individual tracks on the site. So, it's not Final Fantasy and it's not Mega Man and it's basically the most esoteric album we've released yet, but part of our mission statement is shining a spotlight on ALL video game music, and that includes lesser-known computer games from days of yore that happen to have some catchy tunes. Project Director Brandon Strader writes:
"I remember playing through Teen Agent as a kid, and I had fond memories of the game and its soundtrack. I decided to find some friends in the OverClocked ReMix community who would be interested in "modernizing" the soundtrack. We wanted to do the material justice and make it sound as good as possible while experimenting and expanding on these themes."
We did struggle with evaluating this album a bit, but to his credit Brandon was patient, revisions were made, and we eventually finalized everything. It's a good thing, too, because there are some really interesting, catchy tracks - this mix in particular, which is featured in the sexcellent trailer, sticks in your head, and the harmonies Brandon added to the primary melodic motif are a big part of that. Mr. Strader explains:
"I always thought the "Prison" theme would sound awesome in a "Supermassive Black Hole" style. That's sort of what I was shooting for with this remix. I went a little overboard with the idea of being trapped in a prison. In the game, the main character stays in a small cell very, very briefly, and easily escapes."
Mr. Szamrej was actually visiting the US in Seattle when he was contacted by Brandon about the album:
"I got the mp3s and had a quick scan and only thing i can say it is awesome. Every song brings back the memories... Good job!"
Pretty cool, eh? Radek is an interesting guy, too - here's a video of him riding a Segway-style vehicle he constructed himself, several years ago, likely making him the only VGM composer to invent his own self-balancing transportation. Brandon's submitted before, and while some of those submissions weren't quite "there" yet, this mix and his other tracks from The Root of All Evil show more control & focus, and this mix in particular combines two source tracks effectively and enjoyably. Congratulations to him for the personal accomplishment of having solo mixes posted, and to the entire team of artists behind the album for shining some light on a soundtrack & game many have never heard of, but which certainly deserved the attention.
Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the - Crulex on September 24, 2012
- Brandon Strader on January 18, 2012
I can understand the resemblance to Muse's "Supermassive Black Hole" surely by the drum programming and choice of instrumentation there. I'm not really sure if a synth with such a small amount of decay and release might've been the best way to handle it, but their presence there providing elements of Cave coupled with the guitar handling elements of Prison made for a very interesting countermelody combination, especially since the two sources share practically the same chord structure. Maybe aside from the more aggressive breakdowns later on, it may have its hint of drifting though which may make it difficult for tracks of this nature, but when it does pick up it becomes really, REALLY attentive.
The execution, while aged, still manages to shine a lot with some well-expressed guitar improvisations and general rhythm tightness. The instruments are mostly clear; probably a little lo-fi now in comparison to more recent endeavours, but the charm is all there that really makes things stand apart. The aggressive scatman-like vocal contribution at the end also made for a fun touch and adds another hint to Brandon's sense of humor and creative style. Very solid.
Over this past year, Brandon's skills have escalated tenfold, and to look back at this after seeing what had been sent throughout 2011 brings back a fond memory of exactly how far he had been stepping up his game throughout. And I hope he can continue to do that for 2012 as well - the future is looking bright, and I can see a lot of potential :)
- Rexy on January 8, 2012
- Csyzr on December 22, 2010
Also, gotta give props to that vocal riff at the end, nice stuff :nicework:
- Emunator on December 9, 2010
- Bahamut on December 7, 2010
This mix honestly wasn't my thing, but I liked that you picked a good style or it, and really nailed that sort of mechanical depressing feeling. Soloing at the end was pretty good, nice work there.
Again, congrats!
- DragonAvenger on December 6, 2010
- EmpyClaw on December 5, 2010
The Guitar tone is killer, the drums are nice and punchy. There is some minor mud when the lead guitar comes in at 0:40 but its not a big issue. Nice solo at the end :D The synth leads seem pretty weak at 0:17 and other similar moments... they don't quite fit in the soundscape properly.
Still, pretty impressive stuff man, and grats on DP! :D
- WillRock on December 5, 2010
- MechaFone on December 5, 2010
But anyway, this is still an awesome track.
- 42 on December 4, 2010
this is probably my favorite track off the album- listened to it quite a few times today. lingering lust was a stronger mix overall imo, but this was a bit more accessible to me in terms of style. great work, dude :D
- halc on November 23, 2010
- OA on November 22, 2010
