ReMix: Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time 'Temporal Despair'
- Game: Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time (Nintendo, 2007, NDS)
- ReMixer(s): TheGuitahHeroe
- Composer(s): Arata Iiyoshi, Atsuhiro Ishizuna
- Song(s): 'Temporal Tower'
- Posted: 2011-08-01, evaluated by the judges
Otakon 2011 was, as always, a great time, made even more memorable with our attendance of Distant Worlds Baltimore & interview of the man himself, Nobuo Uematsu, as well as conductor Arnie Roth. It was truly unforgettable - thanks to Chris @ Distant Worlds for working w/ Larry to set that up, thanks to Stevo for letting a veritable army of OC ReMix & nightsintrodreams.com staff crash at his place, and thanks to everyone who attended our panel. Seeing & hearing firsthand the appreciation for VGM and for the awesome work ReMixers and site staff do is always very motivating, so hopefully now that the dust has settled we can pick the mixpost pace back up!
2011 has been by far the best year ever for Pokémon fans on OCR - Missingno alone was a watershed for the series' representation here, but we've got yet another non-album track from a previously unmixed title, courtesy newcomer TheGuitahHeroe, aka Jamison Randall. While his name might have suggested stadium rock, this dramatic electronica track w/ piano and syncopated ethnic percussion doesn't disappoint; the artist writes:
"Anyway, I'd like to start off by asking a question: Why the HELL are there no remixes from this game on the site?! The music from this game is incredible, and I think there should be some remixes of it! That being said, this is my remix of the Temporal Tower theme from PMD2.
I started this off as a fairly liberal dance-type arrangement, and I didn't really establish any kind of real lead until 00:48, which is when the original melody starts up on piano. I thought piano would really portray a calm feeling throughout the first half of the mix, which would later break down, then build back up again. In the second half I pictured sort of a "pump-em-up, calm-em-down" idea, and juxtaposed a fast "Boston-esque" organ solo with some sweet flutes. I also used the break at 1:32 to transition to a different rhythm, which is a lot closer to the original. . . then, just when you think it's gonna start being just a copy of the original, the organ solo pumps up and says, "Nope, don't think so." :D"
The first version of this was actually rejected primarily because the kick & snare were mixed very quietly relative to everything else, but thankfully Mr. Randall was able to perform some post-production tweaking by layering a new FL kick track in Audacity:
"Seeing that this remix was originally made with a demo version of Mixcraft 4.5 (which I cannot access or buy now), I can't change anything about the way the song was arranged or the articulations or anything of the sort. Basically what I did was I used FL Studio to create a more powerful bass drum than the one Mixcraft had to offer (Mixcraft doesn't offer that much). Then I used Audacity to combine the remix track and the bass drum track. Along with a few added effects that Audacity had to offer and a slight change in equalization, this was the result."
I for one am damn glad he took the time to do what he could, because the revision allowed the track to breath a bit more AND get past those pesky judges, and the arrangement has some wonderful spiralling & terraced solos, with intervals that soar sky-high then dive down & graze the surface. The blend of synthetic instrumentation with piano, a thick gut-pumping beat, ethereal choral pads, cross-panned bongo-esque perc., and then the synthier second half... reminds me of some of WillRock's stuff, which is a great way to debut on OCR, but also has enough of its own character. Hope to see more from TheGuitahHeroe, whether it involves guitar, heroism, or just more great music!
- Crulex on November 5, 2012
- Bahamut on December 15, 2011
Great stuff.
- Martin Penwald on August 24, 2011
Temporal Tower is one of my favorite tracks of all time. Since I tend to compare arrangements to their respective sources, arrangements usually have a hard time impressing me when I already like the source a lot.
But this one is actually pretty good. The backgroundish melody reference at 0:11 totally gives me the shivers on every listen, absolutely genius. That kick is amazing and production in general feels top notch. You also packed in a lot of variety so it doesn't get boring at all, even if one already knows the source inside out.
So, huge props to TheGuitahHeroe here, I've listened to some of your stuff on YouTube, and I'm definitely looking forward to hearing more from you! :)
- Jules on August 13, 2011
- Strife89 on August 12, 2011
- yoshi1001 on August 12, 2011
- SuperiorX on August 8, 2011
Why the HELL are there no remixes from this game on the site?! The music from this game is incredible, and I think there should be some remixes of it!
My thoughts exactly! Thank you so much for remembering the game everyone else apparently forgot. This remix is awesome!
- Drazil on August 8, 2011
- DoubleBro7 on August 7, 2011
Someone needs to do the Primal Dialga theme. This must happen.
TGH; I loved your stuff in the GRMRB. Esp. Blowin' 'em Outta the Water. I am so stoked to hear what else you are going to be coming out with, it is not even funny. Can't wait for your next Pokemon mix!!!
Because you really always capture the themes really well, and have a great story to your music.
- Helios42 on August 5, 2011
Expect another Poke-mix from me soon :D
- TheGuitahHeroe on August 3, 2011
- LazarCotoron on August 3, 2011
- NegimaSonic on August 2, 2011
- DaMonz on August 2, 2011
- timaeus222 on August 2, 2011