Well, needless to say, it has been a busy week and a half since the last time I posted, but now I’ve been able to steal away for a short time to post again!  This week, we’re returning to Remix Under Review with a new track to look into!   Not too far back, I reviewed a piece from Final Fantasy 7 called Frozen Landscape. That arrangement was done for the OC Remix project Voices of the Lifestream.  Well, this time around, I’ll be reviewing the other remix I did for the project: Sephiroth’s Wake.

Source:

Remix:

As you can hear, the original source material doesn’t really lend itself to much interpretation.  Nobuo Uematsu really used the piece to create a very dark and ominous feel to this particular section of the game.  He didn’t seem to use any kind of tempo or rhythm scheme, so that was left up to me.

At the time of doing this remix, I was going though a major Harry Gregson-Williams kick and was really vibing his work on the Metal Gear Solid series.  Harry has a very particular style of music that he does very VERY well.  I classify it as the “infiltration” genre.  Check this YouTube Video to hear what I’m talking about.  After listening to this style from HGW a bit, I decided I wanted to try it.  From that idea, this remix was born and my goal was simple: What would it sound like if Harry Gregson-Williams composed music for Final Fantasy 7?

I never really anticipated being able to replicate the genre as well as I did, so I was extremely happy for how it turned out.  This piece was done in the late winter/early spring of 2007 which means this was in the day of me using nothing but Reason for any music I wrote.  I ended up primarily using the samples that come with the program when you buy it.  There were a few samples that I used from the Total REX sound library that really helped with the ambiance in addition to some ethnic drum samples from the Sonic Refills: World Percussion sample set.  The french horn sample came from a sample package I bought called Quantum Leap Brass (this is the same company that makes the orchestral sample package I currently use.  QL Brass is an OLD sample package they produced long ago).

As many of you know, I am a huge fan of incorporating orchestral elements in different genres, so you can imagine I had a great time with this piece!  The string samples came from Reason’s default library, and while they are certainly not the best things in the world, I’m still very pleased with how well they worked.  I’ve contemplated going back into this piece and replacing the orch samples with the awesome library I now have.  Create Sephiroth’s Wake 1.5, if you will.  That may happen, but maybe not.  Either way the track was a major stepping stone in my growth as a composer, programmer, and arranger and it has stood the test of time so far.  You can see what OTHERS HAVE SAID about the mix too!

T|M is working on several animations, original tracks, and in the process of planning a new potential project.  Be sure to check back very soon as there will be some very exciting updates on the way!

T|M is back this week with a new installment of Remix Under Review and this time around, we’re taking things back into the past with a classic: Donkey Kong Country.  I have been a huge fan of this game every since I bought it for my SNES years ago.  OCRemix came out with a remix album a few years back for the game and there is one track from the project that is still one of my favorite remixes of all time.  It was done by composer and remixer Jordan “bLiNd” Aguirre and his track is called Aerofunknamics AND is a slammin’ house track!  Well, years after the remix was released, I decided to do a remix of the source material myself.

The source tune:

The Remix:

This remix represents one of the first tracks I did in Logic but there is also a healthy dose of Reason in there as well.  The main elements of the track came from several different third party plugins.  The drums primarily came from Sylus RMX with some additional help from Native Instrument’s Battery; the main synth lead came from Native Instrument’s Pro-53;  the bass came from one of Logic’s preset samples; the majority of the synths came from Reason, and most of those came from the Thor sample collection.

When I sat down to do this track, it actually started out as an original track and not a remix.  After working on it a little, I heard the theme song from the game fit into the track, so I decided to turn this into a full fledged remix.  Since I haven’t done a lot of just straight up electro Drum n’ Bass tracks, I wanted to try something using the new production tools I had at my disposal.  It was great to dive into the genre.  The automation with the LFO, filtering, gating, and everything else was a blast to work with.  I’ve never used the mod wheel on my keyboard as much as I did for this track!  This track, while it has the melody line in throughout, was an attempt to pay more attention to the textures of the sounds and the soundscape of the whole track.  I’m quite pleased with the results.  This track also marks the first ever synth solo that I’ve done for a song.  Not being much of a piano player, I can can say with complete pride, that the solo was played live with minimal quantization!  All in all, I feel the track turned out very well.

This ends another episode of Remix Under Review!  As always, be sure to check back soon for new updates as they will be here very soon!

This week brings some very exciting news.  T|M has been brought on as an official staff member for Gaming Union, a popular video game news and discussion website.  GU offers a variety of services to the community: daily news articles, game reviews, and the extremely popular podcast series (Final Fantasy Union, Kingdom Hearts Union, and Mini GUP).  T|M will be spearheading the audio needs for all of GU with new music, themes, sound design, and lots of other sonic elements!

T|M was introduced to GU back in 2008 when a VG remix done by Tweex (REAKTR.1) was featured in one of their podcasts (Episode 4 of FFU).  Another remix (Of Fiend and Man) by Tweex was highlighted on another episode of FFU (Episode 24).  Soon after, T|M was contracted to do a theme song for the new podcast series Kingdom Hearts Union (now on their 7th episode; to be released today).  The KHU Theme Song has been used in each episode and has been well received by the fans and listeners of the show.

T|M and GU will be working together to bring new sonic elements to the entirety of the Gaming Union community to help brand GU, its podcasts, and the company itself.  Be sure to check out the new episode of FFU (to be released next Tuesday) for new music, sound design, and sonic elements.  It is sure to blow you away!

In the meantime, check out Gaming Union, join the forums and become one of the community members, listen to the podcasts, drop them a line on Twitter, and have fun exploring GU’s take and angle on a very popular industry.  I guarantee you wont be disappointed!

Check back soon for some more very exciting news!

T|M brings a new track to the ongoing series, Remix Under Review.  With the frosty weather outside, it’s only appropriate to feature the track Frozen Landscape which set out to convey a feeling of intense cold.  The remix comes from a song from Final Fantasy 7, called Buried in the Snow.  Here is the source tune:

And here is the Remix:

This track, like Final Panic, was created using Reason.  The majority of the synths and instruments used came from Reason’s default library.  However, when starting the track, I scoured the internet for some really nice and chill sounding samples to use.  That’s how I found the synth pad that is first heard at the very beginning of the track!

The concept of the piece was found in a previous remix done by Daniel ’sephfire’ Floyd called Snowfall on Forbidden Lands.  It is a fantastic piece of music that successfully gives off the chill/cold vibe.  By listening to Daniel’s track, I found some fantastic ideas for how to craft Frozen Landscape.  The percussion was the first place I started by getting a couple short 8-16 bar loops.  What I found was that the percussion, without any synths around it, sounded as though it could be either cold or hot.  It wasn’t until the cools pads and chilled bells were added that the snow feeling came in.

The toughest challenge came in trying to change the time signature from 3/4 to 4/4.  The source is very scarce in materiel and main melody line is very simple.  But by adding the gated synth, the down tempo bass line, and pulsing drums, the track filled itself out quite naturally.  The guitar was a fun addition that didn’t come into play until close to the end.  I was picking on my acoustic one day and just stumbled across the chords by accident.  After a little practice, I set up the mics, opened Pro Tools, and laid it down.  It was a great bridge section that helped break the track up a little bit.

I initially picked up the song to do because it was one of the unclaimed tracks on the OCR FF7 project Voices of the Lifestream.  When I sent the track to Andrew ‘zircon’ Aversa (the project coordinator), he was diggin’ the sound but had some suggestions.  Well, needless to say, his input really helped take the song to the next level.

Compositionally, Frozen Landscape is one of my best pieces.  The soundscape turned out perfectly and the arrangement worked excietionally well with the source material.  The track name was inspired by the main synth that is heard at the very beginning.  The name of the patch is Frozen Landscape and when I saw that, I knew that would be the name of the remix!  It’s a fantastic track that stands a long side over 40 other tracks on the FF7 VotL project.  Be sure to check it out.

That concludes this installment of Remix Under Review.  There are some very exciting projects going on here at Tweex Music, so check back soon to see (and hear) what’s new!

Tweex Music is proud to present a new media series called Remix under Review.  A great passion from T|M is hearing/reading/seeing how a composer, arranger, or programmer created a song.  Everyone’s tools, ideas, and work flows are different, and learning new processes is always a valuable lesson.  It’s also extremely benneficial to hear what their inspiration might have been at the time.

Well, Tweex Music is following that idea by starting a new series in which T|M will detail the construction of a video game/original remix done by Tweex.  Periodically, T|M will feature a remix and give in depth details about the process of making the mix, the inspiration for the track, the tools that were used, and any other info.

In this installment, we’ll get the ball rolling with Tweex’ first video game remix: FINAL PANIC.

Source Tunes:

Remix:

Final Panic was created in the spring of 2006 and is a remix from the game “Tetris Attack” for the SNES. Up to this point, T|M hadn’t focused on electronic/synthetic composition, but this mix marks the first well executed idea to come entirely from the computer (no live instrumentation).  The track was started in response to an album project on OverClocked Remix for the Tetris Attack game.  The project was never completed, but the remix was!

At the time, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was the soundtrack of choice with a very close second from Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl.  I set out to create a soundscape that honored the drums/percussion of Tan Dun and the orchestration of Klaus Badelt.  For my experience level at the time, the fusion turned out marvelously!  The majority of the track is spent on the main source, but the last minute of the remix speeds up and covers the “panic mode” for the level the music came from.

In 2006, my primary compositional tool was Reason 3.  The orchestral tonal instruments (aside from the brass) came from the Orkester sound bank (orchestral samples that come with Reason).  The brass samples came from an early version of Quantum Leap Brass that had been converted into a usable format for Reason.  The percussion samples came from the Doru Malia-8000 percussion kit.

The tools at T|M’s disposal are far more powerful, but for the time and experience level, Tweex Music is exceptionally proud of this mix.  Be sure to check it out, and others, over on the MUSIC PAGE and check back for new installments in the Remix under Review series as well as new Tweex Music project updates!

Today marks the 10 year anniversary of the wildly popular Video Game Music fan site, OverClocked Remix.  The site was started by David ‘djpretzel’ Lloyd back in 1999 as an endeavor for him to both honor the music coming from games and to help himself become a better musician, composer, arranger, etc.  Since then, OCR has posted over 1800 video game music remixes on the site, has been featured in gaming magazines, has had music from the site used in big name video game titles, all while supplying music, free of charge, to all who wish to download it.

T|M joined OCR back in October of 2003, but it wasn’t until Spring of 2006 that Tweex Music really got involved.  In the nearly four years that T|M has been visiting OCR, he has completed 12 different remixes (which can all be found on the MUSIC PAGE or at the T|M OCR ARTIST PAGE), has been featured in 3 OCR album projects, and has worked in collaboration with OCR artists and musicians for the T|M debut album, Alter Ego.

OC Remix is an amazing community of musicians, artists, composers, and arrangers and has been providing professional quality music, for free, for a decade!  Tweex Music is proud to be a member of this establishment and will continue to contribute mixes for years to come.

If you want to hear the Mario Brothers theme in a hard rock style, they have it.  If you love Halo AND electronica, they’ve got something just for you.  If you’ve ever wondered what a Final Fantasy track would sound like if it were a rap song, then go no further.  If you want to listen to Zelda played on bear bottles, you got it.  Head on over to OverClocked Remix today and listen to some fantastic music and get involved with a community that loves the music from video games just as much as you do!

Congrats to OverClocked Remix and all who make it possible!

Tweex Music is proud to release a song to download for FREE from the T|M debut album, Alter Ego.  The track for download is called Bipolar. It was the first song that was composed for the Alter Ego album.  The track has been used in short films, radio programs, and was featured in the Delta Airlines Duty Free Spot that T|M was selected for!

When the track was being composed, it was structured in a way to allow for a guest soloist to put down his or her idea.  That person ended up being Jimmy ‘BGC’ Hinson, a good friend from over at the OC Remix community (and a current judge!).  The synth solo that kicks in about halfway through the track is a driving, pumping part that gives the track a beating heart!  Jimmy has been doing music for years and works as a freelance writer/composer for the Scripps Network and his talent speaks for itself!  Take a listen to the track:

Alter Ego was released in June of 2008 and has seen some fantastic sales!  Several tracks from the album have been placed in current film, radio, televesion, and website projects!  Listen and enjoy “Bipolar” and be sure to hop over to the Tweex Music Store to pick up your full digital copy of the album!  There are still one or two physical copies over at CD Baby so if you want a hard copy, act now!

Check back soon for more Alter Ego news, updates, and offers, not to mention some very exciting news for T|M!

DOWNLOAD “BIPOLAR” HERE

Tweex Music is back this week with a new Podcast series in which a T|M song has been featured!  Battling Despair at Dawn has been featured in another Podcast episode by the good people at VGDJ back in August and it has been selected again for another show!  This time around, the folks over at Solar Radio Wave have decided to use the FFXI remix as the outro music for their episode!

Solar Radio Wave is a relatively new podcast series as they have only been around for a few months, but they are quickly gaining momentum with new episodes airing frequently.  SRW describes themselves as “a podcast that talks about everything from games and movies, to energy, books and science.”  A vast list of topics, indeed!

I recommend checking out the show, which you can find here: FULL PODCAST EPISODE.  However, for those of you who would like to hear the section where they promote the track, go no further: TWEEX MUSIC PODCAST EDIT.

Battling Despair at Dawn can be found on the MUSIC PAGE along with the many other VG remixes that T|M has completed over the years.  You can also hear the track over at T|M’s OVERCLOCKED REMIX PAGE.  Be sure to check the track out as it’s some of the best orchestral work Tweex has completed!  For all FFXI fans (or fans of VG music in general), don’t stray far and be certain that you keep a weather eye on the front page here for more VG remix news as there are big announcements to come soon!

In the meantime, meander about the T|M site and listen/watch some of the work that’s showcased, be sure to check out the work that the guys at Solar Radio Wave are doing, and don’t forget to check back in soon for more news and updates!

“Battling Despair at Dawn” featured on VGDJ Podcast

My latest remix from Final Fantasy XI, entitled “Battling Despair at Dawn”, has been featured on the premier podcast episode of VGDJ (Video Game Disc Jockey).  Now, while this might be the “premier” episode, VGDJ has been around for quite some time.  It was created a few year ago and has had multiple hosts take the responsibility on their shoulders.  After a short break in publication, VGDJ is back and the reins have been taken by none other than David “Brushfire” Hubbard.  This first episode marks the revival of the series with more podcasts to follow.

The complete show can be found here: COMPLETE SHOW.  It features many other talented artists from OCR and I highly recommend listening to the full show as it is well done.  However, if you would like to hear the section for my track, you can find it here: TWEEX EDIT.

The website is still being developed and updated, but you can be sure that much more is in store from the staff at VGDJ.  If you enjoy the show, be sure to take a minute and visit the FORUM POST and leave a comment!

Enjoy!

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It seems that “Of Fiend and Man” has received some notice from from the creators and hosts of the FFXIII Podcast.  The track has been featured in the newest installment of their Podcast library (episode 24).  This is not the first time a remix done by myself has been used for their show; REAKTR.1 was used back in February of 2008 for Episode 4.  It’s always a pleasure to work with Kyle, David, Jamie, and all the others.

You can listen to the FULL PODCAST HERE which is always recommended!  However, I have made a small edit that highlights the music section of the show which you can FIND HERE.

Enjoy the podcast, be sure to catch up on past episodes, and throw the guys over at FFXIII some love; their labor is one of hard work and devotion.  You can find the track either here on the MUSIC PAGE or over at the OverClocked Remix Final Fantasy IV project page (Act 1, Track 10).