Sonic CD: Temporal Duality
Comments from album director Matt Keller (SuperiorX), assistant director Pete Lepley (Phonetic Hero), and ReMixers
Album freely available at http://soniccd.ocremix.org

The Sonic the Hedgehog series has always been very special to me. Growing up, my family had an NES, but when it came time for the next generation, we decided to get a Sega Genesis. The bundled game was, of course, the original Sonic the Hedgehog. From that moment on, I was hooked. I have many fond memories playing those games, especially Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and 3, with my family, and watching the cheesy 90's Saturday morning Sonic cartoons. I remember going through the sound test menus just scrolling through all the original tunes, because they were just so much fun and so addicting to listen to. One birthday, I received a little Yamaha keyboard and was so excited to try to learn and play the Sonic soundtracks myself.

I first discovered OverClocked ReMix in the early 2000's, when I was in high school, and absolutely loved checking out the various Sonic remixes that existed at the time. It was a huge nostalgia rush. Fast-forward nearly a decade, and I had since joined the OCR forums and checked out the site much more frequently. I think I first felt comfortable undertaking this project shortly after I had hosted the Sonic Zone Remix Competition in 2012 and Rexy (Beverley Wooff) had created a thread to generate interest for a Sonic CD project. I have to admit, I never had the opportunity to play Sonic CD until it was re-released on PS3/Xbox/Steam in 2011, but I was familiar with the soundtrack and really loved both the JP/EU and US versions. After some discussions back and forth in the forums, I decided to head up the project.

Given how successful the previous OCR Sonic albums were and just how popular Sonic is in general, I knew I had my work cut out for me. This was the last of the "classic" Sonic games to receive the remix album treatment and I knew we had to deliver big-time. I wanted to arrange both Sonic CD soundtracks and re-capture the general feel of the originals, while still allowing artists the flexibility to bring their own personal touch to the album. Throughout the process, interest continued to grow around the project and I was fortunate to be able to include so many talented musicians from all around the Sonic fan community. Everyone really brought their A-game to this project and I think the end result is truly a top-quality album that spans numerous musical genres that any Sonic fan will enjoy!

There are numerous people I'd like to thank. Without their help, this project wouldn't have been possible. Special thanks to Pete "Phonetic Hero" Lepley, my assistant director, who listened to countless WIPs and provided critical feedback on numerous tracks along the way. His help and dedication really helped ensure a certain level of quality on the album. Special thanks to Jordan "Sir Jordanius" Etienne, who became more and more involved in the project as time went on. First, I persuaded him to help out on a few arrangements, which turned into a few more arrangements, which resulted in him mastering/producing a handful of tracks for the project. He also provided key insights and feedback that helped shape so many of the tracks on the project. Special thanks to Niyazi "DiGi Valentine" Sonmez, who was definitely one of the project's biggest supporters from the onset. His passion around Sonic and SEGA was so contagious, and his connections within the Sonic community were invaluable. He helped with numerous things behind-the-scenes and recruited our visual artist, TheSmai, who provided the absolutely beautiful art you see accompanying the album. Special thanks to Beverley "Rexy" Wooff for proposing the original project idea and supporting the album throughout. My sincere thanks to the original composers Masafumi Ogata, Naofumi Hataya, Spencer Nilsen, David Young, and Mark "Sterling" Crew, whose amazing original work inspired us all to create this tribute album. And lastly, my very special thanks to each and every artist who contributed to the project. It was my honor to work alongside each of you and get to know many of you very well. I'm truly proud of what each of you has created for this amazing album!

Enjoy!

- Matt Keller

Working with Matt and all the other staff and artists on the project was an absolute blast. There was lots of immense talent and a general willingness to work together to create an excellent product. It doesn't hurt that we were working with ridiculously great source material either, and even though I've never played Sonic CD personally, the tunes are really outstanding. The whole thing came together in under a year (!!), and even though it's one of the quickest album projects I've ever seen come out of OCR, the quality of the mixes doesn't skimp one bit.

This was my first project being considered staff, and I was much more present for giving feedback in the beginning of the project than I was toward the end. But seeing how receptive everyone was to the critiques and hearing new WIP after new WIP, improvement after improvement, was really an enormous pleasure and I'm very proud to have been involved in the process. Everyone giving it their all and seeing the growth as musicians was gratifying as hell, and coupled with the excellent coordination on the part of our fearless leader, SuperiorX, this was an absolutely fantastic experience. I would certainly not think twice about working with Matt on another project, and in fact, I'm very much looking forward to the day when the opportunity presents itself!

- Pete Lepley

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Disc 01 - PAST

01. Tuberz McGee - "Press Start" - Mastered by Sir Jordanius
Source: "Title" (JP/EU)

02. begoma feat. W!SE the all.E - "Forever in Your Mind"
Source: "Sonic—You Can Do Anything"

begoma: I am a big Gnarls Barkley fan, so I wanted to do something with an RnB/soul vibe. I also wanted to do something that was significantly different from the original track while keeping some of the original flavor. Jordan was a HUGE help here as his rap and horn parts make the track shine. I have nothing but good things to say about him and Matt. I have grown so much as a musician, composer, and mixer from this experience!

W!SE the all.E: I enjoyed begoma's clever spin on "You Can Do Anything" because after already being mesmerized by the cheesy 90s-esque original and the Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed version I was very curious as to how he could possibly flip it up with an interesting twist. So once I heard his first few WIPs, I was immediately digging how he greatly slowed the source tune down and dipped it in a sea of deep funk and soul.

At first I was just going to help out with production suggestions and advice, but then begoma asked me to lend some rapping for the breakdown as well as a few horn parts here and there. I think begoma has come up with a killer arrangement, and I was glad to help out with it!

SuperiorX: When Kary first "auditioned" for the project, he showed me some samples of stuff from his band Jackson Cannery (http://jacksoncannery.net) and I immediately got hooked on the southern rock/blues vibe he had going. So when he told me he wanted to do a slowed-down RnB/soul version of "You Can Do Anything," I was sold. I think Kary's voice fits this style perfectly and was such a good match for this track. Combined with the stylings of his electric and acoustic guitar parts, I can't help but get swept away with this song.

Jordan hopped on the track towards the end to add some live horn parts, which I think really added a nice upbeat Motown sort of feel to the track, and the rap verse in the middle of the song, which just felt like such a natural "bridge" section. He really nailed it there.

This ended up being quite a refreshing departure from the style of the original source, yet it retains a lot of its energy and "feel-good" vibe. A solid solo debut from Kary. I'm really excited to hear what else he has in the works!

03. Theory of N - "Night of the Ninth"
Source: "Little Planet"

Theory of N: I came in pretty late to the project to cover for a dropped track. Luckily, the track I was asked to cover was pretty badass. No real specific inspirations for it, just lots of playing around with the different melodic and rhythmic motifs present throughout the source. Definitely took a different approach than I usually do. Instead of opting for sexy smoove, I went for super aggressive and I think it turned out okay. I had a specific form in mind while writing this but as I was writing, it kind of went off and did its own thing, so I just went with it. Because of that, it's pretty progressive and you rarely hear any part twice. The title is a reference to Pluto, which is sadly no longer our solar system's Little Planet. Enjoy!

04. SuperiorX - "Paradise Paradox"
Source: "Palmtree Panic" (JP/EU)

SuperiorX: When I first undertook the Sonic CD project, I really wanted to remix one of the signature sources in an electronica style that would still pay homage to the original. Listening through the OST, I thought Palmtree Panic's various zone themes were ripe for expansion and could fit together quite well. The result was this mix, which is easily my strongest and most well-developed song to-date. It starts off with a light and airy atmosphere and then takes us through the Present and Bad Future sources and then finishes up with the Good Future source, which includes a square synth solo overtop some Sonic SFX, which was a ton of fun to write. It then comes full circle and closes out with some more of the light and ethereal instrumentation from the intro. I was really trying to make this mix sound like it belonged within the game, but expanding it with some additional instrumentation and personalization. I like to think I succeeded!

I hope everyone enjoys this mix and the rest of Temporal Duality as much as I enjoyed working on it and directing it!

05. Kruai - "Schizophrenic"
Source: "Collision Chaos" (JP/EU)

Kruai: Like every other track I make, this track sounded completely different when I started it. It was going to be a much less funky house track, but after experimenting with guitar and acoustic bass sounds, it turned into a much groovier piece of music. This is the piece that really taught me about EQing and mastering. SuperiorX, Phonetic Hero, and Swann were all very helpful in giving me advice on how to master a piece, and I applied the knowledge I gleaned from them to make this sound a lot cleaner... "clean" being a relative term for this kind of music. The most trouble I had with this piece was that two of my synths would clash at VERY specific points in time to make a weird crunchy noise. It took a lot of tweaks to make it listenable again. But it seems that the harder I work on a piece, the better it feels to complete it! Thanks so much for listening!

SuperiorX: Kruai brought a really impressive electro/dubstep style to this arrangement, which is all the rave these days in modern music. Yet it also has this very refreshing funky & groovy vibe to it that makes it such an addicting listen. The synth leads are juicy, the bass is gritty and unforgiving, the drops are intense, and the song is overall loud and in your face (in a good way). All while maintaining a nice sense of balance and some excellent layering of all of these detailed textures. Kudos!

06. Rexy - "Chips out of Water"
Source: "Tidal Tempest" (JP/EU)

Rexy: While Tidal Tempest (JP) wasn't exactly my first choice of track to mix when SuperiorX sent it around those that initially took interest, it did however present me with sweet ideas to work with on a sound design level. Knowing for sure that the JP soundtrack (my most preferred of the two) was ahead of its time, I felt the best approach would be to do something in a more contemporary style as of 2013 - 9-bit elements. In other words, "Rexy attempts to wear halc's shoes." :P

Instrument-wise, it's more stripped down than what I'd usually do - piano lead, 6-part Genesis soundfont work, bass, drums/percussion, strings, and square lead. But to me, that's what Tidal Tempest feels like in comparison to the busier levels in the rest of the game - a water level so tranquil even the dreaded "drowning" motif doesn't pop up. It still doesn't mean life is a breeze - one just needs to break out of the water that's binding them and find those directions to make a difference to the world.

...Yes, I know you can use the submerged springs in Act 1 to travel through time, but that's beside the point...

Either way, I'm glad I got through the track - was a lot of fun to make. I would've liked to have spent more time listening to album WIPs and offering feedback, but considering that one of my biggest obstacles during this process was my physical health at the time - can't disclose what specifically, but it did hinder my productivity during a fair chunk of 2013 - I feel really grateful I've been able to pull this off.

But still, you got to give me credit for instigating interest in the Recruit & Collaborate sub-forum, right? :D

07. G-Mixer - "Timekeeper"
Source: "Quartz Quadrant" (JP/EU)

G-Mixer: I came across this project pretty early on in its existence in 2012 when Rexy was "generating interest" for the project. Immediately, I thought of one of my favorite Sonic tracks of all time, Quartz Quadrant, and I got myself into the project. The whole entire track was recorded without even thinking about it. I just started playing stuff and threw in synths and beats and samples that sounded cool to me. The track ended up having a very electronic, synthy, and RnB-ish style, and personally I think it's one of the best remixes I've ever done for a song from a video game.

08. halc, Sir Jordanius - "WhACKASS WORKShIFTS"
Source: "Wacky Workbench" (JP/EU)

halc: I was approached by Sir J to collab on his Wacky Workbench remix, for which he had already crafted a full arrangement. It was reminiscent of his Kid Chameleon remix; very assembly-line-esque, mixing sharp, mechanical synths and percussion with old-school brass hits, funk guitar, and a killer slap bass. I guess he wasn't extremely pleased with the result, so he sent me the stems and I built a new arrangement around his original parts, putting a heavier emphasis on the funk/hip-hop elements and incorporating my own synths, a new drum track crafted in Maschine, and lots of fun processing and glitch effects. Jordan's last-minute vocals were the icing on the cake.

Very pleased with the end result, and working with Jordan was smooth as silk. A+++, will collab again. <3

Sir Jordanius: **in addition to using the onomatopoeia pun of "whack" over "wack," the "h's" are for "halc." ;P

The only thing worth telling about this arrangement is that I pretty much was nearing the finish line while approaching final WAV territory with my original Mord Fustang-ish disco arrangement...

...and then I completely burned out and lost all interest within this track. I have no explanation for what happened (though it *may* have something to do with my job at the time XD), yet I just gave up on this track.

Instead of just throwing everything I did in the trash can and giving SupX a massive headache, I decided to roll the dice and go out on a limb by asking one of my long-time favorite and most respected remixers to help me out: ladies and gentlemen, halc is in the building!

(Also, due to his involvement with previous Sonic albums, I felt like it'd have even greater charm to bring him back on for this project as well.)

If you've ever seen the second episode of Tenjho Tenge, there is a street fighter dude who randomly picks a fight with another martial artist dude, and the latter completely obliterates the former. You really need to just watch a video of the fight to get what I'm saying, but that is exactly what halc did with my track, and I'm all kinds of all right with that! Towards the end of the final deadline, I ended up sending a few narm-riddled vocals for halc to mess around with, and I feel like, with my cheesy vocal ranting combined with halc's curb-stomping production, my obvious message has gotten across pretty well: I did not like my mundane factory job that much. XD

SuperiorX: Jordan was nearly finished with this arrangement when he came to me and mentioned he had run out of steam with it. At that point, it was sounding like a "near-finished" track as it was, but he said he was going to approach halc about collabing on it to finish it up. From there, Drew took Jordan's stems and added his own signature chippy bits here and there and re-worked the arrangement quite a bit. The resulting track has a lot more energy and a lot of juicy moving pieces and parts, which are certain to keep the listener entertained.

Right before the final deadline, Jordan slipped these over-the-top vocals into the mix too. The back story behind them is actually quite funny... we had had numerous exchanges at the time when Jordan first started making the arrangement about all the troubles he was having with his factory job (which is actually where the mix title originated from as well). Given that the source theme is "Wacky Workbench," and the lyrics are focused around a factory job ("work that sucka to death"), it all seems appropriately fitting. Overall, this is just an infectiously fun and head-boppin' song!

09. metaphist - "Bass for a Better Tomorrow"
Source: "Special Stage" (JP/EU)

metaphist: For this, I simply tried to channel the intended energy of the original into a more groovin' direction. The extrapolation on the first section might go a little far for some tastes, but I thought it would be too easy to get some run-of-the-mill electronica out of this track, so I decided to just let the ideas come to fruition. Plus, SuperiorX demanded the funk. I also found it funny how the source has that "BASS" vocal sample, yet is lacking in that very area. Figured I'd do something about that...

10. OverClocked Assembled (Sir Jordanius, begoma, metaphist, DiGi Valentine, The Auracle, SuperiorX, BrothaDom, C7) - "Time Traveller's Delight"
Source: "Stardust Speedway" (JP/EU)

SuperiorX: Greetings, OCR!

OverClocked Assembled presents "Time Traveller's Delight," a remix of "Stardust Speedway" JP/EU.

We are creating a VGM hip-hop collective under the banner of OverClocked Assembled that will have rotating/guest members. Not every member will always participate in each OverClocked Assembled song, and new members will be added in the future.

P.S. We purposefully chose the British spelling of "traveler" with two L's: "Traveller's" for the song title. So that is not a typo. :)

OverClocked Assembled:

Jordan Etienne (Sir Jordanius): arrangement, guitars, backing trumpet, funk vocals
Paul Ford (metaphist): vocals - verse 1
Kary Brown (begoma): vocals - verse 2
Niyazi Sonmez (DiGi Valentine): vocals - verse 3
Joseph Guthrie (The Auracle): vocals - verse 4
Dominic Malloy (BrothaDom): hype/backing vocals
Matt Keller (SuperiorX): lead keys, electric piano
Adam Prack (C7): lead trumpet

Source breakdown, courtesy of Jordan:

Intro (0:00-0:13) - main source universal melody
Intro ad-lib hook (0:13-0:45) - "Good Future"
Verses 1 and 2 (0:50-2:03) - main source universal melody (broken down/spliced), "turn it up" and turntable scratches allude to "Past" and "Present"
Hook 2 (2:03-2:18) - same
Verse 3 (2:18-2:58) - same
Verse 4 (2:58-3:35) - same chord progression, siren alludes to "Bad Future"
Hook 3 (3:35-3:53) - same, "Hey Hey Hey" alludes to "Present"
Hook 4 and SupX/C7/Danius jam - same "Good Future" chords, SupX is playing "Present" b-side melody, C7 and Danius are playing variations on "Good Future" melody
Mellow outro (4:48-6:19) - "Good Future" chord progression and bassline, whisper vocals allude to "Present" incomprehensible chanting

"Stardust Speedway" (JP) is easily my favorite source across the Sonic CD OST, so I knew whoever ended up claiming the source was going to have to blow me away with an idea for their remix. Early on in the project, DiGi Valentine, Kary Brown (begoma), and BrothaDom each individually contacted me with ideas for remixing "Stardust Speedway" in a funky hip hop or R&B style. I immediately noticed the potential there for something great. The entire Sonic CD OST (particularly the JP/EU version) just oozes 90's musical influences and already incorporated a lot of vocal elements into many of the sources, so I thought how awesome it would be to make a truly old-school collaborative hip hop mix that sounded like it came right out of the early 90's. I really wanted someone who could nail that funky hip hop sound to arrange the mix, so I contacted Sir Jordanius and laid out the details for the song and the interested parties. Much to my delight, he was fully on board. During the process, we brought in metaphist and The Auracle to round out our lead vocalists (alongside DiGi Valentine and Kary Brown), who each contributed truly amazing verses for the song. BrothaDom and Jordan then both contributed some additional background vocals to fill out the mix. We also brought in Adam (C7), whom I had the pleasure of working with in the past, to lay down some trumpet parts which I think really added a whole other level of realism and awesomeness to the mix. Jordan also laid down the guitar and backing trumpet parts and I wrote the piano parts for the instrumental breakdown towards the end, to make this truly an epic collaborative effort.

I could not be happier with how this turned out and I can't wait to work with these fine gentlemen again sometime in the future! So turn it up and get down! OVERCLOCKED ASSEMBLED!!!

Sir Jordanius: When Matt first contacted me about a proposed mega-collab for "Stardust Speedway," I actually went through every internal excuse I could think of to try and shy away from it: I have a preference for not arranging songs that are already phenomenal IMO; due to past experience with band-mates, I'm a bit cautious about huge team efforts; I've recently been on a looooong-ass personal hiatus from rap, so I was unsure about my hip hop Killer Studio Chops, etc.

But I've been talking to BrothaDom and a few other forum members about getting something like this set up, and when Matt showed me selected works from each member, I was blown away. This opportunity was bound to happen, and I couldn't just pass the chance to make something so catalytic with such a group as this.

Besides the obvious title, there are several allusions to hip hop historical influences mixed in with the Sonic metaphors of coming together regardless of differences. So, since I'm not a copy-paste kind of beatsmith, I wanted to make sure that everybody's section had a slightly unique flavor that would smoothly lead into the next section (basically like a timeline or traveling expedition). Getting Adam on board for that extra, yet much-needed "hell yeah" feeling was pretty much a no-brainer after hearing his and Matt's sick SZRC collab, and the rest of the track is history; so if you've enjoyed this collaborative effort, I believe we can assure you that this is just the tip of the iceberg of some very interesting things happening on Temporal Duality, as well as the rest of OCR in general! We're makin' a Good Future up in this bizzzznitch!!

DiGi Valentine: It seemed an entire bunch of us wanted to remix "Stardust Speedway," though eerily we all had a similar vision for making the track a rap song in some shape or form. When Matt told me who else was interested, I immediately felt this needed to be a collaborative effort on a grand scale, to which Matt agreed. The team was assembled. Through this, one thing I personally wanted to play upon was incorporating the "Turn it up, get down!" line from the original song, but instead use it as a call-out for the next rapper in line to jump in and start their verse. I wanted this element to give off the vibe that each rapper was working with the next respectfully, and while we were all our own individual personalities, we were united under this one banner.

Jordan and myself smashed some ideas together for the lyrics used in the chorus, followed by Matt who helped me iron out the flow of them so it rolled nicely, and in turn it became this neat little shout out to the rest of world, inviting them to turn the music up and get down with us!

BrothaDom: Seeing that there was going to be a Sonic CD project, I knew I wanted to help in some way. Additionally, I had been kicking around an idea for a "Stardust Speedway" hip hop track, so this felt like a great place to try for my first contribution. I figured that a collaboration would be the best way for me to jump in, but I had no idea that there was this much interest in a similar idea. I got a lot of support and got the chance to learn a lot during the process.

As far as the track goes, I feel it was a perfect fit for a vocal track as there was already a firm vocal base in the source. Also, the scratches gave it a strong hip hop vibe. The resulting remix was something really funky that spanned a few different vocal styles, just as in Sonic CD how the different time zones span styles. The end of the song ends in an instrumental-heavy "Good Future" session; to close the song with a mellow vibe that feels great after the hyped sections preceding it.

Really, I feel this remix keeps with the spirit of not only the remix album, but the source game as well. Really a pleasure to be a part of all around.

The Auracle: "Time Traveller's Delight" is my first OCR collaboration and what a first impression it's made on me. I was expecting to collaborate with fellow emcee & friend Niyazi (a.k.a. DiGi Valentine), but I have to say that the actual scale of the project wasn't something I was anticipating. This track is a very special experience, one that I will cherish for years to come. I'm indebted to Niyazi for asking me to come aboard and to Paul, Kary, Adam, Matt, Dom, and Jordan for welcoming me with open arms. I certainly hope this isn't the last collaborative effort for OverClocked Assembled. Each of these gentlemen are extraordinary and I hope to work with them again very, very soon.

I hope everyone that listens to this track enjoys it as much as we enjoyed creating it.

I remain,

The Auracle

metaphist: There's probably not much I can say that hasn't already been touched on by the rest of the group. Like some of the crew, this was also my first collab, and I really had no idea it would turn out this epic. I think I was the last of the emcees to be reached out to, but I ended up starting us off with the first verse on the track, so that's very cool. Big ups to everyone, especially SuperiorX for getting me involved!

C7: It was a lot of fun to have such a sweet trumpet line to work with and also the freedom to improvise around it. They put it to good use, and I'm proud to be a part of such a great track.

11. Main Finger feat. KingTiger & ladyWildfire - "This Is Madness!"
Source: "Metallic Madness" (JP/EU)

Main Finger: "Metallic Madness" quickly seemed like a natural track choice for me. The piano really took me back to 90's dance music, a vibe I knew I'd enjoy running with. I didn't exactly want my track to sound like a period piece though, so I worked on injecting some more modern elements as well like the glitching chorus in the second half. I also really wanted to focus on including elements from every version of the zone's theme. The only version that didn't get much love was "Good Future," which really only shows through in the slower drums that take inspiration from it.

KingTiger really brought his A-game to this track. At first, I just asked him to perform the lyrics that were already in "Present." Instead, he rewrote them to sound more natural and added several additional verses that were completely original. wildfire did a great job, too, bringing exactly the style of 90's vocals that I was looking for to use in the chorus. I used synths to convey my melody ideas to her (since the original "Bad Future" lyrics were said by a monotone robot voice instead of sang) and she really nailed it. This is the first time I've really done collaboration with the OCR community (I usually stay solo) and I couldn't be happier with the results.

SuperiorX: Main Finger kept a lot of the chaotic feel of the original "Metallic Madness Bad Future" JP source but really built upon it and made it even more aggressive. His instrumentation choices and the solo around 2:20 really gave the track such a high-energy vibe. I love how he took inspiration from the original vocal clips from the source and brought in vocalists KingTiger and ladyWildfire to flesh them out into full-fledged verses and choruses too. This is the best rapping I've heard from KingTiger to-date and ladyWildfire's vocals were spot-on as well. The processing/effects Main Finger did with them both just added so much to the atmosphere of the song. The result is a really fun and fast paced homage to 90's techno/electronica!

12. Chernabogue feat. DusK & Furilas - "Black Metal"
Source: "Boss!!" (JP/EU)

Chernabogue: Finding a way to remix this track ("Boss!!" JP) was a real challenge for me. I tried several different approaches (funk, rap, piano solo, etc.) before going with heavy metal.

The whole arrangement is based on the various parts of the source, but everything is more brutal and sinister: the riffs are based on the main melody, and the vocals and organ parts are also inspired by what happens in the original. The same goes for the crazy evil laughs.

Furilas and DusK recorded the bass and guitar parts. Huge thanks to both of them. They're great musicians, and the song wasn't easy at all. (DusK even said it was "hard as balls" - nothing to add!)

It was a real pleasure to work on the Sonic CD album. Matt/SuperiorX is a very good project director, and all the project staff and members rock!

13. Palpable feat. DiGi Valentine - "Extraordinary"
Source: "Cosmic Eternity—Believe in Yourself"

DiGi Valentine: For "Extraordinary," I wanted to take the lyrical cheesy feel of the rap sections in "Cosmic Eternity" and keep that intact, while lacing those same lyrics over something of a West Coast stylised rap beat. To me, there's something quite comical about putting that kind of uplifting mood on to what would technically be a potential "gangster rap" song. I certainly was not going to change the original lyrics, because I feel that would deface the source too much, so I chose to keep them as they are but I also incorporated a third rap verse with a similar style, written by myself.

Since I am only a vocalist, I needed to team up with someone who could produce my ideas and incorporate what I need onto this mix. For that, Palpable was a perfect choice. All the ideas I laid out to him were taken on board straight away and implemented in a way where the beat remained smooth enough for the rap flow to glide nicely over -- it wasn't too heavy and gave enough leeway for the vocals to make their mark. It was also my idea to bring in the robotic voice for the track, which is something of an iconic sound in the West Coast style. While we couldn't use an actual TalkBox for that effect, Palpable ran the vocals I recorded through a vocoder and tweaked around with it until he got it sounding just how we wanted it.

Palpable: Started this track somewhat as payback for DiGi Valentine helping me on a different track, but I quickly bought into in the vision DiGi laid out. Though he doesn't produce (he should!), he was the mastermind behind this and it was a blast working with him trying to put into music the ideas he described, fitting my own ideas into the gaps, and going with what worked. Eventually we had a track.

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Disc 02 - PRESENT

01. Syllix - "Prelude for Temporal Duality"
Source: Inspired by various US sources

Syllix: A melodic mash-up of Sonic-y, ambient-y goodness.

02. DusK - "A World in Motion"
Source: "Sonic Boom"

DusK: My primary inspiration behind the remix was Sonic Adventure. The Adventure games had a punk rock sound that I really dig, and I really wanted to set out on a remix that would reflect what I think "Sonic Boom" would sound like if it were in one of those games.

SuperiorX: Dustin really executed the whole punk/alt rock sound with this track perfectly. From the guitar riffs, the obligatory "everything drops out except the vocals and percussion" section, and the spot-on vocal performance, everything just clicks. A rockin' tribute to "Sonic Boom," no doubt. Check it out!

03. Amphibious - "Palm Beach SEGA Tan"
Source: "Palmtree Panic" (US)

Amphibious: I had Sonic CD on my computer when I was young, so picking a track from the US soundtrack seemed like the right choice for me. For whatever reason, I decided on the Good Future music of Palmtree Panic instead of the Present (which had a lot more melodic material to work with by comparison). To me, it's one of the more unique tracks on the album, and I wanted to do something really groovy with it. I focused a lot on the lead synths to get them sounding just right, and the rest just kind of happened slowly over the course of a few months. I'm pretty happy with how it has turned out, and I hope people enjoy my track as well as the whole album, there's some great stuff!

SuperiorX: I always enjoy Amphibious's chill and jazzy arrangements and he does not disappoint here either. This one is a little more upbeat than some of his others, with some driving percussion and some funky synths keeping things going. I love the progressions and variations on the melody and harmonies as the track develops. Instrumentation and production are spot-on here too. A very enjoyable listen!

04. HoboKa, Sir Jordanius feat. Xenon Odyssey - "Titillating Tempest"
Source: "Tidal Tempest" (US)

HoboKa: Very watery sounding and it's too cool to be lumped in any 1 genre, so let's go with videogame music. ^^ I did most of the EQ balance and Jordan did the final mix for me, after OVER 9000 attempts at getting it to work. Also, the bass was being a very naughty boy and had to be disciplined appropriately. But it's all good now and me 'n Jordan are damn proud of the final product.

Water ambiance, saxamophone, monk vocals, and extra beefy drums. With a side of French fries.

Sir Jordanius: HoboKa and I have a very, very, very, VERY peculiar sense of humour, and it most likely goes over several people's heads if you're not familiar with our personalities and usual standard operating procedures. You can either take this as an incredibly serious, emotional arrangement at face value, or read (listen) in between the lines to notice a lot of the subtle humour we've strewn throughout this arrangement.

Firstly, HoboKa was having a rough time at first with bringing his arrangement idea up to the standard quality of the rest of the album, and there was quite a bit of butthurtianism to go around the whole team for several months (I kept on saying that his musical ideas were great and very captivating, it's just the production execution of those ideas that needed some polishing); plus, I originally intended just to be a cheerleader of sorts for HoboKa by coaching him on just to bring the production up to par.

But after several hilarious back-to-back emails and chatting sessions, I realized that I should probably just throw a little bit of Jordanius noodling on there for good measure!

There is a lot of funny behind-the-scenes moments that would probably not make sense to most people who aren't in on the jokes that were being discussed between us, but to explain the gist of it:

-When I was first just giving production advice, I used a bunch of cheesy aquatic figurative language and shonen rousing speeches to try and illustrate best to HoboKa what I was suggesting.

(ex., I said to treat the filter sweeps as though the listener is a mermaid traveling all the way from the depths of the ocean floor up to the surface to splash out of the water in slow motion as her hair glistens in the shimmery sun... yeah I know. And then later on, I mentioned how that bassline is sooo phat but it needs a restraining order, because it was coming across as Poseidon lurking in a lake and throwing tidal waves at helpless children who were just trying to skip some stones).

-After loads of bizarre imagery and hilarious shonen speeches to get HoboKa pumped ("Narutoooo!!"), I decided to go ahead and record some of the parts that were too difficult for me to explain to him through text (plus, we were approaching the deadline and I just wanted to make his load a little easier).

-After ping-ponging back and forth to see what we agreed on, we decided to go ahead and stick with my new additions (such as running his original track through "paulstretch" and "stutter edit," and adding some Ratatat guitars and "Dr. DOOOooom" drum parts, etc.)

So, in line with the whole aquatic vibes, we went to town with my cheesy mermaid metaphors. We've got Poseidon throwing it down with the thick bassline while using his elegant filter sweeping trident to penetrate the Auto-tuned Enya merman ritual choir boys. Get your ears ready, open your mind, and prepare yourself to ride the cosmic waves of absolution and divinity... We hope you ladies and gents like Ratatat-ified aquatic Gregorian chant mixed with lush, sexually amazing sax playing (courtesy of Xenon, of course).

Oh lawd, what have we done.

Xenon Odyssey: >HoboKa makes track with soundfont saxophone
>thatsnogood.wav
>SuperiorX says 'hey check this out'
>chat with HoboKa
>record
>???
>profit

05. Garpocalypse, SuperiorX - "Ion Storms Above the Mechanical Forest" - Mastered by Brandon Strader
Source: "Collision Chaos" (US)

Garpocalypse: For a long time, I was determined to never touch the music from any Sonic the Hedgehog game. However, once this Sonic CD tribute album was announced, I knew that if I didn't at least try to get on it that I was going to regret it for a long time.

I think my love of Sonic and my own fears of butchering "Collision Chaos" ended up causing me a lot more stress than I initially planned to endure, but looking back I am thrilled that I was able to be a part of this album. Special thanks goes to SuperiorX, who gave the track a ton of attention throughout the year.

SuperiorX: I just provided a small assist along the way here; helping the arrangement along a bit and adding my own synth lead and some backing pads here and there. Props to Brandon Strader too for helping with some drum programming and doing the final mastering. Overall, I'm happy with how this track turned out. Gar did a great job!

06. Jivemaster - "Quadrant of Rock"
Source: "Quartz Quadrant" (US)

Jivemaster: What started as a demo later in the project has turned into what we have here: a Jivemaster track that is as grungy as it is unexpected. I am quite happy with how this finally turned out and hope everyone enjoys this dub-island inspired journey.

07. PROTO·DOME - "WORK IT!"
Source: "Wacky Workbench" (US)

PROTO·DOME: A simple, funky, 80's-inspired FM jam session.

My dad plays a mean guitar solo -- mad props to him for that.

08. Chernabogue - "The Hero of Time"
Sources: "Invincible!!" (US), "Zone Clear" (US)

09. KingTiger - "Road Trip"
Source: "Stardust Speedway" (US)

KingTiger: I've loved Sonic for a long time, starting out with the original Sonic the Hedgehog game on the Sega Genesis… From there, I've played (to death) all of the Sega Genesis Sonic games, and I started watching the cartoons (both SatAM and AoStH) and collecting the Archie comics (I still have them, I think I have about 300?). I still have my Genesis with quite a few games too!

Sonic CD was/is a bit of a cult classic, and back in the day, it held a similar status in my mind… seeing as I didn't have a Sega CD, and my parents wouldn't let me get one, I had to make do with fantasy for a while, until I got the Sega PC version of the game, which was unfortunately pretty glitchy. Even though I knew nothing of the differing regional soundtracks at the time, I was quite obsessed with the music, and would regularly put the game CD in my CD player to listen to it.

You can imagine my joy when Sonic CD was re-released in 2011. Not only was it not glitchy, but it gave you the option of which soundtrack to use! I have it on both my Android and my PC, and even my two-year-old daughter loves watching me play.

My involvement with the Sonic CD project started in 2012, after taking part in Matt's Sonic Zone Remix Competition. After Rexy gathered some initial interest, Matt took the reins, and the rest is history... I joined up as quickly as I could and allowed most of the tracks to be claimed before taking "Stardust Speedway."

"Stardust Speedway" has always been one of my favorite tracks from the US soundtrack, and so it seemed like a good choice for me. The only problem I encountered was the incredibly repetitive nature of the melody, so I had to take some creative measures. As I built my remix, I learned a lot about production through the help of Flexstyle and Phonetic Hero, and was able to make my track that much better. Thanks, guys!

I'm really grateful to be a part of this project, and I hope you enjoy "Road Trip" as much as I enjoyed making it.

10. Arceace - "Running to the Beat"
Source: "Special Stage" (US)

Arceace: This track initially started out as a little experiment with a couple of drum patterns. I used the main bass from the original and played it along with the drums. To my surprise, they went together perfectly, and the rest of the song happened naturally.

My very first experience with OCR was when I discovered the album Project Chaos. I was amazed at the quality of each song, and some of my favorite remixes have come from that album. Ever since then, I've always wanted to be a part of an album project for OCR, and I am extremely excited that the day has finally come. When I saw that Matt (SuperiorX) was looking to start the project, I was more than happy to volunteer.

This has been a very rewarding experience for me in many ways. I am very proud that I was able to be a part of this project, and I can't wait to hear the final product.

SuperiorX: Ben's (Arceace) version of the "Special Stage" US source really grew on me the more and more I listened to it. It's a somewhat minimalist track with some lengthy buildups, but I just love how that driving bass just brings you right into the track. The lighter synth leads play off the bass parts perfectly and create an interesting soundscape. There are some well-timed breaks and percussion patterns throughout as well, which really helps keep the song moving forward. I really liked the fuzzy synth parts at the end that play on the backbeat of every other measure too -- they have a killer sound. The whole track gives me this 90s house/techno vibe that I think fits both the source and the album well!

11. Tuberz McGee - "Corruption"
Source: "Metallic Madness" (US)

Tuberz McGee: Through the combined powers of teenage angst, late-night coffee-powered struggles and the ability to comfort any multitude of cats and/or kittens in the face of danger and/or flying creatures, Tuberz fights for the justice of his people with his very loud, very noisy, chaotic music that holds no moral purpose whatsoever.

The track is most definitely an attempt to look cooler than he is…

It's not working.

…

Definitely not working.

12. Phonetic Hero - "Yours Truly, Satan"
Source: "Boss!!" (US)

Phonetic Hero: I wanted to start by saying this was a really fun project to work on, and though I didn't do as much as I could, it was fun staffing and giving feedback where I could help. Matt did a hell of a job orchestrating everything, and I'm sure it won't be his last album project as the head honcho!

So anyway, this track spawned from the absolutely unnerving mood original, especially when paired with an Easter egg at the sound menu of the game... By putting in a certain code, you're taken to a screen with a really messed up looking version of Sonic, with some Japanese text that translates to "Fun is infinite with Sega Enterprises. Signed, Majin (meaning Demon or Devil)". Obviously, this is also where the name of the remix comes from. This track started off creepy, and only got more and more unsettling and eventually downright scary as I continued to work on it. I usually work at night downstairs by myself, and I ended up freaking myself out pretty good a few times, which to me is a sign that I've done what I set out to do pretty effectively (or that I'm a big pansy :P). Listen by yourself with the lights off for maximum effect. :D

SuperiorX: The US soundtrack of Sonic CD, in general, has a lot of detailed and lush sources, but oftentimes lacks a main catchy melody like the JP/EU soundtrack. The biggest example of this is the US boss theme. Early on in the project, I was worried about what we were going to do with this track. Pete agreed to tackle it and I honestly couldn't be happier with what he did here. He really expanded on the central and accompaniment parts and took them to a whole new level. It's definitely still the recognizable source material, but there is just so much more "there" to enjoy. On top of that, the track is downright terrifying to listen to. The way the haunting piano and string stabs play off one another is just great. I think this track is a perfect example of expanding on a minimalist source and executing on a specific track vision. I think it's one of, if not the best and most solid track I've heard from Pete yet.

13. Magellanic feat. PROTO·DOME - "Take It All the Way"
Source: "Sonic Boom"

Magellanic: This track was very much inspired by J-pop (specifically the DBZ Budokai 3 soundtrack). Though it probably wouldn't be described as such, I just wanted it to be super cheesey, but also bursting with energy. It was great working with Blake on this one as, without his sax parts, it just wouldn't have been possible.

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

Disc 03 - FUTURE

01. KingTiger - "Primed & Ready"
Source: Metal Sonic SFX

02. Jivemaster feat. Rabcandy - "The Boom (Undeleted)"
Source: "Sonic Boom"

Jivemaster: A late addition to the album, "The Boom (Undeleted)" almost didn't happen. Taking inspiration from the all-but-forgotten "Da Boom" remix - a pulled track from OCR, "The Boom (Undeleted)" is the realisation of the remix I wanted to create 10 years ago. The tempo has been relaxed to create more of a traditional pop vibe, while still maintaining the original song's energy. Vocals are performed by OCR newcomer Rabcandy, who brings a sweet playfulness to the track. I'd like to give out a special thanks to ladyWildfire for her vocals in the initial proof of concept of this mix.

SuperiorX: The backstory behind this track is pretty cool actually… Joel explained to me how he had a Sonic Boom mix that was posted on OCR waaaaaaaaay back in the day and was pulled during one of the old OCR site clean-ups of tracks that sampled too much original source material and whatnot, so this mix kind of turned into a personal vendetta for Joel to get "Sonic Boom" back on OCR. Hence the title "The Boom (Undeleted)." Joel really brought his A-game on this mix: the execution and production is top-notch, the instrumentation fits the style perfectly, and the song just has an overall crisp and polished sound to it. Joel's wife, Rabcandy, did a great job nailing the vocals on the mix too. The vocal layering and effects were utilized perfectly to match the electronic soundscape. The end result is an upbeat and addicting mix that is just plain fun to listen to!

03. Andy Tunstall - "Undertow to Leatow"
Source: "Tidal Tempest" (JP/EU)

Andy Tunstall: A lot of inspiration for this song came from Quantic, Daft Punk, and Funk Fiction's work.

I originally just wanted to remix Tidal Tempest's Bad Future, but ended up incorporating elements from the Past and Present songs as well. I wanted to go for a track that consistently evolved and didn't get too repetitive.

I had a blast working on this song! I never really get much time to remix songs, so I had a lot of fun with overcoming this new challenge.

SuperiorX: Some of you may be familiar with Andy Tunstall and Funk Fiction from their work on the excellent Sonic: Before the Sequel and Sonic: After the Sequel fan-game soundtracks. And if you're not, then, you should check them out, because both are really solid. So it was really exciting that I was able to get both artists to contribute a track to Temporal Duality.

Andy brings us his take on "Tidal Tempest" JP, which really gives me this island/tropical night-life kind of vibe. Things start out pretty chill with some atmospheric pads and some syncopated percussion parts to set the mood, but then the second half really kicks things up a notch with some awesome electric guitar soloing and accompaniment parts. He also makes great use of the stereo-space to really pull you into the mix. The result is a really enjoyable track that you can really get your groove on to!

04. Funk Fiction - "Crystal Duration" - Guitar performance by Paul Bethers
Sources: "Metallic Madness" (JP/EU), "Special Stage" (JP/EU)

Funk Fiction: As a lot of Funk Fiction tracks are, "Crystal Duration" drew influence from numerous sources. In this case, French house, 90s techno, funk, disco, VGM, and even hints of psychedelic and ambient.

The sources of the track are "Special Stage" and "Metallic Madness." The objective was to find a way to intertwine them seamlessly into an elaborate, new composition.

The track's title works 2 ways in reference to Sonic CD. In one, "Crystal Duration" is another way of saying Time Stone. In another, it's simply an abbreviation for "CD."

SuperiorX: I became a big fan of Funk Fiction's work since I heard some of his Sonic: After the Sequel tracks. The man can really bring the funk, and does so again here with some juicy bass and smooth lead synths. On this track, Pejman mixed both the "Special Stage" JP and "Metallic Madness" JP themes seamlessly in a really chilled out house vibe. I love the use of the orch hits and the distorted piano bits that call back to the original "Metallic Madness" source. Then, the breakdown towards the end of the song is a really fresh take on the "Special Stage" source, and a welcome change-up from the rest of the track. This is definitely one of those mixes you could listen to on repeat for quite some time. Well done!

05. Portanexus - "Two Futures"
Source: "Stardust Speedway" (JP/EU)

Portanexus: This track puts an electronic twist on the Japanese version of "Stardust Speedway." I use both elements of the Good Future and Bad Future soundtracks. I didn't work with anyone else on this track, but followed criticisms of colleagues.


SuperiorX: Portanexus is another artist from outside the OCR community that approached me about making a track for Temporal Duality (ironically, I think it was via a tweet that DiGi Valentine had made about the project at the time). He came forward with an idea for a really upbeat electronic take on "Stardust Speedway" JP, which I thought would really compliment our other hip hop take on "Stardust" quite well.

I love how Portanexus handled the source material here. The intro buildup really gets things kickin' and the lead instrumentation and the chippy harmony parts keep the energy level up throughout. The section at 1:20 cleverly makes use of the sirens you hear from the Bad Future source, and the subsequent middle section is a nice change of pace featuring some of the Good Future elements. While the arrangement might not deviate a lot from the source material, I think the instrumentation, attention to detail, and production polish really highlight this remix. It's got that "official arrangement" feel to it that makes it sound like it would fit right in with a modern Sonic game re-release.

06. ladyWildfire feat. Level 99 - "Future Crystalline Luminosity"
Source: "Quartz Quadrant" (US)

ladyWildfire: I was unable to start production on this track for many months due to a tough class load, so I started much later than most other remixers on this project and was under a big time constraint. I was struggling with the direction to take on this piece, since "Quartz Quadrant" US doesn't have many distinct melodies. I chose to focus on the more ambient/electronic Future themes, combining the major-key Good Future's melody with the minor-key Bad Future's atmosphere. About halfway through production, I asked my good friend Stevo (Level 99) to provide some samples, and it ended up fitting the track much better than I had expected. Near the end of production, I was pressured into adding my own vocals to the track, which ended up being the final touch on what I now believe to be my most ambitious piece to date. I put in many long nights and a ton of effort into this remix, and I hope you all love it like I do!

SuperiorX: From ladyWildfire, we have an ever-evolving progressive trance mix of "Quartz Quadrant" US. The thing that really stands out to me with this mix is the attention to detail throughout the track. There are so many little elements that get added in and taken out throughout the many build-ups and breakdowns, which really helps keep the track interesting and fresh. If you're just casually listening to the mix, you could easily get lost in the atmosphere Beth's created here. The guitar parts from Stevo (Level 99) are a perfect addition and honestly fit the track a lot better than I thought they would when I first heard about the idea. The combination of the acoustic guitar and Beth's ethereal vocals in the intro really fit together well, and helps get the song started off strong. Stevo's electric guitar solo later in the track really helps invigorate the track with some extra energy for the home stretch. The time and effort Beth spent on this mix is apparent, as I think this is easily the most polished mix I've heard from her to date!

07. Phonetic Hero, therex - "Whack It"
Source: "Wacky Workbench" (US)

Phonetic Hero: Another quick fun track, Ethan had commented within the last couple/few weeks of the project's completion, and we decided REALLY late to make a track real quick before the end. I threw down most of the bass work (gotta love those FM Genesis samples), drums (all of which were Genesis samples except for the snare(s)), and some of the leads, and shipped it off to him with just a couple days before Matt shipped the project off for eval, and he added more layers - pads, that sexy funk guitar, more leads in spots, and wrote us an ending. He sent stems back with probably half a day before sending it in, and I did a bit of tweaking on the mix and mastered it before sending the final track to Matt. It was a bit rushed, but overall I'm glad this one's being included, if only for the nods to Genesis-era Sonic. <3

therex: I came into this project pretty late actually; about a week before it wrapped up, I posted in the project thread offering help with any remaining tracks. After a few days, Project QA Dongle and good buddy Petenetic Hero contacted me about collaborating on "Wacky Workbench." Despite some computer file bunkage from the technology gods, Pete sent me a lovely steak of a remix that I had the pleasure of garnishing with delectable funk guitar and pad work, among some other doodads. For the remix itself, we decided to go with a more nostalgic chiptune/Genesis aesthetic, and though I've never played Sonic CD, I think we caught the vibe of the source well. Hope you enjoy!

08. Tuberz McGee - "Gotta Go Faster" - Mastered by Sir Jordanius
Sources: "Collision Chaos" (JP/EU), "Sonic—You Can Do Anything"

Tuberz McGee: This track came together in an attempt to write metal. This riff has some kind of chemical inability to be anything but funky-licious, however, and that premise was quickly dethroned. I decided to add the vocals as a joke first off, but then it actually became awesome. The track is a real first for me, but it's a sound I really want to continue doing. Mad props to Mr. Sir Dude Jordanius Damashii!! Bro. He did a tonne of polishing on this and made it better than the wet rag that I presented.

09. djpretzel - "Starway"
Source: "Stardust Speedway" (US)

djpretzel: I was trying something a little different, plus this was my first attempt at mixing with Reaper. It's a bit of a concept mix... I wanted to slow down the original & go for a "deep space exploration" sorta vibe, trippy & with a lo-fi bent.

10. Brandon Strader - "Temporal Duality"
Source: "Final Fever" (JP/EU)

Brandon Strader: For the Sonic CD album, instead of making the symphonic metal that was expected, I chose to follow a road less traveled artistically (at least in my repertoire), which was more ambient and disharmonic. I made a lot of mistakes, and structurally went less avant-garde than I had in mind, but still consider this one of my most creative arrangements. With live drums (including an undampened kick drum for the massive BWOMPS) and some tambourine and other stuff, I think the song has great subtlety, but also a massive strength to it for some of the crescendos.

SuperiorX: Brandon and I had been discussing back-and-forth what he was going to do with this mix. Originally, he had proposed a more typical symphonic/orchestral metal arrangement that I think would've fit the source material quite well. A bit later, he showed me a few inspiration tracks that made him want to take this mix in a different direction. I could not be happier with the result.



His take on the source really connects with me on an emotional level: the haunting piano and strings evoke a pervasive sense of melancholy that is present throughout the track. Yet, the choral vocals and bells offer a glimmer of salvation in the otherwise bleak soundscape, which plays up that whole "there is no true despair without hope" notion. I also think all the various percussion instruments Brandon used add a whole other level of detail and nuance to this mix, which really help keep the soundscape interesting. This is definitely one of the most original and creative mixes I've heard from Brandon and I'm excited to hear him continue to explore new musical genres.

11. SuperiorX, Phonetic Hero - "The Future Is Bright"
Source: "Metallic Madness "G"mix" (JP/EU)

SuperiorX: So the idea for this track actually came off a YouTube comment I read after we released our first album preview in April. Someone said something along the lines of "I sure hope they do a Metallic Madness JP Good Future mix!" After reading that, I checked out the source and remembered how different the Good Future mix was from the other "Metallic Madness" JP sources. I had an idea then to just make this an over-the-top triumphant "We just saved the world" kind of track. From there, this song basically wrote itself in 2 days time. I had loads of fun writing the main synth lead part and then went to town with those background orch hits. I wanted it to be a collab track, so I asked Pete to join in too and he added some truly awesome chip lead parts and made the really cool 8-bit breakdown section towards the end. I'm really happy with how this track ended up!

Phonetic Hero: Matt came to me in the late stages of the project with something he'd slapped together in a few hours, which is the main base of what's there now, and it was damn cool. He'd tossed around the idea of another big mega-collab, but it ended up just being him and me. He did the bulk of the work (all the arranging, percussion, etc.), I just added in some chippy solos, the chip break (and the transition to it), and the duet harmonies at the end. I also did the final master, and I think the track as a whole ended up pretty darn good! It's a fun one for sure. Enjoy!

12. W!SE the all.E - "Elevator Music"
Source: "Palmtree Panic "P"mix" (JP/EU)

W!SE the all.E: This song has a very, very special meaning to me, and although I put a lot of time and effort into making all of my remixes fun and enjoyable, I personally feel like this is my first official serious arrangement for OCR. Without trying to paint this as larger than what it really is, I truly believe it is more than just a remix or a song.

Those of you who have worked with me more often or are aware of my Paperbag Fencesitters project know that I also make music under the moniker of "W!SE the all.E" and, with that alias, my subject matter focuses on philosophical and social political deconstructions layered on top of futuristic Nujabes-esque beats. I wanted my first "official" debut as W!SE on OCR to be very unique and create a distinct clue that my W!SE stuff is still coming from the same individual, I just approach music in a different way. In my honest opinion, I am a rapper and a hip hop lyricist first, a pianist second, and waaaaaaaaaaay down the line a producer/arranger.

So, concerning how I even approached this track, when SupX first contacted me about how he was cooking up a Sonic CD remix album my initial reaction was "duuuude, you've gotta let me hop on Palmtree Panic." My original plan was to make a very chill bossa nova arrangement (I kind of wanted to deviate from my usual over-the-top funky stuff), but since 2012 through 2013 was such a stressful, trying time for me, it took me forever to even churn out a basic WIP that I felt proud enough to show to SupX.

As I mentioned and alluded to in my collab with halc, my job tended to make me feel greatly discouraged, stressed, and depressed, in general; however, strangely, I always seem to be most in the zone for writing my deepest lyrics or composing what I believe to be my most intimate songs when I'm going through trying times. So, while revisiting my bossa WIP, I just randomly kept on singing some of the lyrics from a very old rap song of mine ("Elevator Music" - it mostly likely will not be revealed to the public any time soon), and over time I started beefing up the beat little by little until, eventually, I realized that I was going to have to just go straight up Nujabes with my approach and finally reveal my rapping side to the interwebs once again (I had taken an indefinite hiatus from rapping after the death of Jun Seba and, prior to that, I just began to lose interest in rapping altogether).

So fast forward to about early Spring 2013... I'm sitting in the break room at work thinking about what to do with my WIP, and I don't just want to rehash all my lyrics from my original "Elevator Music." So I just start with my original chorus lyrics up until the first verse ("Cubicles..." through to "...doors slammed shut just like another wall"), and I pick out a random W-4 form I see lying around (turn it over to the blank, side since I didn't have any paper on me), ask a co-worker if I can borrow a pen, and I just start to write...

I'm not trying to brag or make this story incredibly dramatic, but I literally poured out all of my heart, frustration, hopes, and desires in those fifteen minutes of intense stream of consciousness focus, and, throughout the rest of the work shift, I was so excited to get home and record my vocal ideas as soon as possible. I did so and finally sent my idea to SupX (who, in turn, showed it to Phonetic) and they both gave me the green light, which was all the encouragement I needed.

With most of my rap songs (the serious, deep ones) there are three meanings: the literal meaning I know most people will understand at face value, the sub-contextual meaning you will get if you pay attention to my extended metaphors and allusions, and the fridge brilliance secret meaning which you will only get after you check out the original things I'm alluding to and then come back to listen to the song with these allusions and subtle nods in mind.

For starters, one of the allusions and hidden metaphors which may be really hard for most people to pinpoint is that the main bassline groove and my rhythmic delivery of "(ah ha) all that's left is the ghost in me" is a direct nod to T-Bone and KRS-One's "Gospelalphamegafunkyboogiediscomusic" Christian rap song, and if you pay attention to my first verse, I'm basically portraying my struggle with Christianity, Nihilism, and Existentialism as being trapped in a chaotic hotel, but the only time I ever seem to move anywhere is when I go into "The Elevator" (which takes me "up" or "down" depending on who I'm travelling with).

The second hidden meaning is when I basically start name dropping titles of some Dave Brubeck songs ("I had to TAKE FIVE to realize why EVERYBODY'S JUMPIN around…," etc.), and those who are familiar with these songs know that it is from the Time Out album, so I'm basically saying here that everything is becoming so hectic that the rhythm that I'm used to is just becoming so much harder and I just want to stop ("and catch my breath"). There are so many more little nods here and there, but I'd much rather let you all experience it for yourself.

Therefore, with all the above said, you can either just enjoy this as an elaborate Sonic remix featuring an exotic twist on the chord progression and melody, or you can read between the lines and pay attention to the fact that I'm basically opening up my heart like a book and having a self-analyzing discussion with my id, my ego, my super-ego, and God ("Father Time") concerning my mistakes from my past and my plans for making a "good future."

I hope that you enjoy my arrangement, and if you were or currently are going through very hard times like I was to the point where you just can't find anything to believe in or be at peace about, just keep your head up and know that the future is always bright. It took me a very long time to realize that I have the power to move forward, I just have to take that first step. Maybe my situations were ordained or part of some deity's master plan to make me into the person that I'm supposed to be, so here's to hoping that I'll be right on time.

And I'm praying that the future turns out bright.

Peace,
~Jordan