"Big Sister Matti"

Bioshock 2 (PS3) Thumbnail
Bioshock 2 (PS3)Composer: Garry Schyman
2017-01-01
American Pixels
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* Note: this track is not available for free download due to the fact that it is part of the licensed American Pixels album. The project is available through Bandcamp, iTunes, Spotify, Deezer, and Amazon.

I'll just come out and say it. I prefer Bioshock 1 and 2 to Infinite. There. I won't start a debate into the pros and cons of either, but let me suffice to say that the Big Daddy is just... so... cool.

That said, the original concept for the Garry Schyman tribute was to craft a "Welcome to Rapture" remix, from the first Bioshock game. I do have a decent start on one too; aquatic metal with an electric guitar lead, whale sounds mixing with the electronics... it's got potential. But, as the album came together as a whole, that particular track seemed out of place. The collection didn't need more guitar, or even more aquatic influence. That's in the project already. What the album needed, actually, was some sort of low-key chillout track worked in, to balance out the craziness of the rest of the tracks. Something relaxing, somber, melodic yet serene, soothing yet interesting.

A perfect fit: the "Pairbond" theme from Bioshock 2.

Now, as to the genre, there's one name that comes to mind when I think about chillout, and that is: Xerxes. My colleague and fellow tracker has made quite a name for himself, so much so that "Xerxes-style" is widely referred to in the scene as its own genre! If you're not familiar with his work, you need to be; check it out here.

Now, this isn't my first time doing a Xerxes stylistic homage as a base for a remix; in fact, on the first American Album I did that with my Earthworm Jim 2 remix "Glow Worm Jim." On the Harmony of a Hunter (Metroid) project I did a similar homage with "Parasite X." It seemed fitting that I do another one here as well. The title here is a nod to one of Xerxes' tracks, "Matti's Theme," that was a source of both inspiration and samples for this remix.

This was actually one of the very last pieces I assembled for the album, and was also a track I used to ease back into the art form after a several-month dry spell, so, it has special signicance to me for a few reasons.

PS - Fun fact, this isn't the first time I arranged a theme from Bioshock; check out my chiptune arrangement of Cohen's Masterpiece" from Star Spangled Chips.

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