"Comix Bubbles"

Comix Zone (Sega Genesis) Thumbnail
Comix Zone (Sega Genesis)Composer: Howard Drossin
2017-08-24
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As the Kickstarter campaign for American Pixels came to a close, I was very pleased that a few backers opted to pledge at a "commission a remix" level. "Comix Bubbles" is the result of one of those. The request came in - from none other than the legenday DJ Pretzel of OverClocked ReMix - that I arrange the music from Comix Zone, Episode 1, Page 1-1. Naturally, the first thing I asked was "is it by an American composer?" (I wanted the commission tracks to stay on theme, after all.)

The answer: yes. The original theme was composed by Howard Drossin, a rather versatile composer who has worked on both films and video games. You may have heard his work in The Man with the Iron Fists, Baldur's Gate II, or if you're a martial arts afficianado like me, in films such as The Protector.

So I checked out the original, and... yeah. It was unique. A fun challenge. It was hard to get a good start on this too, primarily because when you break it down... it's a fairly happy theme. I don't do happy remixes all that often, heh. But, once I locked into the happy aspect, I asked - what if this was turned into one of those aggressively happy chiptunes? You know, going 9-bit with it, using some deliberately harsh chip samples, going to 30+ channels with the layering and effects... would that work? Good news. It did.

Getting back into remixing post-album release has been fun. It was nice to have a fresh track that didn't require sheet music, live instrumentalists, or funding. I'm on a 9-bit kick lately too, so crafting this was a blast in that regard as well. Thanks to tracker folks like Beek and Blue Zone for the samples and inspiration. And a huge thanks to DJ Pretzel, again for the commission, and also for the support that helped the American Pixels album become a reality!

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