Sonic Remix Sunday! Twin Remixes by Ben Briggs & PrototypeRaptor

SonichIf you need a break from the Coachella livestream & you had a Genesis, you’re going to like this stuff. I got the Sonic the Hedgehog theme music stuck in my head so I decided to dig around and throw down my 2 favorite remixes involving the Blue Blur himself.  First up, PrototypeRaptor mixing a fun Electro remix of the Chemical Plant Zone in Sonic 2. Bumping, super high energy and authentic pad work really makes it come alive. This is one of the few video game remixes that I could see making it onto a legit dance floor. This was one of my favorite downloads at OC Remix. Apparently people liked it so much he dropped a VIP/extended remix of it, which is what you just listened to. Ben Briggs needs a huge amount of props about this. This kind of bouncey modern re-imagining of the Hydrocity Zone music in Sonic 3 is a prime example of what I think modern chip & VGM DJs need to sound like to remain relevant in the era where people are playing games on their phone as often as they are on their gaming consoles. The FX are totally authentic, the squelchy bass works great & the wait to pull you into the mega-sweet breakdown at 2:15 is executed masterfully. The drop pulls in synthy perfection that throws me back into playing the crap out of Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles locked on (who even remembers lock on technology?!). The sample is from one of the Sonic cartoons and could not be more at home. Now if I could just find a chili dog somewhere.

Midnight Music: Flexstyle Drops 2 RaveCon Mixes Which Need To Be Heard!

Flexstyle, a little known OCRemix DJ/contributor, was let loose at Saboten Con a little bit ago, and we’re all better for it. Opening the live party mix with a PrototypeRaptor electrohouse banger, this guy immediately declared he was not fucking around. Mixing into a remix of my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE level music ever, really could not win more points in my book. The Ben Briggs remix does the Flying Battery Zone (Sonic & Knuckles was a damn triumph) justice and then, there’s Bloody Beetroots! I don’t know where this kid came from, but this is the first time I’ve been convinced I wanted to go to a con in years. If the tunes sounded like this? I’d be 100% down. A particularly wonderful Green Day remix helps transition the mix into original music (but not without dropping a sweet Chemical Zone Remix, with a taunting DDR sample if I’m not mistaken) half of the mix. This is another area where Flexstyle shines. The tunes are expertly produced and pushed together. I can’t wait to hear when he starts integrating his trance & bass tracks into his live mix.

Bonus set! They let him back on the decks, which is a decision I couldn’t support more. I’m not sure how to describe this. This is Nerd Rave music. This is what I wished every chiptune show was ever. Frankly, I’d just listen to 4 hours of electro, deep house, trance & glitch remixes of video game music. If you want to play synthed out West Coast bootlegs of Sonic 3 music, I really would pay you money to do that. Is that possible? This mix even brings in electro swing, which is wonderful. I think this kind of stuff can bring a lot of introverts out of their shell. It’s easy to hear something you recognize and it’s complicated enough that it’s not doofy big room anthem shit. If Big Room is the frat in the EDM scene, this is the Anime club. And man, they look like they’re having a lot of fun.