During the month of October, we had a series of Halloween themed Arrangement of the Week entries. It was fun highlighting some pieces within a specific category, so I thought it would be nice to do something similar for the holiday season. So for the month of December, Arrangement of the Week will be featuring winter and holiday themed pieces from the game music remix community.
First up is an electronic remix of Sonic the Hedgehog 3’s “Ice Cap Zone” from Jimmy Hinson, aka Big Giant Circles, titled “Eastern Ice Field.”
The piece has a slow opening, starting off with some atmosphere effects and wind chimes. As the remix name implies, this arrangement has some eastern flavor to its sound. The first instruments to emerge are a plucked zither, a harp, and a flute-like lead. At around 0’53” the percussion comes in to give the track a more electronica focused vibe. These elements combine to create a wonderful hybrid sound of electronic and eastern instruments.
What makes this arrangement stand out for me are the transition and improv sections. Sections like 2’03” feature a handful of interesting shifts in tone. The mix quiets down and ramps back up all in a very short time span. The track is full of other fun changes and surprises, including a fake out ending at 3’10”. I also liked the choice by Big Giant Circles to focuses more on the chords and textures, rather than the bass line, which is more prominent in the source piece. Overall, it’s a great winter themed track to help start off the month of December.
Have any favorite winter or holiday themed remixes you’d like to share? Let us know in the comments below. You can check out Big Giant Circles’ “Eastern Ice Field” on OC ReMix.
Tags: Arrangement of the Week, Big Giant Circles, Game Music, Jimmy Hinson, VGM
