It’s Dangerous To Dance Alone! Take “Zelda Step”

Navi says to LISTEN! But if you know you hate dubstep, you’ll want to ignore her.

Okay, now that the haters are gone, that leaves two groups of people: those who know and understand what dubstep is (and are either into it or are apathetic) and those who don’t quite grasp the term yet.

For the two groups left, let me ask you this: wanna hear The Legend of Zelda in a way you’ve never heard it before? Good! Follow along on this bandcamp page and read about Ephixa’s fantastic dubstep release Zelda Step from 2010… post-jump. Jumpstep? Dubjump? Double jump? I love puns.

Ephixa made four heavy, lengthy cuts from Zelda titles (almost exclusively Ocarina of Time). These four tracks are what you’re paying for if you download the album ($4 Canadian). The other three are bonus tracks… basically, it’s the same dubstep tracks (minus “Dragon Roost Island”) with some fantastic nerdcore hip-hop from NoneLikeJoshua. Don’t believe that it’s awesome? Then LISTEN!! To “Lost Woods.” And if you’re willing to listen to something a tad bit darker, check out the final track.

The instrumental mixes are fantastic. I love the nonstop in-your-face 6/8 sound of “Song of Storms.” Who know a little ocarina melody could turn into this?! And when the chip-ish melody comes in at the two minute mark … mM!!! Magnifique!

The decorations surrounding the sharp, crunchy, high-pitched melody in “Lost Woods” are exactly why I love dubstep. Thick power chords, eccentric percussion, and sweet booming bass. And seriously? That sample of Navi saying “LISTEN!” has got to be my favorite use of a voice sample in years. Clever, clever work.

“Gerudo Valley Dubstep” is, without question, the weakest track of the bunch. Everyone I know who has even bothered to play Ocarina of Time knows that Gerudo Valley is an awesome track. But it’s hard to make the song work outside its original romantic, Spanish-guitar-heavy style. And as good as Ephixa is… for me, this is overkill. “Gerudo Valley” is all about subtlety, and instead of working with that subtlety, Ephixa goes all-out four-on-the-floor. Bleh.

Redemption comes in the final instrumental track, which is personally my favorite of the lot.  “Dragon Roost Island” is from Wind Waker, and Ephixa’s grade-A treatment is fantastic, especially for a song I had forgotten about. Just … LISTEN!! — and see for yourself. This is one I’d love to hear live from a DJ’s table.

The really embarrassing thing is that this Ephixa seems to be a fairly popular artist (among the right circles), yet I had no knowledge of this artist or the album until a reader tipped us off. Many thanks to that reader! It’s resulted in the sale of at least one more copy of the album.