Bastian Dornbach - Tetris (C64 Orchestral Mix)

I figure if someone goes to the trouble of doing a 1:1 cover of this classic, capturing every note, then the least I can do is give a full review. So I confess the begining is quite underwhelming, although the flute is perfect choice for the lead. When the sample kicks in on the SID I miss the drama, with staccato strings doing their best to fill in…but from a slightly dissapointing start, things start to improve…massively ! Delicate use of strings begin to give this a Morricone-esque type feel…they are used cleverly, and you begin realise this newcomer knows exactly what he's doing. Subtle brass and woodwind create a perfect soundscape for the theme to evolve. Part 2 brings a suitable but perfect 'fairground' organ style sound to usher itself in…and again, we fall away a little for a short time…but all the while you just know this is slowly building. As the strings and brass combine again, I feel I hear the inspiration of Ernio again…Bastain seems to nail the dynamics here, and all that's missing is some female opera vocals. Superb ! At the 16 min mark we begin get extra percussion, offering some lovely crecendos. If you love this theme, don't be put off by the opening. I listened to this multiple times, and hugely enjoyed the 25mins. Yes, there are small areas to improve, but Bastain has excelled in bringing a very, very good remix of a challenging SID. This is more or less a 1:1 version of the original, and perhaps in future this clearly talented musician can add a little of his own flair. For a first submission this is excellent, and I for one, can't wait to hear what he does next. Well done !

To even attempt the whole 25 minutes plus of Tetris is a monumental effort to start with, never mind the execution. There's lots of well balanced progression and development as the tune builds and builds, and even though some of the instrument choices may not be everyone's cup of tea, there's no doubt that the feeling of the original SID is there in abundance, and for me, that's the most important thing - it's all there with feeling and heart. The rise and fall of the SID backing instrument is here as the whole thing moves along.

There's plenty of film score sounds here, straight out of the likes of Philip Glass, Ennio Morricone et al. It's also testament to the way that the crescendos build from 17 minutes in that there's attention to detail to make not ust a 1:1 cover of the whole thing, but add to much more too. I'm certainly looking forward to what Bastian can do in the future, and this is a very good start indeed.