K8-bit - Tusker (Into the Heart of Darkness ft. Anna Black)

18 other remixes of Tusker

6 other remixes of subtune 3

AN EPIC 3 MILLION YEARS IN THE MAKING!!!
(Or… 2 Lanky bints with obsessive compulsive perfectionism finally agree the tune is finished!)

This little inkling of an idea for a cover kind of grew and grew, as I went from where I had in mind - a synthy cover of the rather dark tune…
but someone had already covered it in quite a nice synthy way, and so I thought maybe a full on rock style -
but I was loathe to do so after having just done one.

So, I decided to approach the piece in a more grandiose way, a progressive fusion of 8-bit, orchestral instrumentation, and raucous rock,
with an aggressive electronica sound. Then I had my best idea - ask fellow 8-bit femmezoid Anna Black to collaborate with a spoken
dialogue sequence, telling the story of the TUSKER hero's adventures (as seen in level 2 of the game) - so a basic story outline was penned,
then tweaked. An initial recording was made, and the feel was good, so we pressed on.

The story of the dialogue comes from the Tusker game itself, along with some nods to some movie and gaming in-jokes/conventions.

Musically this was a very difficult track to produce, as it evolved over time, and the mastering of the actual mix proved very complex -
for this I'd like to say thank you to Putzi who gave me some excellent advice with the technical side of audio mixing.

However, as is often the case for musicians, sometimes you work so hard on a piece that it begins to drive you mad, and at the end I
just wanted this one out the door, though even as it went out the door I thought oooh I could've added that etc !
Sometimes you've just got to let the kids go!

The final track is very long, but is driven by the storytelling element. I have produced two other versions however, a shorter one, driven
by the rock element, sans le vocal sequences, for those of you with ADHD (you know who you are!!!) - and the full length but instrumental
version.

Kate