Peter Clarke - Supremacy (Encore64 V2)
I mention this elsewhere also.. I keep being drawn to lots of JT SIDs when looking for remix material. The classical roots in his melodies and chord progressions definitely resonate with me and Supremacy is certainly one of those. This particular SID is almost 2 tunes in 1 with its sparse, melodic opening then going uptempo as the tune progresses.
Now, you will have heard me 'bang on' about not doing bland, 1:1 cover versions and calling them remixes and I'll always put my own creative, inventive stamp on the tracks I remix to take the original SID.. somewhere..
As I worked on those opening bars, weirdly I got Morricone vibes in my head and decided I would have a couple of nods to that great composer in this remix. I knew that once that 2nd part of Supremacy kicked in and went uptempo, it wouldn't work in Morricone style so.. A nod, close to the beginning and a return at the end to complete 'the circle' was the idea and based on everybody's feedback, the idea works and people understand where I've gone with this. In football parlance, we'd call it a game of 2 halves
and this is kind of the musical equivalent, returning to the lonely, musical box melody right at the close.. just to try to tug your heartstrings one last time..
Off to Dr Danko for mastering and he has done his usual 'voodoo magic' on the master.. equalizing some of the more spikey bits in places and just clarifying the whole mix..
Technique
Artistic skill
Nostalgia factor
Overall rating
Technique
Artistic skill
Nostalgia factor
Overall rating
Technique
Artistic skill
Nostalgia factor
Overall rating
Technique
Artistic skill
Nostalgia factor
Overall rating
The intro is all Morricone, there's no question. It even features the watch chime from A Few Dollars More
almost as is.
Honestly, I was kinda hoping the entire piece would continue in the same spaghetti western vein, but then Peter used a bunch of big taiko drums at 1:40 to wake me up from that dream and take it in a more symphonic prog-rock direction.
Then at around 4:15 (including the key change at 4:25) I am hearing more Rondo Veneziano vibes, probably because of the winds.
After all that he masterfully finishes the remix where he started: with Morricone's chimes again. That downtempo outro - genius. Way to bring it full circle!
Whew, Mr. Clarke always finds a way to bring us along on a lengthy and meaningful musical journey, and this one is no exception! What a trip!