ON TRAX: THE ABSOLUTE/Commentary

The following is the commentary list to the album that was included in the physical release and in the digital rerelease.
===Your Brother 2010===
a reworking of a track that samples Renaldo Lapuz's legendary American Idol audition. his energy is infectious.
===Ken's Song===
an arrangement of "Excellent Song" from Ken's Labyrinth. funnily enough it's not an arrangement of "Ken's Song"
===Rescue===
this is an arrangement of a song from the Chip & Dale NES game, originally composed by Harumi Fujita. originally this wasn't going to have vocals.
===Phobos===
another arrangement. this one is vaguely based on E1M5 from DOOM, composed by Bobby Prince. very moody.
===Don't Be RMX===
originally just a vocal track. I was listening to a lot of Hospital Records stuff around the time this came out, so it's a pretty laid-back drum n bass affair.
===Glow===
much like above, I was into a lot of atmospheric drum n bass when I made this track. i'm not too fond of the latter part, but I like the overall tone a lot.
===G-Daria===
I gave myself a prompt of "weird RPG boss music" - one that I revisit semi-frequently, as "weird RPG" conjures a lot of interesting moods for me.
===Dan's Got a Fever===
this track uses microsamples from the CAVE game DANGUN FEVERON, by composer Nanpei Misawa. the soundtrack is a haven of disco stabs and funk guitar.
===Now! That's What...===
this originally began as something of a remix for somebody else, but quickly spiraled out into a completely different piece of music entirely. lots of music gags in this one that I still love.
===The Steel Monster...===
a fun chiptune jam. just wanted an excuse to brush up on my rusty 2A03 sequencing.
===Powerhaus (RMX)===
powerhaus remains one of my fave Azrael tunes (i revisited it in 2014 on D.O.S.) and at this point I felt the original was a bit dated and could use a boost.
===Deep in her Eyes===
made right after i got my microKORG. all the synths on this one are just some jams i recorded and adjusted for timing later. really wonky, bubbly stuff.
===Flight Over B.C...===
largely a reaction to the assumption that Synth1 (a free VST) can't push big, nasty jump-up bass synths. it absolutely can.
===He Pukes Based RMX===
totally bonkers happy hardcore / breakcore remix of a fan favorite. this remix is probably one of my personal fave productions when it comes to my harder stuff.
===Years of Research===
I thought it might be fun to use the Truxton alias to work inwards rather than outward by sampling only files I've made publicly available to create a mash of my own stuff. I feel this track is a fun "era bookend"
===Push Every Button===
just thought it was funny to play a bunch of VEC synth stab samples in order. people seem to really like this one.
===Your Niche===
was feeling nostalgic for some mid-00s melodic / hands up trance and breakbeat. one of my fave Mayhem tracks.
===Goin' Under===
this track really helped me refine what NegaRen as an alias is to me in terms of mood. somewhere between wickedly energetic and super relaxed. it all depends on how you approach listening to it.
===Usual Shitking===
somehow, this became a meme. pretty nutty hardcore stuff with what has become a trademark "dreamy" sound that is a part of most everything I do.
===Electrohell===
this track is based on samples of Pendulum's "The Island". this track was also published by m1dy on M.F.C. Vol.1 - Ultimate Speedcore Summit through Maddest Chick'ndom records.
===Hell Dive RMX===
a pretty wild remix. mostly wanted to put together an alternate version of the original track that emphasized Kitcaliber's wartorn aesthetic.
===Banned Forever Remix===
I feel like this is where I really found a hardcore sound that worked for me. you can hear echoes of this track through a lot of my work from here on. again, a very dreamy and spacious sound. I like this one a lot.
===2 Old 2 Sober===
this was just gonna be a bootleg remix of Dada Life's "So Young So High" but things got out of hand pretty quickly. Danny Bird, Sonic Adventure 2, Parappa, Skrillex, the gang's all here... for better or worse. a total giggle-fit.
===The End===
I don't remember anything about producing this with the exception of it being knocked out in a couple hours one morning as soon as I woke up. lyrics were improvised.
===Take Off and Land 2012===
I love this one. i'm still very fond of the original but this version of the tune really emphasizes the feelings I was trying to push though it.
===The Moon Arrange===
an arrangement of the moon theme from the NES Duck Tales game, originally composed by Hiroshige Tonomura. I just wanted to hear it on the YM2612 chip, mostly.
===Swirl===
not much on this one. it's just a solid groove with some nice sparkling synths. I was really starting to get into loopier music with gradual changes around this point.
===Electrocore Track===
threw this together as quickly as possible the same day I played it out at Anthrocon 2013. it's just a banger. stock, but fun.
===Rubber Band RMX===
same deal as AC2013 Electrocore Track. put this together at the con to play it out. a little bit ridiculous.
===Bounty Hunter...===
this was a commissioned piece. I was asked to toss a couple Star Fox and Super Metroid tracks together and do my thing otherwise. I love the bit around 1:20, it's very "PlayStation jungle track".
===Port Tanzia RMX===
a cover of the Port Tanzia music from Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate. I think I played 80 hours of that game in 2 weeks and then never touched it again. I can't be bothered. Generations looks cool, though.
===Birabuto Island===
somewhat related to the previous track. this is a cover (influenced by a lot of Monster Hunter music) of Birabuto Kingdom from Super Mario Land, composed by Hirokazu Tanaka.
===Bad Future Vibes===
inspired by the prog rock and disco infused horror soundtracks of the 70s and 80s. nothing too overproduced. tried to stay authentic in terms of mood.
===Triad===
a really weird one. I feel like this might be unintentionally inspired by Burial's work. it's a bit glitchier than that though, and definitely more horror-oriented.
===Our Special Place===
a redo of a classic track. I really wasn't happy with the original version's sound quality (especially its mood) or vocal performance.
===Pike Place FIAB RMX===
really happy with this remix of PIKE PLACE. lots of neat things happening sound-wise and the build-up is a lot of fun. beyond that it's no-nonsense mid-00s UK hardcore.
===Touch Touch VIP===
sometimes I think I like this more than the original. really silly stuff. the way the vocoded vocals are misaligned was accidental but has an undeniable grove to it.
===Browny Is Dead===
an arrangement of The Hard Corps from Contra Hard Cops done in the style of L.A. Style's "James Brown is Dead" since the tune reminded me of it and the game has a character named Browny. James Brown is still alive!
===Just Hesitation RMX===
a super melancholic and spacious drum n bass remix of my fave track under the The Quick Brown Fox alias. i'm very happy with this one.
===Adam===
an arrangement of the song of the same name from the G-Darius soundtrack composed by Hisayoshi Ogura. much respect to OGR and to the Darius series.
Category:Commentary