Daily Hat Track: Roundup October 2019

First off before we get into the biggest Daily Hat Track summary of all time, I want to take a moment to make an announcement on scheduling in case you’re not looking at my Twitter. There is no longer a schedule. Now, that I’ve got myself a full-time job going on, there is absolutely no possible way I can keep up with one review a week, regardless of how motivated I am. And on top of that, the stress I’d receive from trying to review so much would get to me and make it impossible for me to enjoy reviewing. So, from now on, I’m going to be sending out reviews whenever I finish them in my free time. I’ll still be spending significant time reviewing. I’ll just have some longer breaks between longer reviews and maybe some shorter breaks when it comes to tiny reviews (One of the near future reviews is only 5 songs long so I can’t imagine I’ll spend excessively long on that one).

 

Not that anyone will notice but I’m also shutting down my Patreon. No one was really donating anyway, discouraging me from making any review previews and really just discouraging me from reviewing in general, because at this point in my life, it’s not looking to be really possible to just use this site as a launchpad into becoming a full-time creative. I’m already working on finding another route so we’ll see how that works in the future, but for now, this is going to be one of several hobbies that I’m simply doing for fun.

 

Anyways, it’s time for the October Hat Track Summary. Likely the longest Hat Track Summary I’ll ever do. September might not have existed, but I made October a double month to make up for it, even if it devolved into an early November onslaught of chaos at the end there. Let’s see what tracks got shared before that happened, and while that happened.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 1 track 1 (Danny Barranowsky – Mausoleum Mash)

 

One of the most iconic tracks from one of my favorite games thanks to it’s use in the opening cutscene and one of the game’s early levels. I honestly discovered the soundtrack before the game but I love both.

 

Daily Hat Track October 1 track 2 (Bliss – Blaze Up)

 

Bliss is one of the best psytrance artists in recent years, if not the best. He’s been on a roll for much of this decade. This release from last month, for example, is a lovely mixture of playfulness and badassery.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 2 track 1 (Seven Lions & Ciscandra Nostalgia – Serpents of Old)

 

This must be the oddest creepiest thing to come from Seven Lions as far as I know. And as someone who is quite a fan of the odd and creepy, I find this to be one of my favorites from him.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 2 track 2 (Saltillo – Following Evelyn)

 

Alright, let’s follow up the pleasantly ugly with the pleasantly gorgeous. I feel this song is my favorite from Saltillo, mostly thanks to the vocal samples about growth, change, and finding one’s place in the universe.

 

Daily Hat Track: October track 2 (Reliant K – The only Thing Worse than Beating a Dead Horse is Betting on One)

 

This is way outside my usual genre but can we just take a minute to appreciate how much Relient K was able to pack into a song that barely surpasses a minute?

 

Daily Hat Track: October 3 track 2 (Openwater & Matt Vice – No Regrets)

 

I guess today is a nonelectronic day as this one is more of an inspiring combination of orchestral, piano and a slight bit of rock. And it’s a worldview I really need to adapt if I’m going to move forward.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 4 track 1 (Sam Maher – New York)

 

I’ve really been getting into handpans as of recent and this is guy is my personal favorite handpan master. Here’s about six minutes of unique handpanning. Enjoy.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 4 track 2 (Shirobon – Regain Control)

 

I find Shirobon’s retro style quite interesting. This song about regaining control over one’s life (expectedly relevant to me) is a great example of Shirobon (Born Survivor is better but I shared that long ago).

 

Daily Hat Track: October 5 track 1 (Icon of Coil – Dead Enough For Life)

 

I haven’t posted a sufficiently existentially edgy song yet this month so this one goes out to the crippling depressive angst of getting stuck in a monotonous cycle with no eacape all while feeling dead inside.

 

Yay

 

Daily Hat Track October 5 track 2 (Rootkit & Anna Yvette – Against the Sun)

 

Probably favorite song from Rootkit, though I believe one influence of that could be that I believe Varien had a small hand in this as well. And considering Varien is one of my favorite artists of all time… Yup.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 6 track 1 (Assemblage 23 – The Noise Inside My Head)

 

The noise inside my head could possibly be a simple tune that turned out to be an earworm… Or is it the dark existential insomnia-inducing thoughts that appear so regularly that they’ve unfortunately become the norm?

 

Daily Hat Track: October 6 track 2 (Squarepusher – Mutilation Colony)

 

A beautifully ominous beginning eventually transforms into a distorted nightmare. An interesting unconventional journey.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 7 track 1 (Rotersand – Hey You)

 

I shared Rotersand’s Not Alone a long while back and I consider this to be its companion song. The music sounds quite a bit different and there’s a bit more dark was in there but the theming and structure are similar.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 7: track 2 (VNV Nation – Homeward)

 

Several of the recent hat tracks (as well as today’s review) have been focused more on a great personal meaning. That’s what happens when one is in a big transition in life. I just hope I can keep home in sight.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 8 track 1 (Aviators – The Path Home)

 

Remember when I’d reviewed Aviators’ Aeterno? Well, a couple weeks ago, the man released a remastered version of a few of the tracks off that album and many are a vast improvement. I think The Path Home benefited the most

 

Daily Hat Tracks: October 8 track 2 (Neilio – Captivating)

 

I don’t care much for the musical content of this Monstercat classic (hardstyle just isn’t my thing), but the lyrical content is a glorious illustration of my relationship with music so I quite enjoy the song otherwise.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 9 track 1 (Bruderschaft, Apoptygma Berzerk, Icon of Coil, VNV Nation, and Covenant – Forever)

 

What I love about Bruserschaft is that it’s four futurepop artists all collaborating all at once. And as a huge fan of futurepop I obviously enjoy that. And Ronan Harris from VNV Nation at the front is definitely a treat.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 9 track 2 (Lindsey Stirling – Shadows)

 

I’d originally discovered Lindsey when this song was featured in a video by Nerogeist called the guardian, which you should also definitely check out as I’d argue that it’s just as beautiful as this song.

 

Daily Hat Track October 10 track 1 (Beborn Beton – Another World)

 

This is way too catchy for it’s own good. Such a specific concept too with the singer being a spirit from the beyond the grave warning a loved one to leave his resting place alone, for he has found the afterlife.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 10 track 2 (Rameses B & Aloma Steele – Darkest Place)

 

This one used to be on my top ten Monstercat songs of all time though it admittedly has been slipping back a slight thanks to my attention being drawn elsewhere. My DnBias keeps me coming back to it though.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 11 track 1 (Neelix – Mosquito)

 

I’ve shared a remix of this song before quite a while ago, but I want to take a step back and admire the original version with its dramatic tension, danceable drive and distorted mosquito sampled synths.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 11 track 2 (Deltron 3030 & Del the Funky Homosapien – 3030)

 

I like to share a lot of songs depicting the future. Often they’re hopeful, bu this one is a bit bleaker. I never minded bleakness though long as it’s not too destructive, which this isn’t.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 12: track 1 (GUNSHIP – When You Grow Up, Your Heart Dies)

 

The title alone makes me a bit existential what with my dispassionate disposition towards the world of adulthood. But the song itself is a bit more uplifting than it might initially appear.

 

Also it has a sax so yes.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 12 Track 2 (Nana the Shrimp & DZA – Speedball)

 

Seeing as the song’s name is Speedball, it understandably fast paced despite not having an exceptionally high BPM. Though there is a switch up in the middle that allows for an interesting lightly accelerate tempo change

 

Daily Hat Track: October 13 track 1 (Nobody Beats the Drum – Natural Thing)

 

This song sounds more technological than natural so I’m not fully certain how well the title and vocals fit. But the song is a nice multileveled trip nonetheless.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 13 track 2 (Mahamudra – Shadows of Courage)

 

This song depicting a strangely ominous mixture of desperation and victory was hiding deep in the shadows of my musical memory.

 

It resurfaced recently.

 

And I’m so glad it did.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 14 track 1 (Le Matos – La Mer Des Possibilités)

 

Le Matos is one of many synthwave names I enjoy. I’ve chosen this song in particular to share due to its arpwork and the fact that the title translates to “The Sea of Possibilities.” A sea that I should look on with hope

 

Daily Hat Track: October 14 track 2 (Varien – Teva833)

 

I’ve established before that Varien is one of my favorite artists. The man has massive spectrum of moods that his song can adhere. And when it comes to the darker trippy stuff from him this song is certainly top notch.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 15 track 1 (Matduke – Shivers)

 

Another classic MC hard dance track (I shared Neilio’s Captivating earlier this month). But I prefer Matduke. And this is my favorite Matduke as it has the most satisfying variety of the early days of MC hard dance.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 15 track 2 (Rezonate & Ashley Apollodor – Rebirth)

 

My favorites from Rezonate are songs with a chill introspective perspective. This is the most uplifting of the bunch with extra focus on embracing positivity rather than letting go of negativity (there’s a difference).

 

Daily Hat Track: October 16 track 2 (Moby – Lift Me Up)

 

I heard Sesto Sento’s remix first (even though I was already familiar with Moby via Natural Blues and Why Does my Heart Feel So Bad).

 

This song is a much happier alternative to those two and it’s just as beautiful.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 17 track 1 (Tut Tut Child – Talking of Axes)

 

Talking of Axes is clearly appreciated by me as a song involving both rock elements and some good electronic basslines. And that’s not even mentioning the syncopation.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 17 track 2 (Juno Reactor – Pistolero)

 

Pretty obvious that the ever present guitar is the absolute star of the show in this one. Really sells the western vibe this song seems to aim for (everything else about the song is great too, but guitar is what I love).

 

Daily Hat Track: October 18 track 1 (INTERCOM – Truth and Malice)

 

My favorite nonInfected Mushroom song to make it on a MC Rocket League comp.

 

It transitions perfectly between beautiful stringed sections and groovy basslines sections seemlessly, likely thanks to the vocal chops.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 18 track 2 (Phaxe – Angels of Destruction (Neelix Remix)

 

I will likely eventually share every combination of Neelix and Caroline Harrison eventually as they sound so gorgeous together.

 

While this is no Makeup, it’s still up there among my favorites from the two.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 19 track 2 (Jilax & Durs – Conquer)

 

Continuing on a psytrance roll, I’m going to share a bit of a recently fresh psytrance track. There’s some nice dramatic near cinematic tension in places and whenever it’s building itself up, it does so nicely.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 20 track 1 (Grabbitz – Better with Time)

 

I’ll admit that I’ve lately felt stuck in that place where I’m seeing life as a boring movie, desperately hoping it all gets better with time.

 

Hence I enjoy this song.

 

Plus syncopation of course. That’s always loved.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 20 track 2 (Niteppl – Can’t Stop Now)

 

Seeing as I’d discovered  this song in my early Spotify days, this one feels like an inspirational classic to me. Sure the lyrics are a bit repetitive, but the funky vibe and piano bridge more than make up for it.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 21 track 1 (Absurd Minds – The Question)

 

Have I done a song yet on the nihilistic questioning of reality as we ponder the slow transition to dystopia that society is trending towards?

 

Well if not, here’s an example.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 21 track 2 (The Anix – Interferance)

 

A bit of an oddly creepy maybe edgily unhealthy love song from The Anix for this one.  Kind of like anything I’d expect off of FiXt. But there’s also just that hint of existential that keeps me coming back.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 22 track 1 (Altered Frequencies (Phutureprimitve edit))

 

I’ll be honest, I haven’t actually taken the time to listen to the original version of this one yet. But hey, I do know that Phutureprimitive’s edit has a great blend of sounds (including guitar) that hits the sweet spot

 

Daily Hat Track: October 22 track 2 (Daniel Deluxe – Darkness)

 

Darkness is unsurprisingly quite a dark song about eternal darkness. Go figure.

 

Thematically, I’d say it’s similar to Gunships’s Dark All Day, albeit this one doesn’t have a sax so it’s obviously the lesser of the two.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 23 track 1 (Neilio – Obsession)

 

Oh this song sounds nice and romantic at first…

 

At first…

 

Daily Hat Track: October 23 track 2 (Covox – Attack Vector)

 

I don’t know if I’ve ever really posted chiptune Hat Tracks that often. In the right hands some cool stuff can be made in the genre. Here’s one such song, albeit it’s the second half where the song really shines.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 24 track 1 (Lauren Bousfield – No Clocks No Mirrors (For Joey))

 

I’ve always loved Lauren’s fine line between the calm and the madness. And this song does a great job of bouncing back and forth in between the two extremes.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 24 track 2 (Tokyo Machine – TURBO)

 

This recent release is likely one of the only Tokyo Machine songs I truly enjoy. He just doesn’t fit my groove. I think I was in the right mood when first listened to this one as I was driving in the middle of the night.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 25 track 1 (Vexare – The Clockmaker)

 

I will admit that I prefer that calms and the moments of the ticking clock more than the main drop, but there is somewhat of a classic feel to this one. Not super dirty like some dubstep but it still hits nice and hard.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 25 track 2 (Carpenter Brut – Roller Mobster)

 

Been listening to an above average amount of Carpenter Brut as of late, likely one of the greatest artists of all of synthwave. Choosing one song to highlight is nigh impossible so I just grabbed one of his most popular.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 26 track 1 (Muzzy – Spectrum)

 

Easily one of my favorites from Muzzy. It has it all: beauty, intensity, meaningful lyrics. It’s just a lovely song that few, if any can top (maybe the Wrong remix but that doesn’t take the beauty cake)

 

Daily Hat Track: October 26 track 2 (Muzzy & Droptek – Warhead)

 

Long as I’m on the topic of Muzzy, here’s one of his most badass tracks. A collaboration with Droptek that feels as if it’s in the same vein as Endgame. And I love Endgame. So I love this.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 27 track 1 (Infected Mushroom – Cities of the Future (extended remix)

 

The best remixes have the ability to improve upon the original while still keeping the heart of what made the original so great. This is a great example of such a remix of a song I’ve already fully reviewed.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 27 track 2 (Ace Ventura – Hello?)

 

Imagine. You’re driving through the night listening to music, some new, some old. One of your favorite song ends with a good 5 seconds or so of near silence and then out of no where you hear it:

 

“Hello? Anybody here?”

 

Daily Hat Track: October 28 track 1 (Krama – Master of Elements)

 

This song served as my introduction to Krama, one of the best artists of Spintwist (other than Neelix of course)

 

Oh and this apparently has a quote from Doctor Strange in it. Didn’t notice at first but there it is.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 28 track 2 (SCNDL & Timmy Trumpet – Bleed)

 

Meme

 

Daily Hat Track: October 29 track 1 (Sesto Sento – Zoombai Warriors Surfing on a Small Chapati Sound in the East of Parvati (Megamix))

 

This insane mashup is made up of several songs by 9 different psytrance artists, including one of my very favorites, Bliss. Absolutely amazing piece of work right here.

 

Daily Hat Track October 29 track 2 (Savant – Change)

 

Multigenre songs with tempo changing switchups are some of my favorites. So what of this song? A full constant switchups multigenre cluster of fantasticality, constantly accelerating until the very end before breaking down.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 30 track 1 (Ehrling – Thokoloshi)

 

Ehrling is always a pleasure. Probably because saxophone is always a pleasure. And Ehrling nearly always has a saxophone present. Like many of his songs I love the bouncy sax vibes the song has to offer.

 

Daily Hat Track October 30: track 2 (Wisp X & Xomu – Lumina)

 

Now the reason I’m particularly enjoying this song isn’t because it’s breaks (though syncopation is still expectedly awesome, but it’s because it had some gorgeous piano melodies at the forefront.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 31 track 1 (Direct & Mr Fijiwiji – LA2016)

 

Direct and Fijiwiji are always a great combo, but I’m honestly just here.for the vocal chops.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 31 track 2 (Savlonic – Computer Guy)

 

Sir Weebl, the main man behind Savlonic may be responsible for memes, but this one is so incredibly catchy that I’ve gotta throw back to it. And it’s slightly more serious than his more well known stuff.

Daily Hat Track Roundup: May 2019

As we transition into the months of summer and the whether finally starts to get nice where I live, it’s time to look back at all the songs I posted in May. I’ve already posted these all to Twitter, but it may be convenient to view this all in one place. So that’s what I’m doing right here.

 

 

Daily Hat Track: May 1 (Nigel Good & Illuminor – No Way Back Up): Second MC throwback of this Daily Hat Track catchup. I’d forgotten about Nigel until someone on MeWe reminded me. Now, I am basking in this song’s beauty. It’s a bit depressing too, but I like a tiny bit of depression now and then.

 

Daily Hat Track: May 2 (Killgrew – Hyakkimaru): Start out the day with some beautiful Killigrew. The piano in this one is the highlight, especially the chords. Though the Japanese trap vibe is interesting as well.

 

Daily Hat Track: May 3 (Karma Fields & Monarchy – Feint Echoes): Been listening to a lot of Karma Fields today and this one is certainly my favorite. Monarchy’s vocals make for a good tenor that I can stretch to my limits while singing along, and the drop is utter controlled madness. I love it.

 

Daily Hat Track: May 4 (Muzzy – Endgame): Very VERY bad idea to look at any replies to this one. I’m risking enough as it is just posting it, but the apocalyptic Endgame is one of Muzzy’s best so I must share it as Muzzy is another artist I’ve been listening to a lot lately

 

Daily Hat Track: May 5 (Kings of the City – Wrong (Muzzy Remix): Continuing with the Muzzy theme, here’s his best song, though Kings of The City’s lyrical content does influence my opinion. It’s a song about self doubt and existentialism and finding ones way in life. That’s what I like. Also DnB.

 

Daily Hat Track: May 6 (Wintergatan Valentine): Lovely driving bouncy Wintergatan track that I got enjoyed a slight bit excessively while on break at work. Just wish it was a little longer.

 

Daily Hat Track: May 7 (Covenant – I Close My Eyes): I don’t even care what the lyrics are (which is good because I’m currently too tired to decipher them). I just enjoy the relaxing futurepop vibes. Covenant is always do cryptic anyways.

 

Daily Hat Track: May 8 (Karma Fields – Who do You Want to Be (Part II): Who do I want to be? That question arises as I listen to this Skylinesque song from the most recent Karma Fields album. I’m not certain of the answer. It’s not my present self, but I believe I have the power to change that.

 

Daily Hat Track: May 9 (Thermostatic – Northern Ambulance): This very short and mysterious beauty ponders the beauty known as life and how it’s so mysterious and oh so very short.

 

Daily Hat Track: May 10 (Scatman John – Scatman (Game Over Jazz)): Great funky groove with scatsinging as always but this time there’s a saxophone. I love the saxophone.

 

Daily Hat Track: May 11 (Scatman John – Let it Go): Definitely my favorite from Scatman John. The second verse is especially a game changer in the search for self acceptance.

 

Daily Hat Track: May 12 (Vicetone – Home (Eminence remix)): Honestly not a huge fan of any of the involved artiste but this remix works quite well. Of course, self-reflective lyrics do help…

 

Daily Hat Track: May 13 (Veorra – Not Yet): Sometimes, you have to concentrate on the little things of today in order not to be overwhelmed by the mountainous plan that is the future.

 

Daily Hat Track: May 14 (DESERT STAR – Foreign Land): The latest volume of Monstercat Instinct was released today so I’ve been focusing my musical appetite on that mostly. Plenty of highlights. This one for example explores some of my favorite themes of the journey to find one’s self.

 

Daily Hat Track: May 15 (Hybrid – Falling Down): Was listening to some of Hybrid’s older stuff today and I found myself rediscovering this groovy tune (which of course has lyrics depicting the ceaseless chaos we get caught up in because I have some lyrical obsessions apparently).

 

Daily Hat Track: May 16 (Aviators & Lectro Dub – We are not Machines): Aviators and Lectro Dub go together like… I actually don’t feel like coming up with a comparison but they’re good I promise you. This is among the best of the collabs. Significant lyrical quality though Paralyzed is catchier.

 

Daily Hat Track: May 17 (Icon of Coil – Shelter): This song really takes me back to early 2016 when I had absolutely no clue where I belonged. I still don’t but things are better now I think.

 

Daily Hat Track: May 18 (Varien & Veela – Supercell): Varien recently has announced a new album sometime this year. I wonder if it’s possible for my favorite Varien song to be usurped.

 

Daily Hat Track: May 19 (Varien & Laura Brehm – Valkyrie): Long as I’m in a Varien mood, here’s another one of my favorites from way back. The beginning of a gorgeous trilogy.

 

Daily Hat Track: May 20 (Stonebank & Concept – Holding on to Sound): This song… I made a video focused on this song quite a while back. I’m not going to link it though. You have to find that for yourself.

 

Daily Hat Track: May 21 (Scattle – Pacemaker): The discovery I’ve been rocking to today would be Scattle’s Pacemaker. Good groove and plenty of hype within the track. You’ll need to get a pacemaker by the time this is over.

 

Daily Hat Track: May 22 (Celldweller – Switchback (Neuroticfish remix): I’ll be doing a full length review involving the original version of this song shortly, but for now, enjoy the absolute best transformative remix of this classic Celldweller tune.

 

Daily Hat Track: May 23 (Sakuzyo – AngelFalse): I’d discovered Sakuzyo yesterday, but that was after I’d posted that day’s hat track. So now I’m posting one of the songs I’d listened to yesterday today. Shoot, don’t have much room left to talk about the song. Um. Piano is good.

 

Daily Hat Track: May 24 (LukHash – Requiem for a Friend):  I know I’m a bit behind I’ll catch up over time but for now, here’s a cool cross between cinematic, chiptune and synthwave

 

Daily Hat Track: May 25 (Crazy Astronaut – Funky Shit 2014): This song with a slightly obscenely languaged title is just a plethora of nonstop energy. Just sitting here and listening to this song exhausts me in the best way. Then again I can’t exactly call it sitting here because I am boppin

 

Daily Hat Track: May 26 (Cello Fury – Tundra): Three cellists, one drummer. That’s all they needed to make this lovely track complete with a switch up near the middle that provides the song with a new energy right when it’s needed most.

 

Daily Hat Track: May 27 (Mr Fijiwiji & Openwater – Growing Up): One last beauty before sleep. Mr Fijiwiji paints some gorgeous melodies with that piano and I remember Openwater’s cries to escape loneliness resonating with 19 year old me. They still do.

 

Daily Hat Track: May 28 (Wintergatan – Marble Machine): Normally, I post a Spotify link as that’s the music listening platform I spend most of my time on, but this song resurfaced in my queue recently and it’s wrong not to post the music video for this masterpiece.

 

Daily Hat Track: May 29 (Stoneocean – Can’t Stand that Girl): I must share with you this catchy melody that I’ve had stuck in my head for the past 2 days. It’s good while listening to the song but it will not leave my head once it’s over. If I must suffer with this burden, then so should you.

 

Daily Hat Track: May 30 (Celldweller – Own Little World (Growling Machines remix): Going to be finishing up that Celldweller review I mentioned last week soon. So you can definitely expect that this Sunday. In the meantime, here’s an amazing psytrance remix of one of the best songs in the upcoming review.

 

Daily Hat Track: May 31 (Robert Delong & K.Flay – Favorite Color is Blue): I not only find this song ridiculously catchy, but I also find it to be a great vent for when regretful anger leads to depression. At least that’s the existential emotion I’m getting from this song. You know I read way too deep

 

Oh, and as always, you can check out all of the Daily Hat Tracks I’ve posted this year in the playlist below

 

https://open.spotify.com/user/beretbeats/playlist/4CIZYAQAzctqYqFG89HIv2?si=Mnl8CDT3TN2jxaJDZLCG7A

 

Daily Hat Track Roundup: April 2019

Alright, it’s been May for precisely a week, and I still haven’t posed a summary of all the Daily Hat Tracks for April. If you’re following me on Twitter, then this post will be kind of useless to you as I’ve already posed all of these songs and their descriptions on Twitter. I aim to do so daily, but every once and a while, I slack off and later post an obscenely large amount of them in one day. Anyways, here’s thirty songs I enjoyed listening to over the past month so perhaps you can enjoy them as well. Check out the playlist at the bottom to hear all of the Daily Hat Tracks of the year.

 

Daily Hat Track: April 1 (Combichrist – The Evil in Me): This is basically the edgiest I can go before the edge starts to be a detractor rather than a positive aspect. Has that nihilistic mood for the darker times, though it doesn’t cross any lines.

 

Daily Hat Track: April 2 (Bliss – Warriors): I’ve already shared the Guitar remix a month or so back. I was originally introduced to that one and find it a bit more addicting. This one has some cool parts too, but it’s not nearly as good as constant guitar solos.

 

Daily Hat Track: April 3 (Bring Me the Horizon & Grimes – nihilist blues): I’ve been listening to a lot of edgier music as of late. Should probably work on rebalancing my musical diet, but eh this dark vibe is where I’m at right now. There’s a nihilist knocking on my door… And he shares my face…

 

Daily Hat Track: April 4 (Shirobon – Born Survivor): Definitely a nostalgic inspirational tune from a few years back when things were a lot simpler (though still kinda complicated). Good chiptune mood in this one. Has a nice bounce to it.

 

Daily Hat Track: April 5 (H.U.V.A. Network – Something Heavens): It’s incredibly late and so I desire to end the day with some relaxation from the immersive heavenly experience that is H.U.V.A. Network. Good night to all. May your dreams be of something heavenly.

 

Daily Hat Track: April 6 (Seven Lions & Jason Ross – The Sirens: Oh yeah, I forgot about this psytrance/psystep wonder Seven Lions released last year. Looks like there’s a compilation with an extended version out now. Neat.

 

Daily Hat Track: April 7 (Douglas Holmquist & Susanna Lundgren – Something Beneath): The fact that this beautiful inspiring track comes from a Pinball game still astounds me. Then again, Pinout is a very interesting spin on Pinball, so it deserves it.

 

Daily Hat Track: April 8 (Nömak – Schrödinger’s Cat WLP Edit): Here’s a very strange trippy experimental track that breaks apart halfway through to return as something completely different. Such an odd song. I love it.

 

Daily Hat Track: April 9 (Lauren Bousfield – Two Swans Duct Taped to the Side of the Coke Machine): Long as we’re doing experimental madness, here’s a shorter fascinatingly enjoyable mess from Lauren Bousefield. The song title isn’t shorter though. Not short at all.

 

Daily Hat Track: April 10 (Varien – Born of Blood, Risen from Ash): This one’s only about a week old but the combination of 2012-2024 Varien and 2026 – 2018 Varien really works here. Really looking forward to everything else Varien has coming for us over the next year.

 

Daily Hat Track: April 11 (Freezepop – Phantoms): I have no idea what this song is about. Well I know it’s about a post mortem dance party but other than that I’m at a loss. Fun song though!

 

Daily Hat Track: April 12 (Stephen & IN-Q – Start a Fire): Not my usual genre to post but Stephen does occasionally dip very slightly into electronic with a synth here and there. This mostly acoustic intro to his album is among my favorites from him.

 

Daily Hat Track: April 13 (Joachim Pastor – Reykjavik): Been a while since I posted some Hungry Music. Joachim Pastor with a chill drive as always. Good funky grooves. Beautifully mysterious melodies. Odd outro for a hungry song but I don’t really mind.

 

Daily Hat Track: April 14 (Arkasia – Those From There): Not an Arkasia expert, so I can’t necessarily compare this to songs from the rest of his discography, but this one certainly is magically immersive. Love the subtle vocal flavors added here and there.

 

Daily Hat Track: April 15 (Andy Blueman – Sea Tides): Honestly kind of tired tonight so here’s the trance track that started this week’s Discover Weekly on Spotify. Don’t have all that much to say about it. My reviews are thousands of words long. Let me be lazy on occasion.

 

Daily Hat Track: April 16 (Inofaith – Dawn is Late): I’m up a bit late tonight though not as late as this song suggests. This comes from the same EP as Nocturne which I posted a while back. Inofaith has released only a handful of tracks but this one is among the best of them.

 

Daily Hat Track: April 17 (Ashbury Heights – Science): If I had made a list of the best songs of 2018, this would have been near the top. One of my favorite Ashbury Heights songs as well, though The Looking Glass Society has some better ones. Anyways, this song is about depression!

 

Daily Hat Track: April 18 (Space Buddha – Mental Hotline): Mostly sharing this because I find the voice at the beginning of the song to be an amusing asshat. The rest of the track bangs though. If you do need help with mental issues, call a hotline if need be. Just don’t call this one.

 

Daily Hat Track: April 19 (Hilight Tribe – Esperanza): I’m trying to maybe finish up my review by the end of the day so um here’s a groovy trance song with a guitar. Enjoy that for nine minutes why don’t ya?

 

Daily Hat Track: April 20 (Neuromonakh Feofan – Ядрёность): For the track that was supposed to be posted on my birthday, I would like to share this Russian DnB and dubstep. I always find this band to be incredibly interesting.

 

Daily Hat Track: April 21 (The Future Sound of London – Point of Departure): For the Easter Daily Hat Track, I give you the first immersive track off of this album I just discovered by this artist I just discovered. Gonna be listening to more of this as I wash the dishes.

 

Daily Hat Track: April 22 (Neuromonakh Feofan – Нейромонах Феофан): Another Neuromonakh Feofan song because why not, they’re addicting. This is their titular song. Titular as in named after that artist, not the album. One of their best.

 

Daily Hat Track: April 23 (Chris Keya – Totentanz): One of the many highlights of this week’s Discovery Weekly. Solid drumbeat. Plenty of great guitar rocking throughout. Plus a couple of good melodies to jam to.

 

Daily Hat Track: April 24 (OVERWERK & Nikon – Calling): OVERWERK and Nikon are a great combination that gets better with each iteration. The most recent iteration of yesteryear being this agnostically themed track with the best Arpwerk from I’ve even heard from OVERWERK

 

Daily Hat Track: April 25 (VNV Nation – Space & Time): One of my very first VNV Nation songs continues to also be one of my very favorites. Really captures the beauty of the chaos of this world. Spoke to me quite well when I’d discovered it 3 years ago and it still does.

 

Daily Hat Track: April 26 (Mazmoneth – Kali’s Day Off): As this day comes to a close, may I introduce some odd ambience to end your day. A few melodies too. Ok actually there’s a lot of interesting stuff in this song and it develops greatly over time so I’m gonna stop listing it all.

 

Daily Hat Track: April 27 (OVERWERK & Mars – Know): Another OVERWERK track today. This is the runner-up to Calling on the State album and the best non-Nikon song. There’s a bit more darkness and doubt in this one despite being called “Know.” Great groove in places too.

 

Daily Hat Track: April 28 (Stonebank & EMEL – Stronger): Stonebank released a new song recently and for some reason, as I was listening to it I really wanted there to be a surprise DnB drop added in there towards the end. It didn’t happen so I had to listen to my fav from him again.

 

Daily Hat Track: April 29 (Ace Ventura & Antimony – We Dream): We Dream. It’s who we are. Best psytrance if the past week. Some inspiring relatable vocals (I’m definitely dreamer) and a great mysterious sound that feels both familiar and unique at the same time.

 

Daily Hat Track: April 30 (Neelix & Caroline Harrison – Makeup): 4 months in and I still haven’t shared my favorite song of all time? This psytrance masterpiece has such an intricate hidden message that I just don’t have the room to fully analyze it in a tweet. I’ll have to review it someday.

 

 

 

Full Daily Hat Tracks 2019 playlist here:

 

https://open.spotify.com/user/beretbeats/playlist/4CIZYAQAzctqYqFG89HIv2?si=8wlLYj9RQmOw_1JrDn2TAw

 

Mind.in.a.box – R.E.T.R.O. (2010 album review)

Album links

Bandcamp: https://mind-in-a-box.bandcamp.com/album/r-e-t-r-o

Soundcloud: n/a

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/0ALIVYfLz7Pahmoq22y7HE?si=lZuIefmnRDmI2P2QzNNnvg

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLF92F0FBECAC4CCB6

 

 

I̸̧̪̱̻̬̟̜̖̓́̍̃ṋ̵̨̬͓͔͚̣̞͖̘̒̇̓̓̈́̊̒̿̍̄̈̕͝͝ͅt̶͓̖̠̮̜̙̓r̵̨̞̹͕̝͎̜͓̥̩̤͔̈̑̑͒̔̀͐̈͊̈́̽̎ō̷̝͕̗͇̦̪̰̩̩͎̖̱̳̒͆͘d̵̢̑͌̋͋̏̐̔͗̽̽͒̑͒͜͠͝ụ̴͔͎̺̜̗͍̖͔̹̟̞̥͙̤̆̇̾̃̆̄̐̔͆̂͘͝͝ĉ̴̡̛̳̟̦͈̮͇͉̭̫͉̦͈̀̃̿͌͋͒̑̋̂̉͘̚̚t̵̢̧̛̯̟͕͙̖̪̻̩̗́̾͗̐̈͑̋͑͋͆̓̾̋̂ͅi̵̛̻͎̤̣̝̣̇̋̄͊̑͑̌͌͜͝͠ó̵̧̟͒͆̈̊̋̀̓̽͘͠͝ň̵̞̣̘̩̣͔̗̣̝̪͉̲̠̰͂̏̉͊̏̆͐͐̊̋̆͐͠: ………………………………………………………………………

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last time on Mind.in.a.box: Oh boy Black went through a lot of challenges in the last chapter of Mind.in.a.box. L̶͉̜͕̻̲̼̿̅́̕͜͝͝e̶̙̅̔̌͋̏̌t̷̛͚͌͛̐̐̏̈́͌̄̈̊̆͋͝’̴̢̺̩̹̦̠́̈́̄͜ș̵̢̪̬̥̝̭̗̲̈̕ͅͅͅ ̶̘̹̓̿̄̅̂̐̽̋̑͘͝r̷̮͐̏̀̇͠e̸̢̩̥̐̊̂̐̊͐͆̓͑̓̇̕̚͠v̵̭̰͎̙̼̑͋͛̑́į̴͇͉͚͎̻̫̣̪̳͒̇̽͌̂́̆̓̋͑͋̇ę̷̨̛͔̻̟̮͉͒̈́w̶̤̜̟̙͉͎̘̯͆̆͊̂͛̀͌ͅ ̵̪͌̿̀̏́͂w̶̢̨̛̗̦̭̺̘͇̳͂́̆̍̀h̸̨̧̛̞̪̲̮̣̪͐̀̒̈́͜͝a̶̫̭̹̖̼͔̱̫̫̭̙̺͚͐̄͐͂͗̔̽̋͗̒̇̚͜͠͠t̸̯̜̿̒͒̓͛̈́ͅ ̴̡͖̬͓̪͚͓͌̃̀̓̊͠h̷͖͍͍̺̩̳̐̄̀̓͊͊̅́̇͐̔̾͛͠a̶͔̭͔̱̙͆p̵̪͙̖͎̘̔͒̀͘͜ͅp̵͉̫̠̞͓̻̦͈͈͆ͅe̶̡̧̛͍̺͇̣̥͐̓͑͆ņ̸̦͚̗̣̻̣̝̑͆́̇̒͐́̊͊̕͠e̵̗̖͠d̴̤͇̣̖̈̈͗̽̅̿̂͛̚̚ ̸̤̗̘͂̐̌̈́͒́̎̄͒r̵̢̞̙̜͈̪̝̱̥̹̪̠̼̞̒͘e̷̡̧̧͔̘̳͙̤͕͠͝ã̴͔̳͈̮̱͓͇̍̈́́͋̈́́̄̈͘l̶̪͓̓̉͆̄̎̈́͒͐̿̕ ̷͕͕̊͊̏̈̓͑̿̏̈́̊̅̏q̵̧̪͉̞͇̯͓͇̲͓͍̙̈́̾̀͌͌̍̑̔͝͠ͅͅu̸̧͚͍̝͓̫͕̹͑͗̈́̿̽̎̊̾̾̄́̕͠ȉ̵̢̝̟̦̔͛̌͋̚͜c̷̗̋̏̏́̇̽̍͋ḳ̷̡̱͓͖̱̳̒͂ ̶̢̨̲̦͚̠̥̎̂̿̿̈̔̈̏̈́̏̀̾͝ḇ̴̪͍̲͍̞̤̄́̑̄̐̂̎̾̋͘̕͝͝͠ë̶̙̪͓͈̟͉͉̫̳̖̯̔̌̏́͝ͅf̵̡̖̝͕̝̿̈́̍̉̂̏͆͘͝ǫ̷̛͍̣̰̘̩̟̯͚̭͉͉̮̎̽͑͒̈́̀́́̌̚͜͝ŕ̴̻͖̬̹̀́́͂̔͆͝ȩ̷̡͖͕̯͙͓̪̝͇̭̾̑̓̈́…̸̗͓͓̩̓̀̕…………………………………………

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Introduction: Actually, let’s hold on for a second. This may be a Mind.in.a.box album but there’s no need to recap the story this week. For the story is generally irrelevant to R.E.T.R.O. Think of it as an intermission of sorts. None of the songs in this album hold any bearing on the story we’ve been traversing through over the past 2 months or so. Here, Stefan takes a step back and just makes a handful of songs inspired by games off of the Commodore 64. A retro flashback to his nostalgic days I presume. This is unfortunately his most popular album. I say unfortunately because I rather prefer the storytelling songs rather than the slightly more attempted nostalgic style that much of this album takes on. It isn’t a bad album but… You know what? I can explain my feelings on the songs of this album while I review them. Maybe I should start on that.

 

Mind.in.a.box – The Last Ninja III (6): Not to be confused with The Last Ninja (which appears later on in this album) or The Last Ninja II (which is completely irrelevant to his album but I’m sure it exists). A large number of these songs are somewhat remixes of games from the Commodore 64. This one is the first one. I trust it to be based off of the game, The Last Ninja III, but I wouldn’t know because I haven’t played any Commodore 64 games as I hasn’t grown up in that era (earliest gaming system for me is the original Xbox so I’m kind of in the late middlish I think).

 

However, despite my lack of knowledge, I decided to take a second and look up the theme music of this game I only just heard of just now (I’m a listener of music, not a player of games) and it sounds like this is a pretty faithful recreation involving a slightly more updated feel as the technological sound of Mind.in.a.box has taken over many of the melodies and drumbeats of this song. There are a few portions that maintain a very similar sound to the original game soundtrack (the section at 1:11 being the most prominent example)

 

However, I don’t really feel that this is the strongest fusion of electronic and retro chiptune. A lot of the elements work well. The main melody has taken on a more modern feel and it fits quite well with the drumbeat and bassline. And there’s some subtle arps added in the second half that really flesh out the full Mind.in.a.box feeling (or at least as close as we can get). The sections that are a bit closer in tone to the original Commodore 64 game however… it’s a bit of a clash to be brutally honest. This song just really doesn’t strike me as anything worthwhile. It has some good ideas here and there, but it could have been executed a lot better.

 

Mind.in.a.box – Lightforce (6.75): Lightforce feels a bit more polished and seems to fit the general Mind.in.a.box mood much better. The introduction to this song in particular feels a lot like it could be part of the story of Black and his explorations through the Dreamweb. It’s not about that. None of the album is about that (well, it’s debatable for some of the later songs but we’ll get there when we get there. No, this song is a throwback to the soundtrack from an old space shooter known as Light Force (hence the title. Titling songs after the game it’s based on is a theme for a good half of the songs on this album). It’s a pretty faithful modernized recreation from what I can hear after looking up this game I hadn’t heard of prior to reviewing this album.

 

Everything in this song meshes a lot better than we saw in The Last Ninja III. I still don’t think of retro chiptune melodies when I think of Mind.in.a.box, but at least this song doesn’t really distract with its 8-bit elements. Perhaps it helps that much of the song, particularly the arp and the bassline, have a rather simple tone to them as well. Because of this, everything feels much on the same level, unlike the weird mesh of cinematic and 8 bit we had back in The Last Ninja III.

 

My only complaint is that this song is a bit excessive in length. I do like the occasional lengthy song, but there has to be enough variety for the song to earn it. And to be honest, I feel like this song could get along just fine at half the length. Ah well. Still a decent track.

 

Mind.in.a.box – The Last V8 (7): The Last V8 tells of the chaos arising within a family that all wants a can of V8 veggie-fruit juice. But there is only one left. And so, they engage in a never-ending battle over the last V8.

 

Actually, it’s another song that references a game of the same name. I mean, what else did you expect? That’s all this album has been so far. It’s not going to change soon. As usual, we have a decent modernized version of a decades old song from a classic video game that I’m sure makes Mr Poiss extremely nostalgic.

 

This one seems to be one of the closest to the game that inspired it based on what I could scrounge up. The stronger bassline and the smoother melodies really fit together quite well. I especially love the combination introduced right at the beginning. There’s less instruments and vocals distracting from the simplicity of these two instruments as they bounce off each other. Nothing wrong with the instruments and vocals or anything. I just enjoy the simpler vibes a bit more. The whole point of this album might be focusing on being R.E.T.R.O., but honestly, the 8 bit portions are often my least favorite part.

 

Oh yeah. This song has vocals too. It almost sounds like it belongs in the Mind.in.a.box storyline. As I’ve established already, it doesn’t. Pretty sure the lyrics here are referencing various elements of the game this song is based on. So, there’s not as much to get into with these lyrics. It’s a bit more fun when I get to delve deep into Black’s mind and the world that he lives in. Could’ve nearly fooled me though. There ae a lot of mentions of a guy in white… but that couldn’t be our White… Could it?

 

Mind.in.a.box – Supremacy (7.25): You know the drill. Supremacy shares the theme with a video game of the same name. The game was retitled Overlord when it came over to the US (where I live, though I wasn’t living when the game was released), but that fact is completely irrelevant. Mind.in.a.box is Austrian anyway, so they needn’t care for the renaming.

 

The mood of this song is completely transformed in this case. Oh, the melody stays the same. It wouldn’t be much of a remix if it didn’t contain a melody from the original title theme of the game, but when I went ahead and looked up the original song form the game, the mood was completely different. The game had a bouncy upbeat feel backing the melody that Stefan chose to base this song around. However, when we get to the remake in question (I am reviewing Mind.in.a.box, not games from two and a half decades ago), the song focuses a lot more on ambience.

 

I definitely prefer this transformed calmer mood. Maybe I’m biased because Mind.in.a.box is my favorite artist and it would be quite nearly impossible for me not to prefer his version over anyone else’s, but I feel there’s a bit more variety with what Mind.in.a.box creates by creating a calmer atmosphere and building off of it. Over time, the song grows slightly more intense, pulling away from the ambient vibe that the song started with and growing in intensity with increased arpwork. Eventually, the song reaches its climax in which the main melody from Supremacy. Only difference is that instead of committing to the bouncy mood of the original. Mind.in.a.box opts to aim for a more cinematic feeling with a slower drumbeat and some slower basswork (almost sounds a bit like a guitar, but not nearly as much as Machine Run).

 

Overall, this is one of the better adaptations of a game soundtrack to be seen on this album. The overall progression and variety really makes it stand out above some of the less interesting or overly lengthy tracks I’ve reviewed so far.

 

Mind.in.a.box – Shades (6.25): As far as I can tell, Shades does not come from a Commodore 64 video game. That’s different. Well there are a few other songs like this as well, the soundtrack recreations only take up half the album and we’ve looked at the majority of them already. How about a short break for something a bit more original? Shades, while not taking inspiration from any particular game, still maintains a similar retro feeling within its core. Many of the synths used to imitate the 8-bit melodies are still present here. Or at least there’s something similar in play.

 

After spending so much time comparing the covers to their original counterparts, it’s kind of weird to look at this track as its own original creation. I guess I’m just stuck in comparison mode. Ah well, I can still compare this to the last few songs on the album. It’s really par for the course. There’s plenty of decent elements to the song but few of them really stand out.

 

The drumbeat is kind of in the middle as far as tempo goes. Wouldn’t say it’s plodding, but it definitely isn’t driving either. There’s a bit of nice variety to it with a few extra syncopated kicks added into the mix at some points in the song.

 

As for melodies, they aren’t really distracting like in The Last Ninja III, mostly because they have longer notes with smoother transitioning. However, it just doesn’t feel quite as dynamic as it could be. There’s just not really much to work with. Some simple melodies play in the background but they don’t really add much to the song from what I can hear.

 

And then there’s basslines… I guess. I really don’t have much to say about these basslines. Inoffensive but completely forgettable.

 

I want to enjoy this song, but it really has nothing to offer that can’t be given by the other songs on the album.

 

Mind.in.a.box – 8 Bits (6.5): Here it is. The most popular Mind.in.a.box song. It shouldn’t be a song from this album, but it is. 8 bits may be enough for some people, but not me. Ok that was too harsh. I just wanted to do a pun on the song lyrics.

 

8 Bits and its counterpart, I Love 64, seem to tell their own narrative in a way. Not saying it’s connected to the narrative from the other albums. Not nearly as good as that. No, these songs seem to follow a virtual being made of code, though the tone doesn’t quite fit with the type of code I’d consider to be related to the Dreamweb. Interestingly, the world of 8 Bits is the reverse of the main Mind.in.a.box universe. Instead of escaping into the virtual universe known as the Dreamweb. An emulated entity desires to transcend its world perhaps to enter into our own reality. That would be a bit crazy though, right?

 

Both stories do have an element of trying to escape the world we see in front of us and redefining reality to maybe find a way to live comfortably with ourselves. And I think both themes are worth looking into. But this song feels somewhat cheapened. With everything that the rest of the discography shows, 8 Bits is very shallow in comparison. It’s alright but it just feels shallow.

 

The brighter happy music does contribute to this. Simple drumbeat and bassline with no harsh elements. And the melodies are made completely of short little chiptune bleeps and bloops. It’s definitely a happy mood. Maybe that’s my problem. I do seem more attracted to slightly edgier music. This song just doesn’t do it for me in the same way. It’s a good song despite my negativity, but it pales in comparison to everything else.

 

Mind.in.a.box – Mindkiller (7.25): All this time we’ve been putting the mind in a box, but now we’re killing it? Well this has taken a violent turn. Mindkiller is surprisingly not from a video game called Mindkiller. It’s actually supposedly from a game called Parsec. It’s only called Mindkiller because those are the sole words spoken throughout the song. Or are those words spoken because the song is called Mindkiller. Why isn’t this song called Parsec?

 

Actually, come to think of it, does the music here come from Parsec? Because I looked up the game on Youtube and I can’t find any moment anywhere in the surprisingly varied soundtrack (in comparison to the other games I’ve looked at) that sounds like what I’m hearing in this song. I’ll be honest, I got that little tidbit of info from Wikipedia which is possibly not the most reliable source. It is possible I missed the similarities though so if anyone else magically hears it, let me know.

 

Anyways, enough of the pondering of the song’s source and title. That information holds no weight on my final rating. It’s the music itself that matters. And this music is definitely different from what I’ve heard so far on this album. In fact, this is one of the three songs that I might consider to be suspiciously similar to what I’d expect from the more narrative albums. Perhaps the melodies are a bit more simplistic in the beginning, but the rest of the music here sets up a great dark atmosphere. The drumbeats are constantly changing, focusing on an eclectic range of kicks, snares and claps to keep that unsettling mood going. Not to mention the creepy breathing down the neck that builds as the song reaches the midway point.

 

The second half of the song sounds much like the Mind.in.a.box I know and love. That technological arp really is a staple that’s been missing for a lot of the songs in this album. The drumbeat does return to more regular four on four beat here, but it still maintains a bit of its edge to keep that unsettling vibe in place. And of course, there’s the titular lyric: Mindkiller. I theorize that this as well as two other songs later in this album are deleted scenes from previous albums, this one being the least developed of the bunch. The Mindkiller could be a deleted element from the Mind.in.a.box universe that was cut in favor of some of the other mind-bending elements sch as the Dreamweb and the Stalkers. I have no idea what a Mindkiller would be, but it could very well fit in with what Stefan has already created for us. But we shall never know what it would be, for if it was ever part of the story, it has since been removed.

 

Mind.in.a.box – The Last Ninja (7.25): Not to be confused with The Last Ninja III (which appeared earlier on in this album) or The Last Ninja II (which is completely irrelevant to his album but I’m sure it exists). A large number of these songs have been remixes of games from the Commodore 64. This one is the last one. I trust it to be based off of the game, The Last Ninja, but I wouldn’t know because I haven’t played any Commodore 64 games as I hasn’t grown up in that era (earliest gaming system for me is the original Xbox so I’m kind of in the late middlish I think).

 

But enough with recycling content, now that I have a soundtrack to compare it to (unlike with the enigmatic Mindkiller), I can faithfully say that this is a pretty good recreation. When I’d scoured through the soundtrack on Youtube (much easier to sort through than Parsec), I found a song that confused me because it sounded exactly like the Mind.in.a.box remix at the beginning. More accurately, the Mind.in.a.box version sounds exactly like the beginning of the original piece, but that simply isn’t the order I heard it so that’s not how I experienced the comparison.

 

But a good remix isn’t just about making the song sound similar to the original. It’s about improvement. And Mind.in.a.box’s modernization is certainly an improvement. As far as composition goes, this sounds like a direct copy of the original soundtrack with some drums added into the mix. However, it’s only the beginning of the track that truly sounds identical to the original. As the song travels forward in time as far as duration is concerned, it also travels forward in time in the modernity of its sound design. It may start with the simple 8 bit melodies, but it isn’t long before this songs starts using more guitars and modern synths to display the melodies originally composed three decades ago. And it definitely works quite well, as it sounds in some places that the original Commodore 64 wasn’t quite up to par with its instrumentation for some of these melodies (or maybe I have a bias towards Mind.in.a.box). It still incorporates some chiptune elements in there to maintain the retro integrity of the song, but there’s some great guitar added into the mix as well as a fantastic breakbeat portion in the middle.

 

Despite its intense modernization. This song serves as the most faithful recreation of the other recreations this album has to offer.

 

Mind.in.a.box – I Love 64 (6.5): And now to continue in the two-song universe of the emulated soul trapped in an 8 bit world. Fittingly, I love 64 refers to 64 bits. A bit of an upgrade from the 8 bits we had in the last song. I love 64 follows our eight-bit emulated entity as it discovers a second being made of 64 bits. 8 falls in love with 64 and romance begins to blossom between the two as 8’s eyes are opened to an entire new world beyond the one it had been stranded in back in the last song. Filled with desire, 8 wants to upgrade to become part of 64’s world but worries about whether their love will last through the transformation.

 

Honestly, it’s a cute love song with a unique spin on it. It serves as a nice logical sequel to 8 Bits as it allows the protagonist a window to embrace its dream to transcend into a greater reality. And in doing so the story of a search for meaning also becomes a search for love. There really isn’t much in particular to say about this one. It’s pretty similar to 8 Bits in tone and serves as a bouncy happy distraction before we get to the last two edgier songs that conclude this album.

 

Mind.in.a.box – We Cannot Go Back to the Past (7.5): This could have very well been a song on Crossroads that just ended up getting cut and left aside to be released later on this album. One of the very themes on Crossroads was moving on from the past. A song of not being able to go back to the past would have fit the album perfectly. However, it really just states an idea and it hits the nail pretty hard on the head. There’s really not much added into the narrative by including this song so that might explain the reason it was cut (if I’m correct at considering this song to be a deleted scene). The remaining songs gave this message out clearly enough on their own.

 

Seeing as the more narrative driven side of Mind.in.a.box is what I like most, this song is a bit closer up my alley. The C64 covers are fine and the short 8-bit storyline is suitable, but it’s Black’s journey that got me into Mind.in.box. This song gives a small taste of that feeling, even if it really is just stating the title of the song on repeat… kind of like Mindkiller did. Unfortunately, all that’s to be said about moving on from the past was said in my Crossroads review so you should probably just go ahead and read that one. Best album I’ve reviewed so far.

 

As for the music, it’s got a really solid bassline introduced at the very beginning of the song that serves as a backbone to the rest of the track. It’s dark. It’s a bit mysterious. And it honestly has a lot more texture than any of the other basslines I’ve heard from Mind.in.a.box. Like if the song Mind.in.a.box on Mushrooms ever came into existence (it’s not going to but that would be cool), then I’d likely expect a bassline like this one to be a main element. It doesn’t sacrifice its iconic technological nature, but it still creates something new that I haven’t heard in any of the other songs as far as I can remember.

 

Really, the bassline was the only musical element I wanted to highlight. Maybe if I weren’t so late on getting this review out (not going to stress too much about that. I cannot go back to the past), I’d try and dig deeper into the other parts of this song, but nothing is really as prominent as that bassline, which is fine because the bassline carries the song very well.

 

Mind.in.a.box – Whatever Mattered (8.75): Saving the best for last. This song could have definitely replaced The Place from Crossroads. I’m not entirely certain which one was produced first as I’m the one calling them deleted scenes and for all I know, I’m just making assumptions, but if he was choosing between this and The Place, I personally think he made the wrong choice. Really, it’s mostly a musical preference. The Place definitely had some flaws that held it back from me enjoying it. It was just a bad combination of musical elements that didn’t quite fit, making it the worst song on the album.

 

This, however, is the best song on this particular album. While The Place had conflicting moods between the piano and low end technological synths, this song focuses on a very smooth collection of instruments the feel somewhere in between. It does focus more on the relaxing side of Mind.in.a.box just as The Place did, but all of the melodies feel a lot smoother. Sure, they don’t stand out as much as the piano in The Place, but they do serve the song well in creating a deeply relaxing and introspective mood. And seeing as Whatever Mattered is all about introspection, then that works quite well for the song.

 

I will admit that when it comes to lyrics, The Place is a little bit better. It goes a lot more in depth to where Black is in his life (though it surprisingly doesn’t give much details on where Black is physically considering that the song is called The Place). This song is a bit more simplistic focusing only on the concept of moving forward into the future despite the past. And yet, stripped of much of the narrative detail, it does maintain the soul and message that was there in The Place. It’s more simplistic, but I feel that only makes the message stronger. Living in the past does not make the present a comfortable place to build one’s future.

 

Plus, it sounds good so there’s that.

 

Conclusion: This is Mind.in.a.box’s worst album. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good album, but I can’t help but prefer the more unique narrative that expands exponentially as the discography continues. Worldbuilding is just a passion of mine.

 

This album is simply different. It instead serves as a tribute to the Commodore 64 and some of its games as well as testing some new waters without contributing to the storyline. Maybe I’d like it more if I’d played these games as part of my childhood, but I wasn’t even alive at the time they were released, so you can’t really blame me too much for overlooking them (again, gaming is a minor pastime for me, not a passion).

 

While I may suggest skipping it if you’re listening to the discography chronologically for the narrative, I still think it’s worth coming back to once you finish listening to whatever the most recent installment is in Mind.in.a.box story.

 

Final Score: (7/10)