Dubious Depths Zone: Present (US) - Sonic The Hedgehog CD [Concept]

[@thesonicbrosshow1272]

The music sounds like if Naofumi Hataya And Masafumi Ogata helped out with Spencer Nilsen & David Young, we seriously need more repect on the us ost. (Good legitimate track, keep it up)

[@manuelmakesartz]

Well...I didn't think about it that way. I thought I was slamming Tangerine Dream's Rockoon over Sonic CD's US soundtrack. But yeah, it kinda sounds like that (the Fantasia 90s patch from the Roland JD-800 is the offender here 😅). I suggest you take a listen to Rockoon (you'll see the inspirations I took for sure): kzbin.info/www/bejne/qmXZn3qXott5iposi=kugSXSBJATwQ509w Also, I agree. The soundtrack the US musicians made for Sonic CD is excellent, and should be respected more by the Sonic community. Luckily, things aren't as rough as they were some years back (more people are open minded on this topic), so there will be more people who appreciate it for sure.

[@RadikAlice]

This is _killer._ Not only is the feel right, but that atmospheric quality is there too. Hats off to you

[@ultimusicrevived7761]

Wow, just *wow*. This kind of blows my mind honestly, fits in so well with the US soundtrack it's actually nuts. You can just hear the inspiration with the tappin' bongos from Metallic Madness and the sweeping guitar from Collision Chaos Bad Future. I like to imagine Spencer Nilsen & co. would be so happy if they heard this. You should be really proud of what you've done here. With what we now know, I think we can also say this is also basically the US version of D.A. Garden :)

[@ultimusicrevived7761]

One other thing I am not seeing other comments mention, I love how much this fits in with the level trope. While it's true that despite all the findings we still don't know a lot about "Dubious Depths", one distinct strength of the US soundtrack is that it usually fit the level's tropes more than the JP soundtrack (and I say that as a JP soundtrack fan) This is no exception. 0:16 really gives me the feeling of "you've entered the Depths". Great work, seriously.

[@lavenderfieldsz]

From the actual mod, I think the present version that they did, fits more for a bad future. Your version is the perfect present.

[@kangaskhan7164]

A nice touch is that it sounds vaguely like mj’s blood on the dance floor (and thus Knuckles’ theme in Sonic 3)

[@manuelmakesartz]

That was completely unintentional to be honest. I just got a drum loop sample, and combined it with a Korg Wavestation patch thinking "Hey that sounds cool together". But yeah, I can hear it now and I'll probably look at my own track in a different way from now on. 😅

[@asmodeus58XX]

This definitely feels like the theme of a jungle ruins stage. Well done. Maybe it feels a bit like a Bad Future, but... at least it sounds better than Collision Chaos (US, Present)

[@Torrent64]

This is absolute gas 🔥🔥🔥 Excellent work!

[@brawlsonic18]

This track is great! You really nailed the style of the Sonic CD US soundtrack!!! I also love that guitar and just the way the track sounds overall feels amazing!!! Keep it up ManuelZ!!! This is some awesome stuff!! I can't wait to hear the future mixes(if you do make them)!

[@manuelmakesartz]

Haha, I assure you I will make future versions for sure! But I think they'll take some time. I'll be looking a bit deeper into what kind of music actually inspired the US music team, because I really want it to sound authentic (without sacrificing personal touches, of course)!

[@brawlsonic18]

@@manuelmakesartz Cool! I can't wait to see the future mixes! It's a good idea to check out what style they were going for! The US soundtrack is my personal favorite Sonic CD OST(even though I am not from the US Lol),it's always some how spoke to me. I actually started making my own stuff too! I actually made a Toxic Caves remix recently and my main inspiration was actually Quartz Quadrant Present US! I really like music and remixes and I just love what you make,I hope everything goes well for you on making music and again,I can't wait to see the future versions!

[@MattNL]

This is so so clean. Always enamored by your mixing skills. Keep up the incredible work, pal!

[@manuelmakesartz]

Thank you MattNL! I think the time I invested onto mixing finally paid off!

[@MattNL]

@@manuelmakesartz Yeah it sounds great!

[@Red_Tsar]

This sounds very good! Can't wait for the B and G Mixes!

[@manuelmakesartz]

Can't wait either!

[@Ricedaioh]

You've earned yourself a new sub

[@manuelmakesartz]

Welcome then, @@Ricedaioh ! Thank you! ⭐

[@Ricedaioh]

​@@manuelmakesartzthank YOU for making this

[@senorlock5128]

THIS IS AMAZING! I seriously love this so much. It's incredibly accurate to how the US stuff sounds. I actually think this is far more in line with a Mark Crew (Collision Chaos, Metallic Madness) piece than something composed by Nilsen. For that reason, I hope you'll consider making the Good and Bad futures more like rearrangements of the Present theme here. Not sure how much progress you have on those but I hope it's something you can think about. Nilsen's tracks (for the most part) had completely different compositions for the futures, but Crew (Sterling) took the JP-esque approach of all the tracks sharing a melody.

[@manuelmakesartz]

Oh I know about Mark Crew's approach! It's just that I imagined this whole track as a Spencer Nilsen/Mark Crew mix instead of the usual Nilsen/David Young or Mark Crew style. I do intend to keep a similar instrumentation throughout the time periods, but I want them all to be different composition wise. Glad you like it so far!

[@LolPoLePolol]

it's a very neat interpretation, and it's really great to listen

[@makasinaaaa]

Sounds very good, better than the Angelfox version And by the way, I don’t know why, but somewhere I hear Dark Fortress (Track from Sonic 1 Megamix 5.0 CDDA) I'm really looking forward to other time periods I’m also a programmer for the mod from Extra Badnik (I have now retired), and I agree with you that there are problems with the level design

[@manuelmakesartz]

Huh. Never heard of Sonic 1 Megamix. I'll check it out later today... I am also looking forward to making other time periods. I think I'll be doing the future versions first and then a past one (based on KingMeteorStudios' past themes!). Also, for the mod, one of my issues with it, besides the level design, is the badnik design. It's difficult to hit them. But hey, that mod is a WIP now so I expect improvements! (Btw I respect Angelfox's effort, but I simply don't like the approach he took)

[@makasinaaaa]

@@manuelmakesartz Extra Badnik himself asked to make the badniks difficult :) Although I agree, I overdid it with Antlion, initially it was easy to kill him, but I decided to make it more difficult.

[@brawlsonic18]

​@@manuelmakesartzI think he meant to say "Sonic Megamix" which is a rom hack of Sonic 1

[@makasinaaaa]

@@brawlsonic18 Don't Sonic 1 Megamix and Sonic Megamix mean the same thing?

[@manuelmakesartz]

@@makasinaaaa I'd like to ask you something. Do you think ExtraBadnik would like to have my US themes for his mod? Some of my friends told me I should try getting in touch with him for that purpose. I'm not sure if that's a good idea though.

[@MoonStriker]

Dang this sounds awesome and pretty authentic to the US style music! Especially with the guitars and bongos. Speaking of which, what kind of lead guitar did you use for this?

[@manuelmakesartz]

Thank you a lot! I actually used a Kontakt library called "Session Guitarist: Electric Mint". I loaded a preset and modified it. Same for the Past mix I also made (and will do the same on the future mixes for sure). It was still a challenge to use it. Perhaps I could make a video explaining how I made the whole thing. Also, I am happy to see other people who also make CD-styled music. Love your stuff. ⭐

[@NexusWorks924]

Pretty good I like it

[@manuelmakesartz]

thank u :D

[@Tycitron]

I like both US versions both of them give a different vibe, i hope when the restoration mod is finished there is an option for both versions of the US theme.

[@manuelmakesartz]

Which restoration mod are you referring to?

[@Tycitron]

@@manuelmakesartz The one you mentioned in the description, directed by ExtraBadnik. Cause i think the one in the mod by Angelfox fits if you like the more darker / moody songs from the us soundtrack like Collision Chaos / Metallic Madness US. But yours fits more for the 'funky" US songs like Palmtree Panic, Wacky Workbench, etc.

[@manuelmakesartz]

@@Tycitron Oh I wish. I actually tried to contact ExtraBadnik, asking him if he would like to use my US themes. It's been one month and I have gotten no response.

[@piercethecoffee]

From discord! This is great!

[@manuelmakesartz]

Aye there!

[@BillimanMCjon]

Fantastic

[@Zackie1]

Perfect, holy crap!

[@hiddenboy007]

this is amazing. i personally think it sounds more like the jp ost because of the backing synths, and the overall feel of the track. i have a feeling you were going for something similar to tidal tempest good future, and you got quite close, but i think even though this sounds very ambient, it doesn't really sound like the ambience the us ost has if this makes any sense. apart from that, this is a great track! i really love it lol.

[@manuelmakesartz]

I understand. Sadly, I don't have the synths the US composers had (from E-mu and Kurzweil). I couldn't get close to the sound of those weird synths. So I used a simple visual synth plugin called "Abyss" and some Korg Wavestation strings (at least Mark Crew really liked using the Wavestation, as far as I understand). Also, I am not excellent at making original music, so I can sometimes be unconsciously influenced by music I listen to in general (this is actually the first time I attempt at replicating the US style). By the way, I didn't actually get influenced by Tidal Tempest Good Future. My influence was a track called "Rockoon" by Tangerine Dream. It sounds close to the US OST's music, but still has that 90s synth edge. I think I did a better job at replicating that than the US soundtrack.

[@hiddenboy007]

@@manuelmakesartz i see, interesting. i guess getting influenced by stuff you've been listening to happens to all of us, so it's fine! i still think you did an awesome job with this track, it sounds great haha. seriously, i've been listening to it more than i'd like to admit lmao 0_o

[@hiddenboy007]

@@manuelmakesartz also, i just noticed you described it perfectly. it does sound like the us ost, but its not _quite_ there because its lacking the weirdness of the synths! i couldnt quite put my finger on it so thanks lol

[@manuelmakesartz]

@@hiddenboy007 Make sure you don't get addicted, lol!

[@robertlupa8273]

Sounds pretty believable. Not really a fan, but that's kind of the thing with many songs, both in the JP and US OST. It's usually either incredible or just kinda there.

[@manuelmakesartz]

Yeah. Even though I love the music of Sonic CD in general (both soundtracks), I see what you mean. Collision Chaos Good Future (US) is an example of a track that's just...there. It is interesting, sure, but nothing groundbreaking either. In this one, I kinda wanted to see how far I could go, without sounding too far off from the original material I got inspired by.

[@TakeYourTime0305]

Both this song and the one from the past have amazed me. You've truly done an incredible job, and I'd like to know if you're planning to release them somewhere in high-quality formats?

[@manuelmakesartz]

Actually, I did! If you check my community tab, I have linked my Bandcamp account. You can take a listen there and download them in their original quality!

[@TakeYourTime0305]

@@manuelmakesartz I see! Thank you very much. I tried to access your Bandcamp from your website, but it wasn't directing me anywhere.

[@manuelmakesartz]

​Ah, I see, ​@@TakeYourTime0305. I'll go fix it. Edit: Issue is fixed!

[@Yapping_Chameleon-m4y]

D.a garden alternate theme

[@DJspookz]

yummy

[@manuelmakesartz]

mmmm

[@RealComradeBlaze]

Can we get the good future and bad future mix please 🙏

[@manuelmakesartz]

As we're speaking, the Good Future mix is in the works! 👍

[@RealComradeBlaze]

@@manuelmakesartz okay cool 👌

[@ZealousSkinkYT]

We need JP version of this

[@manuelmakesartz]

Well, the JP version is the Little Planet theme in the JP soundtrack...

[@ZealousSkinkYT]

Oh

[@manuelmakesartz]

​@@ZealousSkinkYTYeah, that surprised me as well...

[@Mixa_YuZz26]

​@@manuelmakesartz What about JP versions of other time periods?

[@manuelmakesartz]

@@Mixa_YuZz26 I don't think there are official ones. I have seen fanmade Past and Future remixes though.

[@thatoneguy078]

do you mind if i make a fan-made past version of this?

[@manuelmakesartz]

@@thatoneguy078 I've made a past version already, but sure, go ahead!

[@darkskycastle]

Can I use your concept in my video? I will credit you in the video and in the description.

[@manuelmakesartz]

Sure go ahead! What will the video be about by the way?

[@darkskycastle]

@@manuelmakesartz The video will be a "surprise" soundtrack album, which I know you will enjoy! ❤️

[@manuelmakesartz]

@@darkskycastle Sounds nice. I'll be subbing to keep up for when you upload it.

[@darkskycastle]

@@manuelmakesartz Thank you 🧡

[@AGamerthatregretsalot]

Concept? This should’ve been in the game, probably would’ve made the other nightmarish themes be more forgettable

[@manuelmakesartz]

Watch me make the next nightmarish theme in the Bad Future! /j