E² (Nightmare Mix)
Arranged by DJ Galaway (Matt Hoover; That’s me!) in Acid Music Generator 3.0
DWI written by Galaway (Matt Hoover) using StepMania Editor
BG and Banner made in Photoshop 7.0
15-220 BPM
Length: 1:41
Difficulty:
5/7/9
I’ve been a DDR addict for some time now. StepMania and DWI are great simulators, and my only answer to home play nowadays.
As for my simfiles, E² is… well, I’ve lost track of all the files I’ve made and which I’ve released. But it is the first song I’ve ever composed.
My handle? No, it has nothing to do with women in any way. I myself am 16 and a guy, not a “gal”, which is an easy mistake to make. Although my Internet acquaintances often call me “Gal”. If you want to hear the story behind it, drop me a line.
This is, again, the first song I’ve ever arranged. It was made with sound samples from the standard Acid Music Generator Content CD.
The layout should make you feel like you’re descending into a nightmare, hence “Nightmare Mix”, going from 80 BPM to 220 BPM at increments of 20 every 4 measures, dropping to 15, then staying a steady 20 BPM throughout the remainder. The constant removal and replacement of layers makes the song frantic and unpredictable.
The first layer, starting at 80 BPM, signifies drifting off to sleep. It is followed by layer two, the “Dream Layer”, which is a drumbeat.
The third layer, a euro-synth layer, signifies something important happening in the dream. This is where the tempo first begins to accelerate.
On the fourth layer, the BPM increases to 120 and another, tenser synth layer is added, replacing the comforting bassline.
Layer five replaces the drum beat layer with a fast bass layer, making it sound like something has gone missing from the music. 140 BPM.
A faster, more primitive drumline in layer six replaces the familiar, droning, initial synth of layer three, speeding the tempo again, this time to 160. In the dream, this is panic. Terror.
The heart races faster as the tempo hits 180, replacing the Techno beats with the more traditional, ethnic line of layer seven, along with the pursuing bass. This was used to signify a primal fight-or-flight response, where terror takes over and we need to rely on instinct more than human cunning.
Delving further into the flight instinct, we continue to layer eight, in which the bassline is killed and overcome by another ethnic track. Eventually the primal beat is killed, too, followed by the initial ethnic beat, leaving the moaning instrumental part as a cry for help in a 220 BPM frenzy.
And then, in layer nine, you wake up. The boom shrinks the BPM to a measly 15. Your heart is in your throat. A cold sweat. (This is why I chose not to use a tempo freeze; the body hasn’t stopped, it’s just wracked with fright.)
And layer ten lifts you from the bed, letting you go about your business as you please at a normal speed, free of terror. Exhausted from your previous dream, you return to layer one, to go back to sleep… But with your heart rate quickened substantially.
Talk about depth!
BASIC (5)
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TRICK (7)
Max Combo:
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MANIAC (9)
Max Combo:
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