Posted 2013-05-10, evaluated by djpretzel

Dj Mokram follows up his NiGHTS debut mix from last year with this short, cinematic ode to the music of Deus Ex that manages to incorporate several themes and is the only album cut to focus specifically on Michael McCann's music from Human Revolution. He writes:

"Adapt Evolve Survive" is my tribute to Deus Ex: Human Revolution from a long-time Deus Ex fan, arranging several songs from the captivating soundtrack composed by Michael McCann. With memorable in-game locations, characters and events in mind, I've set to reinterpret several tunes and combine them in an effort to depict my vision of the world of DX:HR. Following in the footsteps of Michael McCann, I've mixed elements of electronic and acoustic music, with orchestral and ethnic flavors, as well as some ethereal vocals, in an effort to depict the conflict between man and machine. This is my interpretation of Adam Jensen's struggle, who constantly threads a fine line between clinging to what's left of his humanity and succumbing to the power that his enhancements provide. It was a real challenge to create this arrangement in such a short timeframe, but I've pushed myself to the best of my ability as a (deaf) musician and had a blast doing so. The following songs were referenced: "Return to Hengsha," "And Away We Go," "Detroit City Ambient," "Opening Credits," "Everybody Lies" and "Icarus." Discerning listeners may also notice motifs from the "UNATCO" and "Main Title" themes from the original Deus Ex sneaking in stealthily like Adam. Hope you'll enjoy this audio tribute to one of the best games of 2011, if not of all time. Mad props to Eidos Montréal for bringing back Deus Ex to its former glory, and then some. :) Arrangement created in Sonar and mixed with Sound Forge. Thanks to Dustin "DusK" Branscum for jumping in at the last minute to help me replace VST guitars with live ones."

First off, since the artist mentioned it himself, it's truly inspiring & impressive that someone with a hearing impairment is able to create music like this. I think it's also rather humbling; I've made some stuff that pales (several times over) in comparison, compositionally and from a production standpoint. Both this and his previous mix don't need ANY qualifiers attached to their praise, and my primary criticism of both is only that I wish they were longer, because I want to hear more! There's an excellent blend of organic & electronic going on here, as Mokram sets the stage, builds tension, then reels things in before layering vocalized phrasing over articulated plucked instrumentation. For a piece just under three minutes, there's a lot of tempo fluctuation, and while I think it would have worked a little better stretched out on a longer 4-5 minute timescale, it nevertheless lends a narrative, "cued" feel to the mix that jives with the artist's vision. Nice follow-up mix from Mokram that again blends ethnic instrumentation into an enveloping, atmospheric journey!