What’s better than saving a cluster of innocent Zora eggs from the evil clutches of pirates and giant sea snakes alike? Learning a catchy tune that can summon an ancient turtle for all your efforts, of course.
Deriving from a popular sub-genre of alternative rock, new wave is the official little cousin of punk that when mixed with a type of Brazilian jazz music, known as bossa nova, an electro-tropical fusion is created. “New Wave Bossa Nova” isn’t the most original title for a composition found in the Legend of Zelda series, but it is charmingly simplistic and to the point.
The Marcus Hedges Trend Orchestra always seems to enhance a cover to its fullest potential, never changing the song from its original form but heightening the sounds instead. The melody confidently begins with an array of blended instruments that complement each other from start to finish. Blending the acoustic power and punchiness of a steel pan over an electronic organ that is accompanied by the smoothness of a saxophone, the combination of instruments is not easy to pull off, yet Hedges seem to play it so effortlessly and deliver a symphony that highlights the senses with a strength of tone.
From the moment the melody starts I am transported to a Caribbean paradise, surrounded by a calm sapphire sea and soft white sandbanks. I can instantly feel the sun beaming down warmth on my face whilst energy flows through the music in a picture-perfect setting. I am standing looking out over The Great Bay Coast at a time when things were serene.
The second thought that comes to my mind when listening to this tune is that I am stuck in an elevator or shopping for groceries but, as music is a window into the imagination, I prefer the beach.
It is incredibly hard not to compare Majora’s Mask to Ocarina of Time for the visuals alone, despite both installments being very different in terms of story, significance, and especially music. When I hear a melody from Ocarina of Time, I feel a sense of warm familiarity that takes me back to a happy memory, something that I never seemed to experience with the original compositions found throughout Majora’s Mask. Instead, I found the music to be dark and hollow which, of course, was the desired effect but wholly, made me feel a lot more disconnected to the experience of Termina than that of Hyrule.
This is what I love most about this cover. The Marcus Hedges Trend Orchestra takes a flat forgettable song and gives it life, turning it into an upbeat jazzy harmony with a Caribbean twist. Using multiple instruments that on paper shouldn’t work together but instead gives a unique and playful beat far from the four-note Ocarina tune.
