Matt Gray
Reformation

Incredible indie project by a veteran of the English music scene connected to the Commodore 64, one of the most beloved computers of all time, not least famous for its innovative sound features. Among the great pioneers of the SID (the sound chip of the machine) is Matt Gray, who has returned to the spotlight with a breathtaking nostalgic operation: a collection of remakes of his famous compositions from the eighties, including Driller, Tusker, Rambo II, and especially The Last Ninja 2, probably his masterpiece presented with an incredible new incarnation. The project is complex and includes a Kickstarter campaign, where the musician thanked his backers with exclusive CD copies of his work, including, of course, the complete box set called Reformation, composed of four discs. The one under review is a "best of", made available in digital stores, representing an excellent showcase of the project; 12 tracks recovered from the set, and fortunately, several tracks from the same Last Ninja 2, available only to high-level backers.

It's precisely The Last Ninja 2 that leaves you speechless, presented in five movements, it follows the original composition closely, but with meticulous sound cleaning that updates the spirit of the SID, blending it with sounds we can define as more modern. The result is an atypical meeting of old and new, which not only does justice but further enhances the original tracks. If you're expecting the well-known arpeggios and typical synths of the C64, you're in the right place, but I personally didn't expect such quality. There's an extremely lively scene around vintage personal remixes, artists from all over the world taking on the great classics, but no one can rival this level. Considering we're talking about the original artist reworking his own tracks, I'd say a "hat tip" is well-deserved. Anyway, you can tell the album was produced with a DAW, and the budget probably isn't stellar, considering the niche genre, it would have been improbable to distribute the box set in stores, but I have to take my hat off to the work that was done, fantastic for example all the work done on the percussion, an important element of this operation. Commodore 64 tracks were known for their dynamism and energy, unfortunately limited by the technical possibilities of the sound chip. Instead of the old distorted snare, we now have incredibly powerful drumming - which I wouldn't rule out was recorded live and then sampled - and fierce bass and electric guitar lines. It's not a rock or metal interpretation, except in spirit, Gray always leaves great space for the 8-bit sounds we've all loved. Anyone who remembers tracks like from works such as Dominator, Professional BMX, and Hunter's Moon, all included in the collection, will have more than a twinge of nostalgia.

Mind-blowing, my fingers still tremble thinking about the devastating work Gray did for this Reformation, practically obligatory five stars, if you're old C64 lovers run and listen to this Best of Reformation, and while you're at it, also take a look at Matt Gray's Kickstarter page to delve deeper into this great project.