OCRA-0009 - Final Fantasy VII: Voices of the Lifestream

[Brutulf]

After listening to the entire album a couple of times, I made a "favorites" playlist with some of the tracks (primarily from disk 1), because I like to listen to songs in sequence, but I couldn't stand the wait when listening to the whole album, for my favorite songs to come up again.:-)

However, as I've listened to the entire album playlist again several times, I've often said tom myself "I totally love this track. Why isn't it in my favorites playlist?", so many times in fact that my "favorites"-playlist now consists of the bulk of the album (roughly 3 quarters, and if I continued this way, it'd surely grow) So I've reached the point where I could just as well listen to the entire album instead. That's quality! :grin:

Oh, and seeing as "Adrenalyne Kyck" doesn't have its own submission/review thread, I'll use the opportunity to compliment on it here, spesifically the use of the vocals. There went a shiver down my spine when I first heard that part of the song, and subsequently when I (by serendipity) discovered the source (an old interview with Nomura) of the lyrics. Both a great choice of text and well performed. Two thumbs up!

[Liontamer]

Oh, and seeing as "Adrenalyne Kyck" doesn't have its own submission/review thread, I'll use the opportunity to compliment on it here, spesifically the use of the vocals. There went a shiver down my spine when I first heard that part of the song, and subsequently when I (by serendipity) discovered the source (an old interview with Nomura) of the lyrics. Both a great choice of text and well performed. Two thumbs up!
Thanks a lot for the kind words. Big Giant Circles truly made those vocals work. One of the funnier criticisms of that track are people complaining about my vocals being non-sequitor, as a lot of people believe they're simply made up for the song. Why would I waste an opportunity to do my own small tribute to Nomura after reading his great interview exerpt? When in doubt, Wikipedia has all the inspiration you need.

[Torzelan]

Apologies if the answer is hidden somewhere in these 25 pages of comments, but is there any way to see how VotL has been doing? Like torrent total transfer and stuff, remember zircon showing some crazy stats just after launch. Would be cool and probably incredible still; my upload never fails to max out on this torrent alone when I have it on (got ~110GB uploaded so far and damn it feels good to actually have nothing to worry about legally if the ISP would come knocking on the door asking what the hell is going on!).

[anosou]

Apologies if the answer is hidden somewhere in these 25 pages of comments, but is there any way to see how VotL has been doing? Like torrent total transfer and stuff, remember zircon showing some crazy stats just after launch. Would be cool and probably incredible still; my upload never fails to max out on this torrent alone when I have it on (got ~110GB uploaded so far and damn it feels good to actually have nothing to worry about legally if the ISP would come knocking on the door asking what the hell is going on!).

my fellow Swede :) check the front page, scroll down to torrents. there's the torrent transfer. The stats for the mirrors is probably Dave or Zircon's area.

[Torzelan]

Ooh there, thanks.

I guess I didn't care about that enormous box when I first saw it, just found it annoying and mentally blocked it ever since :) But now it did something useful, yay!

...and wow, VotL.

[anosou]

Ooh there, thanks.

I guess I didn't care about that enormous box when I first saw it, just found it annoying and mentally blocked it ever since :) But now it did something useful, yay!

...and wow, VotL.

I know! it's sick :D
I want stats on where in the world it was downloaded.. plz?

[Brutulf]

Speaking of lyrics, does anyone know where the sample in "too much fighting" is from, and what's being said?

[anosou]

Speaking of lyrics, does anyone know where the sample in "too much fighting" is from, and what's being said?

Well, I do because I made the remix ;P
sooo, from the anime Final Fantasy 7: Last Order :)

[Brutulf]

Would you be able to provide the exact quote too, and/or where (time, ca.?) it appears? :-)

Sorry, I'm just too damn curious. :razz: And even if I were to watch the whole movie again, i don't think I'd be able to pick it out. :/

Thanks in any case. :-)

[anosou]

Would you be able to provide the exact quote too, and/or where (time, ca.?) it appears? :-)

Sorry, I'm just too damn curious. :razz: And even if I were to watch the whole movie again, i don't think I'd be able to pick it out. :/

Thanks in any case. :-)

my external drive is dead so I can't watch it, but it's when the president gives orders to attack zack I believe

[Brutulf]

I see. Thanks for humoring my curiosity. :grin:

[zircon]

Someone apparently created a Voices of the Lifestream wikipedia article! Check it out here;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voices_of_the_Lifestream

If you have sourced additional information and/or corrections to make, I encourage you to do so. I think this time around we have more than enough sources and notability for the article to stay, unlike the previous OCR projects (which, believe me, I fought for.)

Additionally, VotL was reviewed positively in the largest Finnish gaming magazine, "Pelit" on page 19 of their November 11th issue. Here's a scan, and a translation:

http://www.soundtempest.net/IMG_1836.JPG

http://www.soundtempest.net/pelitreview.txt

*coughsomeoneaddthattothewikiarticle* ;)

Congrats again to everyone who was involved!! I would email you again but I've spammed you enough already.

[Fishy]

The question is how long will it stay there for :/.

Still very cool that someone made it. Could have done with some credits for each track but hey.

[Tensei]

Unnecessary songs, like the million times heard Chocobo theme and Golden Feathers should've been left out of the album.

>=( They're totally bashing AnSo and Darangen


But seriously, this really is pretty cool that they reviewed it in a real, tangible mag, yet some more well-deserved exposure.

[Sir_NutS]

nice, I hope the Wikipedo Zealots don't notice this right away.

[The Damned]

Bastards, I still can't believe they removed all the OCR albums...

Well, maybe this will change their mind this time. I doubt it, but there's the chance.

[The Author]

Bastards, I still can't believe they removed all the OCR albums...

Well, maybe this will change their mind this time. I doubt it, but there's the chance.

Verifiability first, notability second.

Wikipedia makes sense in a way, yes we want everything we hold dear to be there, but not everything is notable, and not everything can be verified. If you want other projects to be there, find third party sources, and then use them to show the notability of the projects.

[zircon]

Except many of the projects WERE sourced, but just not by print magazines, so WP morons wanted them all gone. Verifiability wasn't the problem, it was notability. Even though the album guidelines say that albums by notable artists are notable, and OCR could be considered the artist of these albums, they ignored all that.

Another problem with WP is also that there are tons and tons of articles violating the guidelines that no one seems to care about.

[The Author]

Except many of the projects WERE sourced, but just not by print magazines, so WP morons wanted them all gone. Verifiability wasn't the problem, it was notability. Even though the album guidelines say that albums by notable artists are notable, and OCR could be considered the artist of these albums, they ignored all that.

Another problem with WP is also that there are tons and tons of articles violating the guidelines that no one seems to care about.

Well, if you want WP improved, go right ahead, you can edit it.

(And there is a deletion review process, and there is nothing that prevents the recreation of articles)

just saying...

[anosou]

http://smjustice.com/blog/

We got sum more lovin'

[NoWave]

I've got to say, I'd left OCR for a little while, just a couple of things getting to me, and some other more important stuff to do. But this album's brought me back. This is some truly stunning work. Props to the responsible parties.

[crookie]

I stumbled upon this project a few days ago while doing some searches for some Final Fantasy VII music after having heard a FF tune at work.

This compilation album is simply incredible. I have really enjoyed listening to the albums, and they remind me of every portion of the great FF7 storyline.

It's really inspiring to read about the work and time that went into developing these albums, and the final result really shows it! Most of the songs bring me back to the great times I had playing this game and the remixs accompanied with these songs are very tasteful and fluent.

I sometimes can't believe that this is a not-for-profit project. I am in your debt, and know that I will be enjoying this music for years to come!

Thank you very much,

Brian

[crookie]

I just felt like adding in the tracks that have really stood out at me so far.

Shnabubula - Stone Eyes (The Great Warrior)

Sixto Sounds, zircon - Lunatic Moon (Red XIII's Theme)

Sixto Sounds, Suzumebachi, zircon - Scenes from a Memory (On That Day, Five Years Ago...)

Tweek - Frozen Landscape (Buried In Snow)

--

I find myself being absorbed into more and more of these songs, I can't put this compilation down!

Once again I just wanted to say, great work!!!

[Fishy]

Votl overtook CS on the tracker. Magical.

EDIT:

Just so you know, myself and AnotherSoundscape started a Lifestream remix for this, but I was feeling crap and couldn't come up with anything at the time. We shall finish it and submit it sometime soon-ish.

Subb'd.

[FFSamurai]

I applaud you for not making Aeris' theme into an emotional opus and using a more festive mood instead. Your the first I've heard to play that song out like that and so far it's my personal favorite version of it. Great album over all.

[jayc4life]

I've commented on the individual songs where I could see them without leaving too much of a "bumping" gap, but I'll just go on record on saying there's probably not a single track on this I would skip over while listening to it. While there are a few songs that could have been a bit better, I still felt overall this is an excellent album. I honestly think that, if this album was commercially released in music stores, game stores and perhaps online through a PayPal order scheme, you really could have made a collosal wedge of $$$$ out of this.

Still, I'm not complaining, it's all free http://www.goal-kick.com/forums/style_emoticons/default/giggity.gif but being honest, I really would have paid top dollar (or €uro in my case) for a compilation like this.

Now, I think it's time to get down and do the Robot.

http://www.goal-kick.com/forums/style_emoticons/default/robot.gif

[Fishy]

Whilst its cool to hear that people would have been willing to pay for our work, thats not what this was about. We were honouring and showing our appreciation to Nobuo and his compositions, not trying to cheapen them by making money out of them. There are a limited number of prints of the album given away as prizes by djp, which I'd imagine will be worth a pretty penny in a few years though.

[Sixto]

No, I thought I was getting paid. Oh well.

[anosou]

No, I thought I was getting paid. Oh well.

You, my dear sir, fail.

[TJF588]

A la Soundscape's recommendation, I have a concern to express (I am quite anal-retentive when it comes to labelling things):

Well, this'll make for a cruddy first post, but in searching for this ReMix I ran across this topic, so...

On the VotL page(s), anything linking to this song (either in the .torrent or the mirror hosts), the ID3 tags (or whate'er they are) label the song with the word "Beathsmith". Seems this was corrected in the individual post here on the main site, but it's still bothersome.

For the record, should I burn CDs with this typo intact, or would it be better to correct it before etching one of many greats into flimsy, cold silicon?

Also: "Sleep, My Sephy" makes my eyes well up. No tearing, really, but it feels like the muscial incarnation of an emotion.

[Liontamer]

Go ahead and fix that typo in the tags, s'ok.

[Oscillated Future]

"Final Fantasy VII: Voices of the Lifestream" is a REALLY great listen. Kudos to all those who contributed to the project, well done. :nicework:

[Melocrie]

So, I finally downloaded the album and the first track already amazed me! It really is a masterpiece, beautifully mixed and composed, epic and truly worthy of that classic game!

Great, absolutely amazing work! =D

[artemisjaeger]

I can't speak for the song, but I'm starting to think that OCR should just be renamed to Voices of the Lifestream - a Final Fantasy VII remix website.

[DeGenisis]

What sounds better the .mp3 or the .wav? Sorry I'm a newb.

[Steffan Andrews]

What sounds better the .mp3 or the .wav? Sorry I'm a newb.

Technically, wav.

[Power Smoothie]

First time I've posted on the forum in ages, but I think it's my duty to congratulate you guys on such a successful project, that truly deserves a place in everyone's music library ^_^

Happy Easter all.

[TJF588]

Is there a way to record both the .mp3 and .wav files onto their respective physical CDs while still keeping the CD as an "audio CD"?

[SnappleMan]

So, I finally downloaded the album and the first track already amazed me! It really is a masterpiece, beautifully mixed and composed, epic and truly worthy of that classic game!

Great, absolutely amazing work! =D

hahaha, your signature sucks

[TJF588]

I'm about to make a physical copy of the album (with the track titles' pure names in the Sort field, so as to lop off the source song and reinstate "A"s and "The"s), but I'm at ends about how to label the discs. Not with the stickers, with the disc names. "Crisis", "Dirge", and whatnot. The discs have their Disc Numbers indicated, but... should it be Final Fantasy VII: Voices of the Lifestream - [Name], or something else maybe?

I apologize for being such a nitpick on these things without much praise given on the songs themselves, but that my anal-retentiveness as a show of wanting these works represented in their most intended ways (well, for the most part), that their names may preceed their play.

Oh, and what's the preferred gap between songs?

[originally posted on "Adrenaline Kyck" review thread]
Agh, not again... I'm not about to review the actual song, since I have RotC playing right now and I'm in the midst of getting VotL .wavs ready for disc-burning (have had VotL .mp3s for a while now). Still, just as with "Mark of the Beatsmith", I've come to a labelling snag. Unlike "MotB", this isn't some simple added letter. The individual ReMix page and the .torrent's filename title it as "Kyck", but the album's images and tracklist file render it as "Kick". For the purposes of a physical copy of the album (since my iTunes file will remain as "Kyck"), which do you, the guys who put this ReMix together, think I should go with?

[big giant circles]

I'm about to make a physical copy of the album (with the track titles' pure names in the Sort field, so as to lop off the source song and reinstate "A"s and "The"s), but I'm at ends about how to label the discs. Not with the stickers, with the disc names. "Crisis", "Dirge", and whatnot. The discs have their Disc Numbers indicated, but... should it be Final Fantasy VII: Voices of the Lifestream - [Name], or something else maybe?

I apologize for being such a nitpick on these things without much praise given on the songs themselves, but that my anal-retentiveness as a show of wanting these works represented in their most intended ways (well, for the most part), that their names may preceed their play.

Oh, and what's the preferred gap between songs?

[originally posted on "Adrenaline Kyck" review thread]
Agh, not again... I'm not about to review the actual song, since I have RotC playing right now and I'm in the midst of getting VotL .wavs ready for disc-burning (have had VotL .mp3s for a while now). Still, just as with "Mark of the Beatsmith", I've come to a labelling snag. Unlike "MotB", this isn't some simple added letter. The individual ReMix page and the .torrent's filename title it as "Kyck", but the album's images and tracklist file render it as "Kick". For the purposes of a physical copy of the album (since my iTunes file will remain as "Kyck"), which do you, the guys who put this ReMix together, think I should go with?

Kyck. Also, you might be thinking a bit to heavily about this :lol:

[anosou]

Kyck. Also, you might be thinking a bit to heavily about this :lol:

OCDRemix :)

[TJF588]

Hah, true enough. Still, when you're makin' a non-fixable copy of these things, you damn well do it right!

On that thought: For whatever tags .wav files use, what all is able to be recorded? I ask because I made a copy of Relics that didn't have any composers down, but if that data is 'lost' to it anyway, then I shouldn't worry much aboout it (though I would lament marking it up so doofily...). Further, even if .wav tags don't carry it, would iTunes makes its own tag files on the disc?

EDIT:
Nevermind, turns out NOTHING is recorded onto the discs other than sweet, sweet music. However, I put the 2 second spacing back on/in, so all but the last tracks of each song are two seconds of silence longer... *sigh* Well, guess I'll keep these as my own personal copies and just direct everyone o'er to the album's main page (LOL, MP3s) and remove the spacing for further burnings (such as the CT album, which I want to give to my sis's b/f).

Again (or for the first time?), thanks you all for this album and for your help in my fiddlings with it.

[Halt]

Is it possible to buy Final Fantasy VII: Voices of the Lifestream? I would much rather have the orignal set discs then a torrent. tbph

[Bahamut]

There was actually a limited printing of pressed CDs of VotL, but these CDs are not for sale. They were given to remixers who participated on the project, as well as given to some others as promotional giveaways (for example, Nobuo Uematsu possesses a copy of VotL).

You can always download mp3 copies of the songs from here (http://ff7.ocremix.org/tracks/) (just click the mirror links for each song). You could always download the torrent and use a particular torrent program to uncheck downloading any of the lossless copies of the songs.

[Gollgagh]

Is it possible to buy Final Fantasy VII: Voices of the Lifestream? I would much rather have the orignal set discs then a torrent. tbph

Because there are no original set discs.

tough nuts

Also Baha, I think he'd rather have the lossless, seeing as he was looking for CD's (but then again, it's not my call)

[Dhsu]

I'll sell you mine. One hundred dolla.

[The Author]

Step 1: Download music.

Step 2: Burn the music on CDs, print out a label and put it in a case.

Step 3: Donate money to OCR.

[Halt]

Im considering Donating after i get my PC Built. This collection, Free? Psh. I cant let something such as this go with out a respective Donation.

[Liontamer]

Im considering Donating after i get my PC Built. This collection, Free? Psh. I cant let something such as this go with out a respective Donation.

Awesome! Glad you like the music enough to consider donating. Especially because we're broke.

OK, maybe just me.

And the site too, but particularly me. :lol:

[Zombie]

It would be pretty cool to have an actual physical copy of voices of the lifestream, i'm not gonna lie.

:nicework:

[Kulaman]

As the mighty genius said:
Step 1: Download music.

Step 2: Burn the music on CDs, print out a label and put it in a case.

Step 3: Donate money to OCR.

[sgx]

They were given to remixers who participated on the project

Whut? I got no such cds...

[Lotd2242]

There was actually a limited printing of pressed CDs of VotL, but these CDs are not for sale. They were given to remixers who participated on the project, as well as given to some others as promotional giveaways (for example, Nobuo Uematsu possesses a copy of VotL).


I wonder what he thought of it.

[zircon]

Word on the street - according to another OCReMix forum member who saw him in Japan - is that Uematsu said VotL is "great".

[Geoffrey Taucer]

WAIT WAIT WAIT

There are original FULL disc sets? Like, of the entire project?

'Cause if so I never got one. I got the demo CD with a few tracks on it, but I didn't get the whole thing.

[Liontamer]

Whut? I got no such cds...

You should stop by Dave's house and get a copy for yourself.

WAIT WAIT WAIT

There are original FULL disc sets? Like, of the entire project?

'Cause if so I never got one. I got the demo CD with a few tracks on it, but I didn't get the whole thing.
The bundle in the DVD case is the official copy.

[sephfire]

I don't think I got them either. I made my own though, so it's cool. I didn't know we gave some to Uematsu, though. That's awesome. :)

[Hemophiliac]

never got my copy either :(

and larry said he was gonna send it.

[big giant circles]

Word on the street - according to another OCReMix forum member who saw him in Japan - is that Uematsu said "zircon is a n00b".

fixed. he's so wise!

[anosou]

Whut? I got no such cds...

"Remixers who participated", not "Remixers who made crappy technoez."



:3

[Lotd2242]

Word on the street - according to another OCReMix forum member who saw him in Japan - is that Uematsu said VotL is "great".

Just "great"? No elaboration?

[atmuh]

i never got mine either

[The Author]

Hey, I contributed. You know all of these seconds of silence?

My contribution.

[zircon]

Just "great"? No elaboration?

Yes. Basically, the OCR forum member (who actually hadn't heard of VotL) was at some sort of event with Uematsu. Some random Japanese guy was wearing a shirt with the VotL project logo on it (presumably, custom made) and when Uematsu saw it, he pointed to the shirt and said "That's great!" or something to that effect.

[anosou]

Yes. Basically, the OCR forum member (who actually hadn't heard of VotL) was at some sort of event with Uematsu. Some random Japanese guy was wearing a shirt with the VotL project logo on it (presumably, custom made) and when Uematsu saw it, he pointed to the shirt and said "That's great!" or something to that effect.

That's incredibly awesome.
Also, Uematsu has two copies. One official and one custom made by me and AeroZ from the PLAY! Concerts in Stockholm. Sure, he likes the official the most but still! :)

[Omnitron]

Huge bump I know but the link for this isn't working. Can I only get it from that torrent or is it elsewhere?

[Steffan Andrews]

*cough*ff7.ocremix.org*cough*

[Darkbeat]

When this album come out, I saw like a proper cover and CD art and everything. I just wanted to know if it really is avaliable to buy like that because I have a friend who loves the music here and I thought I would surprise him with it this christmas. If not, its okay.

Thanks guys.

[Gollgagh]

There were only like 5 physical copies produced.

so no

[zircon]

Actually, that's not correct, Gollgagh. We printed several hundred but the reason we don't make them available is because we can't legally sell them. Thus, we prefer to use them as prizes for contests, giveaways, and convention/panel appearances.

[Gollgagh]

oh


sneaky bastards >:|




wait, you can't even sell them for the price of the medium, or you don't want to?

[Fishy]

Actually, that's not correct, Gollgagh. We printed several hundred but the reason we don't make them available is because we can't legally sell them. Thus, we prefer to use them as prizes for contests, giveaways, and convention/panel appearances.

Speaking of which, wut happened to my copy?

[anosou]

Speaking of which, wut happened to my copy?

ROFL, you didn't get one!? XD

[OA]

Dude, even I got one; I wasn't even on the project.

You must have made Zircon pretty mad to receive an epic snub like that. v_v

[Fishy]

Also I swear you owe me money andy. Something about waiting to get paid by pixie.

What happened to us?

[anosou]

Also I swear you owe me money andy. Something about waiting to get paid by pixie.

What happened to us?

He owes me a CD too.. wanna hunt him down and beat it outta him?

[Hemophiliac]

Never got a cd either :(

i blame larry

[JaDE ARaN HaRuNo]

I'm currently trying to make a gaming playlist of all my favorite tracks... I been working on this for almost a week. hahaha It's so time consuming. I noticed "Nomura Limit (Fight On!)" by zircon isn't an OC ReMix. It's actually one of my favorites in the album. Especially at 2:03 then it rocks out... It's amazing dude. Any reason why it isn't an OC ReMix?

[KyleJCrb]

I'm currently trying to make a gaming playlist of all my favorite tracks... I been working on this for almost a week. hahaha It's so time consuming. I noticed "Nomura Limit (Fight On!)" by zircon isn't an OC ReMix. It's actually one of my favorites in the album. Especially at 2:03 then it rocks out... It's amazing dude. Any reason why it isn't an OC ReMix?

Probably because it just wasn't ever submitted, since they submitted like, half of the rest of the album instead? :razz:

[Godah]

Hi there, people:

I just wanted to post my opinions about this album, the existence of which I have just discovered!!!, How could that be? Perhaps it was because I forgot to put ocremix.org in my favourites.

Well, up until now I have listened the two first parts, Crisis and Dirge and I have to say that they are astounding! What a marvel! The result is very professional. I showed the first song, Deliverance of the Heart, to my girlfriend and she asked me who was the artist, and I said that this was a remix created by "fans".

I have a question, is this album spanning the entire compilation of FFVII? I ask this because I reckon that some songs from the first part belong to Before Crisis, the song titled "hurry", for instance. Well, maybe I'm wrong, correct me if so.

Finally I came across with the ultimate album I wished! Sorry for the long post, and keep up the good work, you remixers!

Greetings from Spain!

[Skummel Maske]

The album only covers tracks from the original FFVII game. Tracks from the spin-offs might be inspired by tracks from the original game though. I have only played the original myself, so I can't say for sure.

[KyleJCrb]

I have a question, is this album spanning the entire compilation of FFVII? I ask this because I reckon that some songs from the first part belong to Before Crisis, the song titled "hurry", for instance. Well, maybe I'm wrong, correct me if so.

"Hurry!" was in the original Final Fantasy VII game, which this album covers exclusively. Later games in the series have reused many of the music tracks from the original game.

[Godah]

Hi again,
Yep, now that you mention it's true. It's just that I didn't remeber the track called "Hurry". Besides, the remix resembles slightly to the song "Hurry" from Before Crisis.
Greetings.
:razz:

[sefirosu]

Woah, wait, what?
I havent left any feedback on this album yet?

OK, well here it is:

Love it. Even the songs I don't care for as much make this album special and therefore, I love them all.
Good job and nice work to all the ReMixers who contributed to this awesome project.

[Catharsis]

So yeah...the torrent link is broken. Anyone got another one?

[Harvey Danger]

So yeah...the torrent link is broken. Anyone got another one?

I was wondering about this too. :|

[rockafocka]

at least I think this is what you are looking for.

http://isohunt.com/torrent_details/29755064/voices+of+the+lifestream?tab=summary

Oh! and btw if you hopp on over to the torrentlist on the left most part the link works there:D

Fantastic album...Love it!

[Taterness]

Does anyone know who is talking and what they are saying in Too much fighting(Fanfare) - Another Soundscape?

[sefirosu]

Its a quote from FFVII: Last Order.
Tseng says it before Zack and Cloud are "apprehended"
The translation we are given in the movie is "Will we take freedom away from them again?"

I put that on the song's review thread, you should have looked through that first.

[Somedude]

I just dl'd via Torrent and it is AMAZING. I love everyone of these remixes :< Wakka Wakka, yo

[OregonTrail]

Sorry to bump an old thread, but I thought that this was important enough to register for.

On the official page for FF7:VotL (ff7.ocremix.org (http://ff7.ocremix.org/)), the link to the torrent file is:

http://bt.ocremix.org/files/Final_Fantasy_VII_-_Voices_of_the_Lifestream.torrent

but it should be

http://bt.ocremix.org/torrents/Final_Fantasy_VII_-_Voices_of_the_Lifestream.torrent

The torrent is still up and running. Please change the link so that more people can experience this wonderful album.

[gainsborough]

I thought my browser's dead. Thank you for the corrected link, OregonTrail. Hope admin will fix it soon.

Edit: Just listened to Aeris' theme, can't stop my tears even after 12 years. ^^
Nice work guys!

[Ring Them Bells]

Well, after 5 years of solid lurking around here, I think it's a good time to register and start posting to pay my respects to this community...
Starting with this album, which I found very impressive. Being a huge fan of the game (and more importantly here, of its epic soundtrack) I just loved the creativity and diversity that everyone put into it, as well as the overall production quality, which was very professional and reflected the colossal amount of work done by everyone involved.

Kudos to you all for a surprising, refreshing, eclectic album that never stops revealing its awesomeness (even after quite a few listens now :wink:)

And I can't help mentioning FFmusic DJ's remix in particular, since it literally made me bounce for days. A very unexpected and energetic take on a somewhat ordinary theme, congrats for the result, which is just plain fun to listen to !
OCR definitely needs more happy hardcore in my opinion. This genre would suit so many VGM themes so well...

Again, bravo everyone !

[Nelo Angelo]

is there any place to just straight download and no torrent?

[Oni865]

I've downloaded several albums from this site, but this one in particular is my absolute favorite. Final Fantasy VII may be one of my all-time favorite video games, but that's not why I like this album. It was very well put together, had some great remixers on the project, admired the artwork as well, and it's one I listen to on a daily basis.

My absolute favorite track would actually have to be the first song, "Deliverance of the Heart (http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01612/)" done by pixietricks (http://ocremix.org/artist/4659/pixietricks) and zircon (http://ocremix.org/artist/4628/zircon). I posted a review on that song as well, but was worth another mention. I would like to personally thank everyone who was on that project for putting together such a great album.

[zircon]

is there any place to just straight download and no torrent?

Yes, http://ff7.ocremix.org/ has HTTP mirrors.

[JWDragair]

Wow, it's really nice to see that people are still discovering this album :) I fell in love with it long ago, and have never regretted getting the entire thing on my slow as snails internet via individual track downloading. It took all night but was worth it XD

Love the album, and love the remixes. And I really wish I could be as good as this, but my works are much to rough to even put on OCR :\ Anyway, good work and more music! XD

[Mirby]

It is a nice album... and the ones to come out in the future are shaping up to be quite awesome as well! ^_^

[Ben Steed]

This album has shaped my musical path as I know it. It was such a huge influence on me when I first heard it. I regard it as one of my favourite albums of all time.

[letalis]

Aiai.. I'm downloading this now.. This was such a surprise to find. I'm looking forward to listen to it. From what I can see on the comments the stuff is good :-D
I'm in one of those final fantasy 7 periods again so thanks alot for this.

[VV666]

Bonjour,
je suis français et je ne parle pas un mot d'anglais, alors je ne vous ferais pas l'affront de m'exprimer dans un anglais incompréhensible ou pire, utiliser Google traduction !

De tout manière, je pense que vous aller comprendre :

LE TRAVAIL QUE VOUS AVAIENT FAIT SUR CETTE ALBUM EST GÉNIAL !!!!! MERCI !!!!!

Je l'écoute en boucle depuis quelques jours, c'est SUPER !!!!! :-D:-D:-D

[Sansato]

I've actually downloaded some of the album's songs from OCR's main site, and all of them are good so far. I'm not familiar with a majority of the original soundtrack, but I'm going to assume that this will be kickass based on the remixes I've heard already. I'll post back with my thoughts on the album after I've listened to it.

[Litsuna]

Oh gosh, I've been a member for what seems an eternity, and yet I've only ever posted twice!

I just re-downloaded this album...can't believe it was released this long ago already....
Ah, I'm swimming in a sea of wonder again. Can't say enough about this amazing album, except: Thanks for making my day.

[Swifthom]

Sitting through the album in several sittings i've finally been able to gather my thoughts on it... Several years too late but this is still something worth celebrating

http://imburningout.blogspot.com/2011/04/final-fantasy-vii-voices-of-lifestream.html


Voices of the Lifestream is a pretty epic undertaking, rolling in just short of three and a half hours of music it covers all the major areas of its original source. Unfortunately this strength is also its weakest; Final Fantasy VII had a fairly varied soundtrack and whilst in the context of a game most of it works, as a cohesive body of music the album struggles to remain focused, particularly around the third disc.


Disc One: Crisis
Standout Track: Deliverance of the Heart

There’s one thing that struck me in ‘Deliverance of the Heart’, something that told me straight away that they’d got something right. It isn’t Pixietricks sumptuous vocals, which are excellent, or the rich, ambient chords that accompany them throughout. It’s the bells; a strong, metallic clunk that just suits the source material to the ground. ‘Deliverence of the Heart’ sets the tone for the following two remixes, taking the source music in slightly different, much more ambient and cinematic direction, than the technology was capable of in 1997. It’s certainly a very strong start to the album.

However by track four we start to reach the all important battle music of the games, allowing some traditional electric guitars to step forward and claim their place. ‘Materia Junkie’ and ‘Full Frontal Assault’ step up to the mark, and although they don’t anything as radical as the preceding tracks they continue the strong production values set before them.

After the duel guitar tracks the album shifts gears again, giving two more ethereal pieces produced by OCR stalwarts Another Soundscape (now Mattias Häggström Gerdt) and Daniel Baranowsky. Both tracks ooze a quality, well constructed soundboard that provide a feeling just as strong as the base melody. Then once again the album shifts gears to two more faster paced battle songs, utilising a more techno-electronic sound this time to rocket up the tension alongside the beat. ‘Son of Chaos’ provides one final lower temp song, becoming one of the darkest and most intimidating tunes of the album. Then the final two tracks race headfirst to the ending, one metal the other techno.

The first disc represents a strong direction for the album, laying out its intentions and ambitions, cleverly pacing the musical styles to tell its story whilst not ever getting too repetitive. Artistic license may be high at certain points, some songs diverging from the source tunes more than others, but without exception these are all masterly crafted pieces all worthy of your attention.


Disc Two: Dirge
Standout Track: JENOVA: Celestial

Djpretzel’s introduction track struggles to set as strong a first impression as the previous CDs, but there’s no denying that ‘Short Skirts’ it a truly beautiful jazz song. Vibrant and colourful it demonstrates excellent choice of instruments and arrangements to give an underappreciated source song true depth. And like the preceeding album it sets the tone for what immediately follows; ‘Valse Aeris’ is something of a dreamy ballroom dance, orchestrally dancing back and forth around your speakers for a full seven and a half minutes without ever outstaying its welcome. Both technical masterpieces certainly but perhaps not the most exciting tracks on the album.

It’s a shame that ‘Embraced Empathy’ sits in this part of the album, surrounded by some of the best arranged pieces of the album. Whilst technically fine it struggles to distinguish itself, and the fact that its surrounded by some of the most musically accomplished pieces of the album it looks significantly worse for wear. ‘Serenity’ gives a smooth, confident production that mixes interesting chord changes with a trippy/jazz style beat and backing vocals evocative of Pixietricks opening on the first track. ‘A Life Without Parole’ follows this with a piano solo that is technically excellent, but perhaps outstays its welcome lasting almost a full five minutes.

‘Scenes From a Memory’ picks up the beat, although not as technically proficient as its predecessors, it does amiably prevent the album from wallowing by providing a much needed driving force for the song. It, ‘Golden Fields’ and ‘Crystal Sermon’ risk treading water in the middle of the album, buts fans of the source tunes will all find something to appreciate in each song. Things veer off slightly halfway through the song ‘Chasing the Storm’, which starts as just a straight tribute to the original, before transforming seamlessly into something very different. Fast, frenetic and most importantly exciting it leads into the equally strange and eerie song ‘Sephiroth’s Wake’.

This album really takes off however in the penultimate track, where bLiND introduces us to the Jenova motif that really embodies Final Fantasy 7. It’s something of a techno anthem, providing fast well selected key changes just when the sound is about to get monotonous. Some of this energy follows through into the final track; ‘Mark of the Beatsmith’, which shows potential with excellent styling and soundscape, but suffers from a few poor arrangement issues.

The second disc shows a much more musically competent side to the album, showcasing some of the varied styles and sounds from both FF7 and OCR. It has just as strong production values as its predecessor and a wider remit of styles. The pace if a little slower and a little more relaxed, giving the musicians time to enjoy the songs and flesh them out for all their worth.


Disc Three: Advent
Standout Track: Fading Entity

‘Suco de Malenica’ is a solid arrangement in its own right but its not the most inspired remix to grace this album. This isn’t a complex piece, a light hearted reprieve from the more serious songs on the album, but I doubt it’ll leave anyone with many lasting impressions.

‘Stone Eyes’ follows with another piano only piece, offering one of the more emotional source tunes on the album. It offers just the right amount of complexity to do justice to the original without deviating too much. ‘Daydreaming Again’ offers a similar musical indulgence, with live recorded instruments working through chord progressions from the original, yet the music never takes off with a strong melody of its own.

Things liven up quickly with the quirky ‘Alien Exploration’ which seems a welcome splice of fun at first, from the more mellow tracks that preceded it, yet it arguably overstays its welcome. ‘Golden Feathers’ follows this with an admirable musical flair elaborating on a source tune that offered very little musical scope, yet once again the upbeat jaunty instruments start to grate after a while. ‘Midnight at the Club Corel’ is more of an improvisation piece, blending some traditionall ballroom jazz with some very subtle synths. It functions well in breaking up the high pitched instruments which make a return in the happy hardcore ‘Ahead on Our Rave’ appropriately titled but containing very little musical intricacy. This run of oddball remixes comes to an end with ‘Kweh!’, the required Chocobo song, that sounds like the theme song of a children’s television show. Whilst it contains some interesting improvised sections the bulk of the song sounds almost exactly like the original.

Fortunately things settle down with the final run of songs on the disc, starting with ‘The Crossroads’, which starts with a fairly traditional homage of the original song before breaking into something entirely different; a metal-dance hybrid with some very strong vocal effects. Jovette River’s vocals aren’t as strong as Picietricks at the start of the album but he makes up for this with some excellent sound editing, giving a particularly interesting chorus. Whilst not to everyone’s taste this has to be commended for attempting to do something different with the song, remaining perfectly true to the spirit of the album.

After this bLiND returns with collaborator Leifo to give one of the standout pieces of the albums. ‘Fading Entity’ uses stereo panning and some impressive effects to lay out one of the most polished tracks on the album. I can’t explain how special this piece is; you need to listen to it to appreciate the piece.

Frozen Landscapes then finishes the disc, bringing some life to what was originally a very monotonous piece. It’s a very minimalist piece with no discernable memory but it holds true to the sense of ambient energy that the best tracks in the album have demonstrated.

The third disc is arguably the weakest of the three. Things pick up towards the end but it starts relatively bland and unmemorable, before transforming into something loud and obnoxious. By and large these are the ‘extra’ songs that weren’t essentially a part of Final Fantasy’s 7’s central storyline and stylistically they’re somewhat out of kilter compared to the other discs.


Disc Four: Order
Standout Piece: The Beginning of the End

‘Sleep, My Sephy’ is a bit of a slow burner to kick off the final album. Like Pot Hocket’s previous piece it follows the chord progression of the original piece with some nylon guitars. Although artistically sound it’s something of a lullabye piece and a little unusually placed as it kicks off the final disc. It does however feed in nicely to the gloom ridden haunting melody that is ‘Collision’, a powerful piece with an excellent sound but very little melody and a lot of repetition.

‘Airships Make Me Happy’ could be the most inspiring piece on the album, a chiptunes-esque (with some subtle orchestration in the background) that only strays slightly from the original but tunes it into a much peppier, upbeat piece of music. ‘Hydrophone Breakdown’ follows breathing some life into a fairly simple piece of backing music… To be honest there’s a slight sense in both songs feel as though the album is wrapping up the remaining erroneous songs that they couldn’t fit onto the third disc. On the other hand production values are high and they do carry a required tension in them, as though the end if slowly drawing nearer.

'Omnislash’ brings back the quasi-metal style that infected the first album, drawing together the ominous pace with heavy guitar riffs and some great synths. It’s much more dramatically driven than the first disc, with a sense of impending danger throughout, most clearly embodied in the string section towards the end. This is followed by the somewhat repetitive ‘Rare Square’ that feels more like a film soundtrack than a tune in its own right.

Fortunately ‘JENOVA: Returns’ more than lives up to the high standards set up by ‘JENOVA: Celestial’ on the second disc. It’s a very theatrical piece, blending the J-E-N-O-V-A theme with a few other pieces in a grand musical masterpiece that’s larger in scope than almost any other song on the album... This is followed by ‘Beginning of the End’, another of bLiND’s stellar performances, moving from trance to a drum’n’bass fast paced masterpiece that just takes everything excellent about the original song and emphasises every element.

‘Black Wing Metamorphosis’ is perhaps the most important song in the album, its source being the most controversial yet recognisable song in Final Fantasy history. To combat the task before them six arranger’s collaborate to make something just as disjointed and perhaps divisive as the original, melding together a range of styles to produce something truly unique. It starts with a series of chiptunes blips and beeps with the orchestral strings coming in slowly, before the choir takes over to become the meat of the song. Things end with an orchestral rendition of the chorus, before a fuzzy guitar solo closes things out neatly. It’s hardly the epic masterpiece that some might have expected but it certainly treads new ground. Then, to bring listeners down from that ‘The Golden Memories of Gaia’ blends together several tunes from the album, giving a fairly sombre and reserved finish to the album.


Disc four is certainly something special, combining together the strong dramatic tension from the first disc, the musical skills from the second and something of the variety from the third.

[CrazyCanuck]

Holy crap. So much amazing stuff on this site. Just had the pleasure of downloading and listening to this album over the weekend, wished I had gotten it earlier.
Have to say, Motor Crazycycle by tefnek was one of my favourites. It had just about the catchiest tune I've heard since, well, a long time. Disappointed it didn't make onto the site. Ah well. All a blast to listen to anyway.

[Masakado]

Is it okay to upload "Voices of the Lifestream" on http:/soundcloud.com/?
Or put it on facebook?

Is it okay for the artists?
Is it okay for Mr. Uematsu?
Are there some official statements, i could refer to?

please help :oops: