ReMix: Final Fantasy VII 'Of Transformants and Brevity'

main

download

Download MP3
5,953,536 bytes, 6:12, 128kbps

Play Preview
Streaming preview on YouTube

Game: Final Fantasy VII (Sony, 1997, PS1)
ReMixer(s): zyko
Composer(s): Nobuo Uematsu
Song(s): 'The Nightmare's Beginning'
Posted: 2003-07-13, evaluated by the judges

Looking for something different? No, really different... different enough to simultaneously impress our judges while at the same time causing them varying degrees of difficulty in actually describing the music in question? Newcomer Zyko offers up what could perhaps best be described as a "guitar-driven soundscape", laden with whispers, humming, fret noise, delayed notes that sound at times like humpback whales underwater, a massive variety of Fripp, Eno, and Floyd-esque timbres that are pretty distinct and unlike most electronic textures you'd hear in something similarly ambient, and just an overall bizarre aural aesthetic. There's some noticeable hiss in the recording, but it's still a very transporting and trippy experience, especially on headphones. VERY cinematic, in an avant-garde way, with portions being almost transcendental and others being frightening. Some of the whispering includes phrases like "save me" and "I don't want to be saved" as well as "shut up" - it's hard to describe, but they are injected + executed well enough so that the net effect is spooky. Judge Digital Coma, writing in his usual flamboyant "quote me" fashion, comments: "Transformants - yeah, if you're thinking hallucinogens; brevity - not likely! With all atmospheric pieces must come a sense of planned cohesion, an evolving narration of sounds. This has definitely got that, including an array of heavily processed frets, breaths, vocals, well-strummed guitar, and other oddities. Love the heart-beat ending, though a longer fade-out may have been appropriate. A very spooky twist on the original; an ambient track that attracts curiosity of the enigmatic." - bottom line, if you like weird guitar noises in general, don't mind soundscapes (where melody and rhythm take a distant backseat to texture), and enjoyed the non"song" portions of PF's Dark Side of the Moon, chances are you'll find this ReMix equally transporting and affecting. Radically different, but in a good way, which doesn't happen all that often - compelling, textural stuff from newcomer Zyko, who's brought something very distinct to the table.

― djpretzel

Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.

A really interesting soundscape, with some nice guitar work. Weird that I find this to be more accessible than a lot of Zyko's other stuff, and though it's not really a style I'd normally gravitate towards, but i'm always interested in what kind of crazy cool stuff he has cooked up, and in this case, I really connected. Definitely check this one out. :-)

- OA on September 1, 2010

Sefirosu is right - "sacrificed" is what is said.
And this is an extremely creepy piece... I could totally see it being looped and played at a strategic point in a haunted house.

- Final Hero on July 2, 2009

Sacrificed... Get your mind out of the gutters, mate.

Also, I'd like to echo what a lot of people have said, This mix is really haunting and kind of creepy...

It somehow found its way into my sleepy-time playlist on my iPod and I remember having a terrible nightmare and waking up to the heartbeat at the very end.

True story.

- sefirosu on July 2, 2009

It might just be an echo of "saved"...

- bjnartowt on July 1, 2009

The song reminds me so much of the original Diablo. The song brings back great memories of the game. Whenever it randomly spawns itself on my playlist, I love listening to it

- mananetwork on January 26, 2009

Nice... Niiice... I had nightmares like this. I like nightmares. They test our strengths. Like tough love from our minds. I think i'll keep this.

- DramaNoMore on April 9, 2008

I love this song. I try to listen to it at max volume so that I can understand the voices before the ones at the end. Does anyone know what those ones are saying? I know they're saying something, I just can't understand them. :puppyeyes:

- jelloegg on March 3, 2007

I don't believe it. Nobody else finds ties to Tool in this piece? That's what I was thinking when I first heard it.
Very wonderful piece, zyk0. Please, bless us with more awesome music.

- LegendofSymphony7 on August 27, 2006

I signed up simply to comment on this hauntingly beautiful piece of music. There's something about this piece that has the ability to bring out a sense of fear, yet intrigue. I've listened to it a couple times now and every time I find that the twists in the song surprise me every time. The helplessness of the " Please...", the sudden gasps for breath, and the painful moans are simply spine chilling. Vincent was one of my favorite characters of Final Fantasy, and this does him more than justice. As an artist I find this piece extremely inspiring to my work, and it puts me in the perfect mood to paint a very dark and gothic painting. This is different, but also a masterpiece in it's own right. It's easy to see that a piece like this will create a love-hate relationship among listeners, but you can count me to the love end. It's artwork in the form of music, and it's beautiful my friend. Stunning.
It's also " Shinra", not "Shut up." Listen carefully and you can definately make out the "ra" that sounds nothing like " up."
~Lumina

- Lumina on June 23, 2006

Haunting...
This is more than just a remix...this is art.

- undinesfire on March 25, 2006

Wow...
This is...definitely unlike anything I've heard here as of set. And as such, it's very cool. It's kind of more ambiance than anything, but I think it's done very well. The voices are both creepy and compelling at the same time.
Very nice.

- Scufo on November 1, 2005

This is great, I love the ambience, this song really reminds me of "ballet for a blue whale" by Adrian Belew. The heart beat at the end of the song made me think of "Dark Side of the Moon". I can't say that I've heard anything like this on the site, and that's definitely a good thing, it's very original in it's own way. The last remix I heard that had zyko's work in it was "Invertebrate Retreat" and that was brilliant, yet, completely different than this song, almost an exact opposite. Very interesting experimental piece. My only complaint is that there was noticable hiss throughout the song, other than that, it's very good. 7.5/10

- about:blank on November 1, 2005

Awesome

- Dionyseus on October 29, 2005

This is a very different remix, and maybe just because Vincent WAS different, I mean he lied in a box in a basement and preferred it to be that way. liked the guitar in the beginning, very sad and thoughtful, also Vincent in a nutshell. The groanings or voices maybe ruined it some, but this a descent weird remix that deserves your attention.

- Bummerdude on October 17, 2005

I was listening to the Stone Roses, and I gotta say the intro to "Made of Stone" sounds a lot like this one arpeggio from this remix. Though they're completely different tracks, of course.

- Domukaz on March 24, 2005