ReMix: Xenogears 'Heart-Felt Recollections'
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- Game: Xenogears (Square, 1998, PS1)
- ReMixer(s): Suzumebachi
- Composer(s): Yasunori Mitsuda
- Song(s): 'October Mermaid'
- Posted: 2003-08-11, evaluated by the judges
Anyone who's as big a David Lynch fan as myself should probably be familiar with the music of Angelo Badalamenti, who's done the music on several Lynch projects, most notably the (amazing) television series Twin Peaks. His work has a simple, sentimental feeling to it, sometimes seeming slight, but always with an indescribable "something" that makes it special. The bulk of this Xeno mix by Suzu - especially the introduction - reminds me of the same direct, nostalgic, simple-but-communicative style. Things get a bit less Badalamenti with the introduction of an (excellent) electric guitar solo, which is more indulgent than he usually goes, but is very good nonetheless. Ty writes: "Most of the guitar work (except the palm muted rhythm) is improvised, and I took a sort of liberal approach to the arrangement. Most of the chord structure and progression has been reworked to fit in with the original melody and the improvised guitar." Towards the end there are some interesting signature / key / tone shifts, sorta tacked on like a bonus, the direct transitions of which again remind me of TP's OST, in a good way. Very delicate, happy, saccharine arranging from Suzumebachi, perfect for slow-dancing with a significant other, amongst other activities ;)
Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the the guitar solo is all I need to avoid the destruction of the
universe :)
- ultracrix on July 13, 2010
- ultracrix on July 13, 2010
Little heavy handed on the piano delay, and the percussion is
pretty mechanical and dry, but this is a really well done mix
otherwise. I really enjoyed it, great guitar tone with both the
clean and leads, and a good sense of progression. Good mix of live
and synth instruments, and a well captired nostalgic theme. I dig
it. :-)
- OA on March 21, 2009
- OA on March 21, 2009
Listening to this a few times in a row late at night at work right
now. Thanks, it's great. More remixes of June Mermaid are welcome.
I would also recommend listening to the Xenogears Creid version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_EVwHuU0Yw
I also agree with MechaFone: "This song just reminds me so much of days long gone by." That makes sense, considering the title of the song. :)
- Catharsis on January 30, 2009
I also agree with MechaFone: "This song just reminds me so much of days long gone by." That makes sense, considering the title of the song. :)
- Catharsis on January 30, 2009
This song just reminds me so much of days long gone by.
If I weren't so damn full, I might've been moved to tears. This is one of my faves.
- MechaFone on November 19, 2008
If I weren't so damn full, I might've been moved to tears. This is one of my faves.
- MechaFone on November 19, 2008
This was def an interesting take on June Mermaid. It's a really
emotional song that has both a light and dark tone to it. The intro
is killer. The guitar reminds of the early 90's late 80's ballad
type of songs. Great variation on the supporting elements
throughout to keep the song moving. Def my fav Suzu mix. :)
- avaris on December 18, 2007
- avaris on December 18, 2007
Oh my...I haven't played Xenogears in my life and I'm a guy...and
yet for some reason this song moved me to near-tears. It is a
friggin' beautiful song and should be downloaded immediately. I
remember downloading it awhile ago, but somehow lost track of it
until I was just surfing around OCRemix. I'm really disappointed I
lost it for awhile. *tear* Beautiful mix.
- SynthesizedStampede on May 17, 2007
- SynthesizedStampede on May 17, 2007
Didn't think i would like it as i listened to the first few seconds
(trying not to judge), but this song is freakin' beautiful! The
percussion had some good snare and high hat work, the muted guitar
was a wonderful addition, and when the piano takes the melody
towards the end it sounds great. High quality sounds all across the
board. My favorite part has to be where the guitar intially rips
into the main melody at almost one minute. Really took me back. The
minor sounding lower string notes at the end (3:26, 3:35) really
gave the ending another dimension apart from the rest of the Remix
and made the ending memorable for me. Great mix, suzumebachi.
- Kozmo on March 28, 2006
- Kozmo on March 28, 2006
NECRO!
You know, it's a song like this that reminds me why I love OCRemix so much. I trust the judges to weed out the crap that comes in and that they'd never post an unworthy mix. With that side, the other reason that goes hand in hand with it is when you start looking through songs posted a couple years back, the ones from 2002-2003 (just barely before I started not making my presence felt), you find these mixes that are just so powerful and awesome. You smack yourself in the head and go, "Man, why didn't I find this sooner?!"
This song definitely brought that exact reaction out of me this morning. I was jamming out to The Ballad of Sir Kibbles and I thought to myself, "I wonder if Suzumebachi has any other badass mixes?" So I checked it out and saw he had a Xenogears mix (which means it is a required listen) and assumed the dropped jaw position.
I love this mix. It hits all the right notes on my musical palette. The mood, the instruments just convey everything perfectly. Even if everyone out there says it's just a "good" mix and not great, I have the pleasure of feeling every emotion this mix was supposed to invoke in the listener.
I do have one minor gripe, though. The percussion was a little loud to me. It was as if it were saying, "Hey, look, I'm percussion! Pay attention to me!" but the percussion wasn't exactly what was for dinner here.
Keep up the awesome, Bachi.
- Wicked on October 14, 2005
You know, it's a song like this that reminds me why I love OCRemix so much. I trust the judges to weed out the crap that comes in and that they'd never post an unworthy mix. With that side, the other reason that goes hand in hand with it is when you start looking through songs posted a couple years back, the ones from 2002-2003 (just barely before I started not making my presence felt), you find these mixes that are just so powerful and awesome. You smack yourself in the head and go, "Man, why didn't I find this sooner?!"
This song definitely brought that exact reaction out of me this morning. I was jamming out to The Ballad of Sir Kibbles and I thought to myself, "I wonder if Suzumebachi has any other badass mixes?" So I checked it out and saw he had a Xenogears mix (which means it is a required listen) and assumed the dropped jaw position.
I love this mix. It hits all the right notes on my musical palette. The mood, the instruments just convey everything perfectly. Even if everyone out there says it's just a "good" mix and not great, I have the pleasure of feeling every emotion this mix was supposed to invoke in the listener.
I do have one minor gripe, though. The percussion was a little loud to me. It was as if it were saying, "Hey, look, I'm percussion! Pay attention to me!" but the percussion wasn't exactly what was for dinner here.
Keep up the awesome, Bachi.
- Wicked on October 14, 2005
amongst other activities ;) - djp
[b][u][i]As if you would know anything about these 'other activites."[/i][/u][/b]
- Arc Impulse on April 11, 2004
[b][u][i]As if you would know anything about these 'other activites."[/i][/u][/b]
- Arc Impulse on April 11, 2004
I love that muted guitar...reminds me of the Police, Every Breath
You Take especially... this was an excellent remix, it's so good I
have to listen to it again! :D
- kirbenvost on February 2, 2004
- kirbenvost on February 2, 2004
Whoa, how did this one slip under my radar? I really like this. The
drum work is good, which is hard to pull off on a soft electronic
song, and the changes work pretty well. I love every section of
this song and can almost feel the emotion coming out of it. Which
is the true point of musical expression, no? :nicework:
- Kamikaze Noodle on September 27, 2003
- Kamikaze Noodle on September 27, 2003
isk, the original melody is called "June Mermaid". Many people
acclaim that melody as one of the better ones in Xenogears, but
I've never really taken to it.
Funny that I absolutely adore this remix though, great job!
My one gripe is the part at the end, with the abrupt change in melody. I know that in the original, the abruptness was what made the piece so transcendental, but a lead in wouldn't have hurt, especially since the other parts of the song flowed so well.
- commanderkoo on September 10, 2003
Funny that I absolutely adore this remix though, great job!
My one gripe is the part at the end, with the abrupt change in melody. I know that in the original, the abruptness was what made the piece so transcendental, but a lead in wouldn't have hurt, especially since the other parts of the song flowed so well.
- commanderkoo on September 10, 2003
I like the intro greatly....though I feel more could have been done
with the piano, cause it seemed a little empty and kinda blah,
despite being good.
The opening chords...I would have preferred to flow into one another...its not that the ones used are bad or anything, but thats just a personal preference of mine.
The drums, I didnt like...they sounded raspy, though Im putting that one down to my duff soundcard (its been playing up lately)
¿The only thing I out-and-out dont like is the kinda "....oh" thing youve got going on at the ending. It sounds like "Ive got a good remix goin on here...but I'm going to the pub *submit*" y'know?
I just think something better could have been done there...
Otherwise is good, really good, yeah ^_^
- Eccles on August 15, 2003
The opening chords...I would have preferred to flow into one another...its not that the ones used are bad or anything, but thats just a personal preference of mine.
The drums, I didnt like...they sounded raspy, though Im putting that one down to my duff soundcard (its been playing up lately)
¿The only thing I out-and-out dont like is the kinda "....oh" thing youve got going on at the ending. It sounds like "Ive got a good remix goin on here...but I'm going to the pub *submit*" y'know?
I just think something better could have been done there...
Otherwise is good, really good, yeah ^_^
- Eccles on August 15, 2003
This is definitely one of my top 5 or so all time favorite OC
remixes. Fabulous job!
- Drexlerfan22 on August 14, 2003
- Drexlerfan22 on August 14, 2003
