ReMix: Final Fantasy VII 'Internal Affliction'
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- Game: Final Fantasy VII (Sony, 1997, PS1)
- ReMixer(s): sephfire
- Composer(s): Nobuo Uematsu
- Song(s): 'Listen to the Cries of the Planet', 'Those Chosen by the Planet'
- Posted: 2004-01-11, evaluated by the judges
Newcomer Sephfire offers this very dramatic, expansive FF7 arrangement, with pads, a nice electronic drum groove that's somewhere between techno and hip-hop, delayed piano and bells that merge into a bed of pitched attacks, and some nice effected guitar sounds. Much attention is paid to panning and stereo imaging, and the low strings that are used are quite ominous and evil sounding. The Wingless writes:
"It is a very well done piece, especially in lieu of the first draft. I especially like how instruments are introduced to add some flecks of atmosphere here and there. Very nice little touches that I rarely get to hear. While it is very well produced overall, it's the little things in this piece that really engage me. Of course, I'm weird like that, but it is appealing on that purely technical level, and that deserves some mention."
Israfel noted the dark, oppressive atmosphere and mentioned the bass/kick drum might have done with less reverb, which I'd agree with. However, this takes the melancholy original and further develops it into a full-fledged ambient techno piece that exists in a dark, clouded world full of uncertainty. Good, moody, well-constructed stuff from newcomer Sephfire.
Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the I liked elements of this, especially the atmosphere, but I always
felt like there was something missing to keep it compelling. I
didn't get the point of the weird guitar synth brought in in the
second half - it was asking for attention but so buried as to seem
like a background element. Didn't quite fit the mood either. Not
bad a debut mix, but I get the sense Daniel didn't totally know how
to express himself (of course, I get the benefit of reading his
comment which says almost exactly that :razz:).
- Palpable on December 15, 2011
- Palpable on December 15, 2011
Very cool, very dark meditative beats. Nice atmospheric texture to
the whole thing. In fact, for quite a while we seem to be
traversing Doom territory, that is until that unmistakable
Nobuo-ness comes in at around 0:56.
This mix reveals its hand quite early, and suffers a bit in pacing because of it, but that doesn't detract from some serious production with some real foreboding elements that stay true to the source. Awesome.
- Marmiduke on April 28, 2009
This mix reveals its hand quite early, and suffers a bit in pacing because of it, but that doesn't detract from some serious production with some real foreboding elements that stay true to the source. Awesome.
- Marmiduke on April 28, 2009
This mix just weirds me out when I listen to it now. Not only is it
my first amateur attempt at remixing, but I hadn't figured out my
sound by this point, so it doesn't sound like [i]me[/i] to me. I
can listen to my KH remix and think "ah, that's when I started
figuring things out." But this one just baffles me. It feels very
familiar, and yet foreign at the same time. I'm sure a lot of other
remixers probably feel the same way about their first attempts at
music.
- sephfire on February 14, 2008
- sephfire on February 14, 2008
It's pretty cool to see some of the more "recognizable" OCR
artists' debut tracks, and Sephfire's first is no exception. It has
an overall more atmospheric feel to it than what i'd normally
expect from him, but is laid out pretty well.
It does tend to establish a mood and then stay there, rather than continue to evolve, but it works very well as background music. The piano and pads form a solid backing texture and sharp distorted synths poke out to emphasize chord changes. The beat itself is generally subdued, but still contains energy.
Not nearly as exciting or expansive as his more recent stuff, but still well worth a listen.
- OA on February 14, 2008
It does tend to establish a mood and then stay there, rather than continue to evolve, but it works very well as background music. The piano and pads form a solid backing texture and sharp distorted synths poke out to emphasize chord changes. The beat itself is generally subdued, but still contains energy.
Not nearly as exciting or expansive as his more recent stuff, but still well worth a listen.
- OA on February 14, 2008
This remix never really takes off. The first seconds are
impressive, promising a very interesting remix, but then the song
fails to deliver, staying unprecise without being decidedly
ambient, with too much of the piano layer, even though this is
varied quite nicely in itself in details. Still, with not much to
listen to, this song does not interest me.
- maelkashishi on December 12, 2007
- maelkashishi on December 12, 2007
First of all, I love this!
Now, forgive me if I'm mistaken, stating something painfully obvious, or it's already been said, but it sounds to me that the piano provides primarily "You Can Hear the Planet's Cry" while the low strings have taken over "Those Chosen By the Planet".
The two tracks make beautiful music together [if you'll forgive the pun,] and I'm surprised that this combination hasn't been done more. Maybe the other mixers are afraid to take on your mix? I know I would be if I were a mixer.
Anyway, there's a constant light-vs-dark sound that makes me wish there had been more interaction between Aerith and Sephiroth. Dark, but light at the same time, if that makes sense. :) It's actually a very relaxing mix to listen to. A job well done, in my opinion.
- Babysoft-chan on January 16, 2007
Now, forgive me if I'm mistaken, stating something painfully obvious, or it's already been said, but it sounds to me that the piano provides primarily "You Can Hear the Planet's Cry" while the low strings have taken over "Those Chosen By the Planet".
The two tracks make beautiful music together [if you'll forgive the pun,] and I'm surprised that this combination hasn't been done more. Maybe the other mixers are afraid to take on your mix? I know I would be if I were a mixer.
Anyway, there's a constant light-vs-dark sound that makes me wish there had been more interaction between Aerith and Sephiroth. Dark, but light at the same time, if that makes sense. :) It's actually a very relaxing mix to listen to. A job well done, in my opinion.
- Babysoft-chan on January 16, 2007
Kind of obvious that [b]Seph[/b]fire´s first remix should be of
[b]Seph[/b]iroth.
To be his first, really astounding. At first I didn´t think that he would do a better remix that Above the Rising falls, but this one is close enough to be equally good. Great stuff, synths, strings, together with a real cool and good piano, my favorite.
Significant stuff, Sephdude.
- Bummerdude on October 16, 2005
To be his first, really astounding. At first I didn´t think that he would do a better remix that Above the Rising falls, but this one is close enough to be equally good. Great stuff, synths, strings, together with a real cool and good piano, my favorite.
Significant stuff, Sephdude.
- Bummerdude on October 16, 2005
Sephfire's first work here is extraordinary. Dense beats and airy
melody give an eerie feeling throughout the song. Excellent
representation of the character.
- Shinseisa on March 28, 2004
- Shinseisa on March 28, 2004
Don't know what the hell I'm thinking of, using all this French.
Anyway, this theme is very very low and mean. It feels like a scene
in a movie where the bad guy prepares for the search, while the
good guy prepares to fight and/or evade the bad guy. Most clearly,
though, it feels like a lost theme from the great movie with
Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones, The Fugitive. It has that
cat-and-mouse kind of feel to it, with undertones of misunderstood
evil and completely understood evil warring with each other. Yet
another calm-before-the-storm theme, just like the ones my grandpa
used to play. Ok, he never did, but you can imagine what it'd be
like if he did, right? No? Ok then. Moving on.
- Nine Ten Doh on January 24, 2004
- Nine Ten Doh on January 24, 2004
ditto, this has been a lot to follow, i notice a lot of differences
from the original and this is just pure gold not to be on OCR. i
had a hard time figuring out the newer versions and the changes
made but this piece is really bad ass. when i get the speakers from
my basement into my dorm i'll blast this one real loud along with a
couple of other FF mixes until the cops come and yell at me...but
congrats anyway
- UltimaAvatar on January 11, 2004
- UltimaAvatar on January 11, 2004
congratulations Sephfire.
I've been watching this mix for months on the WIP board, and i always had high hopes for it.
I'm glad you finally got this great peice accepted. work of art man. good job.
- whiteknight on January 11, 2004
I've been watching this mix for months on the WIP board, and i always had high hopes for it.
I'm glad you finally got this great peice accepted. work of art man. good job.
- whiteknight on January 11, 2004
Okay... I like the dark mood, and I have a weakness for complex
piano lines. However, the ostinato (basic structure
D-A-D'-Bb-G-A-Bg-G-A) continues throughout the entire four minutes.
While its initial introduction lends incomparable power to the
ambiance, the repitition seems to me to drag the piece down. I
would have suggested mixing it up in any of the following
ways:
- Bringing it to the fore in the mix again, with added complexity (flourishes, intermediate pitches between the main arrival points)
- Adding some modulations (standard ones, like taking it into C, F and/or Bb major, as opposed to D minor, and some more drastic, Wingless-style ones, like Ab).
Ostinato lines are all well and good, but longer ones work better than shorter ones. This one is only one measure and needs change to lend the piece direction.
[b]Like this[/b]. Bear in mind that this is very basic, low quality, and merely a suggestion as far as how I would do it at one point in the song.
Also, some of the fills in the drum pattern irked me as well. The fill in the third bar of each phrase seemed to me that it would work better in the fourth bar. This is a minor, and probably personal, concern. I like the overall sound of the kit you used.
In all, this is solidly constructed. The occasional dissonance lends a more sinister aspect to the melancholy you've already established. Good show. Those were my only two concerns.
- Red Omen on January 11, 2004
- Bringing it to the fore in the mix again, with added complexity (flourishes, intermediate pitches between the main arrival points)
- Adding some modulations (standard ones, like taking it into C, F and/or Bb major, as opposed to D minor, and some more drastic, Wingless-style ones, like Ab).
Ostinato lines are all well and good, but longer ones work better than shorter ones. This one is only one measure and needs change to lend the piece direction.
[b]Like this[/b]. Bear in mind that this is very basic, low quality, and merely a suggestion as far as how I would do it at one point in the song.
Also, some of the fills in the drum pattern irked me as well. The fill in the third bar of each phrase seemed to me that it would work better in the fourth bar. This is a minor, and probably personal, concern. I like the overall sound of the kit you used.
In all, this is solidly constructed. The occasional dissonance lends a more sinister aspect to the melancholy you've already established. Good show. Those were my only two concerns.
- Red Omen on January 11, 2004
