ReMix: Final Fantasy VII 'Ascension to Cosmo Canyon'
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- Game: Final Fantasy VII (Sony, 1997, PS1)
- ReMixer(s): Reuben Kee
- Composer(s): Nobuo Uematsu
- Song(s): 'Cosmo Canyon'
- Posted: 2005-01-29, evaluated by the judges
I love me some solo piano arrangements, don't get me wrong, but I also love it when there's a bit of additional instrumentation thrown in as accompaniment. Such pieces are still essentially solo instrumentals, they just add that little bit of sumtin' sumtin' in the form of some extra timbres that can conjure tones that, while perhaps achievable in an impressionistic sense with the solo voice alone, are more visceral and immediate with the alleyoop assist. Reuben does exactly this with his latest ReMix from FF7:
"This is a little different from my usual arrangements, due to the combination of instruments. After Nanaki (presumably asexual?) had offspring, I believe a creature of such intellect would also have a deep culture and heritage. Imagine a grand ascension taking place ontop of cosmo canyon. That was the image which I based my inspiration on while working on this piece. All comments welcome. PS: I Know he's presumably male, I just called him asexual because he was shown with offspring without any mention of a mate :p "
Androgynies aside, this is some great work from someone who has already well established himself on the ivories, adding in some extra flavors. Things intro with a delicate piano motif that very early on is joined by string pads in the distance as the detectably Celtic melody is established and developed upon. Strings build and become more prominent, then after a break, at 1'32" a men's choir enters with tribal taiko drums and a gorgeous wind lead that's just exquisitely articulated takes over on melody. Overcoming some initial hesitancy, zyko writes:
"reu is quickly making a name for himself with his eastern tones. very good stuff and while i didn't like it before (i had issues with the choir and the volume of the taiko drums), the more i listen to it the more i appreciate how soothing and well this is orchestrated. i appreciate the piece's subtleties and nuances. and they outweigh any concerns i had the first time i heard this. good stuff, man"
I'll second that. With the addition of the choral pieces especially, this felt very cinematic, somewhat reminiscent of portions of Vangelis' Alexander score. The added impact of the percussion is a good example of the type of effect nigh impossible to achieve in a straight solo arrangement, and the whole package comes together quite picturesquely as one of those emotive, epic, dramarama arrangements, with class to spare. Reuben's got a good thing going on with this, and I think people into film scores and/or FF7 (pretty large slice of the pie) will enjoy his ascension quite a bit.
Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the Wow, I can't believe I haven't done a review for this track
already. Time to fix that.
While Reuben's solo piano pieces are definitely excellent in and of themselves, I am eternally grateful that he chose to depart from that route for this piece; while the piano intro is hauntingly beautiful, the track doesn't really take off until that deep "hoom" around the 1:30 mark... at which point it goes from being a great track to an exceptional one. The gradual addition and blending of percussion, woodwinds, and other sounds builds perfectly toward the "cliff" overlooking Cosmo Canyon, and I always get a chill at 2:26 and then, again, at 3:13 when that final "step" up occurs. An almost perfect handling of the gradual build; the only thing I would've suggested would be to maybe build one more step even beyond that, or at least lengthen the end section, because I'm left wanting more, more, more of all of the sounds playing together at the end - it ends too soon.
Easily in my top ten of all time OCRemixes. To quote WannaPolkaLlama,
- Melbu Frahma on December 14, 2011
While Reuben's solo piano pieces are definitely excellent in and of themselves, I am eternally grateful that he chose to depart from that route for this piece; while the piano intro is hauntingly beautiful, the track doesn't really take off until that deep "hoom" around the 1:30 mark... at which point it goes from being a great track to an exceptional one. The gradual addition and blending of percussion, woodwinds, and other sounds builds perfectly toward the "cliff" overlooking Cosmo Canyon, and I always get a chill at 2:26 and then, again, at 3:13 when that final "step" up occurs. An almost perfect handling of the gradual build; the only thing I would've suggested would be to maybe build one more step even beyond that, or at least lengthen the end section, because I'm left wanting more, more, more of all of the sounds playing together at the end - it ends too soon.
Easily in my top ten of all time OCRemixes. To quote WannaPolkaLlama,
WannaPollkaLlama;720016 wrote: Thank you Reuben Kee :) You've created something truly beautiful to share with the world. :) Thank you
- Melbu Frahma on December 14, 2011
I'm not entirelly new to this site i've known of it's existence for
a while and haven't really had the need to register and post until
now all in all this is a great song that had a wonderful beat and
tune almost made me forget i was laid off lol. Anyways i want to
thank you five years later for such a kickass song.
- hrvstmn31 on October 13, 2010
- hrvstmn31 on October 13, 2010
Hi, I am new to posting but I am not new to OcRemix.
This song is great and it is the first song that has compelled me to post.
I would like a lot more songs like these in my playlist, they do not necessarily have to be from video games.
Orchestrated, with piano or flute solos. Native American theme. I do not really know how to describe it, nor search for similar music.
I've tried for the past two days to find music like this, with almost no results.
Does anyone know music similar to the themes in this song?
Thanks in advance.
- reesiiv on October 10, 2010
This song is great and it is the first song that has compelled me to post.
I would like a lot more songs like these in my playlist, they do not necessarily have to be from video games.
Orchestrated, with piano or flute solos. Native American theme. I do not really know how to describe it, nor search for similar music.
I've tried for the past two days to find music like this, with almost no results.
Does anyone know music similar to the themes in this song?
Thanks in advance.
- reesiiv on October 10, 2010
Quite literally my only wish is that it was longer, so that I
wouldn't have to keep hitting replay :) This is one of the 3 songs
out of all of oc remix (yes I've nearly listend to them all) That
can bring out emotions so perfectly and clearly. One of three that
can make me cry because of the beauty created.
Thank you Reuben Kee :) You've created something truly beautiful to share with the world. :) Thank you
- WannaPollkaLlama on October 6, 2010
Thank you Reuben Kee :) You've created something truly beautiful to share with the world. :) Thank you
- WannaPollkaLlama on October 6, 2010
Excellent piano sound, And a great soundscape with subtle strings
and some nice percussion. The choir wasn't amazing, but the flute
sounded great.
Super recommended, it's both beautiful and dramatic.
- OA on August 27, 2010
Super recommended, it's both beautiful and dramatic.
- OA on August 27, 2010
Personally whenever I hear this piece I think of a native American
vibe which is what Nobou was going for when he first wrote this
song. Still one of my favorite pieces
- jordash11 on May 10, 2009
- jordash11 on May 10, 2009
this is incredibly well arranged, i love the drums being used and
the hymns just give it that tribal feel if you get what i'm saying,
i think my only problem with this piece is the flute but then again
it does fit into the concept. i guess its just me, maybe i'm just
not feeling the flute that much maybe some chinese string
instruments would've worked better. but that aside great mix 9.5/10
=]
- Ascendancy on March 17, 2009
- Ascendancy on March 17, 2009
Reuben Kee didn't just create arrangements. He created
worlds.
I actually started actively watching this site just weeks before his passing, and by then I had already heard and downloaded this song, so to me it's the piece that's the closest testament to his genius.
It's just beautiful and powerful in so many ways...I only wish he was around so I could tell him personally what an amazing job he did with this and all of his work.
- Lucentas on December 6, 2008
I actually started actively watching this site just weeks before his passing, and by then I had already heard and downloaded this song, so to me it's the piece that's the closest testament to his genius.
It's just beautiful and powerful in so many ways...I only wish he was around so I could tell him personally what an amazing job he did with this and all of his work.
- Lucentas on December 6, 2008
My apologies to anyone I offend with this statement but this remix
is hands down the best remix I've heard to date. It just builds on
itself so well. And the chanting at the end (which I would have
liked to hear more of personally) just put the emotion of the piece
over the top. This one will be on my MP3 player for as long as it
works I guarantee it.
- twitch2021 on January 14, 2008
- twitch2021 on January 14, 2008
This is without a doubt my favorite mixes on OCR, The song just
carries so much emotion with it.. and now with Reuben gone...
It's, it's just beyond words really.
- Trapical on November 29, 2007
It's, it's just beyond words really.
- Trapical on November 29, 2007
Everything about this song is amazing. The Cosmo Canyon theme was
always my favorite track from FF7, and Ascension just puts such a
[i]majestic[/i] feeling to it. In particular, the instrumentation,
and the way the crescendos/decrescendos are handled are incredible,
and really lend to the overall emotion that's conveyed by this
song.
On a more personal note... This was the song I referred to in the memorial thread as one that I associate with certain events in my life. This was the first song I heard when I moved out of my home in Nashville (after college) to find a new place in DC. It captured what I was feeling perfectly, and I'll always associate Ascension to Cosmo Canyon with that sense of uncertainty and optimism that I felt when moving out after college.
It does seem a bit late for me to review this, since this is perhaps the second or third remix I heard from this site, and it's what encouraged me to join the community and listen to everything else here... KF
- Kizyr on November 27, 2007
On a more personal note... This was the song I referred to in the memorial thread as one that I associate with certain events in my life. This was the first song I heard when I moved out of my home in Nashville (after college) to find a new place in DC. It captured what I was feeling perfectly, and I'll always associate Ascension to Cosmo Canyon with that sense of uncertainty and optimism that I felt when moving out after college.
It does seem a bit late for me to review this, since this is perhaps the second or third remix I heard from this site, and it's what encouraged me to join the community and listen to everything else here... KF
- Kizyr on November 27, 2007
I suppose today is the best day to do this...
Truth be told, this remix was the reason I found OCR. A friend of mine was listening to it and telling me how awesome it was and I wondered where he got it from and pointed me towards here. This is a perfect tribute to a favourite scene from my favourite game, and listening to it really makes me feel happy.
I'm listening to it right now and thinking about the tragedy and I just shed a tear, which I haven't done in years, so if thats evidence enough of what a emotive and sincere remixer Reu was then I don't know what is. RIP man.
- Fishy on November 25, 2007
Truth be told, this remix was the reason I found OCR. A friend of mine was listening to it and telling me how awesome it was and I wondered where he got it from and pointed me towards here. This is a perfect tribute to a favourite scene from my favourite game, and listening to it really makes me feel happy.
I'm listening to it right now and thinking about the tragedy and I just shed a tear, which I haven't done in years, so if thats evidence enough of what a emotive and sincere remixer Reu was then I don't know what is. RIP man.
- Fishy on November 25, 2007
This is beautiful. Why haven't I listened to this before?
I'm almost in tears from this.
- Jaybell on November 25, 2007
I'm almost in tears from this.
- Jaybell on November 25, 2007
It's truly a great loss that we won't see more of Reuben Kee's
excellent work. Cherish what's already here. Like this amazing,
beautiful arrangement.
- anosou on November 25, 2007
- anosou on November 25, 2007
Beautiful fucking work man... I'm practically in tears at the
thought of the music you'll never get to write
- Sam Ascher-Weiss on November 25, 2007
- Sam Ascher-Weiss on November 25, 2007
