ReMix: Final Fantasy VII 'No Such Thing As the Promised Land'

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Final Fantasy VII: Voices of the LifestreamFinal Fantasy VII

The final Voices of the Lifestream submission? Could be... there's certainly been a lot of them, which Andy and I knew would be the case way back when, and this is certainly a nice way to finish, if it's the case... though I wouldn't be surprised if more popped up down the line, personally. sephfire teams up with former collaborator SGX, who's been tearing it up over at OurStage lately. Since this is an electronica mix from two electronica mixers, I should mention that we recently published our first ever VGM composer interview, with Tim Wright aka CoLD SToRAGE!! For me, the original PS1 Wipeout was a landmark title for VGM. It's the first OST I remember with redbook electronica that had modern production, and I think those tracks have stood the test of time VERY well. Tim's career of course predates the game, with plenty of great Amiga scores to his credit, and it was an honor for us to talk with him. I think you'll find the OCR format composer interview interesting, since it combines some of the more traditional "what have you been up to?" style questions with headier questions about the nature of game composition in general. Expect more interviews in the future!

On to the mix... SGX and sephfire's styles compliment each other PERFECTLY. It's the type of collaboration where it's a perfect fusion, and the end result isn't an inconsistent chimera but rather a beautiful hybrid, merging the participants' skills and personalities into something altogether new. It's at once more ambient and industrial than most of what I've heard from SGX (though he's got a lot of stuff!), and more technical, percussive, and driving than sephfire's stuff, which while aggressive is usually a bit slower. I still love each artist's individual style to death, mind you, but I also love the combination just as much. sephfire writes:

"Like our previous collaboration (Intense Color), I composed the first draft, a rough arrangement that was around 70% complete, and passed it on to Danny, who proceeded to work his phat beatz magic... It's been an honor to work together with one of my favorite remixers again. I hope the opportunity presents itself again in the future."

SGX adds:

"sephfire's work really gels with my style and always is a huge springboard for me in terms of ideas. It's never hard to find things to add to an already slick track to make it double mega awesome 2X. Like our last collab (Mario Paint - Intense Color), the arrangement he gave to me in a Reason file was extremely cool already, I just added a larger beat, a bit more motion, lots of effects tricks, a couple more sections, and some general mixing and mastering."

Honestly, just from their own descriptions, you should know what to expect. If for whatever reason you haven't checked out each artist's solo mixes, you really owe it to yourself to do so, but this collab built upon their previous collaboration experience and resulted in another fantastic, standout track on an album that was already solid. Awesome stuff.

― djpretzel

Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
One of the best sounding FFVII-Remixes around imho!
Some parts maybe could use a bit more work since it kinda sounds like clipping and distortion but besides that its just awesome!
Heck, i even use this one in my (personal) Final Fantasy VII Music Replacement Package :mrgreen:
Thx for the great work! :)
Cya, Mäxl

- DJMadMax on June 18, 2012
Interesting mix.....the beats here add to the mood, which is somewhat dark. Not a soundscape mix, but not far off. One of my personal favorites from Voices.

- Overdriven on May 31, 2010
One of my favorite tracks from VotL-the mood that it creates is so heavy and perfect, it sends chills down my spine. Everything blends together so damn well...congratulations on releasing such an amazing piece!
It's also a kickass track for working out to.

- ashogo on March 25, 2009
I think a track like this can be compared to Hitchcock style suspense, rather than a lot of the more blockbuster style tracks on the FF7 album. It almost plays out like a good thriller, there's only one real spot that it specifically jumps out, but the buildup to that point keeps things interesting until then. That of course would be the killer false ending; it gives you the impression of things being over and safe just long enough for it to jump back out at you. It feels completely massive and works so well, all due to the buildup.
This is really menacing without being completely overblown, and the gritty percussive slashes and heavy piano hits really make it move with a purpose, though it distinctly doesn't sound like it is out to make new friends. Excellent work. :-)

- OA on September 15, 2008
I love it. All of SGX's remixes never disappoint. It has a space-like theme to it and is very eerie and deep. Congratulations on another awesome collaboration SGX and sephfire!

- Azure Prower on July 9, 2008
I don't know much about production, but I can tell that this is really well done. Love the atmosphere that this creates (building off the original).
Hope you guys collab again in the future.

- DragonAvenger on June 12, 2008
Very intresting. The combinations I like. Although there is a few repeats to it. Over all, its not that bad.
7 out of 10

- shawnpm810 on June 9, 2008
Heck YESH! This is probably my favorite song off of the VotL project--beating a couple of bLiNd's songs out by a hair, but still a win is a win. And this song is an EPIC WIN of a song--amazing beat work, amazing effects, amazing arrangement...have I said amazing enough times now? Seriously, this is one flawless song--and I've reached this conclusion over several months of listening to the project. Amazing job you guys, Intense Color and NSTATPL are probably both in my top-ten OCR songs.

- Flexstyle on June 9, 2008
This track took me a couple listens to get into initially. But after a couple of listens it has stuck with me these past couple of months since the VotL release.
While it lacks a kick ass melody there is so much detail and work put into establishing the atmosphere that you can listen to the track several times and still pick up new things. In terms of paying homage to the game itself this one friggin rocks. It puts me back into the world of FFVII and reminds me of the some of the dark and cold landscapes of the game. The highlight of this one was def the sound design. All of the dark industrial sounds compliment each other well to paint an awesome sonic picture. Always loved it when the choir and/or piano came in at the right moments to add a natural acoustic touch to the mix. Awesome work dudes.

- avaris on June 8, 2008
First off congratz on getting this onto OCR. When the ff7 project first got released there were a few tracks that stuck to my mind and this was one of them. The intro is really great and I like the use of ambiance. I also like how you were able to use many layers of sounds and instruments without making it sound to busy. Anyways, overall this is just a great track that is fun to listen to.

- Wiesty on June 8, 2008
:razz: old news! but awesome news ..
this mix definitly needed its golden age on the front page
haha who am i to rhyme?

- Platonist on June 8, 2008
Wow, this is just overflowing with heavy ambiance. I absolutely love it. I also love the sorta how a bunch of parts are all weird and glitchy, skipping around, what an awesome effect.
Seriously, this remix pretty much reminded me to repurchase FFVII. Thank you and best of luck in your future endeavors.

- Tables on June 7, 2008
Wow - blast from 1.5 years in the past :). I thought it wasn't going to be posted! Hope you guys like.

- sgx on June 7, 2008
This was one of my favorite mixes off VotL. Glad to finally see it make it on OCR.

- DTwirler on June 7, 2008
It's about dang time. SGX and sephfire deliver yet again. The mood is perfect, the tone fits the original, the production quality is impeccable, and the arrangement is slick.
Awesome work fellas!!!!!

- tweex on June 7, 2008