ReMix: Final Fantasy VII 'Mako Eyes'

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Final Fantasy VII

What's this? A non-Voices FF7 mix by two peeps that were all over that album? Mattias explains the shenanigans at length:

"Cain and I started this during the final breath of VotL and, because of various reasons, couldn't finish it in time. Then one day we realized that... well, what we had kicked major ass. So we took some time with it, Cain recorded his very awesome guitars and I touched up the rest and here we are!

I tried to capture the feeling you get from the story around Lifestream. Something constantly flowing that's really the essence of all organic life. This made me work a lot with the pads to make a solid but constantly evolving soundscape to base the song upon. I used LFO-controlled filters with great success and I think I managed to create something that's interesting to listen to. I'm actually surprised how well this worked with the more "traditional" instruments like the guitar, the strings and the mellotron flute. Cain was very easy to work with, he's an amazing musician and a solid producer. I'm really happy we did this, even though it didn't make VotL, because I really enjoyed this and I hope others do too."

AnSo was actually givin' me the hard press to post this mix a bit sooner, since the recent gap between this mix and his last is apparently the first time since he had a mix on the site that one of his tracks wasn't on the homepage. Which is a bit scary, but not exactly surprising given the persistent plethora of plucky and powerful pastiche he's provided over the last year or so. Alas, there was a window where he briefly disappeared, but it happens to the best of us, and the important thing is that he - and Cain - have reappeared with a track that definitely would have fit right in on VotL. Fishy offers:

"The nutters who "came out of nowhere" unite for great justice. Basically, if I wasn't such a lazy ass this probably would've been on votl. We decided we should remix 'Lifestream' as it was one of the cooler undone tracks, and AnSo put all this effort into this massive beautiful morphing ball of sound, and then I put all this effort into waiting for my sound card to arrive as my old one broke.

So anyway, the intro stuff was acheived using a combination of my whammy bar, a slide and my volume pedal. AnSo told me to solo at the end but I really didn't want to ruin an understated arrangement with pointless wank, so I held back. Its great fun to hear all the weird stuff that crazy swede comes up with. I sorta kinda did the final master, for some reason... I had to use a compressor and shit... Whats up with that. Also I checked with zircon that he didn't mind me submitting, as anso already submitted recently. He said it was cool if I did it. Peace."

"Pointless Wank" would make a great band name, all the more ironic if said band actually DID feature self-indulgent soloing, and nothing but. Actually, the bending lead guitar in the intro *does* feel a little Ravi Shankar, all the moreso given the 'Strawberry Fields' connection that the Mellotron flutes evoke. With the exception of the filtered, undulating bed of futuristic synth pad, which puts us a little outside the period, this does have some Beatlesque qualities to it, which is cool by me. Aversa, aka Mr. Voices, writes:

"Bah!! This should have been on VotL. I heard the WIP and liked it, but the deadline was approaching so quickly, this mix wasn't finished in time. Smooth, atmospheric synths and beats, with appropriate ballad-style guitar cutting through. Arrangement was great, which of course is no surprise, given the mixers involved. The ending in particular is just really awesome."

Jimmy expresses the unbridled ethnocentrism and dismissive attitude that forms the pillarstone of American foreign policy, tongue firmly in cheek:

"Bah, what do Europeans know about music anyway? Aren't they all too busy drinking tea and riding their fancy trains to take time to really do anything else? Pfffffftttttt........."

Of course, if you read the decision thread, he liked it. This seems like a meditative, contemplative arrangement to me, one that you could repeat your mantra to while you Tai Chi, Yoga, Wii Fit, or simply imbibe substance. Nice, relaxing... Zen, even. Appropriate, given the source material & context; (more) excellent stuff from Cain and Mattias.

― djpretzel

Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
Amazing work on this piece from FFVII. I love the use of the electric guitar to literally 'tear up' the original. Very well remixed!

- Loning on July 9, 2009
This is why I don't need to do drugs. I can just trip out to this; better still, it's 100% free and legal.
Anso and Fishy are amongst the best collaboration act on the site, and this mix cements that into history. I like that there is a little bit of venom in the leads instruments in contrast to the rather delicate support.
The pacing is so spacious and deliberate, it plays out like a rock-infused serenade to Nobuo Uemutsu, Final Fantasy and music itself.
A really beautiful and very smartly executed remix of a cherished theme. This is as solid a mix as you can find.

- Marmiduke on May 29, 2009
A wonderful mix, when l listen to this it feels that time it self is stood still.

- metalsnakejuice on April 24, 2009
This is an awesome mix, the pace of it is nice an relaxed and yet the guitar make it rawk so much.
I'm not quite sure whether to chill-out or rock-out... Maybe both? :<

- Sir_Downunder on April 4, 2009
I tend to gravitate towards the more "trippy" tracks, and my friends berate me for it, but perhaps it's just my inner hippie coming out.
This arrangement is solid, and the guitar is amazing--reminds me a lot of my cousin's playing. Somehow it's relaxing and invigorating at the same time.

- Lucentas on December 6, 2008
Title Screen in Outer Space! Seriously, does it even matter what I say here? AnSo makes mixes like rabbits make babies, and they're all awesome. Crunchy guitar leads and synth flutes (I think they're synth flutes), all moving into a nice Harold Faltermeyer-esque wailing electric guitar restatement of the theme. In a startling rarity, I actually like the closing of the mix better than anything else. Not that it was a bad mix, I just thought the acoustic fadeout was a great way to end it. A+. You may continue making mixes.

- Shadow Wolf on November 3, 2008
Lovely mix, very well done. The "ballad" guitars reminded me immediately of the Labyrinth soundtrack.

- paperCrane on November 3, 2008
Pretty damn good stuff. Floaty and spacey indeed. The mellotron jumps out a bit in the mix, and the guitar isn't 100% perfect in the timing towards the end. Small complaints, these. Great lead work, especially the slow, grand lines that take their time.
--Eino

- evktalo on October 29, 2008
This song is such chill and awesomeness.
Honestly though... there are no words... they should have sent a poet.

- Master_Yoshi on October 20, 2008
Very good. It reminds me of final ecstasy by ailsean.
Nice job guys, this sounds awesome :nicework:

- Willrock on October 18, 2008
djpretzel wrote: given the persistent plethora of plucky and powerful pastiche he's provided
I like this. :)

- Thin Crust on October 18, 2008
The fluttery synth was a bit too much, but once the track picked up it was pretty enjoyable.

- Wild Armor on October 17, 2008
I loved this mix. The intro was very reminiscent of Trigun's "People Everyday" to me. Very good work.

- LionheartAce on October 15, 2008
I love this song. The soundscape (har har, but seriously, no pun intended) is absolutely stellar; it perfectly captures that 80's sci-fi movie feel, yet still keeps the sound fresh and new. It actually made me go back and listen to the Bladerunner and Mass Effect soundtracks, which I once again love. Cain not only has an awesome name, but is a great guitar player and the sound works perfectly into Mattias' great synthetic tapestry o' soundliness.
Also, soundliness should totally be a word. Damn English and their word exclusivityliness.

- Hy Bound on October 10, 2008
Wow. I don't have much else to say about it. It sounds a little bit like Legend to me, in some parts. Majestic. Awesome.

- MechaFone on October 10, 2008

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