ReMix: Chrono Trigger 'But the Future Refused to Change'
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- Game: Chrono Trigger (Square, 1995, SNES)
- ReMixer(s): DrumUltimA
- Composer(s): Nobuo Uematsu, Noriko Matsueda, Yasunori Mitsuda
- Song(s): 'Ayla's Theme', 'Chrono & Marle - A Distant Promise', 'Chrono Trigger', 'Fanfare 1', 'Frog's Theme', 'Magus Confronted', 'Robo's Theme', 'The Final Battle', 'World Revolution'
- Posted: 2009-02-05, evaluated by the judges
Ugh. Work's been brutal lately and I haven't kept up with the posting schedule I wanted for 2009. Gotta find more windows to get things up and get shizz moving, to be sure. Gotta update vBulletin, gotta get more mixes up, gotta spruce up the site a bit, gotta fix the torrent tracker... it's a good thing I actually *enjoy* doing most of this stuff, or my life would be miserable. Of course, the other compensating factor is that I get to hear and post all this great music, and see artists develop over time. Doug's Kingdom Hearts collab with his mom was a highlight of '08, and now he's back and badder with some proggish CT action. Sayeth Mr. Ultima:
"Hey guys, Doug here. Here's my resubmit of the remix formerly known as "Lavos is Inconsistent", which I am now calling "But the Future Refused to Change". I took the crits from my initial evaluation very seriously and I couldn't be more happy with what I've learned. Special thanks to Palpable for dealing with me for so long :) I totally reworked the mixing of the drums, switching out samples and working with eq and compressors, as well as doing a ton of balance/eq work with the rest of the instrumentation.
Other runner-up names I was considering include "Stop Eating Planets", "Larry Quits the Judges Panel", and "Hard Taco Supreme" (thanks to f4t4l for that last one). If you all like any of those better, feel free to make an executive decision and change the name ;)"
I actually misread "Lavos is Inconsistent" as "Lavos is Incontinent", which I think would make a badass mix title, but it's good to be serious at times. I confess that, whenever a song intros with a church organ solo, I always half-expect the acoustic guitar riff from 'Faith' to come in afterwards, but here instead we get a nice modulating synth bass and acoustic rock kit establishing an initial groove, as organ continues and eventually is joined by distorted lead and a really nice synth lead. The stereo imaging and organic nature of the synth patch avoids sterility and really helps it blend with the other elements, all of which have a lot of character & texture to them - which is important, because at almost six minutes long, this track throws a lot of work their way.
Breaking down the arrangement here would take too much time, really, but I can tell you that there are orchestral elements, some lovely acoustic piano, the afforementioned organ makes a resurgence, the drums stay dynamic and interesting throughout, and the last minute - my favorite segment - blends the best of all the elements with some screaming Keith Emerson-style soloing, culminating in a tasteful & artistic ending. I hear ELP and Floyd as influences, but Doug's definitely got his own thing going on, and his passion & multi-instrumentalism has served his compositional vision well. And, as with his previous mix, it's a pretty large vision... this arrangement may run long, but it uses its time wisely and frugally, exploring ideas and returning to motifs in a fashion that feels at once exploratory & satisfyingly narrative. Mr. Hawatky said it well:
"the orchestration is great... especially when it gets more psychedelic later on with that synth. everything is well placed in the soundfield and the piano comes in as a refreshing tone from earlier in the track and again, everything is so well placed. it is one thing to write good music but to make all its parts co-exist is the trick."
Again, a very tasteful and carefully selected tonal palette combined with a dynamic arrangement make for some excellent, meaty Chrono Trigger mixage from Doug, who we'll definitely be seeing more of in '09.
Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the - Grawr on October 13, 2009
Particularly like 'Burly Brawl', the unashamedly electronic instruments with potentially unlimited pitch, control and tempo are nevertheless matched by the human drive of the real (or at least realistic) drum kit.
When things finally come to a head and (again like 'Brawl') the drums drop out completely for the big resolution, we don't get it. The track fades to almost nothing for the key note, then builds from scratch to about the level of the beginning. This is in fact freaking awesome. There's no victory for the protagonist, merely a relieved pause before looking down from the summit to see the monster advancing again.
I dunno, maybe I'm too wrapped up in the dramas of the grand old boss fights to find the understated punchline disappointing. As it is, it's a brilliant 'carry moment'. I'm very happy with this piece, very happy indeed.
Edit: I've never, ever heard a decent synth sax, and unfortunately the one used here isn't the first. I just have to take it in as one of the deliberately electronic instruments, or it's distracting.
- SmartLX on October 4, 2009
I give this an 11/10.
And may I be so bold as to say that this kind of sounds like a Mega Man X style song? Can't you picture this song playing in the background of Sigma's fortress?
- BuuUrns on June 11, 2009
- Mtlbro on April 13, 2009
the organ at beginning was tight, and every transition into the next music was good. the part at 4:16 and so on was killer man, def loving the sync.
i don't know what else to say that hasn't already been said, fantastic job. 9.5 out of 10
- Ascendancy on March 17, 2009
I particularly enjoyed the "Lavos" sound at 2:45 very nice touch! Also, my favorite section is probably the one from 4:16 - 5:34 :) .
- jintoreedwine on February 24, 2009
- Martin Penwald on February 23, 2009
I thought the Lavos scream (roar?) was jarring at first but it's integral now that I've listened and relistened to the song.
Excellent.
- glasfen on February 20, 2009
--Eino
- evktalo on February 14, 2009
Drums are really wild and alive. Yeaah SAWS +++ points for that haha.
Great groovy mellow piano section.
This is my favorite. After the mighty and epic "LAVOS SCREAM"
you're back with the lovely and fat organ. build with noisy saws.. and then the groove. Just excellent. Sounds so damn good. And those jumping sines in the background.. Magic man.
Awesome transition into 5.34 in the end.
Great ending aswell.
Good Job DrumUltimA!
- AeroZ on February 13, 2009
- Sam Ascher-Weiss on February 12, 2009
- metaphist on February 10, 2009
You use a wide variety of harmonic colors, a meticulous, nuanced arrangement, and a very intelligently written rhythm section (I can't emphasize this enough) to create one of the stronger arrangements I've seen on display in this community.
Even as your production skills continue to catch up with the rest of your chops, know that I still liked this when it sounded like crap.
Less saws next time, plz.
- JJT on February 10, 2009
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