ReMix:Phantasy Star Online "Ragol Weather" 3:34

By zircon

Arranging the music of one song...

"Image of hero"

Primary Game: Phantasy Star Online (Sega , 2000, DC), music by Fumie Kumatani, Hideaki Kobayashi

Posted 2009-05-26, evaluated by djpretzel


Impact Soundworks (run by OC ReMixers zircon and bustatunez) just released their latest sample library, 'Groove Bias: Vintage Drums Sounds'. In addition to being a clever reference to a form of favoritism the judges panel has on occasion been accused of - and being published by Andy and Will - demos for the library include appearances by Harmony, tefnek, virt and Andy himself. Brandon also put together a mind-blowing video for his demo - you really need to check it out; I almost did something involuntary when I watched it the first time. Honestly, even if you don't make music and have no interest in buying this library, check all the demos out any way, and recommend it to friends, family, and random music-making people you may encounter. For those of you who do make music, and have Reason, Kontakt, Halion, or EXS-24:

If you order Groove Bias through the links on this thread, you'll get $10 off, and $10 will also go towards supporting OC ReMix. For REAL.

Pretty awesome, eh? If you're looking for a vintage drum library, you definitely need to check this out... the demos do the library all the justice one could need. Last but not least, we've got zircon's latest ReMix, from Phantasy Star Online, it's awesome, and all of the drums in it are from Groove Bias. So there... it's blatant product placement & insider pimpage, but it's also 110% relevant, dammit. Andy writes:

"I've been playing in a jazz fusion group at Drexel University for the last two years. Recently, we started playing a piece performed by the group Weather Report called "Havona" and written by its legendary bassist Jaco Pastorius. While playing it, I noticed that the writing style, such as the rhythms, chords, and melodies, were similar to the style of the Phantasy Star Online soundtrack. So, a few days later I listened to the PSO soundtrack again and came upon the piece "Image of Hero" which has always been a favorite of mine. On a whim I decided to try remixing it in a sort of jazz fusion style influenced by Weather Report.

The final result is this mix. I actually did the entire thing in a little less than a day - even though I haven't done this style before, I was just having too much fun with it. This is also a first for me because I played in many of the parts live (with some editing, of course) as opposed to basically all of my previous remixes, which were all sequenced. I'd also like to point out that 100% of the drums coming from the new sample library I just completed & released, entitled "Groove Bias: Vintage Drum Sounds". It's a large collection of deeply sampled, highly detailed vintage acoustic drum kits.. over 4 gigs of content and nearly 4,000 WAV samples. If you're interested, check it out."

So: awesome that we're getting our second PSO mix finally, awesome that it's from a fan of the series, and - again - awesome that Andy's strayed outside his comfort zone and put together something less electronic than anything he's done prior. Jazzier & "fusionier" as well; live playing of parts certainly helped, the drums are a highlight and feature some especially tight hat work, fretless bass is sweet, synth pad chord progression is mellow, and piano & synth leads both float effortlessly over the whole thing. Definitely has that fusion feel of being mellow, but not too mellow, requiring some effort on your ears to follow the individual bits and the overall flow simultaneously. While not as elaborate as something like 'Dirt Devil,' this piece begins to show off more of Andy's versatility outside electronica... while at the same time showing off his drum library. Two birds, one cup. Er, stone. Great ReMix from a great ReMixer, some excellent and well-employed drum sounds that you should check out, and more Phantasy Star coverage can only add up to spell out huge victory for all involved, biased and otherwise.

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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Black_Doom
on 2016-11-12 00:49:09

Oh God! I'm big fan of such mellow jazzy fusion tracks and this remix is simply right up my alley :) Mad props to Mike for this tune! Might be my favorite of his.

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timaeus222
on 2014-05-31 11:48:16

Where is my comment on this? D: I guess I downloaded it before I heard it or somethin'. :lol: 'Nuff said.

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jnWake
on 2012-12-02 16:27:01

Amazing mix!

The intro reminds me a bit of the Chrono Cross' underwater theme. The rest of the song has a neat kart racing feel.

Drums are amazing. Bass is very cool. Synth pads are awesome and the lead is great!

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Emunator
on 2011-10-26 00:40:26

Please do stuff like this more often :-) There's not nearly enough classy futuristic-sounding jazz on the site, or in the world in general. This song really helps fill a void in my musical world!

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ectogemia
on 2011-10-18 14:59:43

You made this in a day? Oh, wait, LESS than a day? Amazing.

Really, when this popped up on my shuffle, I thought I was listening to some awesome fusion group I didn't know I had. I took a look at my iPod and saw it was zircon and I pooped my pants a little. This is for sure in my top 10 mixes.

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MaliceX
on 2010-12-20 06:21:49

After being introduced to more music and artists from the Jazz Fusion circuit, I have to say it's a treat to finally hear something of that nature from here. This arrangement definitely conveys the funky syncopation present in much of the music of its type, particularly those from the 80's. (I daresay, the good 80's music?) Granted, it doesn't stray too far from the original but that could be a good thing, with the lack of a "wanky lead solo section." I do know some japanese game music tend to go through the fusion route (Mario Kart, anyone?) and the instrument lineup certainly fits the character. Some very nice drum sequencing here given it's a demonstration of that so-called drum library, funny how this plays as a plug for it as well.

More...MORE...MOOOORE!!!!!!!!

PS: Great stuff, hope to hear more stuff like this. :D

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Marmiduke
on 2009-11-18 09:13:44

This truly throws you into the deep end of technical wizardry, whether you are prepared for it or not. I'd really hate to be an amatueur mixer striving for a strong percussion-oriented mix to listen to this in the middle of mixing. Deflation.

It's definately a technical goliath; you can hear it from the word 'go', hammering out beats in every spare patch of space it can. The prowess in writing, the great choice in lead synth, and of course, the high-quality sound of Groove Bias, keep the ever-present drumwork from becoming chaotic or distracting.

In fact, one of things I love most about this is that drums are usually a bit of a blindspot for me when listening to music. I'm not that percepive of their presence as I am other elements. With this, everything is emphasising and pointing directly to the percussive elements, so it allowed me to really get something out of it and enjoy it.

It's a refreshing prospect to see mixes focusing more on drawn back ideals in music, and less on melodic exploration. I much prefer a good melody, but a sidestep from that discipline, like this one is, is always a welcome contrast to the usual sound coming from OCR. It's a spectacle to behold, that's for sure, and hopefully indicative of the caliber of experimental mixes to come.

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Pachi Risu
on 2009-11-14 10:54:02

Great job. One of the few tracks that will be

downloaded on this desktop. Contribute more

like this please.

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Martin Penwald
on 2009-06-18 16:21:49
I don't mean to disrespect the source material here, but it makes me think of PilotWings (SNES).

I get a certain 90's/16bit vibe from it, too. I guess that's because of the lead-synth, which is absolutely wonderful.

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zircon
on 2009-06-17 21:12:07

Thank you so much for the comments, everyone! I'm glad this mix has been well-received. I'll take this to mean that I should experiment in this style more often. :)

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LuckyXIII
on 2009-06-17 20:37:32

I really dig the smooth vibe, here. Music of this style is my favorite. I don't mean to disrespect the source material here, but it makes me think of PilotWings (SNES).

Anyway, thought you'd like to know I used this in a presentation on day 2 of my orientation/training with the AICPA. We were told to whip up a quick PowerPoint on one of the member discounts. I asked if music was allowed. 'Twas verily, so a quick hit to the site, download, import - it turned out to be the most enjoyed presentation of the group; with no small thanks to the music. :)

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nucleartrask
on 2009-06-16 22:01:23

The memories evoked by this music are more than words can say, thank you so much for making such great piece.

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WillRock
on 2009-06-15 10:58:07

Wow... this sounds amazing :D

Seriously awesome.

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Mtlbro
on 2009-06-09 02:55:07

HOLY CRAP HOLY CRAP a PSO remix !! FInally a second day of reconing! After years of waiting and saying hail marys I can put down my rosary and listen to a mix of this AMAZING game . . And then I'll start playing again

crap . .

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psychophan7
on 2009-06-07 04:20:59

I love this remix. It's probably my favorite track from PSO, and hearing this remix makes me want to go play it again.

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


Primary Game:
Phantasy Star Online (Sega , 2000, DC)
Music by Fumie Kumatani,Hideaki Kobayashi
Songs:
"Image of hero"

Tags (4)


Genre:
Jazz
Mood:
Chill
Instrumentation:
Piano,Synth
Additional:

File Information


Name:
Phantasy_Star_Online_Ragol_Weather_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
6,404,973 bytes
MD5:
cadfb7684f86fceaeaebfe332e745e4b
Bitrate:
235Kbps
Duration:
3:34

 

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