ReMix: Final Fantasy IV 'Fallen Dragoon'

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Final Fantasy IV

Absolutely brilliant; I don't think I've been shy at all at expressing my appreciation for all of Sebastian's mixes to date, but this one may be his best yet. He's taken his new chiptune direction and combined it with cello and orchestral elements, and the result is simply masterful, something that couples beauty with nostalgia, synthetic with organic, and awesome with... more awesome. OA writes:

"Sebastian was hugely inspirational for a lot of people on the project with not only his enthusiasm, but also his creativity and skill. I've never heard anything like his cello with chiptune accompaniment before, and the fact that he not only tackles such a seemingly strange pairing, but makes it work so seamlessly is nothing short of amazing. It starts out with a deeply moody cello duet, and then quickly transitions to densely layered synths, and it's an effective shift, but it's true form is revealed when the two are combined, and a soaring cello melody is backed by crunchy percussion, and a roiling and stuttering synth background. There's a reason we call him the King of Sweden."

The "King of Sweden," eh Andrew? I think you've hurt AnSo's feelings... I'm personally fine letting them rule the nation as part of a two-man oligarchy, myself. Like OA, I've never really heard anything like this mix... I'll admit to a modicum of "cello bias" in that I love the instrument and what it's capable of, but hearing it paired up with an electronica/chiptune arrangement that feels so natural... it's more than a little surprising how well it works, or rather how well AeroZ makes it work. He explains:

"I wanted to give the cello a more leading part in this one, to really get the deceptive feeling of the theme. The first part is more a rythmic touch of the theme. I wanted to go a little 80th with it. Then just turn it to a dark and deep tune. Did alot to try get the listener to really feel the betrayal of Kain. I think it's one of the most touching parts in the FF4 story.  And it's my first big mix combining the cello with 'Reason', so it's a big lesson or me as well. Enjoy!"

This is a fantastic, creative piece of music that accomplishes everything Sebastian describes and more; as I always caveat, the word "synergy" is more often that not used in cheesy contexts where it doesn't necessarily apply. I try my best to save it for situations where it really is appropriate, and this is one of them - the synergy between cello and chiptune (cellotune? chipello?) is resplendent (another use-in-moderation word), and this mix is definitely yet another reason to check out Echoes of Betrayal, Light of Redemption.

― djpretzel

Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
Finally. What I came to hear: Cello. Opening sounds good. Intonation is solid, which is always impressive. Sure enough, the chiptune lead makes it's appearance soon after. The drums, while groovy, start out a little more mellow than some of your other percussion tracks. It almost has a latin feel to it. The orchestral stabs in the middle are sex-ellent! Very Hans Zimmer. It sounds fantastic. The cello and lead synth playing in unison is pretty hawt. A little intonation issues in there, but it's not bad at all. The constant changes in dynamics keeps it moving and interesting. Excellent track mate. Looking forward to hearing future subs!

- tweek on November 10, 2009
Amazing work with textures in this one. A thick tapestry of unconventional sounds molding into one another. It's mad scientist stuff. I'm just glad someone had the stones to marry digital retro and acoustic classical, and even more blown away by how well it works.
I think even moreso than the very unique and absolutely stunning instrumentation and performance work in this piece, I'm really loving the arrangement. It's not everyday you get something understated and chock full of ranges and tones. This really does go on it's own personal, deranged sonic adventure, and I was with it every step of the way.
The cello work in this alone makes this one of the most professional sounding mixes to be released here, but it is the other major foundations of the track that exude the most brilliance for me. This mix does a lot of things in its running time, but it does not disappoint.

- Marmiduke on October 31, 2009
AeroZ, you are a master of taking your songs to new levels of creativity while still keeping them accessible and not too weird. It satisfies my craving for unique, unconventional blends of musical styles, but I've also passed this song around to a few friends that have more mainstream, traditional tastes and they've loved it, too. That's quite a testament to your musical vision and ability :-)

- Emunator on October 3, 2009
Some of the best cello work i've heard from Sebastian. An absolutely stunning performance, . <3
I (politely) demand a collaboration at some point in the future!

- OA on August 7, 2009
i can't .. write anything about it. but i can implore you to listen to it. it's...tragic. well, mostly.

- SoulinEther on August 2, 2009
One thing that caught me with this track is that I remembered hearing a portion in the MAGFest preview as well. The transition to that section of the song absolutely conveys the emotion & conflicting thoughts going through Kain's head.
An interesting take on Suspicion to say the least!

- Bahamut on July 22, 2009
VERY strong stuff. I'm glad Andrew and Dave both appreciated the synergy of electronic and organic instrumentation as much as I did. This was some really intelligent arrangement!

- Liontamer on July 21, 2009
If you teach me to play cello I'll let you take me to level 100. I promise I wont struggle next MAGfest.
I've noticed that many of AeroZ's tracks contain very emotive strings and synth selections, if not on a bit of the goofy side sometimes. This track, however, seems to have none of the goofiness like in his Overture ~ Tellah's Prophecy track. The live strings are nearly heart-wrenching and the mastering meshes the instrumental selections together throughout the entire song in a way that you can't help but feel immersed in the emotion conveyed. The first time I listened I was pretty speechless. KEEP IT UP!

- Level 99 on July 20, 2009
This track is sweet as hell, I'm so lovin this right now. Those synths that come in in some of the parts makes it sound very vibrant. Love the mood and atmosphere great job man!

- BlackPanther on July 20, 2009
this track is awesssssome

- halc on July 20, 2009
I don't think songs should make you dance and cry at the same time...what a great emotion ;)

- Ronyn on July 20, 2009
I've been a fan of AeroZ's music since his ReMix of the Sub Castle stuff from Super Mario... but this blows it out of the water. Before blowing it off the land and into the sky.
Brilliant mix, Sebastian. I usually wait to hear more, but this is more than satisfying for a long while. :<

- HitoriJaNai on July 19, 2009
When I heard this on the teaser a while back, this was actually one of the tracks that stood out to me. I was all "Ooo" and couldn't wait to hear the rest. I'm very happy that the track in its entirety didn't disappoint me *at all*. It's beautiful, and I love the atmosphere of it. It really captures the betrayal theme imo, and this really works for Kain to me.

- The Otaku on July 19, 2009
Fantastic. I'm satisfied with being the Prince of Sweden :)

- Another Soundscape on July 19, 2009
What did you think? Post your opinion of this ReMix.

- djpretzel on July 19, 2009

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