Posted 2009-08-17, evaluated by the judges panel


Wow, where to begin... San Japan was a great con, but alas, I was out the entirety of Saturday with one of the worst cases of food poisoning I've ever had. Feeling better now, but at the time I was miserable, stayed in bed all day long, and watched Obama's town hall health care speech, Tiger Woods, and Ratatouille. Larry had to cover both of our panels himself, but he got an assist from Mega Ran on our ReMixing panel. A huge & hearty thanks to all who chipped in, all who showed up, and special thanks to San Japan staff, in particular Dave Henkin and Ken Wallen - in addition to being plain old awesome, this was a really well-organized convention. While I was out for most of it, I did get up & about on Sunday, and in addition to having already met Raheem, the LeetStreet Boys, ZeaLouS1, and others, we got to meet none other than VGM legend The Fat Man, George Alistair Sanger himself. We didn't get to chat for all that long, but for me at least it was a rather legendary moment.

Right then, on with the show: Here's another gem from Echoes, this time a vocal collab between OA and DragonAvenger. Mr. Luers writes:

"This was a really fun track to work on, and it seemed to come together really fast. I think DA's voice is perfect for the mood we were trying to convey, which is a sort of mysterious tension with sinister overtones. Projectwise, it's the lead-in track to the Climax of the final battle, so it needed to slowly build. The end leaves you expecting more, which is more effective in the album itself (with the next track resolving), but i think it works well enough to stand on its own. Lyrics came together really fast, with DA making a few welcome suggestions at the end. The title is a reference to game storyline. Extra thanks to Jay, Connor, and Justin for whispers and effects. You guys are awesome."

DA adds:

"When Andrew originally asked me what track I wanted to do on the project, I give him a few options, Another Moon being one of them. He immediately jumped on it, and I was pretty much along for the ride. He came up with lyrics when I was stuck, which I helped him complete later on. We both worked towards creating an ominous feel, in lyrics, voice, and during the track as a whole. Working with him was really easy, and he was always open to my ideas. The style of the song worked well with my voice, I love the effects that Andrew added. I look forward to working with him again."

I'm looking forward to that, too. The overall tone here has that hanging, suspenseful, "premonition" vibe nailed - it's basically the opposite of instant gratification, so it's not something you'll be toe-tappin' to or even necessarily humming afterward, but it creates a moment that's portentous and clouded... very unique. I've been seeing a lot of people who have spent more time re-listening to Echoes beginning to appreciate its depth more through repeated exposure; this is one of those tracks that warrants repetition to fully appreciate the environment OA & DA created. One of many reasons to check out the album if you haven't already, but also a peculiar, inventive, and well-executed piece of music in its own right.

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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Diodes
on 2014-10-20 12:17:48

I just wanted to say that I love Deia's voice and to demand more Deia vocal remixes!! Also, to say that OA's remixes have a tendency to get stuck in my head for days, they are so darn catchy.

This remix would be a great fit for a Halloween playlist. Just sayin'!

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cipher_nemo
on 2013-07-19 12:54:39

Wow:!: So massively impressive.

This is probably the only remix with lyrics that I've enjoyed. And I really enjoyed this one. Added to my playlists for sure. The artist took an otherwise very empty sound track and brought it to life. LOVE IT! :)

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evktalo
on 2011-12-27 04:57:30

One of my absolute favourites from the album. I like the game's soundtrack a lot, and the moon pieces are among the gems in my opinion. This one does justice, and gives the things its own spin.

DA's vocals are excellent on this one, and great for material like this. Chilly! Along with "My Child", I think this piece was a big step forwards for DragonAvenger. (Bits of the delivery actually remind me of Kate Bush, which is good.)

The production is good. Solid and meaty, yet very spacey. A wonderful amount of detail too. The whispering is a neat effect. Appropriately creepy. My one gripe would be that the vocals around 2:13-02:30 (the "Tonight" bit) sound a little plain. Structurally they're positioned at a kind of a high point of the track.. they could've been sung more powerfully, or perhaps with additional harmony vocals, for additional highlight, or perhaps effected in a way that would've made them blend to make the whole more interesting texturally. Instead they're a bit of in the middle. This isn't a major gripe though, the track overall is just so good that a bit that's just decent (instead of great) kind of sticks out. :)

Great work all around! I'll also mention that the piece also functions very well where it's situated on the album.

--Eino

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Mirby
on 2011-12-26 02:28:30

The perfect prelude to the finale of the album. It's so atmospheric and somewhat cold; exactly as I'd imagine the surface of FF4's moon to be. It captures it perfectly, and transitions seamlessly into the finale.

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Mockingbird
on 2010-06-04 07:38:12

This one grew on me... it really has a great atmosphere

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MechaFone
on 2010-05-28 16:49:02

Sounds like madness! Madness and eeeevil.

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AllanAokage
on 2010-04-04 20:50:44

I can't really say anything that hasn't been said; the lyrics certainly fit as a prelude to Finale Part II ~ Genesis of Destruction, but this is certainly among my favourite of the Echoes album.

Hey, it got me to download the full album ;D

-edit-

I appear to have assisted in bumping this thread. This was not my intention; my apologies.

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Crulex
on 2010-04-04 20:01:14

Wow, the atmosphere for this ReMix is spectacular. The voices, the vocals, the lyrics, the deep piano all work with this and give it the proper foreshadowing to the "Finale" song. I'm not sure I'd call it creepy, but it gives you tense chiller-like feelings and I like it. OA and DA, nice work on this one! :nicework:

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Emunator
on 2009-12-13 02:12:45

This one definitely feels appropriate given the source tune. For something that was churned out as fast as you guys make it sound, I think the finished product is pretty astounding! :-D Nice original lyrics, quality vocals from and a downright-haunting instrumental track... this was a perfect lead-in to the epic finale on Echoes.

Nice work you two! :-D

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OA
on 2009-11-10 14:40:52

thanks for the comments everyone, i'm just saying hi in here. I am amazed at how this one just flowed. There will definitely be another OA/DA collab sometime soon. :-)

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SoulinEther
on 2009-09-07 19:28:52

I do find myself humming this occasionally. Nice. I wasn't that thrilled by it at first but it grew on me. I love the soloing or whatever during and after "Tonight/Alive/Tonight"

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Sorceror Nobody
on 2009-09-07 15:30:34

My opinion on lyrical ReMixes is sometimes mixed, though generally positive if the standard of vocals is good (and it usually is). This is a definite positive one.

It's by far one of my favourite tracks on the album, combining as it does a haunting, ethereal feel with great lyrics. The fact that the lyrics don't rhyme adds a certain... disjointedness (which is perfect for the context) without being so obvious as to be annoying. Whether or not this was a deliberate effect, it really works well.

I also like lyrics to be intelligible, but again I prefer it to be subtle enough to gel. In other words: clear, but not in-your-face. That's another thing this track does perfectly.

Lastly, this track easily passes the criterion required to be one of my "very favourite tracks", which is that I can listen to it on repeat for ages and not get fed up with it!

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DragonAvenger
on 2009-08-31 22:08:34

This was such an easy track for me to do, I wish all collabs went together this smoothly. OA's work is fantastic, I especially love the overall creepy atmosphere. Thanks, dude!

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Bahamut
on 2009-08-19 14:53:18

I've heard this song lots of times by now (as well as the rest of the FF4 album), but one thing I love about this track is the ethereal atmosphere the vocals add to it.

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HitoriJaNai
on 2009-08-19 00:20:43

I think anything I say now has honestly already been said, particulary what Level99 said. :-P

The feeling made me shiver when I heard the MAGFest preview, and honestly, this is a really good song. The background really helps DA's vocals, and the vocals complement the backing perfectly.

Plus, I can understand the lyrics. Hurrah!

Awesome work, you two. Hope to hear another collab in the future.

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


Primary Game:
Final Fantasy IV (Square , 1991, SNES)
Music by Nobuo Uematsu
Songs:
"Another Moon"

Tags (7)


Genre:
Mood:
Dark
Instrumentation:
Electronic,Singing,Synth,Vocals: Female
Additional:
Lyrics > Lyrics: Original
Origin > Collaboration

File Information


Name:
Final_Fantasy_4_Eminence_Grise_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
6,558,728 bytes
MD5:
ebc4bf6a5aff46a673d7f2156fc1789c
Bitrate:
224Kbps
Duration:
3:50

Something's sleeping
In the darkness
No one knows what
Broken minds think

Something's calling
From the deep void
Deathly intent
Grasping midnight

Awakened

Something's waking
Growing fury
Second moon now
Bleeding skies red

Tonight
Alive
Tonight

Something's coming
Getting closer
I can hear it
Calling my name

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