ReMix: Chrono Cross 'Through Time and Space'

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Chrono Cross

We kinda-sorta screwed up on this one. Alright, we did screw up; poor ABG's Chrono Cross mix was approved by the panel, but Larry thought that it needed special approval from me since it uses a bell sound that's sampled from the game. Problem was, I never got the memo, so there was a miscommunication and it should have been posted several months ago. Shawn was apparently talking with Jade about it, she got upset, said some rash things on Facebook, and a microdrama ensued. While she may have drawn some incorrect conclusions and broached the subject in a less-than-ideal manner, we still thank Mrs. bLiNd for bringing the mix to our attention - it needed to be posted, badly, and y'all need to check it out, 'cause it rocks. As a side note, we've taken some measures to eliminate this specific problem from occurring again. Mr. Overn writes:

"Finally! This is the first remix I've finished since I sent you since my last submission, Purity. You might remember when I sent it that I was gushing about a new PC I'd just ordered.. well, this is actually the first track I've finished on the new machine, so for me it has extra significance. For the first time, ever, I didn't have to hesitate to add new elements to a project for fear of underruns. I can't describe how free and awesome it felt to just program whatever I wanted with reckless disregard for precious cpu cycles! This project definately wouldn't have been doable on my old computer, and yet I was only using about half of the horses under my hood. I don't want to seem like I'm bragging, nor do I want to seem like I'm gushing. It's just that now I can see that I don't have anything preventing me from jumping over that last hurdle and accomplishing everything I've ever wanted to, and it's got me really excited. But, enough of my life story! You're more interested in the remix.

My submission is called "Through Time and Space", and it's a remix of the proper ending from Chrono Cross, where you use the 7th element to defeat Lavos and free Schala from the bonds of time. I'm not gonna say much about the remix, but I will say that its trance, its pretty unconventional for the genre, and I hope it has a couple of surprises for you. I've wanted to remix this song for a long time, but I also wanted to know that I could do it justice. Now, I can remove one of those "must do" remixes from my list! Please enjoy the song and we'll talk again once I've got another of those urgent remixes done."

Very cool. I just upgraded recently myself (as noted here), so I can relate to being unfettered from the surly bonds of CPU cycles and RAM... more or less. ABG makes some great, accessible electronica, and as with Mr. Aguirre, craftsmanship shines through in every measure of his work. You can read the judges' decision thread for the full discussion, but the issue here was the bell sample in question was then used to play a melody very close to what's in the original, so it sounds almost verbatim at times. Almost... but not quite. Shawn does quite a bit of auxiliary work to set everything in a trance context; Jimmy writes:

"The bellchimes thing is definitely verbatim, all questions of direct sampling aside. That's not exactly a bad thing, as long as there's supportive counterpart writing and/or more substantial interpretation later on to compensate. The connection to the rest of the source (mainly the strings) has been adapted to synth pads mostly. And the piano arpeggio from the source is of course a synth arp in the remix. So all in all, I don't see how anyone could say there's not enough connection to the source at any given point. There's been several additional synth arps added by Shawn so that it's not strictly a cover. There's a bit of repetition, true, but again, I think it's a style thing. Trance remixes are always going to have that tendency. Sometimes, I think you have to look past it to a varying degree depending on the intended genre."

Basically, you've got a very well-constructed, energetic trance mix that shows off ABG's new PC horsepower quite well. It's on the conservative side at times, which - coupled with the sampled bell tone - helps explain (if not excuse) the circumstances behind its delay in being posted. Either way, great Chrono Cross action from Shawn - looking forward to see what else he can do with his new box!

― djpretzel

Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
The build-up and wind-down work very well. And despite its length, the song never feels repetitive.
I'm not too hot on some of the synths that come in at ~2:00 and the piano that follows, though. It just seems...so vanilla. Like every other trance song.

- Martin Penwald on October 21, 2009
Very beautiful work.

- yosefu on October 9, 2009
This is fantastic and lovely. The original song has long been one of my favorites in all of video game-dom, and I've never understood why it hasn't received more remixes. Therefore, I'm doubly glad since you did an excellent job on it. Kudos.
For anyone considering future remixes, [URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTJVblKAXxE&fmt=18"]please do[/URL]. :)

- Catharsis on October 5, 2009
Fantastic work- this really focuses on the builds to great effect, and the only thing I think this could have done differently to make me enjoy it more is to have the beats hit harder. Pretty small potatoes as far as i'm concerned. :-)
Nice synths, and the bell sound from the original was well meshed with the new elements.
Well played, sir. :-)

- OA on October 5, 2009
This is beautiful. I almost cried. And not a single, manly tear, I am talking open weeping over something so beautiful.
Thank you so much.

- Master_Yoshi on October 3, 2009
By the way, the Aplus mirror leads to a broken link. I'm having the same problem with "Step into the Light" as well.

- Emunator on October 3, 2009
This works surprisingly well in this style, I'm impressed. Good listen, although I'm a tad iffy on the ending. It's good, just doesn't feel like the right fit for this track, in my opinion. It's by no means a deal breaker, and after a few listens I think I'll be fine with, it. Great work though!

- DragonAvenger on October 2, 2009
Really excellent work. Wasn't a fan of the drawn out ending, but this is just all around omg great stuff.
You really took this tune and done it rite.
:nicework:

- Theophany on October 2, 2009
This is a pretty nice mix - well-built trance, although I feel like it would've benefited from some more volume variation with the main synth in the background.
It shows how far the electronic music on the site has come though, and damn it's good to hear. :-)

- Bahamut on October 2, 2009
Like in Purity ABG absolutely nails the countermelody and paints another wonderfully atmospheric space. Eagerly waiting the next ABG mix : )

- ziwtra on October 1, 2009
Well, there's times when I get a bit annoyed with the constantly looping melody in the beginning and end of the song (maybe because it's panned so far to one ear) but for some reason there's something strangely enjoyable about it at the same time. I'm not really sure what I think about that, honestly :P
Overall, though, I like the sounds you've used and your buildups and breakdowns are executed very tastefully. Good work, I'm glad this got posted! You don't see this kind of music getting posted as frequently these days, so it's a nice treat when a song like this makes it up on the front page :-)

- Emunator on October 1, 2009
I keep listening to this and I don't know why? It's like Energy 52; it just grabs you and then sits you down and you chill with it. Building up expectations, but is ultimately a really chill track with some awesome dance influences. Cool concept dude, and KUDOS for pulling it off!

- avaris on September 30, 2009
I love Schala's theme, and trance, and now abg. You have made my day.

- Zidane on September 30, 2009
Wow, thanks for posting my ReMix so promptly :) I really appreciate it. Also stoked on a lot of the comments from the guys in the judges panel, you guys kick ass! I was going for something pretty different here (a trance track with only a minute and a half of unts?!) and the focus was definitely on atmosphere and texture, so I hope people enjoy that quality of the mix.

- abg on September 30, 2009
The bible says..."In the end, people appreciate honest criticism far more than flattery" so I still love you DJP. I just approached it the wrong way in words with sarcasm and bad jokes so I am sorry again. I was only trying to defend OC ReMixers that had been waiting since 2008 to get their tracks posted, not just ABG. Some people just twist words and situations. None of us are perfect and I think this community could take some direct criticism to make it a better site.

Anyway, I think it's funny that the first word in ABG's write-up is "Finally" hahaha... and Zircon's review in the judges panel rocks. That's a high compliment and those 2 artists will take it far with Zircon's words. Jordan and I have been helping ABG and Jewbei to take it far in life with their music and OC ReMix. I hope to hear more tracks by them... ABG should be submitting a new song here soon, as I think that one is better than this one.

Like I say to you ABG...nice work :nicework:

- JaDE ARaN HaRuNo on September 30, 2009

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