ReMix: Xenogears 'Of Sea and Fire'
Download MP3
Play Preview
- Game: Xenogears (Square, 1998, PS1)
- ReMixer(s): Ziwtra
- Composer(s): Yasunori Mitsuda
- Song(s): 'Bonds of Sea and Fire'
- Posted: 2009-10-19, evaluated by djpretzel
More Humans + Gears? Damn right! I think the first three mixes we've posted from this album have been absolutely fantastic... and I think the next three are just as great! Ziwtra, aka Youngjin Hahn, is an impeccable arranger who crafts every mix into a piece that bursts with energy but also refinement and detail. Beyond his musical talents, however, he's also a talented coder and designer. When I first saw H+G pimped in forum signatures, the aesthetic had a certain brown, busy look that I wasn't 110% sure would work well for the album art & site. When I saw the minimalist, elegant, red & black final art and site design that Ziwtra came up with, though, I was lovin' it; very direct, very functional, and very thematically consistent with the album itself. He also worked with me and accepted my pesky requests (I asked for the red "X" favicon, which he did a great job on and looks downright dudical to my eyes) in the final stages of getting everything prepared. So, on a completely non-musical level, major props there. Now, for the musical props: this mix rox your sox. It also roxed the director's sox - quoth Avaris:
"Ziwtra not only handled the entire website for the project but provided three creative mixes to boot. This mix absolutely blew me away with its RIDICULOUS sequencing. Even after living in Ireland for a year and being friends with some incredible irish traditional musicians this mix still kicks some serious 'arse.' It was a joy to see his tracks become more and more polished over the course of this project. This is a track not to be missed!"
I love the "warm-up" style intro and, of course, the gloriously epic violin lead... SO MANY TRIPLETS! It soars, it saunters, it jigs, and it does indeed kick arse, before handing the torch over to some cross-panned accordions. The leads here totally steal the spotlight, but damn if the accompanying bits aren't fantastic as well: piano, shuffling, syncopated drums - this arrangement truly embraces the Celtic inspirations that Yasunori Mitsuda is known for, and takes Youngjin's already formidable sequencing prowess to another level. Grand, visionary, and singular, this track alone would make the entire album worth a listen - it's that good. Seriously epic.
Discussion: Latest 13 comments/reviews; view the However, am I the only one that notices what sounds like feedback at 3:19? It totally doesn't sound like it belongs in the song, maybe i'm just missing the instrument? But it sounds very unpleasant. I'm surprised noone else has mentioned it.
- Dramon on October 29, 2009
- OA on October 28, 2009
Good work as always Ziwtra.
- metalsnakejuice on October 23, 2009
- Lucentas on October 21, 2009
This track not only drips of awesome, but it keeps it up for a solid six minutes.
- The Xyco on October 21, 2009
Great job :)
- jintoreedwine on October 20, 2009
Ziwtra's been a good friend and a fantastic musician and I've admired him on both levels for quite some time now. I remember one thing he said to me a long time ago in one of our AIM conversations that has always stuck, and I cite it every now and then (usually when I'm voting). But basically, it has to do with the fact that some people with very nice samples and plugins have such a hard time writing anything that is particularly moving, while others who might be using either freeware or limited and very basic/limited sounds are able to make you want to get up on your feet and dance around or go on a nice little mental flight into wonderland.
Ziwtra is definitely the latter. He can take a rough violin sample, or a saw wave, or a piano and turn it into one of the most emotionally compelling riffs you've ever heard. This has been a favorite of mine all the way since the early WIP he let me hear.
My biggest regret as far as Ziwtra goes is that he doesn't have more time than he does to make amazing music.
Specifically regarding this mix, I love the virtual warm up, the instrumental palette, and the way it seamlessly weaves in and out of the 2/3 and 2/4 (or 4/4, whatever) feel of the 6/8 time signature. Absolutely splendid stuff!
- big giant circles on October 19, 2009
- Geoffrey Taucer on October 19, 2009
Brushfire;605318 wrote: I love the whole merry jig feel aboot the song. Aside from nearly blowing me speakers (due to Awesome, and me forgetting to turn them down) this mix be kicking some rocks. My sea shanty twill never be the same.
YAR!!
Hahaha...pirates.
This mix literally changed how I viewed sequencing the what a "lead" could accomplish in computer based music. INCREDIBLE!
- avaris on October 19, 2009
YAR!!
- Brushfire on October 19, 2009
Content Policy
(Submission
Agreement and Terms of Use)
Page generated Sat, 21 Nov 2009 08:49:02 -0500 in 0.6743 seconds
All compositions, arrangements, images, and trademarks are copyright their respective owners. Original content is
copyright OverClocked ReMix, LLC. For information on RSS and JavaScript news feeds, linking to us, etc. please refer to resources for webmasters. Please refer to the Info section of
the site and the FAQ available there for information about the site's
history, features, and policies. Contact David W. Lloyd (djpretzel), webmaster, with
feedback or questions not answered there.
