ReMix:Chrono Trigger "Third Eye" 6:43

By ABG

Arranging the music of one song...

"Schala's Theme"

Primary Game: Chrono Trigger (Square , 1995, SNES), music by Nobuo Uematsu, Noriko Matsueda, Yasunori Mitsuda

Posted 2010-09-17, evaluated by djpretzel


Shawn writes:

"Hello again! I've got another remix to share with you. My previous submission was of the music that plays when you save Schala at the end of Chrono Cross, and so I followed that one up with an obvious and natural successor - Schala's theme from Chrono Trigger! I know, I know, it's the village bicycle of remixed vgmusic, but I've always adored this song and have wanted to remix it now for more than ten years (no joke!). There's another one I can check off the list :) Kudos to Jewbei, who listened to tons of WIPs for me and kept me engaged on this remix!"

Well, I *could* chew up a good solid paragraph talking about how, even though we get tons of 'Schala' subs (ala 'Ice Cap', etc.), each one has a unique personality and proves that there are endless possibilities, yadda yadda. But you've heard all that, and it almost goes without saying that ABG is gonna bring it & do so with his own style & talents. I would instead, however, like to take just a brief moment to lament that some GREAT games by GREAT composers with GREAT music (see the trend?) are going unmixed. It's 2010, and we still don't have any Samurai Showdown or Crash Bandicoot or Donkey Kong 64 mixes, or anything from the PSP, or Neo-Geo Pocket, or Atari Lynx or Jaguar. Doesn't anyone out there want the grand honor of being first, in any of those arenas? That's just the tip of the iceberg, and I'm sure each of us has our own personal list of "Why the hell hasn't anyone mixed this?!" games or songs. I love the classics, I can respect every mixer's wanting to touch on them, and in this case ABG has been waiting over a decade, so he's got a free pass, but... inasmuch as anyone listens to me & cares what I have to say, I'd love to see all of you branch out, start covering some undiscovered country, and shine a spotlight on corners of VGM that are less tread, or completely unexplored.

Sermon over; I think every couple years I have to get that outta my system. If at least one mixer hears my words and goes way outside the box and mixes something new and different, I'm a happy dude. We're strongly considering a competition of sorts to help encourage this, as soon as we find some free time to coordinate. Now, apologies to Shawn for taking up his mix writeup with my off-topic ramblings... Schala pattern intros here, uptempo, building tension and sweeping out & upwards until the beatdrop @ 1'24" - I love that Shawn added an extra acoustic kit break on top of the snare buildup. Tempo seems to fluctuate & accelerate, or maybe it's just the effect of the ringing, cross-panned synth lines that adorn the arrangement and carry us into a second drop @ 2'21" where the bassline gets a lot more active. Shawn layers patterns on top of patterns in a dizzying layer cake full o' Schala, ascending into a breakdown that shows off the expansive, breathy quality of the melody & accompaniment - take out the bass & beats and this totally woulda worked as a more ambient/newage mix, but this way it's a bit more fun.

After waiting so long to mix this track, I'd imagine it was a somewhat cathartic process for Shawn, and I think that actually comes through in the music; while rise & release is a staple food of the genre, this arrangement really thrives off of it. Great stuff; it's easy to be cynical, and I did mean what I said about branching out, but this is also a great tribute to a great piece of original music, no doubt about it.

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
avatar
Gario
on 2016-10-04 23:47:27

Oh damn, this is slick as hell. I frankly LOVE the build-up to this one. With a source as familiar as this one, it's very easy to mentally fill the source in the spaces that it isn't there. Dave gave us hell all those years back on familiar sources and yadda yadda, but honestly this wouldn't work with a source that people were NOT very familiar with. It's a very clever approach that resolves a few issues all at once: how to make a song fresh, how to make something in more traditional Trance style that remains connected to the source, and how to make a great piece of music (that last one's being solved by all of us in various ways, though, lol).

But yeah, great track by ABG. I really hope he makes a grand re-entrance one day, since his style is really clicking with me.

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Crulex
on 2012-05-01 10:07:42

Very nice trance ReMix, with a good length and production. Not too heavy and something I can lean back and listen to. It got just a hair repetitive in some areas, but that's nothing to complain about. Good stuff.

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Daemos
on 2012-04-02 13:10:29

I'm not 100% sure I like the build up to the source, it comes a little close to being repetitive, but not quite. But it still almost half the song before the source shows as far as I can tell.

Over all it's a fun trance mix.

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Rexy
on 2011-01-02 16:07:57

To be fair, I'm a little tiresome of the Schala coverage, and a trance enterpretation of this didn't seem so much of a good way to go on paper. However, what ABG did was basically kept the mood intact with the choice of sub-genre, while still being able to show as welcoming image to fans of the genre. This and "Through Time and Space" seem to compliment each other a lot, so you may expect some comparisons. But for what it is, I actually quite enjoyed this :)

And yes... I also read through djp's lament as well. As a passionate Crash Bandicoot fan, I still want to see coverage of that up there, and if I don't do the first remix (which achieving that alone is still mega unlikely), I will gladly reward that first person who does, however I can _

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leaf
on 2010-11-03 01:59:18

wow..this is real good keep on keeping on eh buddy. gets better as it progresses, nice little uplifting trance track eh buddy keep at it fricken awesome eh

i will press the download button

this is perfection eh buddy nice job

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Zidane
on 2010-10-19 21:08:11

ABG is reading my mind with his remixes; I'm freaking out..

I want to dance

n o w w w!

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Nobbynob Littlun
on 2010-10-12 20:21:20

I like this a lot, despite it's very techno-y feel. Perhaps it's the title of Third Eye, the breathy feel that DJP describes, or a combination of the two, but it put me in mind of Unipulator's "Kizukaseru" here on OCR, and listening to it I can easily visualize a calm samurai being jumped by a few dozen ninja and using his "third eye" to emerge unscathed.

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Martin Penwald
on 2010-09-27 14:59:29

This remix takes me back, reminding me of times when OCR posted songs like Blue Lightning or MegaDance Mix 2002. Considering that these two are some of my favourite remixes ever, the song in hand is right up my alley.

Good stuff.

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OA
on 2010-09-21 15:51:08

really chill stuff for a dance track (is that even possible?). Definitely put me in a trance listening to it. I guess that's why they call it trance, lol.

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jordex
on 2010-09-21 01:19:40

reminds me of Tangerine Dream. Awesome!

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Jewbei
on 2010-09-20 13:52:16

oh and djp if you are reading this jus to let you know your words have reached me. i do have 2 mixes on the way thats totally from games that has never been remixed before :)

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Jewbei
on 2010-09-20 13:50:28

i was wondering when this was going to be posted bout time. i really enjoyed all of the WIPs you sent me as you were working on it. cant wait to hear what youre working on next.

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ambient
on 2010-09-18 17:14:06

Great job! I like how this sounds and progresses like an actual dance tune. Nothing too crazy, but definitely a very fun track. Keep it up!

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ZealPath
on 2010-09-18 16:25:53

I actually really enjoyed this as well, continued proof that there is no such thing as an overmixed source as long as the variety is there. The subtlety of the source tune is what makes this so good, that schala vibe is there but it's hiding a little bit, and certainly takes a while to get started, and because of that, this doesn't feel like "oh god another Schala mix," which from the writeup is what I was expecting.

I also really like trance. so that surely helped, but as far as Schala mixes go this is right up there for me!

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Zipp
on 2010-09-18 15:10:16

I haven't reviewed a song in over two years, but I had to post this brief blurb. I am really pleased to find an enjoyable Schala remix. Schala's theme is, in my opinion, one of the most difficult songs to remix. It has such a unique sound that to mess with it is usually to take away from it. I have not enjoyed a schala remix ever, I'm sorry to say, with the possible exception of the One Up's lounge-style version (Cd1?)

That said, I love this remix. You've done trance without going over the top with the bass (which is one of those beginner errors that even advanced mixers make) and have kept the main theme subtle, understanding that that is how it should be. Orchestral mixes always get it wrong... they power up the main theme when if you listen to the original, it's actually the percussion that is brought most forward with the bells and wind being a background element.

Schala's theme is a piece that we are meant to strain to hear and the fact that you've accomplished that with trance is impressive and worth my time to comment on.

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


Primary Game:
Chrono Trigger (Square , 1995, SNES)
Music by Nobuo Uematsu,Noriko Matsueda,Yasunori Mitsuda
Songs:
"Schala's Theme"

Tags (3)


Genre:
Mood:
Instrumentation:
Electronic,Synth
Additional:
Time > Duration: Long

File Information


Name:
Chrono_Trigger_Third_Eye_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
8,147,568 bytes
MD5:
891aacba2d68de7959aca4a2a5013eca
Bitrate:
160Kbps
Duration:
6:43

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