ReMix: Final Fantasy X 'Time Slips Away'
Download MP3
Play Preview
- Game: Final Fantasy X (Square, 2001, PS2)
- ReMixer(s): DarkeSword
- Composer(s): Junya Nakano, Masashi Hamauzu, Nobuo Uematsu
- Song(s): 'At Zanarkand', 'Hurry!!'
- Posted: 2011-01-20, evaluated by djpretzel
- Album: Featured on HURRY! A Final Fantasy X Impossible Remix Album
Oh no we didn't... MORE 'Hurry!!'?? Sure, why not... while we usually endeavor to mix things up a bit and not post two mixes from the artist or game, much less the same exact song, the juxtaposition in this case is interesting, if only to experience the diverging paths each artist took while grappling with the source tune. You've heard Rozo and Strader, now it's Darkesword's turn:
"I checked out the song Hurry!! when I saw Larry post about the YouTube shenanigans on the OCR forums. It seemed like a fairly simple, straightforward track, mostly based on building tension through a repeated string line and some sustained dissonant brass. I tried to scale back the bombastic aspect of the song and go for something more tense, as well as utilize some high-quality samples of instruments from around the world (Indian drums, Japanese koto). Melodic content of Hurry!! was low, so I decided to bring in the classic To Zanarkand theme and play around a little with the melodic line. What we end up with is a kind of east-meets-west piece of music with a measured-yet-driving tempo, maintaining the intensity of the original piece without any of the frantic pacing. Hopefully the listener enjoys."
The listener puts the lotion on its skin, or else it gets the hose again... technically Shariq "cheated" a bit by working in an additional source that has a (great, memorable) melody, but ultimately it's all about the end result, and having melodic materials to work with certainly enhances most mixes. There's still plenty of 'Hurry!!' here, and I'd even say it dominates, but the Zanarkand bits are put to good use to give the arrangement more direction and flow. The mix title here makes me think of a certain Steve Miller song the US Postal Service used in ad campaigns years ago, but the genre is ethnic/cinematic, albeit with a more sequenced, hybridized feel than Brandon's arrangement. The plucked glissandos add a really nice flair & atmosphere, and I like the drum dropouts to a single, elegant wood-blockish metronome of sorts. Shariq did a great job of making the source more palatable and having it develop a bit more by blending in a second theme, resulting in a mix that, contrary to the imperative nature of its inspiration, takes its time, establishing a lush, delicate soundscape that's got substance and depth.
Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the DarkeSword;747946 wrote: Five hours, start to finish, on a Sunday night.
Holy hell that's fast! And this ReMix is simply awesome considering how much is actually in it for how fast it was done. The quality of the sound, the arrangement and the general idea are all damn near flawless here. I love the use of some Japanese and Indian instruments for this one. Very nice blend there. Yeah, this is going up there in my top DarkeSword mixes.
- Crulex on October 11, 2012
- OA on August 29, 2011
I never expected to find this album, and was surprised. But Ioved it.
The source tune always stuck out to me in the game. It's not something I'd be humming afterwards, obviously, but it always got me pumped up (which was good seeing as for the first few weeks of owning the game, I had NO memory card... so yeah... I know the prologue inside out.)
This is a nice, sort of chill take on the theme. Very nice mixture of instruments. The harp (?) kind of reminds me of Okami. In fact the whole mix does.
Btw, was the sudden volume change at 3:00 intentional? O.o I think I'm just misunderstanding what happened there. It sounds awkward on my headphones, at least.
- urdailywater on January 30, 2011
- KnightOfTheRound on January 28, 2011
DarkeSword;747946 wrote: Five hours, start to finish, on a Sunday night.
Please share some of your skills with the rest of us xD.
- BlackPanther on January 27, 2011
Arcana;747849 wrote: I don't know how long he spent on it. It must've been no more than a day or two.
Five hours, start to finish, on a Sunday night.
- DarkeSword on January 24, 2011
I don't know how long he spent on it. It must've been no more than a day or two.
This was a very amazing track. It's universally-liked. It's so clean, so crisp, and immediately invokes emotion in the listener.
I hope you guys check out the rest of the album!
http://hurryffx.kngi.org/
- Arcana on January 24, 2011
- Ursa Major on January 23, 2011
- ElementDuck on January 22, 2011
Keep up the good work.
- Acolyte on January 22, 2011
Great stuff though Shariq, keep makin music =)
- BlackPanther on January 21, 2011
Darkesword did a fanastic job executing the source. This has got to be one of the best mixes by him, I must agree. I'm very impressed with the production and arrangement.
Awesome job Shariq! Been listening to your music for -years- and you only keep improving!
- JaDE ARaN HaRuNo on January 21, 2011
- Melbu Frahma on January 20, 2011
The horns and when the glissandos come in are great, and when everything literally just cuts out at 3:03, it's a really cool touch. Never gets boring, either, and the strings add that epic movie cue feel to it.
All in all:
Cool song, bro.
- Neblix on January 20, 2011
