ReMix: Final Fantasy VIII 'Ready to March'
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- Game: Final Fantasy VIII (Square, 1999, PS1)
- ReMixer(s): Anti-Syne
- Composer(s): Nobuo Uematsu, Shiro Hamaguchi
- Song(s): 'Force Your Way', 'The Stage is Set'
- Posted: 2011-08-22, evaluated by the judges
Anti-Syne debuted back in June with a catchy, Daft Punk-inspired ReMix of Final Fantasy VIII. Now he's back with... another Daft Punk (ish) FF8 mix? Hey, no rules against that, and it's still better than submitting two mixes of 'Schala' or 'Terra' back-to-back. Jack actually resubbed AND retitled this based on the edits he made:
"Ok, so with this resubmission my main aim was to add variety of texture, this new version is aimed to 'change gear' at a few different points, so hopefully you'll find this less repetitive and more enjoyable.
When I first submitted this it was aimed to be a fun and bouncy piece, now although it's still got that feel to it at parts, other parts are now written to make the piece more dramatic, to be more in context with the original 'The Stage is Set', which tended to be played at important marching points of the game. I've changed the name of this submission from the rather generic 'Let's Go' to 'Ready to March' (which also fits nicely in with the political climate over here in England) Anyway, hope you enjoy this."
While I think the last minute still gets a little repetitive, there are some interesting changeups & juxtaposed grooves in this mix, and much of the synth-funk flavor that was executed well in his first posted mix remains a large part of the charm here. Cain helps us all out:
"I've transcribed the lyrics for those having problems:
ea e a a
ea e a a
ea e a a
ea e a aThis is kinda like a cross between Daft Punk and Freezepop, which pleases me. Production is fairly tight, a few dry-ish exposed sounds but nothing distracting. *sigh* fake guitar... I suppose it's not bad as far as they go. Well modulated. Overall all it's a fun little arrangement, certainly has movement in it."
"That's what she said"?? ...Nah, doesn't quite work; "...in my pants," though, different story. Vinnie adds:
"The drums were pretty FL default but used effectively - in a way, charmingly. The balance is good there, the beat was insistent. I like the additional textural variety in this version and even though this stayed in one gear, it was restless and constantly doing new things while maintaining the flow."
Agreed, for the most part. I'd like to hear Jack step further outside the box and make his next sub a little less daft and/or punk, but then again influences are usually good things, and he's shining some light on more of the FF8 OST, so I can't really complain. A good follow-up that will certainly please fans of his first mix!
Discussion: Latest 11 comments/reviews; view the There are some good ideas in the song - I do like some of the mechanical elements, they make you want to get up and do some random dance. I feel some snazz would bring it out a lot more, and/or utilizing more mechanical sounding effects/sounds.
- Bahamut on December 12, 2011
- Crulex on December 3, 2011
Also, the synth coming in at 3:20 is too loud IMO, making it quite obnoxious.
In other words, there are some things that I wish had been done differently, but overall, this is enjoyable.
- Martin Penwald on October 5, 2011
By the way, Anti-Syne, I'm still waiting for your "Bombs Away" track to be posted. Keep up the good work.
- Nonamer on August 26, 2011
Lovers gonna love
Hopefully Anti-Syne's gonna continue not syning in the process of producing more tunes. :-)
- Brandon Strader on August 24, 2011
It took me a while to get into Anti-Syne's style, but when I did not long after "Night City Funk" came out I then saw it to be very technically accomplished for a new face, and managed to be very appropriate for both the source material at hand and a weekend soundtrack. Like all electronica arrangements it tends to play safe, but the stylistic choice of writing definitely more than made up for it.
This on the other hand kind of plays a little too close to the previous submission's technical formula and is most likely going to draw some stylistic comparisons between them. As a track, it also has that listenable charm to it and can easily fit quite well with other artists of the genre, but it has a tendancy to be dragged down not only by his previous submission's successes and the emulation for it, but also for what can be seen as some slightly weaker writing, particluarly noting a lot of lower-frequency notation that might clutter things and a not-quite-as-stellar movement towards the ending.
Don't get me wrong, I actually like the track a fair deal mostly due to the quality production techniques applied. But if there's anything that guys on Youtube and Facebook may show some discontempt with (rather than the more-than-obvious "techno anti-bias"), perhaps what I stated might be a handful of potential reasonings. :?
- Rexy on August 24, 2011
- Liontamer on August 24, 2011
- Koriantor on August 22, 2011
This one takes some time to build up, but once it really gets into the meat of the mix, there's actually some very cool things that come in and give it some neat flavor. It does take some time to get there, though, so if you're a listener that wants to drop out because of the beginning, don't; you'll be missing out on the better section of the track.
I like the style, but I will agree with DjP that something that varies a little in style would be a good idea for your next mix. Though to be fair, this IS only your second posted mix, so it might not be all that bad if you get one more punk-like mix, if that's what you fancy :smile:.
- Gario on August 22, 2011
I did think the mix was pretty sparse compared to the type of electronica that passes through here, something as small as a synth pad could have fixed that. The song didn't have a lot of power to it, maybe because the drums were a little weak, a tiny bit cheapy, default-ish sounds.. The panned glitchy effects were a nice touch, as was the panning on the lead -- that helped increase the perceived stereo wideness a bit.
:nicework: A lot of crits (sorry) but it [i]is[/i] a good tune, would listen again.
- Brandon Strader on August 22, 2011
