ReMix:Wild Arms "East Meets Western" 4:10

By Artem Bank

Arranging the music of one song...

"WILD ARMS"

Primary Game: Wild Arms (Sony , 1997, PS1), music by Michiko Naruke

Posted 2012-06-24, evaluated by the judges panel


What an interesting, unusual ReMix! I think Jade did an excellent job pulling together so many artists for her Wild Arms album, and what particularly strikes me is how many different ideas & approaches are represented in ARMed & DANGerous's many tracks - it's a big album not just in a purely numerical sense, but also in terms of grokking who did what with what source, how the arrangements fit together, and in learning to appreciate all the different styles. From newcomer Artem Bank comes a piece that's bookended with what reminds me of an independent film soundtrack sort of vibe, with guitar, ambient tones, and a whole bunch of reverb, creating a huge space. I was pretty sure it was going to remain a more drifting, "tone poem" kind of affair, but then a driving beat comes in, the previously-resigned-to-droning-undertone bassline kicks in & starts puling along, and before you know it a synth lead crops up. The ReMixer writes:

"I was having so much fun doing other songs on the project I decided to jump onto this song with about three weeks left in the project. Since the source is only about 25 seconds long (I think it's the main menu intro, but I've never played the game), I decided to do a lot with the very last arpeggiated guitar chord, and turn that into a good chunk of the song - it just sounded so interesting to me. The trumpet lines were turned into what the piano plays, and the hits are there with the guitar strikes in the middle section. The synth even does the melody line through it, but expanded upon."

OA writes:

"At first this felt like a Frankenstein track to me, where there were recognizable bits of the song sewn together, but the more I listened, the more I understood the source use. I don't think the middle synth lead quite fits, but overall the guitar/piano interplay is very nice, and the soundscape feels expansive. Definitely not how i'd envision the source to be dealt with, but it's really nice. The track length is about right, and there is agood progression and flow. This one really won me over, nice work."

I agree on the synth lead - too forward in the mix, stands out a bit too much - but also appreciation the progression & source treatment. Familiar with the source, Justin adds:

"Wow, very creative take on a difficult source. I'd actually originally claimed this track as Jade wanted an orchestral take on it - but a few more listens to it made me think better of attempting to bring anything close to improving the OST. I just judged another track of yours and I must say I really like your use of reverb to give some spaciousness to your acoustic playing. The guitar performance is, simply put, solid. Nice use of effects to give the track a mysterious feel, making the listener want to hear more. Definitely moody in a very good way.

Middle section shifts gears into a higher energy mode. It definitely felt more experimental with the glitched piano and other synthetic elements mixed with the acoustic guitar/drums. While unconventional, I still feel like it works. The lead synth did feel like it stuck out over everything. I think some reverb treatment would've pushed it back enough to blend better with the other elements. Being familiar with the source, the connections were pretty apparent to me. It's such a short tune, and pretty intricate in a sense, that I don't blame you for taking specific snippets of it and fleshing them out, rather than a more holistic approach. Again, you were very creative with the material and presented it well throughout the mix. Love it."

Definitely something different - a challenging arrangement, in some ways, of a challenging source. I was enjoying the more ambient intro/outro a little bit more than the upbeat guts, but it all holds together, and I'm definitely impressed with the vision & treatment of the source material. Looking forward to hearing more from Artem!

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 6 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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Crulex
on 2013-12-22 12:24:55

After hearing the intro, I wasn't expecting this to pick up as much as it did, but from acoustic beauty to energy filled beats, this is like a truck starting off slow and then just taking off and then slowing back down like a tanker. The switch to the slower, acoustic end from the upbeat middle section is a tad unusual, but nothing that bothered me too much. Not bad.

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spacevibe
on 2012-11-09 09:41:32

That's a great remix! After listening to it, I just *had* to create an OC Remix account just to be able to comment on it!

I really like the way the instruments sound on this track. Everything seems balanced. There is actually a lot of emotion that is vehiculed from the track.

It instantly became one of my favorite on OC. Thanks!

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Bahamut
on 2012-07-04 08:03:50

This track is a curious one from the Wild ARMS album - it has a desolate soundscape for the beginning and end of the song, and yet goes into a more upbeat trek in the middle. The middle section feels a bit strange to me when combined with the beginning end, but it does have its place with helping enhance the mysterious atmosphere evoked.

Interesting usage of the source, and I can dig it.

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redshojin
on 2012-06-24 20:10:48

Holy crap! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!

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Melbu Frahma
on 2012-06-24 19:35:03

Easily in my top five from the album; it caught me completely off guard, but in a very good way. :nicework: I think what I like the best about it is the variation in instruments and sounds - I would've never pegged that synth lead as working well in the same song as the piano and guitar, but it truly did, in an interesting and thought-catching manner. That, and I definitely felt like I could see the clear progression of the track.

avatar
djpretzel
on 2012-06-24 16:35:14

What did you think? Post your opinion of this ReMix.

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


Primary Game:
Wild Arms (Sony , 1997, PS1)
Music by Michiko Naruke
Songs:
"WILD ARMS"

Tags (4)


Genre:
Ambient
Mood:
Instrumentation:
Acoustic Guitar,Electronic
Additional:
Time > Tempo: Fast

File Information


Name:
Wild_Arms_East_Meets_Western_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
6,477,206 bytes
MD5:
3de45d95dd9ddf5c78e1042162fe73bc
Bitrate:
204Kbps
Duration:
4:10

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