ReMix:Final Fantasy VI "The Endless Stair" 3:45

By Argle

Arranging the music of one song...

"Fanatics"

Primary Game: Final Fantasy VI (Square , 1994, SNES), music by Nobuo Uematsu

Posted 2013-08-12, evaluated by djpretzel


Argle's contribution to Balance and Ruin was a late-breaking addition & result of the second competition held to fill in some of the gaps on source tunes that hadn't been arranged yet. Incorporating bold, cinematic power chords, industrial drums, epic percussion, and a steady pulse, he really did a great job of expanding on a more bare bones source. zircon offers a great description:

"The Fanatics Tower theme is one of those "so little source, it's hard to remix" tracks, but artists like Argle seem to take that simply as a challenge. This piece is dripping with fantastic industrial percussion work and has a great, gradual build. In parts, it's like Nine Inch Nails meets the Matrix soundtrack. The mixing and production are polished to a spitshine in this one and the results speak for themselves - this songs could easily be featured in any big budget blockbuster movie or game. Moody, dark, and excellent."

Pretty much; additionally impressive since it was crafted on a more abbreviated timetable. The artist adds:

"This became part of the Bawance and Wuin album. Ahem, sorry, been watching Life of Brian again. Never thought I'd have the opportunity to contribute to Balance and Ruin, but lo and behold zircon held a remix contest for some of the tracks. When zircon held the second contest, I decided to try the "Fanatics" tower theme, under the assumption that I'd have little or no competition for that one. I know it isn't a classic track like many of the other FF6 tunes, but I hope people enjoy my take on it. My craven, self-serving gamble paid off. Hehhehhehheh."

High-five ;) This piece definitely paints a stark picture, with minor-key piano playing off tearing & scraping snares and pistons. Things get big & bold at 1'24" with a procession that sounds sinister and large... Andy mentions The Matrix and NiN, but I'd perhaps throw God of War into the mix, for these big orch hit + choral chords & some of the more subtle Eastern intonations. Achieving a very grand scope and oscillating between industrial and cinematic emphases, this arrangement shows a different side of Argle and does a fantastic job fully exploring a very minimalist source!

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
avatar
Fanatic
on 2020-02-07 12:18:21
On 1/31/2020 at 6:43 PM, Argle said:

Thanks man! I have a lot of other tracks posted here, check them out. Sadly have not produced any music in the last 5-6 years, I hope to remedy that some day.

I will! :) And I absolutely hope you do - I'm sure that spark and mindset will soon come back, you just need to find the right muse/inspiration.

avatar
Argle
on 2020-01-31 12:43:26
23 hours ago, Fanatic said:

Hi Argle - thanks for taking the time to reply and once again thank you for the awesome track! You're a serious talent that I hope to hear much more from - amazing work! :)

Thanks man! I have a lot of other tracks posted here, check them out. Sadly have not produced any music in the last 5-6 years, I hope to remedy that some day.

avatar
Fanatic
on 2020-01-30 13:35:20
On 1/28/2020 at 6:51 PM, Argle said:

Hey there, I listened to these parts but they sound fine to me. Any distortion in this track is definitely intentional.

Hi Argle - thanks for taking the time to reply and once again thank you for the awesome track! You're a serious talent that I hope to hear much more from - amazing work! :)

Hmmm, looks like my speakers (KEF LSX) somehow amplify those parts too much then - those parts are indeed less prominent on my headphones.

avatar
Argle
on 2020-01-28 12:51:49
On 1/21/2020 at 7:29 PM, Fanatic said:

I'm absolutely loving this remix - it's pretty much perfection (and I already liked it in the game). Listening to it daily... however there seem to be a few parts where it was made too loud and thus is distorted (e.g. 1:29 / 1:35 and so on and on)... with this being a true masterpiece, I think it would be amazing to fix those parts. Either way, it's one of my favorite instrumental tracks ever. Hats off to you and thank you for sharing this!

Hey there, I listened to these parts but they sound fine to me. Any distortion in this track is definitely intentional.

avatar
Fanatic
on 2020-01-21 20:29:19

I'm absolutely loving this remix - it's pretty much perfection (and I already liked it in the game). Listening to it daily... however there seem to be a few parts where it was made too loud and thus is distorted (e.g. 1:29 / 1:35 and so on and on)... with this being a true masterpiece, I think it would be amazing to fix those parts. Either way, it's one of my favorite instrumental tracks ever. Hats off to you and thank you for sharing this!

avatar
CyberSkull
on 2015-01-14 01:50:54

Ascension. Cult. Madness. Power. This arrangement not only does justice to the music, but captures the feel of the Fanatic's Tower as well.

avatar
TillyFun
on 2014-05-09 19:40:41

Tremendous build up -- and build down. Tough, yeh. ^-^

Although the original is one of my favourite tracks, there's not much to it it.

I'm surprised at how much nuance was put into the remix. :)

avatar
Argle
on 2013-09-16 10:57:20
This is one of my favorite tracks from BR. The whole album is great obviously, but to me, the best tracks are the ones that make THE BEST POSSIBLE-SOUNDING VERSION of the original. "The Endless Stair" is the absolute best that the Tower of Fanatics theme can be. The mood is flawless and the buildup is impeccable. I applaud Argle for his contribution and point to the fact that I finally registered in this forum just to post this.

Man that's a great compliment. Thanks for listening!

avatar
zachaction
on 2013-09-04 10:19:04

This is one of my favorite tracks from BR. The whole album is great obviously, but to me, the best tracks are the ones that make THE BEST POSSIBLE-SOUNDING VERSION of the original. "The Endless Stair" is the absolute best that the Tower of Fanatics theme can be. The mood is flawless and the buildup is impeccable. I applaud Argle for his contribution and point to the fact that I finally registered in this forum just to post this.

avatar
Crulex
on 2013-08-20 11:00:50

Very sinister sounding in the beginning leading up to that giant section at 1:24. I do hear some various influences with NIN and some Matrix, but the grander parts would fit GoW as well. Great menacing ReMix with some sprinkles of epicness.

avatar
Flexstyle
on 2013-08-16 14:51:17

This is one of my very favorites from the album, and it's also one that I voted as my top favorite in the staff voting-for-contest-entries thingy. So yeah, love it. :nicework:

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avaris
on 2013-08-16 12:49:32

Love the ideas in this dude. Very well crafted sound choices. They really blend well to create an engaging mix.

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DimeTower
on 2013-08-16 01:16:49

A tremendous effort here, as a simple/repetitive source is given a huge infusion of life, scale, and feeling. This is a good remix, sure, and there a lot of absolutely phenomenal remixes on the album, but this might be one of the most talented remixes - to turn this source into a GREAT song takes really impressive vision and chops. djpretzel nails it: if you've even played 30 seconds of God of War, listen to this mix - it would be right at home here. That's a compliment.

avatar
Patrick Burns
on 2013-08-14 12:42:09
Just an FYI, for the comments they took two separate comments from me (from my OCR sub the album) and mashed them together. So if it reads a bit... incoherent... that is the reason! :lol:

Too late! Overclocked posterity will forever regard you as a blathering psychotic. it looks totally normal to me.

Really great escalation, fall down, re-escalation on the mix here. It never feels stagnant.

avatar
Argle
on 2013-08-13 09:03:52

Just an FYI, for the comments they took two separate comments from me (from my OCR sub the album) and mashed them together. So if it reads a bit... incoherent... that is the reason! :lol:

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


Primary Game:
Final Fantasy VI (Square , 1994, SNES)
Music by Nobuo Uematsu
Songs:
"Fanatics"

Tags (1)


Genre:
Mood:
Instrumentation:
Additional:
Usage > Halloween

File Information


Name:
Final_Fantasy_6_The_Endless_Stair_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
6,317,563 bytes
MD5:
c333c8f0124bd1494693c092d14f2ca1
Bitrate:
221Kbps
Duration:
3:45

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