ReMix:Aquaria "Prayer for the Azure Waters" 3:58

By Ryan Davis Music

Arranging the music of one song...

"Icy Waters"

Primary Game: Aquaria (Bit Blot , 2007, WIN), music by Alec Holowka, Ian Holowka

Posted 2015-12-26, evaluated by the judges panel


Sure, Xmas was yesterday, but how about a late-breaking stocking stuffer?

In case Santa didn't bring you everything you wanted, or if you're just looking for more great VGM arrangements, newcomer Garpocalypse (Ryan Davis) has you covered with this beautiful ReMix of Aquaria that blends new age, choral, & folk/acoustic elements for an angelic, peaceful ballad:

"Hey, OCR! Here is my latest submission which is a re-recording of the track I did for An OverClocked Christmas v.8. The source is "Icy Waters" from the Aquaria OST. Aquaria was the first indie game I played which made me realize that everything that was great about games so many years ago has been making a comeback with indie game developers. I've always felt a connection to the soundtrack as much of it is very similar to the music I was listening to by one of my favorite composers, Ed Van Fleet, which I listened to a lot while I was growing up. For this remix, I wanted to take everything I loved about the Aquaria OST and give it a few personal touches. Special thanks to Brandon Strader who gave me insight on processing acoustic guitars."

VERY PURDY; from the washing tides to the ethereal vocals to the delicate plucked & strummed string instruments, there's an intimacy and a seasonal sense of wonder here that are really mesmerizing. Chimpazilla writes:

"This is a lovely remix! It is conservative without being too coverish. The acoustic guitars sound really wonderful. The choir gives this an Enya feel. The arrangement gets a little bit repetitive, but the evolving textures and instrument changes keep it fresh enough for me. I feel like the mixing could be improved just a little, but this is working well enough for me as-is. Really sweet mix."

While ocean waves may not scream "winter wonderland," I did feel the holiday spirit in this mix - it captures a certain sense of contentedness & warmth quite well, I think. Judges didn't get as much of a seasonal vibe, but were nevertheless uniformly positive, while also being fairly consistent that a little more variation in the third half would have given the arrangement a bit more direction. As it stands, though, this is a stunning, atmospheric piece that creates a certain vibe, stays there, and marinates effectively. Great debut from Garpocalypse - cool to see more coverage of Aquaria, congratulations on the mixpost, and props for putting together a piece of music that should help us all keep warm as the weather (finally) starts getting colder!

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 13 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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Crulex
on 2018-05-15 03:03:20

This is gorgeous, Gar. The flute and airy chorus playing alongside the softly-strummed guitar while gliding over the ocean waves makes me really want to listen to this while drifting in a small boat at night with the Northern Lights overhead. Gentle, relaxing, and peaceful, this is Winter mysticism in music form and I think this is the perfect kind of ReMix to lay back and listen to in order to remove a lot of stress by listening and forgetting all else. Love it.

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Garpocalypse
on 2016-01-08 20:25:45
6 hours ago, WesternZypher said:

Definitely makes me want to return to this great game. I remember playing it and going, 'wow, indie games are awesome'. What a sense of exploration and wonder Aquaria's music evoked. Great story too - really wish they'd come out with a sequel! This remix really captures and enhances on the feel of the original.

Yea i had the same experience with Aquaria. I didn't think much of what was going on in the indie-dev scene until I played this game. I haven't checked it out yet but I heard that there is some kind of fan continuation of the game over on the bit-blot forums. Still hoping for a legit sequel tho.

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WesternZypher
on 2016-01-08 13:36:26

Definitely makes me want to return to this great game. I remember playing it and going, 'wow, indie games are awesome'. What a sense of exploration and wonder Aquaria's music evoked. Great story too - really wish they'd come out with a sequel! This remix really captures and enhances on the feel of the original.

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SuperiorX
on 2015-12-29 20:11:03

Congrats on the mixpost Gar! I'm not familiar with this game or source tune at all, but wow this is a beautiful piece of music. Everything just fits together so well, the guitar, flute, pads, etc. to create a very soothing and relaxing atmosphere. I love it!

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MindWanderer
on 2015-12-28 17:19:20

I've been a Garpocalypse fan for a while, didn't even notice he was unposted until now. Knew this had to be amazing if it was better than his remixes that didn't get posted. Did not disappoint. Great work!

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Necrox
on 2015-12-27 21:44:30

I sctually think the intro is really wintry. Great atmosphere, very dreamy. The guitar and choir sound fantastic. Just an excellent mix.

Aurora borealis in the Arctic anyone?

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Vaizar
on 2015-12-27 21:31:37

Grats on the mixpost!

This mix has a super relaxing, chill feel to it that actually suits the holiday season really well, sorta giving a sense of magic and warmth. The ocean waves were a little out of place in context of the season, but they fit really well with the mix itself. The guitar enters in a bit heavily, but after that it fit well, except for a couple rough transitions. Overall, this track felt consistently fresh and made the 4 minutes feel a lot shorter than they actually were :)

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AngelCityOutlaw
on 2015-12-27 13:36:36

Congrats on the mix-post!

This is really good! It's super-relaxing and I really do love the acoustic guitar. I also did not find it repetitive at all. Not much else I can say except I enjoyed the hell out of it!

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timaeus222
on 2015-12-27 04:41:14

I think this kind of evokes a hometown-like feel (y'know, like the ones discussed in the "town themes" thread) due to the acoustic guitar, flute, and overall 'welcoming' vibe. I didn't find this repetitive at all, actually; just the right length. The production is only mildly problematic (a little midrange-heavy); not enough to really have much to complain about in this context. Congrats on the mixpost! Keep on improving!

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DjjD
on 2015-12-27 02:59:29

Hell yeah dude! Grats on your first mixpost. I'm sure it's been a long time comin'!

To speak just about the mix alone, I'm totally feelin' the Enya new-age vibe. That guitar is, I don't think I can use any other words than Chimp: It's sweet.
Very mellow, very smooth, good production. I'm feelin' some deep feels here. Great job dude. :)

Lookin' forward to the next.

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Garpocalypse
on 2015-12-27 02:36:53

Time for my first post-Mixpost post!

I've waited YEARS to say that!! :)

It's been a trip but OCR has been the primary driving force to improving my production skills. Been a fan of the site and community since 2005 and started actively remixing and assembling my studio in 2010. Feels great to finally be over that bar.

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Chernabogue
on 2015-12-27 00:17:50

A very intimate remix, which perfectly fits this season. The choice of instruments is great here -- love how you chose them and put them together. The mood is quite relaxing and chilly -- nice atmosphere (much needed when you wake up at 4:30 AM to work on some university stuff, ouch). Clean production as well. Congrats to Garpo for his mixpost! :) -- hope to see more from you soon. ;)

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Liontamer
on 2015-12-25 02:45:01

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

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


Primary Game:
Aquaria (Bit Blot , 2007, WIN)
Music by Alec Holowka,Ian Holowka
Songs:
"Icy Waters"

Tags (9)


Genre:
Ballad,New Age
Mood:
Mellow,Romantic
Instrumentation:
Acoustic Guitar,Choir,Sound FX,Woodwinds
Additional:
Usage > Winter Holiday

File Information


Name:
Aquaria_Prayer_for_the_Azure_Waters_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
5,794,476 bytes
MD5:
db6773b9710c16cff2432f46ef33037e
Bitrate:
192Kbps
Duration:
3:58

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