Posted 2019-03-21, evaluated by the judges panel


We take a daytrip out of the city of Chronopolis with this next Kingdom Hearts 2 ReMix from newcomer Tune in with Chewie (Nestor Estrada), collaborating with Kristin Naigus (oboe) & HOUNDTRACK (field recordings) - Nestor writes:

"Here is my arrangement of "Dearly Beloved." I've always been a HUGE fan of Yoko Shimomura's work on the Kingdom Hearts series (and more). It took me a while to figure out the direction I wanted to take with this one. I bought some new modules for my Eurorack recently and, while experimenting, an idea began to take shape. That idea became the foundation for this track. Everything else fell into place right after.

HOUNDTRACK recorded ambience from a lake and you can hear that starting at around 1:02 (wind chimes from the porch he was recording). It's barely audible, but it's there to create ambience for that section. I reached out to a friend to perform the oboe part I had written down and everything else was performed by me using analog gear, guitar, bass, and virtual software (some of which I sound designed myself and programmed to be playable through Kontakt).

Who's excited about Kingdom Hearts 3?!"

KH3 was released of course & has been met with general praise, but I'm just as excited about the sound design in Nestor's KH2 mix - guitar in particular is used in an ambient, almost Fripp/Eno capacity, the subtle natural sound FX have precisely the desired effect, the synths are warm and inhabit the song's universe rather than floating on top or outside of it, and Kristin's oboe performance adds a glowing, flowing melodic line to complete the picture. It's vivid, it's different, and it paints with some wonderful colors, making for an arrangement which is sound design-forward but still structured & narrative. Sir_NutS writes:

"Really good stuff here. What I enjoyed the most was the detail in the ambiance textures used throughout the track, though that's only one thing that makes this track pretty awesome, as arrangement itself is pretty creative and unique. Some sections like 2:22 or 4:07 may throw off some listeners used to the original due to the unusual harmonies and structure but I really loved them. The production side of things is good as well, with great sequencing and performances."

Concur; *everything* is strong, but the texture & sound design elevate the whole and make it all work. I enjoyed reading MindWanderer's thoughts:

"It's an eclectic mix, keeps you guessing despite flowing smoothly. The guitar work is a little gritty and sits oddly with the clean rest of the soundscape, but that's more a stylistic thing than an objective complaint. Kind of reminds me of the Life is Strange OST. Given how strange the rest of the arrangement was, the fade-out didn't bother me at all, it was just another oddity. It's original and memorable. Let's get it up."

I took the guitar work with a post-rock kinda mentality, so it made sense to me, but I agree that the artist very deftly juggles varied textures along with tone & rhythm. I wasn't 100% sold on the drums towards the conclusion, but I really didn't need to be; the freeze-frame beauty captured earlier in a series of evolving textural moments made this hypnotic & engaging at the same time. Transporting and unique while remaining very accessible, with key assists from Krstin and HT - superb debut from Tune in with Chewie. I'm glad we did!

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 3 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
avatar
Ronald Poe
on 2019-03-26 11:31:50

People know I really love Kingdom Hearts and its music. I think you did justice to the famous intro theme. Also like how atmospheric this sounds but it doesn't leave the main melody (which is quite simple at its core).

avatar
FlashX
on 2019-03-26 00:18:52

Gorgeous! and lovely intro :)

avatar
Liontamer
on 2019-03-15 15:36:32

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

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


Primary Game:
Kingdom Hearts II (Square , 2005, PS2)
Music by Hikaru Utada,Kaoru Wada,Nobuo Uematsu,Yoko Shimomura
Songs:
"Dearly Beloved"

Tags (12)


Genre:
Ambient,Cinematic,Downtempo
Mood:
Chill,Mellow,Quirky
Instrumentation:
Electric Guitar,Oboe,Piano,Sound FX
Additional:
Origin > Collaboration
Production > Live Instruments

File Information


Name:
Kingdom_Hearts_2_Dear_Serenity_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
7,687,824 bytes
MD5:
3450ebc7bdcd2325a4ff63f9f8135b2c
Bitrate:
219Kbps
Duration:
4:37

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