Liontamer
-
Posts
13,920 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Days Won
132
Content Type
Articles
Profiles
Forums
Events
Posts posted by Liontamer
-
-
Since the artist mentioned the original source and a later remake version, YouTubes for both are included, even though this just has the original version as the inspiration -LT
I initially wanted to just attach the file, but it's too big and the email bounced back, so I'm throwing it on my personal megaSean TartagliaVantage Master... purityA Quiet PurityFalcom Sound Team jdk (But it's definitely Masaru Nakajima 100%)For the past few months I've been working on music for a strategy game project that may or may not ever see the light of day, and part of the vision was to include arrangements of tracks from games I love, including Fire Emblem, Super Robot Wars, and Vantage Master; however, stylistically and tonally, this arrangement didn't really quite fit the feel of the other tracks, so I decided to set it aside, and I figured it would be fine elsewhere.I'm not a big jrpg fan anymore (too long), so most of my interest in Falcom is in earlier games, like Brandish and the early Ys games. However, as a forever fan of strategy games, and especially turn based hexagonal tile ones, I love Vantage Master. Part of it is the gameplay, but the other part is the whole Falcom package you get, with a lot of care and attention put towards the visuals and sound. Nakajima is part of that, next to Ishibashi he's part of why 90s Falcom is so good, and this is probably my favorite track in the game.In the portable remake (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAMiTKfy-Wo ), Yukihiro Jindo gave this track far too much edge when I think it's much more a pensive track, though parts of his overall arrangement aren't bad. I think if it wasn't an arrangement of such an iconic piece of music (it's the first track on the OST release instead of the game's opening!) it would be a pretty good map theme. What I wanted to do was stretch it out a bit and give it much more atmosphere. Since the tone of the track is to light, I opted to use more dreamy and airier instrumentation, with a simple choir patch covering the ground, celesta floating around overhead, e piano with heavy delay to give the rhythms a bit more drive, and an organ reed stop saturated with flanger to give it a bit more of a haze. The original intention of the track was as music for a fog of war map, so the whole point of it is to sort of enhance that mystery and haze. There's also that other worldliness of vantage master itself, which is more of an atmospheric game, especially when compared to other strategy games.When it comes to mixing and VSTs and computer music, I tend to be more interested in that more "artificial" sound of the 2000s than the newer samples we have now, so forgive me if the flugelhorn or strings come off as very... PS2. As a musician I'm most used to performing in churches and cathedrals (with stone floors, not carpet. It makes a difference.) so I also prefer everything being a bit wetter in terms of reverb. Mixing disparate elements can only go so far, but to my ear it's passable. -
I was a bit torn on submitting this one, but my inclusion of the piano section in the breakdown and how much it reminded me of so many of my older OCR remixes pushed me over the edge. Hope you enjoy!
As for the game itself, Journey to Silius is yet another in a long list of stellar NES games that I have no recollection of from back when it came out. I think that by the time the game was released in the fall of 1990 I was already playing Genesis games and only kept an eye out for the highest profile Nintendo games coming out on the NES at that point.
I'm so glad it was eventually added to the Switch Online library so that I had an immediate and simple way to check it out. As expected, it was pretty fantastic but my terrible platforming / run and gun reflexes were tested to the point of frustration pretty quickly, though I was easily able to see what a cool game it was.
For a NES game, it looked great, and I could absolutely see the "Terminator" roots in the design. But from the opening screen, it was the music that grabbed my attention. It's incredible to be able to stumble upon games that came out over 30 years ago and still be blown away by the music once you start playing. The soundtrack was fantastic late-era NES fare, reminding me of some of the best Capcom music from the time. I definitely knew I wanted to cover some of Naoki Kakoda's excellent work for "Pulse."
I ended up selecting the Stage 3 theme music and decided to use sounds that are a little more associated with some 80's or more recent synthwave aesthetics. Something about 80's music and the soundtrack to a would-be Terminator game just seemed to go hand in hand.
Thanks so much! Enjoy!MkVaffMike VafeasUser ID - 6
Journey to Silius"Level Three (Pulse Remix)"Stage 3 Theme -
Contact Information
Username: H36T
UserID:37144
Website: https://www.youtube.com/@H36TRemasters
Submission Information
Arrangement Game: Silent Hill
Name of Arrangement: There's Something in the Church...
Song Being Arranged: Claw Finger
Comments:Hello there again! I made this song awhile back for a PRC or MnP remix compo...I'm not sure which one, but regardless I really liked what came out my mind for this haha. Full disclosure, I've never played Silent Hill or really any horror game and I don't really watch too many horror movies. I just kind of thought to myself, "How do I....be spooky?" First thing that came to mind was Albion IV. As such, I've employed a few patches from that library but I knew (or at least I thought) adding these effects alone would make anything substantial. Still, after adding some layers here and there (as well as some solo vocal patches which I use too often!), I started to get the hang of things. A few choirs later and we have this!The whole first section utilizes the first few notes of the main theme—Bb, down p4 to F, and then up an octave to F and back down to Bb—as a motif and plays with it. It's very subtle and without much or anything in terms of harmony . I think it could be quite difficult to pick up on without knowing that's what it's doing explicitly. Whether it works or not...well, I'll leave that up to the judges. However, that is my usage of the source in the beginning.
A slow walk through a church at night...and as you move forward you begin to feel you are not alone. You hear things...dark things. No matter how much you try to shake it, you know there is only one conclusion to all this. There's something in the church...and as you go further and further, a cold chill stops your feet....and your heart. The voices in your head get louder and louder and louder still. And you see it. You see the end. -
Contact Information
Your ReMixer name: tibonev
Your real name: Juliano Flores
Your email address:
Your website(s): https://classicgames.com.br
Your userid (number, not name) on our forums, found by viewing your forum profile:
Submission Information
Name of game(s) arranged: Valis 3
Name of arrangement: See Me Again
Name of individual song(s) arranged: Deja-vuAdditional information about game including composer, system, etc. (if it has not yet been added to the site): Game is in the site database.Link to the original soundtrack (if it is not one of the sound archives already available on the site): OST is on th site.Your own comments about the mix, for example the inspiration behind it, how it was made, how the source material was referenced in the arrangement, etc:This is chill / lo-fi take on the Deja-vu theme. Originally arranged for the April 2023 DoD competition, where several people were mentioning having a stressful month, i decided to arrange something soothing, to maybe give people a couple of calm minutes during the listening party. The source is heavily represented in the chord progression and main melody is there. I added a couple of parts/solos and changed the whole feel/vibe of the track. The main idea here is to be a bit nostalgic, and give that calm feel, which i think i achieved. Hope you all enjoy.
Link to the track:Thanks, and i'm on OCR / DoD / Pixel Mixers discord as well as available through e-mail, if you need to contact me.Take care, cheers!
--Juliano "tibonev" F. -
Contact Information:
-
- Your ReMixer Name: The Vodoú Queen
- Your Real Name: Angélique Vodoú
- Your Email Address:
- Your Website: https://thevodouqueen.newgrounds.com/
- Your User ID # on our forums: 37001
Submission Information:
-
- Name of Game(s) Arranged: Mega Man X3 (SNES)
- Name of Arrangement: "Sorrowful Bellows ~ an Ode for a Winter's Night"
- Name of Individual Song(s) Arranged: 'The Frozen City (Blizzard Buffalo Stage Theme)'
- Additional information about game including composer, system, etc. (if it has not yet been added to the site):
- 1. MEGA MAN X3 SOUND COLLECTION; Track 10 - Blizzard Buffalo (Frozen Buffalio) Stage; Artist(s): Kinuyo Yamashita; Release Date: 24 July 2018; Label: Capcom Sound Team
-
- Link to the original soundtrack (if it is not one of the sound archives already available on the site):
- 1. https://megaman.fandom.com/wiki/Mega_Man_X3_Sound_Collection
-
- Your own comments about the mix, for example the inspiration behind it, how it was made, etc.:
I will start off by saying something fairly simple about me. . . and excuse me if I sound like a bovulating bovine for the extensive commentary below (haha, inside jokes...thanks @ Liontamer
).
I *love* cinematic orchestra.
I like orchestra in general. Ever since I was a kid, there has always something about the acoustics and variance of sounds and textures in strings, horns and woodwinds that drew me to works from Bach, Beethoven and Mozart--in particular--and movies which utilize full orchestra a lot back in the day (The Ten Commandments, Jurassic Park, Indiana Jones, etc) were my favorites. Growing up, I was exposed to a wide variety of musical genres, and in exploring my horizons as a musician / music producer, I adore trying out various genres and genre mash-ups. Although I am still seeking what *is* my "signature style", I don't think I would ever give up on using and composing a myriad of songs across genres, rather than just sticking to one or two areas of music.
That being said, I also have a tendency to make music with a singular goal in mind; that goal being to: tell a story.
It doesn't overly matter if the story changes in interpretation from listener to listener. That's the beauty of the Arts. However, in my mind's eye, I've *always* got a story to tell, a feeling to emote, a vision...that I would hope others would appreciate and enjoy, as well.
This remix of Blizzard Buffalo's stage theme, 'The Frozen City', is no different, and story-telling was a big catalyst for not only the way the song is arranged, but the genre I wanted to employ and master. Another major component was me trying to give it that 'Trans-Siberian Orchestra' grandiose, emotive, action-orientated feel. It may not have the rock n' roll and heavy metal influence and opulence they give (all the bells and whistles of hard rock married with orchestra, because I elected to stick with pure orchestra with synths rather than electric guitars), but I wanted to push for that pull and strength to uplift and give a solid foundation for the story-telling.
Mega Man--as a series--has always been one that has both fascinated me and I have been a huge fan of since the very first one for the NES. In honesty, on surface level, there's not a whole lot of story to draw from. It's very episodic, with "the same villain every week" vibe to it in each game. Same dude; be it Dr. Wily, or Sigma (and his derivative forms), or Gate (MMX), or Neo-X / Copy X (MM Zero), there's always some bent on destroying the world / mankind for some reason...be it general madness, a want for world domination, or reploid freedom. But I found--in curiously reading comic books and other stuff about the source material--it goes deeper than that, like many things in video games can do. And the one throughline that is present in and across all Mega Man media is that of great tragedy and sorrow. Blizzard Buffalo, (one of my favorite stage themes in the Mega Man X series), is no different...and as with many of the reploids turned Maverick, he was once a simple kind and gentle soul, who loved to make ice sculptures in his down-time acting as security for a ski resort, and who befriended a little boy in the neighboring village by turning his snowman's frown literally upside-down.
I decided to make a song dedicated and concentrated in those feelings of sorrow, and even the briefest elation to (temporary) joy in lieu of mimicking the tragedy for this reploid turned Maverick. I wanted it to be a poem--an ode (Ancient Greek tragedy)--complete with a Prologue, a Strophe, the Antistrophe, Epode and a further Epilogue akin to the stages of that kind of play. And, because I had done this for OCR's unofficial yearly Christmas album--(Volume 16...go check it out!)--mentally I made some parallels between Blizzard Buffalo and the dreaded Krampus demon from Xmas folklore, who comes in the night to punish misbehaving children. So...those are the metaphors and ideas that helped to formulate this piece, and I tried my best to describe these layered notions in my source breakdown write-up.
It is my sincere and greatest hope that people can feel these things in listening to this remix, and I pray that the philosophical ride is enjoyable.
I had such a fun time making this song and working on it, learning new and interesting techniques in mixing and producing orchestral music (thanks to Hemophiliac)! It wasn't my first rodeo with the genre, but it *certainly* won't be my last. ;3 This is the first song in the dozen or so I've done since I started trying to make my own and remix music that I've decided to revisit and tweak with the new skills, techniques and knowledge I've gained about arrangement, composition, mixing and (post)-production. The changes between the two versions (this and the one from the Christmas album) are pretty stark in contrast--for the better, I believe--and I think in light of some forward-thinking on how successful this has seemingly turned out, I'll begin to slowly pull others from the backburner, giving them a tune-up, too. So stay tuned, and let's hope for the best.
#Parts from the Source Used (all adjusted to F#Maj/A#Min):
* The Frozen City (Blizzard Buffalo's Stage Theme, Mega Man X3) =- [1.] Chiptune / Piano Synth (main melody, beginning @ 00:01)
- [2.] Bell / Chime Synth (pulse / intermittent harmony beat that turns to double-time, beginning @ 00:01)
- [3.] Percussive Beat / Drums (trio beat for rhythm, beginning @ 00:01)- Original source song/material is 40 seconds long, before repeat.
Source Breakdown:
PROLOGUE // The Beast is Awake (a Quartet; 00:00-01:28, 90 BPM)-
* 00:00-00:16 = foley & SFX of a harsh winter storm paired with heavy walking mechanical feet, stomping and plowing through the deep snow
* 00:16-00:48 = bells play very slow, incremental counter-melody notes that are similar to [1] source melody. Two cello synths and violin synths play newly-written harmony to back newly-written melody (played by the harp starting @ 00:48), albeit both parts are based from [1] & [2] of the source material; glockenspiel is the main percussive element.
* 00:48-01:20 = a louder cello synth "joins in" with the quartet of synths and harp to play an additional layer of melody, adding to the movement and feel of Blizzard Buffalo wandering the harsh tundra/taiga landscape in search of prey.
* 01:20-01:28 = chromatic scale chimes and the solo cello plays us into the STROPHE, via transition.
STROPHE // The Beast Watches and Wanders (a Duet; 01:28-02:04, 90 > 80 > 40 BPM)-
* 01:28-01:56 = the main parts of the source are shown on full display here, a flute, piano, strings in pizzicato and the unique cello playing [1], and the harp playing a modified [2] (changed from whole notes to quarter notes to fit the 4-bar measure/meter), with bell and pad backing; called a "duet" due to the unique cello and flute taking a sort of 'center stage'-feel, in driving the melody.
* 01:56-02:04 = transition with very Christmas/church-styled tubular bells and a triangle hit, accenting Blizzard Buffalo's deep breath as he spots said prey.
ANTISTROPHE // The Beast Rampages, and then, Slumbers (a Waltz; 02:04-03:38, 138 BPM)-
* 02:04-02:36 = tempo picks up as the piano synths are now the driving-force of the main melody [1], backed by an original countermelody of the full string section in pizzicato; harp continues to back melody playing the modified [2] and breathy pad.
* 02:36-03:34 = strings swell to become a full orchestra piece of one full repeat of purely the source, including full woodwind section (piccolo, flutes, clarinets and oboes) carrying melody with the strings (violins, viola, celli, bass and double bass); harmonies are played by full horns (tenor and bass trombones, trumpets, french and tuba) with bassoons; soft choir pairs with the pad; full timpani, cymbals and snares fill the percussive line with tambourines and bells; marimba plays [3] of the source material, as the triplet note rhythm for the waltz flow.
* 03:34-03:38 = strings and other instruments slowly start to drop off to mostly pizzicato, spiccato, staccato and tremolo elements carrying the speeding up piano key hits that slide into the next transitional phrase, into the next song phase; Blizzard Buffalo has frozen innocents, and low on energy from his tirade, he is forced to sleep, and to dream of what he once remembered.
EPODE // The Beast Dreams (a Jig; 03:38-04:31, 180 BPM)-
* 03:38-03:50 = two pianos play this newly crafted, modified version of [1], complete with a key shift from F# to A#m to denote not only the change in emotion, but the change in dance to a happy, elated, Christmas-spirited one; harp and dulcimer (carried over from the previous section, but changed from a mini synth to a fingered synth) simulate the marimba's triplets, but are shifted to a more upbeat rhythm of 6/8 timing (double-time on the 3/4); one piano is the melody and the other is countermelody (a more chorded structure).
* 03:50-03:53 = incoming choir synth, denoting the "epodical" call for the singers to come together in unison; they "sing" chords following the melody, but continue from their previous F# counterparts, simply at higher octaves, more towards the front of the soundscape and higher in volume.
* 03:53-04:21 = a celeste and pizzicato viola chime in to match the two pianos in a culmination to the finale.
* 04:21-04:31 = jig section fades to a solo piano after the crescendo to the repeat, changing from the source melody back to reprise the beginning harp melody once more (the original, newly-written melody that starts @ 00:48, beneath the celli and violins); Blizzard Buffalo dreamed of his past, of crafting delicate and intricate ice sculptures and playing happily with the village children, but now. . . .
EPILOGUE // The Beast Stirs unto Nightmare, then Sleeps Once More (a Music Box Solo; 04:31-05:04, 90 BPM)-
* 04:31-05:04 = from the end of the previous section, the foley & SFX start up again, winter winds blowing and Blizzard Buffalo grunting and panting in his unrest; the music box ditty, made up of a light key synth, music box synths and a hand bell play us out to the finish, continuing to reprise the harp melody from 00:48 till the end. He sleeps once more, only to stir once again and walk the path of (and as) a waking, unending nightmare.
---- MORE INFO / FURTHER NOTES ----
STROPHE ("Turn, Bend, Twist") = is a concept in versification which properly means a turn, as from one foot to another, or from one side of a chorus to the other. Praising and glorifying the beauty and power of an event or an individual intellectually and/or emotionally, (in this case, the subject being Blizzard Buffalo), the song matches this distinction, with the flute and cello providing an almost ethereal, enchanted envisioning or reimagining of the once-kind, yet powerful being, carried by the "song on the winter winds" from the PROLOGUE.
ANTISTROPHE ("A Turning Back") = the portion of an ode sung by the chorus in its returning movement from west to east in response to the strophe, which was sung from east to west. The strophe, which dwelt in triumphant accents on the beauty, power and ecstasy verse, is answered by the antistrophe, in a depressed and melancholy key, and can also be symbolized through ancient dance (hence the song's waltz tempo and cadence, use of F# as a melancholic key, as well as the heavy tone and almost dire seriousness of this section).
EPODE ("Singing To/Over; An Enchanter") = completion of the movement. In Ancient Greek odes, at a certain point in time, choirs, (which had chanted to right of the altar or stage, and then to left of it), combined and sang in unison, or permitted the coryphaeus to sing for them all, while standing in the center. In this remix, the song stresses the point of the coming end by said unification and differentiation of the melody, countermelody and harmony elements introduced earlier on, culminating in a dream-filled state in thoughts to happier times and greener pastures for the reploid before turning Maverick. The epode of the song is also emphasized by the increased volume and influence of the choir synths backing the jig-like dance, as if the "choir" has come together to sing the last stanzas in unison. -
-
Hiyo OCR,
I'm submitting the track I arranged for the SeeDs of Pandora album (3-11 For a Few Draws More). This is my first time submitting a track to OCR - I believe I followed everything in the instructions, but please let me know if I missed anything or if you need anything else from me. Thanks!-Brendan (Flake)Track File
Contact Information
Your ReMixer name: Flake
Your real name: Brendan Vavra
Your email address:
Your website(s): https://www.youtube.com/@BrendanVavra
Your userid: 37781
Submission Information
Name of game(s) arranged: Final Fantasy VIII
Name of arrangement: For a Few Draws More
Name of individual song(s) arranged: The Mission
Your own comments about the mix, for example the inspiration behind it, how it was made, how the source material was referenced in the arrangement, etc.
"For a Few Draws More" takes FFVIII's "The Mission" and transports it back to the wild west, drawing inspiration from Spaghetti Western master Ennio Morricone to reimagine the infamous train heist scene from the game. The arrangement adapts the original tune to a unique instrumentation, embellishing the melody and molding the harmony to better fit the Western theme, while also taking some vocal cues from in-game dialogue (Yo, the blue! And the red!).
I've been following OCR since the early 2000s, and I'm happy to finally contribute my first arrangement 20 years later! A big thank you to everyone who provided their performances to this project:
Credits:
Flake: arrangement, jaw harp, whistling, recorder, banjo, harmonica, lyrics, vocals, production, mixing
Cyril the Wolf: acoustic guitar
Audio Mocha: electric guitar
dpMusicman: snare drum
TSori: trumpet
Kyle Mesce (Sorven): trumpet
Zack Parrish: strings
Ian Martyn: vocals
Calem Destiny: vocals
Treyt: vocals
Lucas Guimaraes: vocals
Hemophiliac: vocals
Source breakdown (source for reference https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxRUMpeoyOQ ?
0:00-0:22 - source melody (part A) on whistle repeated 2x with slight embellishment (0:27-0:35 from source)
0:22-0:30 - *augmentation of string part from source intro (0:09-0:10 from source)
0:30-0:35 - original variation of source melody (part A)
0:36-1:12 - variation of 0:00-0:35 (part A + intro string source), melody on guitar with additional embellishments, original counterlines on recorder and whistling underneath original string/guitar chords with driving ostinato rhythm (variation of 0:00-0:09 from source)
1:12-1:19 - original transition
1:20-1:26 - source intro with added string part from source (0:09-0:12), plus vocal chanting from in-game dialogue at time source is played
1:27-2:10 - source melody (part A 2nd time) on trumpet with additional embellishments and original counterlines (0:27-1:13 from source)
2:11-2:22 - original transition
2:22-2:46 - *whistling and harmonica trade embellished source melody (part
over original chords/bass (1:13-1:21 from source)
2:47-2:58 - *straight source melody trading continues over original chords/bass (1:13-1:21 from source)
2:59-3:05 - original transition
3:06-3:24 - source part B (melody, chords, and bass) with original banjo part (1:13-1:31 from source)
3:24-3:43 - source part A' (1:31-1:51 from source)
3:43-4:18 - source melody (part A) on vocals, recorder/harmonica, and trumpet (0:27-1:04 from source)
4:18-4:32 - variation of 0:22-0:35 (final buildup)
4:33-4:54 (End) - original outro -
ReMixer & real name: Eino Keskitalo
Names of games arranged: Ninja Gaiden (Xbox) & Knight 'n' Grail (C64)Name of Arrangement: Ninjan graaliNames of individual songs arranged:- Aquaduct from Ninja Gaiden (Xbox): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9qD2WA2CxQ
- Title Screen from Knight 'n' Grail (C64): https://haxel.bandcamp.com/track/title-screen
- Ghost Castle from Knight 'n' Grail (C64): https://haxel.bandcamp.com/track/ghost-castle
Hello again panel!Another oldie but goldie. This was my piece from KNGI Game Duels EP vol.1, that I've touched up for the OCR submission. I took a 10 year break doing that. After the break, I listened to the track and thought "hey, this is actually quite good". Thanks to Guifrog, Rozovian and the WIP VIP Hemophiliac for feedback during these years! I did do quite a bit of sanding away at the mix before submitting, but it was really close to done when it ended up on the backburner. Oh well, it's here now!There is some story behind this track! KNGI Game Duels was an EP of mash-ups.. I think it was the brainchild of Dj Mokram back in the day on the KNGI forums, after a few other album projects were hosted there. It had a cool theme of every arranger pitting two character types out of three against each other in a piece of music. I picked a couple of games I had played recently. To represent ninja, I picked Ninja Gaiden Sigma on the PS3 that I played through with a friend around then. The aquaduct level music stuck in my mind as being pretty cool. It turned out to be quite challenging to transcribe and arrange, but today I think I did a pretty good job! To represent warrior, I picked a homebrew C64 game Knight 'n' Grail.. which by now is about 15 years old? I'd played it a bit and enjoyed the mood & music. The Ninja Gaiden source tune is from the original Xbox version. I think the Sigma version is a bit different, but maybe I couldn't find a reference source for it so I went with the original.Source breakdown:
- The arpeggio from Ghost Castle plays almost throughout
- The two-note figure that plays in Aquaduct 0:00-0:38 is played 0:00-1:00 (though in 6/8 and 7/8 instead of 4/4)
- Dropping the bass to C# in Aquaduct at 0:20 is reflected at 0:45-1:00 (although the bass does come back to D# in the arrangement before going back to C#)
- The melody from Title Screen plays at 0:28-1:00
- The melody from Ghost Castle at 0:47-> is played in the background at 0:45-1:00
- Aqueduct 0:39-> is approximated at 1:16-2:07
- The two-note figure from Aquaduct plays at 2:07-2:38
- The melody from Ghost Castle is played from 2:07-> The bass also follows Ghost Castle chord changes.
That's about it. Cheers!--Eino -
Howdy,
Remixer name: Sirenstar (feat. Jorito)Real name: Natalie A.Email:Credits: vocals, MIDI piano, arrangement, productionSocials: beacons.ai/sirenstarJorito:Real name: Jorrith SchaapCredits: mixing, MIDI percussion, production, effectsSocials: https://linktr.ee/joritomusicSubmission information:
Name of Game(s) Remixed: Final Fantasy 8
Name of Arrangement: Into the Singularity
Names of songs arranged: Compression of Time (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqjeb-CQvuQ)
Link to the remix:
Comments about the mix:Sirenstar:I've been obsessed with this track since FF8's first PS1 release. It's all "f your tonality/harmony, gently place into dumpster while you do a bunch of tritones and parallel fifths (aka crime). But make it fashion." Yeah, sign me up.So, you may be asking yourself, "What else was Sirenstar doing in 1999?" The answer is, getting into j-rock but also listening to "Adiemus Greatest Hits" on repeat.
Eternally grateful to Jorito for coming on board to mix and help refine the arrangement, all while he's been co-chairing the entire album. He has produced a total of 58328063854784 arrangements though so it was just another day for him XD. If you recall the Terranigma album from a few years ago, he was like yeah I feel like making some synthwave and then suddenly *Miami 1984 sunset grid lines palm trees intensifies*.
Normally I'm a very lyrics-forward composer but for this arrangement, I wanted the song structure to take center stage. I haven't worked with glossolalia much before so I wondered what I was going to "say" exactly. The answer was pretty simple -- "when are you?" Because tbh when is anyone lol.
As for the ending, a gentle reminder from myself and the SeeDs of Pandora album chairs Jorito and Darkflamewolf: please not Compress the Time; nobody wants that and now we have to fix it, no thanks to you.
Jorito:
Natalie has collaborated with me on a few tracks over the past few years, and it was high time I returned the favor. She had an idea for an arrangement of "Compression of Time", and already tried it a few times herself before, but needed a hand to help execute it. So I offered to help her out by mixing it and sprinkling some production magic fairy dust on her track to make her vision come to life.
Somewhere along the line came the idea to add some static to the track, as a kind of compression of time noise. I took that idea and ran with it, adding all kinds of static, distortion, glitching and reverse samples to make one of the weirdest endings of a track I ever did. Fun!
Hope you like it, and I'm stoked that Natalie finally has her vision realized and her track released!
Lyrics:
There are no lyrics, this is my first foray into glossolalia (aka ConLang, constructed language), however the "words" were based on the phrase "when are you?"
Cheers,
Natalie -
Sometimes I go into a song having a genre in mind. Other times I let the song guide me. Since I was on a tight deadline, I let the song guide me. The whole song pointed to jazz. The drums felt like something out of a spy movie. The bass felt like it belonged in a jazz standard. The chords itched for some (minor) reharmonization. I wanted to go short and sweet both to fit the genre and because I've been practicing doing more in less time. Hearing multiple people say they wish this lasted longer felt incredible.
While this is derivative of the source (similar to JohnStacy's "Reflecting Pool" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcxrPNbBCrM ), except with the tempo sped up), I wanted to be faithful to both the Bebop genre and Galbadia Garden. It was a hard balance to strike, but I feel subtle nods to the original track the whole way through and lowering the BPM from Bebop tracks (Bebop is usually 300 bpm+) helped find that compromise. The track also does a good job teasing you for more, while throwing in some amazing musicianship makes for a short and sweet track leaving everyone wanting a little more.
Thanks to Dionté George for contributing an AMAZING Saxophone lead, dpMusicman for the wonderful piano that has so many parts that fit well, theBitterRoost for doing an amazing job on those drums, and MegadudeXD for some extra drum fills.
Source breakdown:
0:00 - 0:10: Intro
0:23 - 0:46: Both the saxophone and the vibraphone are playing the main melody. The Bass is also carrying the original bass line
0:46 - 1:09: While the Tenor Saxophone completes the first solo, the Marimba is playing the bass part from the original song
1:09 - 1:32: The Vibraphone is playing the original main melody along with the Tenor Saxophone again
1:32 - 1:55: The Tenor Saxophone completes the second solo while The Marimba is playing the bass part again; this time doubled an octave to be heard better among the chaos
1:55 - 2:18: The Saxophone plays the original melody until about 2:07 and slowly transitions to doing its own thing. The Marimba is playing the bass, but this time in one octave. This is because the Upright Bass is also back to the original bass part. The Vibraphone is also playing the original melody the whole way through. -
Contact Information:
-
- Your ReMixer Name: The Vodoú Queen (ft. Zack Parrish)
- Your Real Name: Angélique Vodoú
- Your Email Address:
-
Your Website: https://thevodouqueen.
newgrounds.com/ - Your User ID # on our forums: 37001
Submission Information:
-
- Name of Game(s) Arranged: Final Fantasy VIII (PS1)
- Name of Arrangement: "Existence Still Denied"
- Name of Individual Song(s) Arranged: 'The Extreme' (and inserts from 'FITHOS LUSEC WECOS VINOSEC', 'Premonition', 'Force Your Way', 'The Castle' & 'Prelude')
- Additional information about game including composer, system, etc. (if it has not yet been added to the site):
- 1. FINAL FANTASY VIII OST; Track 9 (Disc 4) - The Extreme; Artist(s): Nobuo Uematsu; Release Date: 10 March 1999; Label: DigiCube | FINAL FANTASY VIII OST; Track 12 (Disc 2) - FITHOS LUSEC WECOS VINOSEC; Artist(s): Nobuo Uematsu; Release Date: 10 March 1999; Label: DigiCube | FINAL FANTASY VIII OST; Track 14 (Disc 2) - Premonition; Artist(s): Nobuo Uematsu; Release Date: 10 March 1999; Label: DigiCube |
- FINAL FANTASY VIII OST; Track 10 (Disc 1) - Force Your Way; Artist(s): Nobuo Uematsu; Release Date: 10 March 1999; Label: DigiCube | FINAL FANTASY VIII OST; Track 6 (Disc 4) - The Castle; Artist(s): Nobuo Uematsu; Release Date: 10 March 1999; Label: DigiCube & FINAL FANTASY VIII OST; Track 11 (Disc 4) - Ending Theme (inc. The Prelude, in minor key); Artist(s): Nobuo Uematsu; Release Date: 10 March 1999; Label: DigiCube
-
- Link to the original soundtrack (if it is not one of the sound archives already available on the site):
-
1. https://finalfantasy.fandom.
com/wiki/Final_Fantasy_VIII:_ Original_Soundtrack -
- Your own comments about the mix, for example the inspiration behind it, how it was made, etc.:
And so, we once again reach the apex of the mountain...
It's been almost a year since I revisited my half of this album's 'The Extreme' remix, "All Existence Denied". I hadn't planned on revisiting it, nor planned to add a revised version of it to the 5th bonus disc. *All* of this came from a private DM with Zack, and him asking about the remix and what my contribution to the collaborative effort was, directly. I do not think he had even heard the remix itself of the original 69, but I gave him an MP3 render that I had to dig out of the recesses of my old Seagate HD (the PC I had done the work has since imploded, although thank the gods the hard drive still worked!)
And then, he asked: "would you like to reignite your vision for the 5th disc?"
I was a bit hesitant; partially because of just how insanely large the DAW file was alone (145 tracks... it wasn't easy mixing all of those beforehand...), and how intricate the BPM changes were within said file... and he was asking this about 3-4 days *before the due date* for our work to be mastered and turned in for evaluation. But after some kindly chatter, I relinquished, and said: "f*ck it, why not?"
Not only did I want to —after thinking on it— go back and see if what I've learned in mixing and post-production since after its inception could actually crank it from that 11 threshold to a full 12 banger (and I hope it did!), but to see if I could utilize *solely* the EDM aspects of the original, and kind of re-add my original plans for the piece itself. I believe what Capt'n Shred and I had done was beautifully married together, and a great, solid remix that went beyond the realms of usual remixes for "The Extreme", and we had accomplished not falling into the category of sounding 'like another The Black Mages' rendition of the source.
But... what else could *I* bring to the table? How could I make it evolve and grow, and in turn, show my growth as a musician and music producer?
Zack and I batted ideas back and forth. He implored me to completely rework the Interlude/Trap section from the original and have it much more focused, much more simplified - and to add a rap to it!! And well, since Darkflamewolf mentioned before that they *really* thought a 'Sorceress rap' would be cool, and I've done it once before... I figured to try and put more of what bit of vocal / singing talent I've got and do my best at it. Synths were strengthened, leads and basses I tried to tweak and fix by having better call/response action to each other. FX chains were re-examined and ripped apart and envelopes built back again...
... And here we are, once again at the final precipice of this 10 min 'magnum opus'.
My hope is that this shows a stark contrast to the original, but also is an homage *to* the original by having those callbacks, whilst being a remix in its own right. I hope it keeps people's interest, and they find something new or something they hadn't noticed before, every time they listen to the song. I did my best to make it distinct and have something different and fresh every time the vibe and flow switched gears, and I'm actually very proud of the vocal work I did with this, and all that I've managed to accomplish in wrangling the Frankensteinian beast I had created. . .
I cannot express how thankful I am for Zack coming to me, just having a talk with me, and wanting me to push myself, express myself, and get my work out there. If it wasn't for him, (or his fantastic ability to fix my horrible transposing and MIDI mistakes, or his truly kick-ass, epic drum creations, OR those wonderful beginning sound effects that lead into the Overture!), I don't think this dream would have come true. The entirety of this album has been one hell of an experience —for better, and almost not at all for worse— and what I've learned in the interim, and the extremely kind people I've met and became friends with has been one of the best experiences in my 30-or-so-years of living on this Earth...
Thank you all, from the bottom of my heart. Please enjoy, and always remember...
Your Existence. Is still. Denied.
#Parts from the Source Used (all adjusted to The Extreme's key signature as F major/D minor):
* "Fithos, Lusec, Wecos, Vinosec" A = 00:33-00:50
* "Fithos, Lusec, Wecos, Vinosec" B = 00:59-01:26
* "The Extreme" = whole song at various points
* "Premonition" = 00:00-00:23
* "Force Your Way" = 00:00-00:12 (including the rising bell/chime 'arpeggio' in the original source that plays @ 00:50-00:56)
* "The Castle" = 00:26-01:20
* "Prelude" = 00:25-00:44
Source Breakdown:
* 00:00-00:29 = 'Overture' plays with music box instrument, glass piano and synth choirs playing "FLWV" A
* 00:30-01:01 = 'Overture' plays "FLWV" B, both parts including the spoken choir words 'Fithos', 'Lusec', 'Wecos' and 'Vinosec' by AlterEgo 'singers'
* 01:01-02:52 = 'Intro' plays "The Extreme" from ~00:00-01:20 of the original source, with added lyrics/spoken words taken directly from Ultimecia's lines in-game (spoken by VQ)
* 02:53-06:09 = 'Main' plays "The Extreme" from ~01:21-03:50, with additionals and switch-ups to keep the source active and fresh (e.g. added arpeggio run 'hype train' @ 04:28, which mimics the main leads); 06:03-06:30 is slightly different from the original, as the leads have changed, but it follows the same/similar bassline and length of that section
* 03:04-03:27 = "Premonition" pads underpin the rise-up to the main core of "The Extreme"
* 03:57-04:09 = "Force Your Way" accents the soft 'drop' in "The Extreme" in this section, before the 'hype train' begins
* 06:23-07:18 = "The Castle" plays upfront and center, mainly by synth harpsichord and long strings, accented by pizzicato strings, hand-bells and a piano key/arp playing bits of "The Extreme" Intro (from ~00:00-01:20); "The Castle" is slightly modified from its original source, mostly incorporating the organ and piano from the original, and an all-new rap written and sung by VQ
* 07:26-08:59 = "The Extreme" picks back up, sliding back to its (modified) Verse->Bridge->Chorus structure, inclusive of a reintroduction of the music box motif (from the 'Overture'), and an 8-bit shift in vibe, synth and style, before the finale
* 08:34-08:59 = "Prelude" plays softly in-behind the final notation of "The Extreme", utilizing sweet bells and chimes to hint at that mystical feeling every time you hear the series' main theme in any Final Fantasy-related game
* 09:00-09:31 = wrapping it up back to "FLWV" choir lines and Ultimecia-based dialogue, until the end where the song's title is said (as homage to its counterpart remix with Capt'n Shred, "All Existence Denied", which was named after an actual line of dialogue said by Ultimecia during the final fight -
-
FYI, this is the arrangement that directly inspired the arrangement-of-an-arrangement put forward by the directors for the second album mixflood. Part of the vote is determining if the two versions stand apart enough from one another. -LT
New Link
*ADDENDUM: This resub I had mastered myself with some pointers from Zack...also tried to lean more into the Williams/Zimmer vibe/feel of the film-score orchestration for textures, tonal / cleaning EQs and compression, an added piano flare @ 2:36 and the new ending. This end-product is complete with every single piece of critique from the Judges and #Workshop server on Discord actioned; that is inclusive of talking to people in private. My hope is people recognize it as more than just a "sound upgrade" from the original, be it from the SeeDs album or the first submission--this is with every fiber of my current abilities poured into this and about a good 3 days' worth of consistent tweaking and fine-tuning (and probably insomnia) in the hopes it pushes this beyond the bar / expectations.... Cheers and to good fortune on round 2 (technically 3), lol.
Original Link
Contact Information:
-
- Your ReMixer Name: The Vodoú Queen (& Zack Parrish)
- Your Real Name: Angélique Vodoú
- Your Email Address:
- Your Website: https://thevodouqueen.newgrounds.com/
- Your User ID # on our forums: 37001
Submission Information:
-
- Name of Game(s) Arranged: Final Fantasy VIII (PS1)
- Name of Arrangement: "The Definition of Lunacy"
- Name of Individual Song(s) Arranged: 'Tears of the Moon' (and inserts from 'Intruders' & 'Blue Sky')
- Additional information about game including composer, system, etc. (if it has not yet been added to the site):
- 1. FINAL FANTASY VIII OST; Track 18 (Disc 3) - Tears of the Moon; Artist(s): Nobuo Uematsu; Release Date: 10 March 1999; Label: DigiCube |
- FINAL FANTASY VIII OST; Track 13 (Disc 2) - Intruders; Artist(s): Nobuo Uematsu; Release Date: 10 March 1999; Label: DigiCube & FINAL FANTASY VIII OST; Track 4 (Disc 3) - Blue Sky; Artist(s): Nobuo Uematsu; Release Date: 10 March 1999; Label: DigiCube
-
- Link to the original soundtrack (if it is not one of the sound archives already available on the site):
- 1. https://finalfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Final_Fantasy_VIII:_Original_Soundtrack
-
- Your own comments about the mix, for example the inspiration behind it, how it was made, etc.:
This song began as a premise of filling out content for the 5th, last hour album of SeeDs of Pandora... and I fully believe it became something more than that.
Lucas Guimaraes came to me with a proposal on Discord DMs if I wanted to help out with his and Zack Parrish's idea to expand on the original 69 songs, to beat the OCR record of "longest/biggest album/project done" on the site. His reasoning? I can throw out something pretty decent in a very short span of time. I found that a compliment to be proud of, considering he seemed well-pleased with what I had managed with his own project in the works. And--irony notwithstanding--*this* song ended up being almost kin to that one.
I asked him: "what sources *haven't been* covered yet from the FF8 OST?"
He had three answers;
Intruders. Blue Sky. Tears of the Moon.
I immediately went onto YouTube to listen to these sources, and laughed. Not because they were bad, but they were incredibly short. Maybe 20-30 second snippets, two of which were made for cutscenes/dialogue-inserts (Tears and Sky), and one being mostly done in-between the sneaking segments and montages of the game (Intruders)... but was comprised of nothing but bassline and a couple of string plucks. Once again, I found myself with very small, very short source material... that I somehow needed to make into a full arrangement. He did say, "you don't have to", to which I replied: "challenge accepted", and immediately went to work.
Few hours down the line, few additions made, few cuts to the sources... and we had something. This one in particular, I wanted to do a different bend to the genre. Still along the lines of the one I did for Lucas' project (futuristic/cyberpunk synthwave a la something from Blade Runner or The Terminator), but with a unique spin. And then I once again revisited the OST for TRON: Legacy... and it hit me.
*Orchestral* Synthwave, with heavy aspects of the big budget Film Score feel. It was something I never tried before, and being a huge fan of Ursine Vulpine (Frederick Lloyd)'s work with Annaca for film and tv, I thought it would marry quite well to the vibe of the three sources, seeing as they come from Final Fantasy VIII's prolific cutscenes. The biggest inspiration for this take/remix is the cover of "Wicked Game" by Ursine Vulpine. My hope is--in the end--that others will think the same. I'm really proud of this one, and think it comes out full of passion and strength in using (what I felt) were the key, recognizable bits of each source to swell into the film score-inspired opus I set out to create...
A big shout out and thank you to Zack Parrish for helping me give this the icing on the cake it needed (he did the metal guitar work and provided the 'beating heart', very cinematic drum samples! Those additions gave the piece so much edge and life, and I cannot thank him enough for those!) Also a shout out to Lucas (ThirdKoopa) for believing in me, my work, and giving me an opportunity to submit more to this lovely album (and let those last unclaimed tracks see the light of day!) Please enjoy the bonus track(s), from all of us who participated in this 11th hour 5th disc...
#Parts from the Source Used (all adjusted to the new key signature as Ab major/F minor):
* "Tears of the Moon" = 00:00-00:31 (including arpeggio)
* "Intruders" A = 00:00-00:20 (bell percs in source changed to bass plucks in remix)
* "Intruders" B = 00:00-00:12 (synthy plucks/pizzicato strings in source changed to bells in remix)
* "Blue Sky" A = 00:02-00:07 (harp plucks in source changed to grand piano keys in remix)
* "Blue Sky" B = 00:17-00:20 (flute in source changed to soft piano arp in remix)
* "Blue Sky" C = 00:23-00:30 (low string synth in source changed to small celli section in remix)
* "Blue Sky" D = 00:30-00:34 (harp arpeggio in source changed to bell arpeggio in remix)
* "Blue Sky" E = 00:40-00:48 (strings repeated pattern in source changed to synth horn in remix)
Source Breakdown:* 00:00-01:12 = remix begins with "Intruders" A, highlighting the beginning with quaint synthy bass plucks, and denoting the remix's half-synthwave nature
* 00:09-02:24 = "Tears of the Moon" arpeggio played as a synth harpsichord can be heard 'approaching' from a distance, in the background
* 00:33-01:15 = "Blue Sky" A is played by low piano synth
* 00:44-00:48 = "Blue Sky" B is played by a warm EP synth, briefly, almost whimsically leading up to the major meat of the piece (violins playing accompaniment chords)
* 01:12-01:57 = string sections and various pianos play "Tears of the Moon", with additional live guitar and synth violins to strengthen the piece and give it a solid base with cinematic drums
* 02:00-02:24 = violins play more of "Tears", accented by "Intruders" B as bell-hits, denoting the on-coming switch in pace and vibe in the remix
* 02:25-02:48 = we have a 'break' in the remix, away from the main sources, but staccato celli play "Blue Sky" C as backing with the ambience pads
* 02:49-03:36 = 'build-up'/'Interlude' continues, primarily with violin accompaniment; @ 03:27, "Blue Sky" E begins the crescendo back to the main verse/chorus structure of "Tears", and this is capped by "Blue Sky" D giving this section a glorious send-off via beautiful bell arpeggio
* 03:37-05:00 = rest of the song is "Tears", supported by rhythm guitars and an added melody played via Kontakt Hypha key synths and LABS choir -
-
Contact Information:
-
- Your ReMixer Name: The Vodoú Queen (ft. dpMusicman, GameroftheWinds, SirCorn, Shea's Violin & TSori)
- Your Real Name: Angélique Vodoú
- Your Email Address:
-
Your Website: https://thevodouqueen.
newgrounds.com/ - Your User ID # on our forums: 37001
Submission Information:
-
- Name of Game(s) Arranged: Final Fantasy VIII (PS1)
- Name of Arrangement: "Even Ill-Omens Need A Break"
- Name of Individual Song(s) Arranged: 'Premonition' (and a short insert from 'Succession of Witches')
- Additional information about game including composer, system, etc. (if it has not yet been added to the site):
- 1. FINAL FANTASY VIII OST; Track 14 (Disc 2) - Premonition; Artist(s): Nobuo Uematsu; Release Date: 10 March 1999; Label: DigiCube &
- FINAL FANTASY VIII OST; Track 6 (Disc 2) - SUCCESSION OF WITCHES; Artist(s): Nobuo Uematsu; Release Date: 10 March 1999; Label: DigiCube
-
- Link to the original soundtrack (if it is not one of the sound archives already available on the site):
-
1. https://finalfantasy.fandom.
com/wiki/Final_Fantasy_VIII:_ Original_Soundtrack -
- Your own comments about the mix, for example the inspiration behind it, how it was made, etc.:
Okay... Firstly, this track--out of the *three* I've done for the album--I think is my proudest labor of love. ...I don't know if I should say or call it my current "magnum opus", but it does feel like a great culmination of time and effort I've taken since September 2020 to learn the art of music production, theory, and the science of mixing. It's almost like...it has all finally started to click (to a degree, still lots to learn, mistakes made, and help along the way), but the encouragement and freedom to express has really pushed my all and my knowledge with this remix of "Premonition".Similar to FLWV, this started out quite small. I was already transposing / transcribing / chopping up FLWV and Premonition's MIDIs for some initial ideas for "The Extreme" remix, working *a lot* with the Sorceresses' themes from the original soundtrack, (I've got an odd interest and keenness on their lore, theories, image and allegories between the game and real-life source inspiration.) I placed FLWV's haunting piano-hits into the beginnings of Prem's intimidating soundscape, and...paired with me messing with various vibraphone/bell/chime-sounds from LABS and Kontakt, and making a lot of Lo-Fi Hip-Hop tracks recently, it turned into this.My initial idea for "Premonition" was, actually, some sort of hilarious version in Ska / Reggae. I *might* still take up doing that as a remix, but playing with this arrangement's MIDI came smack in the middle of me doing a piece for Newgrounds' NGUAC and NGADM--at the same time. In juggling those, I turned to studying old Blues and Jazz records--some of the stuff my parents used to listen to when I was a kid (Pat Metheny, being a big one). I was looking for melodical inspiration, and some stuff by The Fugees, Nujabes, and other similar-esque Hip-Hop artists for the 'vibes' and atmosphere. Therein came the *spark* to do Prem in that genre, instead, with a hefty lean towards Jazz (I was in an 'everything must have sax/brass' mood. xD) Jazz--but with a creepy sound design fitting for a sorceress...I really do hope people can hear the difference and my skills getting better and stronger step-by-step, with each of the three songs, and I hope people enjoy them all. This was a blessing on all fronts: from the timing, to the happy volunteering of live performances, to the 'lightning in a bottle'-effect I felt in once again embracing and listening to several artists I truly love and aspire to. John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Yusef Lateef, Maze, Jerome Najee Rasheed--it was a pleasure and an honor to try and do something akin to their iconic sound roots, styles and leitmotifs, and to equally come out with something I feel is very "me"--in developing my own style--as a chaotically-filled bundle of soulful funkyness.
Once again, shout-out to Jorito and DFW for giving me the chance and opportunity to do this. And a HUMONGOUS cheers to dpMusicman, GameroftheWinds, SirCorn, SheaButter and TSori for their positively wonderful live recordings woven into this song. I really don't think it would have came this far and been this unique without their input.Thank you so much, from the bottom of my heart.
[*NOTE: Also, FWIW, as I guess a bit of easter egg about the remix's title, "ill-omen" is a reference to witches/warlocks/sorcerers/etc. being referred to as such in Europe and in the Colonial-era US, with the hunts and trials. Many times, black birds and cats were associated with them (like Ultimecia's wings), and were said to be a prelude to bad tidings, and were associated heavily with witchcraft. I also tried to carefully choose the ad-libs in the song to tie to the sorceresses in-game, with their ability of foresight and independence/disdain from and for society.] #Parts from the Source Used (all adjusted to Premonition's key signature as Bb major/G minor):
* "Premonition" = whole song at various points
* "Succession of Witches" = 00:00-00:15 (piano keys in the original source turned into marimba/glockenspiel in remix)
Source Breakdown:
* 00:24-01:10 = the beginning of "Premonition", with additional vocal ad-libs/chops and live violin paired with synth violins and acoustic guitar
* 01:11-02:05 = paired marimbas/glockenspiel plays slowed-down versions of "Succession of Witches" beginning keys, slightly modified, along with "Premonition" main and additional live instruments improvising with the melody (e.g. flute)
* 02:06-02:50 = live horns and sax paired with synths and live flute bridge up to the main chorus of "Premonition"
* 02:51-04:07 = plays on-par with "Premonition" original source, albeit with additional live instruments, Hip-Hop drum vibes, Lo-Fi organ and castanets
* 04:08-05:01 = fully improvised section--'Interlude'--the horn parts written with "Premonition" melody in mind; upright bass and guitar strums play "Succession of Witches" (~00:00-00:15) as soft plucks in the background
* 05:02-05:28 = we end with the recognizable verse of "Premonition", as if we started right back at the very beginning after the record skipped. . . -
-
Contact Information:
-
- Your ReMixer Name: The Vodoú Queen (& Rockos)
- Your Real Name: Angélique Vodoú
- Your Email Address:
-
Your Website: https://thevodouqueen.
newgrounds.com/ - Your User ID # on our forums: 37001
Submission Information:
-
- Name of Game(s) Arranged: Final Fantasy VIII (PS1)
- Name of Arrangement: "Filthy Lies / Wasted Virtue"
- Name of Individual Song(s) Arranged: 'Fithos Lusec Wecos Vinosec'
- Additional information about game including composer, system, etc. (if it has not yet been added to the site):
- 1. FINAL FANTASY VIII OST; Track 12 (Disc 2) - FITHOS LUSEC WECOS VINOSEC; Artist(s): Nobuo Uematsu; Release Date: 10 March 1999; Label: DigiCube
-
- Link to the original soundtrack (if it is not one of the sound archives already available on the site):
-
1. https://finalfantasy.fandom.
com/wiki/Final_Fantasy_VIII:_ Original_Soundtrack -
- Your own comments about the mix, for example the inspiration behind it, how it was made, etc.:
Let me preface this by saying that sharing my thoughts and processes (i.e. how I compose or arrange music, art, or fiction) is extremely hard to put into words. Sometimes, it all comes in a flurry of rapid flashes of creativity from something I've enjoyed recently in a videogame, or heard on Spotify, and I want to try my hand at it. Other times, it's hard and painstaking, like pulling teeth...where I have *zero* clue what the hell I'm doing, how I'm going to achieve it, or why. More times than not, however, I have a (really) bad tendency to overshoot an idea (or several, simultaneously!), having a solid direction in mind, but unable to put pen to paper to make it all sound even remotely how I had envisioned it in the first place.This song, "Filthy Lies / Wasted Virtue", came off the back of me getting so burned out between music competitions and two other songs on the album, I just went, "ahh, eff' it..." threw the base MIDI together on Reaper, and sat staring at it for an hour. That hour passed, and after trying too hard to fit the pieces of the puzzle together by force, I metaphorically flipped the table, and stripped the MIDI to its barest bones (about 4 tracks): bass, lead melody, harmony line, and some other synth pluck thing. And then, I muted everything bar the song's OG bass.I dug that bassline.I *loved* that bassline.After I played with some sequenced bass synths from Hybrid 3, that single track struck a chord with me. And therein were the beginnings of something fruitful.I believe the old tried and true Bob Ross adage really describes this remix in full. From that one bass track & its harmonics honing in what I wanted to do with it, to having found further inspiration from listening to a couple of Infected Mushroom albums earlier that same day, to the random friendly convo about IM I had with my wonderful (not-quite-yet-at-the-time) collab partner a day or two prior in the general Discord group chat...it all just, fits, and honestly, I am proud of my contribution and ability to bring this song into a new light.Phew...sorry. TL;DR -- I guess with all that said, my last few words are: keep persevering despite your self-doubts, even if there's no current clear path to your endgame. Big shout-out to the heads of this project, Darkflamewolf and Jorito, for pushing me to challenge myself, helping with their robust critiques when we needed it most, and even allowing me the benefit (even as a first timer to these big project-type collaborations in general) to do THREE (very) differently styled songs for this headbanger of an album. Huge thank you and props to my new psytrance-loving buddy, Rockos, for his stellar additions to the track and advice on how to add more depth and fine-tuning to synths and low-end sounds. And thank *YOU*, for listening to our finished work. Hope you enjoy!
And always remember: "We don't make mistakes. We just have happy accidents."
#Parts from the Source Used (all adjusted to FLWV's key signature as C major/A minor):
* "Fithos, Lusec, Wecos, Vinosec" = whole song at various points
Source Breakdown:
* 00:00-02:08 = beginning of "FLWV", in full, with additionals (e.g. VQ vocals intermixed with AlterEgo vocals)
* 02:09-02:21 = short 'break-down'/'build-up', entering a drop before continuing with the source
* 02:22-05:01 = remix follows the source pretty keenly, enhancing moments when the song changes from verse->chorus by virtue of SFX, vocal effects, and synth glitching
* 05:02-06:37 = a bit of improvising here until the end, incorporating the main choral source elements (~01:00-01:32) of "FLWV"; the drop off @ 05:43 switches the song to something totally different, and then we circle back to the elements (~01:33-02:07) of the main source @ 05:57 of the remix, to end the song with -
-
Title: Witches Be WitchesSource: Succession of Witches (FF8)This track...is the result of being burnt out. By this point I had already hyped up the idea of doing a 13th hour bonus disc... I say 13th because the 11th hour had already passed and DFW and Jorito had graciously half agreed to do the bonus disc. Even convinced Jorito to submit one of his own bonus tracks somehow. And before this track I had conjured up Time Will Compress but was a lot of finesse to be done in a couple of days... anywho... I started this one... then hated where it was going from lack of desire to continue existing so I switched focus to helping Angelique with her bonus tracks. Fast forward a few days(we only had 10 days to get this disc done) and I see the finish line of having the album hit 80 tracks overall... so I forced myself to get this one done. Having just had miles long conversations with Angelique and working with her on her own tracks I decided to utilize her voice in this track, as simple as the part may be... but it added a layer to the track that helped round it out in the end. Was she singing a single note and just chanting fithos lusec wecos vinosec? Yes. But... she did a great job at it.0:00 to 0:39 - motif pull from original0:40 to 0:49 - melody variant pull from original0:52 to 0:55 - melody from original1:02 to 1:06 - melody from original1:11 to 1:16 - melody from original1:21 to 1:25 - melody from original1:30 to 1:35 - melody from original1:49 to 2:18 - motif from original(like intro), fithos lusec also references original2:20 to 2:37 - Variation of alternate melody from the original2:38 to 2:56 - Alternate motif from the original2:57 to 3:05 - Alternate motif still but added variance of main melody over it3:06 to 3:10 - Another alternate melody from the source3:11 to 3:20 - Reprisal of main melody from earlier3:21 to end - piano playing main melody but glitchy
-
Title: Time Will Compress
Source: Compression of Time (FF8)0:12 to 0:54 - Main melody / harmony from original0:55 to 1:20 - Main melody from original, as well as backing motif from original1:26 to 1:35 - Piano playing harp part from original1:35 to 2:05 - Horns playing main melody while backing motif continues throughout2:06 to 2:38 - Eyes on Me cameo with backing motif in bg, piano plays harp thing again toward end of this section2:39 to 2:47 - Backing motif still2:47 to 3:02 - Backing motif while choir sings fithos lusec3:04 to 4:39 - motif and main melody continue playing over this long build / climax4:40 to 4:42 - slight variant of main motif, notes are the same but loses the syncopation4:43 to end - Piano plays harp part from original -
Title: Make Them Bleed
MAKE. THEM. BLEED.
This was the first track that I took up when I hopped on the SeeDs of Pandora train. I had no intentions of doing anything beyond this first track and didn't even considered collabing with anyone up to this point. Darkflamewolf and Jorito both were embracing a culture of collaboration on all fronts and had suggested it, though as I was producing it and doing all the guitar parts myself I hadn't thought much of it until at some point I decided... Ultemecia is a raving lunatic and I need to encapsulate that somehow. Enter... Earthkid. Her name sounds gentle but ... after getting her VA stuff for this track I believe she might just be insane. That or she was having a bad morning because she brought down the house with her contributions. She also sings in a small interlude of sorts... which wasn't originally there but Jorito and DFW didn't like that the track was balls to the wall for 5 minutes and asked for a 'breather'. Anyway... I'm no lead guitarist by any stretch so I eventually tapped Viking Guitar on the shoulder to track a guitar solo at the end befitting of the yell that EK makes at the end of her going insane.
Source: Legendary Beast (FF8)0:34 to 0:52 - References chords in the background from original as well as flute part from original1:02 to 1:19 - References main melody as well as alternate melodies from the original1:21 to 1:28 - Tremolo guitar playing alternate melody from original1:29 to 1:47 - Horns playing main melody followed by alternate melody on synth1:47 to 1:56 - Lead guitar playing harmonized alternate melody from original1:57 to 2:05 - Acoustic and lead guitars playing main melody from original2:06 to 2:14 - Horn rips referencing original2:15 to 2:23 - Horn rips continue, tremolo guitar references alternate melody from original2:45 to 2:50 - Hard to hear but there is a descending scale playing one note each beat that references a part from the original.2:51 to 3:00 - Guitar part referencing one of the weirder melodies from the original while descending scale thing keeps going in the background.3:01 to 3:18 - Horn rip thing starts again but has guitar doing a gliss to echo it3:19 to 3:36 - Spiccato strings playing in the background is reference to identical part in original3:37 to 3:54 - Guitar lead is playing melody / alternate melody from original4:14 to 4:23 - Acoustic guitar playing main melody from original4:23 to 4:27 - Piano playing alternate melody from original4:28 to end - Strings playing chord progression from original that was referenced earlier -
Title: The Tolls of Stringent Obligation
Source: The Landing (FF8)0:12 to 0:40 - Cello and flute reference the original theme's intro.0:55 to 1:00 - References a small chord progression / melody from the original1:02 to 1:32 - Lead guitars through here play main motif from original1:32 to 1:45 - Guitar and cello plays main motif variance1:45 to 1:55 - Violins play melody from the original2:00 to 2:08 - Violins play continuation of melody from the original, hard to hear though2:14 to 2:28 - Guitars play harmonized melody from the original2:29 to 2:38 - Guitar plays some of the orchestral runs from the original2:38 to 2:53 - Guitars play the main melody / motif2:49 to 3:13 - Guitar and piano playing main melody / motif3:14 to 3:27 - Guitar playing main melody / motif3:28 to 3:42 - Guitar playing main melody / motif and bass playing counterpoint from source3:43 to 3:57 - Guitar playing main melody / motif3:57 to end - piano playing main motif -
Title: Set the Stage on Fire
Source: The Stage is Set (FF8)0:08 to 0:39 - Reference main motif from source but drawn out in a bell like tone in the background.0:40 to 0:43 - References main motif from source for one bar build up.0:44 to 1:15 - References horn melody / harmony from source.1:17 to 1:47 - References main motif from source.1:48 to 2:19 - Motif in background while horn melody from source played on guitar.2:20 to 2:35 - Motif playing still, alternate melody played by blocksine in bg, also from source.2:36 to 3:08 - Motif still playing with another melody from the source playing.3:12 to 3:27 - Melody on music box from source3:28 to 3:42 - Melody on music box continues, guitar and synth strings play another motif from the source material.3:44 to 4:01 - Build up of main motif with various instruments.4:01 to end - Music box plays main melody again from source -
Was told to just send the title of the track from the album, but for the sake of making source stuff easier, I'm going to include timestamps and explanation of how the source was used in each piece.
Title: Tears in RainSource: Silence and Motion (FF8)0:03 to 0:55 - Main melody from source1:13 to 2:41 - Motif from source. In the original this section is purely the arpeggio with some rhythm behind it but still a key component of the original.2:48 to 4:33 - Main melody from source again but slowed down.4:36 to 4:45 - Starting motif from melody repeated a few times as an outro.Chords follow suit with original throughout but are in a different key from the original, but the progression is identical. -
Your ReMixer name: Lucas Guimaraes
Your real name: Lucas Guimaraes
Your website: https://twitter.com/Thirdkoopa - knew nothing better to link for this
Your userid (number, not name) on our forums, found by viewing your forum profile: http://ocremix.org/community/profile/33965-thirdkoopa/
Name of game(s) arranged: Final Fantasy VIII
Name of arrangement: No Shuffle No Boogie
Name of individual song(s) arranged: Shuffle or Boogie (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84xfVKnb-UA)Other collaborators:
Sir Telias: Piano
I did the Arrangement
Everyone kept joking "What about a last minute Piano arrangement?!" to throw in a week before the deadline. So I decided: what if I took a song so short and flipped it upside down. Sir Telias was incredibly on-board with the idea, so we got to work as fast as we could. Here you go. Shuffle or Boogie. But with No Shuffle or Boogie. Glad this made it onto the album, and hopefully it can become a mixpost now or in the future!
(Source breakdown is from most of the source. Will be willing to provide one further if need be) -
prophetik mentioned in #judges that, as a non-musician, my suggestion of adjusting the mixing could be viewed as "making light of a very difficult thing" and that I'm pushing this toward either professional mixing standards or mixing that's inauthentic for the genre. This will sound like I'm doubling down and not taking the YES votes and other POVs into account. I can't make a decision based on how easy or difficult addressing an issue would be. If others feel it's a non-issue, I don't mind anyone saying this is strong enough.
I still disagree, but I've listened to Emunator's example tracks of pro-level mixing for the genre, essentially as "don't ask for this for OCR's bar, but this is something to reference if revisiting the mixing", which is fair enough.
I also fired up Final Fantasy IX "Viking Funeral for the Damned" as our hobbyist-level reference, and don't feel these are comparable enough re: mixing. In the FF9 track, there aren't extended sections where everything is too muddy to make out any details whatsoever, which is my dealbreaker for this piece due to the mixing of 3:33-4:26, intentional or not.
I heard areas in the FF9 piece where the drumming pushed down other stuff (e.g. 4:15-4:37), areas which were more limited in length, but I could still parse out some distinct instruments; from 4:37-5:43, when the focus was trading off with the guitar chugs, drums, and strings, if one part was obscured, something else was more upfront and obviously stood out as the foreground element that the listener was supposed to gravitate to and pay the most attention to, despite the mixing not being clean (which is fine and allowed).
In 3:33-4:26 here, the guitar work is performed well but mixed like mud and the melodic stuff is so quiet that it's gets lost in that mud, so there's no part-writing that's distinct except 1) the organ-like stabs first used from 3:33-3:35 and 2) the core snare hits. There's even bass drops used at 3:36/3:48/4:01/etc. that are so quiet, they might as well not be there. I also loved the drum writing, but it's buried. There's also a light crackling artifact around 4:47.
I can live with 2:29-3:20's mixing. I still enjoy the other 4+ minutes; that may be enough to most to say it's golden. If 3:33-4:26 can't be adjusted, the track's too indistinct for too long, IMO. If making things not as muddy is verboten, then I would hope there's some way to make the "Mako Reactor" theme there more audible for that section; it wouldn't have to be in the foreground, but it's too pushed down as is, which leads to this crammed & slammed section feeling mainly like chugs and snare thumps, with the source tune very quietly sounding out here and there. Or take out the "Mako Reactor" melody parts entirely and let the chugs drive it, since there's more than enough source tune usage elsewhere.
Intention and context is always important, so (as I'd say to anyone else) if anything I criticize or suggest is taken by a musician as compromising their artistic vision, they shouldn't compromise it. I appreciate being asked to take another look. This is borderline to me, and I certainly want to keep the bar attainable and permissive with production, but I'm alright with my vote staying the same.
-
Arrangement opens arranging the original right from the get go, and adapted the rhythms to a club/EDM style the whole way through. The pad-like synth was vanilla but got downplayed by being layered up at :14. Electrosynths arrived at :27 and though the soundscape was muddy, and the levels were loud, I was making out those limited parts well enough. Melody picked up at :47; the bassline resonates, but the beats otherwise felt. I liked the changeup at 1:15. No matter what, I'm digging all the minor shifts in the groove.
Saw lead at 1:56 was way too loud, and the other crowd SFX and tambourine stuff was getting steamrolled until 2:26, so it wasn't contributing as much to an already crowded texture. The core groove at 2:25 (along with the lead) was feeling stale by this point, so while the added countermelodic stuff there was good, varying the instrumentation further could help the textures not slide into feeling boring and repetitive. The ending keyboard section cut off before fading to 0, which was sloppy; are you guys double-checking the rendered tracks before submitting?
A lot of the same issues as past tracks where the levels are so loud and aggressive coupled with lead fatigue from overuse. I'm with Chimpazilla that this is actually fairly close, but varying the lead (which doesn't have to be changing the synth, it could be varying up the effects on it) would be key and making sure the overall volume isn't too high. For a lot of these submissions of yours that are ~3 minutes or less, it's important to ensure the track stays dynamic most of the way. Good base here!
NO (resubmit)
-
I sent the current feedback to Thennecan, and he's down to revisit this! His comments today: "Hello! Thanks a lot for your input, I'll definitely fix the mastering and resubmit in the next couple of days. And also add a new name as prohpetik suggested." - @Rexy, feel free to vote, but we'll also keep this on standby instead of closing it if you go NO on the current version, since a new version may easily flip some votes.
EDIT (8/1): We've received an updated version.
EDIT (9/12): We've received a better updated version.
-
What did you think? Post your opinion of this ReMix here.
OCR04509 - *YES* Streets of Rage 2 "Sega FM Drum and Bass"
in Judges Decisions
Posted