*NO* Final Fantasy 7 'Sephiroth Absolute'

[djpretzel]

Remixer Name: Reu

Real Name: Reuben Kee

Email: Reuy@email.com

Website: www.reubenkee.com <http://www.reubenkee.com/>

Userid on forums: Can't find the number...

Name of game remix: Final Fantasy 7

Name of songs remixed from: Sephiroth and Jenova themes

Blurb: I've always loved how the Sephiroth and Jenova themes sounded so evil and badass. I tried to show these themes in different perspectives, and tried to make this piece a little disturbing. This was done on 4 pianos, live performances on all lines.

Cheers.

[Liontamer]

http://www.tzone.org/~llin/psf/packs2/FF7_psf.rar - 416 "One-Winged Angel" & 214 "J-E-N-O-V-A"

Good fusion of the two themes here. Played this back on VGF47; Reu's always got some good ideas up his sleeve, with this one from RPGamer's Sonic Revolution contest. Wish the texture was fuller; the various lines still sounded thin together, and was an aspect I really would have wanted to see improved. It may be a purely subjective type of statement, but it seemed to me that for a piece like this, that from a composition standpoint wishes to convey tension/emotion/intensity, the pianos were all pretty sparse-sounding. I don't necessarily expect any type of consensus on that, but that was my take.

For something like playing 4 lines of piano in one take apiece, things have the potential to get REALLY unwieldy, so it's commendable that for the most part that the performance was cohesive. I think think this idea was pulled off better here than in Reu's earlier Street Fighter 2 mix "Ryu for 4 Pianos," which I also liked. Nonetheless, there were certainly weaker/unfocused areas, like 1:25-1:41 for example, that didn't coalesce as strongly. Not a big hit on the overall performance though. Some may have problems with other sections along those lines, but I didn't.

Some audio distortion funkery was going on several times from 2:37-2:51. For example, some light warping of sorts was going on around 2:39 & 2:44 for some reason. Gotta fix that up if possible. I'd wanna hear some fuller textures here to give this performance some real bite. But if the panel passes this, I'd have to at least ask for a fix on the audio deformation problems if possible. Very cool piece, don't get me wrong.

NO (resubmit)

[Digital Coma]

I don't think recording this arrangement on four separate pianos worked out very well - trying to commingle each "line" hurt the already fragile dissonance and sometimes created plain dischord. The actual performance of each layer is obviously fine, but together the four turned out a little messy. Interpretation and arrangement are okay, but development between each idea and theme sounds short and incomplete.

Not too resolute, but going on the side of NO

[Malcos]

This is a really hard one for me. I did feel that for 4 pianos, this was for the most part kinda empty. From about 1.50-2.30 was a great section, although the transition after that didn't flow as smoothly. I'm leaning towards a no, because there are parts where I felt that it sounded too muddy, others where I thought it sounded sparse, and some where I thought that the dissonance was a little iffy, almost bordering on dischord. Although I enjoyed a lot of it, to have so many iffy points for me is a

NO

[The wingless]

Time for me to pull an oft-unused Wingless trademark feature: the lone YES vote.

I felt this was a very well done reinterpretation. The parts that were villified as too sparse or dense, I chalk up to a change in density, which just implies to me forethought in varying the quality of the piece. I enjoy the dissonance quite a but too. And there are so many "cool" bite-size moments than I can count.

I feel it would be very sad indeed to let this one slip through the cracks.

YES

fight da powa

[DarkeSword]

I think this song is strong on a lot of fronts. Like Wingless says, its really a change of density that's going on, rather than overt sparseness. There are a few instances that come up muddy, but I think that the overall arrangement is pretty clear.

Nice combination, nice interpretation, nice work.

YES

[analoq]

i agree there's some oddities with this mix.. it seems right-heavy on the panning and there's some minor clippage.

it'd be cool if we could get a version of this mix with less oddities, but there's nothing unforgivable here.

i don't have a lot left to say other than:

i liked this. i enjoyed it. it's cool.

yes

[GrayLightning]

There's a lot of complexity and a lot of great ideas going on here. The arrangement is pretty good, but I don't think the concept of this at all works. For me it sounds very cluttered, messy and not that pleasant during the very busy sections. During the powerful sections, there's a crazy amount of clipping/distortion/crackling.

While I like the arrangement concept, the execution and the concept of how the arrangement was presented just doesn't sit well with me. Coupled with the numerous audio issues, this is a NO from me.

[Vig]

I think the balance was a bit off between some of the pianos, the lowest part seems a bit too loud most of the time. However, the arrangement is clearly well thought out, and while the concept is unusual, the piece is enjoyable.

YES

[danny B]

Original is the buzz word here. We've got 4 pianos apparently, and the artist does well to use this configuration to innovate. The arrangement has been effectively written for this ensemble of pianos (piani? pianoes?) and contains many interesting transmogrifications of the source material. Given the level at which i do appreciate the arrangement, the muddy sound quality and questionable mixing is not enough to ground this.

I'd like to have a resubmit sans clipping and PUDDLES OF MUDD in the lower registers, though.

YES

-D

[zircon]

I think four piano arrangements are difficult to pull off to begin with because its too easy to just go over the top with massive chords and arpeggios that are not humanely possible. With piano music, the rule is certainly quality over quantity. If you're going to write a total of eight different parts (two hands per piano), it might make more sense to write an orchestral piece.

I think that's where some of the weakness in here. Pianos are essentially being substituted for other instruments in the arrangement. Where a small bass ensemble playing marcato should be, we have left hand chords repeating. The piano is by nature an extremely expressive instrument and capable of creating massive sounds all by itself due to its resonant qualities. So, when you have four pianos and several parts playing the low registers, its nearly impossible to avoid the sonic 'mush' that others have noted.

The actual interpretive factor is, however, very strong. This is clearly a unique arrangement and one that really takes the original and builds/expands on it. No major production faults - just a couple audio glitches where it sounds like some parts are getting 'filtered' for some reason. My problem is really the instrumentation. This arrangement sounds like it should be played by a symphonic orchestra or orchestral ensemble. By not doing so, the resulting sound is cluttered and lacking in finesse.

Certainly not a bad mix, and I would not object if it was passed, but I believe the fantastic arrangement deserves a better execution.

NO

[Israfel]

Generally, I feel that the possibilities of writing for four pianos were never fully explored. Each line seems fairly simplistic and I imagine that this could be redone as a two piano or even a four-handed piece with little to no editing. The four pianos bit just seems a bit gimmicky and isn't used effectively, in my opinion.

The low end is rather indistinct and you have some timing issues where the multiple piano parts are too loose rhythmically.

And unlike some of the others, I don't feel the arrangement is much of a selling point (particularly, I felt the writing for the bass voices was unimaginative and too repetitive). I have to go with a no, here.

NO