OCR01362 - *YES* Xenosaga 'ein anderer Abschied'

[djpretzel]

ReMixer name: PriZm

Real Name: Pascal Jette

e-mail address: pascal.jette@gmail.com

website: http://www.audiostreet.net/artist.aspx?artistid=11737

Name of game ReMixed: Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille Zur Macht

Name of individual songs remixed: Beach of Nothingness, Song of Nephilim, Inner Space Game

composer : Yasunori Mitsuda

Game platform : Playstation 2

Game type: Space Opera RPG

Source song: http://www.squaresound.com/midis/xenosaga/chrisheit_beachnothingness.mid

ReMix location:

My own comments:

I was surprised to see that there were no Xenosaga ReMix on this site, as many of us are Mitsuda fans. Perhaps it is because, as Mythril Nazgul said, the originals are so daunting in quality. So I have made a ReMix of this game (which is my favorite, and I know Xenogears fans will flame me for saying this).

It starts with an introduction inspired by a Symphony X song, The Divine Wings of Tragedy and is in 7/8 so it's cool. The four notes played on piano and then horns are the actual melody of the Song of Nephilim with a modified and simplified rhythm (sorry I couldn't find it anywhere on the net).

Then the song is driven into a more ambiant atmosphere, with guitar delay similar to Dream Theater's Lifting Shadows Off a Dream and real soprano vocals singing the Beach of Nothingness and Inner Sphere theme. The harmonies are from the source song, I basically added a bass line, interpretation notes (dives, tremolos) to the melody and drums over it.

I break into a slower section and then make a solo over the theme again with a different groove reminiscent of Pink Floyd or Dream Theater's Goodnight Kiss. The theme this time is background and is played by piano and acoustic guitar.

Then, with a key modulation (from Gminor to Aminor), I do the theme again with vocals doubled with guitars with the triplet groove from the intro spread over 4/4 instead of 7/8.

Finally, to end the song, I have a progressive metal part (30 seconds of odd time signatures frenzy) that goes into a slow ambiant paddy thing with the piano playing the end of the source's melody and an unsettling oboe concluding the song on the third of it's key (actually the Song of Nephilim's melody).

I'm sorry, but my host, Audiostreet screws up my ID3Tad, so I'll give you the information here. I realize this is a waste of time for both you and me, but before I can find a better host, I'll have to stick with out. Also, big thanks to David for the kind words on my first mix, Bowser Is Pissed.

# 4.2.1 TAL Album/Movie/Show title ALWAYS = http://www.ocremix.org

4.2.1 TCM Composer = Yasunori Mitsuda

4.2.1 TCO Content type ALWAYS = Game

4.2.1 TCR Copyright message = Namco

4.2.1 TOA Original artist(s)/performer(s) = Playstation 2

4.2.1 TOT Original album/Movie/Show title = Xenosaga Episode I : Der Wille Zur Macht

4.2.1 TP1 Lead artist(s)/Lead performer(s)/Soloist(s)/Performing group = PriZm

# 4.2.1 TT2 Title/Songname/Content description = Xenosaga ein anderer Abschied OC ReMix

4.2.1 TYE Year ALWAYS = Exact Year ReMix Posted on OCR E.G. = 2005

Thanks for your time.

[Liontamer]

Got a little bit more info out of Pascal as to certain times when stuff was used here in the medley, since the usage of the source tunes were a bit hard to grasp when I was listening:

<PriZm> at the beginning, there are four piano notes, which is the haunting theme of the song of Nephilim

<PriZm> the military shit is pretty much original, inspired by symx, but the theme from Nephilim is repeated throughout it by brass

<PriZm> then there is guitar with drum alone, and when the voice comes in, it's the Beach of Nothingness

<PriZm> 1:57 : the piano and oboe answer each other with the theme of the Song of Nephilim with the first chord of the Beach of Nothingess played repeatedly on guitar

<PriZm> 2:18 : melody from the Beach of Nothingess is played on piano and acoustic guitar while I had me a little fun with electric guitars

<PriZm> there are samples or women crying during the solo; people told me they were obnoxious

<PriZm> I put them in because, in the game, the Song of Nephilim makes people go insane and cry/laugh/yell like that

<PriZm> so it's a non-musical reference to the game, and I thought it fitted well

<PriZm> 3:02 : the Beach's theme is played again, this time with a military beat not unlike the one from the intro; strings play the same thing as the original; and voice and electric guitars dub each other with the melody

<PriZm> 3:59 : fade out the Beach of Nothingness and fade in some pads, with the oboe playing the Song of Nephilim alone at the end

<PriZm> it's like parts of the song saying : "farewell" to each other, the crossfade between the guitars and the pads, cause the song is called: "Another Farewell"

<PriZm> and then the oboe comes in quite randomly and plays the theme from the Song of Nephilim

<PriZm> it's a farewell note, really, like, the part with the guitar and singing fades out (i.e. walks away) and the oboe whispers something at the end

<PriZm> something cheesy like : "I won't forget you"

Arrangement checks out. Played this one back on VGF54 and was impressed with it considering I wasn't as hot on "Bowser is Pissed". Good opening with the sample of the female crying. Nice and unique idea to open a track up. At :23, the first in-game voice clip you used cut out abruptly: "relinquish your pain...[pop]...unto me". Good drum work for a laid back, yet slightly driving feel.

Liked the vox introing in at :56 doing a rendition of "Beach of Nothingness", and the layering of a second vox line at 1:18 was also well done. The panning of the various little effects was a plus. Somewhat sparse if you're really scrutinzing things, but I don't think it was a very empty mix. I liked the atmosphere. Bass shot at 2:07 shouldn't have clipped like that - seemed kind of odd.

I would say though that the solo from 2:18-3:00 felt kind of empty with just the minimal beatwork functioning as most of the background. Didn't sound like a dealbreaker relative to the rest of the mix here, but I felt that should have been filled out a bit more.

Nice stuff at 3:00 with the heavier guitar work, percussion and vox. Voice sample at 3:58 was muddy and obscured - probably would have been a better idea to cut that out. Things slowed down at 4:26 into a short piano and woodwind ending. Thanks for creating a reasonably well-done transition there, by the way. Some would call the ending unsatisfying, but I liked the artistic vision behind it. Solid work, Pascal, on what I would also call tough material to tackle. Looking forward to more, bro!

YES

[Vig]

i cant decide on this one. the first three minutes are really interesting and well thought-out. great atmosphere, really beautiful.

but right around 3:00 it gets really dull and doesnt get any better for the remaining two minutes. it's just a melody line with chunky guitars. there's no harmony going on at all. it's dull and uninteresting.

NO

until you do something more interesting with the second half.

[Harmony]

I love the feel of this track. Its got a nice cohesive drive throughout, accented by some slick vox. Very cool intro that leads into some nice military-style snare work. That abrupt vocal cutoff at 0:24 that Larry mentioned sticks out but otherwise great use of the sample. The strength of this track for me is the first few minutes when we get nicely delayed guitar and a chill groove that really compliments the beautifully vocalized Song of Nephilim.

After 2:18 is when I start to question things. PriZm’s guitar work is amazing per his usual but I think the arrangement starts getting a lot less exciting. The driving guitars are laid under similar vocal arrangement of the source that we had during the first two minutes. Granted that the vocal/guitar harmony is pretty engaging but in the end I felt that the last three minutes could have explored a few more arrangement ideas. The vocal sample at 3:57 seems oddly placed and unnecessary considering that it’s inaudible.

Aside from the few sample and clipping issues that have already been mentioned, this was a cleanly recorded, interestingly arranged track that is very enjoyable. Gotta YES it.

[analoq]

i don't think the oboe ending is the best idea, but it's one that i'm willing to accept.

aside from some cheesy orchestration and samples, this one is pretty fun.

good contrast, good escalation, good performance, good recapitulation.

yes

[GrayLightning]

Pretty interesting arrangement. I agree with Vig on this one as far as the flaws go. Some of the sections were a bit too sparse, a minor complaint though.

The concept is pretty artsy and it's pulled of pretty well in general. Production as a whole is good. I know you're using the reverb to create this atmosphere but I think there's too much use of reverb in some sections and on some instances. Some of the busier sections don't sound that texturally cohesive. Also the ending is unsatisfactory. Still pretty good stuff on the whole and gets a borderline Yes from me.