OCR01352 - Final Fantasy V "Harvest Hoedown"

[djpretzel]

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

[Less Ashamed Of Self]

I love it when it's different.

This is a bizarre little piece, the drums, while arguabley sub-par, are expertly arranged and the synths are nothing but fun. The flute-ish samples suit the mix and it's very unique flavour.

I love the organ work, sounding very very fresh.

Anyone else hear some Shnababula-esque work here?

[Hyper Inferno]

So upbeat! Yay! Its a happy song!

[Being]

I love how upbeat it is. I also appreciate the fact that it's a remix from a rarely remixed game. The synths really are the high point in this piece.

[CopycattVII]

Im just glad to finally see another final fantrasy v remix. The game had many great soundtracks, and its good to finally see their debuts as remixes.

[Chrono86]

I grew up listening to bands like ELP...awesome work!

[Navi]

Nice. This is hot. Hawt trax.

[The Orichalcon]

I enjoyed the beginning and the ending. The middle part leaves a lot to be desired though, it's very much a filler section with some very strange drum patterns.

[Tex]

These instruments are very cool indeed. The transition did a nice contrast. Mainly because of the exotic instruments with an accurate melody. So, this creative ReMix deserves a good compliment: SOLID STUFF!

[SPIKENOX07]

great song. the flute is awesome. one of my favorites.

[Stalwart Jester]

Loved this thing...I really digged the flute parts.

[jordex]

I downloaded this song of vgmix before it was posted here and I wasn't that impressed. I think the FF5 soundtrack is the most overlooked and I've been waiting forever for another remix but this one wasn't really what I was waiting for. But I guess if I didn't know the FF5 soundtrack, I'ld think this song was pretty cool

[A-RoN]

I love the arrangement, but the samples can be a little more human, or the reverb could be adjusted to create a bit more realism. Yeah, I need to work on sound choices myself. Other than that, the song has me hooked.

8/10

[ProjectSpam]

This song is so infectious. It's a catchy little track, and it grows on me every time I listen to it.

As an added bonus, it also a) immediately puts me in a better mood for a good while, and makes me want to go out and kick some farm animal ass. Don't know why this is, but that's a mark of a good song in my book.

[Rexy]

Let me tell you now that DJ Orange, while not the most technically minded arranger you'd see here, has a very unique sense of creativity within his own arrangements from picking uncovered source material through to his wide range of styles that make him worthy of his username. This mix is no different; while it didn't catch me on the first few listens it eventually grew and became one of the happiest mixes I'd ever witness in a long while. Kudos to that.

For a fuller emphasis i'd rope in my VGMix review. It was a pleasure going over this one

Production techniques

What we have here is a light rock-electronica-anime-score mix that has fitted for a thoughtful and synthy approach to the original. Panning techniques are shown to be wide in terms of texture, and that has been easily showcased further upon the general emphasis behind the space within the instrumentation. It can be said that some of the sounds chosen are a bit MIDI-like in terms of choice, but there's enough thought to overdriven/sustained processing to help erase some of the vulnerabilities behind the chosen sounds; I was hoping for some further attention towards the drum choice though, but outside from there this is still very firmly managed. The sound levels have been given a good amount of attention to sound balance; nothing is out of its place when it comes to the general volume emphasis and the clarity behind the sounds, so we are in for a firm and balanced arrangement when it came to sound emphasis as a whole. So while this setup may feel a bit retro for some people, it has still worked its job in providing a slick performance towards the target audience; interesting stuff.

Compositional structure

The track started off with some interesting fading pad sounds that made it sound more reminiscent for a Metroid remix more than Final Fantasy, but the general concept has worked well in providing a smooth fill towards the general opening. I like the skill as placed upon the programming behind the drum roll near the end of the section; very fluent and climatic to be able to link into the next segment, although it can be said that the general concept of the fill can be seen to be a bit early in its overall status. Outside from there, I feel this area has managed to work its charm just fine.

The melody then came through at 0:43 and it is here that it has managed to stay truthful towards the target material - at least for the first half of which. Much of the expansions upon the original’s progressions are beyond the 1 minute mark, where it seems to face a slightly melancholy progression in terms of notes to help fit the status granted around the mix scope. While I was hoping the lead into this area (0:35-0:43) could have been needing a bit some further attention towards dynamics and texture to match what came through it, this has still worked well in providing a thoughtful link towards the source as a whole.

A lot of original portions are shown from 1:12 onwards, although showing a more blues formation than what has previously managed. Now some people may find some of the chord changes to be a bit random, but there has been enough creative touches to help generate what I feel can be a more frantic set of creative liberties as well as a good amount of arrangement styles to help keep the listener interested as time goes on. While some of the drum fills feel a bit difficult to follow, if not rather progressive for what has been granted, they have still worked well in adding to the twisted creative approach within here.

The Metroid type bass synth came through again at 2:17, before allowing a build from 2:30 that linked the melody straight back into place by 2:36. The lead has worked well to link straight back with the familiarities behind the source, and with the varied amount of variation as applied within the background we are in for a solid link all around when it came to the general concept. While I was hoping the dynamics to be much more dramatically shaped here, I still feel this has managed to work firmly enough.

And the ending sequence from 3:06 relied on some minor progressions as a whole; another big jump, but much of those elements are somehow erased when the pan flute made its way back in. The lead towards the ultimate closing stages have managed to work in providing a firm climax, which has been shown well through the more frantic drums as the seconds count down. While I was kind of hoping that the ending chord wasn't quite that radical a drop in terms of structure, it has still worked its place in providing a sweet provision for its target audience.

In a nutshell I found some of my technical quirks to match those with Pretzel's, interestingly enough. I have had to disagree with some of the judges on pan flute processing as I swear it could have been a bit more humanised to fit the tone it was seeking for, but the thoughts on some of the sudden transitions are roughly the same.

But they haven't stopped a fun piece like this from making it onto OCR. It's definitely weird in its technical sense, but it's still unique, interesting and insanely upbeat enough to fit as a very good FF5 mix for the site.

We need more FF5 in the future. We also need more Orange in the future too. Keep up the good work

[Bummer]

Different : Yes

Unique : Yep

Noisy : Affirmative

Sad : Nope

Orchestric: I don´t think so

Techno : Mmmyess

Happy : What do YOU think?

Annoying : Much possible

Boring : NOOO!!

Worth a download: You´ll have to decide.

Personally: Oui

[vdeogmer]

For some reason the only thing I could think of when this song was playing was Harvest Moon.

[Swallowed Shyguy]

Being a fan of ELP, this one´s perfect for me! I´ve always considered Final Fantasy soundtracks to be symphonic rock.You translate Uematsu´s melody to progressive style very faithfully. It´s not hard to imagine Keith Emmerson behind the keyboards...

[OceansAndrew]

pretty cool stuff, i didnt really dig the drums in the intro, but once it got going it was fun. Pretty true to the source overall. I agree with the "needs moar humanization" posse on the panflute, but the sample is good.

The beat is straightforward as anything straightforward can be, but it works very well. Repetition hurts it slightly, and that intro is just kindof weird,but the good outweighs the bad.

decent; check it out.

[42]

I really like the flute here; it just seems so appropriate for some reason.

I just don't really care how it dips from the upbeat Harvest into something more dire at 1:19.

Still, this is a pretty good mix and worth checking out.

[Necrox]

The drums are cool, but feel a bit separate from the rest of the mix, a bit tacked on. Sample quality also hurts them, especially in the mix where they feel under everything. I agree that the pan flute is static. Organ at 2:32 sounds nice. Things are melodically conservative; some variation would be cool. It's decent and has potential.