OCR03151 - *YES* Final Fantasy 2 'Rebellion'

[Chimpazilla]

Greetings, here's a good one I think, and the first mix I finished in 2014.

Final Fantasy 2 album

Source: Dead Music, Rebel Army Theme

Dead Music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwLMPSeFqWc

Rebel Army: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xV0E88C7ck

ReMix:

Brandon Strader, DetectiveTuesday, and Chernabogue

Since Chernabogue originally made 2 attempts at the structure for this, I shall open up with his comments first: "This mix was first started a long time ago, when the FF2 project started recruiting in 2012. My first attempt to remix this track was a brutal metal mix. But later, Brandon suggested to change it, as it wouldn't fit the theme.

So I wrote another arrangement, more acoustic/dramatic-oriented in a very short amount of time. Brandon decided to take ideas from both arrangements to create the final mix.

I contributed by writing a short prayer in Latin and doing some background vocals.

In the end, I really love the final mix, and am proud to be part of such a cool album. See you all in FF3...! "

I am very appreciative to Chernabogue and the lot of work he put in. And I apologize to him for asking for more and more, an then ultimately changing the song completely. It was much more of a change than "Requiem for a Dying World" which was basically me slowing it down by 50% and switching between mellotrons and orchestral strings like a crazy person. Ultimately, I am hoping that this mix will strike you as much less divisive, as it is quite enjoyable.

That's not to discredit the lot of work Chernabogue put into this of course, as the final structure is very much inspired by Chernabogue's structure of his second attempt. He originally wanted to end with FF1 Dead Music, but for this mix I chose to go with Rebel Army theme because it felt much more natural, and contextually it was PERFECT. And I like the fact that the album features Rebel Army as: solo piano, electronica, acoustic, metal, and... that thing BONKERS did... Very important motif.

Chernabogue said his choir vocals were sort of church styled(?) so I tried to expand on that with a little reverb to really bring out the cathedral sound to them. I love it. I love that this is also the first overtly Christian mix I was able to make for the site with his help.

I am calling this Rebellion because this song really expresses my feelings of what the album and the concept of "Rebellion" means to me. That's why it starts with "Dead Music" and ends with "Rebel Army". Though we may lose loved ones and randomly encounter many unfortunate events, in the end we must remain strong and have the resolve to carry on. Chernabogue's latin prayer is the ribbon that ties up the mix perfectly.

Tuesday, aka DetectiveTuesday, aka Anton, brought a really incredible sax solo for the song. It's so much more complex and jazzy than I could have imagined, but I knew what the man was capable of after hearing him jam at MAGFest 12. When pressed for a statement, this is all he had to say: 'Brandon made me do it.'"

Requiem Aeternam dona eis, Domine;

Repræséntet eas in lucem sanctam;

Et lux perpetua luceat eis.

Requiescant in pace. Amen.

[Chimpazilla]

Wow that Dead Music is basically an 11 second source. That said, you guys did a LOT with that short of a source. It takes a LOT of variation to make repetitions of this theme work, but that variation is here. Tuesday's sax solo is saxxy. Not sure how I feel about the spoken prayer.

I kinda wish the other source could have been worked in somewhere sooner than just stuck onto the end. It does work like this although there is zero transition into that section, and the arrangement sounds a little lopsided this way. The vocals at the very end are a bit too loud and low-heavy I think. This isn't my favorite tune ever but it does work. I'm interested to see some other j's opinions on this one.

YES

[Emunator]

This is one of those remixes that really doesn't seem like it should work on paper, but once I actually heard it, everything felt so natural. The saxophone solo was a bold call but it paid off in a huge way, adding an extremely memorable component to an already-solid mix. I was also fond of the latin prayer integration and how it contributed some extra character to the mix and also helped make the transition into the Rebel Army theme a little less jarring.

Overall, really ace work from all involved that effortlessly stretched such a short source tune into something so expansive. Topped off with some of the smoothest production work I've heard from Brandon to date... this is a very easy call in my book.

YES

[Jivemaster]

Great instrumentation. Love all the bits. Those guitars, dat sax. You've done a lot with the source tune(s) here, although I'm hearing a lot more dead theme over rebel army. Very emotive playing the whole way through. Even when things get full each element is clear and audible. Some great changes over time, keeping things fresh the whole way through.

Grasping at straws, I thought the choir portion near the end from 3:45 could've been a little clearer (considering the clarity across the rest of the track), but not a major problem.

Not sure why this wasn't a direct post. No matter.

YES

Edited March 16, 2015 by Jivemaster

[Palpable]

Honestly, the vocals didn't do much for me. They start during a quieter section and sound exposed. The delay was a strange production choice and they also don't sound like they are recorded that well. When they come in during the meat of the song later, they are completely inaudible. However, everything else in this song sounded great. Loved how the source is expanded. Great instrumentation. Sax solo was a risky but ultimately successful decision. Ending was beautifully performed. Overall, it's a winner.

YES