Sir_NutS Posted October 23, 2019 Share Posted October 23, 2019 Artists: Sir_NutS, Sadorf Name of the games arranged: Final Fantasy 7 System: Playstation Name of the arrangement: With Heart And Soul Name of the individual songs arranged: Fighting! Link to Original Decision Source: Yes, this is a resub... from 2005. I won't go too much into the story of the original remix sub, as the original thread had all the details, but the tl:dr is that sadorf made a wip which he then gave to me and I built upon it for the track in the original sub. We used to do that a lot back in those days, sharing project files and complementing each other's style. Good times. Since the original rejection, I've always had a soft spot for this song and doing it justice has been on my mind since back then. I've tried several times in the past, with mixed results. The issue was I always tried to just do a sound upgrade and fix the many production issues that plagued this track and all of my work back then, without touching much of the arrangement. I've come to realize that I've grown a lot when it comes to arrangement, albeit not nearly as much as I would consider good, but just enough to also do a revision of the previous arrangement to make a more cohesive, interesting track to complement the other, more production-oriented skills I've acquired over the years. I also had to start from scratch since I created the original on Fruity loops 2 (!) and well that's not going to fly nowadays, and I lost the project file over a decade ago anyways. So I kept a lot of the original arrangement including most of the first section but I spiced things up in every single element, arrangement-wise. There's a 4/7 break mid-way through which can seem a bit jarring but the disjointed feel is what I was looking for, as some of Uematsu's FF songs have those types of non-sequitur. The track bounces between different rhythms but it's mostly a big beat/trance affair with some dream trance touches. There are a lot of melodic transformations here, but I assure you every melody line is derived directly from the source. In regards to production, I tried some new production techniques here that resulted in a slightly cleaner mix than usual, at least to my ears. Also I used Reason 11 in Bitwig extensively, and I can't tell you how happy I am that I am able to use my Reason tools again. Feels like home. As for Sadorf, we still speak but not too often nowadays, although we're still very good friends. I've done this with his approval, but he isn't able to work on any music right now. Still, a lot of this arrangement is his so that's why I want him credited. I hope this one is of your liking, and that it finally sees the front page. P.S.: if this one makes it through, please hold on to it until the release of FF7R early next year, as that would be more fitting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MindWanderer Posted October 25, 2019 Share Posted October 25, 2019 Slick groove on this one. The beats are a little monotonous, and some of the sections drag on a little longer than I'd like, but for EDM it's just fine. 3:00-3:28 is the most problematic section IMO: it's definitely a little too long and the lead e-piano is hard to hear (which is a notable concern since it's necessary to distinguish this section from 1:39-1:52). I think the change in time signature does exactly what you wanted it to, and I feel like it was a highlight. So was the section starting at 1:25, although it did get a little cluttered when the main refrain joined in. Overall it's pretty darn crisp considering the number of layers you have going on here. It's funny when the "subtractive" sections still have like 4-5 layers in them. Mostly I'm nitpicking. Overall this is pretty solid, and a lot of fun. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rexy Posted October 26, 2019 Share Posted October 26, 2019 (edited) Oh man, this is a trip back in time - so much that only Larry and Darke were in the previous decision. I thought the arrangement was neat and serviceable even back then, but I do understand your desire to give it a considerable production overhaul. Arrangement-wise, there are indeed some similarities between this and the 2005 original - the breakbeat style, Sadorf's treatment of the source melodies, and the structure more or less. I did notice some subtle tweaks here: The intro brought in more source The 7/8 [edit: oops, I meant 7/4 - thanks prophetik] part at 2:07 caught my attention as a fun breakdown The 2:45 section deviated in style and went full contemporary EDM And the ending at 3:28 also did well with combining the C section's melody and the A section's chord structure. Once again, I see it as a knack for demonstrating not only your arrangement improvements over the years but also respecting another person's ideas - in this case, your collaborator. It's obvious to say that the difference production-wise between the two is like night and day. The soundscape now feels vivid when the original lacked in low-end frequencies. The instruments are all clear to pick out and layered well, and the percussion has plenty of punch. Even the piano - an otherwise organic instrument - has a strong reverb that complements the breakbeat origins. I am, however, with Mindwander regarding the piano getting buried under the synths, but it's no dealbreaker at all - just a well-noted observation. All in all, this blast-from-the-past is refurbished in every possible way - hence, I can see it being front-page material. I say this can also be inspirational for anyone else who got their work rejected years ago! YES Edited October 29, 2019 by Rexy Sir_NutS 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prophetik music Posted October 29, 2019 Share Posted October 29, 2019 nitpick: 7/4, not 7/8, since the tempo of this is pretty fast so it's a quarter note that's being dropped. can't help it =D this is a great take on one of many great themes in FF7. it's interesting because i'd say it actually has less energy than the original, but not like that's a bad thing - the leads feel slow compared to the very fast beats, which is a great contrast and presents the melody in a much less frenetic way than other remixes of this tune use. i love the feel with four on the floor at 2:43 during that build part. it gives a great grounded feel that the chorus really gets power from. i do however agree with MW that the song essentially goes on a bit too long. it probably could benefit from some repetition being trimmed from the restatement of the melody in the saw at around 3:00. minor nitpicks at best. this is an easy vote. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonAvenger Posted October 29, 2019 Share Posted October 29, 2019 Not much to add here that wasn't already mentioned. I really like the melodic variations throughout; decidedly different but definitely recognizable at the core. The track overall feels pretty chill despite the beats and the energy in the saw, it's a good combination. Nice work. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted October 29, 2019 Share Posted October 29, 2019 Agreed that this was excellent. The time sig change was brief, and actually could have gone in some other directions as well to extend the change-up, but it was very smoothly handled. Good expansive genre adaptation of the source, along with clean, precise mixing that packs a nice punch. Great work, guys! YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts