OCR04141 - *YES* Final Fantasy 5 "Flight over the Enchanted Forest"

[Rexy]

Remixer name:   Bluelighter (ID 21840)
Real Name:  Guillaume SAUMANDE
Mail:   

Game & Songs: Final Fantasy 5 & Airship – Legend of the Deep Forest
Composer: Nobuo UEMATSU

Interpreter:
Bluelighter: Piano

Comment:

Hi OCR,

For a long time, I wanted to make an arrangement of the “Forest theme” in piano. Several attempts, but without idea sufficient to start.
“Airship theme” interested me also; but no more satisfying result.  

I didn’t think to marry these two themes, because of their atmosphere completely different (heroic for “Airship” and nostalgic for “Forest”)
Later, I tried to play “Airship” in a different mood. It was nearer of the “Forest Theme” and it was more natural to arrange these two themes together.
In parallel, I trained myself to improvise in piano in these melancholic harmonies, trying to use scale in a cohesive way.
With all these elements, I had good material to start my arrangement.

It’s played globally in a melancholic and peaceful mood. The accompaniment is discreet and repetitive to emphasize the right hand playing. But there are also some parts more rhythmed. In this arrangement, elements from “Airship” and “Forest Theme” intercede between them.

For the title, it was natural to imagine the airship flying over this quiet forest

Enjoy,

Guillaume  

Breakdown
- 0'00: Intro – «Airship» (soft)
- 0’15: «Airship» 0’05 – 0’15 (soft)
- 0’35: «Forest» 0 – 0’33 (soft)
- 0’45: «Airship» 0’05 – 0’26 (rhythm marked)
- 1’05: Transition: improvisation around «Forest» 0 – 0’33 (soft)
- 1’16: «Forest» 0 – 0’33 (soft)
- 1’30: «Airship» 0’26 – 0’50 (rhythm marked)
- 1’44: Transition: «Airship» 0’50 – 0’55 (soft)
- 1’50: «Forest» 0 – 0’33 (soft)
- 2’03: «Forest» 0’33 – 1’10 (rhythm marked)
- 2’20: «Airship» 0’05 – 0’15 (rhythm marked)
- 2’34 to the end: Outro, improvisation around «Forest» 0 – 0’33 (soft)

[prophetik music]

there is a distinct compressor engage at 0:59. you may want to lower your knee or adjust the fade a bit so that it's not so obvious when it comes in. this happens again around 1:34, but there i think the issue is the release being too tight so it pumps a bit. this happens again much more distinctly at 2:12 for quite a bit, nearly 20 seconds. beyond that, the realization is beautiful and emotive. your performance is excellent as expected.

the arrangement is fairly straightforward, but it's a fun adaptation of the two themes. i like how naturally they feel like they flow together - the entire piece has a Beauty and the Beast forest soundtrack vibe, and features some great conceptualization of what you were going for.

if you can fix the compressor so it's not obviously pumping so often, this is an easy yes. i believe this is easy enough to fit into a conditional.

 

 

CONDITIONAL (fix pumping)

 

[Liontamer]

Transition at 1:05 seemed jumpy, so watch the timing there; you may want to just let the track come to a full stop, let it breathe, then allow it to pick back up.

I agreed with prophetik's criticisms, and he's right that at :59 you have a distortion for a brief moment. That would be nice to have fixed, but the overall execution was strong, so I don't necessarily need a "fixed" version. This was fine as is, though some adjustments would be nice to have.

These sources never jumped out to me despite my familiarity with the soundtrack, so props for creating something that really makes them stand out all the more. Beautiful, elegant work, Guillaume!

YES

[Jivemaster]

Nice calming start. I agree 1:05 was a bit of an odd transition, with an immediate drop in volume. Despite this, I think you blended the pieces well, and achieved a good mix between the delicate feel and heavier parts. Heavier parts do feel a bit warm/compressed, not sure what’s happening there, but I didn’t detect any major distortion. Things end quite quickly, but you cover a lot of ground over that time, leaving the audience wanting more. Nicely done.

YES

[Rexy]

I wouldn't call the arrangement "straightforward" by a long shot.  What you did was adapt the airship theme into a minor scale, then transposed both sources to the same key and worked with them that way.  Your way of arranging is clear and distinct - breaking down the sources by sections, restructuring them to fit your vision, and using different performance techniques for further distinction.  I consider that to be your trademark approach at this point - an expected one, sure, but not baby steps in the slightest.

It's a good presentation, too, with a lush piano tone and render on par with previous works.  The performance is as passionate as I expect from you, but the 1:05 transition could've been much smoother going into it, and I'm unsure why you needed five bars to go through it when four would've been more than enough.  However, I do concur with pumping feeling tighter than I thought, but I don't feel it's enough to sink the performance underneath.  Though, it would be advisable to weaken your compressor's settings for future works.

It's still lovely stuff fit for the front page, Guillaume - a vibrant performance that weaves two unalike sources together and presents it in a well-rendered package.  Bien joué!

YES

[Emunator]

This is a lovely, dynamic take, just as I've come to expect! Your piano tone is lush and full-bodied - the contrast between the deep rhythmic notes and the twinkly right-hand arpeggios plays well to the strengths of your piano sample. I appreciate how you were able to work different elements of the source into something cohesive and entirely your own.

I'm going to be honest - I wouldn't have called out anything about overcompression on this track had it not been pointed out by other judges. I can hear what others are talking about, but I don't think it warrants a conditional vote by any stretch either. This sounds perfectly passable in its current form to my ears.

Great work!

YES