Liontamer Posted July 25, 2023 Share Posted July 25, 2023 Contact Information: Your ReMixer Name: The Vodoú Queen (ft. dpMusicman, GameroftheWinds, SirCorn, Shea's Violin & TSori) Your Real Name: Angélique Vodoú Your Email Address: Your Website: https://thevodouqueen.newgrounds.com/ Your User ID # on our forums: 37001 Submission Information: Name of Game(s) Arranged: Final Fantasy VIII (PS1) Name of Arrangement: "Even Ill-Omens Need A Break" Name of Individual Song(s) Arranged: 'Premonition' (and a short insert from 'Succession of Witches') Additional information about game including composer, system, etc. (if it has not yet been added to the site): 1. FINAL FANTASY VIII OST; Track 14 (Disc 2) - Premonition; Artist(s): Nobuo Uematsu; Release Date: 10 March 1999; Label: DigiCube & FINAL FANTASY VIII OST; Track 6 (Disc 2) - SUCCESSION OF WITCHES; Artist(s): Nobuo Uematsu; Release Date: 10 March 1999; Label: DigiCube Link to the original soundtrack (if it is not one of the sound archives already available on the site): 1. https://finalfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Final_Fantasy_VIII:_Original_Soundtrack Your own comments about the mix, for example the inspiration behind it, how it was made, etc.: Okay... Firstly, this track--out of the *three* I've done for the album--I think is my proudest labor of love. ...I don't know if I should say or call it my current "magnum opus", but it does feel like a great culmination of time and effort I've taken since September 2020 to learn the art of music production, theory, and the science of mixing. It's almost like...it has all finally started to click (to a degree, still lots to learn, mistakes made, and help along the way), but the encouragement and freedom to express has really pushed my all and my knowledge with this remix of "Premonition". Similar to FLWV, this started out quite small. I was already transposing / transcribing / chopping up FLWV and Premonition's MIDIs for some initial ideas for "The Extreme" remix, working *a lot* with the Sorceresses' themes from the original soundtrack, (I've got an odd interest and keenness on their lore, theories, image and allegories between the game and real-life source inspiration.) I placed FLWV's haunting piano-hits into the beginnings of Prem's intimidating soundscape, and...paired with me messing with various vibraphone/bell/chime-sounds from LABS and Kontakt, and making a lot of Lo-Fi Hip-Hop tracks recently, it turned into this. My initial idea for "Premonition" was, actually, some sort of hilarious version in Ska / Reggae. I *might* still take up doing that as a remix, but playing with this arrangement's MIDI came smack in the middle of me doing a piece for Newgrounds' NGUAC and NGADM--at the same time. In juggling those, I turned to studying old Blues and Jazz records--some of the stuff my parents used to listen to when I was a kid (Pat Metheny, being a big one). I was looking for melodical inspiration, and some stuff by The Fugees, Nujabes, and other similar-esque Hip-Hop artists for the 'vibes' and atmosphere. Therein came the *spark* to do Prem in that genre, instead, with a hefty lean towards Jazz (I was in an 'everything must have sax/brass' mood. xD) Jazz--but with a creepy sound design fitting for a sorceress... I really do hope people can hear the difference and my skills getting better and stronger step-by-step, with each of the three songs, and I hope people enjoy them all. This was a blessing on all fronts: from the timing, to the happy volunteering of live performances, to the 'lightning in a bottle'-effect I felt in once again embracing and listening to several artists I truly love and aspire to. John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Yusef Lateef, Maze, Jerome Najee Rasheed--it was a pleasure and an honor to try and do something akin to their iconic sound roots, styles and leitmotifs, and to equally come out with something I feel is very "me"--in developing my own style--as a chaotically-filled bundle of soulful funkyness. Once again, shout-out to Jorito and DFW for giving me the chance and opportunity to do this. And a HUMONGOUS cheers to dpMusicman, GameroftheWinds, SirCorn, SheaButter and TSori for their positively wonderful live recordings woven into this song. I really don't think it would have came this far and been this unique without their input. Thank you so much, from the bottom of my heart. [*NOTE: Also, FWIW, as I guess a bit of easter egg about the remix's title, "ill-omen" is a reference to witches/warlocks/sorcerers/etc. being referred to as such in Europe and in the Colonial-era US, with the hunts and trials. Many times, black birds and cats were associated with them (like Ultimecia's wings), and were said to be a prelude to bad tidings, and were associated heavily with witchcraft. I also tried to carefully choose the ad-libs in the song to tie to the sorceresses in-game, with their ability of foresight and independence/disdain from and for society.] # Parts from the Source Used (all adjusted to Premonition's key signature as Bb major/G minor): * "Premonition" = whole song at various points * "Succession of Witches" = 00:00-00:15 (piano keys in the original source turned into marimba/glockenspiel in remix) Source Breakdown: * 00:24-01:10 = the beginning of "Premonition", with additional vocal ad-libs/chops and live violin paired with synth violins and acoustic guitar * 01:11-02:05 = paired marimbas/glockenspiel plays slowed-down versions of "Succession of Witches" beginning keys, slightly modified, along with "Premonition" main and additional live instruments improvising with the melody (e.g. flute) * 02:06-02:50 = live horns and sax paired with synths and live flute bridge up to the main chorus of "Premonition" * 02:51-04:07 = plays on-par with "Premonition" original source, albeit with additional live instruments, Hip-Hop drum vibes, Lo-Fi organ and castanets * 04:08-05:01 = fully improvised section--'Interlude'--the horn parts written with "Premonition" melody in mind; upright bass and guitar strums play "Succession of Witches" (~00:00-00:15) as soft plucks in the background * 05:02-05:28 = we end with the recognizable verse of "Premonition", as if we started right back at the very beginning after the record skipped. . . 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MindWanderer Posted August 1, 2023 Share Posted August 1, 2023 Such a strange arrangement, almost stream-of-consciousness. The jazz elements work well with that, though. This is very much not my jam, but the execution is solid. Performances are good, production is good, source usage is good. Sure. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted August 10, 2023 Author Share Posted August 10, 2023 The source usage breakdown was very helpful, so thanks for that! Dunno what I heard, but I dig it. Loved the female vocal snippets used in the intro and was glad they were so involved for the first couple of minutes; there's a ton of other creative sound design here to bask in and enjoy, and you never know where you're going to end up, but you know it'll be interesting and intriguing along the way. Nice work, Angélique & crew! YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prophetik music Posted August 18, 2023 Share Posted August 18, 2023 this is a clever idea for a remix. foley work initially is solid. the initial melodic material is recognizable - putting it by itself with essentially no harmonic backing is a bold choice, especially considering how noodly it is, but it works with the weird vocal rumblings underneath it. 1:21 brings in some percussive elements and eventually an actual beat, and this is another section where the widely disparate elements work together a lot better than you'd think they would. there's some pitchiness in the live instruments around 1:56 or so. there's a big shift at 2:06, bringing in the brass and horns above what sounds like some altered time signatures through the body of premonition. 2:33's another one that feels like it should be way weirder than it actually was - keeping similar elements in the horns and sax there helped to tie those two sections together. 2:55's transition again is significant, but continues to use the horns and sax to tie together a witch's brew of different elements. 3:24's another break from melodic writing, spending time dancing through a variety of strong-attack instrumentation (bells, piano, a pretty funky organ) until it very suddenly shifts significantly at 4:09 to what feels very much like the outro on a long jazz track until it gets something more rhythmic at 4:31. there's some more fun sound design until the record skips and we get an outro for a bit at 5:02. there is a very eclectic approach here, in case it wasn't obvious in my writeup, and those always toe a fine line. for every one track that really nails the aesthetic of varied and different but approachable, there's like ten really weird space-cadet synplant randomizer AI tracks that just don't work. i think this is one of the successes. such a wide variety of approaches throughout that are way more than the sum of their parts. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimpazilla Posted August 18, 2023 Share Posted August 18, 2023 What a unique collection of sounds, effects, sfx and vocal chops all with an awesome chill vibe. I love weird arrangements like this; they tell a story and I really dig that. We all appreciate the source breakdown, that sure makes things easier. I hear some percussion panned hard right starting at 2:06, and I'm not a fan of that kind of panning. There is also some heavy instrument panning, mostly in the brass instruments and saxophone, which sounds more natural to me since there are two different elements one on each side balancing things out at any point in time. Works really well, in fact! But that right-channel-only percussion makes me wonder if my_left_ear.exe has stopped working. I really do like the eclectic combination of instruments and sounds. The arrangement stays fresh all the way through. Elements are layered in unique ways and everything fits together really well both in sound choices and mixing/balancing. The writing is really creative and fun. Drums sound great when the groove starts up at 1:43. I thought the arrangement was over after the record scratch, but that tapestop outro is the perfect ending to this varied mix. Mixing and mastering are working well overall. Lots of fun, tons of creativity here. Love it, nice work. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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