OCR04564 - *YES* Final Fantasy 8 "Existence Still Denied"

[Liontamer]

Contact Information:

• Your ReMixer Name: The Vodoú Queen (ft. Zack Parrish)
• 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: "Existence Still Denied"
• Name of Individual Song(s) Arranged: 'The Extreme' (and inserts from 'FITHOS LUSEC WECOS VINOSEC', 'Premonition', 'Force Your Way', 'The Castle' & 'Prelude')
• Additional information about game including composer, system, etc. (if it has not yet been added to the site): 

1. FINAL FANTASY VIII OST; Track 9 (Disc 4) - The Extreme; Artist(s): Nobuo Uematsu; Release Date: 10 March 1999; Label: DigiCube | FINAL FANTASY VIII OST; Track 12 (Disc 2) - FITHOS LUSEC WECOS VINOSEC; Artist(s): Nobuo Uematsu; Release Date: 10 March 1999; Label: DigiCube | 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 10 (Disc 1) - Force Your Way; Artist(s): Nobuo Uematsu; Release Date: 10 March 1999; Label: DigiCube | FINAL FANTASY VIII OST; Track 6 (Disc 4) - The Castle; Artist(s): Nobuo Uematsu; Release Date: 10 March 1999; Label: DigiCube & FINAL FANTASY VIII OST; Track 11 (Disc 4) - Ending Theme (inc. The Prelude, in minor key); 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.:

And so, we once again reach the apex of the mountain...

It's been almost a year since I revisited my half of this album's 'The Extreme' remix, "All Existence Denied". I hadn't planned on revisiting it, nor planned to add a revised version of it to the 5th bonus disc. *All* of this came from a private DM with Zack, and him asking about the remix and what my contribution to the collaborative effort was, directly. I do not think he had even heard the remix itself of the original 69, but I gave him an MP3 render that I had to dig out of the recesses of my old Seagate HD (the PC I had done the work has since imploded, although thank the gods the hard drive still worked!)

And then, he asked: "would you like to reignite your vision for the 5th disc?"

I was a bit hesitant; partially because of just how insanely large the DAW file was alone (145 tracks... it wasn't easy mixing all of those beforehand...), and how intricate the BPM changes were within said file... and he was asking this about 3-4 days *before the due date* for our work to be mastered and turned in for evaluation. But after some kindly chatter, I relinquished, and said: "f*ck it, why not?"

Not only did I want to —after thinking on it— go back and see if what I've learned in mixing and post-production since after its inception could actually crank it from that 11 threshold to a full 12 banger (and I hope it did!), but to see if I could utilize *solely* the EDM aspects of the original, and kind of re-add my original plans for the piece itself. I believe what Capt'n Shred and I had done was beautifully married together, and a great, solid remix that went beyond the realms of usual remixes for "The Extreme", and we had accomplished not falling into the category of sounding 'like another The Black Mages' rendition of the source.

But... what else could *I* bring to the table? How could I make it evolve and grow, and in turn, show my growth as a musician and music producer?

Zack and I batted ideas back and forth. He implored me to completely rework the Interlude/Trap section from the original and have it much more focused, much more simplified - and to add a rap to it!! And well, since Darkflamewolf mentioned before that they *really* thought a 'Sorceress rap' would be cool, and I've done it once before... I figured to try and put more of what bit of vocal / singing talent I've got and do my best at it. Synths were strengthened, leads and basses I tried to tweak and fix by having better call/response action to each other. FX chains were re-examined and ripped apart and envelopes built back again...

... And here we are, once again at the final precipice of this 10 min 'magnum opus'.

My hope is that this shows a stark contrast to the original, but also is an homage *to* the original by having those callbacks, whilst being a remix in its own right. I hope it keeps people's interest, and they find something new or something they hadn't noticed before, every time they listen to the song. I did my best to make it distinct and have something different and fresh every time the vibe and flow switched gears, and I'm actually very proud of the vocal work I did with this, and all that I've managed to accomplish in wrangling the Frankensteinian beast I had created. . .

I cannot express how thankful I am for Zack coming to me, just having a talk with me, and wanting me to push myself, express myself, and get my work out there. If it wasn't for him, (or his fantastic ability to fix my horrible transposing and MIDI mistakes, or his truly kick-ass, epic drum creations, OR those wonderful beginning sound effects that lead into the Overture!), I don't think this dream would have come true. The entirety of this album has been one hell of an experience —for better, and almost not at all for worse— and what I've learned in the interim, and the extremely kind people I've met and became friends with has been one of the best experiences in my 30-or-so-years of living on this Earth...

Thank you all, from the bottom of my heart. Please enjoy, and always remember...

Your Existence. Is still. Denied. 

 

#

 

Parts from the Source Used (all adjusted to The Extreme's key signature as F major/D minor):

* "Fithos, Lusec, Wecos, Vinosec" A = 00:33-00:50
* "Fithos, Lusec, Wecos, Vinosec" B = 00:59-01:26
* "The Extreme" = whole song at various points
* "Premonition" = 00:00-00:23
* "Force Your Way" = 00:00-00:12 (including the rising bell/chime 'arpeggio' in the original source that plays @ 00:50-00:56)
* "The Castle" = 00:26-01:20
* "Prelude" = 00:25-00:44

Source Breakdown:

* 00:00-00:29 = 'Overture' plays with music box instrument, glass piano and synth choirs playing "FLWV" A
* 00:30-01:01 = 'Overture' plays "FLWV" B, both parts including the spoken choir words 'Fithos', 'Lusec', 'Wecos' and 'Vinosec' by AlterEgo 'singers'
* 01:01-02:52 = 'Intro' plays "The Extreme" from ~00:00-01:20 of the original source, with added lyrics/spoken words taken directly from Ultimecia's lines in-game (spoken by VQ)
* 02:53-06:09 = 'Main' plays "The Extreme" from ~01:21-03:50, with additionals and switch-ups to keep the source active and fresh (e.g. added arpeggio run 'hype train' @ 04:28, which mimics the main leads); 06:03-06:30 is slightly different from the original, as the leads have changed, but it follows the same/similar bassline and length of that section
* 03:04-03:27 = "Premonition" pads underpin the rise-up to the main core of "The Extreme"
* 03:57-04:09 = "Force Your Way" accents the soft 'drop' in "The Extreme" in this section, before the 'hype train' begins
* 06:23-07:18 = "The Castle" plays upfront and center, mainly by synth harpsichord and long strings, accented by pizzicato strings, hand-bells and a piano key/arp playing bits of "The Extreme" Intro (from ~00:00-01:20); "The Castle" is slightly modified from its original source, mostly incorporating the organ and piano from the original, and an all-new rap written and sung by VQ
* 07:26-08:59 = "The Extreme" picks back up, sliding back to its (modified) Verse->Bridge->Chorus structure, inclusive of a reintroduction of the music box motif (from the 'Overture'), and an 8-bit shift in vibe, synth and style, before the finale
* 08:34-08:59 = "Prelude" plays softly in-behind the final notation of "The Extreme", utilizing sweet bells and chimes to hint at that mystical feeling every time you hear the series' main theme in any Final Fantasy-related game
* 09:00-09:31 = wrapping it up back to "FLWV" choir lines and Ultimecia-based dialogue, until the end where the song's title is said (as homage to its counterpart remix with Capt'n Shred, "All Existence Denied", which was named after an actual line of dialogue said by Ultimecia during the final fight

[MindWanderer]

Wow. What an eclectic mix. Fascinating sound design. Lots of really cool, interesting choices. Lots of off-putting ones, too, but they're artistic decisions that I just happen to not agree with.

I think a lot of people will love this, and I don't have any objective complaints. Let's post it.

YES

[Liontamer]

The music started at :19 and stopped at 9:41.5, so the music was 9:22.5-long. In that case, I needed to identify the source material invoked for at least 281.25 seconds for the source material to dominate the arrangement.

:26.75-:58, :59.5-1:02, 1:03.75-1:07.5, 1:08.5-1:11.5, 1:13.5-1:19, 1:38-2:09, 2:14.75-3:04.5, 3:34-4:12, 4:16-4:39, 5:56.5-6:02.75, 6:42-6:59, 7:45.5-8:05, 8:32.5-8:42.75, 8:53-9:15, 9:19.5-9:41.5 = 284.75 seconds

There was a lot of usage I didn't timestamp here; I was just doing a cursory check of what I could most easily identify, and I found enough just through that first pass.

Arrangement-wise, it's just a wonderfully varied presentation. Muddy at times, but nothing where I couldn't make out the part-writing. The rap section towards the end was too muffled, so that could have been tweaked. Other than that mixing ding, I dug this.

YES 

[prophetik music]

significant source usage. this'll be interesting.

after some sfx intro work, there's a bit of the fithos theme heavily effected and pitch-tweaked. the sweeping distortion effects here are really neat as is the bitcrushing (?) on the tail of some phrases. the following section, of The Extreme, has some neat elements of macro vs. micro beats going on, although i couldn't understand a word of the vox part (this might be me, i'm terrible at understanding words in song). the section from 2:15 really has an impending-doom feel to it, it's a really neat vibe.

3:11 is a significant shift - it's much faster, and the mixing here is nowhere near as clear as the earlier sections were. notably, the booming kick has a lot of sub-40hz content that takes up the aural space and tires out my ear. the build however is great into 3:45, and the effecting on the lead is really fun. this section is a real toe-tapper and drives towards a half-time beat at about 4:17. this section was a bit heavy in the right ear.

there's a true break at 5:03, with some dueling harpsichords, and we get right back on the 'train' at 5:12 for a little over a minute. the building tension into the clocktower sfx at about 6:20 was truly amazing - so many different concepts being layered in.

and then at 6:40 we get another total tonal shift. this felt very sudden and completely detatched from the previous six minutes. the heavily effected vox parts were well-handled, and it's a neat idea, i just felt it was very separate from the rest of the track. 

the remix kind of starts back up around 7:44, and it feels again like the earlier sections with the heavy kick and driving energy. 8:27 or so feels like an ending is starting - there continues to be a lot of exploratory synth usage (and a wrench?) but it definitely feels like we're nearing the peak. there's chiptune stuff, there's ps1-sounding synths, and then we get what feels like some fadeout elements for an ending that hearkens back to the beginning. i didn't care for the last minute plus as i felt it built up but got too scattered for its own good, and then there was no real capstone to finish it off. it kind of keeps wandering through styles until there's the sfx outro and choir shout-out. i think - even if it wans't some big epic slamming blow - a more cohesive ending before the last maybe 25 seconds or so that wrapped the themes in one that was familiar to us by the time we got there would have felt more terminal. it felt like we were going there around 9:20, but it just tailed off instead of going for it.

i feel like the ending was a real letdown, the rap section was pretty disjointed from the rest of the track, and there's certainly nitpicks in the mastering throughout as is expected for a track of this length. but the track as a whole is an achievement, and the overall experience is really something special. this is well above the bar.

 

 

YES

[Emunator]

This is deeply ambitious and very well well executed, brimming with atmosphere and personality without foregoing the vibe of your original source material. We had a conversation over Discord at one point where you were questioning what your strong suits were as a remixer, and I'd argue this arrangement exemplifies so many of the things that make you stand out as an artist. You are a very talented arranger and know how to synthesize many disparate ideas into something that actually flows and takes you through a journey. You have a gift for throwing everything at the wall in the name of ambition and experimentation and making it stick. You play nice with collaborators and know how to come in with a clear vision that others can actually work with. You are bold and brave - there's really no other way to pull off something this grand without a good amount of fearlessness.

All of it comes together to make something that's extremely satisfying from start to finish, even if there are some technical wrinkles in the execution. Bravo!!

YES