Emunator Posted November 16, 2023 Share Posted November 16, 2023 Arrangement, Mastering: Lucas Guimaraes Viola Performance, Mix: Andrew Steffen of ETHEReal String Orchestra If this gets approved and could be mixposted on Final Fantasy's birthday that'd be lovely, since this is for a Final Fantasy Viola Quartet album. Oh man, this is a fun one that has a whole story. It joins the same camp as Tyrano's Stash for a ReMix that wouldn't exist without another ReMix. In this case, it was Song of the Desperado that came in at the 11th hour for the Final Fantasy 8 album to beat the record of album with the most tracks. Basically, we needed a violist, and Andrew Steffen was happy to oblige. Andrew later on showed me some of his Viola Quartet tracks that he did. I really liked what I heard, and I asked him why he hadn't released them. His answer? Because they weren't an album. We kept joking about me finishing the whole thing, or at least he was - I took it at face value. A couple of months later I finished up 6 Final Fantasy Viola Quartet arrangements. He got to recording pretty quickly and the only thing that really halted the process was me being slow on finalizing album art (oops). So the music itself. I started this off in Sibelius. All I thought was "this is absolutely unplayable" and "there's no way this will end up sounding good". I wasn't particularly proud of it, but I knew there were some parts with potential. I was sick of hearing it and sent it off to Andrew, along with the other files. Him and I have a very collaborative process, so I trusted him in bringing the rest to life. The result? ...well, that's what you're hearing. A majestic take on a theme. Sometimes hearing my arrangements with different instruments really helps remember the potential in them. The amount of things that come together in this arrangement and performance really go above and beyond. Both the fast sections and adding more slow sections, similar to Song of the Desperado. Going for a Tango at about 2:04 was certainly an inspired choice, and one that I wasn't quite sure would work, but it got pulled off brilliantly. The slow push right back into the main theme as it begs you for more. 3:09 when the track pulls you into thinking it's ready to go back to the main theme, but it's not *quite* there yet, then the beautiful reprise at 3:40 to give the end some punch. This fits the chaos of a character like Gilgamesh. I might have stayed in slow land a little too long, but after 2 minutes of punching in the face, I consider it a good break As for the ReMix title, I went with this because Gilgamesh is waiting at big bridge behind the door. Nothing *too* fancy, haha. I hope you all enjoy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prophetik music Posted November 16, 2023 Share Posted November 16, 2023 intro sounds like there's some randomness to the initial couple of runs until it settles down after a bit, and then it's impressively technical. the main melody comes in at 0:44, and there's a ton of personality in how it's being articulated and played which is great. some really fast harmonized runs in time are again impressive. 1:35's departure from tonality was a neat idea and well-executed. 1:58's the first really significant section that isn't close adaptation or original material, and the half-time approach is a great idea. there's a lot of complex chord work in here that's honestly pretty impressive. the section from 3:15 to 3:35 is a little too navel-gazing for me, but it quickly gets out of its feels and moves into the melodic content again. there's some exciting ending material (nice work on the accelerando into the ending...not easy to do with recorded elements like this to be in time so well!) and it's done. this is real solid! excellent work. ensembles with the same instrument can feel very dense and samey but this does a nice job of exploring the entire instrument's range. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MindWanderer Posted November 24, 2023 Share Posted November 24, 2023 Great arrangement. Pretty conservative overall, but it takes a lot of dips and twists that keeps it fresh throughout. There is some room for improvement on the performance front. There are off-key notes and squeaks sprinkled throughout. I don't think it's enough to push it below our bar, but it definitely sticks out as a weakness, and I can imagine it bothering listeners with a good sense of pitch. Still a lot of skill on display here. Overall a fun take and an entertaining listen. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted November 25, 2023 Share Posted November 25, 2023 Heh. Not the most melodious take on the opening, yet I like how tense the build sounds. Heard an off note that was more a scrape at :54, but it was quickly forgotten. More ominous than the original, and good drive and momentum here during the densest parts thanks to Andrew's spirited playing. Dug the change into the more open and understated texture at 1:58. The tension didn't click for me 100%, but let's say it was 90%, and that's firmly on solid ground, IMO. Cool concept! YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emunator Posted November 25, 2023 Author Share Posted November 25, 2023 (edited) This really does feel like one of your more successful sonic experiments experiments as of late - while some of your previous tracks (solo trumpet, mirrored arrangement) utilized a great concept but ultimately fell short of sounding like a complete song on its own, this really fills out the sound stage and demonstrates a full appreciation and understanding of the range of the viola, an instrument that doesn't frequently take the main stage. The intro was really well executed to build tension before the main melody drops in. I found the reverb to be a little overbearing during certain sections, but once the low strings ease up, it sounds nice! I'm not entirely sure but it feels like some surgical EQ on the reverb itself would remedy this. At the end of the day though, this is really technically impressive and also quite enjoyable as a casual listen! Great work guys YES Edited November 25, 2023 by Emunator Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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