Liontamer Posted June 2, 2024 Share Posted June 2, 2024 Artist Name: TheManPF Additional artists: Newmajoe; Michelle Dreyband; Ronin Op F; jnWake; Kev Ragone; pingosimon This is a smooth jazz/jazz ballad track that I submitted to Final Fantasy month in DoD in November 2023, where it placed 6th out of 31 tracks. I'm not much of a jazz guy, but I can dig some jazz ballads or smoothy jazz vibes every now and then, and in particular Scarlet's Theme from Final Fantasy 7 Remake stood out to me. When I was playing, I remember being in absolute awe when I reached chapter 16 and stood in front of the window of the highest building in Midgar and looking at the starred night sky, in the middle of what looked like a 7 star hotel, with this playing in the background, the vibes are just immaculate. Naturally, it made me want to cover this ever since, and when I finally got the chance, I decided to keep the vibes faithful to the original. This kind of remix is what I like to call an "extended cover"; basically, what would this sound like if there was a "full version" of it? (even though there's already a full version, whoops). Basically kept the first half or so very very faithful, with a few changes in instrumentation (mostly sex I mean sax). After the first chorus, it goes into an original bridge with lots of solos, before coming back for an original second verse and a new second chorus, with some chord changes on the way to make this spicier. It's not the first time I try to reimagine how a track would sound if there was an extended version, but it's the first time you'll see me submit one of these. Obviously for this one I gathered a MASSIVE team of SUPER TALENTED MUSICIANS. I had all of them thought out like a year in advance, I knew exactly who I wanted to collab with, and they all delivered beyond my expectations: Joe is playing tenor sax, of course this isn't nearly the first time I collab with this guy, but he's one of the most insanely talented people I know, and sax is his thing, he both played the lines I wrote and lines he improvised himself during the whole song that spiced it up so much more while also keeping it smooth. He also sang a little backing vocals in the choruses for support. Michelle Dreyband is someone who I've heard sing several times but I couldn't get to collab with her much until now, she has a gorgeous voice and an excellent technique, she's mostly classical-trained, but I knew immediately that she had a voice that would fit this perfectly. Ronin Op F is my violin go-to. He's complementing the whole song with a lot of live violin lines to help it give more movement, you may have heard him play like an absolute crazy madman in Rib Eye Rodeo, but here you'll hear that he can easily play smooth and relaxing lines just as well. He also improvised his own violin solo. It's criminal that I haven't collabed with my latino brother jnWake before, he always does these crazy proggy songs with lots of synth noodling, but he's also an excellent pianist, and I invited him to lay down both rhythm and improvised melodies, and he did an excellent job. Kev Ragone is someone that surprises me is not in OCR already! He's not exactly a newbie, he's involved in numerous music projects both in and out of DoD, he's one of the most prolific VGM drummers I know. This is my first time collabing with a real drummer, and by god the work of this man is insanely good, he laid down his groove so fast and so clean, he had a whole ass take just mere days after I sent him the arrangement and it sounded great already even before I actually started mixing! You could say Kev is the MVP of this song. This is one of the few tracks where I don't have Zach playing bass (sorry buddy ):), mainly because for this one I recruited Pingosimon, also known (and credited) as Andre Beller, someone who doesn't have much in OCR but just like Kev, he's a very well established shizzie. He helped me by playing the mother-fucking UPRIGHT BASS, and it sounds as beautiful as you would expect. I arranged, wrote (patial) lyrics, mixed, played guitar and sang backing vocals. A cool thing about this one is that it's the first full cover I've done that's 100% live, no sequencing at all, and I'm very proud of how this one came out, so go get a drink, sit back and enjoy the view from the top. Lyrics: [VERSE 1] Fireworks to light up your night sky In a flash, life and love can go awry Let me take you higher Fulfill your desires Stilettos and lingerie, both Complement, supplement [PRE-CHORUS 1] In my grandeur I'm all-natural Beneath this crimson dress In my splendor I'm all-natural Beneath jewels and finesse And elegance [CHORUS 1] What you see is what you get Only passion, no regrets Only triumph, I've got nothing to hide So sit back and enjoy the ride [VERSE 2] Fragrances that spice up, fill the air Suddenly heart and mind start to race Let me pull you closer Only for a moment Candle lights and chardonnay, oh Ornament, compliment [PRE-CHORUS 2] In my grandeur I'm all-natural Behind this fine attire In my glamor I'm all-natural Beneath pearls, opulence Extravagance [CHORUS 2] What you need is what I got Only heaven, without a thought Only fire, 've got all you desire So don't hold back, let loose and Sit back and enjoy the ride Games & Sources Game: Final Fantasy 7 Remake Songs arranged: Scarlet's Theme (https://youtu.be/aJmvKezjCoo) Original composer: Tsuyoshi Sekito; Mitsuto Suzuki; Nozomi Toki System: Playstation 4; Playstation 5; Windows Year: 2020 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prophetik music Posted June 4, 2024 Share Posted June 4, 2024 drum tone is excellent, mic work is really nicely done. keys, violin, sax, and bass really come together to nail the sound. michelle's voice is great for this type of jazz - the super-clear pronunciation is an underrated element of the style. the first blow through the verse and chorus is pretty straightforward, and we get a piano solo at 2:09 that's excellent as expected based on the performer. lots of scalar flourishes work really well with this kind of languid groove. vin solo after is similarly fitting and patient, and joe's solo is a nice compliment in that it's more technical and exploratory with the drums under it being more involved as well, and then he does a nice job settling behind the violin line while still saying interesting stuff. 3:46 is a bit of a break and comes back to the verse elements. the melodic line is a bit meandering in this track and michelle overall does a nice job stringing together the line. the chorus is repeated at the end and there's a few notes that aren't quite there in this section. after that is a pretty standard short outro with requisite sax sustain, and it's done. this is an easy vote for me. excellent adaptation of the original in the same style without losing the plot in a jazz rendition with solo work. nice work. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hemophiliac Posted July 28, 2024 Share Posted July 28, 2024 When I listen through this, I can think of one word that describes the arrangement and performances. Restraint. There is so much restraint demonstrated here. Things don't fly off the rails and get crazy, the mellow-but-upbeat vibe remains throughout. At any moment, the soloing or direction could have gone crazy, but it stays within a nice range. Kudos for keeping the vibe intact even in the solos. That all probably sounds weird to say, but I mean it as a compliment. Usually when I would go to the jazz lounge I would always hear the performers want to show-off rather then keep it within the vibe of the song. Semi-typical jazz form here, with head-solos-head. Energy level picks up with the final recap too. Love the tone of the guitar, not sure but sounds like a hollow body (and I don't feel like I hear much in VGM) which is where my preference lies in the genre. All of the performances in this are stellar, and the mixdown is fantastic. Everything blending very well and leads stand out in front when they are featured. Absolutely YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted September 13, 2024 Author Share Posted September 13, 2024 I thought Shea's Violin somehow got hired for FF7 Remake when I heard 2:07's violin solo in the source; wow. Onto the arrangement, just as Hemo's noted, this was very conservative tone-wise, but nicely done figuring in some new instrumentation choices and writing ornamentations. It's a perfect example of an arrangement that, energy and tone-wise, deceptively sounds more like a close cover. Kev's drums together with Andre's bass give this pure sophistication and depth, while Michelle's vivacious vocals expertly set the mood. I enjoyed Ronin's vibrant take on the violin and then newmajoe's stylish sax afterward into their leading duet at 3:20 was awesome! And jnWake's keys are luxurious with a capital LUX. Nice job on the performances, everyone, and nice job to TheManPF on steering the ship. Smoove personified! YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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