Liontamer Posted June 5, 2024 Posted June 5, 2024 Artist Name: Tremendouz I had been planning to arrange this one in a more grandiose style for years but when #SoundoleChillout2024 happened, I got a sudden inspiration for a downtempo version with mostly acoustic instruments. The backbone of the arrangement is the combination of classical guitar, concert harp and electric bass that are mostly playing together but with some call and response going on at times, using all three instruments for both rhythm and melody. Then come the acoustic lead guitar, some soft choir and string pads as well as drums. Together with the gradually increasing tempo I wanted to create a subtle build-up that hopefully keeps the arrangement interesting for all the 6 minutes. As usual for me, everything is MIDI plus virtual instruments. Games & Sources Game: Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward Composer: Nobuo Uematsu
prophetik music Posted June 6, 2024 Posted June 6, 2024 wow, it's hard to define why, but i immediately knew this was an FF track listening to the original. there's so many parallels to tracks on the soundtracks from X through XIII. what an excellent original though. evocative opening. there's a lot of mud due to several things in the same frequency range right off the bat, but it's a very pretty combination. there's a lot of ensemble work which i really appreciate. it's a little confusing hearing the bass playing both bass parts alongside melodic elements simultaneously - i guess this is more of a chapman stick emulation? - but it's a cool sound. the instrumentation really makes it feel like a chrono cross track, actually. we get percussion at 1:43 alongside some more traditional use of harp, and some choir pads. there's a lot of patience and nuance in how this stuff is being used. the beat picks up a bit at 2:55, and most of the instruments move back to their traditional roles (harp arp, bass for the bass line, guitar for rhythmic and chordal elements). the choir pad's a bit louder here and it drags a bit, but moves back to some more melodically-focused stuff at 3:23, and the pads here have some interesting suspensions as well. acoustic solo around 3:55 was nice also. key change at 4:19 and a more driving beat give this a much more energetic feel. the mastering in here is nice and clean and i can still hear the guitar clearly without anything crazy in regards to volumization being done. 5:23's a peak and drop, and it goes through the descending line a few times before it's done. i wasn't really sold on the description at all, but this execution is tremendouz. there's a lot of patience and care shown with how you realized each of these instruments. i'd definitely not have assumed they were all tracked. the ensemble sound throughout is great and the clear master really helps those excellent interpretations to shine through. nice work. YES
Chimpazilla Posted August 12, 2024 Posted August 12, 2024 I don't hear mud in the intro, what am I missing? This entire arrangement sounds very clean to me. Mixing and mastering are just right. Hard to believe none of these instruments are live because they sound convincing to me. This is a lovely, soft, slow-paced take on this source, and it is beautifully executed. Very nice emotional arrangement, lots of subtle writing variations and interpretations. I love it. YES
Hemophiliac Posted September 8, 2024 Posted September 8, 2024 Tremendouz is amongst the best at sequencing virtual instruments for realism. I'm always amazed every time I hear his work how convincingly real it is. I think most people would not know these are not live performances. Warm and luscious opening leads to a more traditional approach. I can understand Proph's comment about mud in the opening, we have the absolute bottom end of the guitar in a similar range to the bass, and they step on each other's toes a little bit. This didn't bother me because it added warmth for a short while and moved away from this into a more open voicing of parts. Production is good, with such a small ensemble of instruments, it's nice to have everything feel together in the same room. I am surprised this didn't go full bore orchestral later on in the track to really amp up the energy. The choice to keep it small and intimate was a good one, because it allows the subtle emotions to come through more. I know there's a lot of FFXIV out there and I think they'll really like this one. YES
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