OCR04741 - *YES* Flowstone Saga "Hanagasumi 花霞 ~ A Mist of White Upon the Lake"

[Emunator]

Artist Name: Emunator feat. Zack Parrish, ParadiddlesJosh

Credits

Emunator: Arrangement, production, programmed guitars (acoustic, tremolo), mixing
Zack Parrish: Guitars (leads, distorted rhythm), electric bass, mastering
ParadiddlesJosh: Drums

Artist Notes

I've been beta testing Flowstone Saga for several months at the time of this submission, which has generally meant that I've experienced the first 5 hours of the game about 10 times. I haven't yet made it far enough to hear this song in context, but when I was scanning through the soundtrack, I absolutely fell in love with this piece and immediately knew I had to arrange it. It's magical and emotive in a way that evokes classic JRPG soundtracks like Xenogears, and I couldn't get it out of my head. I asked Andrew if I was too late to get in on the Flowstone Saga arrangement bandwagon, and he told me I had roughly 2 weeks left before the due date. Challenge accepted - nothing motivates me like an impending deadline!

If this were a speedrun, I'd be gold splitting nearly every part of this project. I knew that, after years of toeing the line around this genre, I wanted to go full post-rock on this one, and OceansAndrew set the perfect stage for that to happen. I started off with a skeleton arrangement that I littered with programmed guitars and drums along with my usual ambient synth fare. The arrangement was locked in by day 2, but in order to really make it convincing, I had to enlist Zack and Josh to bring some live band energy. I shipped off parts after lunch, took a nap, and by the time I woke up a few hours later, I was already receiving recordings from both of them. Absolutely clutch guys, your work here is impeccable and SO much better than what I could accomplish solo. From there, I spent another 10 hours or so putting layers of polish in the form of synth layers, pads, and one-shot effects all over the track to glue everything together. It all happened so much faster than normal - I really hit my "flow state" on this one ;)

Regarding the title: in-game, this song is used in a location called Eden Lake, which features a flow-touched sakura tree. In doing some research for potential song names, I came across the Japanese word "hanagasumi", which translates to "hazy curtain of flowers, cherry blossoms appearing from afar like white mist." I couldn't have asked for a better hyper-specific word to capture the overall vibe of this piece, and it helped me come up with the most over-the-top post-rock-ass title I could muster.

Technical note: this is my first mix that I've made since acquiring a new pair of mixing headphones and calibrating my studio monitors, and oh man, what a difference it has made! I was able to complete this track in under 20 hours, and I think it sounds far better than songs I've spent 100 hours on. I finally feel like I can trust my ears and have my mixes translate to consumer grade speakers. Chimpazilla said that this "doesn't have any of the usual problems" so I'm optimistic that this will go over well! It's one of my favorite arrangements I've ever written, thanks again to the homie OceansAndrew for letting me be a part of this and for creating this wonderful music in the first place!

[prophetik music]

post-rock? sign me up!

some really pretty flourishes to start. the bass does something really weird at 0:26 and again at 0:30 (detuned? is it scooping?). the drums start at 0:39 and it's a nice feel already. the addition of the rhythmic element at 1:04 in the acoustic is a neat feel behind the drums. we get the b content at 1:57, complete with shift in time signature. i like the lead being carried by the guitar octaves there.

we finally get some real drums at 2:35 and it blows through the chords again before a big hit at 3:28, with some falling action. after a bit of a bridge, 3:52 begins the real build, and this has a suitable payoff of almost a minute of full bore material. finally hitting the electric guitar lead feels really great here. i wouldn't have minded if the guitars were more wall-of-sound here, but the band sound here is still great.

5:12 is the beginning of the end. zach's lead guitar parts here are reminiscent of some of OA's stuff over the years, so that's a fun correlation. some washes of sound and the track's done.

this is a lay-up as expected based on the contributors. excellent work.

 

YES

[Hemophiliac]

I too have not got far enough in the game to have heard it in context, but with the imagery described this sounds awesome. It's so cool to hear something that is so very OA and Emunator at the same time.

There is so much wonder, peacefulness, and romance in this track. This is a total slow-burn build up of dynamics and energy throughout.  Slowly reaching it's peak late in the track. Not much to say here, except the execution was great and this is a slam dunk.

YES

[Chimpazilla]

I hear those two wonky bass notes that Brad mentioned, at 0:26 and 0:30, perhaps check if something happened at those two points.  You could check the bass notes in a higher octave to see if they are the right notes (easier to hear in the higher octave, then change them back)

This is really super lush and lovely, and showcases the talents of all three artists extremely well.  It's a beautiful huge wide-open soundscape that tells a story extremely well.  Production is pristine, methinks.  Mastering is just right.  

YES