ReMix:Chrono Cross "Through Time and Space" 5:59

By ABG

Arranging the music of one song...

"Life ~A Distant Promise~"

Primary Game: Chrono Cross (Square , 1999, PS1), music by Yasunori Mitsuda

Posted 2009-09-30, evaluated by the judges panel


We kinda-sorta screwed up on this one. Alright, we did screw up; poor ABG's Chrono Cross mix was approved by the panel, but Larry thought that it needed special approval from me since it uses a bell sound that's sampled from the game. Problem was, I never got the memo, so there was a miscommunication and it should have been posted several months ago. Shawn was apparently talking with Jade about it, she got upset, said some rash things on Facebook, and a microdrama ensued. While she may have drawn some incorrect conclusions and broached the subject in a less-than-ideal manner, we still thank Mrs. bLiNd for bringing the mix to our attention - it needed to be posted, badly, and y'all need to check it out, 'cause it rocks. As a side note, we've taken some measures to eliminate this specific problem from occurring again. Mr. Overn writes:

"Finally! This is the first remix I've finished since I sent you since my last submission, Purity. You might remember when I sent it that I was gushing about a new PC I'd just ordered.. well, this is actually the first track I've finished on the new machine, so for me it has extra significance. For the first time, ever, I didn't have to hesitate to add new elements to a project for fear of underruns. I can't describe how free and awesome it felt to just program whatever I wanted with reckless disregard for precious cpu cycles! This project definately wouldn't have been doable on my old computer, and yet I was only using about half of the horses under my hood. I don't want to seem like I'm bragging, nor do I want to seem like I'm gushing. It's just that now I can see that I don't have anything preventing me from jumping over that last hurdle and accomplishing everything I've ever wanted to, and it's got me really excited. But, enough of my life story! You're more interested in the remix.

My submission is called "Through Time and Space", and it's a remix of the proper ending from Chrono Cross, where you use the 7th element to defeat Lavos and free Schala from the bonds of time. I'm not gonna say much about the remix, but I will say that its trance, its pretty unconventional for the genre, and I hope it has a couple of surprises for you. I've wanted to remix this song for a long time, but I also wanted to know that I could do it justice. Now, I can remove one of those "must do" remixes from my list! Please enjoy the song and we'll talk again once I've got another of those urgent remixes done."

Very cool. I just upgraded recently myself (as noted here), so I can relate to being unfettered from the surly bonds of CPU cycles and RAM... more or less. ABG makes some great, accessible electronica, and as with Mr. Aguirre, craftsmanship shines through in every measure of his work. You can read the judges' decision thread for the full discussion, but the issue here was the bell sample in question was then used to play a melody very close to what's in the original, so it sounds almost verbatim at times. Almost... but not quite. Shawn does quite a bit of auxiliary work to set everything in a trance context; Jimmy writes:

"The bellchimes thing is definitely verbatim, all questions of direct sampling aside. That's not exactly a bad thing, as long as there's supportive counterpart writing and/or more substantial interpretation later on to compensate. The connection to the rest of the source (mainly the strings) has been adapted to synth pads mostly. And the piano arpeggio from the source is of course a synth arp in the remix. So all in all, I don't see how anyone could say there's not enough connection to the source at any given point. There's been several additional synth arps added by Shawn so that it's not strictly a cover. There's a bit of repetition, true, but again, I think it's a style thing. Trance remixes are always going to have that tendency. Sometimes, I think you have to look past it to a varying degree depending on the intended genre."

Basically, you've got a very well-constructed, energetic trance mix that shows off ABG's new PC horsepower quite well. It's on the conservative side at times, which - coupled with the sampled bell tone - helps explain (if not excuse) the circumstances behind its delay in being posted. Either way, great Chrono Cross action from Shawn - looking forward to see what else he can do with his new box!

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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eggsngaming
on 2016-10-03 22:20:49
On 11/21/2011 at 10:58 PM, Velocifero said:

I love love love this song, but....ever since I've listened to this, something has bugged me. That ticking sound that comes in at 2:21. Seems to be a liiittle off, like just behind the underlying bass beat. It might not be as noticeable had it been a little quieter maybe.

I think the ticking is just fast triplets. Never really bothered me but I can see why it can put some people off.

Agreed completely with Crulex, this definitely feels like a trip through time and space. The tragic tone of the mix remains even as the trance beat comes in which is impressive. Sometimes when I listen to this mix, it makes me feel hopeful for our future, like we're exploring among the stars for new life. Other times it makes me feel...sad. Like we've made mistakes that we can't undo. I dunno, it's hard to explain. Minor key for ya

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Crulex
on 2012-04-05 15:07:59

Amazing. Really does feel like a trip through time and space, and has a classic trance sound to it, which is really impressive. Really like the piano bits added in and the steady flow of energy throughout. Very well done.

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Bahamut
on 2011-11-24 19:26:04
I love love love this song, but....ever since I've listened to this, something has bugged me. That ticking sound that comes in at 2:21. Seems to be a liiittle off, like just behind the underlying bass beat. It might not be as noticeable had it been a little quieter maybe.

Listening to this again, I have to agree - I think replacing it completely with something else utilized differently to fill in the sound would be the best option. It takes away from the trance feel of the song greatly to me.

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Velocifero
on 2011-11-21 22:58:41

I love love love this song, but....ever since I've listened to this, something has bugged me. That ticking sound that comes in at 2:21. Seems to be a liiittle off, like just behind the underlying bass beat. It might not be as noticeable had it been a little quieter maybe.

avatar
Martin Penwald
on 2009-10-21 16:17:32

The build-up and wind-down work very well. And despite its length, the song never feels repetitive.

I'm not too hot on some of the synths that come in at ~2:00 and the piano that follows, though. It just seems...so vanilla. Like every other trance song.

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yosefu
on 2009-10-09 23:03:11

Very beautiful work.

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Catharsis
on 2009-10-05 20:32:05

This is fantastic and lovely. The original song has long been one of my favorites in all of video game-dom, and I've never understood why it hasn't received more remixes. Therefore, I'm doubly glad since you did an excellent job on it. Kudos.

For anyone considering future remixes, please do. :)

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OA
on 2009-10-05 15:41:59

Fantastic work- this really focuses on the builds to great effect, and the only thing I think this could have done differently to make me enjoy it more is to have the beats hit harder. Pretty small potatoes as far as i'm concerned. :-)

Nice synths, and the bell sound from the original was well meshed with the new elements.

Well played, sir. :-)

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Master_Yoshi
on 2009-10-03 07:45:51

This is beautiful. I almost cried. And not a single, manly tear, I am talking open weeping over something so beautiful.

Thank you so much.

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Emunator
on 2009-10-03 00:32:13

By the way, the Aplus mirror leads to a broken link. I'm having the same problem with "Step into the Light" as well.

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DragonAvenger
on 2009-10-02 23:29:06

This works surprisingly well in this style, I'm impressed. Good listen, although I'm a tad iffy on the ending. It's good, just doesn't feel like the right fit for this track, in my opinion. It's by no means a deal breaker, and after a few listens I think I'll be fine with, it. Great work though!

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Theophany
on 2009-10-02 18:07:46

Really excellent work. Wasn't a fan of the drawn out ending, but this is just all around omg great stuff.

You really took this tune and done it rite.

:nicework:

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Bahamut
on 2009-10-02 03:30:48

This is a pretty nice mix - well-built trance, although I feel like it would've benefited from some more volume variation with the main synth in the background.

It shows how far the electronic music on the site has come though, and damn it's good to hear. :-)

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ziwtra
on 2009-10-01 19:56:14

Like in Purity ABG absolutely nails the countermelody and paints another wonderfully atmospheric space. Eagerly waiting the next ABG mix : )

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Emunator
on 2009-10-01 01:54:40

Well, there's times when I get a bit annoyed with the constantly looping melody in the beginning and end of the song (maybe because it's panned so far to one ear) but for some reason there's something strangely enjoyable about it at the same time. I'm not really sure what I think about that, honestly :P

Overall, though, I like the sounds you've used and your buildups and breakdowns are executed very tastefully. Good work, I'm glad this got posted! You don't see this kind of music getting posted as frequently these days, so it's a nice treat when a song like this makes it up on the front page :-)

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


Primary Game:
Chrono Cross (Square , 1999, PS1)
Music by Yasunori Mitsuda
Songs:
"Life ~A Distant Promise~"

Tags (3)


Genre:
Mood:
Instrumentation:
Electronic,Synth
Additional:
Time > Duration: Long

File Information


Name:
Chrono_Cross_Through_Time_and_Space_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
5,831,505 bytes
MD5:
e6e3c29322b7fa71aa5e1d8ac377720b
Bitrate:
128Kbps
Duration:
5:59

 

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