ReMix:Final Fantasy IX "Weeping Shards" 4:51
By Kenogu Labz
Arranging the music of 2 songs from 2 games ( view all )...
"Crystal World", "To the End of the Wilderness"
Primary Game: Final Fantasy IX (Square , 2000, PS1), music by Nobuo UematsuPosted 2011-06-08, evaluated by the judges panel
Four newcomers, four ReMixes, four Final Fantasy classics: VI, VII, VIII, and now IX. Funny thing is, this happened organically - by sheer chance, these mixes were submitted fairly close to one another, it all lined up, and we figured it would make for an interesting theme. This FF9 (and Wild Arms!) ambient/electronica resub from Kenogu Labz (Nathan Armstrong) has been rebalanced and focused relative to its first incarnation:
"This song is based off of one of the best themes in Final Fantasy IX: Crystal World. It's an eerie rendition of The Prelude, replete with some of the most haunting harp you'll ever hear. But the original song never pushed the original melody of The Prelude, so I decided to mix the two together, and this is what came out. The powerful melody of To the End of the Wilderness lends its motif's strength, as well. This is a tracked song, and the mood is rather dark and chilling, with brief flashes of uplifting emotion.
With this resubmission, many of the instruments have been balanced: leads now sound like leads, and the background fills its proper support role. The guitar has been withdrawn from the beginning of the mix for the most part, in favor of keeping the mood dark. To balance out the song's sections, the guitar section at the end has been lengthened; this also serves to help transition the guitar in more gently. Finally, the entire song's volume has been boosted to be audible at standard listening levels."
This mix grabs your attention with a dramatic, tense, somewhat spooky intro, and never lets go, initially focusing on solo winds but then developing into more of a straightforward synth jam in the later bits. The instrumentation and textures used remind me of some of the earlier, 2000-2004 era mixes we posted, but it's all polished and sounds great. Plenty of pitch-bending and modulation going on to keep the leads interesting, and the fluttering kick drum riddim is a nice touch; in general, detail work makes this arrangement shine, and the flow/progression of starting more ambient then gradually layering in some structure works well. Vinnie writes:
"Yes! So glad you stuck this one out so long, Nathan. The instruments sound much improved and the soundscape is cleaner. Though it could still use tweaking of mixing to improve the dynamics, I think this is definitely the best version so far and now over-the-bar."
Lee adds:
"That synth sounds like something from Jazz Jackrabbit, brings back memories."
Indeed; great work from Nathan, and congrats & thanks to all four newcomers who've given us some great new Final Fantasy mixes!
Discussion
on 2013-11-05 03:59:39
Superb atmosphere in the intro, and as a fellow tracker I'm happy to hear that old school sound in the following sections. Some of the sounds are a bit piercing, but that's just about the only thing I can think of to nitpick in this piece. Nice pitch bending on the leads! Good work!
--Eino
on 2011-12-23 08:56:17
As much as I love the FF9 Crystal World theme, it was always missing the backing that comes in after a short while in the Prelude (starting with FF4, if I'm not mistaken).
And Kenogu was right in putting it back; this song is haunting, fitting for the final area of the game. Much love for this track! :3
on 2011-12-20 14:23:01
Ooh, I like! Very dark and spooky in it's ambient intro with the sound of a ominous storm hitting, complete with thunder, rain and wind. After that it still maintains a cool dark atmosphere while picking the mood up a hair, almost to a majestic level of crystallized darkness.
This sounds like it could fit into a Bejeweled game.
You know, you're right! It sounds like it'd fit right in perfectly with the rest of Bejeweled 2's soundtrack.
on 2011-12-17 11:42:18
Kenogu brings out the darkness in Crystal World without relying as heavily on the electronic effect to start out. The touch of Wild ARMS usage towards the end adds to it by giving it some more richness in the soundscape. I have to wonder how the mix would sound with an actual guitar instead of this synth one though - not a knock on the synth, just a point of curiousity as it could change the texture in a bad way. Regardless, the mix's progression from its dark eerie atmosphere to one that's more hopeful with the synth piercing through is a nice contrast and provides a nice uplifting thought to mind .
on 2011-08-11 11:52:59
Very nice choice of instruments/synths which gives it a distinct 90's sound (especially around 3:10).
Good stuff; looking forward to hearing more from you.
on 2011-06-19 09:19:54
Wow, I totally love this! I never listened to the FF IX soundtrack much but it's interesting to hear such a dark, ambient take on the prelude theme. The beginning ~1-2 min are the strongest, but the rest of the piece is nice too.
on 2011-06-09 23:27:50
Gah, I should've seen this one coming. I've heard most of the other FF posts in one form or another, so I guess it was inevitable that I'd hear the only FFIX track that I know well from the WIP boards.
This was one of my favorite sources from the soundtrack, and I think you did a great job recreating the chill from the original. An interesting note - the Wild Arms section sounds very, very close to the intro of FFIX. Perhaps that's why you thought it wouldwork so well?
Anyway, great remix, overall, and a great way to end the FF remix flood, DjP (even though it technically isn't a 'remix flood').
on 2011-06-09 16:07:01
Damn!! This is incredibly awesome! Great work, man! I can't wait to hear more of your stuff!
on 2011-06-09 01:11:03
oh man that incorporation of the wild arms theme was super slick. this is a great mix, really enjoying the mood and production here.
on 2011-06-08 22:56:37
This sounds like it could fit into a Bejeweled game. The instruments definitely sound like those on Bejeweled songs. And I love it!
You took an already eerie song and made it even more eerie. Awesome.
on 2011-06-08 22:14:53
Of the four new mixes, this is by and far my absolute favourite.
Nothing much to put here beyond some fan love!
on 2011-06-08 22:07:53
oh wow... haha I remember ModPlug tracker from back in the day as well.
Great mix. I love how the Wild Arms theme blends with FF here. Really nice work.
on 2011-06-08 22:03:54
What did you think? Post your opinion of this ReMix.
Sweeeeet! We've always loved tracker mod files at my home. Very distinct sound, and super enjoyable. This mix is pretty great, I will probably listen again. Crystal World is a great source from FF9 and this is a good rendition of it, love the darker Prelude vibes. This is getting me hyped for the ff9 album.
Sources Arranged (2 Songs, 2 Games)
- Primary Game:
-
Final Fantasy IX (Square
, 2000,
PS1)
Music by Nobuo Uematsu
- Songs:
- "Crystal World"
- Additional Game:
-
Wild Arms (Sony
, 1997,
PS1)
Music by Michiko Naruke
- Songs:
- "To the End of the Wilderness"
Tags (6)
- Genre:
- Ambient
- Mood:
- Chill,Spooky
- Instrumentation:
- Electronic,Synth
- Additional:
- Origin > Resubmission
File Information
- Name:
- Final_Fantasy_9_Weeping_Shards_OC_ReMix.mp3
- Size:
- 7,067,268 bytes
- MD5:
- 49ae859d1b12ce96103b3944acf85484
- Bitrate:
- 192Kbps
- Duration:
- 4:51
Download
- Size: 7,067,268 bytes
- MD5 Checksum: 49ae859d1b12ce96103b3944acf85484
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