ReMix:Wild Arms "Desirous Sacrifice" 4:38

By Jewbei

Arranging the music of one song...

"War Demon"

Primary Game: Wild Arms (Sony , 1997, PS1), music by Michiko Naruke

Posted 2011-12-22, evaluated by djpretzel


Like Flexstyle, Jewbei has really kicked things up this year; he continues a trend of rock-solid, catchy, accessible arrangements with this toe-tapper:

"This originally started out as a collab with Tepid, but it fell through during the early stages, so I decided to continue on with the track. I worked really, REALLY hard on this track. It took me nearly 2 years to finish it, though this is by far my best remix I've ever written. I wanted to step out of my trance box and try something new. It was also suggested by both Jade & bLiNd that I do so, which I'd like to add they both played a very important part of this mix. The feedback that they gave me really helped me shape this into a good track. I don't know what I'd do without them, Pa and Mother Goose. I hope everyone here will enjoy this. I really had fun making this track."

It's great stuff; I was nodding my head involuntarily for the whole thing, the length is perfect - there's development without extensive repetition - and production is crisp & has a lot of impact. Jewbei's got the foundations down and is beginning to branch out a bit more - I'd still like to see him go further outside his comfort zone next year, but it's hard to find much fault with electronica mixes like this. Jade writes:

"As one of the longest sources from the soundtrack, "Battle Demon" is also one of the most popular tracks among Wild Arms fans. I was honestly a little worried at first, because it began as a collab but one of the artists had to drop out. However, Jewbei's resultant track is the meaning of serendipity. Jewbei really impressed me and this track definitely is out of the ordinary for him. When I listened to the finished product, I shouted, "YES! HE FINALLY GOT IT! HE UNDERSTANDS NOW!" I am very happy he is finally getting out of his shell and starting to experiment. This source is known as Boomerang's second theme and, as one of my favorite Assassin villains, he says, quote, "If humans turn hope into power, then I can turn desire into a blade," so Jewbei and I thought "Desirous Sacrifice" was the perfect title for this awesome track. bLiNd and I am proud of you, my son. :)"

You'd never guess in a zillion years that this was a collab that became a solo mix; it feels complete, from soup to nuts, and while it may diverge a little from James' established sound, I still think his style comes through. As our ever-growing flood continues, one thing should become readily apparent: Wild Arms has been given the deluxe, five-star, luxury, spared-no-expense treatment by all who contributed to this album.

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 8 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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Bahamut
on 2012-07-05 22:50:30

Oo, some fat beats from Jewbei! This track differs from some of his more formulaic trance material, and I like this divergence quite a lot. It keeps things interesting throughout with a good amount of variance and an intriguing soundscape that has the listener curious what is going to happen.

Love what is done here, it is my favorite Jewbei mix so far. Keep up the good work!

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Kadaji
on 2012-03-20 08:39:54

Damn Awesome Beat :shock: i really love it !

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ryankeeton
on 2011-12-26 21:04:16

The transition/fill at 0:26 was awesome, it's used later sometime too. Pretty gating at 1:12 and I liked the plucked strings/guitar coming in just after, stiff sample though. Interesting break at 2:55. Nice variety of leads. Ending felt abrupt

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Clucko
on 2011-12-26 03:08:21

That really is clearer than a cloudless day. I love the moments that allow you to catch your breath before taking a dive into more flavor. Truly riveting.

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Rexy
on 2011-12-23 10:53:17

Ah, a more daring source for Jewbei this time. 6/8 + trance = any combination you want.

True to his style he keeps to his four-to-the-floor tendancies, and what he ended up doing with the source was concerting it to a 4/4 time signature. In a similar way to "Final Progression" and "Above the Clouds", as linked in the writeup, it starts out fairly well with referencing to the rhythmic components of the source material within the opening build as well as in segments that don't reference to the melody upfront. And the main melody managed to come on in full swing at around 2:20, showing the source while still playing strong to Jewbei's strengths as a trance musician. This progression managed to work throughout the track with all the details placed within the builds up and down to really amplify his skills within the genre, as well as being a very neat way to handle a not-quite-so-electronica-friendly source.

I can't be without criticisms though, suffice to say.

First off, I noticed moments of roughness during the buildup at around 1:45; I did hear that the automation on the sidechaining felt somewhat stuttering and struggling to react smoothly. That might be down to the output latency on the soundcard, and may seem a little glaring for some, but this incident only happened for about 15 seconds or so so it may be no big deal.

And on a similar note, I have to say I'm not really a fan of your acoustic guitar sample here. To me it comes off rather mechanical with no means of expression (not even any velocity alterations), and does kind of hurt the realism a bit. But I'll ride with it given the genre direction this has taken.

But in spite of this, it's a solid cut off the Wild Arms album, and we're glad to have seen Jewbei pull through with this effort for the set. With his transformation as an arranger this year, 2012 could only get brighter from here :)

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Loning
on 2011-12-23 08:36:30

I like it! Great job on this track Jewbei. The beat is awesome and very catchy.

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Crulex
on 2011-12-22 20:47:49

Nice! Sounds like something I'd hear right off Frequency radio! Sweet driving beat with a great melody that really does the original justice. Awesome work with the synths and the arrangement. The pacing and feel of this one is definitely a head-nodder and stays very true to the great electronica formula. Nice work.

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djpretzel
on 2011-12-22 18:56:44

What did you think? Post your opinion of this ReMix.

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


Primary Game:
Wild Arms (Sony , 1997, PS1)
Music by Michiko Naruke
Songs:
"War Demon"

Tags (3)


Genre:
Mood:
Instrumentation:
Electronic,Synth
Additional:
Time > Tempo: Fast

File Information


Name:
Wild_Arms_Desirous_Sacrifice_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
8,021,791 bytes
MD5:
8b967d6f23bf43f17d40f237bb92152c
Bitrate:
228Kbps
Duration:
4:38

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