ReMix:The Sims 3 "Musicolours" 4:36

The Sims!! More Guifrog! We actually had a Sims mix on the site a long time ago but it was removed for standards issues, so it's nice to finally be reinstating the quirky franchise with an equally quirky arrangement from Guifrog:

"I'm now treating instruments as people. They've got different genders: the ones that have a bass, heavier sound, I'm treating as "male"; the softer, high-pitched sounds are "female". That's how I feel it, but you can interpret in a way other than genders. It's musicolours after all, and it's about diversity of love. (with a lil' Irish touch, which is why I call it musicolo'U'rs)

It opens with a harp. During the whole song, harp represents love itself; so, it starts things for an accordion (the male one) to take place, until it's followed by the flute (female one). If you pay attention, there's also the pizzicato/violins (female) that harmonize with bass/cello (male). There's mutual love between the instruments during the whole beginning, as they dance along with the flow. Highlight for the glockenspiel, by the way - it's a sweet, innocent child.

But things actually turn to get interesting afterwards. The mellow and introspective song turns into a happy, open-hearted dance tune; bass (male) now totally follows the cello (male); the flutes (female) walk and dance on the floor, when suddenly, violins (female) follow them, until both harmonize together! Now you can see where the real colors of the song reside, as the harp (love) comes to celebrate the new pairs; still, you can see that kick (male) complements hihat (female), accordion and flute are still a pair, and the diversity is fully established."

I love this guy... because he's super-excited about music & musical possibilities (!!), and sometimes I think some of us lose that, get a little too set in our ways, or get jaded or hung up on genre-specific techniques. Of course, excitement & enthusiasm can be problematic if they're not paired with skill & at least a little restraint and crafting of the end result. Guifrog has definitely arrived, in that arena, and we're hearing production that can carry the weight of his many ideas and make it all click. We start off in a French street cafe, then go on an upbeat, beat-anchored journey, with almost Pee-Wee Herman (pre-incident) levels of joy & resplendent, major-key whimsicality. It's hard not to smile and feel optimistic listening to an arrangement like this, and it makes me want to get things done, perambulate, live my life, etc., not unlike the virtual denizens of the games. The Orichalcon writes:

"Wow, it's like The Sims: Professor Layton style (or at least the beginning is.) I love it. Sources are easily recognizable, cleverly mixed together. Great production. Respectful use of each instrument. People are going to love this one."

OA loves him some major-key, and thus concurs:

"The soundscape was creative and worked well, and the source treatment fit well; the theme combination worked out nicely. The additional sections and transitions were solid and fit well, and the energy was really nice. Upbeat and pleasant, with good source use and pretty solid production? Sign me up for a YES."

There's still room for improvement on the production front, but as previously mentioned these are arrangements that are particularly demanding of samples employed, and I think Guifrog's part-writing really helps sell it. Fun, happy, eccentric stuff that conveys the artist's positivism & ability, and should please fans of the series & unacquainted alike!