ReMix:Golden Sun "Rebirth of Venus" 4:14

By Matt R., S. Battle

Arranging the music of one song...

"Venus Lighthouse"

Primary Game: Golden Sun (Nintendo , 2001, GBA), music by Motoi Sakuraba

Posted 2012-09-20, evaluated by the judges panel


Newcomers Matt R. and S. Battle (Mattias Rasmussen and Sean Battle, in a rather anticlimactic pseudonym reveal) give us our first Golden Sun ReMix in seven years, with a classy rock arrangement that starts off as an emotional solo piano piece but kicks out the jams with badass electric guitar AND synth solos before all is said & done. We even get a lovely acoustic guitar & piano reprise break at 2'38", and the string runs that ensue after electric guitar kicks back in are epic. While the execution is fantastic, what strikes me about this mix is how focused and substantial the arrangement is - at 4'13", the length is JUST right, and the piece moves forward with a pitch-perfect sense of development and timing. This would be impressive as a first mix OR a twentieth mix in terms of structure; nothing feels excessive or arbitrary and everything has confidence & momentum. It's an excellent tribute to & interpretation of Motoi Sakuraba's original. OA agrees:

"This hits with a nice and beefy sound, and some good minor personalization fill this track out, and a solid handoff to the synth for a lead changeup sound. The drums are well planned out, and though the snare could stand to come up a touch, everything else sounds well balanced. Solos were brief but solid, and the expansion leading up to the acoustic breakdown was great. This is really a solid track that conveys a sense of urgent adventure, and really plays up the strengths of the original track while adding a lot of your own flair to it. Very classic."

Deia adds:

"I was a little worried at first when the guitar came in that you were going to go into cover territory for the entire track. Thankfully I was pleasantly surprised by a good deal of personalization that really brings a lot of variety to the source. You definitely expounded on the epic feel of the original, and I love the piano intro/outro."

Rock solid, solid rock debut from Matt R. and S. Battle; really great to see Golden Sun get more love, this is definitely a highlight off its OST and another gem from Sakuraba, and I'm certainly psyched & hoping to hear more like it from these two new artists!

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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Jedi QuestMaster
on 2015-02-28 01:58:31

Yes! Thank you, Matt R. and S. Battle!

I just completed both parts of the game, and I'm stoked to hear this!

God, I wish Sakuraba/Nintendo/whoever would release a soundtrack to GS.

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Crulex
on 2013-10-03 10:48:10

Pretty tight adventure piece here. While I do agree with some others that some areas could have been bit stronger, it's kinda like saying the Grand Canyon could be bigger on the whole. I personally liked the section between 2:38 and 2:50 where it breaks down for a moment. Not bad at all, I certainly liked it.

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Bahamut
on 2012-10-15 08:37:54

I love the piano intro here - it kinda makes the guitars a bit disappointing. I would have liked to see some more energetic action with the drums to help vary the piece lengthen the arrangement, but otherwise this is a fairly solid piece.

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Kuolema
on 2012-10-05 21:56:18

Just wanted to say that I've really been enjoying this mix since it came out. Love how well everything fits together!

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pu_freak
on 2012-09-25 12:53:13

Wow, this mix has an excellent arrangement! I love how you guys kept the urgency of the original and kept the overall feel with the use of the choirs, but created a rocking version and original material that never feels out of place. And that you created a long mix that never feels repetitive, even though the original is relatively short and constant in chords.

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Mirby
on 2012-09-24 23:36:32
So I'm totally digging this mix, and on a whim went to youtube to find more of the same theme. Imagine my surprise when I see the same mix with no mention of it being at OCRemix. The mix in question can be found here.
.

Is this an issue or am I just nuts?

(wow, has it really been almost 1½ year!?) it was the very best I could muster :)

Jan 7, 2012

[...]

Arranged and recorded by S. Battle and Matt R

No, you're fine. The mix has been in the queue for some time, and as Matt R stated, the song is old. Plus, someone found the Soundcloud link to it and posted the song on YouTube at the beginning of the year, obviously without knowledge it was submitted here.

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captaineegee
on 2012-09-24 22:44:25

So I'm totally digging this mix, and on a whim went to youtube to find more of the same theme. Imagine my surprise when I see the same mix with no mention of it being at OCRemix. The mix in question can be found here.

.

Is this an issue or am I just nuts?

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MattR
on 2012-09-23 07:19:30

Thanks everyone for the heart-warming comments :) We have been working on arrangements of other Golden Sun themes as well and I will of course submit them when we get around to finish them!

The only issues I had were some transitions, the weak snare, excessive low-end boosts in the rhythm guitars and the lack of expressiveness in the synth leads (simple sustains without vibrato or filters linked to an envelope). i.e. the "transition" at 2:47 from the acoustic breakdown back to the hard rock feel was very sudden IMO.

Let me break it down:

The snare was too soft. The tone is fine, but I didn't really hear as loud as a snare as I would expect from a song with hard rock sections.

Immediately when the rhythm guitars came in, I heard a lot of low end muddiness. I still heard the kick, which is unusual when in the presence of that guitar muddiness, but I suppose that helps things.

I was also somewhat disappointed when I heard the synth lead, because it could be so much better played in live, linking the modwheel to vibrato and recording the modwheel events to a MIDI so that the synth lead sections could be way more expressive. It was only sustains, and it felt like retrigger sustains, too. The 1:57 section with the synth lead was the most jarring. It felt like each note had pitchwheel edits up a half or whole step each time, which gets to be too much on each note for 6 seconds. It's not terrible, but the synth lead could really have been improved.

Aside from that, this was a great remix. The piano itself sounds fantastic, and so do the acoustic guitars. Great electric lead guitar tone too. I'd say that overrides most of the issues mentioned above. Great debut, guys.

I pretty much agree with everything you said! The mix is not very stellar, but at the time (wow, has it really been almost 1½ year!?) it was the very best I could muster :)

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bananabomberman
on 2012-09-22 02:54:56

I remember seeing this a while back in the WIP section. Still as good as I remember. Glad to see it posted!

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timaeus222
on 2012-09-21 17:28:32

The only issues I had were some transitions, the weak snare, excessive low-end boosts in the rhythm guitars and the lack of expressiveness in the synth leads (simple sustains without vibrato or filters linked to an envelope). i.e. the "transition" at 2:47 from the acoustic breakdown back to the hard rock feel was very sudden IMO.

Let me break it down:

The snare was too soft. The tone is fine, but I didn't really hear as loud as a snare as I would expect from a song with hard rock sections.

Immediately when the rhythm guitars came in, I heard a lot of low end muddiness. I still heard the kick, which is unusual when in the presence of that guitar muddiness, but I suppose that helps things.

I was also somewhat disappointed when I heard the synth lead, because it could be so much better played in live, linking the modwheel to vibrato and recording the modwheel events to a MIDI so that the synth lead sections could be way more expressive. It was only sustains, and it felt like retrigger sustains, too. The 1:57 section with the synth lead was the most jarring. It felt like each note had pitchwheel edits up a half or whole step each time, which gets to be too much on each note for 6 seconds. It's not terrible, but the synth lead could really have been improved.

Aside from that, this was a great remix. The piano itself sounds fantastic, and so do the acoustic guitars. Great electric lead guitar tone too. I'd say that overrides most of the issues mentioned above. Great debut, guys.

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SargeSmash
on 2012-09-21 16:24:59

This. Was. Amazing. Seriously, I already love the source material, but this is just such an epic take on it, I couldn't help but be moved by it. Definitely looking forward to future submissions!

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Ptazza
on 2012-09-21 10:16:20

Great track, really screams 'ADVENTURE ONWARDS!' to me. Site needs more Golden Sun remixes especially a few rock battle themes.

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avaris
on 2012-09-21 09:22:20

Great mix. The somber piano was def the highlight.

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Scaredsim
on 2012-09-21 08:50:25

Mmh... piano - ROCK - piano ? This is totally Scaredsim approved ! Very well done. :D

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Namorbia
on 2012-09-21 04:22:22

Wow, I cried. I have been wishing for a Golden Sun remix for a such a long time. I just non-chalantly played the song and all the nostalgia rushed back to my body with shivers, tears and all. Thank you.

I can't give you constructive criticism right now, but I really enjoy this song. Good production values and it stays true to the original song!

EDIT: Someone help me. I cried again for several minutes, what is happening to me? I'm serious, this song is too beautiful.

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


Primary Game:
Golden Sun (Nintendo , 2001, GBA)
Music by Motoi Sakuraba
Songs:
"Venus Lighthouse"

Tags (6)


Genre:
Rock
Mood:
Instrumentation:
Acoustic Guitar,Electric Guitar,Piano,Synth
Additional:
Time > Tempo: Fast

File Information


Name:
Golden_Sun_Rebirth_of_Venus_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
6,183,598 bytes
MD5:
12bd3827a64bac6509abc286154aa25f
Bitrate:
192Kbps
Duration:
4:14

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