ReMix:The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword "Hylia's Fear" 3:33

From newcomer Kevin Phetsomphou, aka Kevvviiinn, comes a lovely orchestral arrangement of Skyward Sword with sumptuous legato strings, plucky pizzicato, mixed winds, brass, you name it, all woven together with an ear for both the dramatic & the intimate. We don't see as many straight orchestral arrangements these days - more often it's orchestral "plus," with electronic textures being incorporated. I'm definitely a fan of hybrid styles, and also appreciate the more cinematic tracks that aim for a Hollywood sound, but I also kinda miss straight-up orchestral arrangements of this nature that were more prevalent back in the day, so for me this hit the spot. I was reminded of the superlative Symphony of the Goddesses concert I had the pleasure of attending earlier this year, and it's good to see more Skyward Sword on the site, following up our first posted ReMix of its score from Minecraft composer C418 last year. Of course, in many ways a lot of the Skyward pieces are more like ReMixes themselves, (superbly) arranging material from past Zelda games using the full power of an orchestra. halc notes this in his decision:

"these SS sources didn't really do a lot to differentiate themselves from previous incarnations, aside from "omgliveorchestra" - don't get me wrong, both sound great, and Ballad of the Goddess is definitely a baller track - but your arrangement was excellent, a very fresh take on the themes while still retaining the Skyward Sword kinda vibe and imagery. real nice blending of the two themes as well. nice stuff here overall, can't wait to hear more subs from you!"

There are several moments in this mix where the ensemble cloud clears into more exposed passages of delicate, melodic refrain, and I think what impresses me the most is how Kevin knows how to pull these particular types of transitions off and really construct an emotional impact. Judges nitpicked a bit on some of the exposed strings, but I think everything here is above the bar - some of it considerably above - and it's always less about the samples and more about how they're used, regardless. Awesome debut ReMMMiiixx from Kevvviiinn that's enveloping, thoughtfully constructed, and very purdy - looking forward to hearing more!