ReMix:Final Fantasy VI "Reverie of the Broken Phoenix" 4:18

We're BACK with MORE Balance and Ruin; we're trying something a little different and rolling out a second flood of ten mixes from the album! First off, thanks to everyone who came out to see us at Otakon & who caught OverClocked University's fantastic show at Bit Gen 8! This was OCU's first performance with a live drummer, and they really killed it - good times. We'll be posting an update to FF6 KS backers this week with progress on the physical printing, including some specific dates, so if you backed us & you're chomping at the bit for news, we hear you! Last but not least, we've just published our video interview digest with several artists who worked on B&R answering questions about their specifics tracks - check it out!!

On to the first mix... while zircon popped up in our first flood, we start things off this time with his co-director McVaffe, who offers a delicate, textured take on 'Forever Rachel' with this ambient/new age arrangement. I remember hanging out with Mike when he visited and excitedly talking about how awesome I thought an FF6 album would be if he & Andy helmed it, and now I feel like my hopes have been entirely justified. He writes:

"My arrangements are typically fairly straightforward in concept, but for Rachel's theme, I was hoping to convey some of the story and heartbreak surrounding the character. The song is meant to sound dreamlike and incoherent, and slowly gains structure and clarity as it progresses, before it once again drifts back into incoherence like someone in a coma. It's a beautiful original track, and this take on it serves to give it a bit more context through the production."

I really love the lead melodic patch @ 0'28" - almost sounds like a Mellotron flute, with this subtle graininess & lo-fi aspect to its beautifully haunting tone. When piano takes over, things do crystallize a bit more and gain structure, as Mike describes. The whole mix feels like a dreamlike bell curve, a gradual awakening and then return to slumber, so I think he accomplished his goal. A gorgeous & understated piece, this contribution to B&R from McVaffe shows a more deliberate, textural side to his style, and imbues the emotional original melody with a new layer of atmosphere.