ReMix:Final Fantasy VI "Blackjack's Breakup Bossa" 2:43

Talk about unexpected... this is definitely one of the more surprising & distinct tracks on Balance and Ruin that I think very few would have seen coming. This Tom Jones Latin lounge rat pack take on 'Blackjack' (I know, right?) marks the debut of Calum Bowen (arrangement, lyrics), with swaggerly, velvet crooning assistance from Jesse "Xarnax42" Deacon on vocals & the deservedly ubiquitous Jeff Ball on violin. Calum writes:

"Having never played FF6, I browsed the OST a little and this track immediately stood out to me as something I could work well with. The chords of the first section were already pretty well rooted in Latin-jazz tradition, so it wasn't a huge leap to re-imagine the rest in this style. Since it's so tricky to pull off with MIDI, an awful lot of effort went into making it as humanised as possible, along with layering a lot of audio along with that - vocals, backing vocals, violin, electric guitars, acoustic guitars, shaker and brushed snare. One of the major influences (and the reference I used when I was on the hunt for singers) was Katamari Damacy's "Que Sera Sera." I also looked to Fantastic Plastic Machine for inspiration on the arrangement and production of modern orchestral Latin-jazz tracks. I hope not to soil anyone's beloved memories with what is a fairly light-hearted vocal rendition especially from a someone who had never played the game! Anyway, I had a total blast making this remix and I hope you enjoy listening to it. Big thanks to Jesse for stepping in and delivering some solid gold vox, Jeff Ball for the lovely violin playing and zircon for organising the album!"

Interesting set of influences & unique approach, to say the least! With a high profile album arranging a legendary game soundtrack, one might be concerned that artists would feel inhibited or inclined to play it a bit safer, but I'm happy & proud that that really didn't happen, and that Balance and Ruin is absolutely in keeping with the site's focus on musical diversity & creativity. This mix is a prime example of that; Xarnax42 adds:

"I'm no professional and am much too inconsistent to be a live lead singer, but I've been looking forward to offering some measure of vocal talent to the community. I've been holding out, too, because of poor recording equipment and environment. I finally decided to give it a shot with the means I have and leave it up to my collaborators to determine whether the quality was up to par. I was very excited to jump on Calum's request as big band/bossa nova is such a fun style to sing. Ironic that it came up when all I had was my laptop and a cheap Samson mic. All of my vocals on this track were recorded in a little office in Afghanistan -- luckily, I had the night shift throughout my deployment, so I could turn off the AC, have the room to myself, and belt my heart out, and got some surprisingly clear results! The collab process was as smooth as I could have hoped. I recorded a few takes, sent them his way, and he always replied with prompt, clear, substantial feedback. The Final Fantasy 6 OST is one of those most near and dear, and I'm thrilled to make my debut as an artist published by OCR on this project. Many thanks to Calum, zircon, and McVaffe, and to everyone who supports and enjoys the album and the community. Enjoy!"

Crazy; Jesse certainly seized an ideal point in time to contribute - this is a great context in which to debut, and it's awesome that he was able to record everything even while on deployment. Jeff's live violin adds an extra dimension of authenticity and depth, and the whole track just resonates as something special - something that only could have happened with the right people, at the right time, for the right reasons. That applies to the overall album as well, as a creative enterprise this large involves nested networks of coordination & creativity, but it's always nice to see new artists not only contributing to & debuting as part of an album, but doing so with style & flair to spare!