ReMix:Final Fantasy VI "The Megiddo Brigade" 3:07

I had very different plans for this arrangement going into it, and ending up throwing out three completely distinct and relatively developed drafts before settling on a primarily orchestral approach that's joined at the hip with an electronic beat & makeshift wobble bass, of sorts. It's really NOT dubstep, and the actual instrumentation is primarily classical and not electronic, but I wanted something sinister and representing a fusion of magic & technology, and ended up pretty happy with the end result. Whereas the pacing of the original perhaps suggests a slower, stationary laboratory, I wanted something more... mobilized. Something that sounded like it was on its way, somewhere, to wreak havoc and not-be-messed-with. Thus this is basically my vision of a "Magitek March," something an apocalyptic brigade of enhanced soldiers would play to get pumped up on the war path, or something like that. The cello, which is the same library I used for my Doom II ReMix on DQD way back when, is written to add tension & angles to an otherwise deliberate and militaristic shuffle onward.

I originally wanted to do something funkier, in the style of 'Another One Bites the Dust,' but it didn't work out. Happily, I think Jake more than addressed any desire to hear FF6 in the style of Queen with his own mix, and then some :) At any rate, this mix was mastered a little low, so you might want to turn it up, and I hope everyone enjoys the little details I focused on for the verses; the meat of the arrangement centers around those changes. Unlike 'Sturm und Kong,' this wasn't meant to be an epic, all-out jamfest or anything particularly narrative, just a concept piece that sets a specific stage and lets things play out. In some ways it's very simplistic, but I spent a lot of time on brief transitions, tradeoffs, note lengths, and the little details that were quite necessary to get right for the concept to work at all. This might be my final mix with Cubase, as I'm learning Reaper at the moment and interested in branching out a bit while focusing on workflow so I can make more music. Coordinating the kickstarter and related logistics on Balance and Ruin has been a truly gigantic undertaking for me, personally, and I was happy just to be able to finish a track for the album at all. I heard this mix after I had some distance from it, and I was happier with how it turned out a month later than I was at the time I actually finished it. That's only happened on a few mixes, but I'll take it over the opposite any day of the week. I hope you enjoy my sinister, militant version of Uematsu's dark & malicious original!