ReMix:Final Fantasy X "The Dreamer Departs" 4:20

Magellanic (Liam Charalambous, formerly Lidawg) follows up his electronic Castlevania debut from last year, off the excellent Vampire Variations album, with this similarly upbeat dance arrangement of the ever-lovely 'Zanarkand' theme:

"...in this mix I've experimented with different types of reverb and tried to use it to creative effect. I wanted to really play on dreamy nature of the source tune with vast, spacey reverbs. It took a long time to get the right amounts and make sure that none of it was causing mud or ruining the energy and clarity of the mix. Originally this mix was meant to be chilled and ambient, so using the reverb creatively was an attempt to bring back the idea that conceived this mix. Many thanks to the judges again for your feedback (Deia's YES definitely stopped me from giving up on this mix) and also Dj Mystix. If this makes the front page, then this one is dedicated to him!"

Liam made a lot of edits based on panel feedback for this resubmission, which included icing some problematic orchestra hits & retooling other aspects as well. While the end result takes some time to get going, has some minor timing issues here and there, and could have used some modern & elaborate aesthetics on the drum programming in particular, the artist nevertheless gets a good vibe going and does use verbs & space to achieve contrast. OA writes:

"There are a lot of really nice aspects to this; the reverb on everything really gives a great dreamy feeling, and there is a ton of variation throughout, making it feel constantly evolving. The synths are tastefully used, and all gel together well. The only issue I really have soundwise is I feel the snare gets lost in the busier section. Some of the instruments I feel come in and drop out too soon, but really it's picking nits. There are some definite flashes of brilliance on this, and I can hear your growth as an arranger and producer. I do think you have a lot of road in front of you to continue to improve, but I feel this track is definitely above the bar."

DarkeSword adds:

"Really nice atmosphere; very cool and clear, low-key but still some energy. Nice variation throughout the piece. I like the piano the most, but those panned synths around 2:45 are pretty sweet."

I'm glad the artist took the time to refine & polish this; while I still feel like there's room for improvement in the future, judges definitely touched on the arrangement's strengths in terms of variation & effect use of space. It doesn't hurt to have a core melody as memorable & beautiful as this source tune, which kinda defines the FFX OST in my mind. Solid follow-up mix from Magellanic, who continues to develop & improve his sound!