ReMix:Final Fantasy IV "Edward Penelo's Waltz" 3:08

Kris sends us her first purely orchestral ReMix, a straightforward & sweet FF4/FF12 waltz blending Edward & Penelo's themes:

"I wrote this track for round #2 of Brandon's Final Fantasy: Crystal Clash compo. This is the first 100% orchestral mix I have done. I recently purchased the EWQLSO Platinum library, so this is the first time I have used it. The samples are gorgeous! But I have discovered that FL Studio is not the best DAW in which to write orchestral pieces. FL is terrific for electronic music due to its flexibility, but for orchestral, that flexibility is actually severely limiting! This will be the only time I write a fully orchestral mix in FL Studio. I can hear my humanization flaws, but this is the best I can do in FL in one week's time.

I have actually purchased Cubase and I'll be learning that DAW as well, primarily for orchestral work, but we shall see how much I like it for other things. It is always good to be DAW-bilingual.

So, on to the source usage:

• 0:00 to 1:20 of the mix is the Edward theme pretty much verbatim (minus the in-between triplets), but with a few variations to make the transitions flow. I didn't use all the weird harmonies in the source tune, but instead made the most emotive and varied chord backings I could think of.
• 1:20 to 2:10, the harp is playing the main Penelo theme (0:00 to 0:31 of the Penelo source). The harp is playing the in-between triplet style found in the Edward source. In this section, the flute and lead violins are playing a simplified variation of the Edward source at the same time as the Penelo material is playing on the harp. I was really quite pleased with how well the two sources combined here.
• 2:10 to 2:35 is the final part of the Penelo source where it transitions back to the beginning (1:00 to 1:15 in the source).
• 2:35 to the end of the mix is the Edward theme again, with the harp playing the triplet style of the source but without all the weird harmonies of the source."

Just to be fair to FL Studio, it IS flexible enough to do relatively complex & humanized orchestral work in, even if it DOES still kinda steer things in a groove-based/pattern-oriented format. Ableton Live seems to have struck a better balance in terms of remaining more genre-neutral while still having plenty of EDM-friendly features - I see it being used for orchestral quite a bit these days. Of course, Cubase has been around since the abacus, so it's almost always a good fit. I guess what I'm saying is that I wouldn't take Kris's experience with FL Studio as a conclusive argument that FL Studio can't do orchestral stuff, or is severely limited; as with so many things, it often boils down to personal preference. At any rate, this is a lovely arrangement that blends the two themes well and is, for lack of a better word, PURDY. You CAN hear that dynamics are fairly static, and the traditional bounce of waltz timing has been flattened a bit; I think both of these could have been addressed within FL Studio, but since I prefer Cubase's workflow myself, I'm certainly not going to fault anyone for doing the same :) Neither of these two issues prohibit the mix from being a classy, graceful, and enjoyable intertwining of the two themes in question, fit for an elegant evening of ballroom dancing or a fancy soirée. Larry writes:

"As Kris alluded to, I'm sure others will have valid criticisms on panning, placement, and humanization (which sounded reasonably humanized to me), but for a week's worth of work on a deadline, this gets it done, and there weren't any major issues. As she continues to gain experience in orchestral work, particularly humanization, she's capable of taking it to the next level. I'd certainly love to hear her pursue more orchestral arrangements based on this. Crits aside, nice work on the brief and demure piece from our MVP judge. It's perfect for background music if you need to relax, yet also engaging enough with the subtle interplay of the FF4 & FF12 source tunes that you'll find a lot to enjoy if you pay close attention. Try doing both! :-)"

Ditto all that; fun, creative orchestral departure for Chimpazilla, gracefully visiting the worlds of FF4 & FF12 and arranging a lovely pairing!