ReMix:Persona 4 Arena "Kuro Yuki" 4:28

DarkeSword gave us our first P4A ReMix for the original Apex album back in 2013, and now with CEO 2015: Champion he returns with another arrangement of the game's excellent soundtrack:

"Yukiko is my favorite character in Persona 4 and my main in Persona 4 Arena. I really love her theme in P4A and figured, "Why not remix it?" I used some koto for that Japanese feel and then basically just did a straightforward dance remix. Old-school DarkeSword fans, however, will recognize the vamp that plays at the end during the fadeout. ;)"

Very melodic stuff; an updated, more modern soundset for Shariq, but a (very nice) koto figures prominently & ends up defining the aesthetic, in a good way. Things are also pretty durn syncopated at times, and he has fun with dropping out the kick & tweaking the bass around the halfway mark. I think he could have run with the whole Japanese theme and worked in some taiko elements effectively, but there's an accent on the 2nd & 4th kicks that almost serves a similar purpose. The running bassline also rhythmically reminds me of a taiko pulse, which is cool. Great track - straightforward, perhaps, but I like the koto lead and I like the syncopation and I like the additive/subtractive work, all three of which make things rather interesting, on top of being catchy & fun. Of the overall album, Shariq adds:

"The FGC is one of the most passionate gaming communities out there; probably as passionate as OC ReMix is about video game music. I love getting involved with these big events year after year, gathering talented artists and giving the talented players a soundtrack to fight to. CEO 2015 promises to be one of the biggest and best of those events yet, and I think that Champion is going to capture the drive and determination that everyone competing is going to bring to the table. I hope everyone out there enjoys it!"

Roger that - if you like fighting games & you like VGM, be sure to check out CEO 2015: Champion, and if you're going to the event, we'll see you there!