ReMix:Super Smash Bros. Melee "Together, We Fly" 4:14

DANG! Neblix (Nabeel Ansari) really branched out into new territory for this anthemic, upbeat rock arrangement that also includes brass/ska & orchestral components! Continuing our NINTENDOFLOOD with this SSBM/FE ReMix off our CEO 2015: Champion album, he writes:

"This one was a doozie! I was asked by Shariq to do a mix for CEO 2015, the fighting game tournament in June, down in Florida. My track record with Apex has been pretty great so far, so I stepped into the ring, because fighting games have fun music.

I went Smash Bros. Melee because I was getting a little exhausted from three consecutive Street Fighter IV remixes. I chose the Fire Emblem track "Together, We Ride!", the one everyone loves. It's so full of energy and the minor-key, energy-pumping, high-tempo melodic goodness that we've come to love about older game music. Whenever I played Melee, I tried to get this song to play in the Hyrule stage. It was my favorite track of the game, and it conjured such furious excitement when unlocking the Fire Emblem characters.

I went with a high-tempo hard rock approach with some elements of ska and slid into more acoustic rock blended with orchestra. The vision was to preserve the feelings from the source tune, which was initially high-energy fighting followed by a triumphant march of sorts, then back into the fray. Big shoutout to OA and zircon for helping examine my production! Everything in the mix is 100% artificial, and I take pride in my growing ability to use virtual instruments effectively.

I took my time with this mix, on and off, for about two weeks. It's a song people really love, done in a style I think people will appreciate as enhancing the original, so I really wanted to get it as tight as possible. Between the time of finishing it and doing this write-up, I can already spot production flaws here and there, but that's fine. I'll just come smashing with better mixes later on. :)"

Every time I hear the word "doozie" I just think of Bill Murray stepping in that puddle... energy is sky-high for this mix, with a galloping beat & soaring brass lines worthy of a Rocky training montage... fellow Ansari & CEO director DarkeSword writes:

"Everyone LOVES 'Together, We Ride' from the Fire Emblem series, but I think most Western gamers really recognize the theme from Smash, because that's where we first heard it. For us, it's quintessentially and iconically a Smash Bros. song. Nabeel's remix is great in that it captures the energy and adventure from the theme and dials it all up to 11. Great mix of instruments, from guitars to brass to drums. An instant hit, and an instant favorite."

Truly impressive arranging, given some of the challenges writing for all these components and making sure things don't get chaotic or muddy, which is about both production AND part-writing. Shariq summed it up nicely - this is an instant hit that completely nails what the artist was going for - but it also shows how much Neblix has grown and what he's now capable of. Mad props & respect!