ReMix:The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword "Fi, Emissary of the Goddess" 3:38

With the full Nintendo Switch cat out of the bag and Breath of the Wild coming soon, it seems like a great time for a modern Zelda ReMix, and RebeccaETripp sends us exactly that, in the form of a serene, meditative world/new age arrangement of "Fi's Theme" from Skyward Sword:

"This is my cover of "Fi's Farewell"/"Fi's Lament" from Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. I want to say that it's also a cover of the track/variation of her theme that is specifically called "Fi's Theme" on the OST, but this is missing a particular part at the end of the loop that's unique to "Fi's Theme." I actually LOVE that part dearly and partially regret not including it in this cover, but I'll be including that section in the Fi movement in my Skyward Sword medley when I make it. ^_^

Anyway, as usual, I really enjoyed creating this. Part of me wants to call it an "orchestral" arrangement, but that wouldn't really be accurate, since this remix is comprised entirely of Asian instruments, which aren't considered to be orchestral instruments in the typical sense. None the less, I created it with live samples, as I do with my orchestral arrangements. I'm not really sure why I'm elaborating on this, as this arrangement is, by no means, the only video game track I've covered using "world" instruments. I guess it's because I'm not really sure what the genre of this would be."

Well, there *are* piano and choral components that wouldn't normally be categorized under Asian instrumentation per se, but to me the overall structure here is slower, more introspective, and not unlike some of what I've seen filed under "New Age," so that's one other option :) This is definitely Zen stuff, eschewing a rhythm track AND anything too close to a bassline for an exploratory, pensive rumination on the source themes. Piano, especially towards the end, takes on a Thomas Newman quality that's also rather cinematic. Emunator writes:

"A little less celtic, a little more ethereal... I love how you stripped down the source to its bones and reconstructed it into a more nebulous, ambient piece that feels complete despite not having a very clearly defined structure. Very pretty textures and production make this a pleasure to listen to."

He and other judges did have some substantive critique, though, mainly surrounding a humanizing of the choral parts (difficult, given their very exposed utilization) and some occasional dissonance. The second bothered me a bit, but unfortunately the project file has been lost and the issues identified could not be addressed:

• 0:38 - there's a very brief, but off piano note; not a huge deal
• 0:33-0:42 - it's faint, but there's a low & quiet droning note that resonates in the background that sounds off-key
• 1:22-1:25 - it's again faint, but there's a second low & quiet droning note that resonates in the background that sounds off-key

If you don't explicitly look for these issues, they might not bother you; it'll be interesting to see how listeners perceive them, but ultimately the panel didn't feel that they prohibited enjoying the very creative, transformative, and reflective arrangement. Neat stuff from Tripp, who continues to improve both her arrangement & production skills while making striking, captivating mixes!