ReMix:Final Fantasy IX "Fixations" 3:41

RiverSound (Markus Samuel) makes his official OCR debut with this intimate & inviting FF9 folk arrangement off our Worlds Apart album:

"The idea for this arrangement came about when I thought to myself, what if "Ceremony for the Gods"/"Before the Altar," the theme of the fake wedding scene, was a real wedding song in Conde Petie that always plays in the background during the ceremony? I then put myself in the shoes of old bachelor dwarves who would have arranged the song for folk instruments, so that they could gather at the local inn and vent their loneliness by playing their somber version of the song. Now what would it sound like? It was a fun little setting for the remix and gave me a chance to experiment with tavern-style folk.

It didn't turn out as authentic as I had planned and it may not have that live performance feel to it, but I think the atmosphere remains true to the concept. I decided to exclusively use nylon guitar for this track because of its mellow old-school sound and pairing it up with melodica created a satisfying soundscape out of simple ingredients. Arrangement-wise, it certainly ended up on the liberal side of things, but I think it works in the context; it's a folk song, played by ye olde folk, so oftentimes they just come up with new stuff as they go. It's played a little differently every time!"

Really authentic & very mellow yet still present arrangement; with the exception of the sound FX bookends, which I think fade in & out a little disruptively, this is some chill, laid-back, and very transporting work, full of life, energy, & emotion. Album director Fishy writes:

"Getting married in Conde Petie is like getting married in Vegas, it basically doesn't count. Really cool example of a thoughtful arrangement of a minor track that probably went under a lot of people's radars on the original soundtrack. Very chilled out."

This source wasn't even on my radar before Worlds Apart dropped, but Markus's interpretation definitely stands out and breathes new energy & context into the original; Liontamer writes:

"You could probably count a lot of the flourishes as source usage on some tangential level, though they were pretty indulgent and hard to A-to-B with the source. :-) Anyway, that's just getting down in the weeds for the folks that care about the source usage (everyone should) and want to understand where exactly the theme is heard.

On the arrangement & performance side, this was just transcendent, amazing work. Markus, you have a new fan. This is exceptional and such a fresh spin on a very underappreciated theme from FF9."

Ditto that! While not one of the sources that instantly jumps to mind when thinking of the FF9 OST, Markus nevertheless made this a memorable, creative, & expressive arrangement that stands head-to-head with the other superb tracks on Worlds Apart!