ReMix:Final Fantasy IX "Into the Sandstorm" 5:06

Hold the Darude jokes on that mix title ;) jnWake crafted this proggish rock arrangement of "Cleyra's Trunk" from FF9 for Worlds Apart, and collabed w/ Argle for a nice midpoint violin solo:

"This mix is a progressive metal or something like that version of the Cleyra Trunk theme. The original is a mysterious, slow-paced song, while mine is a heavier and faster (but not fast) version of it. I tried to keep the eerie harmonies from the original, but the mix may feel a bit liberal. Argle provides a violin section in the middle of the song.

When I initially submitted, I honestly wasn't convinced on its chances. It wasn't the mixing as my main worry though (even if I knew it wasn't stellar), but I wasn't sure about how the judges were going to react to the arrangement. Luckily for me, the song was rejected because of the mixing and the arrangement actually received some compliments!

Anyway, I then noticed that Argle was offering free mixing, and considering that he already was a collaber in this remix, it seemed like a great idea to have him mix the song, since he's much better at that than me!

Main changes from the original song are (obviously) a much better mix, better samples for the drum kit, better amps for the guitar tracks and a pad in the violin section. Argle also added a much better use of reverb than my original submission, giving the mix more of an eerie feeling.

Hope you like it!"

...violin solo PLUS mixing/mastering services made this even more of a collab, and the resulting changes gave jnWake's arrangement more impact. Album director Fishy writes:

"This is a really cool rock take on a very sparse/atmospheric source with some interesting harmony. Some cool crystalline breakdowns in a nice, dynamic arrangement."

DragonAvenger adds:

"Yeah, the arrangement overall is pretty sweet. The 3:55 section in particular is really awesome and unique, love it!"

I love all the solos and how the arrangement pivots & keeps things moving - it's not INSANELY prog, but there are enough changeups and wankery to warrant the label. Synth work in the last minute or so is fun, and I also really dig the clean, chorused guitar tone used for exposed transition parts. Substantive, creative arrangement from jnWake that benefits from Argle's contributions - good stuff!