ReMix:Bloodborne "The Children of Yharnam" 5:19

Harry Potter & Siegfried play Bloodborne? Ophanin's second debut featured ReMix stays in the Romantic realm but adds some Williams in for good measure, creating a symphonic waltz/march that's dark, suspenseful, spiralling, & just as engaging as his Dark Souls 3 piece:

"This is a remix of "Lullaby for Mergo" (Bloodborne) for big Romantic orchestra. (All with Spitfire Audio's VST.)

I wanted to compose in many styles while maintaining both melodies from the original track, so I tried some orchestral techniques of William Walton and John Williams. I expose the main theme with the harp only then non-functional harmony helps to stretch it; I abusively use melodic cells to do this. I'm really happy with this remix, so I send it to you."

Echoes of some of Williams' Star Wars work, too! Very narrative & visual, tons of movement, and while everything sits a bit back in the space, with reverb applied across the board, this achieves a certain blend. Big, bold strokes at 2'10" - you can picture the conductor's grand gestures and the timpanist having a blast. Judges were unanimous; MindWanderer writes:

"This is how you orchestrate a simple source! Heavy use of the original melody, but each time it repeats, it's layered or altered into something completely unique. Pulling over five minutes out of that simple loop sounds like it would be tricky, but Mathieu makes it sound not only easy but natural."

This is definitely one for the triple-ex "extremely expansive extrapolation" from minimal source hall of fame :) Sir_NutS adds:

"The original is a very simplistic tune, with barely any instruments, so that you took this and built an entire arrangement to go with it is pretty impressive. The production is good as well, with the artificial nature of the instruments only becoming more apparent for me during the brass sections. Honestly a no-brainer for our front page, and one of the orchestral remixes I've enjoyed the most here due to the arrangement style."

I'm a big fan of the Romantic period, musically (ideologically, not so much, I'll take Enlightenment), and it's great to see VGM being arranged under that general aesthetic umbrella. It's not easy, and the result is similarly a bit more challenging for listeners as well, but the payoff is something that rewards relistening & stirs the blood (pun intended) in a singular fashion. Excellent double-feature debut from Ophanin, who instantly makes a name for himself and has me looking forward with great anticipation to future submissions!