ReMix:Secret of Mana "Blue Wolves and Ice" 3:36

Kylok (Kyle Okaly) debuted on OCR with his standalone Secret of Mana ReMix, and then made a huge impact soon after on Secret of Mana: Resonance of the Pure Land with some truly unique & vivid blends of instrumentation; he again collaborates with Bree on this icy piece that marries bells with vox, trumpet, strings, & saxophone:

"One of my strongest memories of playing Secret of Mana as a kid was wandering around a snowy forest slaughtering wolves and listening to "A Wish" repeat in the background forever. I wasn't doing it on a whim for fun -- I remember being stuck on some boss or dungeon and needing a lot more experience before trying again... but this music turned a potentially frustrating and/or boring grinding experience into something that felt much more peaceful and relaxing. (Pretty impressive, because... you know... slaughtering wolves... "peaceful and relaxing"...)

After working on this remix for a bit, I realized I was falling into the trap of repeating the same thing over and over again with only minor variations... after all, that's sort of why the original works so well: it kind of hypnotizes you with its repeating patterns and ethereal vibe. I was trying to make each of these repetitions interesting and different, but ultimately I decided to break out of the pattern about halfway through the piece and create some new melodies using fragments of the original. I think this brings the track to some cool new places."

While perhaps not as hypnotizing due to more development & evolution (good things!), this is just as mesmerizing, and really captures a certain frozen, suspended environment quite vividly. Album director Jorito says it well:

"So peaceful, enchanting, and reminiscent of crystals, ice, and cold, "A Wish..." is the perfect texture for Ice Country. Kylok turns it into a more fantasy-like atmosphere, but it's still just as peaceful and enchanting as the original. The sense of wonder only increases once the arrangement progresses into its middle part, lending a triumphant but also introspective and reflective quality. Excellent storytelling by Kylok, now go and enjoy the journey!"

Agreed; the latter bits give way to broader, grander strokes that reach out and resound, contrasting nicely with the more intimate introduction. Gario writes simply:

""Blue Wolves and Ice" is a delicate arrangement of a delicate source, making light use of chamber orchestra and voice to add a new dimension to it. Great stuff, right here."

No arguments here; I love Kyle's pairings of timbre & texture; I think I mentioned before how they fondly remind me of the soundtrack to the X anime motion picture, which I dug. The combination of soundtrack & orchestral components, solo and ensemble instruments, and part-writing that draws from other genres results in some striking landscapes. It's one thing to set the stage so well, and it's another thing entirely to then tell a compelling story on it, but he does an excellent job there too, as the piece transforms quite a bit for its relatively brief duration. Superb work; Kyle really ended up helping define the sound of Resonance, making it a more unique & transfixing experience than it would otherwise have been, and this mix powerfully illustrates that effect.