ReMix:Secret of Mana "Down the Rabite Hole" 3:57

Lucas Guimaraes hits us with a chill-yet-funky prog rock take on "Into the Thick of It," off of Secret of Mana: Resonance of the Pure Land:

"My emotional attachment to Secret of Mana is similar to many other Super Nintendo RPGs - I loved Square and Enix (especially Square) back in the olden days of the 4th and 5th console generation. While some of the games may have not aged as well for me, the soundtracks have always rang a special tune to my ears. Blazing on Secret of Mana is one of those soundtracks that proves itself timeless time and time again.

When deciding to pick up this song, it was my first time ever feeling a sense of belonging in OC ReMix. It lead me to try as hard as I could with plenty of edits. I learned a lot from it and had a really good time. I ended up learning both from my mistakes and my successes from this project, because even with a quick arrangement, it took several months and a bit of sacrifice to see this song through the end. My determination, as with other music groups, is what stuck out overall. To me, this particular track is about a sense of willpower. The party can't give up where they're left on. The parts like the build-up before the acoustic guitars, the blazing drums, and the ending signal that vision the best way I felt. I hope this arrangement is enjoyed by many.

I'm hoping to keep contributing to OC ReMix. Thank you guys so much.

Other people that helped: Furilas, Marc Papeghin, VGcellomusic, and Jorito"

And we're hoping to hear more :) This is one of the more distinct sources off the OST, and I dig the experimental, exploratory vibe Lucas opted for, with late-breaking cello, a variety of acoustic, electric, & synthetic textures, and a sense of both momentum + uncertainty; collaborator & album director Jorito (Jorrith Schaap) writes:

""Into the Thick of It" is again one of those instantly recognizable Secret of Mana themes to me, probably because I heard it so much. When Lucas claimed it, I wasn't sure yet what to expect, not being familiar with his work. Over the course of the project, the track saw quite a few iterations in arrangement to make it flow, and in the end I offered to help out with production as well as some extra parts and arrangement changes to get it in its current form. The end result? A surprising but creative and enjoyable take on the source material with a very strong groove driven by the drums and the bass."

Sir_NutS' vote resonated with me, as it were:

"A progressive arrangement that explores and transforms the original in several different ways while keeping cohesiveness. There's not much to say about the arrangement other than it's excellent and every part does something that caught my attention and impressed me. The production is clean for the most part, and the only nitpick I could have with this is how the reverb seemed inconsistent from instrument to instrument, so that made some elements feel a bit disconnected from the mix, but other than that, solid stuff."

That first sentence there really sums Lucas's work here up nicely; interesting, evolving, & unpredictable, but with a steadily running groove that echoes & builds on Kikuta's work. Enjoy!