ReMix:Sonic Colors "Morning Coffee" 3:28

For today we have an absolutely beautiful lo-fi acoustic/folk take on Sonic Colors from Tune in with Chewie (Nestor Estrada), collaborating with vocalist Rachel & violinist Joni:

"I had a ton of fun working on this one. I chose this particular theme because it's one of my favorites from Sonic Colors. The whole soundtrack for that game is amazing! I wanted to approach this track differently than all the other arrangements I've done so far. 90% of the instruments on this track were played through a Marantz PMD430 (cassette recorder). The result is a super lo-fi sound and has a nice warm quality to it. Special shoutout to jstory for lending me the Marantz PMD430!

The performances also have a raw and live feel to them because that was the mindset I had while recording. I was very much inspired by bedroom pop and indie folk while arranging this track. These genres are known for their imperfect sound. I recorded all the guitars, bass, and piano parts. Rhodes and organ are VST which I performed into my DAW.

I didn't have anything really set in stone except for the song structure - most of my parts were improvised on the spot (mistakes and all). I wrote out the string arrangement minus the very ending bit. I had Joni Fuller and RVCHL improvise and just run with it in certain sections -- to capture the "live band" setting. Really happy with the results!

My good friend Joni, a multi-instrumentalist, performed all the violin parts. We layered the bigger violin sections by recording each part multiple times. For the solo violin, I wrote all the notes except for the very end. I wanted her to improvise and just let her do her thing.

For vocals, I had another friend, Rachel (who goes by RVCHL), loosely perform the main theme. I just wanted her to have fun with it and jam. We came up with some cool phrases while recording which we ended up expanding on throughout."

The organ texture & writing in particular have this distinct character to them that's JUST right, the violin parts rise and fall and switch to staccato when it makes sense, and the carefree vocalizing that teeters on discernible words all combine to create a specific time & place... the sonic aesthetic is the visual equivalent of volumetric light peeking through trees as you drive along an empty road at dawn. It's quite breathtaking. Larry writes:

"Mariko Nanba's "Area - Planet Wisp" has a nice whimsical feel to it, while Nestor slowed it down and sidelined the percussion for a more deliberate, contemplative approach, led by Rachel's vocals and punctuated later by Joni's string work. I like that Chewie encouraged both RVCHL and Joni to go with their feelings and supplement their arranged lines with improvisation; the move let them blend their emotions in with the piece, giving it a further personal touch. Beautiful, relaxing work all around by three talented musicians, and will you look at Nestor quickly leaving his mark on OCR with his 3rd strong submission in a row! Keep 'em coming! :-)"

Huge fan of all three featured mixes thus far; from a sound design & production angle, Nestor conjures dusty attics, dew-drop mornings, & shimmering sunsets all with depth & style, and his arrangements inhabit these worlds and make the most of them. His artistic voice feels like something that was really missing in the VGM arrangement world, at least to me, and this collaboration with Rachel & Joni makes an even more persuasive, essential case. Gorgeous work, highly recommended.