ReMix:Final Fantasy IX "Unchain Me" 4:57

From Jorito & Earth Kid comes this FF9 future bass/d'n'b pop vocal take on Cid's theme, from Pixel Mixers' Final Fantasy IX: Beyond the Mist:

• Arrangement, lyrics, production, backing vocals: Jorito
• Vocals: Earth Kid

Jorito (Jorrith Schaap) writes:

"For Pixel Mixers' Final Fantasy 9 tribute album, I wanted to do some electronic music again. Inspired by some future bass tutorials on YouTube, I thought it would be a fun genre to explore. I started sketching some ideas, and quickly had a future bass and a more DnB-inspired second part cobbled together that became the backbone of the track. When I showed it to the album director, he said "I had to focus to recognize it, try to add a thing or two to bring it home just a bit." Whoops, guess I went overboard with the "own interpretation" part again!

After wrestling with the arrangement some more to make it more recognizable, I also was ready to think about how I wanted to fill the melodic parts (usually the only parts I take from the source). I asked Natalya if she'd be interested to sing on one of my electronic tracks again, and, fortunately, she was more than happy to do so. As usual, she totally delivered an awesome performance and also did great with the weird harmonies I wrote.

Unlike the Suikoden 3 track we previously worked on, this time I wrote the lyrics (for better or worse). I thought it'd be nice to try and write them from the perspective of Cid (who in the game cheated on his wife and got returned into an oglop and later a frog), who is looking back on his mistakes and wants to make amends with his wife. Couldn't help but sneak in a frog reference in the lyrics as well as some frog sounds, just because. :)

While the arrangement, perhaps a bit liberal at first glance, can be enjoyed on its own and without any connection to the game, I do hope that the attentive FF9 fan will appreciate the nudges and connection to the game and finds it extra enjoyable."

"Narratively Contextual Frog Noises" is right up there with RAD TIMBALE LICKS; nice add, and it works well with the future bassier first half or so. I think some additional sidechaining ("Sidechain Me"!) & production techniques to make each beat hit harder & then transition w/ inertia to the next would have amped up the future bass vibe a bit, but I dig that this is Jorito's initial foray into the genre & love that it turned out so solid. Rexy evaluated:

"When I thought I was impressed with one FF9 sub from Jorrith, he continued to pull something special with more tracks from that same album! I remember reading a part of his creative process in the Workshop and the technique applies here - only taking the melodies from the source material, scrambling the order and setting a framework around it. He's had a great track record working with Natalya in the past, whose vocal delivery here carries the power this genre switch needed. The backing accompaniment also has great effect work, sounds clean, and evolved over time with breakdowns, textural changes and double-time pacing. I have no concerns about liberalism here either - the core melodies of the source are all present and form the basis of Natalya's performance. It's a fun DnB vocal track that once again showed that Jorrith is never willing to stay in one place, and I do hope he continues in that direction in the near future - great work!"

I'd love to hear more future bass stuff in, well, the future - along with more Earth Kid collabs, of course :) I think there was room for emphasis/enhancement on compression & some of the modern production techniques I associate with the genre (on the vocal as well), but the end result is still catchy & strong, and makes a lyric filled with regret almost danceable. Excellent!