ReMix:Xenoblade Chronicles "The Shimmering Ether of Satorl" 4:21

Kade Kalka follows up 2019's post-rock Animal Crossing debut with a prog-rock/metal take on Xenoblade Chronicles:

"Here's my cover of "Satorl Marsh (Night)" on electric guitar and drums. I really tried to make this one special. This is the first time I haven't had to quantize my drums to hell, lol. I really don't know what genre this should be under, but progressive metal works, I guess? I made a conscious effort to tone it down and not overdo it on this one. Am I a Plini ripoff yet?

I started this arrangement in late July and it took me this long to make it actually good, but I think it was worth it. This is the first time I've used my Les Paul in a song and it's also the only electric guitar I used in this one. The pickups on the Les Paul are just amazing, I love it.

I honestly don't know how well the mix and master turned out, but hopefully the really djenty parts made you think "Oi, this is fookin massive, mate!" If not, then maybe it's because I didn't actually have my bass on this one. I used one of Logic's bass sample libraries.

Also, this was my first time exclusively using STL Ignite for my guitar tones. It's a free plugin I started using in place of my Line 6 Spider (cuz that thing's annoying); let me know what you think of the tones. idk"

I confess, I don't often think to myself in Australian, but suffice to say it sounds damn good; crispy, crunchy, & clear when it needs to be, meaty/chunky at other points, and the overall arrangement effectively develops over time and uses a sparse, reflective break halfway through to reset itself & build back. It's mostly guitars, but the variety of texture/timbre yields a full, interesting soundscape. Judges were unanimous; prophetik music writes:

"i love the vibe and arrangement through the entire first half. it's also very lush, there's a bunch of stuff going on, and it's very verby, but it doesn't get overly complex or hard to understand what's going on. the slower tempo gives it all a lot of weight which i really like.

the build through 2:30 is fantastic and really brings to mind most of covet's effloresce album. when the recap of the melody hits with everything under it, it's got a ton of body and really sings out well. if anything i was expecting to be even heavier there, but keeping it moving and pretty light underneath kept it moving forward, which was great. the spring effect at the end was fun too."

I'm generally a fan of the "creative FX application" ending, and I agree with Brad that it was done well, here. Chimpazilla adds:

"It has been awhile since I played Xenoblade Chronicles but I remember the beauty of the entire OST. This track really breathes, feels as luscious as the original but in a new way. The production is excellent, the instrumentation is fantastic, lots of detail in the arrangement. This remix is utterly beautiful, with so much personality and feels. Love it!"

Very stoked to see a second submission from Kade Kalka, based on last year's debut - this second mix has gravitas, impact, & variety in addition to superb tone and production on the guitars. Fantastic!