ReMix:Final Fantasy IX "Home Is Where You Belong" 3:39

It's October, it's fall, and this FF9 acoustic/folk groove from Reuben Spiers, with Natalya on recorder, seems like just the thing to prepare us mentally & physically for the cavalcade of pumpkin spice-infused products to come:

"This is my folk arranged cover of "A Place to Call Home" from the 2000 video game Final Fantasy IX, the soundtrack of which was composed by Nobuo Uematsu, featuring Earth Kid on recorder. :)"

Relaxed vibe, with an accordion, banjo, acoustic guitar, & bass quartet starting things off, before spaghetti western-style drums & an ornamental, Celtic performance on recorder from EK join in; very nice. There's *almost* a vintage vibe here, but not quite - could have made it more explicit w/ some vinyl processing/treatment, but it's really just as well, as it sounds great as-is: clean & direct. Judges were unanimous; Jivemaster is all business, and lays down the gist:

"Production is solid. There is a good spread across channels, instruments have clarity and a great level of separation. Arrangement wise, there is a good mix of complementary parts at play here. The guitar/banjo riffing adds a nice level of additional detail. It would’ve been nice to hear some further variation in the second half to separate it more from the first, but not a major deal breaker. A well executed original take of the source material."

On top of an arrangement that's intuitive, warm, & which leverages the instrumentation effectively, the production does indeed keep everything discrete, making it easy to appreciate all the details/nuance. Rexy adds:

"Like I've come to expect from you now, Reuben, you've kept a tight performance across all instruments, and everything feels clean. And while using a recorder in a mix can meander for better or worse, Natalya took great care with a natural performance that compliments your gear."

Her performance definitely elevates the overall arrangement & also lifts up the surrounding instruments, rather than making them seem artifical by comparison, due to how well everything blends. Great mix, great way to start the month!