ReMix:Chrono Trigger "Predestination" 7:53

Happy National Arbor Day!

We continue our trio of titillating tree-inspired "Secret of the Forest" mixes with a totally different, high-energy EDM take on the theme from ABG (Shawn Overn), who returns to the OCR spotlight after almost twelve years:

"Hi, OverClocked ReMix! Been a while, huh? The last time I submitted a remix for approval, the PS3 was current gen, Kojima was still with Konami and Skyrim hadn't been released on any platforms yet! I wound up taking a long break from remixing and music production not long after my last submission ("Third Eye") and wasn't sure when I would pick it back up again. Over a decade later and I've found myself watching tons of EDM production tutorials on YouTube and spending time daily in FL Studio working on new stuff. I was hoping to share my first new remix with the community here!

Similar to my last submission, this one is another over-remixed song from Chrono Trigger. I couldn't help myself. :) I took the classic "Secret of the Forest" and applied it to a house groove with some sidechained bass and atmospheric synths and pads. I've titled it "Predestination" as Crono and the team were destined to travel through the time portals and save the world from destruction. Hope you enjoy this one!"

So good to see Shawn back; big fan of his work from over a decade (and many Skyrims!) ago. It all still holds up well, too; I strongly recommend you explore his five previous mixes, if you're unfamiliar. We open here with a simple, familiar beat, but I like the gurgling little perc FX that's added in, and then ethereal pads fade in as the beat gets layered and intensity builds. 1'01" drops a slithery saw/sub bass, and then 1'31" reveals a smooth saw lead that dials in some LFO/vibrato at the end of melodic lines - all quite nice. Melody shifts to a distant piano, which avoids lead fatigue, and 2'30" surprises even further with a shift in rhythm/bass, as the kick drops out. The middle of the mix is a more complete break, where the beauty of the backing pads it exposed at length; 4'03" is a goosebumps moment.

I could continue the play-by-play, but I think that covers most of the highlights. At nearly eight minutes, there's some repetition in the second half, but I never felt it outstayed its welcome. Like many EDM arrangements, duration is achieved through creative layering & unlayering of ingredients, but the ingredients gotta be good... and they are. I'm psyched to see what else Shawn might be cooking up in the future & and also glad the timing worked out such that we could include his triumphant, arboreal return in our triumvirate of "Secret of the Forest" mixes - enjoy!