ReMix:Aquaria "Immemorial Waters" 6:52

Ryan Davis Music delivers a powerhouse epic new age cinematic take on "Undiscovered Waters," from Aquaria:

"Hey, all. If you remember me, you might know me as the guy who would do some Aquaria-inspired remixes a few times a year during the old competitions on the forums. Usually this time of year I do my annual playthrough of my favorite indie game but, due to the passing of Alec Holowka last year, one of my favorite indie developers who also did the OST for the game, I haven’t been able to bring myself to play it. Instead, I felt compelled to do this new age cinematic rearrangement of "Undiscovered Waters," which is one of the more prominent tracks of the game. Never knew the guy personally, but I connected strongly with the game and its music when I crossed paths with it a decade or so ago. RIP Alec."

First off: WOW. The initial submission for this mix was super strong, and had several "goosebumps" moments with its extended dramatic intro, evoking some of the best parts of the Gladiator OST. Judges had some nitpicks, and I took issue myself with the execution of an accelerando, but this revised edition addresses most if not all of those concerns, and it now stands as a gorgeous, heartfelt, & immersive tribute to a game, soundtrack, and composer which clearly mean a lot to the arranger. Emunator sums up this revision in similarly glowing terms:

"Ryan got back to us with a fully revamped version of this track, and WOW! The new mix sounds fantastic and addresses my concerns fully. I know nearly everyone else was already down with the original mix, but this resubmission knocks it out of the park. What a beautiful remix."

I can in fact confirm that while it was previously still somewhat in the park, it has now been knocked completely out of said park & into Low Earth orbit; seriously some of Ryan's best work to date, and a substantial near-seven minutes of drama, emotion, and spine-tingling beauty. DarkSim's spine was also tingled:

"As a whole though I’m impressed with the overhaul of the source tune on this one. It feels epic and cinematic, and maybe it’s because I just watched Moana a couple of times, but I can totally see this as the soundtrack to an ocean voyage. It’s got that spine-tingling factor of the beginning of a journey, and could also fit right in as an intro cinematic for a Civilization game."

Big "Baba Yetu" props are the best props; well-deserved praise for a truly epic & inspired tribute, polished to the tens after a feedback/revision round - highly recommended!