ReMix:Final Fantasy VII "Hear Her Cries" 3:51

Newcomer HarlemHeat360 debuts with a gripping, cinematic take on "Listen to the Cries of the Planet" from FF7:

"Of course, I would return to my favorite game. I've been meaning to experiment more with more synthetic sounds, pads, and hits, so I decided to take a lesser known, more atmospheric piece from the OST.

Originally, this song began as more of a transcription/remaster idea, but as I played more and more with the electronic aspects of the song, I really got into it. By the end, I was giddy to make new interesting sounds while still trying to make an enjoyable-sounding track. I think that was the most difficult aspect -- trying to find beauty in the soundscape without creating a cacophony of sound. I think it came out pretty well, actually!

Thank you for your help. I did some changing up here and added some compression and limiters there, and Audacity shows zero clipping now. The only thing I changed outright was the drum pattern. Other than that, I like the part in the beginning so I can't bring myself to change it.

Overall, the concept is a cry for help that goes unnoticed. The track sort of shouts at you once more, pleading to be heard. That second half, in my eyes, is the planet showing you all those scars and taking off the cover from the first half. It's much more raw and emotional -- not as docile. I hope that image came through during this arrangement."

Very much yes; I love the concept, which HH360 articulates very clearly above, and I especially love all the sound design that went into this mix - things do get dense at points, but always in service of the vision, and some of the transition effects are especially striking. Good use of vocal phrases for an extra dimension, the brief bitcrushed & cross-panned intro immediately had my attention and is cleverly reused later, and 2'38" to 2'42" is honestly the type of thing I'd personally do & think was cool, so I suppose I gotta dig it :) The more orthodox/staple cinematic aspects of this mix are done right & done well, but it's the coloring-outside-the-lines moments that define it more for me, and I feel like the artist had a great return on investment for exploring & tinkering more than was perhaps originally intended. I'm also EXTREMELY glad - as I always am! - that we received a revision based on judge feedback that addressed clipping/mastering issues in the original submission. It would have been a damn shame to post a compromised version of this very compelling debut, or to not post it at all, and instead we've got a damn fine debut arrangement from an artist I'm excited to hear more from; Emunator knows a thing or twenty about sound design in these specific types of mixes, and was on board:

"This starts out with some very quality cinematic textures that would sound right at home in a modern film or game score. The first two minutes don't deviate far from the original source, melodically, but there's plenty of ear-candy and textural enhancements to keep things engaging during this initial buildup. At 1:55, we suddenly jump to the meat of the arrangement and things definitely start to click. The iconic "Cries of the Planet" arpeggio is ever present throughout the arrangement, but the way that you build up content around that riff through sound design, vocals, and additional original melodies prevents this from ever feeling like a cover."

Ditto that; like I said, the more traditional/"expected" cinematic components here are all crisp & effective, and then you've got mucho texture & exploration on top of that, with more compositional interpretation as things progress. I'll be 100% candid, I'm not sure about the artist pseudonym - I mean, I'm "djpretzel" so I can't point too many fingers, but it didn't inspire initial confidence, and the quality of the mix actually surprised me in that regard. Maybe that's a good thing, though? I don't know. What I DO know is that this one hit me just right, I think a lot of folks will enjoy it, and I'm psyched to hear what's next - enjoy!