ReMix:Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition "A Truth Found in Storms" 2:55

Haven't done a writeup in a while since I've been catching up with 2023; MANY thanks to Liontamer & Rexy for filling in the gaps! Should be interesting this year as we distribute writeup duty & hopefully incorporate some more voices. This is our first ReMix of the almost-obscenely-beautiful soundtrack to Ori and the Blind Forest, as Michael Hudak returns once more to his "chopped/spliced cinematic piano minimalism" aesthetic. I'm glad he's revisiting this approach, not only because this is yet another fantastic mix, but having mixes to compare & contrast gives you a more complete understanding and, hopefully, appreciation for this very unique technique:

"More "manual" granular synthesis; lots of micro-editing of different piano clips playing the original tune (some at normal pitch and others an octave down). Many grains are only a few dozen milliseconds long, just long enough for your brain to figure out the tone. Others are shorter still, only 1-2ms, and only sound like tics. I wanted to use these tiny slivers to act as the raindrops in a storm, while other noises act as other stormy elements. It's meta, but that's the gist of it: to have the arrangement technique itself represent the environmental context of the original song, with the melody repeatedly appearing and dissolving like the rain itself (or perhaps thoughts?). I thought this was more interesting than adding rain and wind recordings to the background while a more traditional piano piece played, which I did toy with as a coda (similar to the 2nd half of my "Dire, Dire Docks" ReMix), but scrapped. I guess this is the most similar to the Conker mix I did, which makes sense looking back, as I started both of them around the same time... but this one ended up being finished a couple of years later.

• 0:22-0:31 in the source is repeated several times in my arrangement, and sometimes 0:22-0:36 as well. There are 5-6 different iterations of that melody which appear in my mix at different speeds, pitches, and in various states of chopped-up-ness.
• 0:01-0:07 in the source starts appearing in the background of my mix starting at 1:51, 2:10 & 2:27, then finally at 2:44.

That's it!"

I like meta; sometimes you get works whose sole defining characteristic is how clever the creator wants to get, sure, but usually it's layered in or can even be a more subtle catalyst of sorts, as it was here. This has some of the same sadness, pensivity, & beauty of Gareth Coker's score, which is in my mind a modern classic, but it's filtered through the lens of Hudak's technique & sound design. I especially liked how longer, sustained chords and the static rain/wind both persist under the staccatissimo piano raindrops; quite striking. prophetik music was perhaps the panel's biggest fan, and his words resonated with me:

"i particularly like the progression you get around 1:03. there's a very legato, drawn-out set of chords that slowly gets more warped as the (now-familiar) stutter pattern above it shifts more and more towards slices so short that they have no tone. that progresses in the opposite direction after about 1:29, and rather than focusing on the syncopation and stutters from the beginning, forms more of a ballad/chorus section until it gets washed out by the amp feedback. the following section is pleasingly regular and forms a good coda for the work. there's some silence there to trim but it's no biggie.

this is, as most of michael's works are, simultaneously engaging and challenging to listen to. there's a clear arc and journey to the song's structure (as ori is mostly about the journey, this is a great example of the game influencing the music's arrangement), there's a clear technique used throughout in a variety of ways, the original track is visible throughout, and it's mastered intentionally and with a deft touch. this is a great remix."

Chimpazilla was feeling it as well, and waxed poetic & even multidimensional with her own comments:

"Clicks, pops, reverses, dry and wet sounds together yet so separate. Soundscape is empty yet full. Luscious piano mangled all to hell. Rain. Oh gosh I love this weird style. It sounds to me like the track is being broadcast through some experimental new radio that receives sonic transmissions from an adjacent dimension. Music being crunched through some unimaginable electric device. It definitely isn't for everyone, but for me, it gives me goosebumps on top of goosebumps with all the weird feels. Source aplenty; let's do this."

What she said; I do think this style works particularly well on this source, I'm thrilled to see Ori *anything* as it's one of my favorite modern game soundtracks, and I think Michael's concept of emulating the weather came through effectively. Enjoy!