ReMix:Final Fantasy VIII "Concédeme Un Momento" 3:16

4 + 4 = 8, so just think of the power of cuatro for ReMix #4444 as the fab four of newcomer CNDR along with Earth Kid, Chris Kohler, and Jorito teamed up for an emotive ranchera vision of "Eyes on Me" as part of Final Fantasy VIII: SeeDs of Pandora, in a very welcome genre debut on OCR!

• CNDR: arrangement, lyrics, vocals, guitar, production
• Earth Kid: vocals
• Chris Kohler: trumpet
• Jorito: mixing, upright bass

CNDR expained the inspiration for this Spanish version of a Squall & Rinoa love song (with lyrics that stay right in the spirit of the original) and put over the results of the team-up:

"I wanted to do "Eyes on Me" as a ranchera valseada, along the lines of Vicente Fernández's live duets with Ana Gabriel. It was fun working with Earth Kid and Chris Kohler on this one, they brought a lot of warmth and personality to the project."

Album co-director Jorito added bass to help fill out the live instruments with Chris Kohler; as soon as he heard CNDR's first pass at the concept, he was down to see this through:

"When CNDR casually dropped a rough WIP in the album Discord stating "Hey, I threw this together, should I continue?", I really dug the direction he took this in, and of course that meant Darkflamewolf and I wanted to try and get it finished and on the album. It's not often that you hear a well-known and beloved VGM song with vocals translated to Spanish and in this particular style. As luck would have it, CNDR could sing the male vocals himself, and in Earth Kid we had another Spanish vocalist available for the female part. Add some trumpets and acoustic guitar and you have a neat little and special package, quite unique in its way and in the VGM community, I think."

If you're not familiar with rancheras or Mexican music in general, spin up some Vicente y Ana to do your homework, then take a few listens of this to get comfy and let the feelings of love wash over you, like fellow album director Darkflamewolf did:

"It took a few listens before I truly appreciated this track and it all "clicked" for me. The song is intimate and intense. The back and forth of the male and female vocalists blend so harmoniously when they sing the chorus together. I love it when remixers take chances and go outside the bounds of expectation to deliver something wholly different and unique. Kudos to the performers for making this take on "Eyes on Me" my favorite."

Judge Chimpazilla was kind enough to evaluate this for us as djp and I ran the album release across the finish line:

"Wow, what a cool take on this source, sung in Spanish, and in 3/4. The guitar and trumpets are very well performed, vocals are very well performed, mixing is just right. Really enjoyable mix, surprising and fresh."

As Chimpa & DFW noted, everyone handled their roles with style; beyond the earnest vocal performances from CNDR and Earth Kid (I could listen to Natalya's vocal performances all day, she's a star), Chris Kohler and Jorito hit all the authentic tone and pacing of the trumpet and bass to compliment CNDR's guitar work. Synergy's undoubtably in effect as the instruments and vocals achieve a delicate, vibrant, and beautiful interplay.

A fresh vision indeed, on an album genuinely full of them; perhaps one day we'll get Uematsu-san's reaction to this one too. :-) Much like virt & Tommy Pedrini's "The Impresario" from FF6: Balance and Ruin -- Uematsu literally said he wanted to buy Jake a beer after hearing it -- CNDR, EK, CK & Jorito (no initials!) have fashioned something singular, enduring, and (there's that word again) fresh! A standout among standouts that breaks borders and boundaries that we hope has you check out all of Final Fantasy VIII: SeeDs of Pandora (and tell your friends, chief)!