ReMix:Final Fantasy VIII "Succession of Magical Girls" 2:38

We were just talking about how the previous mariachi mixpost makes people happy, but donuts make me happy too. Even having grown up a Dunkin' Donuts kid (Apple Spice!), there's few things tastier than a fresh Krispy Kreme glazed donut. I remember my wife hosting a South African documentarian who had mostly eliminated carbs from her diet for 15 years; she & I took her to Krispy Kreme at night and got her a glazed donut hot off the line. After she and her colleague ate their fresh donuts, she looked at my wife and said, "This was absolutely worth it." That's the power (and happiness) of the donut! Now we get to bring you even more donut happiness!

• donut (Warp Whistles Music): arrangement, clarinet, bass clarinet, production, mixing
• lobby (Warp Whistles Music): flute
• John Bishop: marimba
• Becky Reid: glockenspiel
• Jorito: mixing

This sweetness comes courtesy Chris Erickson (a.k.a. donut) and her sister Leann (a.k.a. lobby) and their contribution to Final Fantasy VIII: SeeDs of Pandora, as two sisters tackle a dark FF8 theme by going in a more quizzical yet delicious direction, as donut explains:

"What if Edea received Ultimecia's sorceress powers not as an adult but rather as a young teenage girl? I looked to reimagine the track as a more youthful piece - replacing the foreboding Gothic feel with a curiosity into a world unknown. I sought to tone down the harshness of the original harpsichord with a warmer marimba as the basis and woodwind instruments leading Edea's transformation. After all, what destiny awaits a magical girl as she grows up but to become a witch?

Fabulous live performances by Becky and John on glockenspiel and marimba, as well as my sister Leann on flute representing a young Edea."

Some of the best VGM arrangement concepts out there emerge from a bit of conceptual fan-fiction, and it's always cool to have insight into the purpose and story behind the transformation of a theme. Album co-director Jorito noted that this source tune wasn't donut's originally intended dish, but she did a great job preparing a different recipe alongside lobby, Becky & John as her sous chefs:

"I've come to known donut as a big cat lover, and it was no surprise when she originally wanted to take "Maybe I'm a Lion" and turn it into a cute, inappropriate, and tongue-in-cheek arrangement called "Maybe I'm a Kitten". Sadly that didn't happen, but instead we got an arrangement of "Succession of Witches" in a woodwind ensemble combined with percussion (marimba and glockenspiel), all performed live. The original version of this track is rather dark and ominous, as is proper for an antagonist theme about witches. donut takes it into a different, more lighthearted territory with a sprinkling of magic while yet still retaining some ominous moments. Turned out rather neat and I enjoy the interplay between the various instruments. I've helped donut out with some last mixing touch-ups before on a track, and I was happy I could contribute to this track in a similar fashion again."

lobby's flute at 1:18 & 2:08 and the team interplay at 1:35 were my personal highlights; what a wonderful example of an intimate small ensemble! "Lovely" isn't enough to describe it, but it's certainly said with sincerity. :-) donut... please don't forget us when (not if) "Maybe I'm a Kitten" is out. If it's anything as whimsical and enjoyable as "Succession of Magical Girls", we can't miss out! :-D