ReMix:Valis III "See Me Again" 3:04

We're graced by the fifth tibone, aka tibonev, whose solo-artist OCR debut encourages the anxious among us to take a load off, via his vacation-ready version of Valis III! If you're a Dwelling of Duels regular, you may be getting a case of déjà vu... On second though, actually, anyone'll get it, as tibonev explains:

"This is a chill/lo-fi take on the "Deja-vu" theme. Originally arranged for the April 2023 DoD competition, where several people were mentioning having a stressful month, I decided to arrange something soothing, to maybe give people a couple of calm minutes during the listening party. The source is heavily represented in the chord progression and main melody is there. I added a couple of parts/solos and changed the whole feel/vibe of the track. The main idea here is to be a bit nostalgic, and give that calm feel, which I think I achieved. Hope you all enjoy. :)"

Wonderful to finally have some more Valis III on board, as it's been over two decades. Also, a tip of the cap to tibonev for his arrangement title's subtle but direct nod to the source tune's title. ;-) DoD's got a wide variety of music, yet its bread and butter, especially in ye olden days, was intense rock and metal, so there's further appreciation for tibonev offering something more tranquil as a contrast. Judge prophetik music was able to ride the wave and unwind:

"the intro guitar tone is just perfect. what a great sound, simple but effective. the beat comes in at 0:15 and is pretty snappy[...]. the melodic material is well-played by the guitar[...].

the break at 1:21 or so with the ep is again an excellent instrumentation selection, fitting the style very well. 1:55 is a bit of stylistic change[...]. after this it kind of noodles through some melodic material and then it's done.

this is pretty simple overall, but the simplicity is a feature, not a bug. it's a nice approach to an underrepresented game."

Co-signed on this carrying cool and peaceful qualities, with a good amount of subtle textural changes (e.g. :51, 1:21) and occasional simple original sections (e.g. 1:01, 2:12) providing low-key yet meaningful variations throughout. Along with the bassline and perfect touches of placid percussion, this was smoove stuff from Juliano. :-) Here's hoping tibonev doesn't shy away from trying more mellow electric guitar & keyboard ballads, because this is serene!