ReMix:Finding Paradise "Eternal Reverie" 4:48

Back-to-back Pixel Mixers snacks, courtesy TheManPF honoring Cuphead and now Torby Brand's sophomore featured ReMix, a wistful and contemplative solo piano tribute to Kan Gao's Finding Paradise! For Torby, Kan Gao's games & music have long been special and inspirational:

"I am so happy to finally reveal my arrangement of "Faye's Theme" from Finding Paradise! I had the absolute pleasure of participating in the newest Pixel Mixers album with this piece, this is one of my favorite arrangements that I did last year. I love this game so much. <3 It's a tearjerker. T_T

This track was part of the 2023 Pixel Mixers project The Great Tale of the Little Ones Vol. 3. Please consider checking out our full Indies album, where this track is enclosed. :) Upon entering this project, I had pursued the idea of creating music based on Kan Gao's amazing scores. They are simplistic, but they perfectly capture the atmosphere and emotions of his stories and games, such as To the Moon (2011) and Finding Paradise (2017). These games carry deep storytelling that tugged at my heartstrings and sat in my mind for a long time. As a huge fan of these games myself, I was excited to arrange it. That's why, when I went on to cover the main theme of Finding Paradise, I wanted to do more than a simple transcription of the piano score.

The main motif of the game has several renditions spread out throughout the score. My arrangement can be considered a medley of "Faye's Theme", "Ending Theme", and "Time is a Place". I have attempted to capture the essence of these melodies, and poured it into one, single piano arrangement. I wanted to weave them together to create a "definite" version of that motif. :D It's not an elaborate or complex arrangement, but, in this case, I prefer the simplicity of it. It aims to channel the feelings and essence of the story with a heartfelt performance.

I have added a few original sections, and I've worked to fuse the sections together organically to make the transitions as seamless as possible. Furthermore, I've expanded upon the simplistic beauty of the songs by adding harmonies and additional melodies on top of the original. I think they compliment the score well, and naturally fits into the theme. I think I've struck a good balance between honoring the original motifs and making it my own, what do you think? Either way, it's without a doubt one of my favorite arrangements from last year, so I am happy to finally be able to release it.

Lastly, I want to say that I'm extremely grateful to the game and what it has given me. I'm happy to have been able to create this arrangement and performance, to express my feelings about the story, and to inspire others to experience it. Thank you, Kan Gao. <3"

Even for those of us who haven't played To the Moon, A Bird Story, Finding Paradise, or Impostor Factory, many OC ReMix listeners have been introduced to Kan Gao's music through Brandon Strader's "Rabbit" from our Esther's Dreams album. By way of evaluating Torby's submission, judge prophetik music was also favorably introduced to Kan Gao, and found highlights that stood out in Torby's arrangement approach:

"what strikingly emotive originals. i've never heard of this composer at all - clearly my loss. [...] i appreciate the way you've picked up gao's use of grace notes and octave jumps and integrated those into this arrangement. the wider voicings you use at 2:01 really flesh out the beautiful progression the originals are based around as well, and i appreciate the space that those voicings give it."

While also praising Brand's successful personalization (tricky, given the shared instrumentation), judge DarkSim too was struck by Gao's compositions -- there's obviously something special, attention-grabbing, and resonant with the themes of Freebird Games whether or not you've got the direct, personal gaming connections like Torby does:

"Wow, what lovely source tunes! I feel like doing a solo piano arrangement of these themes invites comparison to the Ending Theme, itself also a solo piano arrangement. It's great that you've seamlessly worked in the other sources though, as your arrangement is clearly your own. It helps that there is a common motif across all the sources, but you've done a great job of capturing the essence of them and still keeping it original."

Enjoy a comfortable combination of aspects of all three themes, tied together with the shared motif -- consider this Torby's blend of the pensiveness of "Faye's Theme" with the instrumentation of the "Ending Theme" and the density & flourishes of "Time is a Place". Or... who am I to say? Perhaps you'll find paradise in deciding how you feel the theme variations truly weave together! ;-)