ReMix:Final Fantasy VI "The Parallax Effect" 3:37

Another day, another great Game Set Mash!! compo arrangement! AND we've now got 3 in a row where the ReMix has been improved since the initial entry, so we're shippin' you the freshest compo cuts known to man. :-) This time, judge Emunator leads a crew of OCR staffers on a Final Fantasy VI & IX mashup:

• Emunator: arrangement, synths, piano (from :12-:30), sequenced drums, mixing, mastering
• Pixels & Paradiddles: lead guitar & rhythm guitar (Seph), live kit drums (Josh)
• Hemophiliac: piano (from :00-:11 and 3:18-3:26)
• Chimpazilla: final mixing and mastering

An added wrinkle, this ReMix doesn't just involving mashing up themes but styles too, as these FF themes receive, as Emunator expands on, a lil' darksynth-inspired glow-up:

"This track is my submission for the first round of DarkeSword's Game Set Mash!! remix competition. I've never participated in an OCR competition before, but since three of my creative goals in 2023 are embracing collaboration, trying new styles, and actually finishing things... this felt like an ideal way to help me achieve those goals. And, boy, did it help me check all three boxes in record time. I've never produced synthwave style before, and I've also never mixed with live electric guitar either. (I have infinitely more respect for anyone who mixes distorted guitars with any other instrumentation, it is NOT easy!)

My vision for this track can be summed up as "a 150mph police chase at night in the year 2070", inspired by artists like The Midnight and Carpenter Brut and their mix of rock and metal elements with retro synths and neon-tinged atmospherics. The triumphantly bold melodies from "Edgar & Sabin's Theme" fused so naturally with the crystalline beauty and sparse riffs from "Palace of Memories". Josh and Seph laid down some absolutely incredible rhythm and lead guitars that really glued the track together and amped up the drama tenfold. Hemophiliac's piano contributions to the intro and outro set the mood perfectly and fit like a glove with the vision I had.

Massive shoutouts to my whole team - Pixels & Paradiddles, Hemophiliac, and H36T, who wasn't featured on this mix but still contributed advice and support along the way - there was no chance of this coming together without y'all. The spirit of collaboration is alive and well! Also, Chimpazilla was absolutely instrumental in helping me polish up the mixing post-competition and getting this to really shine!"

This was not only produced well, but, as with the other successful GSM entries, judge prophetik music praised the successfully smooth fusion of sources:

"intro faux strings into synths was a really nice feel. the track builds in a very exciting way through the piano, synths, guitar, then drums up until 0:45 when the beat really kicks in. the melodic content entering at 0:57 is excellent. the lead [...] soars over really excellent backgrounds, be them synth-heavy or guitar-heavy.

short break at 1:43, and then we get the guitar entering with edgar's theme again. i like the articulations used here, the space added really compliments the background's staccato synths.

the hit at 3:13 that brings the track to the beginning of the end was *chef's kiss*, and the overtone-heavy synths leading us out were interesting.

arrangement is great - i honestly had to go back and figure out where Place of Memory was because it fit so well into the FF6 track. and from a mastering perspective, the driving, heavy, darker atmosphere of this one really works well with the more martial tone of Edgar's theme. really excellent work."

There's still unrealized genre potential here, so I can't wait to one day hear Emu go even heavier with the sound design, à la Carpenter Brut, so we'll put a pin in that for the future. :-) Speaking of pro musicians though, judge MindWanderer felt Emunator managed to channel that level of quality on the production side (besides the team nailing the arrangement, naturally):

"Yep. Great take on these sources, and seamless integration. For a first time mixing electric guitar into a more complex soundscape, you did a great job; many veterans and even professionals don't do as well. There's some complex layered part-writing that was a ton of fun to listen to. Fantastic job all around."

I voted on this as well, and I particularly enjoyed the guitar work throughout, which added loads of herbs and spices here. I can also confirm this being a very cool fusion of the themes; if you weren't familiar with those FF6 & 9 tracks, you'd implicitly assume there was only one source tune with the way everything connects so naturally together. Nice job, Team PSX! I love team! (Team, team, team, team, team!) And an extra tip of the cap to Emunator for setting some serious musical goals and smashing 'em. More from him to come in this GSM! ;-)