Pokémon Sleep "Aeternal Wonder" 5:19

It's naptime with timaeus?!? timaeus222 fuses a trio of Pokémon themes together, with the Snorlax's share focused on the music of mobile slumber-tracking app Pokémon Sleep! Though this piece ultimately kicked off as a Pokémon Platinum arrangement, timaeus was drawn to complete it thanks to the P-Sleep soundtrack's peculiar and puzzling style:

"Ever heard of Pokémon Sleep? If you haven't, this incredible soundtrack by Shota Kageyama stands out to me as one of my new favorites. I'd describe several of the songs as harmonically mysterious; I found myself doubling back many times after being surprised by the directions the soundtrack took me.

I started this ReMix around Oct. 2024, as a rough draft of... not Pokémon Sleep music, but actually "Eterna Forest" (Pokémon Platinum) -- just a sine lead atop some sketched chords and a simple drum loop. I set it aside and started on another idea in November, which was the Pokémon TCG Pocket ReMix you may have heard (I ended up finishing that one right after Christmas).

Fast-forwarding to Feb. 2025, I returned and continued writing the arrangement, with the philosophy that it's better to lay out rough ideas than to expect them to be fantastic quickly. Let me quote zircon, who quoted John Swartzwelder (I know djp would appreciate the quote-ception):

"Since writing is very hard and rewriting is comparatively easy and rather fun, I always write my scripts all the way through as fast as I can, the first day, if possible, putting in crap jokes and pattern dialogue [...] Then the next day, when I get up, the script's been written. It's lousy, but it's a script. The hard part is done."

I've struggled with this aspect of "writer's block" for many years, but there has been an easy solution: be okay with rough writing, and trust your future self to fix it later. This motivated me to make this over 5 minutes long, which is my longest solo ReMix.

Having heard the Pokémon Sleep soundtrack a number of times by this point, I had "Taupe Hollow (Day)" on my mind in the shower. I realized that it could actually fit well with "Eterna Forest", having a wondrous, thought-provoking vibe. Later on, I shared this with a friend of mine on Discord (Draft_Fusion on twitch.tv). She was getting into writing music, so I kept sharing the next versions of this ReMix with her.

Finally, in early March, I finished this, ultimately combining "Eterna Forest" (Pokémon Platinum), "Taupe Hollow (Day)" (Pokémon Sleep), and "Aether Paradise" (Pokémon Sun/Moon). (I was pretty surprised when the transition at 2:58 got me back to the original key.)

As for any new sounds or techniques, I started trying a new (free or cheap) synth, Vital. I haven't delved that much into it yet, but it only took like 5 minutes each to make some smooth dubstep growls that fit well for the frantic sections (1:14-1:26, 3:45-3:57), and I plan to learn Vital and Arturia Pigments as 2 out of 3 primary synths. :-) I also tried and loved Kilohearts' Trance Gate on the main bass (I typically don't like designing synth sounds with tremolo built in, as it makes it hard to test chords), and experimented with Kilohearts' Ring Modulator and some pitch shifts on the piano as well.

Lastly, the title took some inspiration from "eterna" ("eternal") and "aether" ("eternal"), as well as the wondrous style of Taupe Hollow's theme. With that, strap in and enjoy the ride! :-)"

Strap in for a thrill ride, tim? I'm trying to get some ZzZs, bro! :-P Seriously though, there's something to be said about putting dead-end WIPs aside and sleeping on 'em for later, allowing other musical ideas to percolate and eventually take the creativity to the finish line! Besides another Pokeymanz music suggestion for timaeus & the VGM fandom out there, judge jnWake enjoyed this ReMix's consciousness construction:

"If you like randomly good soundtracks in Pokémon games, I recommend Pokémon Quest! [...]

We begin with some nice airy pads and a pretty synth lead. Percussion enters quickly with a fun groove that's kinda chill and upbeat at the same time. Drumkit sounds great here, very punchy and clear [...] We move to Pokémon Sleep with more interesting percussion over some nice melodies and at 1:14 we get a fun rhythmic section. I think you used less dissonant chords than the source here, a good move IMO. At 1:39 we get a change to double time that sounds really cool! [...] After a cool chord progression we move into Aether Paradise for a bit of a break. [...] At 2:30 things get a tad more intense [...] Around 2:58 we slowly transition back into Eterna Forest, the chord progression at the beginning here suggests something darker coming, which caught me a bit off guard when the chill forest melody returned. [...] At 4:30 there's variations over the double time melody from 1:39. Finally, track ends with some pretty piano stuff.

On production this is excellent, almost no notes really. Percussion is punchy, samples are all high quality and everything sounds clear. We know what to expect from you after all this time!

On arrangement this is mostly excellent as well [...] Overall, awesome job! Excellent production and a fun arrangement [...] There's no doubt this deserves to be on the front page."

Fellow judge Chimpazilla admired the recognizable opening lead and effectively mapped medley while also tipping her cap to timaeus's typical time sig trickery:

"Ah, I remember this first Zebra2 lead patch, it is called "avien" and it is still gorgeous! What an interesting arrangement here, I agree that the three sources go together super seamlessly.

I really like this varied and unique arrangement and soundscape. The chord progressions strike me as just a bit awkward here and there but it all mostly works and sounds luscious. I love all the changing time signatures, I'm a sucker for varied time sigs in a piece, it helps to keep things very groovy and interesting all the way through.

Production and mastering are on point, let's go!"

Hey there, let's tamp down the excitement over here, Chimpa! I'm trying to get some shuteye! :-P Seriously though (see how I did that again?), while this may not sound somnolent OR somnambulant for your future sleep study, timaeus222 once again serves up something special from the world of Pokémon! And he's now an officially unofficial franchise champion with this being his 10th ReMix from the series, let's GOOOOO! I meant, shhhhh... trying to get my beauty rest...