Final Fantasy XIV "Ancient Skyline" 5:14

With Halloween in the rear view mirror, it's time to shift from spooky to classy! The Key Combo are back with another jazzy rendition of Final Fantasy music, this time taking on the piano-driven "'Neath Dark Waters" from FF14! Joined by a notorious twin on programmed percussion, we have our roster of sophisticants [sic]:

• Arrangement, bass guitar, electric piano, aux instrument programming: Pipko Fanfare
• Alto + tenor sax: April Murphy
• Grand piano: Lampie23
• Drums programming: paradiddlesjosh

Key Combo ringleader Pipko Fanfare pulled our players together for this intimate adaptation:

"This one has been in the works for a long time and I'm excited to finally share it with you all. The part of FFXIV where this plays really resonated powerfully with me, as did the track itself with its dark, moody, bittersweetly nostalgic sound. It's about a memory of a long-destroyed home and the way it flows beautifully between ideas and key centers was really inspiring to me. We approached it as if it was a downtempo standard played by a medium-to-small electric jazz ensemble. The original tune is a simple A-B-C structure with no internal repeats, but our take is a bit longer. First, we establish the original themes and harmony, then, on the repeat, we mix it up significantly with an improvised solo section over the A section harmony and then a dramatic reharmonization of the B theme before tying it all up with a final statement of the C section to bring it back together. The saxes and bass guitar were recorded live, pianos were live MIDI recordings played on physical keyboards, and all other instruments are programmed. As always, I'm blown away with the stunning performances provided by my collaborators and I hope you will be too!"

I really enjoyed hearing the opening clock noises carried over from the source tune to establish a style continuity from the original to the arrangement. Judge prophetik music had some informative sax critiques that were applied to tighten up the final product while also praising the Key Combo's jazzy authenticity:

"some sfx to start alongside the cymbals to lead in, and the band's all in right at the beginning. band sound is great - drums, bass, keys, saxes makes a nice ensemble. [...] tenor tone is again fantastic. there's some vibes around the 1:15 that are really nice. [...]

2:01's one of the aforementioned key changes. there's some fun harmonized elements in here. [...] there's a recap of the opening stuff at 2:38, and then a piano solo that focused a lot around block chords which i think really fits the feel. [...] then it moves into another recap of the b theme with some extra backing pads. there's the c section, and the track ends on a final sustain that's not quite where you expect. leaving the pad noise in after the last drum fill is fun.

this is pretty straightforward and nails the style well. [...] the overall feel is solid. nice work."

Familiar with this piece from its work-in-progress days, fellow twinsy & panelist pixelseph proceeded to praise the group's seasoned sound:

"I remember giving this a listen while it was in the #workshop channel in the OCR Discord early on, and it's come together in a lovely way! Establishes the feel right from the start and maintains it without feeling trite or boring, which I attribute to the arrangement variations in the first half (<2:30) and the change to a more blocked-chord structure for the solos in the second half. There's a sense of restraint in the performances, not letting the dynamic ceiling get too high, while keeping that gentle, smoky bar feel locked down to the end. [...] I'm happy to see another FFXIV track on the front page!"

Hear, hear, this one's a wonderful compliment to our previous FF14 ReMixes by DarkeSword and Tremendouz, altogether a diverse set of genres with their interpretations. Seph was also dead on citing the sense of restraint in the presentation, eschewing grand dynamics in favor of more measured, club-friendly refinement. I particularly liked the soft piano comping in the start of the second half, a nice detour from just rehashing the main melody again. Overall, a strong lounge jazz cover, this was quaint, chill, intimate, and relaxing! That's good all year round, but even better off the back of the spine-tingling treats we had this Halloween. "Ancient Skyline" yet modern elegance from The Key Combo. ;-)