Microsoft Flight Simulator "Above the Borders" 3:47

Liontamer's note: TSori wanted his writeup for tibonev's ReMix shared on a meaningful day in aviation history. On this day 90 years ago, during her record-setting 13 1/4-hour flight from England to Brazil, pioneering New Zealand aviator Jean Batten became the first woman to pilot solo across the South Atlantic Ocean. Batten cemented her legacy by making five transoceanic flights over three years, but for those of us that don't have the means to fly, you can vicariously take to the air via the game arranged for our next ReMix, Microsoft Flight Simulator!

There's a certain feeling that comes with piloting an airplane. It's a sense of being in a larger world but with a sort of liberating seclusion as the ground and everything on it falls away. So, it's only fitting that tibonev captures that feeling exquisitely in OCR's first Microsoft Flight Simulator ReMix, the aptly titled "Above the Borders". tibonev explains:

"This arrangement was created for the Dwelling of Duels June 2024 contest. Theme was Franchise Fusion, where you had to make a medley/mash-up of songs from two different franchises.

Since I've been playing A LOT of MSFS2020 lately, I really wanted to cover it, and adding Pilotwings was a no-brainer, given the theme relation between the two franchises. I've also been meaning to do a track without drums or percussion for a long time, but I've always postponed. Well, not this time.

The arrangement is slow, chill, and borderline ambient, using lots of moving synths pads for the foundation while the rhythmic information comes from the muted guitars on the back. The melodies are present but not always the main focal point of the mix. I've been listening to a lot of Boards of Canada these days, 'specially during work hours, and I wanted to do a track with a similar approach, but not exactly in their style, which is why I named my track "Above the Borders". It alludes to their name, kind of, and alludes to flight, which is the theme of the remix."

I had never heard of Boards of Canada, but having given them a listen, I can see the influence in tibonev's ReMix, particularly in terms of soundscape. One area in which they differ starkly though, is in the use of percussion. While Boards of Canada focuses fairly heavily on percussion, tibonev eschews it entirely here to great effect. The decision to rely on the muted guitars to provide rhythm gives the arrangement a more subtle pacing that gives it structure, without ever feeling overly grounded, pun intended. The wide sweeping synths portray a sense of scope and grandeur while the subdued melodies give the track the delicate serenity of floating with the clouds. The initial submission impressed the judges with its approach, as prophetik music writes:

"i really love this concept. there's a clear connection to the style of the track and the original sources. i also really appreciate how much you shied away from percussive elements and relied exclusively on the guitar and the synths to provide rhythmic structure."

The judges also noted though that it didn't quite have that special something yet. Fortunately for all us, tibonev made some tweaks and resubmitted, and this time it really landed. (Intended again.) Judge Hemophiliac applauded tibonev's rework:

"I really enjoyed this the first time around despite feeling under-developed and not fully realized. This has completed the rest of the pie and is a fully fleshed out idea now.

The over[all] sound design is still really nice and the atmosphere is a sunny but cloudless sky. The changes that were made in regards to design were welcome and smoothed this out. [...]

1:20 there's some new (IIRC) soft and subtle guitar added here that really adds some momentum and picks up the energy without getting too big.

Dynamically, this takes us on a journey with a long crescendo throughout the whole piece as textures build and the dynamic level increases. Perfectly ambient and expressive without needing any percussion. Synths evolve and change with time and the guitar with delay keeps us anchored to the wings.

Love the changes so much, I'm really glad you worked on this more and resubmitted it. Great work."

Excellent work, tibonev. You've crafted a truly unique take on an equally unique blend of sources. The end result is an enthralling auditory experience. Keep the creative ideas coming, and as the pilots' saying goes, keep the blue side up!