Final Fantasy VI: Balance and Ruin Comments from album directors Andrew Aversa (zircon), Mike Vafeas (McVaffe), and ReMixers Album freely available at http://ff6.ocremix.org One of my fondest memories as a kid was going to the video store on weekends to rent (yes, rent!) an SNES with one game. The very first time I went, my mom picked out Final Fantasy Mystic Quest. Being only about 9 at the time, it was just the right thing to get me into RPGs and the Final Fantasy series. I soon discovered Final Fantasy III, and after taking it home once, I was hooked. It might be hard for anyone to imagine in this modern age of gaming, but each time I rented it I would often have to start from scratch, since people would overwrite my save on the cartridge. But I didn't mind. The game was so captivating that playing the first few hours over and over was worth it. Listening to the original soundtrack and this remix album calls up those nostalgic feelings once more. I've wanted to direct this album since before I even started the 2007 Final Fantasy VII: Voices of the Lifestream project, but it was not until 2011 that the decision was made to finally do it. We had talked about an FF6 remix project among site staff for some time, and we all agreed that given how legendary the game and soundtrack are, it had to be done right. When I heard that McVaffe was also interested in such an endeavor, I knew it was time to make it happen. Mike was truly one of my biggest inspirations as an aspiring musician and remixer - I remember listening to his huge catalog of arranged and original music and being awed by his technique and range of styles. When we started talking about the album project, it was clear we were on the same page musically, and thus Balance and Ruin was born! The sheer level of musicianship on this project is something I never expected when we first started out. Of course, we had personally invited many talented arrangers at the outset, opening it up to the greater community via two remix contests. But the sum of the project goes far beyond that. Maybe it was the success of the Kickstarter that motivated people, the collaboration which we constantly encouraged between artists, our shared love for the game and original soundtrack, or some combination of these things. Whatever the cause, every single artist gave their absolute best for Balance and Ruin - with the calibre of musicians involved, both established and newcomers, that is saying quite a bit! It's been about ten years since I first joined the OverClocked ReMix community and began my career as a musician. It's where I developed my skills, built a fanbase, met many good friends, colleagues, and even my wife, Jillian. Co-directing this project has been a pleasure, but it's also my way of giving back to this community, and the greater community of game music fans as a whole. I'm very lucky to have had the opportunity to be involved, and to work with some of the most talented musicians I know to produce a project that I believe will set a new standard for video game music arrangements. - Andrew Aversa Coming upon the completion of this project is in many ways for me a surreal experience. A few years ago on a trip to DC, I took some time out from museum hopping and the typical obligatory sightseeing to finally meet up with Dave (djp) and his awesome wife. We played a few fighting games, we all went out to a nice dinner, and as the night ended Dave mentioned “Hey, what do you think about a FF6 project with yourself and Andy (zircon)?” I hadn't been much into game music - or the OverClocked community itself - around that time, but if there was any game I could lend an ear to for a musical project it would be Final Fantasy VI. It's safe to say that FF6 is still widely considered one of the greatest RPGs - and games - of all time. Of course, it feels somewhat quaint and “retro” now, but playing it back when it came out in 1994 was almost a holy experience. The graphics were rich and colorful. The characters were deep and had detailed histories and interwoven storylines. But arguably the most memorable part of the game has always been its gorgeous, sprawling soundtrack. It was the first game soundtrack CD I had purchased at that point, and to this day it remains my favorite soundtrack of all time. And while I already had an interest and appreciation for game music back then, it wasn't till I listened to the music in FF6 that I really started to recognize the unmistakable character of the medium and the genius of this composer specifically - who was somehow able to squeeze these little miracles out of the Super Nintendo hardware. It was this soundtrack that inspired me to actively listen to many other game soundtracks at the time, and ultimately begin cover them, remix them, and eventually create compositions of my own. Suffice it to say, Final Fantasy VI and its music had a huge impact on me back then. So despite knowing that this was going to be a gargantuan project which would likely have a million people working on it and take 15 years or so to complete, There's no collection that I would've been happier working on. Having been part of the OverClocked community since its humble, orange/yellow beginnings, this project was very personal to me in so many ways. In addition to having a deep connection to nearly every note of the source material, the roster of contributing artists was staggering. It included several folks like myself, who have been around and watching the community grow since the late ‘90's. As well, it included some phenomenally talented younger artists whose talent-to-age ratio is downright scary. And as the drafts and songs started to slowly trickle in over the months, Andy and I would bounce ideas and comments back and forth and it was abundantly clear even early on - this project was going to be something very, very special. So at the end of this journey I'm certainly feeling a bit of relief, but moreover I feel incredibly grateful. Grateful to be included in this amazing compilation, grateful for all the absolutely kickass music that these artists have worked so hard to put together, and that in the process we were all able to help out the site somehow. It was incredible to have been involved with a project featuring music which has been such a huge inspiration to me personally throughout the years. In all, the whole process has been quite the journey, and luckily I've had amazing, uber-talented friends along for the ride. - Mike Vafeas --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1-01. bustatunez - "Prologue" Source: "Opening Theme" bustatunez: arrangement AeroZ: cello Jeff Ball: violin McVaffe: Can you say "epic"? The opening theme to Final Fantasy 6 as you power on your SNES has to be one of the most exciting and foreboding title screen songs of all time. Not only does this arrangement capture that feeling, but it expands on it as well, adding some extra body and interest to the original theme. The production is sublime, and the track provides a great introduction to the rest of the project. bustatunez: I'm incredibly grateful for the opportunity to arrange "Omen" for Balance and Ruin. The first time I played FF6, I remember being surprised and even intimidated by the dark, serious tone of its introduction. I was still new to RPGs, and this game made a profound impression right from the start with its remarkably dramatic opening. When asked to arrange this piece in a cinematic style, I decided to stay fairly close to Uematsu's original form. Instead of creating a new piece based on his melodies, I decided to ask myself, "What would Uematsu have written if he had the resources of a full symphonic orchestra?" That question influenced all of my interpretation decisions. I approximated what I believe Uematsu must have been thinking of at the time - a pastiche of classic film scores from the 1950s. I took inspiration from classic film composers like Hermann, Steiner, and Waxman in developing this arrangement. Even the more unusual moments in my arrangement, such as the Debussy-esque piano solos and dissonant brass harmonies, came about by recognizing the musical genres and constructs that Uematsu was almost certainly referencing in his brilliant original work. My other goal was to unify the piece thematically as much as possible among the various sections. There are two main motives I used, the "destroyed world" theme ("Bb C Db") and, of course, Terra's theme. I preview both of them before their main entrances, and make reference to them throughout the piece in several places, in order to add more cohesion to the track as a whole. Lastly, I'd like to give a HUGE thank you to Jeff Ball and Sebastian Freij (AeroZ) for their solo string playing on this track and on my Gau arrangement, "Wild Child Ballad". The kinds of nuanced expression that these tracks needed simply wouldn't be possible with synthesizers; Sebbe and Jeff's performances brought life and human emotion to both of these remixes. I'm very proud of our work, and I hope you enjoy this arrangement and all of Balance and Ruin! 1-02. Mustin - "Now Is the Winter" Source: "The Mines of Narshe" zircon: Mustin's style has changed and matured over the years, but he's always seemed to have an affection for instrumental and jazz work. This song lets him flex those chops considerably. It's not the easiest source material to work with, but the way Mustin keeps the jazzy vibe of the original while incorporating live instruments and perfectly placed flourishes brings the track to life. Mustin: I wanted to do this track with The OneUps, but since I had a borrowed sax and guitar - along with the request for an arrangement of this tune - I went for it myself. I'm very happy with the result and very thankful for Andrew and his mixing and mastering. Thanks to Nathan McLeod for letting me borrow his sax and William Reyes for letting me borrow his guitar. And big thanks to Kunal Majmudar and Diggi Dis for their constant feedback as I bounced versions of this tune off of them. I hope you enjoy it! 1-03. Joshua Morse - "Remember" Source: "Awakening" Joshua Morse: arrangement, piano, keyboards Anthony Morgan: electric guitar, electric bass 1-04. Jeff Ball feat. Laura Intravia - "Smoke and Clouds" Source: "Locke" Jeff Ball: arrangement, violin Laura Intravia: vocals, flute McVaffe: While most artists with Jeff's fantastic orchestral arrangement skills might have gravitated to a purely orchestrated version of Locke's theme, Jeff uses his knowledge of instrumentation to make these samples, synths, and vocals absolutely sing in this piece. From the first few seconds of this song, you're transported to another, wondrous world. A daring departure from the original, and one that significantly pays off. Jeff Ball: Locke is very connected to Rachel in Final Fantasy 6, so I felt she should be incorporated somehow. I imagined Locke falling asleep and entering into a dream. Rachel appears, and Locke is struck with intense feelings of passion and loss as she sings his own feelings to him, surrounded by a beautiful dream-like landscape. 1-05. SnappleMan, norg, Captain Finbeard - "Polemos" Source: "Battle Theme" SnappleMan: arrangement, lead/rhythm/clean guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, percussion norg: arrangement, keyboards, acoustic guitar, fretless bass, Chapman stick Captain Finbeard: arrangement, drums, keyboard solos 1-06. Leitbur - "Tastes Like Victory" Source: "Fanfare" Jaron Widman: lyrics, male vocals, programming, mixing, mastering Samantha Krzyston: female vocals zircon: Creating remixes or arrangements is hard enough, but trying to do so when you have mere seconds of source material is borderline maddening. The subtle layering and overall production on this track are second to none. Leitbur's signature sound is wonderfully retro yet current at the same time, and was beautifully applied to create this memorable piece. 1-07. Nutritious - "Castles in the Sand" Source: "Edgar & Sabin" 1-08. Steffan Andrews - "Ascension of a Madman" Source: "Kefka" McVaffe: Kefka is one of the most memorable villains in the Final Fantasy series, so his traits of playfulness, pomp, and insanity had to be carefully incorporated into his musical theme. It's definitely one of the signature songs of the game, and Steffan did an amazing job of arranging that theme into this arrangement. Not only are all of the main parts of the theme fully realized, but in perhaps a nod to an *ahem* other prominant FF villain, Steffan incorporates a chorus into this mix. An unforgetabble rendition of an already memorable song. Steffan Andrews: A rearrangement with an attention span as short as the character it pays homage to, this piece takes Kefka's classic theme and weaves it through several divergent styles within the film music vein. 1-09. XPRTNovice - "La Montaña de los Caballos Jóvenes" Source: "Mt. Koltz" XPRTNovice: guitar, vocals, flute Ray Webb: trumpet XPRTNovice: I was looking through some of the gaps in the album set and I saw that nobody had done "Mt. Koltz." I admit, it's not my favorite track from the OST, but you can't just IGNORE a track and expect forgiveness. So, I started listening to it. That minor second chord shift that is prevalent throughout the entire track reminded me a lot of the way some traditional flamenco tunes sounded, so I thought I'd give it a try. My father-in-law, Ray Webb, happened to be in town while I was recording it, and I handed him my trumpet and backed away slowly, the result of which is that screaming trumpet lead you hear in the middle. The guitar and a lot of the nonsensical Spanish singing is live, as well as the flute. I'm still not any more Spanish now than when I started, but I do have some street cred, having slapped a bull calf at the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona back in 2011. And that, I think, counts for something. Many thanks to zircon for helping me mix/master this. Apparently not knowing what compression is can hinder the quality of your final product. Who knew? 1-10. Leitbur - "On the Run" Source: "The Returners" Jaron Widman: lyrics, male vocals, programming, mixing, mastering Samantha Krzyston: female vocals Jaron Widman of Leitbur: The opening arps were created using a Roland Juno-6 synthesizer, circa 1982. 1-11. zircon, XPRTNovice, Jillian Aversa, Jeff Ball - "A Fistful of Nickels" Source: "Shadow" zircon: arrangement Frank Witkam: harmonica XPRTNovice: acoustic guitar, whistling, trumpet Jillian Aversa: vocals Jeff Ball: violin zircon: Ennio Morricone is one of my favorite composers, and when I was thinking of ways to treat Shadow's theme, I kept coming back to a spaghetti Western style influenced by such scores as The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly and A Fistful of Dollars. I could hear the arrangement in my head, but to really capture that authentic Western vibe, I needed help. Jill, XPRTNovice, Jeff, and session player Frank Witkam truly breathed life into my MIDI arrangement and gave it the driving, rugged feel I was going for. Every performance is spot-on and I'm thrilled with how it turned out. I hope you'll agree that a character as enigmatic and awesome as Shadow deserves this kind of grand musical treatment! 1-12. Joshua Morse - "Camp Kefka" Source: "Troops March On" zircon: Josh is known more for his downtempo, R&B/jazz-flavored arrangements, so when we received this piece from him we were certainly a bit surprised. It starts off with a quiet, almost ethnic orchestral vibe. Then he unleashes some crunchy electric guitar, bombastic orchestral melodies, and even some dubstep flavor. The production is slick and somehow all of the disparate elements work well together. One of those songs where you never really know where it's going, but you love every second of the ride. 1-13. Radiowar - "Stone Drum" Source: "Cyan" zircon: In a cast of characters with heartbreaking stories, Cyan's still manages to be one of the saddest. The original song was strong and unwavering but at the same time beautiful. Stylistically, Radiowar's grimy hip hop take on the track could hardly be further from the original. And at the same time, it has all of the strength and nuance that made the source material great. Radiowar: This track is sort of a two-for-one: it opens with an orchestral arrangement of Cyan's theme for a (fictional) film score - the kind you might find on some old, worn, forgotten VHS tape - which attempts to capture the regal, militaristic quality of the music in the style of film music from the 60's and 70's. The music is then "sampled" and rearranged via MPC. The result (I hope) is that I was able to have my cake and eat it too: retaining both the qualities that were important to the original piece and the character it represents, as well as bending those elements in a way which reveals an entirely new way of representing and understanding those same qualities. 1-14. Beatdrop - "Toxic" Source: "The Unforgiven" 1-15. mv feat. Jeff Ball - "De Nuit" Source: "The Phantom Forest" mv: arrangement Jeff Ball: violin 1-16. XPRTNovice - "Gobble, Snarf, Snap" Source: "Phantom Train" XPRTNovice: whistling, guitar, vocals, clarinet McVaffe: Wading through this flood of amazing songs, it's nice to find one that can put a smile on your face within the first few seconds of it playing. Remixing a source track that was meant to convey uneasiness and haunting, this piece is playful from the first few notes - and only takes off from there. The atmospheric opening soon gives way to a fantastic klezmer romp, complete with authentic instrumentals and a bassline that could even get the dead dancing. One of the undeniable gems of the project. XPRTNovice: This was my second remix I ever really tried on OC ReMix, and the FF6 contest was a great inspiration for me to get going. I kept hearing this wild sort of Caravan Palace remix in my head when I was listening to this, and I thought "Wow, there needs to be more clarinet on OC ReMix." So, I decided to make it happen. When I found out I won the contest, I had no idea what I was in for. Balance and Ruin has been some of the most fun I've ever had musically, and the chance to take my classical training and use my powers for evil has been smugly satisfying. And, of course, there's whistling. 1-17. Flexstyle, OA, Nutritious - "Savage Triumph" Source: "Wild West" KingTiger: rad djemble licks Flexstyle: Oh man, this track. You guys, this track right here. This was SO MUCH FUN to make, and my collaborators were amazing. OA really brought the heat with his guitar chops, and contributed some of the percussion and sound effects (including the massive explosion-y thing before the final climax). He also contributed a couple of synth bits and bobs to fill out the soundscape. Nutritious did his share of sound effects and bass stabs, added the orchestral sounds during the breakdown, and added some much-appreciated meat to my drums. I did most of the drum work, most of the bass work, and all the synth lead work. I also did the final mixdown 'n such. I would be remiss if I didn't mention my friend KingTiger, who graciously contributed a nice set of djembe takes, which I used in some of the buildup parts. (If I missed any parts of the process, please forgive me -- this was a monster, and everyone chipped in with a LOT of great material!) This was a song that really stretched me as an artist -- I gave this my absolute best, as did my collaborators. I think it shows, and I hope you have as much fun hearing this as we did making it! 2-01. bustatunez - "Wild Child Ballad" Source: "Gau" bustatunez: arrangement, piano, accordion, recorder, guitar, percussion Jeff Ball: violin, viola AeroZ: cello bustatunez: Although Gau's theme is rarely played in the actual game, I really loved its simple, folksy instrumentation and clear focus on melody. Taking heavy influence from Yoko Kanno and Yasunori Mitsuda, I arranged it for an ensemble I use often: myself on piano, accordion, recorder, guitar and percussion, and my dear friends Sebastian Freij and Jeff Ball on strings. This piece really came together thanks to their contributions - Seb was particularly excited to play on the only FF6 track whose original tune actually features the cello! 2-02. posu yan - "river of sine waves" Source: "The Serpent Trench" zircon: This track is addictive in so many ways. It's the perfect cocktail of chiptune goodness, a great interplay of smooth piano and guitar instrumentals, and straight up charm. It invokes some of the best material from the legendary Katamari soundtracks while incorporating just the right amount of the "Serpent Trench" theme. A delicious mix of elements indeed. 2-03. Pot Hocket - "Idle City Street" Source: "Kids Run Through the City" Pot Hocket: guitar 2-04. DragonAvenger, OA - "Courage, Failure, Rosebud" Source: "Under Martial Law" DragonAvenger: arrangement, vocals OA: production 2-05. Fishy feat. XPRTNovice - "Bad Octopus" Sources: "Save Them!," "Grand Finale" Fishy: arrangement, guitar XPRTNovice: clarinet, saxophone, trumpet Dan Pugsley: bass Fishy: "Bad Octopus" is a Haken/ilp0-inspired prog circus mush of two of the sillier action tunes from the game. When Andy asked me what track I wanted to do for the FFVI project, I decided to pick a few of the awkward ~45s length actiony songs that no one would want to mix and put them together. Eventually though, I realised that these two were just too silly to mix with the others, so I decided to go all-out circus mode on them. After I finished the track to my regular prog liking, I showed it to XPRTNovice who suggested we amp up the silly and thrown in a load of extra instruments you wouldn't normally find in prog. As a result, it is pretty much now beyond classification, which is fine by me! Like most of my arrangements, it blatantly reeks of someone else's music. Named after Ultros because he's awesome. Enjoy. 2-06. Danny Baranowsky - "Train Suplex" Source: "Decisive Battle" 2-07. Anti-Syne - "There Will Be Blood" Source: "Metamorphosis" zircon: This remix is not for the faint of heart! It's all over the place in a *good* way, with just the right amount of tasteful chopping, mangling, and distortion. "Metamorphosis" is a very difficult source due to its harmonic complexity and dissonance, so I'm glad Anti-Syne stepped up to the plate and nailed it. Veterans like Beatdrop & tefnek would be proud. Anti-Syne: "Metamorphosis" has always been of my favourite tracks from FF6, so to be given the chance to remix this track was a challenge I relished. I didn't feel I needed to change the foundations of the original in order to complete my remix. I kept the big hitting drums and overall feel, but changed the orchestral instrumentation to blasts of crafted, chaotic, glitched up, electronic noise. 2-08. Chad Seiter - "Terra's Resolve" Source: "Terra" Chad Seiter: arrangement, orchestration Susie Benchasil Seiter: conducting Warren Brown: mixing Peter Fuchs: mixing Bernie Grundman at Bernie Grundman Mastering: mastering Slovak National Symphony Orchestra: performance Slovak Radio Concert Hall (Bratislava, Slovakia): recording hall zircon: How do you take a theme as memorable and nostalgic as Terra, which has been covered so many times in so many styles, and bring something new to the table? I'm extremely glad that Chad Seiter answered that question for us with this incredible rendition. Chad's professional work on some of the biggest blockbuster movies of the last 10 years speaks for itself, and all that experience shines through in "Terra's Resolve." It's grand, sweeping, and cinematic in scope, but also very dynamic and emotional. It perfectly suits the character, and if Square were to ever remake Final Fantasy VI, I can't imagine a better arrangement for the theme. Chad: To this day, Uematsu-san's "Terra" has remained one of my favorite themes of all time. I have been enamored with it since I was young. I wanted to musically capture Terra's strife and make sure my homage told her story accurately. I felt I could only do it with an orchestra, so I recorded "Terra's Resolve" with an absolutely gigantic 120 piece orchestral ensemble during the recording of my original score to the latest Star Trek video game. 2-09. Level 99 - "A Simple Flip Can Change Fate" Source: "Coin Song" Level 99: arrangement, guitar McVaffe: Many arrangements take the source material as purely musical information. But for his take on "Coin Song," Stevo has definitely kept the context of the original theme in mind as well. Beautifully played and produced, the song is smartly stripped down and intimate, and hints at the distanced relationship between the two brothers. Level 99: The story of how Sabin and Edgar decided their own fates with the toss of a coin was the part of Final Fantasy VI that resonated with me the most. Despite the trick being played, both sons knew that doing what is right is not necessarily what is best: for them, for the kingdom, for everyone. The nobility, sacrifice, and love shown was something I really tried to capture in my version of "Coin Song." I included "Edgar & Sabin" as well, in a fashion which feels regal and grand in scale, to emphasize what was at stake and how the whole kingdom could have changed if fate, or family, had chosen a different path. 2-10. Tepid - "Electro de Choco" Source: "Techno de Chocobo" 2-11. McVaffe - "Reverie of the Broken Phoenix" Source: "Forever Rachel" McVaffe: My arrangements are typically fairly straightforward in concept, but for Rachel's theme, I was hoping to convey some of the story and heartbreak surrounding the character. The song is meant to sound dreamlike and incorehent, and slowly gains structure and clarity as it progresses, before it once again drifts back into incoherence like someone in a coma. It's a beautiful original track, and this take on it serves to give it a bit more context through the production. 2-12. Mazedude - "Slam Davis" Source: "Slam Shuffle" Mazedude: arrangement Jeff Stockham: trumpet zircon: Zozo is a pretty seedy and shady location in Final Fantasy VI, something that I think Mazedude captured perfectly in his take on the theme. I absolutely love the "swampy" feel, the infusion of organic jazz elements, and Mazedude's trademark ability to turn lots of disparate and seemingly-random elements into something really cohesive and unique. I've said before that the point of this project was to stick to the mood and vibe of the original tracks; this remix is a shining example of how we achieved that goal. Mazedude: A few things about this track... one, I worked in NYC as a waiter one summer during college. I drove from Jersey City, through the Holland Tunnel, to upper East Side Manhattan day after day. For a spell, to get me through the trip, I listened to the FF6 soundtrack while driving. The juxtaposition of NYC pedestrians against the FF6 music was... quite surreal. To imagine townsfolk walking around from an aerial view, while witnessing NYC townsfolk walking around on the sidewalks... was bizarre, trippy, and cool. It got me through the drive. And whenever the "Slam Shuffle" music came on in such a scenario, I couldn't help but grin as I drove. Fast forward to this FF6 project, and I knew I wanted to tackle this particular track above all others. But what style to try? I had a few ideas in mind... Indian fusion was one, but it didn't work so well. Another concept was to mimic Miles Davis in some sort of acid jazz, featuring live trumpet. Quite a difficult concept to grasp with a computer, but I went for it... and it was sounding good. But, to make it really work, I needed a real trumpet player. To my good fortune, I was introduced to an incredible professional trumpet player, Jeff Stockham, via the local Syracuse, NY jazz band ESP (http://espjazz.wix.com/esp), and set a recording session, where thankfully, he got EXACTLY what I was going for. The recording session was a blast, and I am thrilled with the result. 2-13. diotrans - "Fiddlesticks Rag" Source: "Spinach Rag" diotrans: arrangement, violin zircon: mixing, mastering zircon: There's something so dated yet timeless about ragtime themes, and it's great to see them incorporated in game soundtracks the way they are from time to time. The "Spinach Rag" being among the most memorable rag themes in gaming history, it's nice that this take on it stays close enough to the material while offering instrumentation and flourishes aplenty to keep it fresh and current. A great little theme and the perfect arrangement to capture its quirky goodness. diotrans: I have such a deep love for FFVI and its soundtrack for so many reasons, and am so honored to be a part of this album to pay homage to Nobuo Uematsu's stellar work, as it has had a profound influence on me as a musician. I chose "Spinach Rag" because of my love also for ragtime music. For an audition in high school, I played a fantastic arrangement of Scott Joplin's "Pine Apple Rag" on viola, which was full of little tricks like slides which can't be done on piano. Since then, I have always felt that ragtime is as fitting for violin or viola as it is for piano. So when I arranged this remix, I wanted to not only play the Spinach Rag on the violin, but to utilize the wide range of possibilites of what a violin can do: slides, double stops, arco and pizzicato, etc. This arrangement is for 2 violins and piano, and intended to be fully playable as a live ensemble piece. Many thanks to zircon for his production help, turning my MIDI keyboard playing and raw violin recordings into a polished finish piece. He did a great job of capturing the style I was going for. 2-14. OA, Moonlapse, BardicKnowledge, Laura Intravia feat. DragonAvenger - "The Nightmare Oath" Source: "Overture" OA: arrangement, guitars, keyboards, programming, lyrics Moonlapse: vocals (Draco) BardicKnowledge: vocals (Prince Ralse) Laura Intravia: flute DragonAvenger: brass 2-15. Jake Kaufman, Tommy Pedrini - "The Impresario" Sources: "Overture," "Aria de Mezzo Carattere," "The Wedding," "Grand Finale?" Jake Kaufman: arrangement, lyrics, guitar, bass, piano Tommy Pedrini: vocals Tony Marino: additional vocals James Montagna: additional vocals Brian "Dogboy" Burwell: drums Robert Altschuler: recording, mixing, mastering Command Recording Studios (Valencia, CA): studio zircon: Jake is a composer capable of writing intricate, memorable pieces of music - or even entire soundtracks - in almost no time at all. In fact, he has an entire album consisting of songs written in less than one hour. So with that in mind, consider that this magnum opus took him more than 4 months to create and you'll have an idea of the scope involved here. Everything from the unbelievably polished production, to the soaring vocal performances, dense harmonies, screaming guitars, and incredible arrangement is, in my mind, perfect. Having listened to it at least 50 times after receiving the final version, I simply can't imagine how this could be more amazing. "The Impresario" is, in my humble opinion, one of the greatest video game arrangements ever created. 2-16. zircon, Jillian Aversa, AeroZ - "Till We Meet Again" Source: "Aria de Mezzo Carattere" zircon: arrangement Jillian Aversa: arrangement, vocals, lyrics AeroZ: cello 2-17. zircon - "Full Speed Ahead" Source: "Setzer" 3-01. Joshua Morse - "Flava de Chocobo" Source: "Techno de Chocobo" Joshua Morse: arrangement, piano, keyboards 3-02. Anti-Syne - "Johnny's Got That Funk" Source: "Johnny C Bad" zircon: Tavern themes are usually on the upbeat and playful side, and "Johnny C Bad" is no exception. Anti-Syne takes the fun factor of the original track and increases it several-fold, using creative filtering, great synths, and an undeniably catchy beat underneath it all. I dare you not to tap your feet to this one. Anti-Syne: So, for this track, I really wanted to go with a bouncy, hybrid electro funk vibe with the half-speed beat, but also to try and keep the joy of the original with the piano riff and rock drum fills. I had a lot of fun throwing in solos in as many different styles as I could, with influences coming from Opiou, Stevie Wonder, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Justice. 3-03. Rexy - "Gestahlian Sonata" Source: "The Empire 'Gestahl'" Rexy: Hey again, I've got another piano arrangement coming your way to look into. ;) One type of mixpost you'd often see from me whether on OC ReMix itself or through its site projects is the occasional piano solo, and so I thought it would be a good idea to see how a sonata arrangement would work for the Gestahl Empire theme. This arrangement of "The Gestahl Empire" was done for zircon's Final Fantasy VI remix contest, and not only was it part of a second place tie out of over 30 other entries (!!), but it was brought onto zirc's and McVaffe's FFVI project Balance and Ruin to take the vacant "Empire" spot. The directors decided that they wanted to keep it as it is, hence there's been no changes since the initial contest version. When I saw the contest thread, I knew I wanted to go in all guns blazing, approaching it at many different angles. Of course, one of them would be a solo piano entry, which I eventually settled with "Empire" due to the pacing, structure and relating with the source material. It went on to be a popular source pick overall, which I admit originally scared me during the voting process, but I gave it my best and had no regrets. It surprised me a lot after completion - lengthy yet expressive. What I understood about the source material for the Empire theme is that it really tells how much of a stranglehold on the world they were grasping, tightening further during the first half of the game. With Terra being a key figure relating to the Espers, the very creatures that the Empire were leeching to fuel their technology, you can't help but think that she had been around a bad crowd for as long as she can remember. And with her being especially frightened of them early on in the game, I could probably imagine her looking for an upright piano in the Returners' Hideout and wanting to bring her feelings about them in a retrospective sonata form. This is something that we can all relate to in real life as well - we may have had our moments of being around people that do a world of disservice to our lifestyles, and for the most part we'll be scared of breaking away because of any retaliation they would do back. Though it may be seen as too early to immediately take action, there is a glimpse of that thought to do so sooner than later. But like Terra eventually did over the course of the game, you'd build up the strength to go against those fears and take matters into your own hands. I'm really surprised it managed to do so well in the contest, especially due to my previous track record of piano entries in other online competitions. And I'm really grateful that zircon and McVaffe took it on as well, and all the more excited to see what everyone else has come up with for the project. A big thank you to everyone that was involved, and it'll be great to see the reception for both the track upon project release, AND the project itself. :) 3-04. djpretzel - "The Megiddo Brigade" Source: "Devil's Lab" 3-05. DDRKirby(ISQ) - "There's Nothing Like Flying" Source: "Blackjack" zircon: Now what good is an epic adventure without an airship? And what airship flying sequence doesn't have a great theme to go with it? Taking the classic flying theme "Blackjack," Timmie transforms it into a chiptune-flavored opus, featuring several FF6 motifs throughout. A great piece with an undeniable feeling of joyous exploration and fun. 3-06. Brandon Strader - "Mogstradamus" Source: "Mog" zircon: So how do you capture the sound of a race of tiny, white, furry creatures that can fight grown men and beasts, and who constantly exclaim KUPO!!? This is how! Brandon does a fantastic job of using disparate, unique instruments and synths to convey the craziness and liveliness of our little furry friends. One of those arrangements that keeps turning corners and always keeps you guessing, this one will entertain your ears from beginning to end. Brandon Strader: I don't remember writing this, which means it was a good session with nothing bad to taint the experience. I wanted to keep the zany vibe of the original while making it chippy/modern hard-hitting electronica. There's a lot of little zany breaks and automation going on and, as a whole, I think this is one of my favorite chiptronica mixes so far (because I've done so many!! Seriously! ;p) Oh, yeah, "ukulele dubstep." Here you go, Sterling Moss. The ukulele dubstep concept was what inspired and drove me to pay tribute in this way. I love this song SO much, it's a huge personal honor to have made this, and I hope you like it as much as I do! 3-07. halc - "Aggressive Blue Magic" Source: "Strago" zircon: At the beginning of this one, you almost expect a calm, ambient river of synth goodness to take you slowly through Strago's theme. But then halc unleashes his chiptune dubstep goodness and there's no going back. This one is simply oozing with detailed synths, stutters, and unique effects, and halc does a great job of capturing the soul of an eccentric, partially-insane magician grandfather at the same time. 3-08. José the Bronx Rican - "Pure Essence" Source: "Relm" zircon: In addition to putting together the fantastic video trailer for this (as well as all OCR projects), José decided to take on the Relm theme as well. It's great to see some R&B love on this project, and José manages to use his R&B pop sensibilities to create a silky smooth take on the song that's reminiscent of some of the classic radio hits of the early 2000's. The instruments work great, and the track as a whole definitely adds some unique flavor to the project. José the Bronx Rican: Nothing deeper than an electronic R&B "confection," which I thought suited a character theme belonging to Relm, and which could use more rep on OCR. Forged from about a decade of various genre influences, with all the trappings I thought appropriate. 3-09. Sole Signal - "Illusionary" Source: "Another World of Beasts" zircon: Some artists do extremely well by working within established genres, and others like Greg seem to take a little bit of this and a little bit of that, mix it all in a big musical bowl, and stir untill the awesomeness is just boiling over. His arrangement of "Another World of Beasts" takes some orchestral instruments, some interesting synths, and some downtempo, almost trip hop rhythms and creates a mix where nothing and everything work together perfectly. A great flow and journey through this track. 3-10. Rexy, Brandon Strader - "Black Genesis" Source: "New Continent" Rexy: arrangement Brandon Strader: guitar Brandon Strader: I was practicing triplets on guitar so I decided to throw a bunch of those in. A ton of fun recording guitars, bass, and following Rexy's guideline of what she had already written parts for, finding interesting sounds and synths. It's metal that doesn't feel brutal to me, but is quite majestic! Rexy: This was another track that was done for OCR's FF6 contest, and consequently zircon and McVaffe's project Balance and Ruin, this time taking the "New Continent" spot. There had to be some production fixes since the initial contest version, but Brandon took the time to knock it out of the park, and that's the version here. Kudos to Brandon for not only bringing in the guitar performance and production work, but also throwing in synth solos within the second half! Brandon and I have been an incredible team since our initial encounter on The Sound of Speed, and seeing the track record transfer to this one is further showing how far we've been coming along. Due to our previous track record, it was fair that one of the three entries involved would be another epic pair-up between us. And I'm glad that "New Continent" was listed as a source to cover, as that's something I had been wanting to do for a long time. The scenes around the Floating Continent in the game itself were among the scariest I had ever seen in a video game at this time, and the changing moment for me in making me think that the good guys don't necessarily win every time. To see something so dark after being exposed to generally happier games in my youth seemed to mark a change in perception at this point, and thus the re-shaping of the world for Kefka's needs is one of those scenes that to this day is a powerful image on my mind, and thus makes him BY FAR the GREATEST Final Fantasy villain in my opinion. And so that huge story-telling curveball inspired the direction for the track. This metal take on the source is there to personify the world's transformation for the worse. For pacing, I found myself taking inspirations from some of the earlier works of Black Sabbath, and managed to similarly mold this into a track that starts out with as much determination as possible to go against Kefka's ordeal, before morphing and bringing the more sinister meaning to his plan to light. Brandon even managed to fill some dead space up with a couple of awesome synth solos too, further adding to the tension and as well as adding some deviation to his usual solo mastery. What we have as a result is one of our more intense collabs to date, and believe me - THIS to me is what the end of the world feels like in musical form! We hope you guys receive this well - thank you for looking into it! And once again we're looking forward to seeing how the FF6 project all comes together. :D 3-11. zircon - "Meditations on an Apocalypse" Source: "Catastrophe" 3-12. Flexstyle - "Evisceration" Source: "The Fierce Battle" zircon: This song in the soundtrack is so unmistakingly boss battle music that you start to get sweaty palms and heart palpitations almost as soon as it starts playing. Flexstyle certainly wastes no time in letting you know that this song isn't going to sound like a walk in the park. Mixing elements of chiptune with some great Pendulum-esque drum-n-bass, the intensity in this track hits you almost immediately and barely lets up. By the end, you almost feel as if you've been beat up (but in the best way possible). An aural assault if ever there was one. Killer. Flexstyle: This source came up during a staff meeting as one that hadn't been claimed yet, and when I heard it I knew I had to take a crack at it. This is high-energy DnB with a bit of roid rage sprinkled in for good measure. Nine out of ten fictitious doctors recommend turning the volume up, and the tenth one just can't hear you anymore and wants you to get off of his lawn. Happy hardcore breakdown inspired by DDRKirby(ISQ), who was my teammate in a recent competition! 3-13. Forrest Powell - "A Tranquil Rest" Source: "Rest in Peace" Forrest Powell: arrangement Emily Mondok: viola, violin 3-14. Derek Oren, Jeremy Robson - "Elegy for a Ruined World" Source: "Dark World" Jeremy Robson: arrangement Derek Oren: production zircon: The "Dark World" theme in FF6 plays during one of the most lonely, heartbreaking parts of the game, and the original music was intentionally quite oppressive and dreary. And while this rendition of theme certainly contains elements of that despair, Derek and Jeremy have created an extended story with this piece - and have infused it with a sense of liveliness and hope that's breathtaking. The various themes and movements in this piece weave in and out of each other just beautifully. Epic. Jeremy Robson: "Elegy for a Ruined World" was inspired by Nobuo Uematsu and Ralph Vaughan Williams. Derek Oren and Jeremy Robson: Made with EWQL Hollywood Strings and Hollywood Brass. The woodwinds are VSL Instruments and the percussion is Project SAM and EWQL. 3-15. Palpable, OA - "Event Horizon" Source: "The Day After" Palpable: arrangement OA: arrangement, guitar Palpable: Though I have fond memories of FF6 (probably my favorite of the series), I have more nostalgia for some of the other FF soundtracks. There wasn't any particular song I had an arrangement idea for, and I dawdled on claiming a track when Andy opened up the project. Fast forward a month later: I was putting together a BT-ish beat for an original track, but found that one of the open project tracks fit really well over it, so it became a remix. The intro, chorus, and verse came pretty quickly, but I stalled hard after that. I lamented my loss of inspiration in the staff channel, and OA came up big, with a bunch of ideas to keep it going. They juiced my interest in the track again, and I was pretty quick to finish it after injecting some of that hot OA action. He even played the badass guitar parts. zircon also gave advice on the mixing and chipped in a few more ideas, so props to both Andrews. OA: This was one of the most fun and easy collabs I have ever done, and I managed to finish in just a few hours. Thanks to how Vinnie left things off, It was easy to come up with a lot of sweet ideas that complemented his already great base, and after sending it out, he put it together. Loved working on this. Vinnie is a true bro! 3-16. Calum Bowen feat. Xarnax42 - "Blackjack's Breakup Bossa" Source: "Blackjack" Calum Bowen: arrangement, lyrics Jesse "Xarnax42" Deacon: vocals Jeff Ball: violin Calum Bowen: Having never played FF6, I browsed the OST a little and this track immediately stood out to me as something I could work well with. The chords of the first section were already pretty well rooted in Latin-jazz tradition, so it wasn't a huge leap to re-imagine the rest in this style. Since it's so tricky to pull off with MIDI, an awful lot of effort went into making it as humanised as possible, along with layering a lot of audio along with that - vocals, backing vocals, violin, electric guitars, acoustic guitars, shaker and brushed snare. One of the major influences (and the reference I used when I was on the hunt for singers) was Katamari Damacy's "Que Sera Sera." I also looked to Fantastic Plastic Machine for inspiration on the arrangement and production of modern orchestral Latin-jazz tracks. I hope not to soil anyone's beloved memories with what is a fairly light-hearted vocal rendition especially from a someone who had never played the game! Anyway, I had a total blast making this remix and I hope you enjoy listening to it. Big thanks to Jesse for stepping in and delivering some solid gold vox, Jeff Ball for the lovely violin playing and zircon for organising the album! Xarnax42: I'm no professional and am much too inconsistent to be a live lead singer, but I've been looking forward to offering some measure of vocal talent to the community. I've been holding out, too, because of poor recording equipment and environment. I finally decided to give it a shot with the means I have and leave it up to my collaborators to determine whether the quality was up to par. I was very excited to jump on Calum's request as big band/bossa nova is such a fun style to sing. Ironic that it came up when all I had was my laptop and a cheap Samson mic. All of my vocals on this track were recorded in a little office in Afghanistan -- luckily, I had the night shift throughout my deployment, so I could turn off the AC, have the room to myself, and belt my heart out, and got some surprisingly clear results! The collab process was as smooth as I could have hoped. I recorded a few takes, sent them his way, and he always replied with prompt, clear, substantial feedback. The Final Fantasy 6 OST is one of those most near and dear, and I'm thrilled to make my debut as an artist published by OCR on this project. Many thanks to Calum, zircon, and McVaffe, and to everyone who supports and enjoys the album and the community. Enjoy! 4-01. Joshua Morse feat. Jeff Ball, Laura Intravia - "A Glimmer of Hope" Source: "Searching for Friends" Joshua Morse: arrangement, piano, keyboards Jeff Ball: violin Laura Intravia: flute zircon: Some songs use complex instrumental solos or insane synth tracks to impress listeners. And while there's nothing wrong with that in the least, it's also nice to hear songs which take their time and slowly draw you in simply through wonderfully performed parts in a thoughtful, well-paced arrangement. The slow opening to "A Glimmer of Hope" is sublime, and it only gets better from there. This track is able to capture the subtle beauty and excitement of gliding through the sky in an airship. Silky smooth, and absolutely gorgeous from start to finish. 4-02. XPRTNovice - "Go-Go Gadget Gonkulator" Source: "Gogo" XPRTNovice: saxophone, clarinet, guitar, mandolin, popcorn selling skillz XPRTNovice: After I did my "Phantom Train" track, zircon asked me to do something in the same vein for "Gogo," which I had actually already been working on in my head once I got invited to the project. The style of the OST track sort of lends itself to this with that tuba, and I just sort of took it from there. If you listen really, really carefully in the background of the carnival part with the live sax, you can hear me selling peanuts and popcorn. Just for the record, I'm not ACTUALLY selling popcorn; please don't send me emails asking to buy any. 4-03. Forrest Powell feat. Laura Intravia - "Katabasis" Source: "Epitaph" Forrest Powell: arrangement Jeffrey Gren: cello Emily Mondok: viola, violin McVaffe: This is one of those songs in which a mere few moments after you begin to listen to the track, you wish that Final Fantasy VI existed in some aggrandized form that would better fit with this piece. This song is so big and beautiful that you can't possibly listen to it and imagine little pixelated characters over tiled environments anymore. You're imagining a grand story of sprawling adventure, love, and loss. An exquisite arrangement, and one of those songs that effortlessly paints vivid pictures in your mind. Forrest Powell: I'm very appreciative of Laura, Emily, and Jeffrey for their time spent to add their signatures to this work. My arrangement would not be the same without their help! 4-04. Flexstyle - "13th Floor Demonstration" Source: "The Magic House" McVaffe: There's something magical that happens when a song with distinctly classical elements is conveyed with electronic instruments, and this piece has that magic in spades. In the overall structure of this track, Mike wisely stayed close enough to the fantastic source material while changing, well... everything else. The rather downtempo thud of the drums is a great choice as it gives all of the awesome synth work enough room to truly breathe and be taken in. There's some subtle glitch work and the overall production has the perfect amount of punch and smoothness. Flexstyle: This was the first track I grabbed for the project, and it turned out that the source was a lot harder to work with than Siamey had made it sound in his excellent remix of the same source. Nevertheless, I enjoyed it and took it in a room-filling direction, with artists such as Nero, Justice, and others as my inspiration. 4-05. XPRTNovice - "The Narshemellow" Source: "Umaro" XPRTNovice: mandolin, guitar, flute, trumpet, bongos, vocals McVaffe: There's no denying that the majority of video game arrangements - either through the computer processes by which they're created or simply due to the synthesized music they're trying to emulate - end up sounding more often on the electronic side. And while that precision works extremely well for many genres, on the other side of the spectrum you have tracks like "The Narshemellow," which sounds like a bunch of guys in a smoky lounge just jamming out to something they've played a hundred times before. This song is just brimming with bluesy attitude and outstanding performances. Admittedly not the most memorable song in the original soundtrack, but an absolute gem in this compilation. XPRTNovice: I started writing this one in the living room while my wife was talking to me (gentlemen, don't do this often). The opening line just sort of came into my head, and I ran downstairs in the middle of the conversation to grab a mandolin and start playing. To my credit, I brought the mandolin BACK upstairs so at least I could continue sitting with my wife. After that, it was a short journey to start adding in all sorts of Django-esque lines. Really, though, I think my absolute favorite part of this song is the title. I'm not sure what that says about my musicianship. 4-06. Argle - "The Endless Stair" Source: "Fanatics" zircon: The Fanatics Tower theme is one of those "so little source, it's hard to remix" tracks, but artists like Argle seem to take that simply as a challenge. This piece is dripping with fantastic industrial percussion work and has a great, gradual build. In parts, it's like Nine Inch Nails meets the Matrix soundtrack. The mixing and production are polished to a spitshine in this one and the results speak for themselves - this songs could easily be featured in any big budget blockbuster movie or game. Moody, dark, and excellent. Argle: This became part of the Bawance and Wuin album. Ahem, sorry, been watching Life of Brian again. Never thought I'd have the opportunity to contribute to Balance and Ruin, but lo and behold zircon held a remix contest for some of the tracks. When zircon held the second contest, I decided to try the "Fanatics" tower theme, under the assumption that I'd have little or no competition for that one. I know it isn't a classic track like many of the other FF6 tunes, but I hope people enjoy my take on it. My craven, self-serving gamble paid off. Hehhehhehheh. 4-07. Derek Oren, Jeremy Robson - "Trauermarsch" Source: "Last Dungeon" Derek Oren: production Jeremy Robson: arrangement bustatunez: additional mastering Derek Oren and Jeremy Robson: Uematsu and Mahler were an influence in creating "Trauermarsch" (Cantata for Dancing IV). Made with EWQL Hollywood Strings and Hollywood Brass. The woodwinds are VSL Instruments and the percussion is Project SAM and EWQL. 4-08. zircon, Sixto Sounds - "Demon, Fiend & Goddess" Source: "Dancing Mad" zircon: arrangement, production Sixto Sounds: guitar, production 4-09. Shnabubula, Gabe Terracciano - "Ending Suite" Source: "Ending Theme" Shnabubula: piano Gabe Terracciano: violin zircon: mixing, mastering zircon: Some listeners might come across this song and wonder "Hey, where are the rest of the instruments?" To which I would say: When you have this much dynamic, live playing in a 15-minute song which spans about dozen different themes in a huge opus - you can leave the rest of the instruments at home. This is a gargantuan collection of themes, and Samuel and Gabe did an incredible job of making this arrangement fun, intimate, and downright impressive. No matter where you listen to this one, applause is required after listening. Every time. 4-10. Disco Dan - "Humble Beginnings, Great Expectations" Source: "The Prelude" 5-01. SnappleMan, norg, Captain Finbeard - "Omen: I. Black Dawn" Source: "Opening Theme" SnappleMan: arrangement, lead/rhythm/clean guitar, keyboards, percussion norg: arrangement, keyboards, acoustic guitar, fretless bass, Chapman stick Captain Finbeard: arrangement, drums, keyboard solos SnappleMan: For this song, I tried to break up the workload pretty evenly among all three of us. Finbeard had his hands full recording the drumkit for the entire song. norg spent most of his time arranging for the first three parts and recording the basses/keyboards. Most of my time was spent arranging part IV, preparing sections for drum recording, mixing the song and recording guitars. 5-02. SnappleMan, norg, Captain Finbeard - "Omen: II. Terror March" Source: "Opening Theme" SnappleMan: arrangement, lead/rhythm/clean guitar, keyboards, percussion norg: arrangement, keyboards, acoustic guitar, fretless bass, Chapman stick Captain Finbeard: arrangement, drums 5-03. SnappleMan, norg, Captain Finbeard - "Omen: III. Daydream" Sources: "Opening Theme," "Battle Theme" SnappleMan: arrangement, lead/rhythm/clean guitar, keyboards, percussion norg: arrangement, keyboards, acoustic guitar, fretless bass, Chapman stick Captain Finbeard: arrangement, drums 5-04. SnappleMan, norg, Captain Finbeard - "Omen: IV. Polemos" Source: "Battle Theme" SnappleMan: arrangement, lead/rhythm/clean guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, percussion norg: arrangement, keyboards, acoustic guitar, fretless bass, Chapman stick Captain Finbeard: arrangement, drums 5-05. Patrick Burns - "Following Forgotten" Source: "The Mines of Narshe" Patrick Burns: Something ancient, something forgotten. 5-06. pu_freak - "Royal Blood, Fraternal Love" Source: "Edgar & Sabin" pu_freak: When I started this mix, I wanted to expand on a manner of arranging that I also did with a track of mine for the Seiken Densetsu 3 album. This was to not just take the source, modify it a little, expand it a little and then call it a day, but rather to use the source in a different way. For this mix, I've enormously slowed down the source and then added additional melody to complement it. I actually play almost every note of the source in the first two minutes, but it can be hard at first to recognize it, because of said adjustments. Of course, when I auditioned and got accepted for the FFVI album with this mix, I needed to make it more recognizable, so there are some "traditionally" arranged parts of the mix to make it really clear what the source is. At the end, I finish with the fully original source. As for the feeling of the mix, I wanted it to be befitting of a king, but also have the peace and impact of the strong bond between the brothers (hence the name of this mix). I think it worked well: it's something that could be played in the ballroom of a castle, but is still very emotional and calm. I know this mix is on the balance of being applicable for OCR, since so much of the source isn't easy to hear. Just for clarity, here's a breakdown: 0:00-0:44: I've used the source here, only slowed it down enormously and added a lot of extra melody. I actually play almost every note from the source, but I play a lot around it as well. 0:44-1:26: The same deal here, only a bit more liberal. Again, every note from the source is played, but now the background choir fills up some of the notes the piano didn't play (i.e. the choir "plays" the entire source melody). 1:26-2:15: This is the next part of the source (section B, if you will). I used the same slowed down mechanic, playing practically the entire source, only expanding it with original melody (though not as much as with the previoius section). 2:15-2:38: Everything is at regular speed now and the source should be much more recognizable now. I altered the chords a bit in this section and put some slight dissonance in it. The flute provides a countermelody. 2:38-3:07: This is just the source with the flute as countermelody. 3:07-3:28: The same deal as with the first parts, the chord progression is slowed down enormously, every note of the source is played with a lot of extra melody around it. The "climax" of the mix. 3:28-4:01: Improvisation around the (still slowed down) chords of the source. This doesn't count as source usage, I know. 4:01-4:38: The source. Hope this breakdown helps! 5-07. bLiNd - "Bass of the Returners" Source: "The Returners" bLiNd: "Bass of the Returners" was a track I truly enjoyed making because of the sound design aspect of it. Once I got something groovy built, it just flowed from there. The whole track was built in my head before I even started it, so it was a result of my imagination. 5-08. Mattias Häggström Gerdt - "Dark Blue Substance" Source: "Cyan" Mattias Häggström Gerdt: Cyan's theme is a very, very strong theme melodically. So, of course, I completely butchered it. :) 5-09. McVaffe - "Savage Dance" Source: "Wild West" McVaffe: I put this arrangement together as I was learning some new audio programs, since the Veldt theme has always been one of my personal all-time favorites. I wanted to do something ethnic and dancey, and I feel that this piece has just enough of both elements. The Veldt theme has such a great, unmistakable rhythm, and I wanted to incorporate that as well as some more traditional Middle Eastern sounds. 5-10. Jovette Rivera - "The 6th Kingdom" Source: "Terra" Jovette Rivera is a multi-platinum selling songwriter/singer/lyricist/producer/model and founder of Royal Kingdom Music in Tokyo, Japan. With eight #1's on the music charts, millions of his work have been sold around the world. 5-11. bLiNd - "Slam Shufflin'" Source: "Slam Shuffle" zircon: This electro house track swings, bubbles, fizzes and pumps in all the right places. It's beefy and heavy with an almost sludgy quality to some of the filtered sounds and bass blips, perfectly suited for the rainy, sleazy town of Zozo. Though it might not be the most crazy far-out arrangement, it really works for the theme and has the trademark bLiNd seal of impeccable production quality all over. bLiNd: "Slam Shufflin'" was a fun track just because I knew it would work as house. I ended up using template sounds from NESterYears to build the track and it turned out great. "Zozo" has always been one of my favorite tracks and gets stuck in my head frequently. 5-12. sphexic - "Jidoorian Rhapsody" Source: "The Wedding" sphexic: I present "The Duel" re-envisioned as a piano improvisation played by Setzer, who, with his wild yet sophisticated (h)air, seemed similar enough to Franz Liszt that the concept just clicked. The scales Uematsu used in the original piece lend themselves well to that Hungarian sound, and I was able to order the melodic ideas to fit the structure of a Hungarian Rhapsody, with the dramatic opening and the more playful second half. Enjoy! 5-13. WillRock - "Strange World" Source: "Another World of Beasts" WillRock: This remix was a stylistic experiment to try and fuse various styles together to make something that sounded a little unconventional. It features some orchestral percussion and violins, various synths, electronic drums, and a guitar solo to end it on a high note. I'd say it was a successful remix from an aesthetic point of view. :D 5-14. Archangel - "Umaro's New Groove" Source: "Umaro" Archangel: This arrangement was heavily inspired by various cartoon soundtracks, especially John Debney's soundtrack for The Emperor's New Groove (hence the track title). The remix follows a story: Umaro wanders through his empty caves, alone and bored. His only comfort is his vast collection of bones and rocks, which he uses to make music. One day, he hears voices coming through the tunnels. He becomes suspicious and moves through the caves in a mock-James Bond/Mission Impossible manner, dramatically jumping off rocks and skulking stealthily along the cavern walls, until he finally runs into Mog and the rest of the Final Fantasy VI gang. Mog says: "There you are! You're coming with us, kupo! We need your help!" Umaro readily accepts his new mission, relieved and glad to finally have a good reason to leave his caves and be a little more active for a change. With his new groove and a renewed sense of purpose, he is more than ready to kick Kefka's butt.