ReMix:Final Fantasy IV "Echoes at a Distance" 2:40

By lasombra

Arranging the music of one song...

"The Lunarians"

Primary Game: Final Fantasy IV (Square , 1991, SNES), music by Nobuo Uematsu

Posted 2002-10-20, evaluated by djpretzel


Oooohhhh . . . now this here be some good stuff. Sounding unlike anything else on OCR, with amazingly dynamic, intimate, articulated ethnic percussion coupled with grandiose, filtered, phased, + delayed synth work, lasombra has a really unique bit of mix for you. Extremely cinematic, dramatic, and highly suspenseful and original, this is the type of mix that's got some fresh ideas and explores the outer possibilities of game arranging - it's not orchestral but has symphonic elements, it's fairly free-form and doesn't have a very distinct beginning, middle, or end, and it's cool. You can't dance to it and it's not the transporting, epic brand of soundtrackish work that's more common, so it may not be as immediately accessible, but I think most will appreciate & view this as a ReMix that's decidedly unique and not derivative in the slightest. The diminishing ending does give it the stamp of being ephemeral and transitory like many incidental BGM pieces, but it's highly memorable. I suggest giving it a download and at least seeing what you think, as to me its distinctiveness alone makes it a compelling work. Props to lasombra for choosing challenging source material and giving it some new threads. Recommended.

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 13 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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Necrox
on 2015-12-05 19:02:35

Very interesting style, but held back by sample quality and LENGTH. Like someone else said, this has a lot of potential. I could listen to this sort of style with this source for ten minutes and this mix just feels like an intro.

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Otakatt
on 2009-12-02 08:49:02

I have to agree with Bahamut regarding the samples. This is something I used to listen to a bit years ago, but it just hasn't aged that well.

I think I would have liked to hear this stretched out. As in... it wouldn't have hurt this mix to be longer. If it was longer there'd be more room for Iasombra to explore more ideas and such. As is, it sort of feels cramped up together. It'll start to get good, but them bam, it moves on to something else. I can't help but wonder what it'd sound like if the artist worked on it today. It has so much potential.

This isn't a bad song by any means, but compared with OCR songs of today with the upped standards it sort of pales. Still, worth a listen if you dig FF4 music.

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Bahamut
on 2009-10-02 03:52:47

I can't help but notice how poor these samples sound to me now.

There's an interesting contrast going on here with the relatively empty sounding drumming and the bigger sound from the other instruments. At around 1:20, there's also an unnatural shift in direction - it doesn't seem like the transition worked very well.

The arrangement of the melody itself is intriguing in the first half, but too conservative in the second half of the mix, which is no good considering how short it is.

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evktalo
on 2008-12-16 09:04:36

Great but short. Or maybe.. short but great. Yeah, that's better. Listen closely; it sounds fantastic and there are some wonderful details in there - I absolutely love the percussion. (There is also a bit of offness in the final Lunarians part with lotsa delay effects, but that's forgivable). The soaring b-part of the Another Moon theme is *gorgeous* here. The fade is kinda unfortunate and unnecessary, the ending could have been done without it. I could just loop this without it, but now it's jarring. A proper diminuendo would have been great. I hate being so negative about what ultimately is a minor detail, but on such a delicate track it's really unfortunate. Otherwise, it's a really tasty piece of music!

--Eino

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DragonAvenger
on 2008-10-12 16:59:50

Love the drumwork in this, really atmospheric. Not sure if I like the synth used for the first melody, but it's alright. Fade out is lame though, especially as it goes into a 'suspence' feel just as that's happening. Could have liked an entirely different ending, actually.

Definately a very memorable track, and a nice take on both the original moon themes.

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avaris
on 2007-03-08 14:06:04

This is def one my fav themes from the incredible edible ost from FFIV. The source tune is very repetative although very catchy and emotive. The mix has a good deal of variation in the textures and backing to really keep the piece feeling fresh. I really like how the percussion keeps a very deep and distant sound, really adds to the mood. For anyone who likes really ambient type of songs this is something to def check out. Also for back in 02 the production on this is awesome.

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OA
on 2007-02-01 13:15:14

Very clean production, this is very easy on the ears. :)

The percussion was very nice, and the soundfield was well filled out. The transition to the strings was nice, but shortly afterwards, the ending arrived, and it was way too abrupt.

Overall very cool and had a very distinct feel. Check it out, IMO.

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Bummer
on 2005-10-04 02:27:15

Cool bells, drums and that respectful atmosphere this mix gives away really does this thing good. The theme of the moon maybe wasn´t that fun, this one either, but this is clealy a soothing remix, meant for you to just let your problems melt away for 2 min and 39 secs and just chill. Or dig, the drums gets a little heavier at the end.

lasombra, well done.

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Asterin
on 2002-11-14 01:55:47

Although the sound certainly had a great deal of clear depth and brought a definite image of a crystal cavern into my mind, I didn't really care for the way the piece finished up in an anticlimactic fade. When the piece ended I felt like something was missing to make this memorable.

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Slackbot
on 2002-10-21 08:13:25
IAt 1:40, it seemed to have a weird transition... I don't know if this was a problem with the mp3 or player I used, but it almost sounded like a loop was pasted after another loop.

Huh. That was the point at which it cut off for me. I redownloaded it, and the same thing happened again. :?

What I could hear of it, I liked.

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Ryan8bit
on 2002-10-20 16:59:18

I thought this was very interesting, and I like the way it started out, but when it busted into that part at 1:25 or so, it didn't have the same effect on me. It was almost like it shifted into something much more traditional, which isn't a bad thing.

At 1:40, it seemed to have a weird transition... I don't know if this was a problem with the mp3 or player I used, but it almost sounded like a loop was pasted after another loop.

And the ending, while kind of different, just didn't strike me the right way. Perhaps if it slowed in tempo or diminished naturally rather than fading as it did, I might've liked it better.

Overall, a decent piece, despite some of my opinionated suggestions.

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lazygecko
on 2002-10-20 16:22:21

Awesome! Excellent! Bravissimo!

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Ginnsu
on 2002-10-20 16:06:04

Final Fantasy IV 'Echoes at a Distance'

This is quite the dramatic piece of music that lasombra has produced for us here. I especially love the way the bass and toms rumble through my head phones, gives it a really awesome spacious feel. Excellent work lasombra.

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


Primary Game:
Final Fantasy IV (Square , 1991, SNES)
Music by Nobuo Uematsu
Songs:
"The Lunarians"

Tags (7)


Genre:
Mood:
Dark
Instrumentation:
Bells,Chromatic Percussion,Orchestral,Strings,Synth
Additional:
Time > 4/4 Time Signature

File Information


Name:
Final_Fantasy_4_Echoes_at_a_Distance_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
3,285,444 bytes
MD5:
186ca2077c9011e158c1537a5abcc82a
Bitrate:
160Kbps
Duration:
2:40

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