ReMix:Final Fantasy V "Groove, Sweet Groove" 4:05

By Mattias Häggström Gerdt

Arranging the music of one song...

"Home, Sweet Home"

Primary Game: Final Fantasy V (Square , 1992, SNES), music by Nobuo Uematsu

Posted 2008-05-10, evaluated by the judges panel


Mattias, aka "The Swedish ReMixing Machine," offers up yet another tasty morsel of ReMixing goodness. But first, some housekeeping issues: you've hopefully noticed some visual changes to the site, which are slowly being extended to detail and other pages. In addition to visually separating out information in a clearer fashion, we're also trying to move away from tables and towards more semantic HTML where possible. Excitement! We've got some upcoming changes to the forums as we upgrade to the latest & greatest version of vBulletin, and in the next week or so will be publishing a new interview that should be quite the business. So, we've been keeping busy, in other words.

And so is AnotherSoundscape - this is his fifth ReMix posted in 2008, which is pretty damn impressive, since all of them have been both memorable and varied. We last saw him giving the beloved Cheetahmen a funky clavinet makeover, and now he turns his attention to the dark horse of FF OSTs, V, continuing the trend of funk/jazz awesomeness:

"Final Fantasy V, the game no one really cared about until recently when it got a revival. I started this mostly because of AeroZ, his FFV remixes are amazing and he's always talking about how good the soundtrack is. So, after we met to see Distant Worlds and talked a lot I got an urge to finish this old piece I had been working on.

Right when I got Reason 4 (yeah I'm hip and trendy now) I realized the potential of the ReGroove tool and started making groovy drums. Since we just played a lot of Jazz in my drum lessons I got a lot of influences from there. The idea of making a 4/4 groove-based arrangement of Home Sweet Home wasn't really clear at first. It sorta came to life when I started experimenting with adding melodies from games I knew and loved and this one just jumped at me, sounding all good and stuff. So I started working!

I've really adapted the source, changing just about everything except the main melody. Honestly though, this source is all about that melody so I think it's okay. The only part that's NOT the main melody in the source is the part at 0.35 and I actually used that too and re-arranged it as a break (1.25 - 1.40) so I've covered the source while I definitely made it my own. ;)

I love Rhodes as always so I came up with some licks and added some .. let's call them counter-licks with a Hammond. I also tried out the new RPG-8 arpeggietor for the build-up and I must say I love it. Other than that the remix contains some serious Moogish soloing, a 909 playing un-tss, an odd time-sig fill, Thor, overusage of xylophone (I wish I was DrumUltimA) and my regular switch of styles towards the end (including accordion and swedish jewharp!). I think I severly butchered the original but I'm very happy with it and I know you can spot the original pretty well, in case you don't agree, see below."

Mattias knows Reason something fierce, and it's downright scary to think that he's already got the new stuff in 4 somewhat pegged and is productive without missing a beat for edumacational downtime sometimes required for software upgrades. This mix has a metric ton of funk, with xylo, organ, AND Rhodes for the keyboard trifecta... but wait, there's more! Accordion makes it four, plus you've got Moogish synth leads aplenty, groovy synth bass, and varied rock/jazz drums that segue into electronic sounds and back. There's tons of riffs, breaks, shifts, twists... it's an arrangement rollercoaster, more or less, which is evident from the source breakdown AnSo thankfully provided in his submission email. It gets a little cluttered at times, and there are passages here that are less arranged material and more glue to hold the whole thing together, but you can't deny the infectious groove, quirky instrumentation, and sheer talent that makes it all work. So we'll close out with Shariq's concise take:

"Yeah, without a doubt, this is hella groovy. Very creative, catchy, and interpretive."

Pretty much; more FFV excellene as Mattias joins in the global war against FF5 OST obscurity and proves himself a powerful ally.

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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Necrox
on 2015-12-06 15:15:05

Knew when the first saw came in, that this would be fun and interesting. 2:50 actually almost made me get out of bed. Love the xylo writing, lives up to the title. Nice liberal interpretation.

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OA
on 2009-04-02 15:16:18

I always thought the original track was solidly written, but arranged as to be as boring as possible. This remix focuses on all the good parts and makes them fun and appealing. Good clean upbeat fun with a dash of humor, and well performed. You are the best man.

The breakdown section was extra catchy.

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Liontamer
on 2008-06-08 16:35:32
In his defense, now that I think about it he might've meant Home, Sweet Home (Arranged Version) from the album Final Fantasy - N Generation.

It's in 3/4 as the original and it has (horrible, horrible) lyrics on top of it.

so, if he meant something like "I, personally, would've liked it if you stayed closer to the original feel of the track. Especially the arrangement with lyrics from the 'Final Fantasy - N Generation' album." sure, by all means that's a valid opinion that we would've understood. Now you were tripping over words and people who did not know about this album thinks you're an idiot who was talking about some random lyrics ;)

I understand this is not everyone's cup of tea since I completely changed the feel of the original. Just trying to sort things out.

I'm OK with not knowing a more obscure FF arrange album. I'm glad there's a limit to my geekdom.

But nah, I think the mentality of wanting it to be like a previously existing arrangement is even dumber. :lol: What's the point of copying what's already been done? Just listen to the N Generation one instead.

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anosou
on 2008-06-08 15:49:19
Why should he have formed the song with some random song's lyrics in mind? Better yet, why would that be a valid reason to penalize the structure of this track? :lol:

In his defense, now that I think about it he might've meant Home, Sweet Home (Arranged Version) from the album Final Fantasy - N Generation.

It's in 3/4 as the original and it has (horrible, horrible) lyrics on top of it.

so, if he meant something like "I, personally, would've liked it if you stayed closer to the original feel of the track. Especially the arrangement with lyrics from the 'Final Fantasy - N Generation' album." sure, by all means that's a valid opinion that we would've understood. Now you were tripping over words and people who did not know about this album thinks you're an idiot who was talking about some random lyrics ;)

I understand this is not everyone's cup of tea since I completely changed the feel of the original. Just trying to sort things out.

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Liontamer
on 2008-06-07 12:57:22
I keep trying to insert the lyrics that I heard from the "N Geneeration" disc from Tokyopop into this song while I'm listening...

Hmm... yeah I think it'd sound a bit better if it had been formed with them in mind.. but mueh, tis just an opinion, and I can't hear what it would sound like if it was crafted such.

Why should he have formed the song with some random song's lyrics in mind? Better yet, why would that be a valid reason to penalize the structure of this track? :lol:

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Crono3of3time
on 2008-06-07 03:27:21

I keep trying to insert the lyrics that I heard from the "N Geneeration" disc from Tokyopop into this song while I'm listening...

Hmm... yeah I think it'd sound a bit better if it had been formed with them in mind.. but mueh, tis just an opinion, and I can't hear what it would sound like if it was crafted such.

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AeroZ
on 2008-06-01 03:23:32

Heeey it's the famous swede! :P

I must say that buildup from 0.38 and forth is genius.

Sounds so good.. and when it gets started with that organ for the first time 1.09. GRAWAHHH!

It's lovely! My favorite part.

Really cool that you go circus-crazy at 3.17. Big good sounding suprise.

Humoristic and wellproduced.

GO FOR MOER FF5 TRACZKLZ!

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swampbug
on 2008-05-23 10:50:09

Great peppy song, fun and groovey.

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Martin Penwald
on 2008-05-19 16:38:10

This is my favourite Anso remix so far. The arrangement is quality stuff, just as usual, but this time, there's absolutely no instrument/synth/anything else that rubs me the wrong way as was the case with his previous remixes. Everything goes together incredibly well and creates a wonderfully goofy, fun song.

The drums coming in at about 0:53 should sound a little meatier, though.

Well done.

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LuigiFan
on 2008-05-14 09:45:36

This is epically hilarious. I'm loving it more and more.

See, this is what I like about AnSo. He can diversificate to full extent.

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Epic1044
on 2008-05-13 11:59:53

Lives up to the title. A nice groove. I absolutely loved the outro. I only wish the drums sounded a little more organic, meatier.

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DragonAvenger
on 2008-05-12 13:43:04

I can tell you that for what it is, it's very well done. Definately a total turnaround of the theme and style, and a fun listen.

That being said, I do have to throw in my hat with the "not my favorite" ring. I'm just not crazy with what you did here. Can't really say much more.

Despite all of that, I did smile a little listening to it, and there were parts that I did enjoy.

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anosou
on 2008-05-12 04:10:53
I'm not going to refrain from being honest just because it might upset some people. No one's going to grow if they don't get real opinions, and while it may not be the highest quality critique, I certainly won't pad my comments to make them child-safe.

As to the other parts of your comments, I understand your instrument choice - I love these kinds of synths too, but... I mean, they're funny. It's particularly that high synth that comes in near the beginning, though not exclusively that synth. I would expect to hear it in an extremely light-hearted, kiddish setting. The xylophone evokes images of skeletons dancing in a Saturday morning Tom Jerry cartoon thing, particularly how it's used. Plus an accordion at the end? It's really easy to get the impression of utter ridiculousness from this.

It also doesn't help that you chose a rather somber original song to arrange - changing the style so much with the above mentioned things kind of sounds like a joke tune to me. A very skillfully done one, mind you, but a joke tune nonetheless. I just got the impression that this was being taken very seriously as an arrangement, when it seems to be that this is more like a, "Hahaha, let's do something wacky and fun with this!" That is what I expect from a joke tune.

I probably wasn't being terribly clear, but I don't mean an ounce of this as an insult. I think it's slightly detrimental to the piece, but that's a personal taste thing and not a lack-of-skill thing. I want it to be perfectly clear that this is a very well-produced and skillfully arranged piece. I was just completely thrown off guard by the silliness, and I don't really like it.

Well then I completely understand you and thank you for your input. And yeah, I did not take this very seriously as an arrangement and it was more of a "Haha, let's do something wacky" so it's alright. I was probably thrown off-guard becaus the only thing you said was that it was utterly ridiculous and sounded like a joke and that seemed more like trolling to me. Now that you've explained I can sleep at night. Now if you'll excuse me I'll stop going off-topic in the review thread ;)

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artemisjaeger
on 2008-05-12 02:57:57

It's actually kinda funny. The more I listen to this, the less seriously I take it. The less seriously I take it, the more I enjoy it.

EDIT: This was still a very rude way to express my thoughts. I'm sorry.

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Dark Vagabond
on 2008-05-12 01:38:41

Know what I like about this tune?

It gives off a feeling as though someone just jumped up and said...

Hahaha, let's do something wacky and fun with this!

You say joke, I say AwesomeHappyFungroove.

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


Primary Game:
Final Fantasy V (Square , 1992, SNES)
Music by Nobuo Uematsu
Songs:
"Home, Sweet Home"

Tags (3)


Genre:
Funk
Mood:
Instrumentation:
Electronic,Synth
Additional:

File Information


Name:
Final_Fantasy_5_Groove_Sweet_Groove_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
5,982,051 bytes
MD5:
8d4eaf73e46fa2f029253bc1a88f5ee5
Bitrate:
192Kbps
Duration:
4:05

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