Arranging the music of one song...
"Faraway Promise"
Primary Game: Xenogears (Square , 1998, PS1), music by Yasunori MitsudaPosted 2010-08-20, evaluated by djpretzel
If I had to come up with a catchy slogan for this mix, I'd probably go with "Quickening: It's Not Just for Highlanders Anymore!," though that would suggest a more Queen-like anthem rock setting than this mellow, acoustic guitar ballad from Avaris and Level 99 is about. Shaun talks about the mix's origins, the title, and what the two of them were shooting for:
"I was rendering all of the waves into mp3's for the project, while talking to Stevo, and we kinda felt bad there was not a remix on the project from this source tune. So in the period of 24hrs we decided to remix the tune relying on both of our musical strengths to pull the track through. Stevo composed and performed all of the guitars. I did the sound design, mastering, etc... Thanks to blind for providing a creative mastering tip to help glue the pads and the guitars together dynamically.
While Stevo approached the source with an emotion of "hope," I approached it with a sense of distant longing and old forgotten promises. This juxtaposition of emotions helped mold the track. The title, "Quickening", relates a loose definition of the term. It's about the hopes and dreams of various people coming together. How our past as well as our hope for the future shapes both our memories and present state of mind.
Anyways I hope people enjoy the mix. The sound design features birds, whispers to sound like birds, glass to sound like voices, and various other sounds. There was a great deal of focus on texture and molding images in an acousmatic sense for this mix. Hopefully it inspires some of the same emotions Stevo and I put into the piece."
On first listen, "Slowening" might seem a more appropriate title, since this is a mellow, warm, comforting arrangement (perfect for Hawaii, actually), so I'm glad to have the explanation present. FYI, you're not going crazy - this theme is actually the same melody as 'Small Two of Pieces' - we're working on a way to make this distinction clearer in our database, so that mixes of theme variations show up on the "source" song page as well, etc. Stevo concisely adds:
"The music box in the original makes the source melody moving at a somber pace, but I wanted to give it both a hopeful and somber tone. The synths and ambience that Avaris cooked up set the tone of the song very well."
This probably could have worked as just acoustic guitar, but I'm glad the two artists went with a sort of "instrumental PLUS" approach, as the subtle details that accompany Stevo's playing provide a contextual bed and add some ethereality to the intimacy. Great cut off Humans + Gears - I agree that the album wouldn't have felt complete without this source being represented, and I think these two took a great, soulful approach.
Discussion
on 2012-09-11 09:37:00
Peaceful and emotional. There's a lotta feeling in this one with the crisp guitar playing, and it really fits the human side of things. Beautiful ReMix.
on 2010-12-09 14:19:22
Sometimes lightning can just strike, I guess.
Couldn't have put it better myself man 
I mean, when it comes to Stevo and acoustic guitars, you
can pretty much be guaranteed that the result will be awesome.
But damn, I'd say avaris is just as much of a hero here for the
downright beautiful atmospheric work he did to give the track a
bit more of a "sunny spring morning" feel, as if you're just
waking up with a beam of sunlight on your bed, beckoning you into
the new day. Maybe "Awakening" would have been a more appropriate
title? 
Seriously, if either artist has an explanation for the remix
title (is it just a reference to how you guys finished it so
quickly?) I'd love to hear it!
Gorgeous.
on 2010-12-04 19:48:53
This reminds me a lot of what might play over the credits for an anime film specifically Hayao Miyazaki's. But I don't think I ever noticed just how emotion is packed into the the Xenogears soundtrack, and this mix seems to just highlight that. This is definitely nostalgia made into song. Bittersweet nostalgia.
I listen to this every night before I go to sleep.
Heh, I have an entire playlist of mixes that I listen as I go to
sleep. I hadn't really considered this track for my playlist
because of how it was also emotional in addition to mellowly
soothing, but I will now. 
Huh, also apparently there's supposed to be a bunch of background sfx. Until I started listening specifically for them, I didn't hear them. Still, this is incredibly well done, and I feel like Avaris and Level 99 have accomplished what they've set out to do do with this mix.
on 2010-11-19 05:18:03
Simply amazing! I listen to this every night before I goto sleep. Well done and keep up the great work!
on 2010-08-26 18:17:22
I loved the quiet emotion in this. It captures that sometimes simple is the best way to approach things. There is nothing flashy going on, and it doesn't need it.
The playing has a lot of emotion, and the backing synths/strings really add to the overall product. Great work, especially since it was done in such a short time period!
on 2010-08-21 16:46:12
hey so I've never played Xenoanything but OCR has taught me that Xenogears had like the best vgm like ever
on 2010-08-21 09:03:34
Xenogears: Humans + Gears is the best album that OCR ever released for me so far (from a game that I never played before till recently after I listen to this album). There are many outstanding tracks but if I have to be picky this track, When the Smoke Clears and the Treasure That Must Be Seduced are the highlights of this album for me.
on 2010-08-21 00:11:06
i must say that this mix is my fav out of the project good job guys i hope to hear more collabs in the future.
on 2010-08-20 16:27:40
Even though the entire album was packed with excellent tracks, this one felt head and shoulders above. The fact that it was put together so quickly is even cooler. Sometimes lightning can just strike, I guess.Beautiful and timeless, awesome work, bros!
Thanks bro! 
on 2010-08-20 16:22:07
Even though the entire album was packed with excellent tracks, this one felt head and shoulders above. The fact that it was put together so quickly is even cooler. Sometimes lightning can just strike, I guess.
Beautiful and timeless, awesome work, bros!
Sources Arranged (1 Song)
- Primary Game:
-
Xenogears (Square
, 1998,
PS1)
Music by Yasunori Mitsuda
- Songs:
- "Faraway Promise"
Tags (7)
- Genre:
- Ambient,Ballad
- Mood:
- Mellow,Peaceful
- Instrumentation:
- Acoustic,Acoustic Guitar
- Additional:
- Origin > Collaboration
File Information
- Name:
- Xenogears_Quickening_OC_ReMix.mp3
- Size:
- 5,082,897 bytes
- MD5:
- 0fbc803c04dc7a33ce6012367eecf394
- Bitrate:
- 221Kbps
- Duration:
- 3:00
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