ReMix:Final Fantasy XI Online "A Cinematic Heaven" 3:36

By Souliarc

Arranging the music of one song...

"Heavens Tower"

Primary Game: Final Fantasy XI Online (Sony , 2002, WIN), music by Kumi Tanioka, Naoshi Mizuta, Nobuo Uematsu

Posted 2011-02-23, evaluated by the judges panel


Newcomer Souliarc, whose name I instantly recognized from our forums, sends in a great orchestral FFXI ReMix:

"Greetings. I've been a long time member here and have had the inspiration for several years to submit a ReMix (like many others), but it was only until now that I've finally finished my piece. Me and her have been through a lot together (giving a song a gender, weird?), but ultimately I saw through to its completion, through thick and thin.

This original theme can be a real repetitive one but it also has a relaxing, epic, and ethereal feel to it that I wanted to tap into. It was real hard to (given the monotonous nature of the original) give the song much length but ultimately I think my arrangement represents a hefty amount of interpretation. With its distinct parts, it almost has a "cinematic" feel, like being used for a trailer or such."

It's awesome when folks you've seen on the forums for years finally put something together and get it posted; Travis may have taken awhile to revise & refine this track until he was confident in submitting it, but it was worth the wait. Solid development & dynamics, with an East-meets-West instrumentation that incorporates orchestral and ethnic components, most notably Japanese percussion. OA sums it up:

"The sequencing was pretty strong throughout, and the super-repetitive bell part that was in the source was hinted at, but not copied, which i think was the right choice. The texture is much richer in the ReMix, and while it retains the distinct feel of the source, it really takes it to the next level. Production was strong and clear, and the dynamics were varied and interesting. The percussion and harp specifically were highlights for me, but the strings also worked very well. Very strong expansion. Nice work."

Not much else to say; I looped this one several times and really enjoyed the pacing and energy, while the mixed instrumentation keeps it interesting. Solid debut by Souliarc that was a long time coming; congrats to him for persevering and putting together a full, dramatic arrangement!

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 12 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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Crulex
on 2012-05-08 14:54:31

This is a very nice orchestral ReMix. I think the title says it all on this one, it's like a cinematic heaven and I'm really liking the blending of styles here. Nice work!

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Rexy
on 2011-12-06 03:32:51

With a repetitive source like Heaven's Tower, I can understand the difficulty in working with it.

But hearing the panpipe part being alluded to within the wind instrumentation in this setting it, as well as hearing the bell parts being alluded to in some of the pitched percussion as well, they managed to set the foundations for building up this symphonic vision behind the track. It's almost similar to GrayLightning's earlier material in that regard with some of these more unconventional transition ideas, which to me isn't at all a bad thing. :)

For the most part it was very well realised, and even the strings and flute parts - often tricky enough to humanise - both have been realised well enough. There were one or two parts though that the strings still had their mechanical nature to them, particularly in some of the builds throughout the track, but thankfully the texture work throughout really managed to give this a very solid lift.

This more unconventional structure might split some listeners, but I felt that for its purpose it managed to get the job done. Hopefully we'll get to see more of Souliarc in the near future if something like THIS ended up being his first submission :)

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Martin Penwald
on 2011-05-02 15:49:20

Indeed a very interesting blend of western and eastern instruments.

The transition at 1:57 is a little too sudden, IMO. The following breakdown is pretty sweet, as is the build up after that.

Looking forward to hearing more from you.

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Transmogrificational Tune
on 2011-02-27 17:01:35

Definetely one to play with the speakers full tilt. Excellent pacing and goood use or varied instruments forthwith.

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Arsal
on 2011-02-25 10:37:01

Yeah, the songs a she. And its not wierd at all to think that btw.

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Obtuse
on 2011-02-24 22:48:29

This is just awesome. Totally awesome. Keep making more music Travis.

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NegimaSonic
on 2011-02-24 22:10:57

Never played FFXI. But I'm loving this, Orchestral pieces always give me that nice warm fuzzy EPIC feeling inside. Near the end of my first listen I was going like...awesome this doesn't seem to end and then 3:25 happened :?

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Souliarc
on 2011-02-24 21:31:42
I KNEW ABOUG SOULIARC BEFORE HE WAS A REMIXER

:lmassoff::lmassoff:

You're right on Squint with dialing back the intensity. @2:07 I was just compelled to do such a thing and I'm very happy it, and the rest of the song, worked towards the enjoyment for you all =)

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Squint
on 2011-02-24 20:34:21

"Cinematic" is a great descriptor for this piece. I can't stop imagining a sweeping camera showing off the world of FFXI. I have to admire the orchestral composition, as I've always been slightly intimidated to try something large scale with an orchestra - I've only done a few exercises back in school, but something like this always tempts me to do some more experimenting.

I especially like the...modesty, that you show in this arrangement. What I mean to say is, you seem confident enough in the strength of the piece that you're unafraid to scale back on the intensity once or twice in order to build up the tension once again. It's a great effect. Impressive stuff!

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big giant circles
on 2011-02-24 19:04:14

I KNEW ABOUG SOULIARC BEFORE HE WAS A REMIXER

:nicework:

Good on ya, dude, welcome aboard, the song is fantastic! :)

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rhapsodos
on 2011-02-24 18:23:25

Really love this. It's been a while since I listened to any purely orchestral remixes and this one was spec-ta-cu-lar C: It had a really soaring, dynamic, adventurous feel to it and I enjoyed it immensely. Great stuff!

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djpretzel
on 2011-02-24 16:59:38

What did you think? Post your opinion of this ReMix.

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


Primary Game:
( , , )
Music by
Songs:
Additional Game:
Final Fantasy XI Online (Sony , 2002, PS2)
Music by Kumi Tanioka,Naoshi Mizuta,Nobuo Uematsu
Songs:
"Heavens Tower"

Tags (5)


Genre:
Cinematic
Mood:
Instrumentation:
Orchestral,Strings,Woodwinds
Additional:
Regional > World

File Information


Name:
Final_Fantasy_11_Online_A_Cinematic_Heaven_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
5,272,976 bytes
MD5:
7f28ab4a597904161062bb4921239650
Bitrate:
192Kbps
Duration:
3:36

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