ReMix:Final Fantasy XI Online "Paradis" 8:51

By mv

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 2012-07-14, evaluated by djpretzel


As you're probably (hopefully!) aware by now, we launched our first kickstarter this week, for our upcoming album Final Fantasy 6: Balance and Ruin. The response has been AMAZING - they say a watched pot never boils, but we were watching the kickstarter for most of the week, and it kept on boiling, and we've got an announcement on Monday that should keep things hot. The overwhelming majority of responses have been strong words of appreciation & encouragement - I'd say that accounts for about 99%, even. THANKS!!

For the remaining 1%, we've seen a mix of some people with genuine concern about the implications of taking this big step, some people who oppose the idea/execution of kickstarters in general, some would-be accountants for whom no breakdown of costs will sufficiently calm the nerves or instill any degree of trust, some people who hate us because alls we makes is TECHNOES, some people who hate us because alls we makes is METAL, and then some people who just like yelling about things on the Internet. It's a VERY diverse 1%!! Normally I wouldn't even mention this, except that it IS something different & new for us and there ARE going to be some legitimate questions, and we don't want to just assume that ALL of those questions are coming from a bad place. Some of them are, some of them aren't, and we're doing our best to sort things while at the same time figuring out how best to manage a kickstarter that has exceeded our expectations, twice over. A first-world problem, to be sure, and one that has taken its toll on our time. But we don't want to hold up regular site operations any longer, and I think most would agree (it'd be strange not to...) that we need to get BACK ON TRACK with posting some AMAZING, FREE (AS ALWAYS) VIDEO GAME REMIXES!

And we've got a GREAT one for you, with the RETURN OF MV! Xavier Dang's last posted mix on the site was in 2005, but all five of his previous mixes are excellent & have stood the test of time QUITE well. This is his longest arrangement to date, made possible by our recent standards revisions, offering a mellow, downtempo/chil take on 'Heavens Tower' from FFXI - he writes:

"The first version of this track (called 'Heavenly') was originally made around 2003, and was a very straightforward ambient take on the Heavens Tower theme from this game. I've loved the track instantly when I discovered it on the soundtrack, although I have never played the game myself, I'm scared of MMORPG addiction, been there! A newer version called 'Heavenly Anew' was released in 2004 on VGMix, featuring a few additions and some "breakbeat"-ish percussion. I hadn't submitted it to OCR at the time since it was too long, even though I liked the track already. When Liontamer contacted me recently after I uploaded it to Youtube so I would submit it, I decided that my production and skills were more mature than at that time, so I chose to enhance it much. The percussion was entirely redone, there are many subtle additions, mainly orchestral embellishment and it has better EQ/production all throughout. It's also even longer (gasp!:) but I guess it works considering the ambient nature of the track. I hope you sit back and enjoy this remix for what it is: chill!

Also, I'd appreciate it if you could plug a project I've just started along with a few drawing artists/pixel guy: the Mega Man 11 Soundtrack Project! I've just finished a website that will be updated regularly over at http://mm11.xavierdang.com). Basically I'm doing a fictional Mega Man game soundtrack in FamiTracker (a track is already available) and a lot of talented artists have signed up to help me with drawing the robot masters artwork."

It's a really interesting concept, so do check it out. I find Xavier's comment about avoiding MMORPG addiction amusing, since that's always been my policy - I feel like I've seen a lot of webmasters & admins succumb to the timesuck that is WoW, and while I'm pretty sure I'd enjoy it (or something similar), life dictates that my scarce free time be strongly focused on OCR. With mixes like this, though, it's truly rewarding to be bringing such great music to new audiences. This has a deep bass, hip-hop style kick & snare, supple & haunting strings, ethereal backing pads, percolating rhythmic FX, and a LOT of attention paid to dynamic panning. Strings aren't JUST legato, either, or just one timbre; there's some true variation, which sometimes gets overlooked in this sort of context. Yes, the mix is long, but the subtle variations that are packed in do distinguish minute three from minute six, for example, and there's an overall flow that's graceful & deliberate.

Superb long-form downtempo FF11 work from mv that's taken an even longer time, and gone through some groovy improvements & extensions, before finally finding a home on OCR. I'm happy to be posting something from mv again, and I hope to see still more from him, but this arrangement is an excellent reminder of everything I love about his style; great stuff.

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
avatar
454Casull
on 2014-11-02 15:12:58

Great song, but there's just too much compression on it relative to the genre(s). I started to get a mild headache a few minutes into it. Just not fair.

avatar
Liontamer
on 2014-03-09 03:02:32
This is an example of when OCremix members do it right: not merely fetishizing an existing tune by transplanting it to another genre or 'modernizing' it, but actually using the existing tune as a basis to develop some truly beautiful music.

Too many remixers ignore the music-maker's equivalent of the hypocratic oath:

"First of all, make good music".

"How DARE you change the genre?", he says, as if this hasn't been done for decades in official arrange albums. What a maroon. :lol:

avatar
metamorphosis
on 2014-03-08 20:57:37

This is an example of when OCremix members do it right: not merely fetishizing an existing tune by transplanting it to another genre or 'modernizing' it, but actually using the existing tune as a basis to develop some truly beautiful music.

Too many remixers ignore the music-maker's equivalent of the hypocratic oath:

"First of all, make good music".

avatar
Crulex
on 2013-09-04 11:13:38

Man, this is some pretty chill stuff. I can dig the idea of just laying back and relaxing to this for a while. Just kinda washes over you, even with the snare as strong as it was. The changes the song made as it went on was great for making work for the whole eight minutes.

avatar
Igami
on 2013-04-01 22:57:45

This track just came up on my massive 3,500 song OCRemix only playlist for the first time, and now it's going to be on repeat for the next 16 hours while I grind out on a 3D modeling computer project.

I love tracks that not only sound nice, but feel nice too. This track sells both of those within the first 36 seconds and only gets better.

Props mv, this is probably my favorite track from your list.

avatar
Nobbynob Littlun
on 2012-11-07 19:12:34

This has kinda the same thing going as TimeChill in my mind; there's some really nice flow going on, but the percussion - particularly, that SNARE DRUM - is wayyyy too prominent. It punches straight into the foreground, which kind of bugs me, especially as it is not nearly so interesting as the other stuff going on. That being said, I've had TimeChill on playlists for about eight years now, and I expect this to join it for a similarly long time...

avatar
evktalo
on 2012-07-24 04:10:06

Super nice and super chill. The length definitely adds to the strength of the track. Hearing this made me grab all the other mv tracks from OCR right now.

--Eino

avatar
mv
on 2012-07-22 20:08:37

Thanks everyone for the comments, thanks Liontamer for the suggestion and thanks djp for the posting :)

Can't believe I hadn't submitted since 2005, what was I thinking? :( I really hope to submit at least one or two pieces a year from now on, not necessarily in that style! :) Cheers!

avatar
Emunator
on 2012-07-18 00:28:03

Absolutely exquisite. This really follows in the footsteps of Disco Dan's "Green Amnesia" in the way the instrumentation starts out very subdued and low-key, but eventually works up to a more energetic DB pace while never sacrificing the relaxing, lush vibe that it started with. I'm absolutely in love with the approach and I think you pulled it off excellently.

This is an instant classic for me. Glad to see you back in the community again :-)

avatar
audio fidelity
on 2012-07-17 15:55:50

Dave, love your comments about the 1%!

MV fantastic as always. Love your pacing here.

avatar
InDL
on 2012-07-16 19:47:22

I have to say. Just last night I was listening to Heaven's Tower for the sole purpose of relaxing after a few stressful days. Then today I check OCR to find this waiting for me. mv you just made my week 10 times better.

@Bahamut you're more right than you probably know. It's expected that people who have played a game before are going to appreciate it's soundtrack, source or remix, a lot more. But FFXI wasn't your typical MMO. I can't say too much about how the game feels these days... but back when I played it the game had a very unique feel to it.

You could spend your time focused on leveling to cap, but that wasn't the focus at all. The world was huge, and there was an endless amount of content. People played the game religiously for 5+ years and still found things to do.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that FFXI wad designed to compliment any pace for any player, and for a lot of them, sitting down in your favorite zones listening to the music was a past time. The soundtrack was pretty much composed around every zone to make them more unique. i.e. Gustaburg had an arid desert theme going. I can only give proper credit where it is due, to Kumi

Tanioka for helping make FFXI unforgettable.

mv don't let it be 7 years before your next submission :)

avatar
FlashX
on 2012-07-16 00:53:40

New Fav! Yay!

avatar
Bahamut
on 2012-07-15 20:43:35

I'll admit, I'm not a fan of FFXI's soundtrack - I didn't find any track memorable, although I'm sure those who have played still play FFXI extensively probably will appreciate the track on a deeper level than I am able to.

That said, mv does a great job providing a chill mix here, laid back and with more of an ambient nature to it. I find the lead synth is an interesting choice, with its soft nature yet it stands out apart from the rest of the instrumentation for me, which is also a mix of organic and mechanical instrumentation. The song transitions beautifully from the mechanical instrumentation having a prominent part to primarily featuring the strings, piano, and choir, emphasizing a trance-like element to the song.

This song displays some excellent nuances throughout, and I highly recommend it!

avatar
liquid wind
on 2012-07-15 14:11:15

heavenly anew was always a favorite of mine, love this update!

avatar
metaphist
on 2012-07-15 12:32:59

mv 3 3 3 3 3 3

This is the first time in years I've felt like I HAD to burn a new OCR cd because of one track.

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 (8)


Genre:
Ambient,Downtempo
Mood:
Chill,Mellow
Instrumentation:
Electronic,Strings,Synth
Additional:
Time > Duration: Long

File Information


Name:
Final_Fantasy_11_Online_Paradis_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
12,829,471 bytes
MD5:
accdbb0565ecbafaf388b70f8df2e4bd
Bitrate:
192Kbps
Duration:
8:51

Promotion

8-bit Jazz Heroes - Press Start
View All

Latest Albums

View All

Latest ReMixes