ReMix:Final Fantasy IX "Ground Zero" 3:40

By halc

Arranging the music of one song...

"Bran Bal, the Soulless Village"

Primary Game: Final Fantasy IX (Square , 2000, PS1), music by Nobuo Uematsu

Posted 2015-09-09, evaluated by the judges panel


halc takes us on a luscious, phantasmagorical waltz through 9-bit chip caverns as our Final Fantasy IX: Worlds Apart flood continues:

"FF9 has a great soundtrack, but most of it is in weird styles I have trouble arranging. Luckily, I was able to settle in with the Bran Bal theme, which is probably one of the most accessible tracks on the OST for me, remix-wise. I would have liked to have had that world map tune, but some other fgt beat me to it. >:D

This mix was somewhat inspired by AeroZ's "Lore of the Ancients" from the first FF5 album, which I'm sorta referencing with the opening line that carries through the track. I didn't want to mess up Nobuo's beautiful melody, so most of the details are in the harmonies and backing track. Enjoy!"

Really cool vibe, here: exploratory, open, & a little spooky, even. I love the fade-to-radio-filter ending, the integration of acoustic components like piano and chromatic percussion, and the overall clarity of the arrangement and its components while still managing an intricate, layered sound. Music to spelunk to, methinks. Director Fishy writes:

"halc with some of his signature 9-bit beats. "Bran Bal" is a pensive and mysterious source and it suits this style amazingly well."

"Pensive" is a great word; in general, and in this specific instance. The world needs more pensivity. "Bran Bal" sounds like a breakfast cereal. This is definitely the halc sound, but it's the kind of source that Mattias would gravitate towards, and at times it almost felt like a ghostly, incorporeal collab between the two of them and AeroZ as well. S'all Drew though, and he nails the chipwaltz glide with style & panache; breathtaking stuff you can disappear into if you want but which also rewards a close listen. It was submitted back in 2011, a testament to the length of time that Worlds Apart has been in gestation, but I think the appeal & experience are both rather timeless; highly recommended.

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 6 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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Crulex
on 2017-09-03 00:28:08

Really hearing the mysterious and whimsical tone of this one come through that 9-bit. Great cavernous effect from the synth and percussion. This is an interesting track with the layers playing along with each other, allowing the bits to be boosted by the piano and such. Nice ending as well, could see how it could have been a fade out, but it still ends on a full note, so it works either way. Not bad at all halc.

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nitrozsz
on 2015-12-28 12:17:55

The synth melody is very lucky it had such amazing and wonderful background synth work to support it. Cause without such support, the main melody would sound a little grating to me. So reading the previous reviews, and the description of the track, this could be considered both “light hearted” and “a little spooky.” I would say it falls under the “mysterious and haunting” category. Not a bad track. Definitely unlike a lot of the electronic mixes I’ve heard.

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Chernabogue
on 2015-12-14 02:42:49

Classic halc chiptune. Sounds like more 16-bit sounds were used. The percussion work is interesting on this one, and the synths/pads add a lot of depth to the soundscape. The ending is quite cool, I thought it'd be a fade-out, but it was well done. Nice work!

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Daniel Caton
on 2015-12-02 15:23:23

Ah, halc. I always enjoy hearing your remixes. It’s chippy, “pensive,” as Fishy says, but still a bit lighthearted. The melody is fairly simple, relatively speaking, so you did a good job adding some more complex stuff in the background. I approve!

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DimeTower
on 2015-09-18 23:53:06

What a song!!! It's a crime that no one has replied on this remix - although I imagine most of the feedback is at the album level - but I still feel obligated to step up and mention this song by itself. This truly does an amazing job of putting your ear behind the melody, by which I mean the song's melody is right up in front of you but everything happening around it is astonishing and draws your attention. It's like being in a simple cart rolling down a simple track but the scenery and the surroundings keep changing and whirling and tilting and fading in and out. There are so many sections I love that it would be pointless to identify them because I'd just be doing the whole song!! What a unique, intriguing sound you've done here.

Man, this kind of remix just adds such range and quality to an album! Congratulations to the author - huge success here!!

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Liontamer
on 2015-09-09 00:05:05

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

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


Primary Game:
Final Fantasy IX (Square , 2000, PS1)
Music by Nobuo Uematsu
Songs:
"Bran Bal, the Soulless Village"

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File Information


Name:
Final_Fantasy_9_Ground_Zero_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
6,389,245 bytes
MD5:
04499a09bd064fa658651022f54d9c39
Bitrate:
228Kbps
Duration:
3:40

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