ReMix:Pokémon X "Thy Everlasting Winter Wind Blows" 2:58

A mellow, cool, & exploratory ambient/cinematic arrangement of Pokémon X from timaeus222 (Truong-Son Nguyen), which gradually warms up as it progresses, off of Esther's Dreams - the artist writes:

"When Larry proposed his and Kristina's (Chimpazilla's) concept for an album like this, I just jumped right on and voiced my immediate interest in something like this. I mean c'mon, writing music for a baby? Getting little baby Lloyd into VGM before the age of 2? Now that's awesome!

As for the ReMix, the title, I thought, was a whimsical play on Shakespeare's "Blow, Blow, Thou Winter Wind" and Snowbelle City's slogan, "The city of everlasting winter." In order to really immerse people into an expansive, soothing ambiance, I think it helps to have careful sound design, so for the first time in a good long while, I began by choosing a bunch of sounds before writing anything at all. That somehow worked maybe because Impact Soundworks' Celestia: Heavenly Sound Design had recently been released (which, ironically, had sounds I didn't use at all, but was still inspired enough by to recreate a few). I heard the demos, and I knew I just had to do something in the full-on ambient style I got from zircon's "Terrarium." Thinking that I'd stick to the same 3/4 time signature throughout, I actually recorded most of the MIDI in live (with adjustments, of course) as I was writing this to keep things from getting too rigid, especially with so many organic instruments. I also paid extra attention to really nailing the harmonies and layering for a big, full sound. Took about 28 hours for this one, but considering my rather slow computer, it kinda normalizes to about 12! :)

With this ReMix, I had two goals:

1. Repeat things more than my usual, for the sake of familiarity
2. Get people to fall asleep

If you listen closely, I think you really can hear or feel nearly every note, even the low countermelodic ones. I very much enjoyed the final result, especially the "airiness" from the bells. Your mileage may vary, but my favorite parts were 1:14-1:44 and 1:52-2:07. Those two breakdown sections still bring chills down my spine. Hope you and your baby fall asleep -- err, I mean, enjoy! :D"

Beautiful, hypnotic stuff... the sound design is engrossing & deep, and I especially liked the harmonic trajectory from chill to warm & almost celebratory... feels like walking in a winter wonderland for a bit and then coming home to conspire by the fire, egg nog optional. Calming but never boring, this was a great contribution to Esther's Dreams which fully embraced the concept... excellent work.