ReMix:Final Fantasy VII "Cosmo" 3:43

1. MkVaff (Mike Vafeas)
2. Final Fantasy VII ("Cosmo Canyon")
3. ...see #1 & #2 ;)

The man, the legend, the archetypal OC ReMix veteran (okay, he could arm wrestle Mazedude for it), the one and only MkVaff hits us up with a catchy dance/EDM take on one of my favorite FF7 melodies, blending hand drums, winds, & light FX with a steady downbeat & plenty of synths:

"This remix is the last song I completed as part of my first EP, which contains a combination of remixes as well as original songs. The album is called Loopy, and the concept was to try and create songs exclusively using various loops from all different sources. While the majority of the original songs from the project primarily use only loops, for the remixes I of course had to track the various parts of the songs and loop them within the software.

There's a lot of the FF7 soundtrack that I have trouble remembering, but I always loved the Cosmo Canyon theme. It has a wonderful, propulsive rhythm, and uses the simplistic tribal sounds to great effect. It's one of those instantly hummable themes, and I wanted to retain all of the best elements of the original while also incorporating a bunch of loops and sounds that I discovered while putting together my bigger project."

Agreed on hummability; this is one I plan on arranging myself someday, I'm always singing/whistling it to myself, and now I've got another great version to enjoy. Melody is relatively & intentionally conservative but the genre/contextualization does more than enough to put a MkVaff spin on it; Gario was feeling the throwback:

"Man, this track feels like a blast from OCR's past - the style, the instruments, etc. - it sounds like something from pre-2010 OCR, in the best possible way. Straightforward, the arrangement doesn't add too much trimming to the source, but simultaneously it takes enough liberty with the tone and instrumentation to be considered interpretive enough. The synths are pretty 'nilla, but they're definitely used in such a way to keep them sounding meaty and interesting."

Sir_NutS adds:

"I'm very happy MkVaff decided to return, OCR needs more oldschool goodness. Though this has that certain oldschool vibe to it, it doesn't feel dated at all. It's catchy and the original is easily recognizable. No crazy melody transformations here, and that's 100% fine with me. Lots of style, glitchy loops, and love for the original."

I like the processing on the hand/folk drums, the subtle application of glitching, and the unapologetic emphasis on the hook - it's a great, anthemic melody that makes sense to put forward like this. Classic MkVaff, in all the right ways; some updated production values/tricks, but the heart, soul, & energy beat strong as ever. Excellent!