ReMix:Breath of Fire II "Whale of September" 3:36

We've got a whale of a track for you this month, as we continue with another featured ReMix from ilp0 (Ilari Nieminen), this time taking on Breath of Fire II & continuing a late 70's rock aesthetic with articulate & present bass, acoustic guitar, some prog aspects, and recurring subtle use of synth and Mellotronish flutes. Liontamer writes:

"ilp0 actually didn't submit any comments with this ReMix, so I hope we learn more about what inspired this mix, since we actually don't get too much Breath of Fire representation around these parts (especially my runaway favorite OST of the series, Hitoshi Sakimoto's score to BoF5). As an aside, I laughed when seeing the comment on the source tune's YouTube of "This music is so unfitting to the cover art." TRUTH, thanks to some decidedly aggro U.S. cover art! Anyway, with this take on it, obviously the tempo's slower and the production isn't meant to be in your face, but I liked the opening synth and guitar cadence making me think back to "Jump" by Van Halen, even though it's a total coincidence due to the source's melody. There are a lot of understated elements in this one, from the quiet backing guitar flourishes first used at :13 and :21 under the melody, as well as the bass and percussion work at various other times. ilp0's rock stuff always has a throwback, old school vintage style that genuinely sets him apart from everyone else in the VGM arrangement community."

While I hear the "Jump" comparison due to the source melody, stylistically you're talking more Eagles/Steely Dan territory, and the structure actually reminded me of Boston at times. Again, this is the type of music I grew up with & still listen to, and I love how ilp0 is channelling it and applying it selectively & creatively to VGM. I especially dig the detail & space on the bass part, as each slide and articulation is discernible. Acoustic guitar layers in perfectly, and while the electric lead initially hit me as a bit thin/static, it grew on me as the track progressed. Great stuff, and part of a lovely one-two combo from Ilari that comes after a considerable gap, taking FFX & BOF2 to places few arrangers go & doing so with style!