ReMix:Final Fantasy IX "Ain't No Riddim Like at My Place" 3:51

...and now for something completely different!! Pixel Mixers recently released Final Fantasy IX: Beyond the Mist, a gigantic FF9 tribute album, and we've got a funny, funky, reggae & vocal drama jam from Jorito (Jorrith Schaap) & many collaborators to help celebrate! Album director Hashel05 (Julien Rosir) writes:

"Hey guys, I have the great pleasure to talk about what is to this day the biggest and (subjectively) best work by the Pixel Mixers community. This album sets a milestone for us as a community and everyone's time and efforts is finally rewarded by the release of this great project! So let's discover "Beyond the Mist" a Final Fantasy IX Tribute album.

This album features 120 tracks (the complete OST + some duplicates) made by as many musicians. The album is over 7 hours long! While most of the songs follow the OST order, we decided to take some freedom and create some narrative arcs. This is especially true with the 1st disc that gathers songs related to characters or events linked to the city of Alexandria through the whole game.

We all hope you'll enjoy our new takes on those fantastic songs composed by Nobuo Uematsu and the creative freedom we took with some of the songs."

Definitely a different feel than Worlds Apart, but FF9 is a classic & vast enough soundtrack to support *many* fan-driven adaptations, and this newcomer has yielded a rather fun & quirky collab. Credits breakdown:

• Arrangement, lyrics, production, recorders, kalimba, rhythm guitar: Jorito
• Vocals: Cyril the Wolf (announcer), katastrophe_owlz (Vivi), GuitarSVD (Steiner), Earth Kid (Garnet), RichGC (Zidane)
• Guitars: tibone
• Bass: Cyril the Wolf
• Trombones, trumpets: JohnStacy

Jorito (Jorrith Schaap) writes:

"Near the end of the production process of Pixel Mixer's Final Fantasy 9 tribute album, "A Place to Call Home" became free to be claimed again. Because it's such an iconic track, it meant that it needed to be done quickly or it would delay the entire album.

As luck would have it, I was immediately inspired to do something with it despite a crazily busy schedule. Years ago, I already attempted a reggae remix for another track and I thought it would provide a nice foundation for this piece. Because the source track is pretty short, I didn't want to make the same mistake I did with the earlier reggae track (it was too repetitive), and early on decided I wanted to include some vocals to break things up a bit. Originally, I wanted to try and get some rap in, but finding somebody to write the words and perform them on such short notice proved to be a problem. Instead, inspired by the title (that I came up with early for a change), I thought it'd be nice to have some of the main characters tell us why their home place is the best, a bit like a rap battle but without the rap.

I was lucky to find some fellow Pixel Mixer QCT members (they evaluate and accept the tracks for the album) willing to try their hand at some voice acting. Rich provided the voice of Zidane, with a nice amount of swagger and nonchalance to it. Cecil signed on for a confused Steiner, and when I was a bit stuck finding a voice for Vivi (who in the game is a 9-year-old kid), he suggested his daughter Kathyrn for the part. Finally, OCR regulars Earth Kid provided a nice, sassy Garnet, and Cyril did a great job glueing it all together with his over-the-top performance as the announcer (a last-minute addition but much-needed role).

On the instrument side of things, I was happy to feature a number of real instruments again, to replace the MIDI parts. Regular collaborator John Stacy was able to help out with the brass section again, and Cyril laid down the foundation on the bass. tibone recorded most of the guitar parts, while I recorded myself on recorders and kalimba and did the simple guitar skanks.

All in all, this was a nicely inspired and creative track again, with lots of people involved. Maybe some people would even consider it to be a bit of a joke track because of the genre and the voice acting. While reggae is a bit of an odd genre for a game remix, and spoken word is a bit... divisive, I think we at least succeeded in making a memorable -- if not enjoyable -- track. Kudos for all the collaborators for stepping in and delivering on short notice, because without them this crazy experiment wouldn't exist!"

It's certainly something different, but even when Jorito colors outside the lines, he does so musically. I especially dig the dirt & authentically-relaxed timing on the guitar & bass parts, & John's brass adds an extra dimension as well. We don't see a ton of vocal drama (understatement), and some might mentally file such pieces in a different silo or category, but the interpretation is there, and the voice acting is enthusiastic, with good contrast between cast members. On top of all that, you've got a catchy reggae backdrop that's Straight Outta Kingston, providing a dusty, comfortable, & toe-tappin' context for the hometown boasting. Congrats to Julien & the Pixel Mixers for a giant tribute to FF9, and to Jorrith & his powerful posse for a one-of-a-kind mix!