ReMix:Ys III: Wanderers from Ys "Feena's Premonition" 2:40

Part II of our Jorito/Ys dynamic duo is an entirely different ballgame, contrasting the preceding synthwave fabulosity with a more reflective, piano-led orchestral take on the title theme; Jorito (Jorrith Schaap) writes:

"Another remix I reanimated for the Ys 30th anniversary album. Originally, I did this with fellow MSX composer Meits for a competition on msx.org, but because we were so late to sign up, it was very rushed, and, frankly, not very good.

I always wanted to revisit this arrangement, because I felt it had potential, and the Ys album was a good excuse to finally give it the treatment it deserved. I set out with overhauling the piano, thoroughly changing the backing track/left-hand part, adding variations and overall fixing a lot of timing and pedal issues as well as going for an overall more mellow, dreamy sound.

In the original compo version, the piano was overpowering the entire mix, to the point of sounding distorted, and the backing parts were hard to notice. That part also got some serious work, with improved dynamics, some new parts, a few extra layers, and some subtle added percussion. Overall, I think it turned out well, and it finally creates this dynamic, symphonic opening prelude feel that was lacking in the initial attempt.

Big shoutout to Meits for the original piano parts that I used for this track. It gave a good starting point, but I think I left no note untouched while fitting it to the new arrangement. Sorry, buddy. ;)"

To my ears, this is a really good example of mixing a piano-focused arrangement while still giving symphonic accompaniment room to breath & enough presence to be meaningful throughout. Sometimes you'll see mixes that are basically solo piano with minimal, very faint backing strings, but I like how Jorrith has struck more of a balance - even though I haven't heard the original, his efforts to recalibrate this mix have paid off. Judges were unanimous - Jivemaster writes:

"Solid attention to detail. Transitions between sections happen fairly regularly which push forward the arrangement steadily, increasing interest. Overall duration is a bit short – but leaving people wanting more is how to do it. Mixing is decent, with nice use of stereo space. Short, sweet."

Roger that; again, I love that - while the piano part is dominant and performed emotively - the accompaniment plays an active role & blossoms as things progress. Sir_NutS adds:

"I'm very happy with the development that Jorito keeps showing as a musician with each new song. He's now able to tackle pretty much any genre and nail it on all fronts, and this mix is a good example of that. Solid composition, attention to detail in the sequencing of the instruments and a lot of feeling injected into his interpretation of this song. Very mellow feeling to this one, and pretty obviously over the bar.

I can only see even greater things coming from Jorito in the future."

Jorito is an artist who embraces what I personally would consider the "arrangement ethos" of OCR, by creatively exploring multiple genres & blending them as well. If I had more time, I'd be right there with him, oscillating between styles & approaches, iterating, and collaborating far more than I've been able. This pairing of Ys mixes demonstrates his enthusiastic participation in multiple projects/outlets, his ability to resuscitate & revitalize work from many years ago, and perhaps most dramatically, as Mike points out, his capacity for confident, engaging work in different genres. Two great & very different mixes, one artist (w/ an assist from HeavenWraith), and one beloved Falcom RPG series = excellence. Check it out, then check out the rest of MelodYs and HarmonYs!