ReMix:Final Fantasy VIII "Compression of Light and Shadow" 4:58

Happy birthday to the legend himself, Nobuo Uematsu! He recently stated he's done scoring full-length soundtracks, so while we've absolutely not heard the last musically from Uematsu-san -- far from it based on his killer FFVII Rebirth work -- we've got to commemorate one of his full game scores today with a birthday ReMix! In the last month, we've had ThePlasmas, Black SeeD, Mental, and TheManPF all achieve their fourth featured ReMixes, so joining them in their "plucky young vet" statuses is new 4x-ReMixer H36T, who's hit a nice stride in his "cover+" wheelhouse with a lush and introspective expansion of a Uematsu classic, Final Fantasy VIII's "Compression of Time"! According to H36T, although this theme wasn't in their Mount Rushmore of Uematsu compositions, loads of arrangement possibilities were sensed:

"Hello, there! I'm back again with another mix (and a new name!), this time from what I consider to be 1A or 1B to FFVII for Uematsu's greatest works, OST-wise. My opinion aside, I actually have never been a big fan of this song in the game. However, from a creative standpoint, I saw a lot there. While the original is pretty simple, and kinda creepy and ominous, I (maybe) took some of that away and gave it an atmospheric makeover. The beginning is this spacial, airy presentation of the theme, quickly taken over by a cloud of darkness, thunder, and a storm of drums and heavy rain. The end result is something that feels to me like a conversation between composer and OC ReMixer. And I think that's what it's all about.

Oddly enough, the first half I made a few years ago and left it as is for awhile. But I've been getting into this style where I take a track, present one thing thematically and then flip it... or blow it out the water, haha. The end result is usually something more faithful while adding new layers. After exploring that, I take that and transform it into something new. A yin and a yang. A light and a shadow. In my early days writing, I worried I was engaging in the act of lazy writing, but over time I've come to embrace this style. Maybe I'll try something different and more traditional next time. For now, I hope you enjoy "Compression of Light and Shadow". I hope to make more music like it. Until next time!~"

Unconventional and potentially antithetical as the "let it sit for a while" approach from a creative may seem, H36T's worked wonders here on a slower timetable, developing a subtle and seamless musical arc that undoubtably hits. The sampled vocals added a nice level of complexity to the arranged theme, and was a nice way to also personalize an otherwise conservative arrangement approach, certainly a valid technique here. You could argue the vocals were noodling around, yet the combination worked well, especially on repeated listens. Judge MindWanderer was downright taken in by H36T's successful sound design:

"Absolutely gorgeous. The vocals sound fantastic, and I really love how you've managed to riff on the source while keeping its main hook. The whole thing has a mystical, ethereal quality. [...]

Strong work. I think this will be a favorite of many."

Yep, the source tune's ever-present and essentially riffed on as 1:50 gracefully got more expansive with the strings brightening up and more ornamentation being brought in before taking a darker turn at 2:15. Another low-key highlight was the bass writing cutting through more around 3:15, adding further depth and tension to the soundscape until the final winddown at 4:06. Judge Emunator praised H36T's ability to remain faithful to the original while building on it in a genuinely personalized way:

"The source composition is fantastic but man, am I glad that that gnarly MIDI saxophone sample is gone :'-D This understated, cinematic take seems to hold a reverence for what makes the original source material so memorable, but brings it into the modern age with an array of beautiful hybrid cinematic samples and vocal lines. Everything is tightly woven together and dripping in personality. It really feels like you're hitting your stride with this style here, I think everyone is going to love this!"

High praise from Emu, effectively endorsing H36T's perception of this piece feeling "like a conversation between composer and OC ReMixer", and all the more reason why this was perfect to feature today! This feels very much like an approach HoboKa could have taken with this theme, an exemplary instance of effectively retain a source tune's structure and personalize the soundscape with new instrumentation & vocal additions. Maybe H36T didn't bring "heat", because this isn't some super intense take, but they've got the pensive game down! :-)