ReMix:The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom "Sacred Core" 4:34

Our very first featured ReMix from The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is an ethereal, new age broadening of the Lightroot theme by the queen of the OCR mountain, RebeccaETripp! Adding another special level to this is that we now have our first-ever OC ReMixer to participate in 90 ReMixes, all the more impressive in Rebecca's case since she's the arranger for ALL of them. For this particular piece, Tripp channeled one of her best-loved features in TotK:

"This is my arrangement of the "Lightroot" theme from Legend of Zelda, Tears of the Kingdom. The original track, while very minimal, is one of my favourite themes in the game. I got HUGE FromSoft vibes from that place. Actually, the whole game seems to be aware of Elden Ring, in a certain sense. They're very different, but the scale, and the aesthetics of certain things for sure! It's a neat one! Kind of like "Nocturne of Shadow" and its ilk -- sacred, but "dark" in its orientation. I wanted to enhance the "sacred" feeling that occurs when Link alights the shrine roots in the underworld. To me, the lightroots might be the most beautiful and interesting thing about TotK. Link repeatedly dives into the abyss, wherein he simultaneously purifies himself and his kingdom from within. I tried to make this song sound like it was overflowing with with minerals, soil and fluids, insects, darkness and light. It's eerie, yet sacred. A good combination in fantasy!"

Allow me to pat myself on the back, first... We on the judges panel admittedly can have a hard time following Breath of the Wild/Tears of the Kingdom tracks when it comes to arrangements. When you encounter scattershot, abstract compositions with lengthy rests, it can be tough to grok the musicality in them, and it can be a headscratcher to make those A-to-B source-tune-to-arrangement connections. So, initially, this piece was surprisingly on the way to rejection until I essentially said "Not so fast!" :-D Part of the sacred core of the judges panel, aspirationally, is to not merely vote on vibes but to dig for more info and do our homework. Thankfully, when we reached out to Tripp for clarification on the source usage, she shared timestamps to light the way, and, after we had her cheat sheet handy, we mea-cupla'ed our way back to an unanimous approval.

Everything you could ever want in a RebeccaETripp arrangement resides in the depths of this track: loads of carefully cultivated SFX; long tails to the instrumentation; beautiful, crystalline textures; and an atmosphere divided between being relaxation and tension. Stellar work in setting a mood and crafting a mystical soundscape that feels like the score to a dim yet dynamic environment teeming with activity!