Arrangement of the Week

Game Music

Arrangement of the Week: Frozen Fantasie

March 25, 2016 | Michael Hoffmann | Comments Off on Arrangement of the Week: Frozen Fantasie Share this

The Kirby series has seen its main character go on a wide variety of adventures. Outside the standard platforming titles he’s had his own pinball game, a handful of puzzle games, and even a mini-golf style game. One of my favorite deviations from the regular games is the GameCube title Kirby Air Ride, a unique racing game that featured the series characters riding around on various types of stars.

Like many of the Kirby games, the soundtrack is full of great music tracks for the various races and game events. For this week’s Arrangement of the Week, we’ll be looking at a solo piano arrangement of “Frozen Hillside” by artist jdaster64 titled “Frozen Fantasie.”

At first the arrangement is relatively calm and doesn’t feature much melodic variation from the original track. This ends up being a good thing, as it’s a clear and pleasantly light variation that sets the listener up for what’s to come. The piece soon builds a greater amount of contrast, switching quickly between sections of heavy chords across the piano’s entire pitch register to more delicate and quieter sections.

This type of variety makes the arrangement more interesting, while still keeping the original theme clear and recognizable. The decision to frequently switch between the different arrangement styles also gives the track a lighter and more playful vibe, which is a perfect match for the Kirby series. All in all, it’s a wonderful piano arrangement that effortlessly captures the spirit of its source material.

Have any favorite remixes, arrangements, or remixes of the Kirby Air Ride soundtrack? Let us know in the comments below. You can check out idaster64’s “Frozen Fantasie” on OCReMix.
Game Music

Arrangement of the Week: Love Everlasting

March 18, 2016 | Michael Hoffmann | Comments Off on Arrangement of the Week: Love Everlasting Share this

A lot of the electronic remixes on this series have been either of the ambient chill variety or lean towards the more energetic dance genre. So this week I’ll be switching it up a bit and be taking a look at a remix that embraces the world of chiptune music.

For this week, we’re looking at a remix of one of my favorite Katamari Damacy tracks, “Lonely Rolling Star.” This chiptune arrangement “Love Everlasting” comes to us from artist DDRKirby, who has been a regular contributor to OC ReMix and is known for morphing classic game tunes into 8-bit inspired goodness.

Much like DDRKirby’s other pieces, the music is heavily influenced by the Game Boy’s sound and the music of the Kirby series. There’s plenty of nods to the sound design of Kirby’s Dreamland, such the iconic star sound effects, and it all adds to the cheerful tone of the remix. While certainly not limiting himself to the constraints of the handheld, DDRKirby’s Katamari remix perfectly celebrates the classic Game Boy sounds and tones.

The piece maintains a fair amount of complexity throughout its run. While the lead synth takes a majority of the spotlight as the instrumental place holder for the “Lonely Rolling Star” lyrics, there’s plenty of variation in the accompaniment instrument patterns. The accompaniment changes up frequently, but always maintains a bubbly and upbeat vibe. The chiptune and Kirby influences end being a perfect match for the music of Katamari, both thematically and in terms of the track’s tone, making for an excellent and memorable remix.

Have any favorite remixes, covers, or arrangements of the Katamari Damacy music? Let us know about them in the comments below. You can check out DDRKirby’s “Love Everlasting” on OC ReMix.
Game Music

Arrangement of the Week: Prancing Dad

March 11, 2016 | Michael Hoffmann | 1 Comment Share this Arrangement of the Week: Prancing Dad

Like many JRPG fans out there, I have a soft spot for the Final Fantasy series. Even though I haven’t played all of the games in the franchise (it’s on the bucket list), I have enjoyed listening to the soundtracks from composer Nobuo Uematsu. He’s created some amazing battle themes, and one of my favorites has to be the three part final boss theme to Final Fantasy VI “Dancing Mad.”

There have been some great covers of the battle piece and they are probably some of my favorite game music covers. Today we’re looking at a progressive metal cover from artist Prince of Darkness, which combines the final boss themes from Final Fantasy VI and VII in a track called “Prancing Dad.”

There are two things that make this cover stand out from other interpretations. The first is the commitment to creating a full hybrid synth/rock/orchestral sound. The track has plenty of energetic guitar solos and fast paced drumming to be sure, but that makes up only a portion of the mix. The orchestral instruments in particular are really well arranged, to the point that I could easily envision the remixer creating an alternate orchestra only version. The well balanced addition of the rock and synth elements however builds a quite powerful progressive metal sound that’s perfect for the source material.

The second thing that drew me to this cover is the switching between material from “Dancing Mad” and “One Winged-Angel.” A majority of this occurs in the middle of the track, before transitioning to the final movement material of “Dancing Mad.” Besides producing some contrast in the piece, this creates a tense and longer build up to the track’s progressive rock finale. As a result, when the remix finally launches into this final section, it feels like an even bigger pay-off. The result is an brilliant cover of some of Nobuo Uematsu’s most well known boss battle music.

Have any favorite covers, remixes, or arrangements of music from the Final Fantasy series? Let us know in the comments below. You can check out Prince of Darkness’s “Prancing Dad” on OC ReMix.
Game Music

Arrangement of the Week: Then The Healing Came

March 4, 2016 | Michael Hoffmann | Comments Off on Arrangement of the Week: Then The Healing Came Share this

The Legend of Zelda series has always incorporated music into it’s lore in one way or another. From use as a teleportation item in the original Legend of Zelda, to more specific plot devices like Ocarina of Time, instruments and music are a consistent element in the series.

One of the notable mechanics of the N64 Zelda games is the use of the ocarina tunes to interact with the game world. By necessity they are short pieces, but that hasn’t stopped people from producing entire covers and arrangements around them. In today’s case, we have an orchestral arrangement of the “Song of Healing” from Majora’s Mask by George R. Powell titled “Then The Healing Came.”

The arrangement is ultimately a cinematic reimagining of the original track. Powell begins with an original introduction. The instruments set a solemn but mystic tone, that evokes a very cinematic experience. When the melody enters, at the 0’58,” it’s done so with a solo on the flute. Accompanied by a celeste and sustained chords in the violins, this first presentation of the theme has a haunting and magical tone that ends up being a perfect fit for the melancholic source material.

The piece later builds up with vocals, brass, and drums, giving the repeated theme a grander sound. However, this soon quiets back down to just the celeste and bells. I particularly like how the arrangement captures the spirit of the song’s use in the game, which is primarily to bring peace to tormented souls that you encounter. The calm tone, low key atmosphere, and light orchestration make this an arrangement that shows respect for the source piece while also showcasing this artist’s music chops.

Heard any good orchestral arrangements of game music this week? Fell free to share them with us in the comments below. You can check out George R. Powell’s “Then The Healing Came” on OC ReMix and you can check out more of Powell’s music work on his Soundcloud page.
Game Music

Arrangement of the Week: Forest Glade

February 26, 2016 | Michael Hoffmann | Comments Off on Arrangement of the Week: Forest Glade Share this Arrangement of the Week: Forest Glade

Of all of the tracks from the Donkey Kong Country 2 soundtrack, there are two that get a lot of remixes and arrangements. The first is “Aquatic Ambience,” which has seen at least one remix of featured on this series. The other, though maybe not quite as frequently covered, is “Stickerbrush Symphony.” Today’s remix is of the latter piece.

For this entry of Arrangement of the Week, we have a remix of “Stickerbrush Symphony” from artist Neurophonic, who has created an ambient electronic mix titled “Forest Glade.”

The track starts off with some mellow ambient pads to set the mood for the remix and the addition of bird sounds further evokes a serene forest environment that you might encounter in the game. The melodic material from the source track eventually comes in and blends with the other textures, rather than sounding like a separate element. This results in a wash of echoing and resonant tones, that create an incredibly gentle soundscape for the arrangement.

Part of what makes the remix work is there’s plenty of variance in the sound from the percussion instruments. The drums change up enough, and even drop out at certain points, over the course of the arrangement. Because of this, there’s always a sense of movement and change, even while the various pad and synth instruments remain relatively unaltered. The end result is a great ambient remix that creates a perfectly chill mood.

Have any favorite ambient remixes of game music? Let us know about them in the comments below. You can check out Neurophonic’s “Forest Glade” track on OC ReMix.
Featured

Arrangement of the Week: Aquamarine

February 12, 2016 | Michael Hoffmann | Comments Off on Arrangement of the Week: Aquamarine Share this Arrangement of the Week: Aquamarine

There are a number of great pieces from RPG soundtracks that artists love to cover. Everything from exciting battle themes to the more tranquil town tunes end up being great sources of inspiration. Today’s Arrangement of the Week is a cover of “A Place to Return To,” which is the town theme for Crysta from the game Terranigma.

Despite the game having a limited western release, Terranigma and its soundtrack have gained the attention of game music lovers and remixers alike. This arrangement, titled “Aquamarine,” is an orchestral reimagining of the music from artist mv.

From the start this arrangement sets an incredibly tranquil tone. Sounds of birds and flowing water set the mood perfectly with a simple entrance of piano and harp to ease us into the piece. The arrangement builds up steadily with woodwind solos, mandolin, horns, vocal pads, and strings, but never attempts to break the mellow tone of the track. Each addition to the ensemble works to support or maintain the overall serenity of the experience.

The orchestration of this arrangement is absolutely perfect. There’s plenty of solos from different instruments and the accompaniment instruments blend well together to support the simple and mostly unaltered melodies. It evokes such a calming mood that I could easily imagine this cover being used in a remake or re-release of Terranigma. All in all, it’s just a fantastic orchestral arrangement of the Crysta town theme.

Did you listen to any cool orchestral game music arrangements this week? Let us know about them in the comments below. You can check out mv’s “Aquamarine” on OC ReMix.
Game Music

Arrangement of the Week: Caravan Bowser

February 5, 2016 | Michael Hoffmann | Comments Off on Arrangement of the Week: Caravan Bowser Share this Arrangement of the Week: Caravan Bowser

Many of the game music remixes out there focus on soundtracks from earlier console and platform generations for their source material. However, every once and a while more recent material gets a chance to shine. For this week’s Arrangement of the Week we will be looking at an electronic dance remix of a piece from Super Mario 3D World.

The source track is the “World Bowser” map theme, which has been arranged by Flexstyle and XPRTNovice. The remix, titled “Caravan Bowser” is part of a collaborative album Super Cartography Bros., which as the name implies focusses on the map music from various Super Mario Bros. games.

The track is an interesting mixture of genres. There’s your standard EDM elements present of course, but its combination with the live gypsy jazz instrument performances from XPRTNovice really helps give the track a unique sound. The rhythm guitar parts blend well with the percussion and the various solo instruments find their space in the mix without fighting against the other music elements.

The electronic instruments get their time to shine in the remix as well. At around the 1’20” mark the acoustic instruments drop out and let the synth instruments have the spotlight. The track has a wonderfully upbeat feel that is maintained throughout the track’s runtime. All in all, it’s a great blend of jazz and EDM from an unlikely source.

Have you heard any cool game music EDM remixes this week? Let us know in the comments below. You can check out the “Caravan Bowser” track and the full Super Cartography Bros. album on the album’s OC ReMix page.