OverClocked Remix never ceases to amaze me with its absolutely stunning arrangements and fantastic community. It’s 22nd arrangment “Heroes Vs Villians” was released today and features 20 tracks from 10 series – each series comprised of one Hero arrangement and one Villianous. The series’ tackled include Monkey Island, God of War, Megaman and Zelda and is available to download from the OverClocked Remix website. A review will follow shortly.
Archive for arrangements
OverClocked Remix Released “Heroes Vs Villians” Arrangement
Orpheus – “Crystal Dreamscapes” Review
“Crystal Dreamscapes” is a project undertaken mainly by an artist named “Orpheus” who takes us on a completely no holds barred New Age trip. The entire CD is full of swirly padded synths and twinkling sparkling effects and is dedicated to giving new visions of themes from Commodore 64 games.
“Liquid Crystal” opens up with probably one of the most strongest songs on the CD and completely sets the mood. From the swirling light synths to the main tune flowing through you like a dolphins sonar, it is a beautiful piece of music and superbly realised.
Another feature of the album is that each song rolls into the next so “Alien Dreams” starts up almost unnoticed which is the intent of the artist, to make something seemless and relaxing. “Alien Dreams” definately does that through an eight and a half minute epic that gradually unfolds before you like a space oddyssey.
“Parralax Visions” see’s a collaboration with Boz to create an asounding piece. There’s a strong melody and a synth that sounds like shimmering water on the breeze. It’s all very New Age/Hawaiian if there is such a hybrid but it definately stands out. “The Cosmos Awakes” is another strong tune that sounds like it’s just came out of 1980′s Sci-Fi movie before “Nebulae Drift” acts like an interlude for me before we get going again.
“Dark Before Dawn” starts off Act 2 it seems with a slow moving but satisfying piece that actually has a climax to it, a first for the album, which is followed by “Into The light” which sounds like a synth version of a slow choir maybe. “Ancestors” by Carsten Ohlsen is a very strong piece with a beautiful melody and it has a much more quieter feel to it than the others, which for a New Age relaxation CD, I find slightly bizzare that the sound is completely in your ears full blast and that sometimes the different effects used can pierce the ear at times throughout the CD.
“Wave Ascent” is a beautiful little piece reminding me like the title suggests, of the ocean before “Crystal Spirits” and “Welcome Home” do much of the same as we’ve heard before on the CD.
The whole thing closes on “Cosmic Carousel” which actually sounds completely different to the rest of the CD. It has the first tangable instrument, a piano, percussion for the first time and an actual structure to the song! It comes as such a surprise to hear it after all the sweeping works we’ve already had that it leaves a lasting impression as the third and final absolute standout piece (there’s a small bonus track but its more of the same)
Crystal Dreamscapes is such a purist CD however. I enjoyed the CD but even I would have reservations about listening to it all in one go repeatedly. The songs are made to be listened to together but they have more impact on their own because it doesnt feel like one giant never ending 60 minute track! New Age fans or fans of relaxing music to send you to sleep (for the right reasons!!!) will love this but i think others should definately listen to samples beforehand. Its a unique CD but it will only find true solace for cult hardcore fans of both new age and the VGM genre.
Noriko Matsueda & Takahito Eguchi – “Final Fantasy X-2 Eternity Memory of Lightwaves” Review
Final Fantasy X-2′s single takes the unique route of actually being a non-vocal single at all! The three tracks on the CD are all taken from the FFX-2 OST, with the tracks being arranged slightly differently with a minimalist orchestration feel to it.
“Eternity~Memories Of Lightwaves” is the title track, which is piano based. It is to put it simply one of the best, most fluent and magical pieces of music around in VGM. It is a joy to listen to. For this arrangement, gone are the extra effects and in are a violin and cello. This gives it an orchestral feel, which although is only subtle, adds to the piece. It is a most worthy additional arrangement of the song.
“Besaid” is more laid back and the arrangement is given a real guitar. With the drums setting the scene the piano and guitar interact beautifully and make a lovely piece together. While it’s not quiet as stunning as the previous track, its still a great piece.
Finally, “Yuna’s Ballad” is an emotive piano, violin and cello piece. The arrangement is excellent and touching and reminds you that underneath all that techno-babble, great music lays the basis for a great soundtrack.
This single is some of the real meat in the FFX-2 OST, and if your put of by the mixed feeling towards the techno side of the music, and just want beautiful melodies, this single is completely made for you; its an excellent CD.
Jake Kaufman Releases “Risky’s Revenge OST”
Jake Kaufman (or Virt as many VGM lovers know him as) has just released his latest soundtrack “Shantae: Risky’s Revenge” for the community. Jake has a lot of fantastic music available on his website and you can choose how much you want to pay for the albums which allows for generous donations! Pop over to Big Lion Music for the low down!
Aki Kuroda – “Final Fantasy XIII Piano Collections” Review
Aki Kuroda, the ivory master for FFXPC returns for the latest installment of the Final Fantasy Piano Collections, taking 10 tracks from the 13th edition of the series and transforming them into pianistic dreams.
Opening with “Lightning’s Theme” curiously and somberly, Aki slowly twists the track into a more complex and powerful number, especially in the big dramatic motif that dominants the song. Suddenly after one play through Aki lets her piano chops break into full swing with a furiously more uptempo and highly stylized version which really flows beautifully.
“Final Fantasy XIII – The Promise ~ The Sunleth Waterscape” signals the start of a new phase in the collections of medleys. Opening with a simple but effective version of the title screen, again Aki repeats the track again but with more fingertip skills and finess. The transitions between tracks and back again are unnoticeable too and seem as if they always were meant to be together.
“March of the Dreadnoughts” starts out quite playfully before growing into a grand scale and Kuroda’s signiture fitting-as-many-notes-as-possible flourishes really elevate this piece into one of my personal favourites on the album. “The Gapra Whitewoods” is utterly beautiful for its spacious delivery however, highlighting that sometimes minimal is best. It has a particular sense of nobility, warmth and humbleness and for that it stands out as a musical oasis.
“Nautilus” is big on massive chord poundings! Its a song you can’t sleep through at all, big bassy undertones and bright chords pounding away. It has its quite moments but the songs better moments work when its screaming along its main motif at 100 miles an hour, proud as a parrott.
“Vanille’s Theme ~ Memories of Happier Days ~ The Road Home” is another medley that blends seemlessly together. Vanille’s Theme is a pretty yet understated affair but still packs an emotional punch. The transitions make perfect sense and I love the way how even the happier pieces have a tint of sadness to them by what has preceeded.
“Nascent Requiem” is dramatic and the most classical of all the arrangements, very complex with lots of peaks and troughs. Strangely it’s also the track I found least interesting and I really don’t know why. Perhaps I’ll get it later on as sometimes tracks click with you later on in life. “Fang’s Theme” is the most fun with rumbling bass sections and swirling high ends. Usually there’s one out and out piano party track on each collection and this is about as close as you’ll get to one on FFXIIIPC. I defy anyone not to get into a bum shuffle at some point!
“Reminiscene ~ Sulyaa Springs Motif” is almost an entirely new song. There’s a section from Sulyaa Springs in there somewhere but you’ll have to wait for the vast majority of the track before you hear it. The new material is laidback and sweet and definately holds the emotion well but the Sulyaa part is where it all comes together. I do enjoy it when things go right off the beaten track sometimes and it works here.
“Prelude to Final Fantasy XIII Full Version” closes the album with a tour de force of melody, passion and prowess. It never over does itself and so it doesn’t feel overblown but there is a certain foreboding and the simplistic ending is lovely.
All in all FFXIIIPC is another fantastic collection. Sometimes the tracks do bleed into eachother where the usual varied pace and tone appears to have been substituted for a fluid seemless flow. It’s down to personal taste. I personally enjoyed the different approach and Aki Kuorda is an absolute master. Not my favourite of the PC series but certainly an excellent addition. Now where is FFXII’s?!?
Live Vault – Bjork & Skunk Anansie
In what must be one of the best moment on Top of The Pops, a collaboration of Bjork and Skunk Anansie see’s a complete screaming rock version of “Army of Me“. It’s fantastic and what a random collision of talents!
OverClocked Remix Releases: Final Fantasy 5: The Fabled Warriors ~Wind
The first of 5 albums to do with Final Fantasy V, Wind is a collection of remixes from DarkeSword, Sixto Sounds, Mutritious, Level 99, Avaris, Another Soundscape, AeroZ and zircon – all household remix names. What’s better – its free! I’m sure donations are accepted but pop over to http://ff5.ocremix.org and discover the fun for yourself. A review will be on its way shortly!
Imogen Heap – “iMegaphone Live” Review
Imogen Heap performed a one off iTunes concert whereby she played her entire debut album iMegaphone (still my favourite of her four albums she’s released including Frou Frou) on piano. The result is something that showcases Imogen live and offers a new insight into old material.
Having what was a piano based album that was drenched in guitars, noises and preluding synth extras taken down into bare bones shows each song in a different light. “Getting Scared” changes from a building pulse to a rip roaring stop/starter with passion and energy, whilst “Sweet Religion” slips and slides at such a speedy rate, my favourite song from the original album takes on a superhero plight. Little Heap anecdotes into what the songs about also give you new insight into the tracks too.
“Oh Me, Oh My” feels much more desperate and less like a devine moment and “Shine” gives you a complete Immi freak out! Her story about Shine also makes me laugh because she talks about having water in her ears when she was crafting the song and when you go back to hear the start of the song on the album, there’s a nautical opening throbbing. “Shine” really sounds like a completely new song and is utterly amazing.
“Whatever” is transformed too, while “Angry Angel” loses none of its feriocity with its guitars stripped away. With Heap’s tendancy these days to play songs with all kinds of instruments all at once, it’s a beauty to hear her just alone with piano again sometimes. “Candlelight” is one pure example of a beautiful track that deserves more attention. So emotive and simple, it’s a timeless piece. “Rake It In” is utterly nuts! The original was like a manic fairground ride, and this version see’s Immi screaming and moaning like a cheesy hammer horror movie. It’s so dark and delicious all at once!
“Come Here Boy” is the one song really carried forward from this era and is faithfully recreated. “Useless” is completely revamped and sounds brand new and “Sleep” is just as pretty and sparse as the original.
In addition, some b-sides are included including my favourite b-side scorcher “Leave Me Here To Love” which is fantastic to finally hear live in all its raw glory – a real personal highlight. “Blanket” is an unusual choice as it was her collaboration with Urban Species and includes a rap! Finally “Kidding” closes the set with a flowing channel of emotion through voice to fingers to ivory and out again.
Some people aren’t fans of stripped down performances. Going from this iMegaphone Live album, I have no idea why. Each song is organically revolutionized into something new and indulgent. With Imogen’s new sound, she gets to experiment with everything and that’s great, but with this more intimate side, you really get the best of both worlds.
IWADON Now Released as a Download Album
At long last the fantastic Hiroyuki Iwatsuki tribute album IWADON, spearheaded by Jeriaska, who runs nobuooo.com amoungst other things in the video game music world, has been released as a free download. The 40 track compilation features a massive variety of arrangers and a multitude of genres, tricks and twists throughout and is a fantastic body of work.
Grab your copy by popping over to http://iwadon.bandcamp.com/album/iwadon-hiroyuki-iwatsuki-tribute-album
Live Vault – Yasunori Mitsuda
PLAY! Concert is one of a couple of touring video game orchestral performance troupes and their rendition of Yasunori Mitsuda’s Chrono Cross/Trigger melodies are fantastic. Sit back and be sublimed!
Whispers of the Plains ~ EpicNES
A few days ago we introduced you to them, now its time to chat to them! Here’s a quick conversation with the Swedish 8bit tribute band EpicNES:
Where did the idea for doing a tribute band for NES arrangements originally come from?
It actually started a few years ago when I was playing in a rock band that played 70′s rock music. Then I discovered a dutch 70′s band called Ekseption. They re-arranged classical music into rock music, and they quickly became my favorite band. I then felt that I wanted to do something similar to what they had done. When I heard the song “Dwelling of Doom” from Castlevania 2, I got the idea to re-arrange music from NES music to be played in a rock band. Then about a year later myself and Oscar Wigner (guitar) were going to do a project in school together and I told him about my idea to re-arrange NES music. He liked it, so then the band EpicNES was born.
How did you go about finding your band mates?
Well from the start it was me playing keyboards and Oscar playing guitar, so we knew that we had to find a bass player and a drummer.
The bass player Andreas Eliasson is an old friend of mine that I went to a music school with a few years ago. I had not played with him for a while when I asked him, but I knew that he was the right man for the job since he’s a great bass player, arranger and also he loves playing NES.
The drummer Hampus Olsson used to go to the the same school as me and Oscar and also the three of us took a summer course together called “Live performance”. There we played together a lot and also got to know each other quite well. So when we looked for a drummer we knew that we really wanted Hampus, and Hampus said yes without a doubt! So then we had a complete band!
What was the first song you all played together on?
Well the first song that we arranged was Castlevania, so I guess that was the first song we rehearsed together.
You’ve had a great response back from people about the first three songs online, how does that feel to know people are listening and liking?
The three songs were recorded in december last year, so they were kind of hidden for a while until we created a Myspace account and started to tell people about them. Then people started to show interest in the songs and they also sent messages telling us that they really liked the songs, and also told us what they like about them etc. At that point I did get a lot of energy to continue arranging songs for EpicNES since we were getting such good response. We are really excited about the publicity we’re starting to get now.
You’re currently making five new arrangements – can you tell us anything about them?
The new arrangements are more suited to be played live and also we’re very pleased with them. I don’t think I should tell you which songs we have arranged. It will be a surprise =)
Do you plan to play your arrangments live any time soon?
Yes, we actually have our first gig booked on wednesday next week! So then we are going to perform all eight songs live. That’s the reason why the new arrangements are made more live friendly. After that gig we’ll se if it works well live. If it does we might to go on the road with EpicNES.
Are there any arrangements you’ve not done yet that you’re dying to get to do?
I would really like to arrange the Maniac Mansion music. It’s one of my absolute favorites. Also if any of the readers has got suggestions for game music that we could do, please let us know!
What’s next after the new arrangements for EpicNES?
Well we might do some more live shows, and then we will record the new arrangements this summer to release an full length album in the fall.
Many thanks to Daniel Karlsson for his time and don’t forget to check out their myspace page!
Ayumi Hamasaki Covers by Abottchen
While I wait for Ayumi’s latest album to ship its way to me (I’ve not even heard a single yet, I’ve been so good) I’ve been really enjoying Abottchen’s piano covers of Ayumi’s songs. Abottchen are two guys who plays the same piano and covert so many of Ayu’s songs into magical piano tracks, and each go is faultless. Their arrangements are always really well done.
Jump over to their YouTube channel to have a listen.
Tom Salta Composes Prince of Persia Forgotten Sands
Tom Salta has been a busy bee. Not only has he just composed the score for Red Steel 2 (talking of which a review and interview are in the works), he’s now been named as the new composer for Prince of Persia: Forgotten Sands. Tom is known from slotting all kinds of themed instruments into his grand scores and this soundtrack will be no different. In the mix are world singers Azam Ali and Judith Berard, both highly acclaimed in their fields, as well as percussionist Bashiri Johnson. There is also talk of custom made instruments.
While there’s no word on a soundtrack release date yet, I hope to be shaking my hips to the beats soon, and in the meatime I’ll be starting up a petition for the release of the Red Steel 2 soundtrack instead!
Live Vault – Tegan and Sara
I’d not heard a single song from these lovely identical twins before but one listen of this fantastic acoustic version of “The Con” had me absolutely hooked, so much so I had to listen to it again several times in a row straight away! Some more albums pop onto my wishlist…
Yasunori Mitsuda – Chrono Trigger Orchestra Extra Soundtrack
As a preorder bonus in 2008, Chrono Trigger had a 2 track promotional bonus CD of two orchestrated songs. The first is “Chrono Trigger” which finally see’s the fantastic main theme brought into life by an orchestra for all its grandure. The strings and brass really push the full power of the melody forward and the running drums keep the pace up. When it breaks down for its quieter sections, the xylophone adds an extra innocence to the track.
While arranger Katsumi Kameoka stays very much to the original source on that track, “Chrono Trigger Medley” is more a tour de force, cycling through all the different tracks with effortless transitional slips between various moods, themes and key moments in the game, complete with big grande finale finish that only an orchestra can produce.
If you can find it, track it down. There’s only two tracks and it only clocks in six minutes but most people will leave it laying around as a freebie I’d imagine. Nice to see Chrono Trigger get the orchestra treatement, as I never really warmed completely to the pseudo-jazz arrangements of Brink of Time and I’ve sat and waited since for the full works. This will have to do!
Naoko Endo – “Sailing to the World Piano Collection” Review
Following generally very positive comments regarding Yasunori Mitsuda’s “Sailing To The World” Soundtrack to the game “The Seventh Seal”, sometime later a superb little genius has constructed a pianist’s wet dream – a piano arrangement CD and a music book complete with it telling you exactly how it was done. All for the same price as a normal CD. Why can’t other people be so generous?!
Naoko Endo is the pianist charged with the task and each of the ten tracks from the original soundtrack are arranged. “The Door” very much sets the tone for the CD however. The arrangement is sparse yet melodic, moody yet gentle, warmly playful yet slightly dark. It also houses one of the very few times in the arrangments that actually see’s Naoko’s tinkling the ivories go at full pelt too. This piano arranged CD is a very delicate affair indeed.
The title track is next, turning the wonderful Celtic vocal theme into quite a chirpy and noble ballad. Delicate and intricate are the two words that best describe the piece. Even when you get the bass keys played its never with huge gusto for a big finale, its always low profile, a style that you can grow to appreciate or could even get frustrated with. “Melody of Aqua” follows a very similar guideline, another beautiful and gentle melodic journey. Plenty of high notes and pretty twirls added on but no real push.
“Rhythm of Red” is where this style of playing kind of annoys me slightly. Perhaps I had my own preconceptions of a fast paced hyper madness track. Here its quitely interwoven at a slower speed. Yes (thankfully) it has some pace and carries the beautiful headspinning melody with it but its just in a completely different light to how I would have precieved it. I suppose that’s why they are called arrangements! “Path to Enlightenment” never really gets going for me however with too much sparce space between fits and starts although it is quite abstract in its conception so may grow on me still.
“Confrontation” gives us a grand intro only to go back into its previous style of slowly but surely getting there. However the style suits the next track “Melody-Go-Round” with its playful style and lucious piano warmth. “Point of No Return” is another quite but dark piece where the big battle tracks are taken into darkened abstract places. “Hope” however sounds very beautiful in its form on here before the arrangments finish on “Reincarnation” which too suits the piano playing by leaving you with a beautiful melody and an excellent ballad.
I find this arrangment a bizarre one. Its musically challenging, beautiful and melodic but I just find some of it slightly lazy. There’s no tempo change to any of the songs and so everything seems to gel into one piece of mood music. Taken seperately and the songs shine a bit more but it just erks me that the grande original tracks are all down scaled to the same proportions and played out. Its just a bit misplaced. The book however looks great to me and I’m sure once I delve into it properly I’ll enjoy the music further still. Not a bad piano arrangment at all, but not quite what I had in mind!
Live Vault – Chris Huelsbeck
The man who could with the C64, this weeks like vault comes from Chris Huelsbeck and the arrangement of his R-Types theme from a camcorder recording of Symphonic Shades in 2008. The sound is pretty good and the atmosphere and epic grand scale is certainly not lost.
Whispers Of the Plains: Garry Schyman
Inbetween all of his project’s he’s been doing, Higher Plain Music was able to grab a very quick five minutes with Garry Schyman! In order to get there we had to attack a few people with the conductors stick (we would be sorry but we got the interview) but here’s what Garry had to say:
Firstly, the BioShock score was a mini masterpiece. What themes did you want to keep or change from the original and did you have any particular new direction you wanted to take the music in?
Thank you for that! The idea was not to dramatically change the style of the music while making it a fresh and unique score. As far as themes are concerned the opening of the main theme for BioShock 2 “Pairbond” starts with some material from the theme of the first game but quickly veers in a different direction.
I certainly didn’t want to reinvent the wheel for the second game but I didn’t want to retread it either (to use two wheel/tire analogies). I think I achieved that and I certainly feel as good about the score for BioShock 2 as I did about the first game’s music.
Where do you start on a project like this thematically and in the song writing department?
First I have extensive discussions with the audio and creative directors on the project to understand what the project is really about under the hood. I get all of the material I can get from the developer including a script, screenshots, artwork and if the game is functioning I get gameplay captures to inspire me. Then I start experimenting with ideas and if I like one I record it and send it to the audio director for a listen. If they dig it I am off and running – and if not it’s back to the drawing board.
Were there any particular pieces that have a special place for you in the BioShock 2 Score?
Yes – I think the “Pairbond” theme (which is a very sad and beautiful duet between the solo violin and cello) is distinctive and not the kind of music you normally expect to hear in games. “Big Sister On The Move” is a cue that I was not asked to write but which I thought would be very useful for the game so I just composed and recorded it with the orchestra. They ended up using it a lot when you are in combat with a Big Sister.
“Out of The Airlock” is a very evocative piece and sort of a mini concerto for violin, cello and orchestra. And in general the combat music is very intense and I hope interesting to listen to on it’s own. I am proud of the entire score.
Were there any particular challenges to this soundtrack compared to others you have scored?
Well writing all of the intense combat music was just plain old hard work. They are very complex pieces that were a challenge to keep interesting and intense all at the same time.
Getting the theme right was also a challenge and I went through a bunch of different ideas before we settled on Pairbond. After that it went smoothly as I love writing in this style and I knew the style from the first game.
What do you find gets your creative juices flowing for a good session of composing?
A good old fashioned deadline! Seriously I need them otherwise I waste time. I have been writing music professionally for many years and I can just get up in the morning and get to work when I know I have to get something done. Inspiration generally flows from perspiration as the old saying goes.
That said when I have a particularly challenging cue to write I will visualize finding the answer to what I need at night just before I doze off. I find that really helps me and I usually have the answer when I start working in the morning.
Do you get the chance to be a gamer yourself? If so what type of games do you like to play?
You know I wasn’t a gamer until I started scoring games about five years ago. Then I started playing the games I was working on and found them to be utterly fantastic. I have added a few games that I did not work on as well. I can’t say enough about Portal. What an amazing game!
I also played World of Warcraft for a year and had a blast. Leveled up to 58 and then just got too busy to mess around with it and dropped it. Amazing game though.
I would say two of my favorites are BioShock and BioShock 2 (which I just finished). I love spending time in Rapture! and of course there are these really cool music cues that keep showing up that sound so familiar!
You also compose for TV and film too. Do you have to take a different approach to composing for those as opposed to composing for games? I’d imagine they both require a different style or mindset!
There are similarities and differences. The most important thing that they share is that music has an emotional impact upon the viewer. Some mystical magical thing happens when you combine visual images and music and it has a powerful affect on people – essentially that’s why composers like me are hired, to bring emotion and mood and magic to their production.
They differ in several respects – implementation being the most obvious. Basically implementation of music with film was set about 80 years ago and has essentially not changed. The music is composed to locked picture (well not always locked unfortunately) and is then mixed with the other sound elements and is never changed after that. Whereas music for games has many implementation strategies and new ones are constantly being invented. New technology is permitting the music to become more and more interactive. This affects, to some extent anyways, how the music is composed. Because the player’s actions will differ from person to person we try to make the music as interactive as possible to have the best affect on the player.
With film and television you compose to picture and this is quite challenging in it’s own way. But it also makes it easy on the composer as you have constant feedback as to whether your music is working or not. You also have the form for the music given to you by the action onscreen. With games you do have in-game films to score but 90% of your work is not done to locked picture of any kind. So depending on how far the developer has gotten on the project you may or may not have much to go by when you compose other than a verbal or written description of what is happening when the music is playing. Also you may be asked to write in layers so that different layers can be brought in when something the player does triggers a change in the game (perhaps combat has started etc.). In the best case the developer will capture gameplay and send you a movie of the gameplay that is occurring when the particular cue you are writing is playing. But this is only a guide, as you are not catching anything with the music because the gameplay will rarely be precisely the same for any two players.
You’ve been busy with BioShock 2 and Dante’s Inferno and the release of your Viola Concerto. After at least having a day off rest, what’s next for Garry Schyman?
I have been very busy and I consider myself lucky to be busy doing something I love! I have a couple of great gigs coming up and though I would love to tell you about them I cannot. This industry is notoriously secretive.
We’d like to thank Garry Schyman for his time and effort to talk to us and wish him all the best with his next top secret project!
“Kingdom Hearts Piano Collections ~ Field & Battle” Review
Yoko Shimomura has really crafted a lovely franchise of music with Kingdom Hearts and after its successful first piano collections, its now returned with “Field and Battle”, a new collection of nine tracks.
“Scherzo Caprice on a Theme of Never Land” opens the album with a stirring arrangement that is full of flourishes and really complex playing. The song just never sits still, like a classical recital, it’s just brimming with character and panache. “Sinister Sundown” follows on with full on piano at the ready again. The fact that the opening two tracks are battle tracks really sets the tone as one that is absolutely mind blowing. The sheer speed of this track and pianist Hiroyuki Nakayama has to be heard to be believed and I’m sure its some of the hardest playing I’ve heard since someone blitzed “The Castle” from FFVIII’s Piano Collections. These opening two tracks are reason enough to buy the album. Go…Now!
Ok, now you’ve ordered it we have “Wonderland’s Surprises” which has a duality about it. There’s some beautifully intricate higher register pieces with quick freakout bass sections thrown in for good measure at regular intervals. It gives the track its own character. The track reminds me of a buckarooing horse. Great stuff. “Lazy Afternoons” is the first relaxed track on the album and brings your pulse rates down with an endearing warm rendition of the original.
“Night of Fate” returns the knightmare battle tracks with this stunning arrangement. It has a real tense atmosphere as Masanobu Shinoda at first gently taps out the tune very quickly and it grows until the piano is being practically battered to bits! Nail bitingly tense. “A Very Small Wish ~ Monstrous Monstro” follows with a waltzing dance that is both intricate, slightly clumsy but also quite powerful, especially when it hits the half way mark and really stretches its legs in a desperate militant waltz fashion.
“Hollow Bastion” is quite a dark and damp track. It’s constantly in a cycle of mysterious chord patterns and everything swirls around. It sits perfectly between distressed and withdrawn and is the real enigma of the album and possibly my favourite track just because it has a completely different personality to the rest on the album.
“Medley of Conflict” is a hugely clever medley of several battle tracks all moudled effortlessly into one seemless track. This is how a medley should be done and Miwa Sato really chops great piano chops by changes in pace, empathy and raw guts by keeping everything flowing and cohesive. Another standout. The closer is “Musique Pour La Tristesse de Xion” which has a real regal pacing and structure to it. Although its based on the track Xion, I hear bits of Dearly Beloved running through it and so it really feels quite final and very emotive.
Put simply “Kingdom Hearts Piano Collections ~ Field and Battle” is one of the best piano collectinos I’ve had the pleasure to listen to. Each track is beautifully arranged and performed with power and emotion. The standard is so high on every single track. This CD is absolutely spellbounding and I hope it captivates you as much as it has me.
Halo Legends Soundtrack Announced
Michael Salvatori and Martin O’Donell are being given the remix treatement for new soundtrack from the anime Halo Legends. Reworked by Tetsuya Takahasi and Yasuharu Takanashi, they’ve taken the original game themes and reorchestrated them. Release day is February 9th via Sumthing Else.
