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Golden
Ivories of Gaia | Final Fantasy 7
This is a piece that I started because I said to
myself, “What is it that OCR hates/has too much of more than
anything?” The answer that I came up with was: Final Fantasy 7 and
medleys (FF7 being the thing that they have too much of, medleys are the
thing that they – the judges and djp – hate). So I had the need to come up with a FF7
medley that would be a shoe-in for the site. Well, after I wrote it, I saw that the
FF7 album “Voices of the Lifestream” was still being finished
up, so I sent my song to Zircon to see if he wanted to include it, and for
some reason, he did! So it became
the final track on the album. I
still haven’t sent it into OCR although I’m assured that it
would be able to pass.
Unfortunately, the current mp3 is over 8 megs, and the limit at OCR
is 6. Meh.
I’m
Taking My Ball and Going Home | Super Dodge Ball
This piece is based on the credits music from
‘Super Dodge Ball’. I
remixed it for the Super Dodge Ball album written by the Bad Dudes (which
includes me) called “No Balls, No Glory.” I gave this one a very old-school
‘50s lush romantic sound.
Something you’d expect to hear in a smoking lounge back in the
day. Or maybe in the background of
an old soap opera. The source tune
was so eclectic and jumped around so much that I had a hard time sculpting
an idea for it, but I think this piece does it credits (pun intended).
Tears
of Contention | Chrono Trigger
"Tears
of Contention" (Chrono Trigger) was a throwback to Clairvoyant Elegy.
Lee Barber (TO/The Orichalon) and I had just finished a very ambient music
remix (Jade Spawn), and wanted to get back to the style that people were
really nuts about. I chose the source tune (At the Bottom of Night), and we
went to work. Unfortunately, along the way we hit some creative snags,
couldn't agree on some ideas, and eventually the piece was put on permanent
hiatus. About five months later, I finally got tired of seeing it on my
desktop and powered through the last section of it. TO received the piano
part, thought it worked out great, and finished off production. Looking
back, I don't know why this wasn't finished in a week in the first place.
Another very enjoyable collaboration with a quality remixer.
Clairvoyant Elegy | Final Doom
"Clairvoyant Elegy" is one of my favorite
remixes thus far. This is a collaboration between myself and TO. TO came to
me one day with a remix from Final Doom that was totally finished minus a
lead instrument. He had been planning on having FIDGAF (OCR) play lead
guitar over his synth backbeat, but things fell through and FIDGAF couldn't
do it. TO then gave me the go ahead to put my own piano spin on his piece
and, a week later, the remix was finished. We couldn't believe how well it
worked together (especially considering that we had substituted lead piano
for guitar). I employed a Yanni-esque style to my piano playing, very
similar to the work done in his "The Rain Must Fall" original.
This is an instant classic with most anyone whom hears it. Download this
one if you're picking and choosing.
Suicide for Two Pianos |
Suicide Express
"Suicide For Two Pianos" (originally titled
"Bladiator as Reuben Kee") was an entry for PRCv2-7. The source tune
was the main theme for Suicide Express, a C64 game. I decided to try
something a little different, so I layered multiple pianos for a duet/duo
piano feel (much like Reuben Kee does, hence the original title). The moods
swing from pressing waltz to sweeping melancholy to rhythmic driving. The
original tune was unfortunately a throwback to a song from Blade Runner,
which keeps this piece from being submitted to OCR. Also, the piece only
got second place behind Analoq's quite amazing "Groovicide".
O, Say Can Yoshi | Yoshi's
Story
"O, Say Can Yoshi" is a piece I came up with
after listening to Dr. Fruitcake's "Mario's Tropical Paradise"
(available at OCRemix). I heard the two Yoshi's Story themes that he
incorporated into his medley, and enjoyed them so much that I wrote my own
piano remix involving them. I had already finished the remix before I even
knew what the source tunes were or where they came from. Many people say
that the original tunes were really boring, but my remix made them
enjoyable. I think that maybe I was deluded by the well-made remixes of
these tunes present in Super Smash Brothers: Melee, and never actually heard
the true originals. Altogether, this remix departs from my normal solo
piano remixing style, and gives the listener something different to enjoy.
This one is also a return to live recording at UT Tyler.
Shave Slave | Kirby 64
"Shave Slave" is a quirky little remix based on
a tune from Kirby 64 called "Cave Rave". I remixed it for
PRCv2-19 (People's Remix Competition) over at the OCR forums. Luke Williams (aka: LAOS) challenged me to a non-sequenced
piano showdown, and we both did jazz-style piano remixes based on the tune.
Mine somewhat leaves the realm of jazz and sounds more like ragtime or
old-timey piano bar music. Regardless, it won the PRC that time around, and
more importantly, destroyed LAOS
in the competition.
Moon Over Rinoa | Final Fantasy 8
"Moon Over Rinoa" was my entry to the Splendid
Performance competition at www.rpgamer.com. This was written for the first
audition, called "On the Keys". It is a remix of the source tune
"Waltz of the Moon" from Final Fantasy 8 (which, strangely
enough, is a waltz variation on the "Eyes on Me" theme heard
later in the game). I start with an almost verbatim piano waltz verse of
the tune, and then transition into a 4/4 Brickman-style variation on the
melody, which is finally transitions and modulates back into a high-powered
waltz finish. Incidentally, it placed horribly in the competition, and was
rejected at OCRemix. Still, it is a favorite of mine, and one which I will
have to practice diligently if I ever want to record it live again.
Dawn Over Ivalice | Final Fantasy Tactics
"Dawn Over Ivalice" is the result of a failed
FFT Piano Collections project. The project idea itself was great: do piano
remixes of a set number of FFT tunes, have live recordings done of all
remixes involved, write out the sheet music for each remix, then release everything
together in one happy download. Unfortunately, almost all the FFT source
music has the same basic tunes involved, and the remixes being put forth
were AWESOME, but also very difficult to play. That being said, this was my
submission to the project, recorded by me (obviously). I remixed the 40-odd
second intro theme, and based the remix very solidly on the two main motifs
presented there. This was to be the lead song in the project, so you can
listen to this and then pretend you've lost the rest of the album.
A
Dangerless Road | Super Mario RPG
"A Dangerless Road"
was another piece written one fine evening. My friend, LAOS, gave me the source tune
from Super Mario RPG and asked me to make a bladiator-esque piano waltz
from it. After toying with that idea for about half an hour, I realized
that that style wasn't going to work for this piece -- at least not that
evening. I finally decided on a more new age / jazzy style, and came back
to him with my finished piece (this recording) a couple hours later.
Although I feel that some sections could have used more polish and fleshing
out, this piece has received a lot of praise from fans of the game. Maybe
someday I'll make it better and see it submitted to OCR.
Grand
Valse Mario | Super Mario World
"Grand Valse
Mario" came immediately following the release of Chopinesque Kirby. I
had received so many requests for sheet music for the first one that I
began this remix by writing it out. Within a couple of days, I had finished
writing GVM and was practicing its performance. Unfortunately, the live
recordings I had made were useless due to bad mics or faulty connections in
the recording booth. The keyboard recording that I made is still very
enjoyable, and the melodic run at 1:31 almost single-handedly makes the
download worthwhile. Although in the same genre as "Chopinesque
Kirby," the two pieces are worlds apart in technical style and
composition.
Chopinesque Kirby | Kirby's
Dreamland
"Chopinesque Kirby"
is my first remix with public acclaim. I've always enjoyed the themes
presented in Kirby's Dreamland (Gameboy), and have since found that I have
a really good handle on writing Romantic Period waltz remixes. The majority
of ideas and entire layout for this piece were put together in an evening,
and a live recording was urged on by none other than JigginJonT (OCRemix).
It was recorded in the Braithewaite Recital Hall at UT Tyler on their
9-foot Steinway Grand.
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