ReMix: Secret of Mana 'Drifting Towards The Stars'

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The latest from GrayLightning divided the judges panel, largely due to being fairly ambient and static in terms of development, with no decisive climax or denouement. In fairness to the ReMixer, that's what I consider one of the staples of a good cross-section of Kikuta's work - repeating, interacting patterns, often played by bells or harps or other timbres with quick, salient attacks. The ReMixer takes that and develops off it with a cinematic piece reminiscent of Tubular Bells or some of Thomas Newman's (love that Six Feet Under opener) work. Judge Digital Coma viscerally praises that "It's nice to have a dynamically high-octane mix that kicks your ass the first time you hear it, but stuff like this... now here's a different story altogether. Instead of a musical escalator, reaching its finale at an apex, we have a wave whose climatic crest rolls under itself once, twice, thrice, and more until it washes off at the shore. It would seem that GrayLightning is experienced with a woman's nature of physical relief." - judges that were less positive (and lewd) cited the relatively static pace and tone and some of the "edgier" bits of the chord progression and relationships. For my money, the question this mix raises is: when a mixer decides to cover a track that was contextually background music, with no strong melodic motif or development, is he or she expected to synthesize those characteristics via the arrangement, or can things remain more zen and incidental? I'd say there's really no clear answer one way or the other, and that it's a case-by-case evaluation. In this case, even without a solo or something to add a bit more narrative, GL's work is evocative and well-realized. That's not to say such modifications wouldn't have enhanced the arrangement, but it's certainly truer to Kikuta this way. If you're into ambient, morphing, filmish compositions as described, and like Kikuta's more background-oriented work, chances are high you'll dig this ReMix from GrayLightning, too.

― djpretzel