ReMix: Chrono Trigger 'Tears for a Girl'

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Freemind and GrayLightning collaborated on this CT Schala mix that's got a mix of acoustic and synthetic elements and some unorthodox approaches to sequencing, mostly involving apparently intentional delays or un-quantized portions so as to achieve a humanized feel on the timing. Works in some instances, not so much in others. The intro is very strong as it sets the stage in an orchestral fashion that analoq likens to anime scoring, a comment I'd agree with:

"the trills in the beginning are a nice effect. flute sounds very full when it comes in around 1:30. the strings sound very full throughout the track, the voicings are muddy sometimes but not in a bothersome way. yeah, 3:45ish is where this mix really feels good. the distorted guitar abstraction sounds a bit conspicuous at times in this section. overall this track feels like anime underscoring, what with the slow melodrama and fake yet pleasing instruments."

In particular, some of the musical cues in the intro felt akin to some of Joe Hisaishi's work. Less so when the electric guitar (actually a Reason Maelstrom synth) enters, with a nice percussive groove that gets some respectable guitar strumming layered on top. The delay on the folk-style guitar pattern that follows the strumming for me is problem, as it sounds less like humanized timing and more like semi-stuttering, but the instrumentation is still very pleasant overall. Interesting piece for GL - more straight melodic arrangement with little emphasis on ambient soundscapes, usually ubiquitous in his work. This sits well with the other Schala mixes on the site, including GL's own solo rendition, as it's elaborate and has perhaps slightly a more Eastern feel to it. In some cases, quantizing probably could have helped individual instruments and gave it just a bit more polish, but in others the more organic feel is a help and not a hindrance. Good, developing, exploratory work from Freemind and GrayLightning, who shed some new light on Schala.

― djpretzel