ReMix: Final Fantasy VII 'Prayer'

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OC ReMix arrangement "criteria" can be met by any combination of instrumentation, tempo alteration, addition of new elements or subtraction of original elements, restructuring, and changes in rhythm, melody, harmony, or progression that AS A WHOLE result in a piece that is in the individual judge's opinion new & different enough to constitute an OC ReMix. In this case that judge is me, and the mix in question is newcomer MENBAH!'s take on Aerith's Theme. While the melody and essential structure of the song are largely unchanged, the ReMixer has sped things up, added a completely original percussion track performed on buckets (later a very dramatic rolling snare gets added), replaced somewhat brooding harp arpeggios with a lively acoustic guitar backing, and played with some of the pauses so that things drop out in a more expectant and less reticent fashion. In other words, the piece still flows like the original and melodically sounds like the original, but you've got tempo changes, instrumentation changes, new stuff added, certain old stuff removed, and the general tone of the piece has as a result shifted overall to a more celtic, somewhat more upbeat and energetic feel. There really is a lot of emphasis on the percussion - the entire song has been transformed from a drumless piece of music into something where drums are at the very core of what's going on, and that's not a minor accomplishment or change, especially when the buckets... er, drums are as creative and dynamic as they are here, with great stereo separation to boot. The electric guitar lead has a clear, crunchy tone, and when the choir comes in around 2'11 timed with a snare pattern, things live up to the mix title in that they seem almost hymnal. There's often a lot of confusion as to what constitutes enough "arrangement" to qualify as an OC ReMix. Despite marked similarities in form to Uematsu's original, the changes MENBAH! has made here rework the piece into something with a different tone as the result of afforementioned additions, subtractions, instrumentation, and tempo increase, and these - combined with an ear for the sonic side of the fence - can be quite potent mutators in their own right. I listened to it side by side with the original and while the form is there in both cases, they sound like dramatically different but equally worthy pieces of work to me. Obviously, there's a good deal of subjectivity involved in weighing these many factors, but this mix breathes new life into the original and I think many of you will agree + enjoy.

― djpretzel