ReMix: Secret of Evermore 'Anachronism'

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Very unexpectedly cool - our first Secret of Evermore ReMix is also Shnabubula's second submission, but bears hardly a trace of resemblance to his initial, fairly avant garde Guardian Legend mix and instead covers the great Jeremy Soule's SNES score from Secret of Evermore in a very elaborate, immediate live solo piano arrangement. I wasn't particularly into some of the rendered graphics in the game, but you can tell right off the bat when playing that the score's high quality. At several points this arrangement actually reminds me of the hallmark of solo piano impressionism, Debussy's Clair de Lune, as synonymous with musical impressionism as Monet is with the visual equivalent. In other words, lots of very flowery runs, pauses, deliberate passages that take several notes very slowly then speed up into flowing, emotive passages. Try tapping your foot to a consistent tempo throughout and you'll see what I mean. There's a great range in dynamics, from delicate pianissimo to some serious forte, and while you can tell it's live and this adds a certain tension and atmosphere, the recording is rather clean, if right-heavy in terms of panning. The mixers writes:

"This remix is a dramatic departure from my first submission because Secret of Evermore, unlike guardian legend, is not about a half-humanoid, half-spaceship creature who is destined to battle fish, jumping mushrooms and false teeth in order to stop a star from crashing into the earth. Secret of Evermore is much more serious [except for the occasional attempt at humor] I also have a TREMENDOUS amount of respect for Jeremy Soule. This is a medley of two songs "Halls of Collosia II" and "Ivor Tower Town" with a brief quote from "flying". It's all live piano. Enjoy!"

Different from a lot of piano mixes - good in the same way, i.e. emotion, flow, performance, dynamics, creativity, but a bit more... patient, deliberate. To those wanting constant barrages of notes or a steady pulse, this will be anathema, but if you're familiar with the tenets of impressionism or have heard and enjoyed pieces like Clair de Lune, etc., you'll definitely dig this, as Shnabubula has Debussified Soule with an impressive amount of talent, energy, and feeling.

― djpretzel