ReMix: Final Fantasy Adventure 'Gifts of Mana'

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To know Ziwtra is to like Ziwtra. Well, maybe not for every last person on the planet, but he's got an accessible sound that's polished and always layers his stuff out so things are rich, creamy, and go down smooth, in addition to putting his own creative touches on the arrangement side of things. Regarding this, his second mix from Final Fantasy Adventure on the Gameboy, he says:

"Holiday Pop. I took a lot of liberties with the original melody (I think a lot of this mix could be considered "original") but I think it's ok--the original is so short and sparse anyway. Hope the filters are alright... I'm still figuring this stuff out : P"

And yes, he did originally submit this before Christmas, but with the snow that's been piling up here in Northern Virginia, it seems just as seasonal as ever. While the original is short, as Young indicates, it's less that he's buried it underneath original material and more that he's built up a context surrounding it. In other words, I think you'll be able to spot Ito's core melodic motifs fairly easily. For most of the intro, the mix could just as easily be an orchestral bit, but at 0'26" a synth lead pops up as a harbinger of the oncoming hip-hop infused pop jam that's fully unleashed with the beats at 0'38" (cool filtered build); the underlying progression doesn't fully flesh out until 1'15", where piano and additional synth are added like icing to the cake and the source material becomes abundantly clear. I love the very deep bass here, which plays around a bit, follows the melody at times, and isn't afraid to slide here and there, and the filtering on the background rhythmic synth pads is delicious. Strings and a particularly nice stereo electric piano patch feature more prominently towards the end, and while the absolute ending is a little abrupt, overall the piece develops nicely and is pretty much - as described - good holiday pop. I'd like to hear the ReMixer start taking a few more risks, perhaps, even if it means pieces that aren't quite as polished - he's definitely got the synth pop jam figured out (even if his quote insists otherwise), and while it's not the crime of the century if he keeps making ReMixes as accessible and generally pleasing as he's been doing, by any means, it'd still be cool to hear just a lil more experimentation. At any rate, oeuvre direction is always tricky to talk about with certainty, and what I'm more sure of is that kids'll love the great taste and moms the nutrition that's packed into every mana-laced bite of his latest submission. Bon appetit!

― djpretzel