ReMix: Kingdom Hearts 'New Beginnings'

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Third time's the charm for Damon Campbell, alias Blue Magic, whose tertiary submission in recent history is the first to be posted. The ReMixer writes:

"It is a remix of the "Deep Jungle" track from Kingdom Hearts. It's kind of a jazzy/ambient(ish) mix. I was experimenting with the drum pattern and I thought it turned out pretty nice."

A mellow latin percussion vibe intros, with a gradual crescendo on the acoustic guitar (sounds like a twelve-string or steel, not straight nylon) pattern that buttresses most of the track. Solo flute with a distinct vibrato that sits in the alto range covers the melody as ensemble strings, piano, and even ensemble brass build up around the basic motif. There's excellent drum work around the second minute, when a rim shot comes in with something that's about as close as a rim shot can come to having a solo - excellent syncopation and one of those details not everyone would even consider in the course of constructing a mix. Quoth Shariq:

"Sounded a bit similar to the original when I first heard it, but I went back and I listened to the original again, and I can see the variation. Lots of nice percussive work here; subtle and dynamic. It really accentuates the piece. Piano is nice, even though it's not there much. This is really chill."

Gray also gave props, specifically to the instrumentation:

"Instrumental selection is wonderful. Great use of strings, panflute and flute, guitarlike stringed instrument, nature fx to create an enchanting atmosphere. The range of percussive instruments is also handled very nicely. The rock kit, ethnic hand drums accentuate the piece perfectly."

"Enchanting" seems like the perfect word to me to describe this mix, which has a folksy, human feel to it, dashed with a bit of island exotica. Sample quality was an issue for some, but for me the only eyebrow-raisers were perhaps the ensemble string and brass patches, which are always sorta hit or miss. Here they're used very selectively and very effectively, and most of the time blend enough to cause no umbrage. Drums are the highlight though, and do much via their layered, ornate wholesomeness to counter aspects of production - the somewhat mono nature of the underlying acoustic guitar, for example - that aren't as compelling. Great instrumentation choices, though, and a good sense of development. Involved and yes, enchanting stuff from Blue Magic, who's got a good ear for an interesting percussion track, amongst other talents. Looking forward to whatever's next.

― djpretzel