ReMix: Final Fantasy X-2 'Chauffage au Gaz'
Referring to prior, lesser submissions, and continuing on in French, the singular Mythril Nazgul writes:
"Navid here, figuring that it's been a long time since I last submitted some stuff, so hopefully you've forgotten who I am by now. If not, then I apopologize. This is my quirky, abstract take on "Leblanc's Got It All" from the FFX-2 soundtrack... it is called "Chauffage Au Gaz". Desoli les amis, mais en raison de contrainte de temps, et par manque d'efforts de notre part, Leblanc, ne pourra se produire ce soir. Ne craignez rien cepandant, a la place, nous vous prisentons le Chauffage au Gaz!
For all I know, he just insulted my mom and compared me to any number of unsavory nouns, but since Navid is generally a good guy, and we share 80% of a first name in common, I'll take my chances. First off, though this is from an accessible title - our first mix of FFX2's OST, for which Square enlisted Matsueda and gave Nobuo a breather - it's not from particularly accessible source material. To clarify such statements, when I say "accessible" I usually mean something to the effect of "having clear roots in one of the more common genres on the site, i.e. electronica, rock, orchestral" but could also be referring to intonations, tempo changes, or any number of arrangement elements that, when varied dramatically, can present a certain challenge to the listener. In this case, both aspects would apply, as Navid's piece doesn't pigeonhole nicely into any one genre and is rather spontaneous in general. It's full of both electronic and ethnic percussion, multiple synth textures which jump around the stereo field and have varying degrees of reverb applied, pitch bends aplenty, numerous references to other FF themes, a funky chromatic bassline, and some at times piercing bell timbres, and a breakdown at 2'35" that turns into a laser-fight, then descends like a machine powering down. And - why not - Myth concludes the whole thing with a Jean Reno quote. Because he can. Actually, it works, though when he initially described his plans I had my doubts. He got an abundance of feedback on the mix and did a great job incorporating some of it. My comments specifically targeted the initially uniform application of reverb, suggesting it be toned down and applied more selectively, and Navid's done so, improving the distinction and clarity of the many elements he's packed in. Particularly, the percussion's irreverently fun to listen to. Gray writes:
"Extremely difficult source material and the arrangement decisions Mythril took on this are very abstract. It's pretty rare to mix something like this, and even harder to pull off something like this. This is music that you need to listen multiple times to understand. I liked the creativity, and it's a neat arrangement. Drum and percussion work is very unique and is pulled off well. Production as a whole is above average. One gripe I have with some of Mythril's stuff is his overtendency to make things overly loud. I think some quieter/dynamic sections could have served this mix."
That encapsulates my general view as well. Won't be for everyone, and isn't driving or dancing music or well-suited to casual background playlisting, but if you just want something different... atmospheric but also imaginative, which aggregates a range of unusual sonic ideas in a single, internally consistent form, this is some nifty work. I don't think such an approach would be effective on just any old song - it'll be interesting to hear Myth take on anything more traditional - but in this case I think it was a great way to implement the original in a wild, elaborate context.
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