ReMix: Grandia II 'A Deus ex Harpa (Second Seal Mix)'

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Darkesword brings us our first Grandia 2 ReMix, arranging a piece by one of my personal favorite composers, Noriyuki Iwadare. Often overshadowed (unfairly) by Squaresoft guys, Iwadare's done a large percentage of the great non-Square/Enix RPG soundtracks out there, in my estimation, and I especially dug his work on the original Sega CD Lunar soundtrack. The Grandia OSTs are not to be missed either, however, and this track really illustrates the depth of material that's out there beyond Sqeenixville. The first version of this mix that was sent in had some minor pops (which were actually part of the oboe sample being used and not a recording faux pas), and I pressed Shariq to fix them quickly and resub, which he did. It was nothing major, and required good phones to spot, but I'm really glad he addressed it, because this is one of his best ReMixes to date, fantastically mellow, and deserves as pristine a rendition as possible to achieve its full, transporting effect. The ReMixer writes:

"This is an update to an old Grandia II mix I did, called "A Deus ex Harpa," which is available on my website (http://www.darkesword.com/). It's an arrangement of "A Deus," a beautiful vocal song that Elena, the priestess character, sings. The old version of my arrangement was pretty basic, and muddy as well, so after a year or two I started working on this new version, called "A Deus ex Harpa (Second Seal Mix)." I've added a lot of instruments, tweaked the parts, and expanded the arrangement to include a faster section with a key change."

There's nothing muddy about this 'Second Seal' incarnation; introing with a beautiful moving harp pattern that stays present for most of the mix and an elegantly minimal accompanying piano, the bassoon and cello solos that enter briefly are harbingers to the longer oboe solo that's brought in at 0'49". At 1'17" the percussion gets layered up a notch, with a nice groove kicking in on top of the previous, semi-industrial pattern. There's an undulating, flowing oboe solo with drum drop-out circa 1'45", then... ahh, well, no point doing the rest of the Madden play-by-play. Suffice it to say, Shariq keeps things interesting throughout, the source material is RIGHT up his alley, and the end result is a great chillout mix with brains to boot. I really think this is one of those instances where the source material and ReMixer paired up perfectly - the flowing, Kikuta-esque harp patterns combined with strong melodic elements jive quite effectively with Darkesword's style. Someone needed to cover this superb piece, and Mr. Ansari was perfect for the job.

― djpretzel

Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.

Great intro- I love the bassoon sound for melodies, and when the oboe comes in later, it works equally well. The flow on this one is perfect, and the song seems a lot shorter than it really is; excellent transitions and texture changes. The synths that subtly color some passages are perfectly chosen.
This is probably the best DS mix i've heard. Awesome stuff.

- OA on April 3, 2009

Atmuh;116060 wrote: Never played the game but I really like the mix.

What she said.

- DramaNoMore on September 22, 2008

This is one of the most beautyful video game song remix I've ever heard. This is so emotional... I love it.
Thank you Shariq

- violent_ken on December 26, 2007

First time Trygon played this for me I just went, "OH MY GOD," because it was just that awesome to me at the time. It really is nice to hear a remix of a Grandia 2 song considering I don't see/hear much mention of it. It's definately one of my favorites. I feel like the song itself could have been used for at least the staff credits. It also kind of had a Chrono Trigger/Final Fantasy sort of sound at first to me. It's also sort of ethereal in a way as well. Very cool.

- Phoenix Down on August 3, 2006

MrBogus wrote: Only the section at 3:34 with the cymbals (?) hits me as slightly overbearing.

Yeah I thought the same thing. I think that section would be a lot more powerful emotionally if it didn't try to beat people over the head with it.
Otherwise I thought it was pretty cool. Loved the drums.

- Radiowar on July 28, 2006

I've had this for a while but I'm only commenting now.
I like this. Not just because it's pleasing to the ear, which it is. But also because it accomplishes something that, in my mind, many melodious songs fail to do -- not be campy. When you start with a source tune like A Deus, you typically run into two types of dangers:
1) making something already laid back even more laid back and thus boring, or
2) try to add elements to spice things up and end up going overboard with the bright instrumentation and harmonies
For some people this is fine and I'm not knocking it. But for me there has to be a delicate balance. And this song does exactly that. A beautiful rendition of the source tune using angelic instrumentation choice and chords, underpinned by a subtle drumline that ebbs and flows with the melody. Only the section at 3:34 with the cymbals (?) hits me as slightly overbearing.
Great stuff, great job by DS.

- MrBogus on July 28, 2006

This is a wonderful remix by DarkeSword for Grandia 2 nonetheless. It makes me wonder why there are so few Grandia 2 remixes in the first place. A lot of the subtle nuances from the game are carried over without directly imbedding in the source audio. This is a difficult task indeed for something as mellow and gentle as this particular track.
I play this song whenever I feel like I need to relax or just chill out. Sadly, the shuffle on my player doesn't bring it up as often as I'd like.

- Katsurugi on June 15, 2006

Never played the game but I really like the mix.

- Atmuh on June 1, 2006

darke, this is beautiful! i'm not familiar with the source, but you've really captured mystery and enchangment in this 5 1/2 minute mp3. i can't really provide much of a specific review--it all blows my mind. some particulars i guess i liked most were the drums and that part with the chimes that are accented by the cymbal crashes starting around 3:22 or so.
this is definitely going into my favorites folder. i look forward to your future work. :)
-bgc

- big giant circles on May 25, 2006

I continue to be impressed with your work.

- jorgandar on May 2, 2006

Great mix of some great source material... very nicely pulled off, everything is done beautifully. Nice work!

- Hadyn on April 3, 2006

Ooo, look.
Another totally awesome piece from DarkeSword. I am as unsurprised as I am pleased, which is to say a hefty helping of both.
Thanks for the change in the middle... I was just thinking the track was beginning to go stale, and the change came in with excellent timing.

- Fusilliban on March 23, 2006

I reviewed this remix in the WIP forum earlier (http://www.ocremix.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=2255940#2255940).
I loved it, but I noticed some minor clickings.
Djp asked DarkeSword to fix them and now this piece is going to be one of my favorites.
Nice, nice, nice work! :)

- Nineko on March 20, 2006

Awesome remix,Remind's me of snow.I was a fan of this game but since it's been so long,i do not recconize the tune,It does however go with Guild War's snow area's quite nicely ;),Never the less,this remix rocks and i have listened to it..countless time's.

- DragonsTear on March 18, 2006

Don't know why there's so few reviews for such a good remix. I like it. It's not in my face to catch my attention. But it's got that sort of freedom, in space feel to the remix.

- Azure Prower on March 18, 2006

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