ReMix:Final Fantasy VII "Mark of the Beatsmith" 7:20

By Hy Bound

Arranging the music of one song...

"Mark of a Traitor"

Primary Game: Final Fantasy VII (Sony , 1997, PS1), music by Nobuo Uematsu

Posted 2007-09-27, evaluated by djpretzel


God, we haven't had an FF7 ReMix posted in these parts in what feels like... oh, at least a couple weeks. Voices of the Lifestream has been very well received, and we're working on potential contests and VotL-related stuff - keep your eyes and ears open. We did recently make the album available on Last.fm, so you can listen to all the tracks right from your browser - sweet. This track was particularly interesting to me for two reasons. One, I considered doing an arrangement of the source material myself as a second contribution to the project, but couldn't really find an approach I liked, and second, because Hy Bound was one of the few artists on the project I'd not previously heard of. Fortunately, he did a wonderful job with a tricky track. Clocking in at 7'20", this is a pretty epic mix that intros ambient with some very shimmery, high-end aliasing effects and strings, but builds up big beat mojo with some strong drum work, as the title might suggest, and has more than a couple arrangement/production tricks up its sleeve. The way Tyler works with the chromatic "melody" from the source, which is more of a riff than a theme, especially towards the end when he's layering it on top of itself, is purdy cool. Now seems like as good a time as any to mention to our listeners that we've been slower with posting and evaluating mixes lately largely due to this project - it's very difficult to support such an undertaking while still running the overall site, and in this instance I was involved not just with a mix but with artwork, site design, and promotion. Nevertheless, the show must and has gone on, and we should be back up to full speed shortly. Of Tyler's contribution, zircon writes:

"I was excited to see Hy Bound volunteering to contribute to VotL after hearing his work on sgx's remix albums. His main influence for this piece was the artist Hybrid, who deals in progressive nu-skool breakbeats; fans of BT may also hear some trademark stuttering effects and other tasty audio processing techniques throughout."

... very cool. Though VotL certainly featured a lot of big names that have been regulars in these parts for some time, it wouldn't be the same without some newcomers as well, and Hy's piece was a pleasant surprise that provided an awesome and thorough take on what I consider some of the most difficult source material FF7 contains.

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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OutSpoken
on 2011-07-05 02:30:42

http://reoganworks.blogspot.com/2011/05/song-of-week-35.html

The author of the writeup for this track on my blog loved this. Gotta love Hy Bound's style, effects processing, and slick beats.

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DragonAvenger
on 2010-04-15 19:55:57

Kind of a love-hate relationship with this one. At first listen I thought there was very little source. I had to literally compare it to the original to find the subtleness of what is going on here. Very cool use of the source, but not necessarily accessible to everyone, if you know what I mean. Also, I think it's just a bit too long in the end, although I can appreciate the build-up throughout the song.

Crazy bass, and the overall production is very good. Gotta say my favorite part is the half-time transition at 6:16. Nice work there.

I like the ideas and theory behind the mix, but it's not my favorite.

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K.B.
on 2009-12-23 08:12:07

This makes me want to breakdance-fight. Fear not, for that is incredibly awesome.

No sacrifices. You hear it in his mixes. Hy Bound has a vision and he carries it through to the end. Nothing is wasted; not a single idea, not a 'moment' of inertia. How he manages to make so much from so little, well, that is a bit of a mystery.

This is the definitive arrangement of Mark Of A Traitor. Not because no one else has bothered to remix it, rather because no one else can foreseeably top this arrangement. Barret is encapsulated in this source tune, but herein this remix is captured the shame, the regret, the determination, and the will to overcome... to erase; if you know his story, you can paint it with these notes. 4:20 sends chills up my spine, and at 4:55 the power surges.

"oh crap hy bound i'm going to have to start listening now" That was from me - after I had arrived late from work and decided I'd only watch the happenings, not the listenings, of the FF4 party - not wanting to delve halfway into nostalgia. Since I'm as much a FF4 fanboy as they come, I had initially decided I'd hold off on the listening party so I could check out the entire EoB,LoR album start-to-finish. But once I saw that name it was all over. It's a mite comical that this one FF7 remix made such an impression on me that Hy Bound was forever cemented in my mind as a superlative remixer, but it's certainly not unfounded. The arrangement, the deliberate building, and the attention to detail here are immaculate. And the lattermost is both with regard to musical knowledge (layering, etc) and creative representation of the source tune. The listener expects 1:45. Not because he knows the source, but because of foreshadowing. I heard it. Listen closely and you'll hear it too. Subtle brilliance sets it up, raw energy and deliberate execution bring it home.

This is one of the first tracks I recommend to those unfamiliar with the idea of vg remixes. And I still mock breakdance-fight to it.

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jididly
on 2008-11-13 00:36:30

this mix is awesome! I've been listening to it a lot lately and right now my bro is on the phone so i'm using headphones for the song right now and its a whole new experience. I never noticed the soft bass in the background around the middle of the song. also in the beginning the beats kinda shift from right head phone to left head phone. truly epic

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RedFusion
on 2008-09-16 20:59:25

I srsly LOVE the hard-hitting beats in this. With only one remix on this website, you're already a definite a favourite of mine, alongside SGX, BGC and Audix.

Also, on another side note, your original music is BRILLIANT: namely Bed of Knives. I'm pleased to admit that your compositional skills are just as strong as your arrangement ideas, if not stronger. Sometimes it feels like some artists in this community aren't as great as creating original melodies as they are at arranging, but you sir, I believe, are the real deal.

Keep up the awesome work. I'll be very eagerly awaiting any album releases in the future. Fingers crossed.

=]

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TJF588
on 2008-07-02 05:34:18

*song comes on*

*bells dong*

*internal quasi-squees ensue*

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Platonist
on 2008-03-10 18:09:00

i love this remix . perfect interpretation of the original .. very nice nice nice indeed

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Mockingbird
on 2008-03-10 13:58:59

I wasn't sure about this one at first... it made the first cut, but I wasn't sure if it was something I'd want to listen to often. Then I listened to it under the headphones here at work, and changed my opinion pretty drastically.

This is absolutely INCREDIBLE, in a weird laid-back-yet-ass-kicking way. The beats rock hard, with an almost understated theme on top of them, and it shouldn't work, but holy gods it does.

I look forward to hearing more from this remixer. :-)

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TJF588
on 2008-02-08 23:04:04

Ah, thanks for the redirect! Still new here and all... Guess I'd best go see if there's an 'introduction to the boards' section.

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anosou
on 2008-02-07 06:45:33
Well, this'll make for a cruddy first post, but in searching for this ReMix I ran across this topic, so...

On the VotL page(s), anything linking to this song (either in the .torrent or the mirror hosts), the ID3 tags (or whate'er they are) label the song with the word "Beathsmith". Seems this was corrected in the individual post here on the main site, but it's still bothersome.

For the record, should I burn CDs with this typo intact, or would it be better to correct it before etching one of many greats into flimsy, cold silicon?

Direct this question here: http://www.ocremix.org/forums/showthread.php?t=11896

Review threads are for reviews

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TJF588
on 2008-02-07 05:17:05

Well, this'll make for a cruddy first post, but in searching for this ReMix I ran across this topic, so...

On the VotL page(s), anything linking to this song (either in the .torrent or the mirror hosts), the ID3 tags (or whate'er they are) label the song with the word "Beathsmith". Seems this was corrected in the individual post here on the main site, but it's still bothersome.

For the record, should I burn CDs with this typo intact, or would it be better to correct it before etching one of many greats into flimsy, cold silicon?

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Sansana
on 2007-12-26 19:58:49

Just like skcoder said this piece is very unique. It utilizes few styles and the potential of the base song. Extremely enjoyable :)

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Subz1987
on 2007-12-23 23:37:51

There is only one word that can describe this mix: EPIC

This is one of my favorite mixes on the album. Amazing work, dude

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skcoder
on 2007-12-05 19:58:02

Wow, great mix. This is my favorite in the project. It has a very unique style to it that I haven't heard anything similiar to, and I've listened to a lot of oc remix. I especially like the build up of percussion throughout the song (mainly comes in around 5.30) from the slow and softer part of the song at 3-4 mins. The different timing structure you do with that original ff7 melody removes the repetitive nature of it to a good extent. The ending piano piece at around 7.00 is icing on the cake. This song is full enough for me to enjoy and really get into the 'mood of the song,' unlike some of the remixes which only come in around 2-3mins.

Looking forward to more remixes from Hy Bound!

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Hy Bound
on 2007-11-14 04:02:31

Thanks for the comments guys! I really appreciate them.

Truthfully, i didn't expect this to get passed or even submitted... It started out as something completely different and then got a Hybrid overhaul to it. It turned into something that wasn't quite as approachable as what I had first imagined, but I'm glad that you guys like it.

And yes, I am going to be submitting more and more as time goes on.

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


Primary Game:
Final Fantasy VII (Sony , 1997, PS1)
Music by Nobuo Uematsu
Songs:
"Mark of a Traitor"

Tags (5)


Genre:
Hip Hop
Mood:
Instrumentation:
Electronic,Piano,Strings
Additional:
Time > Duration: Long

File Information


Name:
Final_Fantasy_7_Mark_of_the_Beatsmith_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
12,224,218 bytes
MD5:
04c76fbf159894e9401ef5289ffe335d
Bitrate:
220Kbps
Duration:
7:20

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