ReMix: Final Fantasy VII 'Jenova Returns'

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It's been over a month since our last posted mix from Final Fantasy VII: Voices of the Lifestream, which is pretty good considering the flood of submissions it prompted, and the high quality of the album overall. You'll continue to see more in the future, but we're trying to spread them out so OCR doesn't become the "All FF7, All the Time!" station. Sorta like TNT's love affair with Law and Order - not that I'm complaining; Sam Waterston is the man - but "We Know Drama" sometimes seems like it should be revised to "We Know Dick Wolf Crime Drama... and Sometimes Charmed." Also, I hate Charmed. Just had to get that out there. Syndicated cable television shows aside, Steffan's put together a great orchestral version of a classic theme that complements bLiNd's take nicely. The ReMixer writes:

"The aim of this track was to act as if it were a film score cue from of a movie. It bounces and toys with the Jenova theme with the tenacity of a child with ADHD. The stylings are my interpretation of many different influences from the film music world, with a fondness for the quirkiness of Danny Elfman sewn into the arrangement. My favorite passage is the concluding 60 seconds of the track - ending with violin bows flying, a ritualistic sacrifice of a Steinway, and the horn players crowd surfing over the woodwind section. I had a lot of fun writing this, and it was my goal to make it just as fun to listen to."

Project Director Andrew Aversa writes:

"Even before VotL, I was a big fan of Steffan's remixes, particularly 'The Trial in Concert' - but he hadn't done anything since then, so I was really excited to see him signing up for the project. This remix definitely did not disappoint; I'd wager that if you put this in the opening credits of a new Tim Burton film, people wouldn't bat an eyelash. The orchestration is fantastic and convincing, the production is top-notch, and the arrangement is both fun and creative, showing off Steffan's own style while also paying homage to Danny Elfman. Awesome stuff."

There's not too much else to say - Steffan's got A+ grade skills when it comes to arrangement and orchestration, production here is beyond solid, and nothing spells loving like J-E-N-O-V-A. Also, we should be announcing the winners of our music video contest this weekend - stay tuned, some very awesome stuff is on the way. In the meantime, enjoy Mr. Andrews' vision of a well-known theme, in a rich orchestral palette that paints in vivid, immersive hues.

― djpretzel

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

l love that sound scape created in this it has a cinematic feel that adds drama to this.
Great choice of instruments too.

- metalsnakejuice on May 3, 2009

This song is awesome. Unlike some other remixes, this does not just reiterate a theme over and over again. This takes a theme, plays around with it, makes it expressive (yes there's the quirkiness but there's also some fear there too), and includes extremely fitting sections that make this a highly enjoyable orchestral rendition and very interesting independent work.

- SoulinEther on March 6, 2009

I'm a major fan of this song. The first time I really listened to it, though, I had to do a double-take...
When I got to the end, I could've sworn I was listening to one of the Spider-Man openings!
Good thing I'm a fan of those too, eh? ~(^.=.^)~

- Valerius on January 18, 2009

This is definitely an epic mix, and really the only way I can picture the source any more (in my book, it's always a good thing for a piece to be able to oust its source). Also love the tiny bit of the battle theme thrown in, it fits perfectly and everything just sounds like it was made to come together in this piece. Beautiful work.

- Lucentas on December 6, 2008

I must confess... When I first listened to this song, I was like 'eh, too jaunty' and skipped track after about 10 seconds... A little later I decided to give it a second look and instantly fell in love with the entire track.
The Danny Elfman homage is utterly clear and doesn't even try to hide itself, and for that, I love it. It seems to skip at first from something akin to [i]Nightmare Before Christmas[/i] (which I love anyway despite my initial misgivings), before showing shades of Batman (which to be fair should have been honest given the title of the song. :) ).
I really could see Gotham City in a snowstorm, throughout the first half.
The whole thing sense shivers running up my spine and Stefan was right. The last 60 seconds are the best, and simultaneously the worst. Why the worst as well? Because the track is ENDING by then.
Either way, the whole song builds in crashing waves, building up, sinking back again for a moment, before sudenly coming back up again even greater than before, finally reaching that dramatic crescendo, and yet still leaves me wanting more because of how incredible it is.
One of the finest remixes I have EVER heard.

- KitsuneFury on July 10, 2008

I was really hearing the Spiderman flying through the city theme in this, but he did such a good job - it's one of my top favorites in VotL.

- medomai on April 18, 2008

This is excellent work. If the composer who did the music for FFXII remixed this track, this is what would come out.
Personally though, I don't like the new music style. It lacks personality somewhat, and bite. That's just my personal preference for games though, your work is in itself flawless.

- Dectilon on March 6, 2008

Whole thing is great. I just recently finished playing FFXII and this remix reminds me of a few of the tunes on there. Probably just due to the orchestration, but that is a compliment.
Also agree on the batman ending, lol :D

- Peconomusman on February 19, 2008

This was beautiful! I love Jenova

- athecheat on February 17, 2008

artemisjaeger;376799 wrote: Pardon me while I go vomit from all of the cheese my ears just ingested.

Okay, I can't let this comment pass. You are completely wrong and just absurd. Because I know for a fact that it is impossible to vomit from putting too much cheese in your ears. Tried it last week. Seriously.

- Evan Arnett on February 16, 2008

Pardon me while I go vomit from all of the cheese my ears just ingested.

- artemisjaeger on February 15, 2008

I've been listening to remixes on this site here for a while, but I never got around to registering an account and writing any reviews. This remix was so good that I decided to register just so I could post a comment.
This is definitely a colorful and exciting piece. It definitely strays the course of many other Jenova remixes, for instance like the heavier techno, rock, or dark orchestral remixes. Really refreshing piece.
As soon as it opened, I instantly got this feeling of nostalgia. Not just for FFVII, but for something else because of the feel of this piece. It felt something of a cartoon-ish John Williams Fantasy and Flight sort of thing out of Star Wars. After about 20 minutes and relistening to this remix, I realized that the feel of the piece reminded me of Star Wars: Rogue Squadron.
Great piece.

- kwansoo87 on February 15, 2008

well well I have to say I was impressed with this. It sounds like it was made with either ewql silver xp pro or gold xp pro. The orchestration was perfect in everyway. The one downfall though was the brass. Low was fine but the trumpet (except for the end) and the french horn were very odd sounding. I'm not saying it was bad but you could definitely tell it was synthed. Now all that being said, I don't think it takes away from the enjoyment of the piece. I find myself listening to this alot. I have it on my flash drive and I always seem to be playing it. Very awesome accomplishment. We should team up and do a colaboration piece or something :razz:

-Derek-

- derako on February 14, 2008

Colorful orchestration, excellent composition and treatment of the themes, and expert handling of the samples make this easily one of the best OCRemixes I've ever heard.

- Evan Arnett on February 13, 2008

Hard to argue with this one thats for damned sure.

- Hyperion5182 on February 13, 2008

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