Posted 2017-05-08, evaluated by the judges panel


Love? The 21st night of September? The time? All of the above, perhaps? Either way, we've got a gorgeous vocal acoustic/folk ballad arrangement of Suikoden 2 from Jorito & co.:

This was made for the sadly-abandoned PS1 20th anniversary album, and would definitely have been a highlight - very emotive ReMix which leans on expressive vocal & instrumental performances for full impact. Jorrith writes:

"I was waiting for the vocal recordings for another track for the PS1 20th anniversary album and basically just had some free time on my hands. Since I felt like making another track for the album, I did some random browsing of PS1 RPG tunes when I stumbled upon this beautiful piece by Miki Higashino. It instantly inspired me and just begged to be remixed.

So I just started working on something, replacing the piano from the original with a guitar arpeggio and playing the leads on a flute VST doubled by a whistle. Next was the violin part, which I added as a countermelody, and, a few hours after finding the song, I had a decent WIP going.

I passed the preview to Ivan, who said "Hey, it'd be cool if you could get a flautist, I think I saw somebody on YouTube who could do it." So I did some searching and found Lauren, who incidentally created her own take on "Reminiscence" not too long ago. She was happy to work together with me on this track for some great flute and whistle parts."

Lauren notes:

"This is my first time participating on an OC ReMix track and it's been a great experience. I really appreciated working with Jorrith, even when we kept running into the technical limitations of my instruments. I think it was a learning experience and a discovery process for both of us in the best possible way, and I'm really thrilled with how it turned out!"

Back to Jorito:

"As fate would have it, in the related videos I found Joy's vocal cover of "Reminiscence," and it was so good and moving that I immediately approached her if she would be so kind to re-record for me. Again, a very enthusiastic reply and another great performance."

Joy sums it up:

"I was really thrilled when Jorrith reached out to me about this collaboration and I was honored to work with these amazingly talented musicians. It was a lot of fun to record and I'd love to be part of something like this sometime again."

Jorito continues:

"At that point, I basically felt that my remaining MIDI parts weren't good enough anymore and that I needed more real instruments. I approached Trev, who also claimed a track for the album, for the violin and string parts, and XPRTNovice, who I worked with before, and again, happy faces, and very skilled & inspiring performances."

Trev agrees:

"I recorded my parts with an SM57 in my violin studio in Chapel Hill, NC, where I teach and practice. The violin is of the 19th century and crafted in Mittenwald, Germany. I really love this track for its orchestration and beautiful harmony, and there one section where I overdubbed myself 16 times to emulate a string section. I'm happy I could contribute!"

And finally, one LAST time from Jorito:

"I really feel all these performances did the track a lot of good and you hardly notice the MIDI in the background anymore. :)

So, in hindsight, this track came together as a set of stumblings, happy accidents, and collaborations with great artists that are very cool people to work with. And I think it shows in the end result. I really dig it and it would have been nowhere as good without these talented performers. Was it worth all the hard work of coordinating, synchronising, and playing producer? You bet!"

Phew... lot of quotes, but worth reading for all the background... this is truly a modern collaboration, with the MIDI bits & pieces of Jorrith's original vision slowly being chipped away by capable, talented human beings. Reading the comments, one gets a sense that everyone was on the same page about the ultimate vision, and it came together in a way that feels very natural and organic; beautiful stuff. Sir_NutS writes:

"Yeah this is really, really, REALLY good. Those flutes are performed with a lot of soul. The vocals are spot on (holy crap that moment at 03:14), and the solo violin is exquisite. Production overall is excellent. One of the best remixes I've had the pleasure to review so far, just lovely."

Panel was unanimous, and I think you'll hear why; from Joy's ethereal vocal harmonies to Lauren's expressive flute & whistle to Trev's sublime violin to Joe's acoustic guitar that ties it all together, this is simply beautiful. It's a shame the full album didn't come together, but it's still a triumph that it resulted in this ReMix; highly recommended!

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 4 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
avatar
lemnlime
on 2017-05-20 15:24:14

This site really needs more Suikoden mixes. I really admire the music from the series and this is a very worthy, well-made mix

avatar
DimeTower
on 2017-05-09 00:06:03

Wow. This is gorgeous. I actually appreciated hearing the backstory, because now I know how all this talent managed to end up in the same place. There are some really wonderful parts of this: if you want your purity without vocals, try 2:00-2:25, but then you're missing out on the wonder (word choice intended) of 2:40-2:50 and the gorgeous drop away of 3:10-3:20. Serious props for the flute additions and the guitar work of the finale.

What a beautiful, beautiful remix! To all who contributed - you may go your separate ways from here, but your meeting created something of beauty in its time, a claim so few can make. Be proud.

avatar
timaeus222
on 2017-05-08 16:31:53

Congrats on the first Suikoden II mix on the site since 2001! :-) Great job on the vocals, Joy, and I also loved the solo violin from Trev. The guitar from Joe was also certainly worth the reach-out. Good on Jorito for putting together this collab!

avatar
Liontamer
on 2017-05-05 04:36:43

What did you think? Post your opinion of this ReMix.

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


Primary Game:
Suikoden II (Konami , 1998, PS1)
Music by Keiko Fukami,Miki Higashino
Songs:
"Reminiscence (Opening Staff Roll BGM)"

Tags (17)


Genre:
Ballad,Folk
Mood:
Mellow,Romantic
Instrumentation:
Acoustic Guitar,Bells,Flute,Piano,Singing,Violin,Vocals: Female,Woodwinds
Additional:
Lyrics > Lyrics: Original
Origin > Collaboration
Production > Live Instruments
Regional > Celtic
Time > 3/4 Time Signature

File Information


Name:
Suikoden_2_Do_You_Remember_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
6,721,654 bytes
MD5:
fc5a7ffe3dd603f88c5e498c4c7aa9fb
Bitrate:
210Kbps
Duration:
4:11

[x2]
Do you remember?
Do you remember?
Do you remember that time?

Fate suddenly brought us closer
than we ever really could see.
Fate suddenly turned you to wander,
wander together with me.

Fate taught us to share our secrets,
to always keep fighting as one.
Fate taught us that, though you are grieving,
always believe that we'll move on.

Face our fears together and cry our tears together
Through all these years together, you see.
Laughing out together and being proud together
Without a doubt, together we'll be, you and me...

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