ReMix:Final Fantasy VI "Dark World of Beats" 4:13

By M Benson

Arranging the music of 2 songs...

"Another World of Beasts", "Dark World"

Primary Game: Final Fantasy VI (Square , 1994, SNES), music by Nobuo Uematsu

Posted 2018-10-29, evaluated by the judges panel


COOL! Newcomer M Benson (Mike Benson) gives us an... experimental garage jazz folk funk? ...take on "Another World of Beasts" and "Dark World" from FF6, featuring live instruments, unorthodox production, and an appropriately otherworldly atmosphere. Also gotta like that he probably patterned his handle after M. Bison:

"I played everything in the mix except for the drums, which are sequenced. Hope you enjoy!"

I hear sax, bass, flute, accordion, and some nature FX. I don't think he played the nature FX himself, so I'm calling foul :) It's an impressive arsenal of instruments, and while sax leads the melodic way, the flute & accordion bits add a lot, and the bass has character. The arrangement itself is arguably the star of the show; it's certainly front and center, as uncertain, dark, & off-kilter framing and transitions create a sense of... strangeness. The faster opening sax arpeggios circa 0'25" sound difficult, almost like a practice exercise, but that ends up being part of the atmosphere, too. Sir_NutS sums it up well:

"The use of sax for these arpeggios throws me off, I don't usually hear the instrument used this way too often. Nothing wrong with it, just different. The heavy swing is another curveball in a fairly unorthodox arrangement, and it will sound pretty odd to many people but I really dig it. Love the panned clarinet playing the dark world motif, for some reason reminds me of Disney's Fantasia. This remix has tons of character and you definitely made it your own. Even with the changes, the source is kept clear and familiar. 

Very interesting remix for sure. Let's go."

I live for interesting; I have no problems when a piece of music uses tried & true patterns and sells them through execution or a particularly good hook, but I dig it a bit more if there's something peculiar going on, even if it's a single moment. This swirling, dark, & serpentine debut is full of peculiar moments, and the resulting experience is engaging and singular; odd, perhaps, but pretty easy to get into & appreciate. Excellent, imaginative debut from M Benson - would love to hear more!

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 6 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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CJthemusicdude
on 2024-05-03 11:12:31

Playing all the instruments yourself is quite impressive! The tone shift around 2:20 transformed this remix into a whole different vibe. This was definitely on the offbeat side, but ultimately very cool. Great job on this remix!

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MixMystery
on 2022-02-22 14:08:56

Wow--This is the kind of thing that should be in pixel remasters--Maybe I'll mod mine with this song if I play through it! This is the cover I've always wanted for this song whenever I hear it in retrospect or hear covers of it. It is strange but not jarring--I think it captures the feeling better than the original--hear me out. The original is great but too jarring and a little disturbing. This cover brings in a more subtle feeling of melancholy rediscovery and faint hope rather than punching you in the face with sadness like the original does.

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I Think
on 2018-11-11 23:15:46

This was really entertaining and a really interesting take on the source! I would personally have enjoyed it more if I didn't have a bias against hip-hop/rap backing tracks (which this was unfortunately reminiscent to me of), but the track is really well-crafted and surprisingly relaxed/calm for all its strangeness :D

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DimeTower
on 2018-11-09 00:00:26

Alarming and uncommon!! Oh my goodness, come and stay for at least 1:15-1:30, where the moody sax and instrumentation overlay really starts hitting home and the mix continues to wind and groan through the dark world. The whole mood is almost an ache, like a slightly painful stagger through a dark alley. I was a little thrown off at the drum sequence 2:15+, but realized what the remixer was going for as it continued to slowly make its way. Bonus points for the beautiful and light wind ending. Excellently done!

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calculusman1084
on 2018-10-31 15:32:00

Wow, just wow. Something very different with this one, but after listening to it 6 times in a row, i still want more. Hats off!

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Liontamer
on 2018-10-25 02:57:41

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

Sources Arranged (2 Songs)


Primary Game:
Final Fantasy VI (Square , 1994, SNES)
Music by Nobuo Uematsu
Songs:
"Another World of Beasts"
"Dark World"

Tags (13)


Genre:
Folk,Jazz
Mood:
Dark,Jazzy,Quirky
Instrumentation:
Accordion,Acoustic,Flute,Saxophone,Sound FX,Strings
Additional:
Effects > Lo-Fi
Production > Live Instruments

File Information


Name:
Final_Fantasy_6_Dark_World_of_Beats_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
7,006,414 bytes
MD5:
92c3c8ade4f1839a4c7d2fed3d90d18f
Bitrate:
218Kbps
Duration:
4:13

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