Greetings, Final Fantasy fans! I’m Taylor, the newest writer here on Final Fantasy Network. What I’ll be doing here is posting a weekly column every Monday, detailing happenings in the music remixing community as it pertains to this fine series. In fact, I was the one who linked that fine Final Fantasy VI track featured here a few days back!
I’ve loved video game music for most of my life, and it was Nobuo Uematsu’s wondrous compositions from Final Fantasy IV and VII that first stuck in my head. I’ve befriended many remixers with the same love for the music as I have, and am a part of a few communities related to this interest. As a matter of fact, I’m actually directing an album myself, dedicated to the many Cids of Final Fantasy. More on that in another column though. I had a plan to feature a trailer for an upcoming album for my first installment, but as it turns out that album was released today. How’s that for perfect timing?
Final Fantasy: Random Encounter is a joint effort of sorts between OverClocked ReMix and The Shizz, featuring musicians from both sites. Featuring 21 tracks by 20 artists, encompassing the entire original soundtrack including a couple of songs from the remakes, the album is a rather metallic journey throughout the original game’s world and music.
Project director Brandon Strader, also a musician on the album, had this to say:
“This album is the result of three things: 1) an immense love for Nobuo Uematsu and his work, 2) an immense love for metal, and 3) the kind of comraderie [sic] that only the most grim and frostbitten of metalheads will ever know. Words can’t express the level of gratitude I have for everyone who helped this album become what it is today, and who continue to support the successive albums for Final Fantasy II and III.
A huge thanks is owed to every musician who performed for this album in any way, Edward Dennis who created mind-blowingly good artwork for the album, Donald and The Shizz for hosting our project discussion during the development phases, and last but not least OverClocked ReMix and its staff for their hard work and for helping us release the album on OC ReMix.”
The album was hand delivered to original composer Nobuo Uematsu back in January during MAGFest X, and now it is finally available for the rest of the world to listen to. Rock out, and prepare yourself for the Final Fantasy II album, by the same group of people, coming soon to an internet near you. Until next time, game on!
Final Fantasy: Random Encounter is available free of charge; you can download it via OCReMix’s site here. If you’d like to reach me regarding this segment, tweet me: @MirbyStudios
Tags: Features
Welcome to the team Taylor! Can’t wait to read more next week.
TBH, I used to really like OCremix but i had a discussion with a friend about this but… They do too much ROCK on that site now. Or least last I checked. And rock makes alot of classic tunes sound too generic.
I kept reading this update and kept seeing ROCK this ROCK that, and that doesn’t make me interested.
The better video game remixes out there are the ones that don’t completely hard rock tunes.
“The better remixes” is a subjective term. It’s good to see people associating OC ReMix with rock and metal now, as they’ve long been associated with techno. A new age is dawning!
@AgitoXIII There is definitely some rock lately, but there have also been tracks posted quite recently that are electronica, mellow, acoustic, and orchestral, among others. OCReMix strives for diversity in its mixposts, and I highly recommend you check the site out again. There’s more to it than rock, I assure you.
mirby?
Happy to have you writing Taylor Brown. Love how good the music is becoming ^_^
Oh yeah! Finally, some good Metal Fantasy!! *raises horns*