First taste of Remake BGM

Obsidian Fire

Ahk Morn!
AKA
The Engineer
@cold_spirit Thank you for linking that!!!! That album has some really good poetry and interpretations of characters and settings in it too.

It bears mentioning that Umetsu himself has called One-Winged Angel a "rock piece". And essentially thought of it as creating a '60s or '70s rock song with a full orchestra. He's said he took inspiration from Alfred Hitchcok's Psycho theme and the music style of Igor Stranvisky and Jimi Hendrix. Umetsu has said the compete version of One-Winged Angel for him is the version played by the combination of The Black Mages and an orchestra. So the version of One-Winged Angel in ACC is probably the closest version to what he'd been going for that's in a peice of media and not just played at a concert.

The rock music in ACC was done by The Black Mages, Umetsu's rock band that did other rock and heavy-metal covers of Final Fantasy songs. And Umetsu was involved in the creative process for all the arangments. So to say that Umetsu didn't want ACC to sound the way it did is... not what he himself says about that music.
 
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Smoothie King

Pro Adventurer
AKA
Pat
How could you think that after 7 soundtracks over 3 different consoles that Uematsu was picking synth waves over synth instruments because of technological limitations? You do know that one of his biggest heroes is Elton John, right?

Uematsu *does* use the whole orchestra. He also uses drum kits, synth waves, random sounds, and instruments not typically found in faux-classical opera like the banjo, the saxophone, etc. Just because the instrument samples aren’t realistic enough doesn’t mean he was unsatisfied with the compositions... that’s ridiculous.

I’m referring to the original FFVII soundtrack, which is by and large written for orchestra. Just like almost every other epic movie/video game score ever written. It’s used so often because it doesn’t “age” the art form. You can play Nino Rota’s Godfather Suite a hundred years from now and it will sound as pristine as it did in 1972. By contrast, the FFVII OST sounds incredibly dated only twenty years later to anyone who isn’t head over heels in love with the game. It’s the same reason why Scarface is an “eighties movie.” Giorgio Moroder’s musical scores are of a certain time. Ennio Morricone on the other hand, is timeless. That’s why I’m very comfortable with them using orchestral arrangements in the Remake. It’s the safest way to have the music age like a fine wine. I don’t want to hear a bunch of synthesizers that no one in the world will be using in any musical compositions ten years from now. Stick with the classics.
 

Obsidian Fire

Ahk Morn!
AKA
The Engineer
I'm not going to say much... Just that, you should go look up what people thought of the "ageless" art form that is classical music (and all the other music styles that are lumped in with it) at the time it was considered the "modern music" of the era. People wrote more or less the same thing about it as you are writing about modern music styles today.

There is actually a direct line from Romantic Era music to the very first film scores ever written. It wasn't that the first film scores were written for an orchestra because orchestral music was considered a "timeless" music style; it was that orchestral music was considered a modern and contemporary music style in the early days of movie making, so that is what was used.

But seriously, the way people talk about modern music being dated and not being good music has been going on for ages. As was composers trash talking each other and saying their rival composers had no idea how to write decent music...
 

Ite

Save your valediction (she/her)
AKA
Ite
I’m referring to the original FFVII soundtrack,

So am I.

which is by and large written for orchestra.

Decidedly not.

Just like almost every other epic movie/video game score ever written.

You mean like Tactics, which only uses instrument samples? Which came between FFVII, FFVIII and FFIX, by the same developer for the same console using the same sound board but also incorporate rock, jazz, and techno?

By contrast, the FFVII OST sounds incredibly dated only twenty years later to anyone who isn’t head over heels in love with the game.

Wait, is your point that FFVII was always intended to be orchestra-only? Or is your point that you don’t like the rock, jazz, and techno elements that are intentionally there?

I don’t want to hear a bunch of synthesizers that no one in the world will be using in any musical compositions ten years from now. Stick with the classics.

Oh. Okay. That’s just like your opinion maan
 

oty

Pro Adventurer
AKA
ex-soldier boy
I think we all have great points. Yes, the original soundtrack had a certain direction towards orchestra, but that doesnt mean the more abroad tracks were unintentional. The diversity of the styles of the tracks all made the score very rich, and great.

I do believe that this time it will be mostly orchestrated, but we have well and beyond heard non orchestra elements in musics, and completely non orchestra tracks. Truth be told, I think this is the best recreation (taking into balance what they did "right" and "wrong") that we have seen about the original ost. We've had our fair share of recreations, but I think overall this one takes the top spot. It was clearly put a lot of time, effort and resources to make it, and I think it has good chances to win awards like TGA tbh.
 

Smoothie King

Pro Adventurer
AKA
Pat
So am I.



Decidedly not.



You mean like Tactics, which only uses instrument samples? Which came between FFVII, FFVIII and FFIX, by the same developer for the same console using the same sound board but also incorporate rock, jazz, and techno?



Wait, is your point that FFVII was always intended to be orchestra-only? Or is your point that you don’t like the rock, jazz, and techno elements that are intentionally there?



Oh. Okay. That’s just like your opinion maan

I’m not looking to get into a quote war over the OST. Especially with a senior member of this board on like my second week here.

I’m a thirty five year old man here to rejoice over the Remake with like-minded fans of the game. I do believe the majority of the FFVII OST was written with an orchestra in mind. You disagree and neither one of us can call up Uematsu and ask him. Of course different games are going to incorporate different influences vis a vis instrumentation, composition etc. Of course there is a through line between Romantic-era orchestral pieces and modern-day Western cinema. Every genre of music is built off the groundwork of pieces that came before and will of course be derivative to some degree. That neither negates the merits of any individual work nor detracts from anyone’s enjoyment of any particular piece. We’re dealing with a highly subjective topic here.

And I’m certainly not arguing that all I care to listen to are generic orchestral tracks. Games like Suikoden I-III have amazing soundtracks that fit the aesthetic of those games perfectly and have almost no resemblance to any classical pieces/film scores. Same with a game like Nier:Automata. I’m a fan of it all. My personal opinion is that I really like the direction they are going with this particular soundtrack and I have yet to be disappointed by anything I’ve heard. If you hold a different opinion, Mazel Tov.

So, yeah. That’s my opinion, man. I’m more than happy to agree to disagree and go back to celebrating how incredible of an experience this is going to be for everyone.
 

Ite

Save your valediction (she/her)
AKA
Ite
@Smoothie
I’m not looking to get into a quote war over the OST. Especially with a senior member of this board on like my second week here.

I’m a thirty five year old man here to rejoice over the Remake with like-minded fans of the game. I do believe the majority of the FFVII OST was written with an orchestra in mind. You disagree and neither one of us can call up Uematsu and ask him. Of course different games are going to incorporate different influences vis a vis instrumentation, composition etc. Of course there is a through line between Romantic-era orchestral pieces and modern-day Western cinema. Every genre of music is built off the groundwork of pieces that came before and will of course be derivative to some degree. That neither negates the merits of any individual work nor detracts from anyone’s enjoyment of any particular piece. We’re dealing with a highly subjective topic here.

And I’m certainly not arguing that all I care to listen to are generic orchestral tracks. Games like Suikoden I-III have amazing soundtracks that fit the aesthetic of those games perfectly and have almost no resemblance to any classical pieces/film scores. Same with a game like Nier:Automata. I’m a fan of it all. My personal opinion is that I really like the direction they are going with this particular soundtrack and I have yet to be disappointed by anything I’ve heard. If you hold a different opinion, Mazel Tov.

So, yeah. That’s my opinion, man. I’m more than happy to agree to disagree and go back to celebrating how incredible of an experience this is going to be for everyone.

I am also happy to agree to disagree, although my only real issue was the assertion that the synth waves in the OST were playing at replicating real instruments, rather than using the synth instruments themselves. Your love of orchestra is one I share, even as an oft-jilted saxophone player :P

You’re clearly knowledgeable and a music-lover. And heh, while I suppose I am long-etrenched around here, I don’t assume any status. When it comes to you, I’m as brand new as you are to me. I’m glad you’re here, and feel comfortable goin’ toe to toe with ya. If I came off too strong or rude, I’m sorry.

Back to music lovin!
 

Smoothie King

Pro Adventurer
AKA
Pat
@Smoothie


I am also happy to agree to disagree, although my only real issue was the assertion that the synth waves in the OST were playing at replicating real instruments, rather than using the synth instruments themselves. Your love of orchestra is one I share, even as an oft-jilted saxophone player :P

You’re clearly knowledgeable and a music-lover. And heh, while I suppose I am long-etrenched around here, I don’t assume any status. When it comes to you, I’m as brand new as you are to me. I’m glad you’re here, and feel comfortable goin’ toe to toe with ya. If I came off too strong or rude, I’m sorry.

Back to music lovin!
Well said! Thank you, good sir.
 

Jairus

Author of FFVII: Lifestream & FFVII: Reflections
The soundtrack sounds really good so far, and I like it a lot. Looking forward to hearing the rest of it. Oh and does anyone else randomly hum snippets of the bombing mission theme? Or is it just me?
 

LNK

Pro Adventurer
AKA
Nate
The soundtrack sounds really good so far, and I like it a lot. Looking forward to hearing the rest of it. Oh and does anyone else randomly hum snippets of the bombing mission theme? Or is it just me?
I keep listening to Shinra's theme. I don't relate to them at all, but I love that song
 
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