[Luso]

Project Soul Voice: Act 3
{/online}
{On time!}

Continuing further upon the foundation already built, new tracks have been added to Project Soul Voice.

Musician's Memo:
For Project Soul Voice: Act 3, I tried to immerse myself in the day to day life of an adventurer of Vana'diel. What sorts of melodies was such a person hearing on a day to day basis, and how could I make them more interesting. Narrowing down a selection was far more difficult than I expected, and actual execution was a process of trial and error. The following tracks are the result of my introspective look at Vana'diel.

Each new update to Project Soul Voice will be included in a different thread, but the "mother page" will contain
all songs. I receive notifications for each thread's replies, so feel free to cross-pollenate comments about songs throughout. Also, please encourage your friends to check out Beyond Vana'diel if you think they would enjoy this content, and get them to sign up while you are at it!

Requests and comments are still taken into consideration as long as they are done through the appropriate threads (and possibly future subform) here in the Site Exclusives section.



Allow me to introduce these new songs:

From Final Fantasy XI:

APOTHEOSIS
Given 2010's multiple lifts of the limits of regular adventuring folk, it became apparent to me that solo battles against difficult monsters might become the norm. Apotheosis is a word of Greek origin which refers to the idea of "an individual transformed to a god-like status", which is how we will all feel when we get to Lv. 99.

HISTOIRE
After uncovering recent pages of the Crystal War's vast history, adventurers have come to realize that the Royal Army of San d'Oria was one of the most instrumental forces in the Allied Force's movement towards plowing their way into the Kindred's stronghold. The battle cry "Fiat Lux", meaning "Let there be light!", might well have been the last words the Shadow Lord ever heard.

RIPE
With the introduction of Void-Walker Notorious Monsters, adventurers poured over the face of Vana'diel both past and present. The requirement to walk on foot through all of the old areas reacquainted fellows with the likes of areas they may not have traveled to in quite some time. This track represents a combination of nostalgia and the heart-warming feeling of "coming home".

From Final Fantasy XIII:

PROCESSION
A charming melody from the world below, based on the theme March of The Dreadnoughts which plays during certain scenes in the world of Gran Pulse. While modernizing the music, close attention was paid to keep the spirit-lifting qualities of the song in tact.


This project is known as
Project Soul Voice
and can be found at the following URL:
http://www.beyondvan.../soul-voice.php


To our continuing partnership, BV-ers,
Luso

[Eorzea]

Yes, batch #3 is now live and they all sound wonderful! My first impression is that I really like the "Procession" track from Final Fantasy XIII, but I've only been able to listen to each track a couple of times so far and thus will get back to you with additional comments/questions/feedback after having listened to them some more (I'm about to sleep at the moment, so... ).

Great work as always! Project Soul Voice is definitely one of our best features here at Beyond Vana'diel!

If any of you enjoy these pieces as much as I do, please be sure to spread the word.

[Siali]

Ooh I really like the 'Ripe' song 'Apotheosis' is pretty cool too! You vocal debut brought chills, chills man!!!

Very awesome stuff.

[Val]

Awesome stuff Luso, I'm so happy you share these with us~ they are really great =D

Though Anticipation still remains my favorite, Ripe is amazing and Histoire makes me feel warm inside.. I did play Ripe on repeat before.. It's really easy to just chill while listening to it in the back ground..

But as Siali said, We want more of the vocals man! You really are a talented guy~ Glad you're here.

[Momotaru]

Oooo.. another great set!

These are fantastic, as usual.. I like how songs are continually being added under each FF title.. But, I wonder, will we see other, much older, FF game remixes?


Loving what you've done so far. Just keep doing your thing, as it pleases you, because it also pleases me.

[Eorzea]

Though I obviously can't speak for Luso, I would imagine anything is possible, yeah? Once Final Fantasy XIV's OST becomes available (legally), however, I believe the focus will shift toward FFXIV music (seeing as we are primarily a FFXIV site, after all!).

I look forward to giving these another listen when I get home today.

[Panda]

This time my favorite is Procession... so peppy~ My friend calls happy synthpop pieces "marshmallow music," so with that in mind hopefully it is not too weird that Procession made me think of candy. Like gumdrops. Other than the corresponding FF13 track it also initially made me think of the bgm from the "Fancy Mel" area in Square's Threads of Fate... after listening to that again it sounds quite different, maybe it was some of the instruments in the background (particularly at about 1:00?) that reminded me, and how it gradually builds up in the beginning. Thought I'd share since that's a game I loved. XD I keep noticing new things in the background as I listen again... there's really a lot to this piece. I think the same can be said about a lot of the others as well.

Second favorite was the other end of the scale, Ripe... slow and more serious and calm. Though I call Procession my favorite today (Pulse <333), I think I'll end up listening to Ripe more often in the long run. Come to think of it, now I'm appreciating how Procession slows down at the very end (at first I was a little sad it wasn't a perfect loop like Histoire... now I'm glad), it reminded me that I start to get sick of the sugary music if I don't take a break from it sometimes.

Apotheosis... I've learned a new word today! I particularly enjoy the part from 1:08 to 2:03 and again at 3:12+...

I agree with Val about Histoire, I've got it on loop right now and the piano makes it feel quite warm.

[Luso]

Delicious praise! On a serious note, thank you for your kind words! I intend to continue on with this project for quite some time. Future plans include to complete any tracks that I didn't feel were quite perfected for this update, as well as chip at the library of Final Fantasy XIV once it becomes legal to make derivative works from the content. Until the Non-Disclosure "ban" is lifted, you'll have to deal with some "familiar tones".

I am still working on some additional tracks both for this site and for general use. Here's a Legend Of Zelda: A Link To The Past arrangment, specifically the Dark World area from the latter half of the game:
http://www.pharaohat...MirrorImage.mp3

Very few people have heard that! I haven't used it for anything yet, nor uploaded to my site. So enjoy the "premier" as part of a reward for you actively checking Beyond Vana'diel! Ironically, the Zelda series soundtracks inspired the musical break involving the subtle choir undertones in the song Histoire. Sometimes things leak over from one thing I am working on to another.

To answer SPECIFIC questions.
Momotaru:
As far as the use of present, past, and future Final Fantasies, it is quite possible to see older tracks. However, since this is a "current events" site for Final Fantasies (mostly XI and XIV), those will probably be the focus. It's not that I don't WANT to let loose on that, but I'm still trying to preserve the general theme.

If you are interested in random takes I've done over the years of other Final Fantasy songs, you can check out my personal website at Pharaoh Atem Dot Com.

Siali/Val
I have been toying around with different vocal tracks and ideas. I got caught up in something Street Fighter IV related, but a Blessed By Her Glorious Light track is probably the next Final Fantasy related track I intend to do. I usually don't write checks like that, but it's something I've been really eyeing and I intend to "cash" it with all due diligence. I'm still looking at styles, arrangement, and ideas to get such a song put together.

Panda
You are right, there IS a lot going on in Procession. The percussion is simplistic to draw out the musical elements. I noticed when demo-ing it on different sound set ups, from various kinds of speakers (PC, Car, TV) to general headphones, the song has a really different sound each time. Some of the elements I meant to draw out get a little "blurry", and other elements "pop" better for the listener's ears. Whatever each person gets from it, I'm happy, but I know the song is completely out of my control once it's out there.

There was a lot of experimenting with these tracks. Various executions didn't fit under one specific category of music. As such an approach has worked so far, this might be how things continue to roll along ~ !

[Eorzea]

Luso, on Jun 8, 2010 - 10:48 AM, said:

I am still working on some additional tracks both for this site and for general use. Here's a Legend Of Zelda: A Link To The Past arrangment, specifically the Dark World area from the latter half of the game:
http://www.pharaohat...MirrorImage.mp3

Very few people have heard that! I haven't used it for anything yet, nor uploaded to my site. So enjoy the "premier" as part of a reward for you actively checking Beyond Vana'diel! Ironically, the Zelda series soundtracks inspired the musical break involving the subtle choir undertones in the song Histoire. Sometimes things leak over from one thing I am working on to another.

I really like that, Luso! Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is probably one of the games I played most while growing up, so it's rather nostalgic. I have had this song on loop for some 20 minutes now. Good stuff! Thanks for sharing it.

[Hydaelyn]

Luso, on Jun 8, 2010 - 10:48 AM, said:

Delicious praise! On a serious note, thank you for your kind words! I intend to continue on with this project for quite some time. Future plans include to complete any tracks that I didn't feel were quite perfected for this update, as well as chip at the library of Final Fantasy XIV once it becomes legal to make derivative works from the content.

That's great! I LOVE these new songs! They're all going on my iPod again. I don't think I can choose a favorite...

AND we get a piece from Zelda! Awesome.

[Eorzea]

Just a quick bump for anyone who may have missed out on these great pieces of music.

Do have a listen, will you?



I still love the "Procession" track quite a lot.

[Girseo]

I listened a few, and liked them a lot. If you guys dont mind i will be downloading a few of them on my Ipod.
Anticipation, Horizon and Promise Keeper are already on my favs.
I just downloaded everything ^^
Thanks for posting them

This post has been edited by Girseo: Jul 30, 2010 - 12:09 AM

[Eorzea]

I've gotta say, "Procession" remains one of my most played Project Soul Voice songs. It's so catchy/peppy and improves on the original in just about every way. I haven't played FFXIII yet, but I did listen to the original song on YouTube and your version is outstanding. Perhaps the original is better suited for the game and yours for listening to on an iPod/etc.? It's hard for me to say without first playing FFXIII, but I just want to once again extend my compliments on this piece.

[Xross Fire]

Having an error pop up when I try to choose the link?

[Eorzea]

Sorry about that. The URL was changed a month or so ago. There was an automatic redirect, but it seems to have expired. It is now fixed. You can either access the old URL and be redirected or go straight to the new one @ http://www.beyondvan...ject-soul-voice