In Kingdom Hearts, with nearly every field/town theme comes a corresponding battle theme. Epic battles need epic music, and battle themes are usually driven by strong percussion or otherwise strong rhythms. This particular battle theme includes one of my favorite rhythmic components, our topic for today: syncopation.
STA: KHUx.03 – Daybreak Town / A Quick Look at Instrumentation and Intimacy
Ah, one of the first original themes written specifically for Kingdom Hearts Unchained X. Daybreak Town is the first land that you visit in the game, and I would consider it the “home town”, as it keeps coming back as the area where most of the important story-line events occur.
While I immensely enjoy “Dearly Beloved“, “Precious Stars in the Sky“, and other short musical loops that are included in this game, “Daybreak Town” is particularly special simply because of how long the loop is. Clocking in at around 1:30, there is so much time and space for development, instrumental melody-passing, and even modulation.
STA: KHUx.02 – Precious Stars in the Sky / A Lesson in “Steam Iron” Modulation
“Precious Stars in the Sky” is a simple, lovely piece of music that plays in the Quest Selection menus in Kingdom Hearts Unchained X. The original version of this piece was in Kingdom Hearts I, but this exact arrangement of the piece was actually also used in Kingdom Hearts 1.5 Remix HD, though I am unsure as to where exactly it was used (probably in a quest-selection sort of area as well).
STA: KHUx.01 – Dearly Beloved / A Lesson in Variation
It has been said by the great Yoko Shimomura herself that “Dearly Beloved” is her favorite composition. An absolutely gorgeous track, simple yet oh-so poignant, “Dearly Beloved” tugs at the heartstrings of and evokes powerful nostalgia in all Kingdom Hearts fans, especially die-hard fans that have been invested in this saga since the beginning 15 years ago.
Whimsically Theoretical is 1 Year Old! ^_^ + New Series
Games currently playing: Kingdom Hearts Unchained X/Union Cross, Brave Frontier, Fire Emblem: Awakening
Hello readers! I am so happy to say that today marks the 1-Year Anniversary of Whimsically Theoretical!! Yaaayyy!!! At this time one year ago, I had been writing for a different music website, and while that was a great experience, I wanted to begin focusing on music that I was passionate about, which was not being showcased over there. I decided to take a chance and start my own website, sending cold e-mails and soundcloud messages to video game composers I found online (ADreamer and Schematist were the first two! ^_^). It has been such a beautiful journey, and I have learned quite a lot in just one year!
Hollow Bastion: A Lesson in Irregular Time Signatures
Special Note: This is the first of many articles to come that will have a full audio track available! Since this article focuses on time signatures and beat divisions, it may be helpful to listen to the audio track and follow along. If you can’t make the time to sit and listen/read the whole thing in one sitting, though, there are shorter audio clips after each musical excerpt shown. The audio track is about 17 minutes long.
Ms. Russell’s Happiness Report for Tuesday, February 28
I’ll be honest, work has been a bit stressful for me this past week. So I decided that I would do another one of these “Happiness Reports”, to publicly share what I am appreciative for in my life, despite some minor hardships. Just a simple list, in no particular order, of some happy things in my life.
Interview with Tiantian Liu
As the composer of many independent animated films, Tiantian Liu writes music that is both charming and captivating. I immensely enjoyed the diversity of tracks from her website, and decided to reach out to ask for an interview. We had a wonderful conversation, from Beijing to California, where she shared her ideas about composition and cooking, the importance of communication, and plans for her new studio.
WT Ep. 2: Final Fantasy Brave Exvius OST Unboxing
Games currently playing: Brave Frontier, Final Fantasy: Brave Exvius, Kingdom Hearts Unchained, Fire Emblem Heroes, Fire Emblem Awakening
Episode 2 is now up! Watch my unboxing of Final Fantasy Brave Exvius here! ^_^
“Nothing compares to having a beautiful CD… Nothing compares, nothing compares…”
Interview with Ahmed Elian
I admit that I am not usually much of a fan of rock music. I don’t necessarily dislike it—it’s just that that particular instrumental combination doesn’t usually do it for me. But Ahmed Elian‘s progressive rock music was somehow different. I was drawn in and enthralled by his intricately arranged and gorgeously developed progressive rock tracks. Lucky for me, he eagerly accepted my interview request! We had an incredibly fun and thought-provoking conversation, from Cairo to California, where the humble and good-natured composer talked about inspirational games (particularly Undertale), odd time signatures, and compositional option anxiety.
Whimsically Theoretical 