This will be the first of at least two significant updates to this website, the second of which is coming in the next month or two. If you browse the different sections you’ll notice much of the text has been rewritten in a different, more unique style, and the Services page has been significantly expanded. Video tutorials were added to the Tutorials section as well, and my bio/gear list have both gotten a much-needed update.

Keeping this brief since there’s lots more work that needs to be done… stay tuned, and don’t forget to pick up Super Street Fighter II Turbo: HD Remix, featuring my remix Flying Heaven!

Fresh off the front page of OverClocked ReMix, “Nuclear Flash” (with Sixto Sounds) is a killer drum and bass take on Flash Man’s theme from Mega Man 2. Lots of influence from Pendulum, so if you liked “Slam”, “Blood Sugar”, or “Granite”, you’ll definitely like this one.

Download it for free at the VG remixes page!

If you haven’t been following Capcom news lately, you might have missed that in addition to their upcoming Street Fighter IV title, they are also working on a complete remake and upgrade to the classic game Super Street Fighter II Turbo for Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. This update, titled Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix (or just “HD Remix” for short) features entirely redrawn art with 1080p sprites, rebalanced gameplay, new moves, and an entirely new soundtrack.

As you might imagine, the music for HD Remix is why I’m posting here. The game designers have chosen to use all arranged and remixed music for the new soundtrack, with all the musicians being from OverClocked ReMix. Pretty awesome, eh? A lot of the tracks are coming from the SSF2II Turbo remix album Blood on the Asphalt but there’s also a lot of new and revised stuff as well.

I was honored that one of my own remixes, “Flying Heaven” (Fei Long’s theme) was selected for use in this upcoming game, which I’m really excited about. The actual track in game is split into two versions, a normal and a fast edit, both of which are revised and polished compared to the original remix from BoTA.

Another neat thing: GameTrailers.com decided to use my song for about 95% of the new interview & gameplay trailer posted a few days ago. Thanks GT!

UPDATE 3/21: Looks like GT used “Flying Heaven” exclusively in another SF trailer, this one for Street Fighter IV!

A little over a month ago I saw a contest posted at Squaresound.com, an unofficial hub for all music Square-related. Contestants were invited to remix any Nobuo Uematsu track for the chance at winning some nice concert tickets. I went through and scrapped three sketches before I finally arrived on an idea I liked, and submitted it twenty minutes before the contest deadline. So, seeing this post on the front page of Squaresound was definitely a pleasant surprise:

“All the judging reports are in, and we have a winner of our Tribute to Nobuo Uematsu Arrangement Competition! With an impressive combined score of 96.22% from our judges for his Final Fantasy VI medley entitled “Dirt Devil,” Andrew Aversa is our winner! Congratulations Andrew!

For his efforts, Andrew will receive two free VIP tickets to the upcoming Distant Worlds: Music from Final Fantasy concert in Chicago, Illinois on March 1, 2008. These tickets include prime seats at the concert, a free program and concert CD, and the ability to attend an exclusive meet-and-greet with Nobuo Uematsu following the performance. He’ll also receive a copy of the OverClocked ReMix fan album Final Fantasy VII: Voices of the Lifestream.“

OK, so getting a copy of my own album is pretty funny, but this contest has turned out to be an awesome experience. With 52 other contestants, I’m sure things were really close - I loved the runner-up entries, personally. Kenley Kristofferson of the Into the Score podcast had the second place spot
with an awesome Final Fantasy VI big band arrangement, which I was happy to see since he’s a great guy and a real champion of video game music as legitimate art.

Anyway, despite the distance, I’ll be heading to the Distant Worlds concert in two weeks with Jillian Goldin and I think we’re both going to be reduced to fanboy and fangirl (respectively) when we get to meet Uematsu after the show. I’ll let y’all know how it goes!

(Oh, and you can download the winning remix right here.)

Yo! If you check the video game remixes section you’ll find that three tracks I was involved in for the Final Fantasy 7 ReMix project are available for download now. They are: “Deliverance of the Heart”, “Lunatic Moon”, and “Nomura Limit”. They’re available at OCR too, but in case you like getting all your zircon MP3s in one place, I figured I’d put ‘em up here too.

I’d also like to announce the addition of a new EP to my studio album page. Titled “The World Circuit”, it’s an 8-song, 20-minute adventure through a range of electronic and ethnic styles. Within the next few days you will be able to hear previews and pick up an MP3 version at CD Baby - it is also available in my shop as a digital WAV download. I don’t have any plans to print it up at this time. If you’re looking for a CD full of progressive breaks this might not be your thing, but if you’re at all interested in world music, soundtrack music, or interesting combinations of melody, harmony, and rare instruments, check it out.

So, this post is actually a little late, but things have been very busy and I’ve barely had any free time to sit down and write a news post. You’ve undoubtedly heard of this if you visit OC ReMix; for the last 20 months I’ve been directing a remix project called “Voices of the Lifestream”, a collaborative effort between over 40 musicians that spans 45 songs from the soundtrack Final Fantasy VII. On September 14th, it was finally released to the public and very quickly became the most downloaded and heavily-trafficked torrent on OCR.

VotL has been a ton of work - besides coordinating nearly everything, I contributed in varying amounts to five arrangements on the project and edited/mastered about a dozen more. However, it has been well worth it. A review at Music4Games summarized the album as being “one of the most impressive and encompassing listening experiences in the world of video game music.” The music is not grounded in any one style; there are hard trance remixes, solo piano, acoustic guitar, jazz, j-pop, metal, new age, and everything in between. Some have criticized it for this reason, but I contend that FFVII’s soundtrack is so diverse, that trying to pigeonhole it into one genre, or even three or five, would be doing it a disservice. I feel that by letting talented musicians collaborate and create their own unique interpretations, with no guidelines other than the basic standards of quality on OCR, the best result is achieved.

So, if you’re a fan of zircon, FFVII, OC ReMix, or just good music in general, you have nothing to lose by checking out the VotL website and downloading it. Remember, all the music is FREE!

One more time for good measure: “Voices of the Lifestream” Project Website (ff7.ocremix.org)

Enjoy!

ps. I will be posting some collaborations I was involved in, as well as a solo track I did for the project, shortly.

ANTIGRAVITY, my third original album, has officially started shipping today worldwide! It’s the biggest zircon release yet, featuring no less than four other artists and nearly outselling Impulse Prime in preorders alone. Pick up your copy at CD Baby for $14.99 or head to the Zircon Studios shop for the digital version. It’s also available on iTunes!

If you head to the video game remixes section you’ll also see a new remix, “Above Reason” from the game Streets of Rage 2. This is an old-school collab between myself and tefnek with some help from Rellik. It’s a big beat, butt-kickin’ romp through the stage 4 music, “Under Logic”. As always, check out OverClocked ReMix for more great FREE arrangements of both classic and modern video game tunes.

You may have also noticed that I have a new website! Having been in the works for nearly a year, my good friend & colleague from the days of VGDJ, Chad Behnke (aka Cyan_Ide) has finished the site you see before you - available in both Flash AND HTML. He was also the art designer for Antigravity’s packaging and insert. Give the man a round of applause! (But don’t forget to shoot him an email if you are encountering technical difficulties - he’s the new webmaster!)

Time for some more video game remix action. This time it’s “Monstrous Turtles!” from the game Super Mario World, and you can pick it up at the video game remixes section. My third album - which has now been named “Antigravity” - is also about 3/4 done, so expect some BIG news within the next 3 months.