Animal Crossing x Chrono Trigger: Jolly Ol' Horizons | The Hard Modes
24"Jolly Ol' Horizons" is our jazz arrangement and mashup of two beloved VGM themes: “Opening Theme" (Animal Crossing: New Horizons) by Toshiki Konishi and "Jolly Ol' Spekkio" (Chrono Trigger) by Yasunori Mitsuda. It is the sixth arrangement in our ‘LAN Sessions’ series (but fifth release!).
Before I get into some heavy stuff, I need to acknowledge that Brandon isn't playing the wrong intervals for the New Horizons theme—I completely botched the transcription back in May and didn't realize I had gotten it wrong until I kept listening to the theme while getting footage of the opening 8 months later. I'M SORRY TO TOTAKA-SAN, ALL THE ANIMAL CROSSING LOVERS, AND ALL OF OUR FANS OUT THERE THAT BELIEVE IN US.
Now the heavy stuff:
This track has quite a bit of history at this point. Recorded back in July 2021, it was meant not only to be our last LAN Sessions track, but to be a signal, of sorts, to the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. By that time, all of the Modes were vaccinated, and we were looking forward to the return of playing live gigs.
Live gigs did return! On July 27 we played our first gig back at Starr Hill in our hometown, Charlottesville, VA. One of the reasons that this track is so late to release is because the band was gigging so much (both as the Modes and in other jazz groups) that it fell by the wayside.
However: clearly, the pandemic did not end as we had hoped. At the time of upload, we're in the middle of the largest wave of the pandemic, brought on by the Omicron variant.
When I had finished this arrangement and over the months that we played it live (along with some "St. Thomas"-quoted backgrounds not featured here!), I was trying to figure out what I should call it. I went from "Jolly Ol' Animal Crossing" to "Jolly New Horizons" to "Jolly Ol' Horizons," and it wasn't until now that I really felt that the last in the list is the most fitting.
"Animal Crossing: New Horizons" was *the* game of the first year of the pandemic. My original intention with this arrangement was that it would pay homage to something that brought us joy and kept us connected in those first months while ushering in a new era—a "jolly new horizon," if you will.
The new, final meaning is more somber. We are in a time of rampant, incomprehensible, pointless death and inescapable trauma that will affect us in ways that we have yet to experience. While we were bright-eyed about our vaccinated future a year ago, there's no telling in this new surge when we will emerge from the end of the tunnel—nor what we will be emerging into. Thus, this arrangement is more of a memory of those better times when we thought our new horizon was near.
I hold onto hope that 2022 will be different and in later years we can remember this year's jolly ol' horizons, as well as look forward to jolly new ones.
- Greg
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The Hard Modes are:
Greg Weaver - Saxophones
Brandon Walsh - Flugelhorn
Gabe Planas - Keys
Andre La Velle - Bass
Pat Hayes - Drums
Audio Engineering - Andre La Velle
Video Editing - Greg Weaver
Animal Crossing is ©Nintendo Co., Ltd.
Chrono Trigger is ©Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd.
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The Hard Modes is a combo based in Charlottesville, VA, that approaches its collision of jazz and VGM with nonstop, controller-bashing fury.
The Modes focus on the art of the Limit Break. They arrange around the improvisational moment, using modern jazz harmonic and rhythmic twists to push themselves to the max and turn VGM classics - and a healthy smattering of deep cuts - on their heads in a way where “Uematsu meets Mingus.”
Their goal is to unearth the natural pairing of jazz and VGM, bringing fans of each genre together in ways they may not suspect. They believe that by utilizing their own individual interpretations of the jazz language through improv they are able to forge closer bonds with the game music that we all love, creating a unique personal experience for their listeners.
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