Duration: 4:05

2,488 views

90

i'll never look at mirrors the same way ever again

so... oh boy this was a tough one to arrange. so let's just dive right into why this song is so hugely important to me. i'm sure you all have learned over the years how great of a game Celeste is so i don't need to waste my time telling you about it. I feel like Celeste is morea bout the emotional journeys it takes you through. the game is as much about platforming and climbing mountains as it is about climbing over your own personal struggles. of course, there's nothing unique about my experience playing it, but what is unique is how we did grow from it.

so for me, the music really blew me away lol. not a surprise, it's Lena Raine after all. but after looking into the sheet music and music theory of the game, it's kind of crazy how "simple" the music is, yet it's packed with emotion. Resurrections is 4 chords the whole song, but stays dreamlike and somber. the voicing of Scattered and Lost depends on what progression you take in the level, and the original Quiet and Falling is dreamlike and ambient and mystical. there's even an easter egg of Lena whispering about how she doesn't recognize herself (which is supposedly Madeline's narration) thrown in the music, and it's such a nice touch. and yet, the B Side takes those mystical chords, ostinatos, and dreadful emotions and adds a sick melody and funky drumbeat. it's such a fun and interesting combination of mystical feelings and funky fresh beats that i just couldn't not arrange it! lol.

probably the most important thing for me is the stuff outside of the game in the real world. i'm sure most of you knew, but Madeline the main character is trans, which kinda represents the creator of the game Maddy Thorson who is also trans. on top of that, Lena Raine is trans too! aside from the awesome representation, the game really blew me off the ground when put in the context of "climbing the mountain of transitioning", and it's super motivating and inspiring for me since i'm trans. the panic attacks, self-doubt, pushing yourself way harder than you should to "prove yourself", all of the game just really clicked with me. so arranging this song was just an emotional warground of deciding what emotions to reflect in the song lol

anyways, as for the music itself!! hope you learned something from that ramble lol. i started arranging this song back in 2019 but lost traction, and immediately picked it back up in January of 2022 after playing the game myself over Christmas. this song was also my 2nd 32-channel arrangement, so i ended up having a difficult time sorting channels and getting tons of instruments. but it ended up allowing for a MUCH wider and thicker sound, and let me detail instruments more so absolutely worth it. for a nice detail, i made it so almost every melody, bg and bassline has 2 versions of itself; one gentle sample and a harsher sample to contrast, to reflect Madeline and Badeline of course. oh and i added Lena's whisper easter egg too, see if you can find it ;3

lastly i hope you enjoy the video editing. had lots of fun making Madeline and Badeline dance lol. and please don't be too judgmental of my sloppy attempt at the B-Sides it's been a while i played them lmao