The Blake Robinson Synthetic Orchestra has become a mainstay on my MP3 player. His incredible arrangements of well-known game music, both within the RPG sphere and beyond, feature high-quality faux instrumentation that sounds like it should cost a boatload of money to produce. My relatively untrained ear can discern virtually no difference between his work and that of a live orchestra, which is impressive to say the least. Last year, he took a shot at recreating the Final Fantasy IV Main Theme, and the results are superb.
The track wastes no time, beginning with a speedy violin buildup that leads into the bombastic main melody, played on brass and drums. Gentler instruments then take the spotlight as the melody is led by flute, followed by piano, and then ramps back up into high-energy mode before settling down one final time. There’s some beautiful violin in the harmony during the slower sections, and the delicately-played piano is lovely.
It’s a short track, but Blake Robinson knocked this one out of the park. Incidentally, it makes for great background music when travelling via hovercraft.
