Not being able to listen to music whilst working! It is seriously something that people should not take for granted.
When I do get the chance I find myself listening to soundtracks more and more as I really think that is where the truly talented musicians and composers work these days. Don’t get me wrong, there are some fantastic artists (past, present and upcoming).
There’s one album that’s been a favourite of mine for a long while now. It’s called Final Fantasy VII: Voices of the Lifestream, it’s a collection of tracks selected from the fantastic FF7 soundtrack and remade in various genres using a variety of instruments and production techniques. Best bit about it? It’s entirely free! Check it out and download it here – http://ff7.ocremix.org/
My favourite track from has to be The Golden Ivories of Gaia which is a beautifully composed and perfectly put together piece of music that encompasses all the key tracks from the original soundtrack, played by a single pianist classically and opens with one of my favourite tracks of all time, Lifestream (also from FF7 OST http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9v7hx93IQM).
But I also have a soft spot for the intro of the remade One Winged Angel, the first ten seconds of the melody are recreated beautifully through chiptune which then slowly crossfades with the orchestra. It sounds brilliant.
