Bonds of Sea and Flame from Xenogears

Who loves you? I do! Have another upload! And a live recording at that, aren't you lucky? You get to watch my double chin jiggle as I work my way through this cool Mitsuda piece.

Arranger's thoughts: When I decided to do this piece, the interpretation began from the beginning, starting with the title itself. Bond of Sea and Flame. What does this title express to you, when you read it? For me, bond was self-explanatory, as the coming together of two things, but what really interested me was the "Sea and Flame," aspect. Water and fire...two things that couldn't be more diametrically opposed. What would a bonding of these two things look like or, more importantly, sound like? What other things can you think of that play with the idea of the coming together of two very different things?

For me, it immediately made me think of Yin and Yang, and from there, the idea of "the masculine," and "the feminine." This became an idea I couldn't shake and was ultimately expressed in the piece with the interplay between the melody and the bassline. I became very interested in the idea of a man and a woman, singing together, and the way their vocal differences would come together in harmony. So, when you listen to the piece, after the harmonics in the intro, picture it as two individuals singing. You have the feminine, floating on top, supported by the masculine underneath. This was why I didn't simply make the bassline repeat over and over like the original but changed the rhythms up as it went. It's two simple melodies, layering on top of each other, both of equal importance.

When you perform this piece, I want you to keep that in mind. The bass, rather than being secondary, stands on equal footing with the melody. You'll notice I was making an effort to add vibrato in the bassline, to really bring out the idea that this was a male SINGING, rather than simply being notes played on a guitar. The bass needs to ring clear and true, and not be overpowered by the melody above it, but support it and add to it. With that intention understood, you can then add your OWN voice to it with your interpretation.

Bonds of Sea and Flame (Xenogears) - The Bear's Den (kabukibear.com)