Remember Me

Olivier Deriviere

 
" The composer had one thing on his mind when he composed this, REMEMBER ME "

Written by Thomas Glorieux - Review of the download only release

It's time to join the craziness of the community. The craziness game wise at least ;-) Because lately all you hear is Remember Me. A video game published by Capcom about Nilin, a memory hunter in Neo Paris 2084. She lives in a world where memories can be stored inside a brain implant, able to erase unhappy feelings or thoughts, allowing the company to basically control almost 99% of the population's mind. A few resist and battle this dominant control, and Nilin so happens to be the key to their only chance of success.

Sounds wild doesn't it? Well, Olivier Derivière just spices things up with one of this year's craziest experiences. Considering the character has no memory of what has happened to her, her status is confusing and fragmented. And Derivière conveniently plays along with this fragmented status by adding a most original sound to this confusion. At first, an orchestral performance was recorded. This was then digitized and electronically manipulated, allowing the player to actually feel what a fragmented mind feels like. This process makes the experience of gaming thoroughly life like, but also the listening experience confusing and riveting at the same time.

Which means, be ready for an experience unlike anything you ever heard yet. Expect your music to delay effects, stop melodies and enhance it all with electronic effects. Enough to give you a headache, but enough as well to let your mind go wild. By far, the most wild experience I've heard these past few years. And considering it's coming from Olivier Derivière (a man who has delivered us original creations as Alone in the Dark and Of Orcs and Men), it's proof the gaming community has an unstoppable freedom for creating daring music, something Hollywood has put a lit on these past few years.

Now, post processing aside, Remember Me sounds huge. Think of Tron Legacy, The Matrix (an obvious inside joke to the character Neo) and stuff from the recent James Bond movies. Meaning a comeback of 2 composers we have missed too much these past few years. The trumpet work of Don Davis is all over the place here, and James Bond's action material is often even more thunderous than in their initial films. The Tron sound adds to the futuristic environment of the game. And everything is held together by a solo vocal theme that stands for Nilin, the hero of this story. It opens the score with "Nilin the Hunter" and it literally is scattered all over the place.

However what's setting this experience on fire is most definitely the fusion of orchestra and electronica. It goes without saying the effects are added to enhance as much as possible the experience of the game. And even if they go utterly berserk from time to time, they also enhance a most original listening experience. The feeling of listening to a electronic soundscape in "The Enforcers" is just so darn cool, the feeling of blowing one's mind with "Chase Through Montmartre" (a frenetic combination of the most epic orchestral music of James Bond and The Matrix that's altered digitally) is like waiting for an explosion to happen. Ironically that explosion comes through one of the best heroic Nilin theme statements on this album.

And from that point on, Derivière goes on a rollercoaster ride where orchestra and effects go hand in hand. The power that's rising in "Memory Reconstruction" and the action packed "The Fight" is just mind boggling. What a ride it is "The Fight", a heroic powerhouse piece that will have a place in this year's top 5 list of best cues easily (altered or not). And all this leads to "The Zorn", definitely this album's biggest overkill cue altered wise.

And what's not action based is only adding more originality to the experience. The ambient Blade Runner like "Rise to the Light" is so astounding to listen to, the way the word memory is used as a constant returning melody in "Fragments" is catchy and original, the wonderful way "Neo Paris" is constructed through the returning use of the vocal theme and mysterious strings creates a unique world on its own, the hypnotizing use of vocals in the utterly cool "The Ego Room" is enough to make you a believer and the utterly tantalizing beauty of "The Parents" is enough to make you emotional.

This all ends with the non tampered "Hope" cue, a sign our hero has made it possible for people to experience their memories without the control of anyone or anything. This hopeful finale is soft but lovelyl and shows us a world without tampering, a sound without manipulation, a hero with a fragile but hopeful future.

I have heard Olivier Derivière create some original scores in my life, personal creations that were enhanced by sheer originality and beautiful complexity. But Remember Me surely outclasses them all. I had issues with the tampering of the recording at first, in a way I still do. Because who wouldn't want to hear the untouched orchestral performance of this score? But then we would miss the point, the goal of this composer's intentions. And that is to literally place oneself in the body and mind of Nilin. Well mission accomplished. So it goes without saying that you'll remember this experience all right once you played, heard and experienced it for the very first time. A complex thrill ride from start to finish, it is the feeling once you experienced The Matrix for the very first time. Merci beaucoup Mr. Derivière.

Favorite Moment - The Fight (2.08 - 2.33)
Hearing this heroic bombastic music over enhanced effects is simply the icing on the cake

Track Listing

1. Nilin the Hunter (3.27) Excellent track
2. Rise to the Light (3.35)
3. Still Human (3.12)
4. Fragments (2.19)
5. Neo Paris (4.01)
6. The Enforcers (2.15)
7. Chase Through Montmartre (4.43) Excellent track
8. Memory Reconstruction (3.14) Excellent track
9. The Fight (3.21) Excellent track
10. Our Parents (2.25) Excellent track
11. Memorize (3.59) Excellent track
12. The Ego Room (3.00)
13. Remember Your Childhood (4.04)
14. The Zorn (2.28)
15. Hope (3.02) Excellent track

Total Length: 49.05
(click to rate this score)  
 
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(total of 13 votes - average 4.27/5)

Released by

ITunes no label number (download only release 2013)

Performed by

The Philharmonia Orchestra