New Arrangement: "Apojii Islands" from Golden Sun: The Lost Age (2002)
As requested, here is another theme from the classic JRPG, "Golden Sun: The Lost Age" (2002) - "Apojii Islands", from the ethnic Apojii Archipelago!
Feel free to download the score and recording here!
If you are one of my Patrons, you can now find the MIDI, XML and SIB files I created for this arrangement now available to download from your Patreon Google Drive folder!
Arranger's Note:
"The Sakuraba original makes strong use of steel drums, which are of Trinidadian origins. Therefore, I decided to treat this arrangement as a Trinidadian festive work.
As such, I have utilized several traditional instruments from Trinidad, not solely through steel drums, but also with "Tamboo Bamboo" and the local drum, the "Tassa". Of course, there is the option to substitute these for more traditional Western instruments instead.
As for the track itself, it is very simple, oscillating strictly between only 3 chords: C major, F major, and G major. For further interest, I added a sneaky little shift to A minor at 0:31, as well as some chordal inversions in the bass steel drum, which is an entirely original part in this arrangement.
Further, I've added a substantial amount of percussive material (outside of the original's single percussive strike on each off-beat) to create a more communal and festive aesthetic (similar to "Drums of Daila"), as if an entire village are playing along to this jolly little theme.
As some side trivia, due to the fact this track revolves around mostly 3 chords, it reminded me of "The Procession of Celestial Beings" from the Studio Ghibli film, "The Tales of Princess Kaguya", which had a similarly festive aesthetic, albeit for a tragic context."
