Lanayru Sand Sea - Zelda: Skyward Sword║Reorchestration

A reorchestration of the Lanayru Sand Sea from The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. It was originally composed by Takeshi Hama, and therefore all rights go to him and to Nintendo.
In celebration of the new HD remaster of Skyward Sword releasing on the Switch, I thought I'd cover my favourite track from Skyward Sword and one of my all time favourite pieces from the whole series. Such an incredible piece, so atmospheric and emotive - the bells that repeat throughout, tolling as if to remind the player of a time long ago and the great sea that once was; a place once vibrant, colourful and full of life, now devoid of all but the dust and the shifting sands of a thousand years. The dunes but a pale imitation of the great waves of the before and each grain of sand a mere distant memory, a leftover of what used to be, destined to move around a barren wasteland for eternity. Haunting and ethereal, this track reminds you. Reminds you of what was, cruising on the vast sea of nothingness.
It really is a shame so many people seems to dislike Skyward Sword for various reasons, because they miss out on a fantastic OST that is far from unmemorable. While I have to admit the controls of the original haven't held up as quite too well, for a game 10 years old, everything else about it absolutely has. While there are things I agree and disagree with about this remaster, here's hoping people who missed out originally will have a chance to play through an even better and enhanced version of a truly stellar Zelda title.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Background video content and logo are from The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword and are owned by Nintendo.
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[@AidanBoldeman]

Man this part of the game was really just so fun and inspired.

[@MatthewNewsomeComposer]

Definitely 100% my favourite part! I've always wanted it to return to the series in some way or another (even maybe just as a reference in BoTW 2 or something) but somehow I don't think that'll ever happen. Although it is Nintendo, so literally anything could happen. But also it's Nintendo so, chances are a bit slim hahaha. The Timestone mechanic and sailing the dune sea and the lore, worldbuilding and overall vibe of this part of the game are simply fantastic.

[@brendanreilly4675]

@@MatthewNewsomeComposer when you think about it, the lanayru sand sea has appeared in other Zelda games as it’s the ocean of the Zelda world. It just changed over all the time periods. But I’d also love to see at least a reference to the skyward sword sand sea itself, maybe they could make a reinterpretation of skippers retreat island. I doubt it would happen though sadly

[@-NGC-6302-]

can confirm most of this game's soundtrack are in that "any few seconds are instantly recognizable" part of my memory

[@AnimalisaKeys]

I always loved this piece and it doesn't get hardly any attention. Thanks for re-orchestrating, it sounds great!

[@MatthewNewsomeComposer]

Thank you so much Annalisa! I definitely agree - it's such a shame it's so overlooked arrangement-wise, as it really is an amazing piece. I really enjoyed your piano cover of Crimson Loftwing too btw! Such a wonderful arrangement!

[@AnimalisaKeys]

@@MatthewNewsomeComposer Thank you :) I just love the soundtrack to Skyward Sword!

[@superpixeltea]

Excellent arrangement, love the atmosphere! This brings back memories of the coolest area in the game :)

[@MatthewNewsomeComposer]

Thank you so much pixel! A lot of fun synth pads and sampled textures running into some reverb programming and working hard underneath the strings really help to create an ambient soundscape. And I 100% agree! My favourite part of the game from when I first played, and still today, hands down : )

[@ShadowWizard224]

Gerudo Valley used to be my favorite desert theme in all of Zelda but I think this one definitely takes the spot and rightfully so…. Absolutely amazing 🙏

[@accursedstudios3289]

There is just something...so sad about this area of Hyrule. A raw natural dystopian land, with a aire of mystery to it. A once green and bountiful area by the sea, ravaged by over-mining. I remember first seeing this desert when I first played it all those years ago. I was fascinated when I really studied the map and noticed those patterns around the circular area looked strange to me, only to find out that it was in fact something else in the past. Totally gobsmacked. Now, years later, I stumble onto your orchestral remix of this land's iconic music. I find myself holding back tears thinking about what I felt back then. CONGRATULATIONS, that is a huge achievement for an artist: to elicit emotion from another due to nostalgia. Good job. You get a cookie! 👍

[@PokeMixr92]

My favorite theme from the game, beautifully reorchestrated... Fantastic job man 🥲

[@Gamedraco]

Forgot how beautiful this track was.

[@jwoodsonmusic]

I always get very excited seeing a new remix from you! They’re always incredible, and this one is no different! Amazing work, this re-orchestration sounds like it belongs in an official Zelda game. You did a great job retaining the atmosphere of the original while giving it your own spin.

[@MatthewNewsomeComposer]

Thank you so much Jacob! It was definitely tricky trying to find a perfect balance between staying faithful to the original and adding enough of my own flair, treading that fine line. The original is definitely one of the tracks from the game that was pretty much perfect as is, haha.

[@user-yw9hl2eo6o]

I usually don't comment under any video, but you definitely deserve it, you did such a great job, and this means a lot to me. As a speedrunner of this game I want to thank you, you made my day.

[@MatthewNewsomeComposer]

Thank you so much! Your comment has made MY day : )

[@damisaurus_rex]

I was worried this would be too different from the original... Was not disappointed. This rly captures the spirit of the original while also giving it a new sound. Amazing work!

[@agle9052]

Took the best overworld theme and somehow made it infinitely better. I love it!

[@Ashlin_]

I like this remix the most because this reorchestration remix sounds very ancient regal melody like-- like a dynasty with rich history of the old, kind of a dignified feel to it compared to the others I listened to

[@josepuente1562]

A la memoria de ❤️🙌🏽🥲"Laguna de Churince" en Cuatrociénegas 🇲🇽

[@mac189]

God this sound's amazing you did such a good job

[@BlaxeFrost-X]

I love that I've heard this theme so many times that youtube recomended me this now, love you google!

[@beastmodeslupdog1380]

Beautiful as always man

[@bolivaralmanza8819]

i love this

[@h311sl4yer]

im astonished this is amazing

[@edvardelnaes3151]

This is really good!

[@nottrustworthy6361]

Amazing. My favorite area of the game

[@loyalty2856]

I love listening to this during school!! So amazing!!

[@riflezen6049]

i i need an extended version of this this is beautiful

[@TongPik3]

super awesome recreation!!!!

[@AngelicZelda84]

Quite honestly, this has become my favorite remix of all time. Thank you for this.

[@Duhemsounds]

I love that theme, good take on it Matthew

[@subhaanneperera8397]

Really cool

[@felixalb6676]

Thank you for creating this reorchestration and putting it up here. It sounds really good :).

[@Xwansier]

Glad this was recommended to me finally. Mad it took so long.

[@RightJackAtYa]

You've earned yourself a sub! This takes the original and improves on it three fold!

[@Mitsu_Vagrant]

Holy shit this reorchestration is AMAZING.

[@shadowangel3823]

Ok this is sooo good. Gotta say this is just as good, if not better than the original. The atmosphere is much more intense and it sounds richer. You've done an awesome job right here. Your music got recommend to me and I'm so thankful for that. Hope that more people come across your chanel and your beautiful music!

[@therainbowtea18]

Oh my god this has to be one of the best covers (or whatever you'd like to call it) I've EVER heard! It's just so beautiful and adds to the base music so much!!! Amazing work!

[@RareSeldas]

Happy to be like number 400 for this. :)

[@FhPe]

we need a rendition of past and present lanayru desert theme the one we have is from 2012

[@rosalindsummers7564]

This sounds pretty cool! Did you sample the background bell hits from the original game track?

[@MatthewNewsomeComposer]

Thank you! And I did indeed! I don't know if you remember or not but, there's a version of the original that plays in Skipper's Retreat that uses only the pads and light background percussion. By using a technique called phase cancelling, I was able to overlay that version of the track on the main variants and isolate the bells and bass drum hits.

[@BlaxeFrost-X]

@@MatthewNewsomeComposer wow that's amazing

[@Kawabungadude77]

I legit almost cried, this is the place that I go to when I think about my place of peace. Edit: yeah I shed a few tears.

[@benjaminherrera3309]

First time I find a very talented person before reaching 1k subs. Honored to subscribe :) Love your taste in games btw!

[@MatthewNewsomeComposer]

Thank you so very much Benjamin! You're too kind! : )

[@KenzoGT]

what an underrated game...

[@Cloudyoctopus414]

This is def my fav overworld theme in any game and you my friend made it a million times more enjoyable. If you take requests I would love to see u re-orchestrate hyrule castle tower from twilight princess or the ghirahim fight theme phase 1 in SS

[@MatthewNewsomeComposer]

Thank you so much! I've got a long list of stuff I plan to get around to re-orchestrating and those two tracks are both on it!

[@Mayhemcalamity]

If I ever mod this game to ad orchestrated pieces this will probably be added

[@adamH.1]

This remix is beautiful! I love it even more than the original?

[@musicyak3471]

Oh wow it's so smooth. What software do you use?

[@MatthewNewsomeComposer]

Oh my gosh it's Music Yak! Thank youuu! My primary DAW for composing/arranging/mixing is Logic Pro X, but I often use Pro Tools for mastering and Sibelius for orchestrating. I live record a few instruments from my collection every now and then, but mostly use a whole bunch of virtual instruments (Spitfire Audio, Native Instruments, Performance Samples, SoundIron, etc) and plugins (from UAD and many more, as well as the stock Logic instruments and plugins too). Finally once the audio is finished, I do my video editing in iMovie.

[@musicyak3471]

@@MatthewNewsomeComposer Sweet. Thanks a lot!! I really want Logic Pro, but I stupidly decided to get rid of my Mac… :(

[@x4exr]

whats that gong instrument that play with a high note?

[@MatthewNewsomeComposer]

Hey there, great question! If you mean the one at roughly 0:22 - that's just a tubular bell hit that's been electronically edited so that the initial attack has a slower onset, but if you mean the lower secondary one around 0:24 or 0:26 (which is the same one used in the original track), I'm unfortunately not sure! I've been on a bit of a quest to find out exactly what sample was used - definitely an idiophone of some type, probably a suspended tuned gong, perhaps maybe an effected Javanese kenong or bonang... The closest lead I have is a Java Gong sample from Omnisphere (which was used heavily throughout the Skyward Sword Soundtrack) Java Gong - B2-G3, which was originally from Spectrasonic's "Heart of Asia" library. It definitely sounds close but I think it was layered in with other samples and processed. Hope that helps!

[@x4exr]

@@MatthewNewsomeComposer Oh wowww, its a very nifty sound, makes the song sound super super industrial and legendary!!

[@SlyHikari03]

It sounds more Irish/Greek in this version.