Crowning Music of Awesome: Ascension to Cosmo Canyon by Reuben Kee

     In my downtime when I am not researching music to write about, I am usually planning story arcs for a webcomic series I am working on. I usually find music helps with that and depending on what I am writing depends on the music I will be listening to. When writing an action scene, dramatic or even a romantic scene, I find music to be a tool I utilize the most.

     Enter Ascension to Cosmo Canyon by the late Reuban Kee. When I came across this song, I was working on my variation of the orcs for the series and I appreciated what Blizzard had done turning a normally war crazed, battle driven race into more of the Proud Warrior type. They had an appreciation for the world around them. I wanted to utilize that myself but wanted to distance myself so it didn't seem like too much of a copy of Blizzards Orcs. The moment I heard this song, I knew what I had to do.

     Ascension to Cosmo Canyon is a beautifully composed piece. Kee is at his best here, even when comparing to his other work such as To Far Away Times/The Place We Knew, Legend of the Snake, and Ryu for Four Pianos. The song starts off typically as a piano piece but changes abruptly by the 1:30 mark to more of a tribal beat. The piano work is almost drowned out by the rhythmic drumming and Japanese style flutes. Kee went into foreign territory here using new instruments to remix this track. It is an incredibly awe inspiring and inspirational piece of music.

     Cosmo Canyon has always had a special place in my heart. While it's not as memorable as other tracks from the game like Cid's Theme, Cry of the Planet and J-E-N-O-V-A, I still appreciate it because it tried to emulate Native music and I have always enjoyed Tribal music. The use of percussion and wood wind instruments give the music a truly unique sound that is almost rarely heard in other kinds of music.

     Reuban Kee's passing back in November of 2007 left a large hole in the remix community. He was a gifted pianist and brought a unique sound to the listeners of OCRemiX. I am glad to say that his site still exists as a tribute and all the musical work is there. I would highly encourage you to visit the site and get his music. You can find his work at http://www.reubenkee.com and OCremiX.

     This is Daimo Mac and I am lost in the music.