The String Revolution And Tina Guo Bring an Unlikely combination of Two Songs To Life, And The Result Is Uncanny
If you are looking for something a little different but really sort of immersive and colorful, with hints of theatrics and a blending of genre approaches and styles, then I have just the thing for you.
A release from renowned cellist Tina Guo and The String Revolution, an outstanding guitar trio, brings together some familiar phrases and melodies some of us might know.
Especially fans of a little game called Plants vs. Zombies, which is most certainly popular and hit its height probably a few years back, but is definitely still going quite strong.
What this blissful combination of musicians did was bring together a theme from Plants vs. Zombies called "Crazy Dave's Theme," but also lace in melodies and certain progressions from Billie Eilish's song "bad guy."
If you know both of these pieces, you're going to be pretty taken aback by how they brought the themes together and made it work so seamlessly.
Someone definitely heard the two naturally forming together in their head and pretty much just realized it could be done in a certain way. That someone was actually Steve Schnur, President of Music at EA, the creators of the game. He is the one who actually brought the idea straight to The String Revolution and got the wheels turning.
And they definitely did it. They pulled this off without a hitch, and it's so addictive because you have the guitar trio, who give you amazing nylon-stringed tones, melodies, and texture, brought together with the cello, bringing in a sort of filmic tone. The guitar trio also use their instruments percussively, which is a bit of a classic move with Spanish guitar or even flamenco performance.
You can hear those kinds of influences in the song, but they do it in their own way, and Tina's cello changes the game quite a bit.
The song comes in calmer but catches you right away. The vibe of the piece is right there and grabs you from the start, but it also builds as it plays through.
Before long, you have more tracks coming in with vocals doing what sounds almost like a chant, but those are pushed to the background a bit and aren't layered atop the rest of the song like traditional vocals would be.
Instead, they blend in and help build more atmosphere and depth while still remaining almost evocative, bringing us back to that theatrical feel.
The cello is performed and used differently throughout the track. At times, she gives these quick bowed sections similar to what you would hear in certain scenes of a horror movie. This gives the song that element of eeriness it needs, and this is also part of the vibe.
After all, the song is called "Bad Zombies." Again, that blend of Plants vs. Zombies and "bad guy" put together.
Other times, the cello is used more at the forefront, and at others, it pushes the backing melodies, giving more thickness to the sound of it all.
This is all about really intense layering and giving the piece that haunting sound. The guitars, percussion, and cello, combined with vocals and more, all let the song hit with a graceful haunt indeed.
You can hear the parts and notes, melodies, and aesthetics of both "Crazy Dave's Theme" and "bad guy" fusing together in different ways throughout the song.
The main themes and melodies come through amazingly, and the performances from all players are enthralling and have a certain kind of vibrancy to them that breathes life into this piece and puts you in the moment with it somehow.
I feel like this is a great track, especially with Halloween coming very shortly, as the whole vibe fits the holiday.
So, perhaps it's perfect timing. Either way, this is not one you want to miss, simply because it's such a smart and outside-the-box idea, pulled off with such flawless execution.
It's not just for people who know the Billie Eilish song or play Plants vs. Zombies; it's also for anyone who loves these sorts of contemporary classical pieces that have those bigger elements of thematic undertone and breed bits of cinematic soundscape.
It's very easy, and quite fun, to get wrapped up in this track.
Kudos to The String Revolution and Tina Guo, and especially Steve Schnur at EA for putting this together.
Listen carefully.
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