Albedo: Contemplation in Chalk (Contemplation in Snow) - Remix Cover (Genshin Impact)

Composition by Yu-Peng Chen
Music by Vetrom

#GenshinImpact #Remix #Cover

[bluetoadettethegoddess]

Hearing that bit of Klee's theme at the end of Albedo's always puts a smile on my face

[DPDM]

Albedo's theme is really underrated

[cjmarshall]

The Universe, the sable essence of the starry void.

Earth, the accumulative memory of time and being.

Soil, the origin of Alchemy, the basis of life.

Chalk, the substance from which primal life was molded.

And from Soil was birthed Chalk.

[KitNWei]

Albedo's theme is so underrated, like it's magical yet, , kinda "si-fi"? Amazing track, amazing remix, my mad respect, as always 💙

[momsaccount]

POG- that ethereal feeling really hits at the very beginning

[momsaccount]

I really love the ethereal sounding part at the very beginning of the video. It reminds me of soundtracks people would use for space documentaries and similar stuff. Then at the snap of Albedo’s fingers (plus a very nice sound effect), the percussion ramps up, the synth used for the majority of the track is introduced here, and the piano is also introduced here right before the guitar (at least I think it’s an electric guitar). I love the combination of piano and synth throughout the piece. While the piano is an instrument with a long history, it is also one of the more technically complex instruments out of all the ones whenever somebody imagines a “classical instrument”. I mean, it’s a percussion and a string instrument at the same time without sounding like any other percussion or string instrument. The kinds of sounds and songs you can get out of the piano are practically infinite and the piano itself is an instrument of many roles. Thematically, it’s the perfect instrument to represent Albedo’s seemingly cold and distant “genius in a cave in the mountain” but is actually a very warm person on the inside character (that was a mouthful) since you can make very sharp sounds with the piano but it can also be an instrument that can provide very warm and soothing noises for the ear. While people would assume that Albedo is cold and purely objective focused akin to perhaps a robot, it is Albedo’s keen observation of details that not only makes him a great artist and alchemist, but also a very caring person (god this comment is going to be a long one isn’t it?) The synth is a very obvious choice of instrument for this track but only because it really is a perfect instrument to use for said track. Similar to the piano, the synth can be used in a wide variety of styles. In contrast to the piano however, comparatively, the synth is a very recent way of making music that can provide a very literal electronic texture to a song. Though, given the context, the synth doesn’t necessarily have to give a futuristic feeling (you can use it for horror tracks or dubstep, 80’s style synth wave hip hop stuff or even lo-fi beats for example), but I believe that’s what HoYo-Mix and Yu-Peng were going for for this specific song. Altercation to the world, bringing forth artificial life. The art of Khemia sounds like a very advanced art is it not? One change I noticed is that in the original, right after the guitar impact, they use the piano for the main melody whereas here the synth is used instead. A subtle yet different take that I personally appreciate. Not often would I think that the crunch the sound of an electric guitar provides would be suited to “the calm part” of the song, but here it fits since it’s intended to build up a subtle tension in the listener. When you hear the guitar in this context, you, well, I feel like that “something is going to/is supposed to happen”. And then that piano briefly hits before the song transitions to a very low-sounding synth that provides really satisfying pay-off impact. While it isn’t present here, I still want to take the time to say something I love about this part in the original. They use the plunge attack sound effect, both the activation sound and the sound it makes upon ground impact to, well, provide further impact to the track. It is such a good use of sound effect and audio editing that really makes the song and trailer feel like they’re supposed to be two halves of the same whole. I also want to take this opportunity to talk about the usage of the piano throughout Genshin Impact. Like I said earlier, while how you press the notes to produce the sound is fairly straightforward (ignoring the various nuances of experienced play), the way it’s built makes it a very complex instrument that can provide a variety of feelings to the listener. I mean, the instrument is used both in classical pieces as well as freestyle Jazz. I’m pretty sure that speaks volumes by itself. This is also how the piano can be used so well in a variety of places and situations in the game (which I perceive as a symbol of Yu-Peng Chen’s musical knowledge and expertise). I’m not big on music terminology, so stick with me here. In Contemplation In Chalk, the piano gives me a very snowy, icy, cold feeling, but it isn’t bitter. It’s not the kind of cold I shiver to out of fear or a desire for warmth. While it does give me a cold feeling, a lot of notes being used sound like they’re in the major key. I think the song is combining minor and major sounds? In that case, that’s another big bit of symbolism pointing towards Albedo’s character inside the music itself rather than just the choice of instrument. Both the trailer and music work together to ramp up the intensity until the piano gets to that (almost but not quite) ear-piercing high note that fades into the background. Perfect transition from intensity to ethereal feelings in my opinion. When you hold a note like that and let it fade, you make it sound like time itself slows down for this singular moment. You’re drifting through a cold void. But it comforts you rather than fill you with loneliness as the void is made up of your own thoughts and emotions. That’s my interpretation anyways. (I love that they show the entirety of Mondstadt upside down over Albedo in this section of the trailer). Music ramps back up in intensity once more. This time, once the impact hits, while it is more subtle in Vetrom’s rendition, both the original and this track have this technical, glitchy texture behind the music, which just gives so much dopamine for the impact. I said the word “impact” a lot in this comment haven’t I?… GENSHIN IMPACT. Ahem… And of course, Vetrom being the amazing person he is at mixing music, made the song perfectly loop back to the first guitar impact. While it is technically a “loop” for your listening enjoyment, Vetrom does add more subtle details to the composition that are a bit too subtle to warrant a specific mention plus an analysis, but I feel that it’s better that way anyways as telling everybody where all the details are without having those people notice said details by themselves and appreciating them on their own terms… well, that’s just not a feeling that I want to take away from people. Art should be interpreted in a variety of different ways, and art shouldn’t also just be taken one specific way to one person. I mean, reality is very similar in that regard no? We communicate with the same language with the same words, but all of us have our own ways of interpreting those words that is impossible to convey or explain. At the very least, you can never give people a picture perfect clear idea of the image inside your head as people’s ideas of the words you use to describe that image, no matter how detailed you get, is going to look different from your image (unless if it happens to look to same by sheer happenstance. In which case, there’s still no way of knowing if that’s the case)… When did this turn into philosophy? Oh right, one more thing I wanted to say about the song before I leave the conversation here, I really love how some parts of the song have the piano and synth play the exact same thing at the same time. It’s as if the notes and sounds of the piano have been delicately coated over with the texture of a synth. It feels so good and satisfying to listen to.

Sayonara!

[Kalx-Kobalt]

ah this is what I call a theme, albedo's theme is probably my favorite out of all the monstadt characters, Awesome work keep it up! I love your genshin remixes you really should do more of these....



pst I would love it if you did xinyan's :)

[DavidNightjet]

The original felt like it was fitting in a mecha anime.
This feels like it's fitting in that same anime's 10th anniversary special.

[cyanfroakie]

Man, I was just rewatching all the genshin demos and then see this haha

This is awesome! Always high quality with each one of these

[SoraYagami]

ufff That update was fire! -badum tsss!- I dont actually have Albedo but he's pretty cool and this cover was awesome as always!

[creepercraftguy]

This is my favourite track from Genshin, so I’m so happy to just look at my subscriptions and see this

[Nekogitsune]

everytime i hear albedo's theme, i always remember pokemon for some reason, so this remix is very warranted knowing you make lit pokemon remixes too 🤣

[blazethesnarkylibrarian]

Ahh this makes me so happy! AR 53 with level 90 Albedo, he was my first 5* on Genshin! So nice to see him getting some of your remixing love, Vetrom

[seay]

Yess I was waiting for this! I love your remixes, they sound accurate to the original but they also have a nice twist to them :)

[starryskyday]

My goodness that guitar in the beginning, got me feelin d i f f e r e n t.

[garlicsaucy]

this would make a banger geometry dash level

[oldestdreamja]

props to hoyoverse, yu-peng chen, and you for making this masterpiece, and even more better.

ya'll do not deserve just a crown and a kingdom. you all deserve a whole damn planet.

[toive]

It always makes my day better whenever Vetrom suddenly releases a cover of one of my favorites ^^ Good work as always!!!! 💫

[narutojr]

I really love albedos theme in general! It definitely needs more attention as it should!^^ it's beautiful, mysterious, Mystical, and really kicky!😊 I never tire of hearing it! Just amazing Vetrom!!!☺️👍✌️❤️

[solio]

Thank you so much for this remix, It's so good and Albedo is my favorite character ! Thank you for all your remixes !!!