I started arranging and distributing cover songs of anime and video game music in 2018, using the artist name, Israfelcello. I started using that as an alias way back in middle school when I first started going online in middle school (I went through a period of being really fascinated with poetry, especially the work of Edgar Allen Poe. Check out his poem, Israfel, here.)
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Albums
Along with gorgeous graphics and incredible characters, Octopath Traveler had an absolutely amazing soundtrack, composed by Yasunori Nishiki. In this eight-track album, we arranged the character themes from this lovely game for a small chamber ensemble. PurpleSchala and I are joined by the fabulous Diana Dunn on oboe.
Purpleschala and I are both longtime fans of the Final Fantasy series of games. Women of the Crystal is my debut album, devoted to the theme music of the heroines in that series. All fifteen tracks of the album were arranged by the two of us in collaboration. From Rosa and Rydia, from the early games, to Lightning and Lunafreya, enjoy the great variety of music that has been composed for the Final Fantasy series over the years!
Singles
When I played FFVIIR and heard the solo cello line in Nobuo Uematsu's original track, I knew right away that I wanted to cover it. For this one I feel like I pulled out all the stops - I played electric cello, I played double bass, I made all my own percussion sound. The result is something I'm incredibly proud of. Hope you all enjoy it, and if you are interested, you can also hop over to my YouTube channel to check out the video I made for it. I even put on a Reno-style wig, which was incredibly fun!
I've been listening to the Final Fantasy VII Remake soundtrack on repeat ever since it was released. This track jumped out at me as something that Purpleschala and I absolutely had to cover. The scene where this music plays is incredibly powerful, and I used a variety of recording and mixing techniques to try to create the perfect atmosphere. I absolutely love how it came out and I hope you will too!
Recorded in the summer of 2019 during a visit to Purpleschala's house, this is our take on The Edge of Dawn, the well known song from Fire Emblem: Three Houses. We recorded it, and then I proceeded to spend over two hundred hours of my life playing that amazing game! Takeru Kanazaki's music for FE3H was one of the best Soundtracks of the entire year, and we're still dreaming up ideas tracks of arrange from it.
One of my followers requested that PurpleSchala and I cover this in early 2019. For me, if I get a request, I always check out the music if I'm not familiar with it, and if I think it's a good fit, I will tinker with the arrangement and maybe come up with something at some point. But the moment I heard this one, my reaction was an unequivocal, "YES, LET'S GO!" I absolutely love this music and it felt like an incredibly great fit for PurpleSchala and me.
Episode Prompto had some of my favorite music in all of FFXV. The moment I heard this in-game, I told PurpleSchala that we needed to record this, no question. Before this, I didn't really know the name of the composer, Naoshi Mizuta. Now I'm a huge fan, and I can't wait to see what else he writes in the future!