I was climbing a mountain, and I asked the guide how close we were to the top. He responded, "Natlan Live Symphony Performance." I smiled, I knew it was the PEAK.
Without question this is musically the best photon of fluctuation I have heard yet. The hoyo-mix team really blew these songs out of the water. I will say I highly respect the mixer who mic'd these instruments so well and found a way for each aspect to shine without conflict.
Hey Marco, I know you're still on hiatus, but just wanted to say how much I appreciate what you've done for the Genshin community. Every stream I saw had at least one person in the chat saying they were especially excited for you to hear the music 😁
On the "singability" of Swahili: This comes down to the language's phonotactics. Swahili, like Japanese or Hawai'ian, does not permit syllable-final consonants. So every end of a syllable is either a nasal consonant in full isolation, or a vowel. Swahili also has a fairly straightforward 5-vowel system, similar to many Romance languages, but unlike Romance languages, Swahili has absolutely no diphthongs. Because of this, you end up with a whole lot of open vowels to hold, all of which are clear monophthongs, with a few scattered nasal sounds for interest, and relatively few difficult consonant clusters. This lends itself very nicely to singing.
Hey I watched some comments that they were not pronouncing the language well but I don't know if it's true or not, I just appreciated how good it sounds and the effort of the singers so I want a true clarification of that statementm..
@@IsabelAlejandra-l7hhad the opposite experience. From my friends from Kenya and Uganda is not a native pronunciation, but they did a great job and they can play to their relatives with no problems in understanding.
so many things about this is so beautiful to me. as a mixed African and South American, hearing two of the most beautiful things from both my cultures represented in one made me tear up so bad. I’m also a past choral member, and the choir just made me think back to my choir days when we sang African songs about war and love. Anyway what I’m trying to say is that this was absolutely beautiful to me. I could really feel the music in my soul and the incorporation of the Swahili language and native instruments is one of the characteristics that makes me love Hoyo-Mix and just music in general. The choirs harmony is almost perfect in my ears, their unison strength, they’re all singing the same story, feeling the same emotion and you can hear it, one of my favourite things about choral additions to music in video game.s.
this also made me feel incredibly prideful in my culture lmao, the singer at the start made me cry real tears guys. I was waiting for Marco to do this!!
Yussss, this theme literally made me start researching African history and culture. I love the use of Swahili since it was apparently nearly wiped out by colonizers in several countries but fought back and is now growing more and more. It perfectly matches the theme of Natlan which is War, Death, and rebirth! When I saw the Native American lady with the pan flute (sapona) I also instantly broke down since her people was literally wiped out by colonizers and their homes stolen from them, they've suffered the worst thing that can happen to a people and nation but she is here to show that even after all of that her culture is alive and there are people like her who'll fight to keep it alive. The theme of unity between peoples across the world is so powerful in this theme.
I agree with you about the motif meaning, it also gives me a "meaning of life" and "responsibility", but also a kinda "long journey" feeling. It's gorgeous.
as an indigenous person the natlan main theme (first song) is so incredible to me. many have said it sounds like a national anthem - in my tribe we have an honor song that very much has this sort of comraderie and honor to our people vibe that people describe when they compare it to a national anthem. this sense of honoring the ancestors the now and the descendants is very core to at least my culture and i am aware many other indigenous cultures. so beautiful to hear such a powerful song of victory and perseverance without it defaulting to a harmful "violent" stereotype and rather raising it as glory and respect. while i have my problems with some of natlan's representation the music is NOT one of those things and this carries the aura of remaining forever defiant of oppression that has carried my people and all other indigenous people from the beginning of the "fight" to the present day. the music is magnificent and beautifully done. for what natlan might not have perfectly i adore these songs and the main theme has made a very special place in my heart. i appreciate hoyomix's cultural honoring in music and exposing the world stage to our music which as a child i had many mock to my face. to see something that feels so familiar be given a huge stage on which to survive gives me hope as dramatic as it may sound. music is one thing that survives - to see it have a shelter and place where it will fit for years to come is reassuring to my soul. ❤️
I think Fontaine was pulling the short end in terms of instrumentation compared to other nations because all the classical european instruments were already used there by default, there was very little left to spice it up with without deviating significantly from the theme and period that was being represented. So yeah they added accordion and glass instruments and harpsichord and a few others but we're all so used to all of them that it did not sound any special, unlike when traditional wind, string, or percussion instruments of other nations are added. I loved the Natlan symphony a lot. I think the composers of Hoyo-Mix have proved themselves with it and I can't wait for the actual patch to experience the music in the game.
I personally gasped when I saw a zampoña and a quena in the symphony (the flute with many tubes 8:00 and the long flute, 7:45) because even though it is latin American, we barely have representation in popular media. After 4 years of hearing different cultures influence the releases of these OSTs, I get goosepumps just thinking about what they're going to cook for Natlan. Needless to say that I enjoyed the entire symphony as well as your insights Marco. Greetings from Perú 🇵🇪.
if we're talking about andean instruments unknown to the mainstream, it would have to be the peruvian harp, violin, and saxophone. Only legitimate folk music from central peru and upwards use these instruments and they're barely featured by anyone else worldwide, I've never heard a huaylas or tunantada be interpreted by some of those "conjunto andino" groups that go to cities around the world for example.
After hearing it almost every day for the last 4 years, the photon of fluctuation motif, no matter what it’s in, without fail puts a smile on my face. To me, it feels like our own/traveler’s theme, something that has grown with us every region over the past few years. Hearing the vocals behind it in this performance was so unimaginably good. Fontaine is my second favorite nation musically so I’m looking really forward to what the new Hoyo-Mix team has in store for us in Natlan!
I think photon of fluctuation represent the 7 elements that exist in teyvat and it relates to the traveler that can wield 7 elements I'm pretty sure about this because one of the ost that have photon of fluctuation motif besides battle theme is apep boss theme and apep is the first dragon sovereign we encountered in teyvat and in lore the dragon sovereign are the previous ruler of the elements a being who hold the authority of the elements so when photon of fluctuation motif appear in apep boss theme we get the feeling that we met the true owner of the elements. (sorry for bad english)
I have no idea why, but hearing that melody with pan flute always gets me. The moment I hear it, I felt 'hope' and 'new beginning' and started to tear up 🥲 compare to other complex and rich sounded instrument, it's so pure and naive
Amazing analysis as always. This felt so different from other genshin music (in a good way) because it has so much pride behind it. It feels like it's telling the stories of everyone who's lived and died for the nation of Natlan. I am so damn excited for hearing Marco's thoughts on the rest of the OST as they do more latin/flamenco type music. Cheers!!
What I feel about Natlan orchestral theme was a musical "Jorney of the Hero". You have the peaceful start, the change, the crescendo and then, the fall, when the hero taste the defeat and goes to the underworld in search of the magical elixir... and then he returns, powerfull and glorious to the final showdown. Which, I believe, it will be the main plot of the Archon Quest in Natlan. Also, thank you Marco, I'm learning a lot about music with you.
And if speculations are correct, considering how the traveler got trounced fighting Arrlechino, Capitano wouldn't even notice someone like the Traveler
To me that motif at the start feels like the moment before death; being suddenly in tune with the world, your emotions and memories and giving a fond goodbye to it all. The entire Natlan piece is super hopeful and inspiring, but in the lyrics and the harmonies it's filled with so so so much death. It's so mournful. It gives me a "night before the war" vibe, just reflecting on the futility and beauty of life as you're about to lay it down, but underlied by the massive, violent strength associated with Natlan and the pyro element. I've had sub-zero expectations for this region honestly, but after listening to the symphony I just hope the story can pull off something deserving of that track
that’s such a beautiful interpretation, I can vividly envision what you mean. It represents Natlan beautifully as a nation with a raw, fierce drive for existence and life, built on a long history of ravaging wars, conflicts, and the spirits of the fallen. Very fitting for the Pyro element. Thank you for sharing.
Strangely enough, listening to the first song actually reminded me of when my uncle (who was a soldier) passed away. His fellow soldiers started to sing a strange song before he was lowered to the ground. It was about sacrifice and continuing on despite loss, that awakened something... primal, I guess... feelings in me. It made me cry, couldn't control myself, made me feel a strange and deep sense of loss. More surprising since I only used to see him during holidays and didn't really know him on a deeper level. It was probably a dirge, or something, that soldiers in my country sing since they all seemed to know the lyrics by heart.
I watched this live and I cried. I watched the video of the performance afterwards and cried. I watched your analisys now and (guess it) I cried too. These are special pieces of music, so powerful and so moving
I'm so happy you've given us an analysis of the Natlan Symphony! The focus on the vocals stunned me when I first heard it, because of their purity, pride and resolve. It's the first regional theme in Genshin Impact that actually feels like a national anthem, and to me it's so evocative of the proverb 'One is born, one dies, the land increases'.
I'm from Perú, to those two wind instruments we call the flute like Quena and the panpipe like Zampoña (in Argentina its called ziku), I'm very happy and proud see both of them in this symphony, I was waiting for this, even the implementation of their sound is fantastic.
The point you made about swahili being very singable is very true. Swahili has a lot of freedom in terms of the syllables and what you can do with them. Im a swahili speaker(kenyan) and having studied the language, there might be a bit of insight i can give about it. Swahili is mostly based of of syllables with a single syllable carrying a whole set of meanings. I remember learning about all the things that a single letter "a" can represent hence when you translate a sentence in english, you will probably have a single word in swahili. Syllables are also very short with most being a single letter, two letters or even three. A 4 letter syllable is rare and almost non existent. As an example, the first word "shambulia"(meaning attack, or in this case charge) has about 4 syllables sha-mbu-li-a. You can draw out or compress each syllable as much as you want and the meaning is fully retained. Thats the beauty of the language and it makes it very easy to work with considering how easy it is to subdivide the words. This quality may explain why it blends so well with music, particularly orchestra. It also makes swahili easy to learn because you the words are very easily to subdivide and pronounce once youve digested them. Although there are about 16 genders(ngeli in swahili) thatd youll have to learn😂 The language itself is more of a mixture of various languages from kenya and tanzania along with some arabic so its easy for a random guy in these two countries to speak and understand because it shares alot of words with their mother tongue. Swahili songs also hit different, especially when they are slow and steady. When it comes to songsbin this language, i kind of put aside my music knowledge and analysis and just flow with the song am enjoy it. It really is quite beautiful. If you want a song to pull your heartstrings, go to swahili. Though i cant help but point out that the song has lots of grammatical errors😅 Probably should have consulted a native or a proficient speaker for that translation
I personally don't think that Yu-Peng Chen leaving was the reason why we feel that Fontaine was a step backwards in terms of the music. The piece that we hear during the X.0 Livestream is usually heavily linked to the archon quest in the story. Fontaine's AQ was emotional and sad and had themes of sacrifice, burden and salvation. So the tune was soft in places, heavy in others and somewhat melancholic. This is why the music in Inazuma hinges on the scary because we are in front of a commanding deity. Natlan is the nation of war, pyro is also an explosive element. This national anthem like you called it, is supposed to make you fired up, pumped up and ready to go to war to save your land and it does its job perfectly. The music in Genshin Impact ties up perfectly to the main theme of each nation and portrays it as such! Also, the inclusion of foreign instruments in Liyue and Inazuma music, as well as the mix between different cultures in Sumeru and Natlan music really set the tone for the game and makes it feel like Mondstadt and Fontaine music was a step back. There is much more creativity involved in the making of Sumeru and Natlan's music just because they are marrying different styles of music together with the European style. Idk if I made sense at all. I am not a music expert and english is not my first language, so, sorry if I sound a bit all over the place.
No i feel like you right. The reason why mondstadt and fontaine feels "lack" is not because the arrangement isnt good but the region itself based on european. We often to listen to them. But... Liyue, Inazuma, Sumeru, and Natlan feels rich because the region based not from europe. They also got so many other traditional instrument. The other traditional instrument got diverse scale and notes. So it makes the other region feels "rich" and not so many people heard/listen/know them
tbh as asian that lives in ring of fire country, i think fountaine's main theme is really great. it's like the epitome of water itself. it looks calm from the outside, but you never know how much deep they actually are, and suddenly you just got drowned helplessly i guess it really just westerners that so used with european type of music
Fontaine music was worse in terms of quality than all the nations before because it lacked the cohesion other areas had. (in musical, and quality terms) There were extreme differences in some music pieces in different areas (quality wise). Like no one can compare the music that's playing in the Palace Memonia (most generic Genshin track I have ever heard) to for ex, the Whale bossfight music, as far as quality/creativity goes. While the mentioned musical piece is not bad (Palais Memonia) it is very unimaginative, and boring. If I want to listen to 17th century accurate music I would liten to some of the more famous music composers from that era.
@@pepita2437 How many times were you in the Palais Mermonia after the archon quest? I can't remember what piece you are talking about because I haven't went there for like an eternity!
@@andrewmattar4178 I remember because you have to go back a ton during world quests. Also, the fact that most people don't remember Palaise Memonia's track is a testament how boring and forgettable it was. XD
For Photon of Fluctuation, ive always thought those battle themes resemble more of a high-spirited dance, which is honestly how a lot of overworld fighting feels. 4 characters moving and swapping synergestically with well-rehearsed movements. The gameplay would honestly feel a bit off with such an artistic fighting style paired with more serious music outside of heavy plot moments
Same, for me Photon of Fluctuation is a key reminder of what makes Genshin feel like Genshin when it comes to combat in the open world, and it allows special fights to have a distinct feeling and make the story more impactful in those important moments.
All the technical analytic aspects aside, what I always love about your videos, is just how passionate you are about music as a whole, and how much you can appreciate a wide variety of languages and cultural sounds from all over the world, we can hear the excitement and raw emotion it in your voice when you speak about it. I deeply admire you man, keep up with your amazing work. Thank you so much!
As a Venezuelan, I still have hope for one of the battle themes sounding like Fuga con Pajarillo (Psps, if you read this Marco, I really recommend you look it up! It's truly one of the most amazing pieces of Venezuelan orchestral music, at least in my opinion. Kanaima as well 👀). As always, thank you so much for the analysis! It's always great to watch your breakdowns of Genshin music 😊
For me the Natlan theme (especially the motif/part with the zampoña and the quena) made me feel like it's such a blessing to exist in this world, and I have a right to exist. I'm finally at a positive turning point in my life, finally reaching for things I love and learning to love myself too. Kinda like something beautiful is beginning and life itself is beautiful. But the music also has sort of peaceful melancholy, like something has also ended, but it's okay. Tbh this theme made me cry cuz of those feelings it evoked lol. Love these break-downs Marco!
@@TheGamingTeam101Tgt101he did say he will be taking a break from genshin stuff (playing it mostly). He made a community post about it im pretty sure. Well rather than a break he will be doing less genshin stuff overall
@@MarcoMeatball You might not know, but your analysis and breakdown videos taught me a lot about music and made me appreciate every form of it. Thanks and hope you enjoyed your vacation!
marco, eventhough english isn´t my mother lenguage, i just wanted you to know that i cried with your breakdown of this symphony, thanks to u i could understad SO MUCH more about musicality, and your explanation was amazing, i really apreciate you videos bc i can learn a lot from them, you are changing lives!
I have to disagree on the photon of fluctuation part, most of the songs with it are my favorite overworld battle themes from the individual regions, especially swirls of shamshir, the sumeru version is my favorite song in the game as a whole. Yes in comes down to individual opinion though, but I love that it ties each nation together while showcasing the best parts of the nations individuality and also serves as our introduction to each nation at release. But I really appreciate your analysis of the performance!
What I like about Natlan's soundtrack so far is that it adds "Voice" to Genshin. Lots of chorus and expression, with instruments and singers. In My opinion... What makes this stand out, is that it feels like the singers , are responding directly to the music. The lyrics at least seem to do that , especially in battle.
This is just my paranoia mind, But i think they have to or they need it now. Fontaine music is really good, but some ppl said its just Mondo music, Same thing might happen to Natlan where ppl maybe calling it "this is just Sumeru music"
@@darkrow8488 mmm. I think the case with every region except Sumeru , is that most of them have one Big reference (one country) and Sumeru does not. That have them a BIG advantage in letting the Game have a culture of it's own. Fontaine returned to that , and so , it felt more like a step down after the team proving themselves that they can create a Unique enviorment pulling several references. In Natlan's case , we see that they once again Drew inspirations out of a Big group of references ,and so the music sounds Unique since it had various elements from different cultures again. I do think adding "voice" at the right Moments Made this 1000 times better than it may be without them.
And again , they can play with that here. The chorus in battle has a distinct relationship with the nation's culture, Lore , story , and the player's Purpose. They just served themselves in many parts.
@@darkrow8488as both black and South American my interpretation was a bit different; unlike the previous cases that have extensive documentation, the cultures that based Natlan are huge on oral tradition, writing down our myths and costumes is a very recent thing and hearing prevails over reading about folk tales, learning our recipes…. use a choir makes sense to me because our cultures are basically experienced via the spoken word.
Marco: I'm tired of these variations of Photon of Fluctuation Me: After 4 years, I still can't identify the Photon of Fluctuation motif in these variations
❤Pan pipes 🎉 - such a gorgeous ethereal sound [Marco singing and explaining “hello”, reminds me of Adele singing her song] And love the use of Swahili and it melds so beautifully with the instrumentals❤
Hey marc, ignore the idiots who don't understand how to behave like a normal human being. Their opinions don't matter. Keep doing what you're doing because you are the one I looked for first whenever I wanted to see a musician react to the natlan orchestra.
I've always felt that when Hoyo-mix make music that their primarily Asian and secondary Western European and adjacent audiences aren't familiar with, that's when they pop off so hard. Sumeru and Natlan are currently my absolute favourites, not just because they're 100% amazing gorgeous melodic motific and beautiful, but also because prior to them I had never been acquainted with Arabic themed music or tribal Swahili songs at all. And I gotta say - I'm liking what I'm hearing. And that's an added layer of excitement to me. Without getting to into leaks and spoilers and what-not - the other battle tracks are absolute bops too and I love them all! We already heard the didgeridoo part of one of them in a previous teaser, I really like what they do with the rest of that track.
I think that the whole piece makes me feel a sense of family; how we’re all in this world together. The main male voice gives off a sense of leadership and responsibility, yet comfort at the same time. It’s like he’ll be by your side in a battle, and he’ll have your back the whole time. The group of female voices feel similar to the male, they all have that sense of comfort, yet willingness to give their all for what they believe in. The entire choir reminds me of a large group of warriors, as if they know this could be their last moments alive, and they want to bond for one last time, while also boosting morale. Overall, I think it’s such a beautiful piece, and I’ve been listening to it nonstop,, need it on Spotify ASAP lmao I know you asked for thoughts so I figured I’d pitch in! Hoyo-mix never misses, and I love love love LOVE looking for the deeper meaning in things AHHH
9:00 i find this motif so beautiful. flutes always make me feel the most. i agree. to me, it feels like reminiscing about the great things in life, all your accomplishments and everything you will miss in war, knowing you will lose it all if you die. but instead of being sad, it is filled with hope...like marching forward with no regrets, accepting anything in your way. starting off a little melancholic and continuously gaining confidence until no regret remains...with the first flute, it feels like stopping and turning back for a moment to ponder. the pan flute feels like reassuring yourself this is the right decision and a reminder you are not alone, then catching up with everyone to continue forward, full of determination. and then the singing part comes, everyone is together again. it is one of my favourite parts. i love everything about this music. it fits natlan perfectly and tells so much. the music is my favourite thing about the game, but natlan is especially amazing. (english is not my first language and i find it hard to word my feelings, so i am not sure if it is understandable. i just wanted to contribute my personal interpretation, since i was happy to see mr meatball point this out.)
One of my absolute favourite things in the music of this game is that you get to hear it before it is tied to any concrete meaning, and you go on a journey with that music through several archon quests, and as you reach the climax of the story that music is still there with you. Maybe a little different, but it's still there. And when you hear it again during the final chapters, it takes on an entirely new meaning, and kind of always will from that point on. It reminds me of reading a book and finding out the Big Secret and then realising all the different ways it's been foreshadowed throughout the whole story and frantically trying to find them all from beginning to end. It feels in some ways like the meaning and plot has been staring us in the face within the music the whole time, and I'm so looking forward to being taken on that journey in Natlan
I'm not really a music expert or anything but all I know is that this is probably one of the greatest pieces of music I've ever heard that's associated with a game, infact I got extremely close to tearing up the first time I listened to it just from pure adrenaline
This game is a goddamn music album that gets better and better with every year) I've heard the first track as a one minute long MIDI-demo leak and even then it was fire. This makes me so happy
I live for these breakdown videos. Not just from a singer/musician perspective but also as a normal person, I find your videos really insightful. Thank you. Bless your soul 🙏🏼
9:00 Interesting question! Personnally, the first motif you've mentionned strikes me as a very solemn, driven and dutiful melody (possibly linked to Natlan's long standing conflict with the Abyss, where their warriors give their all to keep it at bay). That second motif, to me, evokes community, and communion with nature (so the different clans, and their mutualistic relationships with the saurians, and by extention, with nature and the elements).
Outside of the great music at hand here, you're saying a lot of very important and powerful things about music in general in this video. This is definitely one of my favorite video of yours because of it! I might not always agree and have the same tastes as you, but I always feel understood and seen in the way you talk about how you experience and feel music and how it influences our lives! ♥
I think this might be my favourite nation concert they’ve done so far. And I know a lot of people say that with every new one, but for me personally, I haven’t teared up listening to the live concerts the first watch through, except for this one. It’s just so… so well done. The vocals and instruments and everyone playing, this one to me was very special.
I'm here to highlight the talented composers of HoYo-Mix. Dimeng Yuan is the composer of Natlan (Main Theme) and Yuxi Wang is the composer of Anthem of the Savannah (Battle Theme). I'm really excited about the OST of Natlan because i felt the same as Marco about Fontaine music, it was good but i wondered why it didn't catch my attention so much like before, and i think the reason to that is because it's mainly european culture, they didn't have a lot to explore and the team was getting used to the new region after Yu Peng Chen left the project.
@@-.Lizard_eggs.-i think in terms of unique identity.. Fontaine music is the weakest.. By weakest, i mean least standout among all nations cultural music
Your analysis videos are as much as a highlight for me as the genshin music presentations. I couldn't get enough of this myself. I loved many tracks from Fontaine (sad you didn't like them much) but this was such a huge jump of...everything, just like Natlan itself. Can't wait for it and I hope we see Dvorak sometime in this version ❤
After doing 4.2 archon quest, everytime I heard this song I cry a lot, it's really emotional. The first time you heard it it's ok, I mean, it's an hymn and a very precious hymn, pero when you hear the song in the game, with all the context, it really hits you, when even the Natlan citizens sings this song; i don't know man, it really hits me and make me cry a river.
Okay okay I just finished the first few Natlan quests and then watching Marco reacting to the music damn Marco you hit the meaning of the music so clearly with the Natlan people
This was a great analysis vid, Marco! I like coming here for the insights that I might have missed. (Or to even validate some that I felt when listening to the music piece.) thanks much and carry on!
Completely agree with how you describe the motif, i sense a feel of hardship but also a connection with nature and a simple/humble life, is a call to accept that life is hard but worth to fight for, and in a more bigger scale, to defend our humble home against something big, but strength is not on numbers but on the determination and love for the homeland. Is like the concept of war in the most noble way possible.
I already loved the motif and lyrics before the patch. Knowing now that it was used to accentuate the feelings around the Ode of Resurrection only makes me love it more! ❤
exactly how I listen to music. close my eyes to focus all my sense into ears, capture every tone every note and while I can't analyze like pro musician I can imagine story and grand, epic moment along with music, along with emotion music itself evoke.
Have been waiting for you to do a video on this one. Natlan was the region I was most eagerly awaiting because of the diversity of influences/instrumentation and how under represented they were in VGM to date relatively speaking. Cannot wait to hear this region's boss theme in the hopes they can top Scaramouche's. There is a theory in the lore community that the elements are each a category thematically, Anemo for loss/grief for example. Pyro seems to be thematically and fittingly, passing the torch. I feel like beyond the lyrics you can hear that reflected by the sections that seem to be someone in the present envisioning a conversation with their lineage in the past. The main motif seems to be reaching for that kind of regal bittersweet moment one looks back on past experiences and feels some kind of recontextualized support of those close to them no longer with them. Knowing that the Aztec and Mayan cultures are a heavy influence on the region also frames hearing the difficulty in the journey as reflecting both those cultures' views on the afterlife being started by an arduous mythic journey through trials before arriving at rest, rather than instantly becoming whatever the passed will become. There was this movie in 2000 titled "Frequency" in which a character is able to use a radio affected by solar storms to speak to his deceased father through time while the father was still alive. The way that the main theme track (if that's what it is) keeps echoing a motif from one more ancient sounding instrument to another, makes me think the storyline could do something like that movie. Something like the characters are trying to compete in the present somehow such that their tribal ancestors can advance in their own afterlife journeys in parallel, perhaps even with some form of communication. The livestream kept mentioning something about "night soul" as a power unique to Natlan characters, perhaps that's some kind of ancestral support from the underworld. Just putting a timestamp on that in case it turns out in the ballpark. Hoyo loves pulling from Scifi and ancient myth simultaneously, so it's not impossible.
Sawahili in arabic means coastal, like the language of people living near coasts, and as an arab i am familiar with some words like dunia : life before death Warithi : means the one that inherites from me Hadithi : means my speech, can also work as my tale Ushujaa : means brave wich in arabic is shujaa Ardhi : means earth which in arabic is ard Kama : like Ya : a tool we use to call someone or name someone, it comes right before the name, as for example : "ya shujaa" means "oh brave" Al-fajiri : the dawn wich in arabic is al-fajr
Swahili is historically born on the east coast of Africa due to intermingling between Arabs and native Africans back then. It's mostly spoken in Tanzania and Kenya, though it's widely familiarized throughout East Africa. (Tanzanian btw)
Natlan's main theme feels like a national anthem you wouldn't help but cry to and admire. It's powerful and poetic in an epic way, it feels like the people are ready to do anything and everything to protect their country and honor.
I loved being in band in school, and music overall. And Baba Yetu is one of my top favorite songs in general. I don't know about what I previously played that would be nostalgic or what, but there's something in the piece that's so well composed and hits a nerve, I just tear up each time listening to it.
I'm so glad you did analysis for this. Like the music made me feel like I was tearing up when I heard it the first time. I put this on because I wanted to watch a little of it and then do something else and finish it later and whoops you sucked me in and I'm finishing it in one sitting.
Yo I love the instrumentation and singing of the new OST, I'm so hype to see what's more to Natlan than this little glimpse they gave us. For example when they gave us a glimpse of Sumeru, we didn't get to see Port Ormos theme, I'm astoundingly curious to see what other absolute masterpieces are they cooking
I have not checked RUclips for a day but when I saw your notification I ultimately stopped what I was doing and watched this, finally! The music in Natlan definitely had me on goosebumps and I couldn't even process what I was feeling I was just blown away by how great this is and that's just an understatement. Way beyond beautiful! Genshin on their music never disappoints!
The Hoyo-mix team creates some of the best music i've ever heard in a video game! The music in this game is so diverse, and it connects perfectly with the region it's related to! I love watching your analysis videos for Genshin music. Have a nice day 😃
the way you approach music is always so curious and respectful yet with so much wonder... i love that, and i learn so much from it! couldnt wait for you to see this, and im so glad to hear your thoughts. take care! sending warm thoughts
I agree with what you feel about this melody and I also feel like the melody wants to tell us about a story, filled with the emotions you talked about, like a celebrations in the name of the stories they are telling us (mainly the first part)
I cried listening to the Natlan songs. Makes me feels courage to live through live, through the fiery hell it is sometimes and explode with blazing spirit after my journey. I love music that can convey stories and Hoyo-Mix is a master in doing this.
This is less about musical analysis, more about lyrical analysis and how it can relate to the story, but since you pointed out the lines with the phoenix imagery, I do think there's a key thing that people aren't really talking about. "In the end you burn to cinders *for* a dream. In the end you rekindle in ashes *because of* a dream." I can't help but feel like this difference is highly significant. I have no idea what it might mean though.
I was waiting for this since the livestream, I just love to hear you ramble and explaining how music can work. The folklorical instruments, God, can we talk about them,so unique way to asemble them, we can see: banjo,quena, panflute (zamponha siku), ocarina,djembe,kora,marimba,balafon, steeldrum,guasá,ukelele,sanza (a type of kalimba) and jgo dum dum as far as I could see and recognize. I just love instruments so i did my research
I really loved your explanation of what those melody means ,and when this game version drops and when something sad happens i can cry more freely understanding what it means by correlating the meanings.
To me it's a hymn to what it means to be brave. Knowing a bit about the game it's a nation that struggle for it's very existence. It's one of my favourites already
The first song definitely gives me the feeling of a big inspirational speech for a nation ready to go to war for values or something they believe them. There's a somber aspect, but also a sense of determination and energy of a group facing something together
hi marcoo, gotta say, you're really the reason that i enthusiastically break down hoyoverse's music production to my friend (and they loved it, surprisingly) 😅😂
Was waiting for this Marco, thanks dude 🙌 Great stuff. Love that everyone in the livestream was like "Can't wait for Marco's analysis" I'm excited for hopefully more analysis when 5.0 drops.
I heard resolution and unity, and the tributes they paid to history of mankind and to the memories of heroes, it's really an exceptional piece in the way how it embraces folk instruments and folk vocals into symphonic music, generating a vibe that people from different groups are really standing together as one soul.
I really wish I would have had someone like you as a music teacher. Thank you so much for this break down, I feel like reading up more on the professional terms you used after it!
I am showing this even to my friends who don't know the game at all, to just listen to it without knowing any context and even they say it is beautiful and they are loving this. I for one literally cried at some points. ❤
Love the breakdown Marco... When I heard the lyrics I felt astonishment since its new to me to hear a genshin piece be dominated with words... Then I felt some nostalgia.... The community spirit really poured in.. there's that feeling of togetherness and feeling of pride as a nation
I was climbing a mountain, and I asked the guide how close we were to the top. He responded, "Natlan Live Symphony Performance." I smiled, I knew it was the PEAK.
Underrated Comment
We got irl Cyno right here 😂
"Midday Prospects" starts playing
PEAK COMMENT ❗️
Didn't I see this somewhere else?
It's so emotional to watch a genshin symphony and finally recognize most of the instruments being used
I felt the same during Sumeru :)
Welcome to the joy, hope you have as wonderful a time im Natlan as I did in Sumeru :)
This is so incredibly beautiful to read! I learnt so many new cultural aspects from all these videos too
Me with Inazuma and sumeru
Waiting for Snezhnaya and balalaikas and gusli 😊
I felt it with fontaine
Without question this is musically the best photon of fluctuation I have heard yet. The hoyo-mix team really blew these songs out of the water. I will say I highly respect the mixer who mic'd these instruments so well and found a way for each aspect to shine without conflict.
the mix of the african languange sounds amazing, really line the singing
The nylon guitar is somewhat muted, but that's peanuts compared to the sheer number of woodwinds, drums, and voices that this person had to balance
Hey Marco, I know you're still on hiatus, but just wanted to say how much I appreciate what you've done for the Genshin community. Every stream I saw had at least one person in the chat saying they were especially excited for you to hear the music 😁
@@GreenC thats cool n all but your mom bro
@MarcoMeatball I thought you were on hiatus as well.. and then you said you listened to the Nathan OST like 30 times. Quality over speed i guess. 😂
what happened？
On the "singability" of Swahili:
This comes down to the language's phonotactics. Swahili, like Japanese or Hawai'ian, does not permit syllable-final consonants. So every end of a syllable is either a nasal consonant in full isolation, or a vowel. Swahili also has a fairly straightforward 5-vowel system, similar to many Romance languages, but unlike Romance languages, Swahili has absolutely no diphthongs. Because of this, you end up with a whole lot of open vowels to hold, all of which are clear monophthongs, with a few scattered nasal sounds for interest, and relatively few difficult consonant clusters. This lends itself very nicely to singing.
yes - I live for these comments!
Hey I watched some comments that they were not pronouncing the language well but I don't know if it's true or not, I just appreciated how good it sounds and the effort of the singers so I want a true clarification of that statementm..
And this is why the singer use Natla (Chinese and Japanese: Nata) instead of Natlan.
fellow linguistics nerd, i love to see it
@@IsabelAlejandra-l7hhad the opposite experience. From my friends from Kenya and Uganda is not a native pronunciation, but they did a great job and they can play to their relatives with no problems in understanding.
so many things about this is so beautiful to me. as a mixed African and South American, hearing two of the most beautiful things from both my cultures represented in one made me tear up so bad. I’m also a past choral member, and the choir just made me think back to my choir days when we sang African songs about war and love. Anyway what I’m trying to say is that this was absolutely beautiful to me. I could really feel the music in my soul and the incorporation of the Swahili language and native instruments is one of the characteristics that makes me love Hoyo-Mix and just music in general. The choirs harmony is almost perfect in my ears, their unison strength, they’re all singing the same story, feeling the same emotion and you can hear it, one of my favourite things about choral additions to music in video game.s.
this also made me feel incredibly prideful in my culture lmao, the singer at the start made me cry real tears guys. I was waiting for Marco to do this!!
Hope you have a great Natlan! :)
Yussss, this theme literally made me start researching African history and culture. I love the use of Swahili since it was apparently nearly wiped out by colonizers in several countries but fought back and is now growing more and more. It perfectly matches the theme of Natlan which is War, Death, and rebirth!
When I saw the Native American lady with the pan flute (sapona) I also instantly broke down since her people was literally wiped out by colonizers and their homes stolen from them, they've suffered the worst thing that can happen to a people and nation but she is here to show that even after all of that her culture is alive and there are people like her who'll fight to keep it alive.
The theme of unity between peoples across the world is so powerful in this theme.
people always forget that it's not just South America, it's all the America, together with even some colonial influences
@@VaioletteWestover a war anthem to inspire the clans to unite and resist the invaders - whoever wrote this understood the assignment
I agree with you about the motif meaning, it also gives me a "meaning of life" and "responsibility", but also a kinda "long journey" feeling. It's gorgeous.
waiting for this since the livestream
Saaaame.
Same! Always appreciate his insights
Dude, same.
Same
Same, that was the first thing I thought of when livestream ended
as an indigenous person the natlan main theme (first song) is so incredible to me. many have said it sounds like a national anthem - in my tribe we have an honor song that very much has this sort of comraderie and honor to our people vibe that people describe when they compare it to a national anthem. this sense of honoring the ancestors the now and the descendants is very core to at least my culture and i am aware many other indigenous cultures. so beautiful to hear such a powerful song of victory and perseverance without it defaulting to a harmful "violent" stereotype and rather raising it as glory and respect. while i have my problems with some of natlan's representation the music is NOT one of those things and this carries the aura of remaining forever defiant of oppression that has carried my people and all other indigenous people from the beginning of the "fight" to the present day. the music is magnificent and beautifully done. for what natlan might not have perfectly i adore these songs and the main theme has made a very special place in my heart. i appreciate hoyomix's cultural honoring in music and exposing the world stage to our music which as a child i had many mock to my face. to see something that feels so familiar be given a huge stage on which to survive gives me hope as dramatic as it may sound. music is one thing that survives - to see it have a shelter and place where it will fit for years to come is reassuring to my soul. ❤️
When the world needed him the most, he’s back.
I dont know why, but this is the type of music that makes you love life
Aye. Some themes and overtures just take you places.
it resembles worship music imo, Christopher Tin did a lot of magic with that in the Civ series
The songs are about glory, heroism, camaraderie, fellowship, survival and rebirth. All themes revolving around the exultation of life.
I think Fontaine was pulling the short end in terms of instrumentation compared to other nations because all the classical european instruments were already used there by default, there was very little left to spice it up with without deviating significantly from the theme and period that was being represented. So yeah they added accordion and glass instruments and harpsichord and a few others but we're all so used to all of them that it did not sound any special, unlike when traditional wind, string, or percussion instruments of other nations are added.
I loved the Natlan symphony a lot. I think the composers of Hoyo-Mix have proved themselves with it and I can't wait for the actual patch to experience the music in the game.
thats what i thought too, cause everyone else also think mondstadt music is pretty basic and we all know what mondstadt and fontaine have in common
Nah they barely used accordion
Bottleland was much better
i still loved the fontaine one so much
Kinda missed marco's genshins osts analysis. Also respect pronouncing swahili 👌🏽
I personally gasped when I saw a zampoña and a quena in the symphony (the flute with many tubes 8:00 and the long flute, 7:45) because even though it is latin American, we barely have representation in popular media. After 4 years of hearing different cultures influence the releases of these OSTs, I get goosepumps just thinking about what they're going to cook for Natlan. Needless to say that I enjoyed the entire symphony as well as your insights Marco. Greetings from Perú 🇵🇪.
So heartwarming reading comments like yours) 😮
if we're talking about andean instruments unknown to the mainstream, it would have to be the peruvian harp, violin, and saxophone. Only legitimate folk music from central peru and upwards use these instruments and they're barely featured by anyone else worldwide, I've never heard a huaylas or tunantada be interpreted by some of those "conjunto andino" groups that go to cities around the world for example.
I felt the same seeing the Steel pan. As a Trinidadian, our South American heritage gets overlooked so often so seeing it made me ridiculously happy.
Yo habia perdido la esperanza de ver las flautas andinas incluidas en la musica de Natlan. Fue tan bello verlas...
The andino sound really made tear up, I could see los jaivas playing with these sounds
After hearing it almost every day for the last 4 years, the photon of fluctuation motif, no matter what it’s in, without fail puts a smile on my face. To me, it feels like our own/traveler’s theme, something that has grown with us every region over the past few years. Hearing the vocals behind it in this performance was so unimaginably good. Fontaine is my second favorite nation musically so I’m looking really forward to what the new Hoyo-Mix team has in store for us in Natlan!
I think photon of fluctuation represent the 7 elements that exist in teyvat and it relates to the traveler that can wield 7 elements I'm pretty sure about this because one of the ost that have photon of fluctuation motif besides battle theme is apep boss theme and apep is the first dragon sovereign we encountered in teyvat and in lore the dragon sovereign are the previous ruler of the elements a being who hold the authority of the elements so when photon of fluctuation motif appear in apep boss theme we get the feeling that we met the true owner of the elements. (sorry for bad english)
I have no idea why, but hearing that melody with pan flute always gets me. The moment I hear it, I felt 'hope' and 'new beginning' and started to tear up 🥲 compare to other complex and rich sounded instrument, it's so pure and naive
Amazing analysis as always. This felt so different from other genshin music (in a good way) because it has so much pride behind it. It feels like it's telling the stories of everyone who's lived and died for the nation of Natlan. I am so damn excited for hearing Marco's thoughts on the rest of the OST as they do more latin/flamenco type music. Cheers!!
Thank you so much for this dono!
What I feel about Natlan orchestral theme was a musical "Jorney of the Hero". You have the peaceful start, the change, the crescendo and then, the fall, when the hero taste the defeat and goes to the underworld in search of the magical elixir... and then he returns, powerfull and glorious to the final showdown. Which, I believe, it will be the main plot of the Archon Quest in Natlan.
Also, thank you Marco, I'm learning a lot about music with you.
And if speculations are correct, considering how the traveler got trounced fighting Arrlechino, Capitano wouldn't even notice someone like the Traveler
To me that motif at the start feels like the moment before death; being suddenly in tune with the world, your emotions and memories and giving a fond goodbye to it all.
The entire Natlan piece is super hopeful and inspiring, but in the lyrics and the harmonies it's filled with so so so much death. It's so mournful. It gives me a "night before the war" vibe, just reflecting on the futility and beauty of life as you're about to lay it down, but underlied by the massive, violent strength associated with Natlan and the pyro element. I've had sub-zero expectations for this region honestly, but after listening to the symphony I just hope the story can pull off something deserving of that track
that’s such a beautiful interpretation, I can vividly envision what you mean. It represents Natlan beautifully as a nation with a raw, fierce drive for existence and life, built on a long history of ravaging wars, conflicts, and the spirits of the fallen. Very fitting for the Pyro element. Thank you for sharing.
Perhaps one could say its... an "Incandescent Ode of Rebirth?"
Strangely enough, listening to the first song actually reminded me of when my uncle (who was a soldier) passed away. His fellow soldiers started to sing a strange song before he was lowered to the ground. It was about sacrifice and continuing on despite loss, that awakened something... primal, I guess... feelings in me. It made me cry, couldn't control myself, made me feel a strange and deep sense of loss. More surprising since I only used to see him during holidays and didn't really know him on a deeper level. It was probably a dirge, or something, that soldiers in my country sing since they all seemed to know the lyrics by heart.
I watched this live and I cried. I watched the video of the performance afterwards and cried. I watched your analisys now and (guess it) I cried too. These are special pieces of music, so powerful and so moving
Me when I enjoy the music but not the tears that always come with it. Fighting tears every time fr
I love how the instruments and chorus together brought a sense of undying vigor and positive outlook in a heightened sense of danger/challenge.
I'm so happy you've given us an analysis of the Natlan Symphony! The focus on the vocals stunned me when I first heard it, because of their purity, pride and resolve. It's the first regional theme in Genshin Impact that actually feels like a national anthem, and to me it's so evocative of the proverb 'One is born, one dies, the land increases'.
Plus if you played theough the archon quest, the first song here hits harder.
I'm from Perú, to those two wind instruments we call the flute like Quena and the panpipe like Zampoña (in Argentina its called ziku), I'm very happy and proud see both of them in this symphony, I was waiting for this, even the implementation of their sound is fantastic.
The point you made about swahili being very singable is very true. Swahili has a lot of freedom in terms of the syllables and what you can do with them.
Im a swahili speaker(kenyan) and having studied the language, there might be a bit of insight i can give about it. Swahili is mostly based of of syllables with a single syllable carrying a whole set of meanings. I remember learning about all the things that a single letter "a" can represent hence when you translate a sentence in english, you will probably have a single word in swahili.
Syllables are also very short with most being a single letter, two letters or even three. A 4 letter syllable is rare and almost non existent.
As an example, the first word "shambulia"(meaning attack, or in this case charge) has about 4 syllables sha-mbu-li-a. You can draw out or compress each syllable as much as you want and the meaning is fully retained. Thats the beauty of the language and it makes it very easy to work with considering how easy it is to subdivide the words. This quality may explain why it blends so well with music, particularly orchestra. It also makes swahili easy to learn because you the words are very easily to subdivide and pronounce once youve digested them. Although there are about 16 genders(ngeli in swahili) thatd youll have to learn😂
The language itself is more of a mixture of various languages from kenya and tanzania along with some arabic so its easy for a random guy in these two countries to speak and understand because it shares alot of words with their mother tongue.
Swahili songs also hit different, especially when they are slow and steady. When it comes to songsbin this language, i kind of put aside my music knowledge and analysis and just flow with the song am enjoy it. It really is quite beautiful. If you want a song to pull your heartstrings, go to swahili.
Though i cant help but point out that the song has lots of grammatical errors😅
Probably should have consulted a native or a proficient speaker for that translation
I personally don't think that Yu-Peng Chen leaving was the reason why we feel that Fontaine was a step backwards in terms of the music.
The piece that we hear during the X.0 Livestream is usually heavily linked to the archon quest in the story. Fontaine's AQ was emotional and sad and had themes of sacrifice, burden and salvation. So the tune was soft in places, heavy in others and somewhat melancholic. This is why the music in Inazuma hinges on the scary because we are in front of a commanding deity.
Natlan is the nation of war, pyro is also an explosive element. This national anthem like you called it, is supposed to make you fired up, pumped up and ready to go to war to save your land and it does its job perfectly. The music in Genshin Impact ties up perfectly to the main theme of each nation and portrays it as such!
Also, the inclusion of foreign instruments in Liyue and Inazuma music, as well as the mix between different cultures in Sumeru and Natlan music really set the tone for the game and makes it feel like Mondstadt and Fontaine music was a step back. There is much more creativity involved in the making of Sumeru and Natlan's music just because they are marrying different styles of music together with the European style.
Idk if I made sense at all. I am not a music expert and english is not my first language, so, sorry if I sound a bit all over the place.
No i feel like you right. The reason why mondstadt and fontaine feels "lack" is not because the arrangement isnt good but the region itself based on european. We often to listen to them.
But... Liyue, Inazuma, Sumeru, and Natlan feels rich because the region based not from europe. They also got so many other traditional instrument. The other traditional instrument got diverse scale and notes. So it makes the other region feels "rich" and not so many people heard/listen/know them
tbh as asian that lives in ring of fire country, i think fountaine's main theme is really great. it's like the epitome of water itself. it looks calm from the outside, but you never know how much deep they actually are, and suddenly you just got drowned helplessly
i guess it really just westerners that so used with european type of music
Fontaine music was worse in terms of quality than all the nations before because it lacked the cohesion other areas had. (in musical, and quality terms) There were extreme differences in some music pieces in different areas (quality wise).
Like no one can compare the music that's playing in the Palace Memonia (most generic Genshin track I have ever heard) to for ex, the Whale bossfight music, as far as quality/creativity goes. While the mentioned musical piece is not bad (Palais Memonia) it is very unimaginative, and boring. If I want to listen to 17th century accurate music I would liten to some of the more famous music composers from that era.
@@pepita2437 How many times were you in the Palais Mermonia after the archon quest? I can't remember what piece you are talking about because I haven't went there for like an eternity!
@@andrewmattar4178 I remember because you have to go back a ton during world quests.
Also, the fact that most people don't remember Palaise Memonia's track is a testament how boring and forgettable it was. XD
For Photon of Fluctuation, ive always thought those battle themes resemble more of a high-spirited dance, which is honestly how a lot of overworld fighting feels. 4 characters moving and swapping synergestically with well-rehearsed movements. The gameplay would honestly feel a bit off with such an artistic fighting style paired with more serious music outside of heavy plot moments
Same, for me Photon of Fluctuation is a key reminder of what makes Genshin feel like Genshin when it comes to combat in the open world, and it allows special fights to have a distinct feeling and make the story more impactful in those important moments.
All the technical analytic aspects aside, what I always love about your videos, is just how passionate you are about music as a whole, and how much you can appreciate a wide variety of languages and cultural sounds from all over the world, we can hear the excitement and raw emotion it in your voice when you speak about it. I deeply admire you man, keep up with your amazing work. Thank you so much!
Thank you so much a lot
As a Venezuelan, I still have hope for one of the battle themes sounding like Fuga con Pajarillo (Psps, if you read this Marco, I really recommend you look it up! It's truly one of the most amazing pieces of Venezuelan orchestral music, at least in my opinion. Kanaima as well 👀).
As always, thank you so much for the analysis! It's always great to watch your breakdowns of Genshin music 😊
Ah yes Swahili, the language that made "Hakuna Matata" popular
I learned this the day this MV released while googling the lyrics to find out what language it was 😭
For me the Natlan theme (especially the motif/part with the zampoña and the quena) made me feel like it's such a blessing to exist in this world, and I have a right to exist. I'm finally at a positive turning point in my life, finally reaching for things I love and learning to love myself too. Kinda like something beautiful is beginning and life itself is beautiful. But the music also has sort of peaceful melancholy, like something has also ended, but it's okay. Tbh this theme made me cry cuz of those feelings it evoked lol. Love these break-downs Marco!
I was actually surprised Marco didn't stream or react to it right away lol
me too. he seemed to be not covering much Genshin stuff. so maybe he was taking a littler break of sorts
@@TheGamingTeam101Tgt101he did say he will be taking a break from genshin stuff (playing it mostly). He made a community post about it im pretty sure. Well rather than a break he will be doing less genshin stuff overall
i was away on vacation!
@@MarcoMeatball You might not know, but your analysis and breakdown videos taught me a lot about music and made me appreciate every form of it. Thanks and hope you enjoyed your vacation!
@@MarcoMeatball YEAH! Hope you had a nice time!
marco, eventhough english isn´t my mother lenguage, i just wanted you to know that i cried with your breakdown of this symphony, thanks to u i could understad SO MUCH more about musicality, and your explanation was amazing, i really apreciate you videos bc i can learn a lot from them, you are changing lives!
Wow, thank you!
I have to disagree on the photon of fluctuation part, most of the songs with it are my favorite overworld battle themes from the individual regions, especially swirls of shamshir, the sumeru version is my favorite song in the game as a whole. Yes in comes down to individual opinion though, but I love that it ties each nation together while showcasing the best parts of the nations individuality and also serves as our introduction to each nation at release. But I really appreciate your analysis of the performance!
What I like about Natlan's soundtrack so far is that it adds "Voice" to Genshin. Lots of chorus and expression, with instruments and singers. In My opinion... What makes this stand out, is that it feels like the singers , are responding directly to the music. The lyrics at least seem to do that , especially in battle.
This is just my paranoia mind,
But i think they have to or they need it now. Fontaine music is really good, but some ppl said its just Mondo music,
Same thing might happen to Natlan where ppl maybe calling it "this is just Sumeru music"
@@darkrow8488 mmm. I think the case with every region except Sumeru , is that most of them have one Big reference (one country) and Sumeru does not. That have them a BIG advantage in letting the Game have a culture of it's own.
Fontaine returned to that , and so , it felt more like a step down after the team proving themselves that they can create a Unique enviorment pulling several references.
In Natlan's case , we see that they once again Drew inspirations out of a Big group of references ,and so the music sounds Unique since it had various elements from different cultures again. I do think adding "voice" at the right Moments Made this 1000 times better than it may be without them.
And again , they can play with that here. The chorus in battle has a distinct relationship with the nation's culture, Lore , story , and the player's Purpose. They just served themselves in many parts.
@@darkrow8488as both black and South American my interpretation was a bit different; unlike the previous cases that have extensive documentation, the cultures that based Natlan are huge on oral tradition, writing down our myths and costumes is a very recent thing and hearing prevails over reading about folk tales, learning our recipes…. use a choir makes sense to me because our cultures are basically experienced via the spoken word.
Marco: I'm tired of these variations of Photon of Fluctuation
Me: After 4 years, I still can't identify the Photon of Fluctuation motif in these variations
❤Pan pipes 🎉 - such a gorgeous ethereal sound
[Marco singing and explaining “hello”, reminds me of Adele singing her song]
And love the use of Swahili and it melds so beautifully with the instrumentals❤
20:55 The "sike" is probably symbolizing rising from the ashes like a Phoenix
The pyro archon after she got revive.
Capitano: SIKEEEEEE!!!
The parts where the flute and pan flute come in gives a sense of sadness, joy, hope and a sense of duty all at the same time. I absolutely love it.
Hey marc, ignore the idiots who don't understand how to behave like a normal human being. Their opinions don't matter. Keep doing what you're doing because you are the one I looked for first whenever I wanted to see a musician react to the natlan orchestra.
I've always felt that when Hoyo-mix make music that their primarily Asian and secondary Western European and adjacent audiences aren't familiar with, that's when they pop off so hard.
Sumeru and Natlan are currently my absolute favourites, not just because they're 100% amazing gorgeous melodic motific and beautiful, but also because prior to them I had never been acquainted with Arabic themed music or tribal Swahili songs at all. And I gotta say - I'm liking what I'm hearing. And that's an added layer of excitement to me.
Without getting to into leaks and spoilers and what-not - the other battle tracks are absolute bops too and I love them all! We already heard the didgeridoo part of one of them in a previous teaser, I really like what they do with the rest of that track.
I think that the whole piece makes me feel a sense of family; how we’re all in this world together. The main male voice gives off a sense of leadership and responsibility, yet comfort at the same time. It’s like he’ll be by your side in a battle, and he’ll have your back the whole time. The group of female voices feel similar to the male, they all have that sense of comfort, yet willingness to give their all for what they believe in.
The entire choir reminds me of a large group of warriors, as if they know this could be their last moments alive, and they want to bond for one last time, while also boosting morale.
Overall, I think it’s such a beautiful piece, and I’ve been listening to it nonstop,, need it on Spotify ASAP lmao
I know you asked for thoughts so I figured I’d pitch in! Hoyo-mix never misses, and I love love love LOVE looking for the deeper meaning in things AHHH
9:00 i find this motif so beautiful. flutes always make me feel the most.
i agree. to me, it feels like reminiscing about the great things in life, all your accomplishments and everything you will miss in war, knowing you will lose it all if you die. but instead of being sad, it is filled with hope...like marching forward with no regrets, accepting anything in your way.
starting off a little melancholic and continuously gaining confidence until no regret remains...with the first flute, it feels like stopping and turning back for a moment to ponder. the pan flute feels like reassuring yourself this is the right decision and a reminder you are not alone, then catching up with everyone to continue forward, full of determination. and then the singing part comes, everyone is together again. it is one of my favourite parts.
i love everything about this music. it fits natlan perfectly and tells so much. the music is my favourite thing about the game, but natlan is especially amazing.
(english is not my first language and i find it hard to word my feelings, so i am not sure if it is understandable. i just wanted to contribute my personal interpretation, since i was happy to see mr meatball point this out.)
One of my absolute favourite things in the music of this game is that you get to hear it before it is tied to any concrete meaning, and you go on a journey with that music through several archon quests, and as you reach the climax of the story that music is still there with you. Maybe a little different, but it's still there. And when you hear it again during the final chapters, it takes on an entirely new meaning, and kind of always will from that point on. It reminds me of reading a book and finding out the Big Secret and then realising all the different ways it's been foreshadowed throughout the whole story and frantically trying to find them all from beginning to end. It feels in some ways like the meaning and plot has been staring us in the face within the music the whole time, and I'm so looking forward to being taken on that journey in Natlan
The first time I heard it, I didn't know what it meant, and the second time I heard it, I was already involved.
I'm not really a music expert or anything but all I know is that this is probably one of the greatest pieces of music I've ever heard that's associated with a game, infact I got extremely close to tearing up the first time I listened to it just from pure adrenaline
8:59 I think it brings a sense of pride of home of the ancestors and the meaning of the fight we strive on
This game is a goddamn music album that gets better and better with every year) I've heard the first track as a one minute long MIDI-demo leak and even then it was fire. This makes me so happy
this literally made me cry. There is such a sense of clarity and community in this piece.
I live for these breakdown videos. Not just from a singer/musician perspective but also as a normal person, I find your videos really insightful. Thank you. Bless your soul 🙏🏼
I prefer this breakdown type of video, it adds more value ❤❤
Thank you marco
9:00 Interesting question! Personnally, the first motif you've mentionned strikes me as a very solemn, driven and dutiful melody (possibly linked to Natlan's long standing conflict with the Abyss, where their warriors give their all to keep it at bay). That second motif, to me, evokes community, and communion with nature (so the different clans, and their mutualistic relationships with the saurians, and by extention, with nature and the elements).
Outside of the great music at hand here, you're saying a lot of very important and powerful things about music in general in this video. This is definitely one of my favorite video of yours because of it! I might not always agree and have the same tastes as you, but I always feel understood and seen in the way you talk about how you experience and feel music and how it influences our lives! ♥
🫶
I think this might be my favourite nation concert they’ve done so far. And I know a lot of people say that with every new one, but for me personally, I haven’t teared up listening to the live concerts the first watch through, except for this one. It’s just so… so well done. The vocals and instruments and everyone playing, this one to me was very special.
Thank you Marco for this
I’m waiting for your analysis of this theme
I wanna say this since some people have been toxic to you because of this being late, It’s ok to take your time to do it!
I'm here to highlight the talented composers of HoYo-Mix. Dimeng Yuan is the composer of Natlan (Main Theme) and Yuxi Wang is the composer of Anthem of the Savannah (Battle Theme).
I'm really excited about the OST of Natlan because i felt the same as Marco about Fontaine music, it was good but i wondered why it didn't catch my attention so much like before, and i think the reason to that is because it's mainly european culture, they didn't have a lot to explore and the team was getting used to the new region after Yu Peng Chen left the project.
I really hope that yijun jiang is also heavily involved with natlan music. Everything he has touched has been a masterpiece.
Fontaine is one of my favorites for music, because its European culture lol
@@-.Lizard_eggs.-i think in terms of unique identity..
Fontaine music is the weakest..
By weakest, i mean least standout among all nations cultural music
@@hiborz9705 in my opinion that’s Mondstat.
@@sajindahal790 fr!! hes my GOAT
Your analysis videos are as much as a highlight for me as the genshin music presentations.
I couldn't get enough of this myself. I loved many tracks from Fontaine (sad you didn't like them much) but this was such a huge jump of...everything, just like Natlan itself. Can't wait for it and I hope we see Dvorak sometime in this version ❤
After doing 4.2 archon quest, everytime I heard this song I cry a lot, it's really emotional.
The first time you heard it it's ok, I mean, it's an hymn and a very precious hymn, pero when you hear the song in the game, with all the context, it really hits you, when even the Natlan citizens sings this song; i don't know man, it really hits me and make me cry a river.
Okay okay I just finished the first few Natlan quests and then watching Marco reacting to the music damn Marco you hit the meaning of the music so clearly with the Natlan people
That’s awesome.
I think that HoYo-Mix knows what they are doing with the music, I love HoYo-Mix since Honkai Impact 3rd.
This was a great analysis vid, Marco! I like coming here for the insights that I might have missed. (Or to even validate some that I felt when listening to the music piece.) thanks much and carry on!
Completely agree with how you describe the motif, i sense a feel of hardship but also a connection with nature and a simple/humble life, is a call to accept that life is hard but worth to fight for, and in a more bigger scale, to defend our humble home against something big, but strength is not on numbers but on the determination and love for the homeland.
Is like the concept of war in the most noble way possible.
It's wild to think Snyezhnaya is already next after this.
Marco, Your understanding of music is really beautiful and simple, it really make Me rethink a lot of things, thank you for this analysis!
I already loved the motif and lyrics before the patch. Knowing now that it was used to accentuate the feelings around the Ode of Resurrection only makes me love it more! ❤
exactly how I listen to music.
close my eyes to focus all my sense into ears, capture every tone every note and while I can't analyze like pro musician I can imagine story and grand, epic moment along with music, along with emotion music itself evoke.
Anthem of the Savannah is easily one of, if not the best rendition of photon of fluctuation yet.
I don't know shiz about motif, but what's certain is these two osts make me feel patriotism for a fictional country and that's crazy.
Have been waiting for you to do a video on this one. Natlan was the region I was most eagerly awaiting because of the diversity of influences/instrumentation and how under represented they were in VGM to date relatively speaking. Cannot wait to hear this region's boss theme in the hopes they can top Scaramouche's. There is a theory in the lore community that the elements are each a category thematically, Anemo for loss/grief for example. Pyro seems to be thematically and fittingly, passing the torch. I feel like beyond the lyrics you can hear that reflected by the sections that seem to be someone in the present envisioning a conversation with their lineage in the past. The main motif seems to be reaching for that kind of regal bittersweet moment one looks back on past experiences and feels some kind of recontextualized support of those close to them no longer with them. Knowing that the Aztec and Mayan cultures are a heavy influence on the region also frames hearing the difficulty in the journey as reflecting both those cultures' views on the afterlife being started by an arduous mythic journey through trials before arriving at rest, rather than instantly becoming whatever the passed will become.
There was this movie in 2000 titled "Frequency" in which a character is able to use a radio affected by solar storms to speak to his deceased father through time while the father was still alive. The way that the main theme track (if that's what it is) keeps echoing a motif from one more ancient sounding instrument to another, makes me think the storyline could do something like that movie. Something like the characters are trying to compete in the present somehow such that their tribal ancestors can advance in their own afterlife journeys in parallel, perhaps even with some form of communication. The livestream kept mentioning something about "night soul" as a power unique to Natlan characters, perhaps that's some kind of ancestral support from the underworld. Just putting a timestamp on that in case it turns out in the ballpark. Hoyo loves pulling from Scifi and ancient myth simultaneously, so it's not impossible.
been waiting for this
Sawahili in arabic means coastal, like the language of people living near coasts, and as an arab i am familiar with some words like
dunia : life before death
Warithi : means the one that inherites from me
Hadithi : means my speech, can also work as my tale
Ushujaa : means brave wich in arabic is shujaa
Ardhi : means earth which in arabic is ard
Kama : like
Ya : a tool we use to call someone or name someone, it comes right before the name, as for example : "ya shujaa" means "oh brave"
Al-fajiri : the dawn wich in arabic is al-fajr
Swahili is historically born on the east coast of Africa due to intermingling between Arabs and native Africans back then. It's mostly spoken in Tanzania and Kenya, though it's widely familiarized throughout East Africa. (Tanzanian btw)
tmw natlan has more spoken arabic than sumeru
that's awesome
Swahili was influenced alot by Arabic language that's why there is Arabic words in. @@luqmti6634
@@Someone45356Sumeru is more Persian Empire anyway.
Natlan's main theme feels like a national anthem you wouldn't help but cry to and admire. It's powerful and poetic in an epic way, it feels like the people are ready to do anything and everything to protect their country and honor.
For some reason, the first song makes me so emotional...
the most emotionally music in Genshin that affect me for now
I loved being in band in school, and music overall. And Baba Yetu is one of my top favorite songs in general. I don't know about what I previously played that would be nostalgic or what, but there's something in the piece that's so well composed and hits a nerve, I just tear up each time listening to it.
was waiting for this one, you are the best marcooo
Just looked up if Marco had put up his analysis. Here we are! 5 minutes ago!❤
I'm so glad you did analysis for this. Like the music made me feel like I was tearing up when I heard it the first time. I put this on because I wanted to watch a little of it and then do something else and finish it later and whoops you sucked me in and I'm finishing it in one sitting.
For me the music feels like I'm being told stories while sitting in front of a hearth. A sense of comfort and awe ate the same time.
Yo I love the instrumentation and singing of the new OST, I'm so hype to see what's more to Natlan than this little glimpse they gave us.
For example when they gave us a glimpse of Sumeru, we didn't get to see Port Ormos theme, I'm astoundingly curious to see what other absolute masterpieces are they cooking
I have not checked RUclips for a day but when I saw your notification I ultimately stopped what I was doing and watched this, finally!
The music in Natlan definitely had me on goosebumps and I couldn't even process what I was feeling I was just blown away by how great this is and that's just an understatement. Way beyond beautiful! Genshin on their music never disappoints!
The Hoyo-mix team creates some of the best music i've ever heard in a video game! The music in this game is so diverse, and it connects perfectly with the region it's related to! I love watching your analysis videos for Genshin music. Have a nice day 😃
the way you approach music is always so curious and respectful yet with so much wonder... i love that, and i learn so much from it! couldnt wait for you to see this, and im so glad to hear your thoughts. take care! sending warm thoughts
I agree with what you feel about this melody and I also feel like the melody wants to tell us about a story, filled with the emotions you talked about, like a celebrations in the name of the stories they are telling us (mainly the first part)
Your breakdowns of music in Hoyoverse games make me appreciate it even more. It feels so satisfying
I cried listening to the Natlan songs. Makes me feels courage to live through live, through the fiery hell it is sometimes and explode with blazing spirit after my journey. I love music that can convey stories and Hoyo-Mix is a master in doing this.
This is less about musical analysis, more about lyrical analysis and how it can relate to the story, but since you pointed out the lines with the phoenix imagery, I do think there's a key thing that people aren't really talking about.
"In the end you burn to cinders *for* a dream.
In the end you rekindle in ashes *because of* a dream."
I can't help but feel like this difference is highly significant. I have no idea what it might mean though.
I was waiting for this since the livestream, I just love to hear you ramble and explaining how music can work. The folklorical instruments, God, can we talk about them,so unique way to asemble them, we can see: banjo,quena, panflute (zamponha siku), ocarina,djembe,kora,marimba,balafon, steeldrum,guasá,ukelele,sanza (a type of kalimba) and jgo dum dum as far as I could see and recognize. I just love instruments so i did my research
I really loved your explanation of what those melody means ,and when this game version drops and when something sad happens i can cry more freely understanding what it means by correlating the meanings.
Goddang u explained it really well that I can't listen to these without getting emotional anymore 😭
as someone who is a fan of both i would havve lovevd the first reaction at the beginning followed up bby the analysis
To me it's a hymn to what it means to be brave. Knowing a bit about the game it's a nation that struggle for it's very existence.
It's one of my favourites already
The music gives me goose bumps and i feel the intensity. I totally love the vocals!
The first song definitely gives me the feeling of a big inspirational speech for a nation ready to go to war for values or something they believe them. There's a somber aspect, but also a sense of determination and energy of a group facing something together
hi marcoo, gotta say, you're really the reason that i enthusiastically break down hoyoverse's music production to my friend (and they loved it, surprisingly) 😅😂
It's so beautiful that I got goosebumps while listening to it. made me question life
When I heard this during the livestream I was excited to see your analysis on it, thanks for the video!
Was waiting for this Marco, thanks dude 🙌
Great stuff. Love that everyone in the livestream was like "Can't wait for Marco's analysis"
I'm excited for hopefully more analysis when 5.0 drops.
Hi Marco! Just wanted to say that your analysis are super entertaining 😊
I heard resolution and unity, and the tributes they paid to history of mankind and to the memories of heroes, it's really an exceptional piece in the way how it embraces folk instruments and folk vocals into symphonic music, generating a vibe that people from different groups are really standing together as one soul.
I really wish I would have had someone like you as a music teacher. Thank you so much for this break down, I feel like reading up more on the professional terms you used after it!
I am showing this even to my friends who don't know the game at all, to just listen to it without knowing any context and even they say it is beautiful and they are loving this. I for one literally cried at some points. ❤
Love the breakdown Marco... When I heard the lyrics I felt astonishment since its new to me to hear a genshin piece be dominated with words... Then I felt some nostalgia.... The community spirit really poured in.. there's that feeling of togetherness and feeling of pride as a nation