“Dead End” is a highly intense track that only plays twice in-game, and for two very brief scenes. At the time the Materia Collective was doing track selection signups, I was watching Cowboy Bebop, and I noticed how similar the opening of Yoko Kanno's “TANK!” was to the opening of “Dead End.” This thought grew and later developed into the idea of arranging “Dead End” as a bebop-style big band piece. The battle-esque character of the music is what initially drew me into making this arrangement, but I wanted to strip away the atonal buildup sections in the second half of the original 1 minute track to really highlight the tiny melody and to fully develop the piece into something that wouldn't seem out-of-place on, say, a big band stage. As my first venture into the realm of jazz, it was quite a hurdle to overcome the comfort of my standard style of arrangement, but I am happy with the way this piece turned out. I hope you enjoy listening to it as well!

Appears on SUCCESSOR: Final Fantasy VIII Remixed