InterTidal and Marine Flambè Interview
Marta: After, soooo long we finally managed to arrange an interview!
Iris: Yeah, we would’ve done it sooner, but someone here kept forgetting to plan this in the first place!
Viri: Well of course at your age you tend to forget this kind of things!
Iris: I’m not that old!
Viri: Sure, grandma…
Skye: You kinda have to keep some form of professionalism you know, this interview will be out to the public.
Aki: Yeah we should probably start by answearing to some questions that were asked after we published our collaboration music video.
How did you meet?
Viri: We were just trying to find our way around Splatilano City and we got lost because Iris wouldn’t hand over the map, despite the fact I told her I knew where we would need to go!
Iris: You can’t read.
Skye: We’re getting off-topic again…
Viri: Anyways after a while, we eventually found an arcade and she was obsessed with the crain machines.
Viri: Actually, Iris has a gambling addic-
Iris: We don’t talk about that!
Skye: …And so there we met Marine Flambè who just happen to have also an individual with those kind of issues.
Aki: Unforunately…
Marta: Hey! Listen! It’s not my fault! They say that 90% of winners quit before they win big okay?!
Aki: You sure that it isn’t just an article that promotes that behaviour?
Iris: We recognized that it was Marine Flambè after reading the brochure before coming to the city.
Marta: I was actually intrigued by them so I came over to greet them.
Iris: …In your own dialect which we couldn’t understand…
Viri: So because of that Iris thought she was being insulted and just yelled back.
Marta: I mean I literally just said “bongiórno” which was a greeting…
Iris: Well I didn’t know!
Aki: After that, Marta decided to turn everything into a gaming competition, because she was just too mad at Iris for randomly insulting her.
Marta: Hey whoever dares to say anything mean to me pays the consequences!
Skye: So… In conclusion it was all just a misunderstanding.
Why was Shark Bytes chosen as a cover?
Mich: We chose that song because Bytes could also be related to arcade games.
Mich: Actually that place where we went was the place where we went after the rap battle with Off The Hook.
Mich: So to make them honor we decided that it would be fitting.
(what would Viri/Iris/Skye say?) maybe Skye since she’s the producer could say something regarding the production?
Skye: In addition, Shark Bytes based on some marketing researches, has been one of the most successful tracks from Off The Hook. It was used multiple times during the FinalFest and the Grand Festival. So on a strategic point, it was a studied move.
Aki: (How do we tell her that we just took out a paper randomly?)
Future plans?
Marta: Well… We’re planning something big coming up in the next month.
Viri: Yeah! We hope everyone will be excited to see what’s coming.
Aki: Make sure to check out the news and you’ll find out someday!
Mich: We’ve prepared diligently for it so make sure to really check it out!
Iris: Or else you might get crushed!
Skye: I think this wraps up our interview.
Interview with the directors
What were the biggest challenges that overlapped between you and the completion of this project?
Akino: Definitely the availability of people and the poorly optimized management of content. There were many management flaws because we wanted to do things in a certain way and consequently we did not notice the flaws for a long time. As for availability, unfortunately it is inevitable since it is a project made for fun and therefore consequently plans fall apart.
MiK: A HUGE challenge was, initially, learning how to produce musically in a style that was almost faithful to Nintendo’s style, while at the same time veering towards a more distinctive style. Let’s say that it was a painful challenge that managed to help me improve a lot in the musical field, I owe everything to the way Akino enslaved me (I love you Akino).
We see how Marine Flambé actually have an inspiration from Italian culture both in style and songs, but why this choice? Couldn’t we have Swedish idols?
Akino: We chose Italy precisely because we are Italian! In reality, we also mixed elements from other cultures so as not to make everything monotonous. But the reason why they are mainly inspired by Italy is due to the fact that the community we have created is Italian.
MiK: It all starts from a meme I created in 2022 about my hometown (Taranto) and all of Apulian culture. I decided, with the consent of the others, to give Mich Apulian characteristics, such as the sunny and extroverted character, the desire to celebrate with music and dance all together and much more. The accordion is often used in the Apulian pizzica so I added it as a characteristic instrument of the character, the mandolin instead is used a little less in Apulian folk, but I decided to use it anyway to have a good background instrument.
What are some examples of projects that have unfortunately been cancelled?
Akino: For example, the entire 2023 Wind Season. It was supposed to be a big update with the release of several albums, the addition of a new tournament, and so many other server features. Some of these things have been postponed to updates later but some have ultimately been canceled, such as the new type of tournament.
MiK: Well, it’s important to think about the fact that, originally, Mich would never have existed! My role was that of composer and producer and I should never have sung (it is no coincidence that there are old messages in which I say: “of course, as long as I don’t sing!” … those messages have not aged so well). Then, well, the 2022 subathon was a project that we prepared in detail, even if it failed miserably (and I don’t even remember the reason anymore haha!).
Venerable Akino, do you think your love for Splatoon will still be there for quite some time (especially now with the reveal of the Splatoon Raiders spin-off), or do you feel that slowly that love and passion is fading, so you want to delve into another community of another game?
Akino: Love comes and goes. Definitely for me Splatoon has a special place being the game I’ve played since 2015. I met a lot of people through it and I was able to create this huge and super satisfying project! I also can’t listen to my mother who, when I bought Splatoon 1, told me that I would get bored after a week. Haha!
At the time, I (now an interviewer) had known that the next splatfests would have to take on an appearance more similar to Mario Party minigames, but what exactly did that mean? In the sense, could you give us an example?
Akino: Splatoon mini-games such as hide and seek or laser tag would be integrated into Splatfest and would give more points to teams that won these types of matches.
(MiK didn’t answer because she didn’t remember the mini-games.)
Mrs MiK, almost everyone in this community of ours knows that you have already participated in other projects. But by comparison, was working on Splatoon MF one more difficult or easier?
MiK: Ironically, despite all the deadly challenges that Akino imposed on me throughout Splatoon MF, I think the most thwarted project I was involved in was Yandere Simulator. Leaving aside its controversial reputation, it was a huge leap into the void to start producing music for that game also because, with all due respect, THE DEVELOPER DIDN’T LIKE ANYTHING, I HAD TO REDO ALL THE TRACKS AAAARGH…
But if I cook Marine Flambé… flambéed… What do I get? Joking aside, what do you think will become of the future of this project? Will there be other similar projects? Or “sequels”?
Akino: The Flambéed Marines! As for the future, you will have to watch our publications carefully. There may be something there or not… Perhaps.
MiK: And instead I’ll also answer the first question: you probably find yourself with a panzerotto stuffed with raw fish and chicken. Anyway, about this question of yours… The only thing I can say is: stay connected and see for yourself!
Who have been (and hopefully will continue to be) your favorite people from the Discord channel?
Akino: I don’t play favoritism so I will say that all the ones I have met and with whom I still talk today are the best!
MiK: So absolutely you, Akino, Marty, Cronik, Sandra24, Vin, Jay, Onion, Celeste, Cavalloemo and MANY OTHERS that now I’m probably not remembering but know that I love you very much and I miss you to death!!
We have seen how some of Marine Flambé’s songs are a remixed version of songs by Deep Cut. Did you do it since it would have been an easier job? Is it a demonstration of love for Deep Cut? Or both?
Akino: Personally I would say both. On the one hand it’s easier to work with a pre-existing song, but on the other hand the Trio Triglio is (for me) the most beautiful group ever. We decided to solve this thing in history by making Marine Flambè admirers of the Deep Cut.
MiK: Well, actually neither: Splatoon MF was born in the early period of Splatoon 3. The hype was at the highest level and we managed to involve as many people as possible thanks to the covers of the most important songs of the Triglio Trio. Plus it was phenomenal for me since I was still new to music production (I started only 2 years earlier!). It was an excellent training to get to what were the original songs (e.g. Shades of Flambè).
I personally could say that despite the turbulence and difficulties you have managed to bring a truly wonderful project … How do you feel about it? What are the emotions you can describe?
Akino: A lot of tiredness and a lot of uncertainties honestly. Being a fanmade project linked to Splatoon we also depend a bit on what Nintendo decides. Honestly, however, I also feel great satisfaction seeing everything that has been done in these 4 years.
MiK: I will always be proud of the project we have set up and that still remains alive after 4 years. It’s all thanks to you! You have brought to life something in which we have put our soul and you have made it even more beautiful. I’ll never know how to thank you enough, maybe something special will come out one day, who knows?