Ebb & Flow

Ebb & Flow is a song performed by Off the Hook.

Description
Ebb & Flow is a vibrant pop song performed in a celebratory style, in fitting with the atmosphere of a Splatfest. The song opens with a short instrumental before Pearl and Marina perform one line each of the beginning of the verse. The rest of the verse and the chorus features Marina predominantly singing, with Pearl interjecting some rapped lines, as well as rapping after the chorus before the song loops.

The song is revealed in Marina's chat room in the Octo Expansion to be created by Marina on her own, explaining Pearl's comparatively fewer parts in the song. It was the first song that Marina played to Pearl after raising the possibility of starting a band to her and subsequently convinced her to form Off the Hook after she enjoyed it. After Pearl's solo career ground to a halt, Ebb & Flow was the first song that Pearl and Marina recorded and released as a duo, and was the one that first put them in the public eye, although they did not shoot to stardom until their fourth single.

See also: Ebb & Flow

The song also appears in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and has a chance of playing on the Moray Towers stage, where a special Splatfest version of the stage is used if played. It can also be heard in the Sounds section in the Vault menu.

Lyrics
The booklet included with Splatune 2 gives the official lyrics for Ebb & Flow. The lyrics are nonsensical; the Japanese hiragana and katakana simply give the pronunciation. According to a Famitsu interview, the former is used to indicate Pearl's lyrics in Inkling language, whereas the latter is used to indicate Marina's lyrics in Octoling language.

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Ebb & Flow (Octo)
This remix of Ebb & Flow is played during the final Turf War battle against Commander Tartar in the Octo Expansion, being kept for the final minute of the battle, in a similar vein to how Now or Never! is usually played towards the end of regular Turf Wars. This significantly shortened version is played immediately on from Fly Octo Fly, using the same audio file with the name [[media:Octo Expansion Fly Octo Fly ~ Ebb Flow (Octo).ogg|Fly Octo Fly ~ Ebb & Flow (Octo)]]. However, it is separated from Fly Octo Fly in the Octotune album. As it is still performed by Off the Hook, this version sounds very similar to the original but is much more dramatic-sounding because of the circumstances it is played in, with a hint of desperation in the singers' voices towards the end. Only the chorus and the section immediately following it are used, with some new lyrics in the second half of the chorus and a definitive ending featuring a long note held by Marina as the timer hits zero. Some of Pearl's lyrics were first used in live performances of Ebb & Flow.

[[media:Ebb&FlowDemo.frsh.mp3|Ebb & Flow Demo]]
This is the original version of the song when it was just Marina's song. It was first heard as a music file in Marina's chat room under the file name Ebb&FlowDemo.frsh. It was created by Marina on a "half-busted keyboard" before Pearl joined her to form Off the Hook. Only the chorus is included in this version, with the "burp" backing and signature five-note jingle from Octo Valley and Octo Canyon playing in the background as hints to Marina's Octarian origins. As a demo, this version contains little instrumentation and none of Pearl's vocals, as her lines are replaced by a higher-pitched synthesiser.

Ebb & Flow (Live)
During live Off the Hook concerts, an extended version of Ebb & Flow has been used. Although each performance is different due to the live bands, they retain the same strong structure. The intro is extended, with Pearl and Marina cheering to the crowd to start the song properly. After the song's normal loop is played, Marina changes the second verse somewhat, freestyling the lyrics before the chorus continues as normal, although a brief instrumental made out of vocal samples is played after this. Finally, the song goes up a key for the final chorus before it gains a proper ending. A recording of this version from the Haikaraibu concert can be found in Octotune.

Ebb & Flow (Octo) (Live)
In live performances where only Off the Hook appear, an extended version of Ebb & Flow (Octo) is used. Pearl talks over the song's normal intro before using her personal Killer Wail attack on the audience as the song properly opens with the chorus. This version acts as a mixture of the normal and Octo versions, with the new chorus lyrics from the Octo version combined with Marina's freestyling of previous live versions. As the song prepares to fade out, Pearl cheers to the crowd and the song goes up a key twice - both at the start of the final chorus and for the second half and outro.

Conclusion
A short remix of the song's intro is played one-third of the way into Conclusion, the music that plays immediately after successfully detonating all the hyperbombs on the NILS Statue during the final battle of the Octo Expansion. The music appears as Pearl prepares to counter the statue's laser with her own voice-powered Killer Wail, quickly getting more and more intense until it changes up a key and gets faster when the two beams fire at each other. The track abruptly cuts out when Pearl's "booyah" overtakes the laser.

Grand Finale
A soft, slow vocal version of Ebb & Flow ' s chorus is played during Grand Finale as Agent 8's group celebrates saving Inkopolis and Agent 3 wakes up. It is only twenty seconds long and does not use the normal lyrics - instead simply vocalising the melody.

Trivia

 * In Turf War, Ebb & Flow (Octo) mimics the role of Now or Never! as the final minute theme, despite Ebb & Flow typically being a battle theme during Splatfest matches.

Etymology
Ebb and flow refers to the natural receding and advancing of the sea's tide, referring to the frantic back and forth struggle for victory in Splatfest matches, and later the final battle against Commander Tartar, whilst also fitting in with the nautical setting of Splatoon. This could also reference Pearl and Marina singing one line at a time at the beginning of the song. Flow can also refer to the concept of flow in hip hop, the measure of rhythm and cadence.