OCR02001 - Donkey Kong Country 2 'Sturm und Kong'

[djpretzel]

What did you think? Post your opinion of this ReMix.

[OA]

The Koan of Drums (http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01500/) finally has finally met a worthy adversary to fight for the title of "The Best djpretzel Mix"*. I love the dark and dramatic opening and how it leads into a crazy and cool electronic track with some massive kettle drum hits. Special props for some well-done brass attacks, which sounded like pretty solid sequencing by anyone's measure. The highlight for me though is the huge synth dive at 2:09 followed by a tiny pizzicato plink up top. Super cheeky and cool. The solos were pretty well done too. Excellent stuff here. :-)












*all opinion, don't try this at home, kids!

[Master_Yoshi]

.... You had me at the intro.

Best DJP ever! Well... after the Sveldt, of course.

[LazarCotoron]

It's weird. I've been jamming to great tunes on OCR for a long time, and I've always loved djpretzel's work. At first, I launch this thing, I'm thinking about how this is different... then right at 0:55, I knew instantly-djpretzel was here.

[SubNormal J3]

Great intro for the album

[metaphist]

Damn, DJP. This is definitely top 3 stuff for you. I don't have to go back through all 1000 of your other tracks to confirm that (don't feel bad for taking a year off).

Like LazarCotoron, I also love that I can instantly recognize your work...good stuff, man.

[TenchuX]

Phenomenal work here DJP!

[Monobrow]

Nice work djp.

Actually this is a very cohesive cool mix. Honestly I was wondering how this would sound since it seemingly took forever, like if you were kind of just whipping it out all rushed, since you seem so busy all the time, but this is quality, and a very nice and atmospheric intro to the project.

The low synth that pans around at about a minute in is sexy. I'm a sucker for saws, its in badass territory for me.

I am also not a huge fan of full orchestral/electronic hybrids, really picky about those, but it seems like you made some good choices, the bells really add a nice touch too. Hell, good choices all around IMO.

My only qualm is, the violin section about 2 minutes in, the string hits seem just a tiny bit late, I would have moved the notes in just tad earlier on the piano roll to compensate for the slightly late attack there... Just a tiny bit..

Other than that, real solid and congrats to everyone on finishing this project :J.

[Crulex]

Nicely done, DJP, I knew you could do it. Tuba and Basson FTW! You really did have that Elfman thing going in the intro, but no one works an electro-ocra. ReMix like you. It is an epic way to begin the DKC2 album (in numbers) and while you may have taken the year off to get the site and this mix in top form, I think this is your year! Go DJP!

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Absolutely worth the wait. Excellent track!

[Arcana]

I was actually a big fan of the funky hybrid. Someone said that this track was all orchestral and I was like, "What? I want my funky rhythms!"

Glad I got it with this track. The verses really do it for me, as well as the marcato strings that back the entire track up. The chines are a lovely touch. Yeah they channel Elfman a bit. :)

The thing I would have liked to hear more of would have been more of a 'rocking' synth solo at 2:22. No matter. Good work!

[jintoreedwine]

Great to see you back with some remixes! You may not have posted in 2009 but it seems your skills are better than ever. I really love this remix! :)

[SwordBreaker]

I'm going to play the devil's advocate with this mix...it's executed and written well, no doubts about that. But something about it rubs me the wrong way. It's a good example of a remix having an identity crisis. I don't think both styles blend well together in this mix in particular. Sounds very crowded overall. Lots of sounds all over the place which makes it hard to appreciate the interpretation and work on each style individually. It would've worked a lot better if the remix was consistent with one style...and I prefer the orchestral in this situation since the intro and ending sound really epic.

I enjoyed DJP's other track in the project a lot more and I think it's one of his best works overall. The original is one of my favorites in DKC2 and DJP does a great job in making it funkier. But I'll write up my full thoughts once that track is posted.

[Sir_Snooze]

This is my second-favourite djp mix (sorry, but the number one is still Koan of Drums, on Summoning of Spirits) - electrorchestra is normally a tough one to pull off...but this is pulled off spectacularly.

Fantastic work, djp! With luck, we'll be getting more like this in the near future!

[Theophany]

Best track on CD1, after Welcome to the Funky House.

[Djinn]

You can always count on DJPretzel to deliver the brass! I love me some tuba. This is one of my favorite tracks on the entire album, and the perfect way to kick things off. I hope we get to hear more from you in the future man!

[Chernabogue]

My favorite track from djp ! Awesome job !

[Bahamut]

I liked this quite a bit - it was worth waiting for Dave to complete this track, resulting in the perfect opening track. In a lot of ways, the song embodies what the album is like, full of a diverse set of styles.

I like active orchestral/electronic hybrids, and this song is no exception.

[CancerousCell]

this gave me chills, several times.

[Flare4War]

It's definitely got the djp funkiness. I love it start to finish.