ReMix: Donkey Kong Country 'West Coast DK Island'

Donkey Kong Country 'Machina Anesthesia' prev   list all   next Final Fantasy Adventure 'Begin the End of the Beginning'
downloadDownload MP3
4,474,348 bytes, 4:18, 139kbps
Stream/preview on YouTubePlay Preview
Streaming preview on YouTube
eStarland.com
Donkey Kong Country

"DK Island Swing" is probably my favorite track from the DKC OST, and with (yet more) KiC coverage, JJT gives us his mellow, jazzy, muted-trumpet laden reinterpretation. Now, I don't advocate the consumption of illicit pharmaceuticals or inordinate amounts of legal alternatives, but if you find yourself in such a state, this is your groove. With some ambient aspects aside, one can picture guys in berets saying "daddy-o" and "out of sight" every other sentence and in general being beatniks. Kinda in that territory, at least. The vocalising at 1'20" in particular seemed "far out". Any time someone who knows who Miles Davis was hears a muted trumpet in ANY song, EVER, they usually liken said song to him, which is not always the case, but here they'd be okay, especially as the Jiggin one himself professes the influence:

"This drew a lot of stylistic influence from the west coast "cool" jazz movement of the 50's 60's. Chet Baker, Miles Davis and the like. The distorted rhodes sound was entirely too much fun to screw around with."

Gotta confess, I dig the original in large part because it's one of the classic swing-time platformer themes, and while I'm not of the narrow perception that it don't mean a thing if the swing is absent (to paraphrase), I do sorta miss the pomp and brazen energy of the source. Nevertheless, what JJT's come up with is a new creation, with a deeper pallete of tones and intonation. You've got a jazz brush set (heavy cymbal usage), rhodes, upright acoustic bass, a vocal that feels a little weird, some rockin' piano comping, but surely the spotlight-stealer and most vital element here is the muted trumpet. Which is awesome. Fluid, embellishing, quintessentially mellow - to steal a line from Mamet, I'll put it this way: it's so cool that when it goes to sleep, sheep count it. The drum fill following the main melody breakout at 2'30" is well-sequenced, but I could have seen the toms a bit louder and verbed; cymbals are definitely ruling the rhythm section. I'd say this is in Neskvartetten territory in some of its style and execution, which is paying a compliment to both parties. Very creative, and - in keeping with the theme thus far - very indicative of the range of styles this project has brought together under one umbrella. Slick.

― djpretzel

Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
It may take a while to actually get started, but the build-up, the atmosphere, all that is just awesome. Sets the mood to something fitting the game. The brass is especially cool. This is a track that takes a while to get into and a while to get out of, and that's perfect. :D

- Rozovian on February 22, 2009
Don't get me wrong, this is good stuff, but it just seems to take its time to get started, which is kinda :|
Still, that can be forgiven as it's still a great mix and great ambient jazz.

- 42 on January 18, 2009
The cymbal crashes kindof bug me as being too prominent, but other than that this is super awesome. I love the sound of a rhodes so much, and the bass and drums (minus those crashes) are great for the ambiance. The song progresses very nicely, and the muted trumpet is super moody. Great work.
Nice shifts through the various themes, and it all ties together well. Pretty classy stuff. :-)

- OA on May 5, 2008
This was the first mix over here that really showed me how diverse Jon was an an arranger. I definitely never expected something like this from him at the time.
Like Jared's comments alluded to, this was definitely a big hit at the time when I spotlighted Kong in Concert on VG Frequency. I also agreed with comments likening the feel to something out of The Jungle Book, albeit jazzier. It's got a great energy to it, and only makes you appreciate the source material more.
Getting him to join the panel in 2005 probably helped to get him to release some material that we otherwise might never have heard. Score one for the bad guys.

- Liontamer on October 5, 2007
Makes me think about Disney´s "Jungle book", when Lou the monkey king does his funny little solo. But that´s south-east, or is it west for you?
Eh, whatever, a very groovy remix that makes you relax and soar to the beautiful beaches in California. The bass and the sax puts some high-class style on it, donkeydude himself would be sure to love this funky mix.
But I wanted the melody to stand out a little more, because that´s a good song.
JigginJonT, great job. :D

- Bummerdude on September 28, 2005
I absolutely love the intro to this piece. It does an incredibly awesome job of setting the mood. It has a real groove to it. It's one of my favorites. This is some real Nice Work here. :nicework:

- Pip is uh..... on July 22, 2005
I listen to jazz every now and then because I love the drums in it, and If you've read any of my other posts, you've probably come to the conclusion that I'm a drummer. so ya, I love jazz.....good stuff

- Heyjohnny on July 18, 2005
I love this. It's probably the most listened-to DKC remix on my playlist, and the second note the trumpet plays after entering (at 1:39) makes me melt every time I hear it, and I still don't know why. This song is great, and I'd give it a high score. Very high.

- Kefjkarp on July 18, 2005
I just downloaded a few songs from KiC and this is one of my favourites
Awesome jazzy song, JigginJonT!

- jordex on February 9, 2005
Sweet. One of my favorites in a long time.

- Antipode on November 5, 2004
this is rather brilliant. I wasn't incredibly attatched to many of the results from the Donkey Kong Remix Project, but this one was ear-catchingly good. Better than good.
I don't pretend to be a jazz expert, so I'll hold off any more of my opinion. I'll just say that more people should listen to this remix/arrangement, as it deserves far more attention than its so far recieved.

- PostNoBills on November 4, 2004
Jared Hudson wrote: Miles Davis influenced...hell yes.
I remember commenting on this song on VG Frequency. I like the smooth rhodes piano throughout the piece. It gives it the smooth jive that a lot of 60's jazz pieces had. The mute trumpet definitely defines the Miles Davis sound as well. One thing I think that could've been better was the panning and placement of the instruments. I felt many instruments were too centered, not that it takes away from the mix, cause it is pretty rich clear other than that factor. Although, the frequency response on the trumpet was a little shrill, and needed some high frequencies cut (compared to a Miles Davis recording). Anyways, nice jazzed up breaks and stops throughout the second half of the song. Btw, is that an old electric Wurlitzer piano doing the riffs? Ambience was a nice touch as well. I'm glad you didn't over do it. I also applaud you on decent drum programming. Many people can't seem to get that right. ;)
Trumpet played was clean, precise, etc, but didn't seem daring enough to escape the realm of the melody. Improvisation is a strong part to jazz, and I just didn't hear enough of it, but that's my opinion. Miles Davis did "Someday My Prince Will Come" from Snow White which showed great use of improvisation and adaptation on Disney's tune. You might want to check it out.
All in all, great listen on that fact. This is a quality mix from a mixer who knows what he is doing. Great effort was applied in making this jazz/fusion mix. Other than a couple minor fixes, this is rock solid. Kudos for the live lead instrument. If you had used a synth trumpet, I would have mauled this review. LOL!
Great job ;)
Jared Hudson

Agreed. You took the words right out of my mouth.

- A-RoN on September 29, 2004
Awesome jazz piece, JiggonJonT's stuff just keeps getting better and better. Keep the good work up!

- SleazyC on September 28, 2004
Wow, this is awesome. One of my fav. songs from the DKC trilogy. The vocals are awesome, too. One of my favorite remixes from the site.

- Oruroku on September 27, 2004
SOMEBODY STOP THIS TRACK FROM BLOWING MY MIND! I loved this jazz piece and i think everyone should listen at least once. I totally dig the muted trumpet part. Make more of these! Definite 10/10. possibly 11/10, but nevermind.

- sweetcheeks123 on September 27, 2004

Content Policy
(Submission Agreement and Terms of Use)

Page generated Sun, 22 Nov 2009 01:04:51 -0500 in 0.0809 seconds

All compositions, arrangements, images, and trademarks are copyright their respective owners. Original content is copyright OverClocked ReMix, LLC. For information on RSS and JavaScript news feeds, linking to us, etc. please refer to resources for webmasters. Please refer to the Info section of the site and the FAQ available there for information about the site's history, features, and policies. Contact David W. Lloyd (djpretzel), webmaster, with feedback or questions not answered there.

top of page