ReMix: Banjo-Kazooie 'Malevolent Mansion'
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- Game: Banjo-Kazooie (Nintendo, 1998, N64)
- ReMixer(s): Audix, Nekofrog
- Composer(s): Grant Kirkhope
- Song(s): 'Mad Monster Mansion'
- Posted: 2008-11-03, evaluated by the judges
So, as you might surmise from the mix title, this was originally going to be a Halloween mix, but we drove to Philadelphia Friday night, missing the festivities and cutting short my mix postage action. If we're supposed to make Earth Day every day, however, I don't see why that can't be extended to other holidays as well. This Banjo mix is actually well-timed for other reasons, seeing as we just interviewed series composer Grant Kirkhope. It's a collab from Audix and "newcomer" Nekofrog, who's been active (for better and worse) on our forums and actually had another solo submission earlier in the queue that you'll be seeing eventually. Greg writes:
"Ordinarily, Pendulum and Banjo-Kazooie's soundtrack would seem to be just about as opposite on the music spectrum as you could get, but I felt that Grant Kirkhope's great BK score--especially Mad Monster Mansion--would lend itself perfectly to frenetic Pendulum-inspired dnb/rock, with the usual necessary orchestral work. :)
The snare in particular took some time to develop, but I think the end result was worth it. I took special care to keep the original melodies somewhat intact, trying to use the uniqueness of the arrangement and interaction of melody lines and harmonies to define the creative side of it.
I had finished the majority of the track when I realized that some good metal guitar would really push the rock factor. I had worked with Neko on one of the tracks on my recent album release "One Day Millennium" (www.protagonistrecords.net/audix), and knew it was just a matter of time before we collaborated on an OCR sub. He laid down some licks that sounded great, and after some final production tweaks on my end, it was done.
Neko adds:
"Only took about a day and a half to lay the guitar tracks down, the project was kind of dropped into my lap at the last minute. But that's a good thing, I work best when there's pressure ;)
Production wise, I did my standard thing; quad tracked the guitars (boo double tracking!), and beat the hell out of my guitar. And yes, that is a low Ab note you hear in the 1:16 section -- I love 7 string guitars :)"
This one's monstrous - the quick pace makes the relatively normal 4'37" runtime seem copious, in a good way. This sorta sounds like crazy evil carnival music... almost an electronica take on the oft-overlooked soundtrack to Killer Klowns from Outer Space, which (not joking) *is* a compliment. Actually, if you harken back to Mega Man 2 'Nuclear Flash', which was also a collab between a primarily electronica artist and a guitarist and was also inspired by Pendulum, you'll notice some similarities. The source material is different, as this has a more Kefka-esque "happy evil" melody, but the production and arrangement have some definite parallels. Specifically, the tendency to switch in and out of half tempo and the integration of guitars, though I'm sure there are others. It was great there and it's great here; Jimmy writes:
"Pretty obvious call here. Fantastic expansion of the original. This is right up there with Monstrous Turtles. Both could sit nicely on any custom Halloween OCR playlist. I was chatting with Greg before about DnB, and how fun it is to make DnB tracks, he definitely brought it to the table here. And Justin's guitars only add more kick to this cup of awesome."
Pretty much; great stuff, an over-the-top collab that blends Justin's guitar in quite well and draws effectively from its influences, resulting in some excellent, evil electronica that's right for any day of the year.
Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the I wouldn't say DnB was a perfect fit for Mad Monster Mansion; simply because it's a tad too optimistic and upbeat played at that speed. For me, DnB is appealing because it usually cuts through the breakneck energy through registering darker, lower tones into it. As well as that 'In the Darkness Lies' showed that the MMM melody is versatile, slowing it down and bringing out the morose nature of the piece.
This mix enblazons the 'mad' part of Mad Monster Mansion, influenced noticeably by Pendulum (sounds like it is stuck between the sounds of their two albums) While some areas click into place more than others, the source and the intended sound of the mix did eventually align and I was happy.
I thought the more rock-based stuff at the end was the strongest part, but generally, everything is of pretty high caliber. I really like the original melody, which is why hearing it be raced through is a little offputting for me, but that's what you get when you download a DnB mix, I suppose. It's DnB without the edge, which shouldn't be a turnoff really, but I've heard better examples of the genre by Audix himself.
- Marmiduke on October 7, 2009
It would be so cool if someone made a remix of the music of Rusty Bucket Bay. This is my favorite music of Banjo & Kazooie.
- Quizzman on April 26, 2009
Well, he's absolutely right. This IS bloody marvelous. In fact, it's going on my Zen X-Fi RIGHT NOW, and is getting blasted through my car stereo, headphones, or other form of audio delivery for the rest of the week.
- CobaltDelta on January 17, 2009
- Chaotic Damian on December 31, 2008
Good job
- Mtlbro on December 10, 2008
There's a tiny bit just before 2/3 in that sorta reminds me of Drum & Bass, it works really well.
- Razberi on November 28, 2008
- Alexzander on November 25, 2008
anyway - awesome remix - lovin' it more and more everytime i hear it
- Platonist on November 21, 2008
Grant says:
I listened to it [Malevolent Mansion] and I have to say it's bloody marvelous....well done!!!!
Pretty cool.:D
- Audix on November 19, 2008
- Salluz on November 15, 2008
Nice work; a song going straight into your ear and not leaving it for quite a while. I hope to hear more from you guys in the future.
- Martin Penwald on November 15, 2008
Kirkhope for president!
(you guys can be his closest men)
- Another Soundscape on November 11, 2008
- Audix on November 10, 2008
This is FUN I listen to it alot actually.
- RoeTaKa on November 9, 2008
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