ReMix: Donkey Kong Country 'Flying with the Funk'
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- Game: Donkey Kong Country (Nintendo, 1994, SNES)
- ReMixer(s): Tweex
- Composer(s): David Wise, Eveline Novakovic, Robin Beanland
- Song(s): 'Funky's Fugue'
- Posted: 2009-03-30, evaluated by djpretzel
We were last Tweeked back in December of '08, when Brian left us a lovely non-denominational 'Holiday Frappe' ReMix under our secular wintry holiday-tree. Now it's March '09, and he's back with some funky monkey 'tronica:
"This is somewhat of a landmark for me. This is the first remix I've done that is not involved on a project of some kind. Watch it be instantly overriden :) Simply put, I've loved the song since I first heard bLiNd's version of the DK project way back when. I still maintain that "Aerofunknamics" is one of my top 5 mixes period. I'm glad to have finally taken the time to do a rendition for myself. There's no real significant part in this piece that stands out among the rest, but collectively, the electronic feel was perfect for what I wanted to accomplish. Bottom line, enjoy :)!"
I'd written a much longer writeup for this track, but it got axed when the evil satan of session timeout and poorly-implemented recovery struck hard. While we knew Tweek's musical vernacular included some kickass electronica vocabulary from his previous efforts, this mix strikes me as aesthetically different. It has a lot of textures that are neither pristine nor lo-fi, but rather "squishy," not unlike the effect of low MP3 bitrates, intentionally juxtaposing with sharper elements. The whole thing forms a sort of sonic tiramisu, with layers of gurgling, percolating, cutting percussive synth fx and a banana bunch of modulated synths all working together. The melodic hook is still handled straightforwardly enough by some staple synths, but the brilliance is in the details - check the oscillator sync'd synth solo, percussive dropouts, and keen spatial manipulations for reference, among others. All in all, an excellent, expansive electronica meditation on the original, with some especially fine sound work.
Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the - Crulex on December 29, 2010
- Hale-Bopp on May 4, 2009
- dfcentre on April 19, 2009
big giant circles wrote: RMX is awesome :)
That's the damn truth! I've never looked back since :).
Sir_Downunder wrote: Drums are killer, and that synth lead is absolutely delectable.
Thanks mate, the drums were a lot of fun to work with and I think they turned out decently in the end!
BlackPanther wrote: That crazy ass swelling stuff at the beginning is tight as hell. Love the beat work and the synths lay nicely with the mix as a whole.
Rashad, you are too kind as always! The swelling stuff was a very different direction for me to go in with this mix. I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Audix wrote: Different people? It goes further than that. In fact Global Empire is a one person/3 alt mix
SHHHH!!!! You're going to give it all away. And if it's true, then I just replied to my own post, meaning that I'm talking to myself.......
Glad you liked the piece mate!!
Lint wrote: I find it very enjoyable and a great listen, it has that awesome winding texture going that just slowly pulls together, releases a little bit, pulls closer together, and then explodes into awesome.
It's all about the textures, baby! I'm glad you enjoyed the track, mate!
UchihaVilu wrote: Whoooo, this mix is equal to three scoops of raisins.
I was hoping, at best, that it would have two scoops, but to hear that it has three....wow :)!! I only hope that if we meet someday, that you're not going to "wanna kick my ass" ;)!! Thanks for the comments mate!
Palpable wrote: Liked a lot of the sound design choices, though the synth lead in the chorus didn't work that well for me, for some reason.
Well Vinnie, there's no accounting for taste ;-). That synth is one of the sounds that people either love or hate and truthfully, I'm not even sure why. I was getting similar response in the WIP phase, so I just had to had take the plunge, as it were. However, I'm happy that you found other areas that you enjoyed in the track!
Mtlbro wrote: I'm liking the synth lead. Like the interpretation of the melody :)
Thanks for the kind words, Brian. The melody interpretation is a little liberal and, in reality, it borrows a lot of ideas/melodic themes that bLiNd did in his original!
Martin Penwald wrote: Not much of a fan of the part between 1:30 and 1:55; a little too grating for my taste.
But other than that, this is a really good remix.
Haha, my first attempt at a "synth solo" and that section is precisely the section that you didn't prefer. I can certainly see why. even listening to it now, I can see a few things in there I would change next time around! I VERY much appreciate the honesty, Martin! I am very happy that you enjoyed the mix!
metalsnakejuice wrote: l enjoyed it a lot and l liked it how you interpreted the original.
Thanks a lot, Brook. The original has always been favorite theme of mine, and having the chance to reinterpret it and have so many people listen to it is quite an honor and privilege! You can certainly expect more craziness from me in the future!
Once again, thanks for all the comments! It really is an honor that I don't deserve!
Cheers all!!
- tweex on April 16, 2009
- metalsnakejuice on April 16, 2009
But other than that, this is a really good remix.
- Martin Penwald on April 15, 2009
I'm liking the synth lead. Like the interpretation of the melody :)
- Mtlbro on April 12, 2009
- Palpable on April 6, 2009
Been listening to it quite a bit since yesterday.
It would be nice to get more tracks as upbeat and "wanna kick your ass" as this.
Great job over all. I love the drum work. The first 50 seconds of this mix remind me of the scene where Goku goes Super Saiyan 3, then once it hits :51, it's all like "GUNDAM!"
Yeah... I want more of this caliber of musecks.
- UchihaVilu on April 3, 2009
Initially, I was thrown off by this take on the song, since it takes a fairly different approach than bLiNd's. While the synths rock, and the drums keep it going, I just don't feel the connection to the source very well. Separating the song from any inclinations toward the source, I find it very enjoyable and a great listen, it has that awesome winding texture going that just slowly pulls together, releases a little bit, pulls closer together, and then explodes into awesome.
The source material is one of those sacred childhood videogame tunes that always brings me back, so it will take time to see if this grows on me.
- Lint on April 3, 2009
Sir_Downunder;524575 wrote: To be honest, i was expecting something different from the title. But boy, was I surprised! (in a good way of course)Er, check the front page again, Sir. ;)
Drums are killer, and that synth lead is absolutely delectable.
Great work Audix!
OA wrote: You mean they are different people?! I'd never fall for that; that joke was played out in like 2001.Different people? It goes further than that. In fact [U][URL="http://www.ocremix.org/remix/OCR01733/"]Global Empire[/URL][/U] is a one person/3 alt mix.:tomatoface:
- Sole Signal on April 3, 2009
- BlackPanther on April 2, 2009
- OA on April 1, 2009
Drums are killer, and that synth lead is absolutely delectable.
Great work Audix!
- Sir_Downunder on April 1, 2009
