ReMix: Banjo-Kazooie 'Wallachian Prince'
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- Game: Banjo-Kazooie (Nintendo, 1998, N64)
- ReMixer(s): OA
- Composer(s): Grant Kirkhope
- Song(s): 'Tooty's Theme'
- Posted: 2009-11-30, evaluated by the judges
Let's keep it going strong - one more month left in 2009 after today, but still plenty of great mixes to be posted! OA hits us with some hybrid orchestral/rock Banjo-Kazooie action; for those of you who may have missed it, check out our interview with composer Grant Kirkhope for some excellent reading. I'm a little short on time today, so it's up to our trusty judges to fill out the writeup - Vinnie writes:
"What I like most about this song is that even though you've transposed the song to a minor key (which is already a cool idea), if you take out the guitars, it sounds pretty much like something you'd hear in the game, maybe when Tooty gets kidnapped. Yet it's original and has your distinctive touches all over it. What I like second most about the song is the slyly creeping strings in the bridge - that's sick. Sometimes the writing gets crowded but that's the only negative I can give you here, this is great."
For some reason "Tooty" always makes me think of IHOP's "Rooty Tooty Fresh 'N Fruity," which I always feel like an imbecile when ordering. Larry adds:
"The guitar work was pretty meaty, fleshed out the track nicely and de-emphasized any issues with the sequenced stuff. I really love how all of the elements came together, especially because the other instrumentation was a small ensemble rather than grandiose symphonic rock. Cool approach."
Pretty much; awesome, gypsy-style minor take on the source, with heavy-hitting guitars & drums and silky, ornate orchestral backing, featuring soaring violin, flute, piano arpeggios, castanets, and more. Definitely one of my favorite BK mixes, but also one of my favorite pieces from Mr. Luers.
Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the - Crulex on December 20, 2011
- diotrans on December 17, 2010
The short source is quite a challenge to make a song of any decent length, so I think even getting it to nearly 3 minutes is a good effort. In addition to that, going for the Hungarian gypsy-style is a stroke of genius in that that genre relies on repeating melodies, similar to celtic and irish music. The couple of breakdowns and solos just serve to enhance the full whack of the main melody when it comes in again.
I especially like the drums in this track as well - there's a really nice hi-hat sound in there, and they're just excellently sequenced. Also nice to hear some castanets(?) in there!
Overall a completely fresh take on a short but sweet source, in a genre that's exceptionally hard to get right.
- DarkSim on December 4, 2010
- Skinner3D on November 6, 2010
- metalsnakejuice on December 12, 2009
I love hybrids of orchestral and electronic and rock as much as I love life itself!!! ;)
Thank you for making this awesome track!!!
- YoshMaster on December 12, 2009
* I used the orchestral samples so extensively because I wanted to break away from my typical synth leads. I think it worked pretty well, but I wish that I had more time to polish some of the exposed parts to make them sound more natural. It's better than I usually do, but usually I use orchestra as BG.
* I think the world would have exploded if I did a song this happy in major. It needed to be in minor.
* I like the breakdown the best; the violin lead is still a bit fakey, but I like the parts there.
*ending is a bit weak, and i've learned from it. Usually my endings are a lot stronger- i dropped the ball here.
*everyone should try the freshly baked remix challenge next year, it was fun. :-)
- OA on December 11, 2009
Unlike some other posters, I don't think that this is too short. Considering that the main motif is repeated fairly often (as was pointed out above), making the remix as short as it is makes sure that it doesn't become boring/repetitive.
Overall, nice work.
- Martin Penwald on December 11, 2009
The string parts sound a bit thin, especially the strings at 1:11-ish. But I don't feel that they're as mechanical as some of the others have reported.
The main theme motif is repeated quite often. I think the two breakdowns really help with the variation. It does seem a bit short because the ending is a bit abrupt - the main theme is repeated four times, almost verbatim after the last breakdown.
I enjoyed it, definitely worth listening to.
- Arcana on December 8, 2009
This one's interesting to listen to because it plays with the stereo. It reminds me a little of something Trans-Siberian Orchestra might perform in both theme and concept, except a little more tame. Very nicely done.
- 42 on December 5, 2009
- Bahamut on December 2, 2009
There was not a second of this that I didn't like.
- Nearly on December 2, 2009
just64helpin;618082 wrote: Also, fun fact: there is a brief rendition of Tooty's theme in minor during the opening story sequence of the game, when Tooty gets kidnapped.
Ha! I own the game and had forgotten, though maybe on some level I remembered.
I stuck this song on our Halloween party playlist this year and it fit right in.
Emunator;618511 wrote: It could be, I might have just misidentified a key change when in reality I was hearing something else. Either way, something sounded different about the melody to me when I first heard it, I just assumed it was a key change since I'm pretty new to this music vocab stuff :tomatoface:
It's dropping from a major key to a minor key, but I dunno if that's usually called a key change. The root stays the same.
- Palpable on December 2, 2009
Come to think of it, I don't remember this tune from the game either. And I too have listened to the usf a bit.
- Dafydd on December 2, 2009
