Posted 2010-08-14, evaluated by djpretzel


Sole Signal writes:

"This represents my favorite source from the DKC2 soundtrack, which was happily available when I signed on to the DKC2 project. I had a blast putting this together, especially arranging the orchestral parts and the short nod to Jungle Hijinx. The low end saw a lot of attention, too, so owners of subs should find something to enjoy there. :)"

Hearing various artists talk about their contributions to Serious Monkey Business, one thing that strikes me is that a lot of people ended up arranging their personal favorite source from the soundtrack. I think that speaks to just how many standout compositions Mr. Wise threw down for this OST - it really is that good. Greg's blend of orchestral and electronica does right by both sides of the coin, with thick & heavy beats, a nasty synth bass, strings that dash and dart, winds, bells, and a nice rolling snare shuffle. Every patch gets used to its fullest as the arrangement oscillates between exposed and ensemble sections, half-tempo breakdowns and full-on, racing, beat-driven energetic flow. That pretty much says it all; great stuff from Sole Signal that added a lot to the album but also stands on its own as a fantastic track!

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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Black_Doom
on 2015-06-10 02:15:16

This is just badass. The orchestral part is damn well written here. Amazing mix, Greg!

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Codamadius
on 2011-12-03 22:13:23

This may sound random but...a part of this mix reminds me of MapleStory... O_O great job mixing orchestra and electronica...mixed again with some rock lmao that's very unique keep it up :)

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mjwes
on 2011-01-28 00:42:21

The way this song progresses from a intro of melodic muscle into a heavy beat driven beast is simply EPIC. It's almost as if this whole thing is telling a story, and I am totally listening.

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Emunator
on 2010-12-11 03:37:19

Oh my god, yes. Just... yes. This is Sole Signal's best work yet by a wide margin (which is saying something because the rest of his body of work is similarly amazing) thanks to the way he so adeptly blends orchestral and electronic without ever missing a beat. A lot of this has to do with the perfect source he chose and how he adapted it to an arrangement that bounces back and forth between styles and different ways of fusing the two styles. Each part of the source seems perfectly suited for its role in the remix. Really, nothing feels out of place or weak here, it's all absolutely stellar, making for one of the most stunning and most enjoyable songs on the whole project. Kudos on this Greg, you've really outdone yourself this time! :-D

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Crulex
on 2010-10-12 11:16:06

This mix just goes to show how amazing the DKC 2 Album turned out. To take a dark song and make it even darker with a good beat is amazing. The slow down was sweet and the way it builds back up before hitting that cresendo is sick! Very enjoyable. Oh, BTW, this is the first ReMix I've heard that was so good that someone else made a mashup with it. It's alright, but between "Forgot about Dre" and this, this ReMix is the real prize.

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Krypt222
on 2010-09-10 15:10:27

Word cannot describe how much I love this. It was outstanding, my friend. Four thumbs up!

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Bahamut
on 2010-08-20 08:31:24

I loved this track, and Greg's effort on it - he scratched his original approach to the source (which was substantial) and came up with this.

The result is a unique fusion of orchestral electronic. The combination of the beats with the strings really works wonders here.

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Master_Yoshi
on 2010-08-19 14:56:55

That intro was deceiving, I was expecting something a bit more faster paced, groovier, or maybe just... different. But this has a nice factory feel to it, everything just clunks along at its own pace, taking no shit from no... um... what would a factory take no shit from?

Even the shift at 1:30 doesn't feel jarring, there is still that mechanical feel to it, even though things have loosened up and are now moving at full bore.

I love how you dress up your samples dude. They are really well layered, and the deficiencies in them are covered really nicely by some complimentary synth work.

My only gripe is that it feels a bit anti-climactic, the song just sort of falls off the end, rather than coming to a nice, well oiled stop. Still, that's not any form of major detraction from the work as a whole.

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OA
on 2010-08-16 11:18:55

Greg has the ability to make anything he does sound 'cool', and this track is no exception. Usually some cool beats, some orchestral hits and backing synths, and plenty of style go into the mixing pot, and come out as a sophisticated and edgy song.

I really like the pacing and the interplay of parts on this one, and I recommend everyone to check it out.

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Mirby
on 2010-08-15 19:46:55

Well, I've already declared that Bramble Reprise is my fav track from SeMoBu, but this is a close second. It captures the original feel of the track perfectly while retaining that Sole Signal feel.

I have to be honest here, I had no idea that Sole Signal WAS Audix; I thought it was some new guy who claimed it and made some badassery out of it. And then I found out about the name change, and I was even happier.

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BlackPanther
on 2010-08-15 13:12:00

I think this may be my favorite song from DKC2 as well, and this is my favorite track from Greg so double plus. I love his style of orchestral instrumentation, probably because of the lack of reverb which makes it sound tighter and I'm assumin helps to blend in with the electronic side of Greg. I love that contrast between the orchestral parts from the electronic parts, at first it's kinda slow but you know it's gonna build to somethin, then it does, a nice electronic breakbeat section that's cohesive with the rest of the track, overall outstanding piece, good shit sir.

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big giant circles
on 2010-08-14 14:06:28

Greg never disappoints. Ever.

Hot stuff per usual!

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gildron
on 2010-08-14 13:29:30

I- I wish it was longer... That's not even a critique, but I do. I think I may be a bit biased towards this mix, because I'm automatically a fan of anything that combines orchestra with rock/electronica, or really, anything more modern. It's these two kinds of music with very different qualities that shouldn't really blend, but when they do work together well... Yeah, it's pretty fantastic.

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The Radical Sifu
on 2010-08-14 11:51:58

Yeah, this was one of my absolute faves from the album too. This is what I like in a remix - something that kind of keeps the original vibe, but turns it up to 11. More often than not, the remixes where Castlevania gets re-done as lounge piano or whatever just strike me as novelties. I like to feel that you could take the remix and use it to replace the original level music, and the level would still work. This remix does that. It still sounds like a castle level. I like that a lot.

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Geoffrey Taucer
on 2010-08-14 07:23:20

I love everything about this mix. Probably my favorite mix on the project.

Awesome work!

Sources Arranged (4 Songs, 2 Games)


Primary Game:
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (Nintendo , 1995, SNES)
Music by David Wise
Songs:
"K. Rool Returns (Title Theme)"
"Krook's March (Chain Link Chamber)"
Additional Game:
Donkey Kong Country (Nintendo , 1994, SNES)
Music by David Wise,Eveline Novakovic,Robin Beanland
Songs:
"DK Island Swing"
"Mine Cart Madness"

Tags (5)


Genre:
Mood:
Aggressive
Instrumentation:
Electronic,Orchestral,Strings,Synth
Additional:

File Information


Name:
Donkey_Kong_Country_2_Castle_Crescendo_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
6,496,475 bytes
MD5:
4f107a6ae9714385721071d8e925ecb4
Bitrate:
233Kbps
Duration:
3:40

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