ReMix: Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest 'Monsoon in the Concrete Jungle'
Download MP3
Play Preview
- Game: Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (Nintendo, 1995, SNES)
- ReMixer(s): Joren de Bruin, Xenon Odyssey, melody
- Composer(s): David Wise
- Song(s): 'Forest Interlude (Web Woods)', 'Stickerbush Symphony (Bramble Blast)'
- Posted: 2011-05-26, evaluated by the judges
Awesome mix, here. You would have thought that, after the amazing number of DKC2 mixes that Serious Monkey Business birthed, we'd be sated or otherwise less inclined for more, but it's one of the truly great OSTs, as some superb non-album mixes that have followed since have further proven. Now cometh Joren, otherwise known in "abrasive IRC persona mode" as Tensei, with Xenon Odyssey on sax and melody w/ a piano assist:
"This is a disco style remix of two of the songs from DKC 2. Genrewise, this is completely uncharted territory for me, but I'm satisfied with the way it turned out, so I hope you are too. The inspiration for this probably comes from listening to too much virt, Jamiroquai and Joshua Morse (If you stare into the Abyss long enough...etc, etc). It's a bit on the liberal side of things so I'll provide a source breakdown. Xenon Odyssey provided some much needed live sax playing which really adds another dimension to the mix, so he's credited as a collaborator. Special shoutout goes to melody for providing me with a live, humanized version of the lead piano melody (heh) in the first minute.
Chord progression is completely original unless I somehow managed to rip it off subconsciously.
00:00 - 00:18 Original
00:18 - 00:34 Modified version of the Forest Interlude synth ostinato
00:35 - 00:51 Somewhat verbatim version of Forest Interlude lead melody with embellishments
00:53 - 01:08 Forest Interlude ostinato pretty much verbatim.
01:09 - 01:50 Original, though maybe some allusions to the source in the synth lead.
01:50 - 02:30 Stickerbrush Symphony ostinato + lead.
02:31 - 03:05~ Forest Interlude lead + ostinato.Rest is original soloing though there's allusions to the source in the sax solo. It doesn't come out to an exact 50% but I'd feel like a kitten murderer if I had to fade the soloing section out earlier/faster (the fadeout itself takes a good thirty seconds). So please, think of the kittens."
Oh, we do... to paraphrase the now beyond-trite Jerry Maguireism: you had me at "virt, Jamiroquai, and Joshua Morse" - hell, any one of the three, really. You gon' be droppin' names like dat, you can't bring flaccid beats or limp hooks to the table, and thankfully Joren turns in his funkiest, most accessible arrangement yet. It IS a party, it IS a disco, and it IS some very musical foolin' around; Xenon adds:
"When I first heard Tensei's mix, everything was gravy 'til that sax sample came in. After hearing how much the sax played, I was all like 'Pffft, I could do that,' and that's EXACTLY how that shizz went down."
Good to know; sax parts being clearly live adds immediacy & character, definitely enhancing the mix. Police sirens jive with the mix title, which I dig, and while it's a liberal arrangement there's almost always some tendons connected back to the skeleton of Wise's original. OA writes:
"Nice arrangement, very classy, and the breakdown was very appreciated. Solid production, a good room sound, and everything was clicking for me as far as balance. Percussion, bass, and the leads were all very well done, with good sequencing. The sax was a little flat on a few notes, but not enough to bring down the track at all, and the playing was otherwise very good, with nice tone and good articulation. Not much else to say, this is really nice."
While disco may be the umbrella genre, there's a fair smattering of funk, jazz, and Latin components that fill things out, and while I'm not 110% on the fade/record-scratch transition circa 3'08", it segues into some badass soloing (synth AND piano) that vindicate thoroughly. My advice to Joren? Keep staring into this abyss, please... It is funky, fresh, and has resulted in perhaps your best mix yet; great stuff.
Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the - Bahamut on December 17, 2011
One thing I didn't like, though, is how the song transitioned to the soloing section. The soloing was very good, the piano especially, but it really just felt tacked on, to be honest. Not that it didn't belong at all, but I just didn't really like how it transitioned is all.
Good remix!
- urdailywater on July 27, 2011
WesternZypher;781977 wrote: More artists filling out the soundscape pioneered here by the likes of Morse and posu yan? Never a bad thing.
This.
As djp said in the write-up, please keep staring into the abyss, as only good things can come from that. Very smooth, laid-back remix with some nice use of sfx (rain and police sirens), and the live sax adds the cherry on top of the cream.
Nice work, folks.
I do wonder what the whispering voice in the end says, though...
- Martin Penwald on July 26, 2011
- Crulex on June 15, 2011
OCR's diversity level just went up once more! :D
- DaMonz on May 27, 2011
Yea disco :tomatoface:
Love how it fades out with the sax honking!
- Brandon Strader on May 26, 2011
- MechaFone on May 26, 2011
- Chris | Amaterasu on May 26, 2011
Definitely one of my favorite mixposts in a loooong time. Dig it!
- Emunator on May 26, 2011
- ruskii on May 26, 2011
- SuperiorX on May 26, 2011
