Donkey Kong Country 2 mix

[HoboKa]

http://www.tindeck.com/audio/my/wzzz/DKC2_remix-_-Mining_Madness_ver2

re-attempt of DKC2 mine track - man I need some Remixer's Ritalin or something

[Radiowar]

haven't heard a Hoboka remix in some time, let's see...

You've definitely improved in both production and arranging since I last heard your stuff. It's a lot clearer where you're going with each part, etc. That said I think if I were listening to this without knowledge of the source and your past remixes, there's still something disorienting about the way you've arranged things here. In one of your decision threads, Fishy mentioned something about how your biggest problem is when you have parts completely unrelated to the source which I think is relevant here (eg. 0:45, 1:06). It's difficult to really latch onto the song when you have three different ideas, one of which is basically an original composition that is not helped by the fact that it occurs twice in both the loud and quiet parts which confuses whether or not it's a remix or an original.

I feel like a lot of the time in an attempt to "ReMix" a source without being labeled a midi rip you'll just jumble up the original. Like the part at 1:49 where it is note for note the original tune, only you've got it off by one beat. There are times when it is OK to have the source occur verbatim, and when you do this sort of thing it is just disorienting.

Keep at it though, because this really is an improvement from what I last heard from you.

[Rozovian]

Intro works well, and segues well into the track, but I gotta agree with Radiowar, its got a little too many forced deviations. The piano part half way through is a typical forced deviation, it's the source but it's twisted in a way that just doesn't flow well. The e-piano solo earlier worked much better.

Also, it's messy. Drums would need to be cleaner, and you might have to make some EQ cuts in the other tracks to give room for those wide-range drums.

I like the bass writing. There's a lot here that flows nicely, but much of it is just the nature of the source. Still, I think this is an improvement from your previous solo pieces. Good work.

[Nase]

I think this one is tough to remix well. I've tried a couple times and never was getting anywhere.

The problem for me is that the main melody is so simple and *maybe* cliched in combination with the harmonies (though still immensely pretty in the original), it's so easy to make it sound awefully cheesy. It screams trance anthem out loud, and I shudder a little when I listen to that possibility in my head.

So maybe I'm alone, but it almost sounds to me like you're mocking the melody when that cheesy brass synth plays it solo at the beginning.

There's a lot of solid stuff in there, but nothing that wouldn't still make me prefer the original, to be honest.

The sound is very 'crammed together', if you get my drift. The original has this more open spacious sound to it, and I think it's what makes the rather simple composition really stand out.

I don't think the piano part where you shift the melody's rhythm by an 8th note is a good idea, I don't get it atleast.

On the positive side, it gets pretty funky at times.

Maybe get inspired by the original's minimalism a bit and have fewer elements but make them stand out. Judging from what I've heard from you so far, you're better at making full sounding arrangements (maybe a bit muddy sometimes but they stick together well) than impressive sparse sections.

When you just have little going on, like the ep+piano section, it reveals the lack of quality in your samples/making them sound good solo.

Maybe work on that.

Sorry if I'm sounding too negative, it's just that I have high expectations for a remix of this, and this doesn't cut it (neither do all my previous attempts mind you )

Keep at it!

[Eino Keskitalo]

Pretty funky! I enjoyed this. I agree with the critics in earlier posts. The writing in the piano parts isn't substantial enough yet. Good key change at the end.

--Eino

[HoboKa]

haven't heard a Hoboka remix in some time, let's see...

You've definitely improved in both production and arranging since I last heard your stuff. It's a lot clearer where you're going with each part, etc. That said I think if I were listening to this without knowledge of the source and your past remixes, there's still something disorienting about the way you've arranged things here. In one of your decision threads, Fishy mentioned something about how your biggest problem is when you have parts completely unrelated to the source which I think is relevant here (eg. 0:45, 1:06). It's difficult to really latch onto the song when you have three different ideas, one of which is basically an original composition that is not helped by the fact that it occurs twice in both the loud and quiet parts which confuses whether or not it's a remix or an original.

I feel like a lot of the time in an attempt to "ReMix" a source without being labeled a midi rip you'll just jumble up the original. Like the part at 1:49 where it is note for note the original tune, only you've got it off by one beat. There are times when it is OK to have the source occur verbatim, and when you do this sort of thing it is just disorienting.

Keep at it though, because this really is an improvement from what I last heard from you.

Yeah it's real tough to find that balance between midi rip and original - I'm working on that, as well as my direction. Though I don't think the J's will ever like my style, just because they seem to favor more mainstream/cliched kinda progressions/ideas.

[Wintermute]

Here we go:

0:00 diggin' the intro sound...very old school.

0:21 begin kickass section. I really love the feel of this.

0:45 that's a sizzling lead you've got going on there! sounds great

1:07 interesting.. but the transition to this is a little too hard.

1:28 and back to awesome. I hope you're gonna be doing that line with the sizzling lead mentioned above at some point.

1:51 while the transition here was too abrupt for my tastes, this section feels more in line with the song than the one that begins at 1:07. Perhaps the one at 1:07 should mirror this more closely?

2:34 we're into a whole new piece here it feels like. lost the thread of the original source tune. Look at into my comment at 1:28... you should use this lead synth to do the main line from the original song at some point, perhaps instead of this section?

All in all it's extremely funky and I love the tone of it. Production needs a little work, the drums are just a little too messy and they're bleeding into too many other frequencies. Try to sweet spot em up a bit.

DKC2 is my favorite game soundtrack. You are doing a good job at this, keep it up, THIS SOUNDTRACK NEEDS MORE LOVE.

[HoboKa]

Here we go:

0:00 diggin' the intro sound...very old school.

0:21 begin kickass section. I really love the feel of this.

0:45 that's a sizzling lead you've got going on there! sounds great

1:07 interesting.. but the transition to this is a little too hard.

1:28 and back to awesome. I hope you're gonna be doing that line with the sizzling lead mentioned above at some point.

1:51 while the transition here was too abrupt for my tastes, this section feels more in line with the song than the one that begins at 1:07. Perhaps the one at 1:07 should mirror this more closely?

2:34 we're into a whole new piece here it feels like. lost the thread of the original source tune. Look at into my comment at 1:28... you should use this lead synth to do the main line from the original song at some point, perhaps instead of this section?

All in all it's extremely funky and I love the tone of it. Production needs a little work, the drums are just a little too messy and they're bleeding into too many other frequencies. Try to sweet spot em up a bit.

DKC2 is my favorite game soundtrack. You are doing a good job at this, keep it up, THIS SOUNDTRACK NEEDS MORE LOVE.

gah speaking of bleeding, i fucking sheared off half my face with my uber DULL razor blade...oy. Anyways, thanks for the comments wintermute and all. Yeah Im aware the drums are FUGLY at parts, cuz i got lazy there. The transitions are random too, but thats how I fly. I know that wont do for OCR, so I suppose I can edit them a bit and yes this sound track does need more love. PPL need to lay off the CT and FF lol.

[Eino Keskitalo]

hough I don't think the J's will ever like my style, just because they seem to favor more mainstream/cliched kinda progressions/ideas.

Nah, you have to work on making your style work.

--Eino