Liontamer Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 Hey This is "Monkey Kong"´s Submission of our ReMix: Dolphin Ride. Contact Information * Your ReMixer name: Monkey Kong * Your real name: Daniel Rosenqvist, Anton Dromberg, Lucas Grönlund, Anton Fluch, Axel Johansson, Ian Eiderbo * Your email address: danielrosenqvisten@hotmail.com * Your website: www.myspace.com/monkeykong * Your userid: 27438 Submission Information * Donkey Kong Country * Aquatic Ambience * Composer: David Wise Game system: Snes * Link to the original soundtrack (if it is not one of the sound archives already available on the site) * Comments: Bassist and bandleader Daniel Rosenqvist: When Monkey Kong first was formed, we kinda just ripped the songs off as they were, but I felt that just playing covers straight from the game wouldnt be so much fun or much of a challenge. So I was really nagging the others in the band about us doing more rearrangements and spending more time with each tune. We found our inspiration when we found the Dolphin pad you hear in the intro. We turned off the lights and jammed the whole form of the track in complete darkness! (except for the lights from the keyboards) I was really happy when the track was done, (I think it was in September 2008) because it was our frist "rearranged" track and I just felt proud of the whole band. ^^ We named the track beacause of the flow of the song. I've felt we have learned a lot and we are always improving and learning new things. The track was recorded in November 2008 and mixed in February 2009. I played this game so much when I was a kid, I could ride that swordfish around for hours...thinking it was so cool. And I must also take this opportunity to settle things once and for all: Snes owns Nes. A huge thank you to our good friend Ian Eiderbo for playing the lead guitar on the track and also live at Dreamhack, thanks man! And a huge thanks to Erik "The Ricecooker" Risberg for mixing the track, he knew right away what I was looking for. Follow the flow because now you're going on a Dolphin Ride. For updates, check out our myspace: http://www.myspace.com/monkeykong ----- I've talked to several OC ReMixers and they are not sure whetever this would fit into OC ReMix, but many have said we should try and after reading the Submission Standards I belive that we uppfill both the criterias of: -Modify instruments, dynamics and rythm -Adding original solos If djpretzel wants to give credits to a specific part in his writeups the credit list is: Anton Fluch - Pads Anton Dromberg - Piano/Organs Daniel Rosenqvist - Bass Lucas Grönlund - Guitar Ian Eiderbo - Lead Guitar Otherwise we dont have any specific asks for our writing in the writeup, except for mention of myspace adress if possible. I also want to clearify that we want to make a demo cd to sell when we warm up for PLAY! A Video Game Symphony and that this track will be in it. It will be clear on our MySpace that the track "Dolphin Ride" is available for free though but we will take small charge for the whole CD. I'm a huge fan of the site and has been for a long time. /Daniel Rosenqvist --------------------------------------------------------------- http://snesmusic.org/v2/download.php?spcNow=dkc - "Aquatic Ambiance" (dkc-08.spc) Source didn't kick in until 1:04 after an extended intro, though there were some fleeting references and the chord progression was there. This was a cool arrangement with some measure of interpretation in adapting it for the band setting here, but I wasn't getting much interpretation until 2:36's piano-led section offered more. 3:22 got a bit heavier, though I felt the lead got buried; melodic arrangement was also pretty straightforward. 4:08 went with some original material over the chord progression, before heading back to a very liberal take on the theme at 4:58 that was mostly original. Piano sequencing was decent, but exposed the sample as fake too many times. The track was reasonably put together, and it did have a good balance of source usage vs. original sections, but the Aquatic Ambiance melody wasn't very interpretive for much of it IMO, which makes that a difficult pass for me. The mood was different, which was a positive, but something about the constant tempo and overall energy and execution was making this drag out, and I just wasn't feeling it. We'll see if anyone else feels differently or can better articulate what I heard, but I'm going to let this one marinate. No issue if this passes, but if I went YES, it would be a weak one, no offense to the band. You guys are a group to watch, and I look forward to hearing more from y'all! EDIT (6/25): Really dislike some of the exposure of the piano sample at the end, but taking another listen, I'm ultimately down with this. Aside from the valid production crits, I think the arrangement could have been structured in a more interesting way. However, what's there is still solid and what we're looking for. Let's go! YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palpable Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 Digging the arrangement, though 1:04-2:36 was pretty conservative. The later sections got more creative, especially the piano parts. Keeping references to the melodies and adding harmonies here and there helped the solo sections keep a balance of source and original writing. It probably could've been more integrated but I thought it was within the scope of what we look for, especially given how the mood and dynamics were changed. Playing sounds great too. Can't say I was 100% behind the production. It felt on the distant and thin side to me. The backing guitar and lead guitar could have also been given different tones to stand out more. But I don't think these are big enough problems to say NO to this. It seems to meet all our criteria, and hey, I liked it. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anosou Posted June 25, 2009 Share Posted June 25, 2009 Daniel e-mailed me earlier to talk VGM, great guy! Anyway, I must say this is a hard decision. The arrangement is conservative at times and the few liberties taken was more about adding original sections than actually arranging the melody. I liked the piano outro a lot even though it was a bit "inspired by" at times. What would really make this shine is some more melodic interpretation and something to make the pacing seem less dragging. Production was a bigger problem area than arrangement for me though. The track sounds distant, especially in the heavy section. It sounds strangely compressed and lacking in both brilliance and bass. The leads were also buried here. The piano lacked realism but it was nothing too serious. Overall this is really close. Both arrangement and production are borderline on this one and in these cases you have to go with your gut. When it all comes down to it, I'm ok with this. The arrangement had a good balance between original and source, the production wasn't BAD and the performance was overall good. I'd expect more from your next submission, keep that in mind, but this works for me right here, right now. YES(borderline) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vig Posted June 28, 2009 Share Posted June 28, 2009 Hmm...I really dig the instrumentation. The lead guitar is cool, even if it does sound like the mic was 20 feet away from the speaker...the soundsape is really good, but the mixing isn't. The low mids are muddy, the bass is boomy, and until the organ and distorted guitar come in, the middle sounds scooped. I love btw, the guitar and organ entrance. However, the lead guitar is buried beneath the wall. For the first minute or two i was going to say the arrangement is too conservative, but i'm telling you, that organ section kicked ass. I hate to use the yes conditional, but I'm thinking this thing is just about there, save a couple of mixing issues. Really wouldn't take much to fix. Yes Cond. -bring out lead guitar, make rhythm guitar warmer, a bit less boom in the bass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OceansAndrew Posted July 1, 2009 Share Posted July 1, 2009 After a nice and interpretive intro, it got overly locked into the source, but just when i thought it was straight up cover time, it started to deviate a bit near the end into your own. Once it gets heavy I was really feeling it, but the rhythm guitar sound is taking up a lot of the same room as the lead, making it a little harder to hear. Nice lead guitar harmonies in here, and holding out some of the notes really played with expectations. Classy stuff, and good soloing as well. Nice atmosphere, this would really be awesome to jam to live, and that is actually what this sounds like, is a live mix. There is a distinct give and take to the performances here, and it feels very off-the-cuff. Production isn't blowing my mind, but it is definitely above the bar. Piano at the end could use some additional velocities, i am guessing the keyboard sample just doesn't have them, as it sounds live otherwise. Some nice touches, and everything checks out. I'd have preferred a little more arrangement with the melody, but it still rocks. yes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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