OCR01138 - Donkey Kong Country 2 "Forest Birdcussion"

[djpretzel]

What did you think? Post your opinion of this ReMix.

[Blake]

Man...How Protricity make some damn good music.

This is the ultimate chill song, and there really is a lot goin on here. Not anything different from the great quality that Protricity puts out, I'm just always in awe whenever I listen to his music.

Good stuff. The first second of the song put me in the same mood as the original did.

[Nigel Simmons]

HAHAHAHAHAH!!! While listening to the beginning of this song I saw a daffy picture of Clay Aiken and I laughed so hard. It'n not a diss of the song, though. It's actually good.

[King Matt I]

Now, I normally am not the biggest fan of such laid-back songs, despite my extremely laid-back lifestyle, but this remix rocks my face! This stuff is amazing! So very peaceful... When I have a headache, I'm gonna listen to this remix. I love the general feel of the song, but I think it's the little things that get me. The "ebb and flow" feel created by the birds and soft percussion is REEEEEEALLY nice. It kinda swells in your head, then floats away gently. It's really indescribable. Well, since I sound like a moron whenever I review great music, I think I'd probably better just give you the two thumbs up and shut up!

[Hobocop]

heh I jus got bear maced 2 hours ago, and this song made me feel so much better. Thanks for making so many awesome Donkey Kong remixes, its my favourite game and thankfully you make mixes like this. Very Good song.

[smh]

Protricity does downtempo...and he does it damn well. Over the past few weeks this has become my favorite of all of Ari's songs. The production is really professional. The song, despite being 6 and a half minutes, never drags or repeats too much, which I think is its strongest virtue. The instruments are selected nicely to give a sort of spring/summer vibe to a song that was originally much more haunting.

This song is close to perfect, but it gets a 9/10 for being less varied melodically in the second half while the heavier drums are playing. From this point on, one of the main melodies in the song (the one starting at 1:25) is never revisited, so the song starts getting a bit more repetetive and never matches the diversity of the first half. Also, I think the heavy drum beat could be a bit lower in the mix or else have a different tone so that it isn't so overpowering.

[Nanaki]

This song, like all of Prots stuff, gets a 100/100 in my book. It's the perfect remix, that all other remixers should strive for.

[GrayLightning]

Like I told you when you submitted this, very good work. Just might be my favorite of yours.

[bLiNd]

Not too familiar with the original, but this is great. Definately fits the weather as of now. keep it up dood.

[Arai]

I agree with everyone when they say they could just chill and listen to this. I feel like I'm in another world, great work.

[Blake]

HOLY CRAP. I just realized the fact that it has those one enemies (i forgot the name DAMNIT >_<) sound effects, you know those ghost things that fade out then fade in and bug you. It's in the beginning- that light rising sound then it descends again. You might've recognized it already, but dang this song brings back more memories already.

[Genesis Blue]

Wow... I was just listening to Protricity's Brambles in the Breeze mix that I recently found stashed away in my OCR music files and then I came on OCR and found another DKC 2 mix! Those are my two favorite songs from that game too. This mix is great, it's even more relaxing than the original , very nature-esque (if that's a word )

[PlatformerMastah]

FANTASTIC.

[LunaYoshi]

Friggin' awesome! This was one of my very favorite tracks from DKC2 (and heck, one of my favorite videogame tracks ever). I could've gone for more of the original key changes, but this is spiffy, nonetheless. Makes me want to dig up Mechanical Swamp and listen to that one again, too.

[Liontamer]

I agree with what Pretz was saying in that this was unique territory for Prot to tackle. I loved how the intro had the same electrosynth of the original music from DKC2, and though some people will feel that the bird chirps aren't for them, I thought they added a lots of character and enhanced the general relaxing feel of the mix. Ari did a great job of using his time to subtly lay down the source melody in the beginning and then focus on developing his own progressions alongside the "birdcussion."

I wasn't a big fan of the Donkey Kong Country 2 soundtrack, to be honest. While my opinion obviously flies in the face of Prot's own enjoyment of the DKC2 music and his desire to mix these tracks, I bring that up, because I feel that "Forest Birdcussion" does a great job of getting rid of the tribal/jungle drums that overpowered the original track ("Forest Interlude"), and bringing in more ambient and soundscape elements to make the music more accessible. Even in the latter half of the track, when Ari brought in a strong addition of percussion, it didn't detract from the other sounds that he had introduced beforehand. The ending featuring shimmering notes, piano, percussion hits and finally the fading bird chirps was absolutely well-done; a great, satisfying closure to the piece.

Hearing how nice this track is makes me wish I bugged Prot for it earlier, rather than just sarcastically making fun of the title! Great work, Ari. A true keeper and one that brings a new dimension to the DKC series mixes already available.

[Phantosanucca]

Great googley-Moogely! I was just playing DKC2 and wondering why no one had remixed this song yet. Easily my favourite out of the entire soundtrack(except possibly for the K.Rool Duel). I think the creativity in this piece is almost unrivaled, and the beat is astounding to listen to. Although nothing will ever beat the aural and somber atmosphere of the original work, this is really REALLY something to be proud of. Professional on so many levels. OK, I'm rambling now.

Anways, I commend thee, Protricity. Not just for this spectacular mix, but also for making so many remixes of one of the besterest soundtracks in video game history.

[Bruk]

OMG< LIEK PROT IZ MY HERO 4 MAKING THIZ REMIX< OK

WUT A SUPERFANTASTIC GUY ROFL

Great song. Keep up your awesome DKC2 mixes.

[Falcovsleon20]

This is what a forest remix of the Haunted woods stage would sound like on a 3-D DK adventure game. That is if RARE was doing it. (Which is unlikely since they're Microsoft's property now.) Nintendo could learn a thing or two about music if they tried listening to the DKC franchise's music enough. Anyways, I dunno why Protrocity constantly makes remixes of the DKCs but he could be good enough to do music for a game company some day at the rate he's going. 10/10.

[danny B]

POTRICITY IS A JERK SO I HATE HM AND THS SONG

U SUK>>!!>!11

Excellent execution as usual from the Asulin. I challenge anyone to master DKC2 like he has.

-D

[nostalgic gen]

hehe, yeah it's funny when you read the posts of some people on the ineternet you'd think that their music must be some of the most amazing stuff since... ever, given their aparent expertise in the subject, and then you listen to it and find out it's a bit crap. Protricity, in contrast, (and I hope you don't get too offended by this ) comes out with so much bullshit sometimes as to have you believe he's an idiot and then really surprises you with some of the best music at OCR.

I think this is my favourite of yours as well. The whole thing flows wonderfully from begining to end, unlike some earlier pieces which seem to be impatient and want to move on to something else. Production is great as well - flawless, even. The only thing that I can say against the piece is that clarinet noise near the begining. Urghh, cheap GM patch #33? Anyway, thankfully it sounds a lot better (even good) when accompanied with the rest of the instruments. Perhaps one of the toms is a bit loose near the 4:30 mark? Ok, now I'm just searching for problems.

I think I could listen to this all day actually; really great stuff. In fact I think this might be my favourite mix here. It's a real joy to listen to.

Edit: With subsequent listens I regret my joke about the clarinet patch. It does stand out a bit on its own but fits into the arrangement perfectly and I love the vibrato and pitch bending that's applied. I'm still not entirely keen on the drums from about 4:10 to about 4:20 though (basically where the whole kit is used). It just comes over a little too strong for me and I'd be inclined to either tame it with some EQ or reduce the length of the release of some of the drums, or possibly both.

[maplejet]

That's it. Everyone but Proticity should be banned from remixing DKC2 themes...no.no, I'm kidding.

But the truth is, his remixes are so great, they are almost tough to beat. This one being one of them. Just a relaxing and laid-back remix, probably my favorite now. The forest theme is one of my favorite themes in DKC2 (but Bramble and swamp themes beat it!).

Now, I'm just waiting for a Kannon's Klaim remix!!!

[Annoxus]

Excellent stuff from Protricity... the song never gets tired or loops, and OCR definitely needs some more stuff to just sit back and chill to. Awesome.

[telsacow]

Another great remix from Proticity. This is a must download especialy for fans of the Donkey Kong series.

[TCK]

I really should go on to say that Protricity loves the DKC2 soundtrack too much, but no. For me, the DKC2 soundtrack really epitomises game music. And Protricity expands on it in ways I couldn't imagine. Business as usual with this one, people.

Admittedly, I'm not too fond on the "birdcussion", but not to the point that it detracts from the mix, and shouldn't be too much of a niggle for anyone. I really like the piano at 2:55, that was one of the nice touches to the mix. People have also mentioned that he manages to keep it interesting for the while, and while he does, he's still missing out on the climax section of the original, which while somewhat disappointing, makes it more phenomenal that he's still made a 6 minute mix out of it. One of the main reasons that Protricity is one of the best mixers on the site - his attention to detail.

I sure hope that Protricity continues to do his thing with DKC2, if only for more mixes like this and his others.

[Excrono]

Wow, this is good stuff. I can't help but be impressed by Protricity's use of in-game sound effects to really capture the mood of the origional. I especally liked how he incorporated the sound of the ghost-ropes that would fade in and out thought many forest levels (in the same vein as his "Mechanical Swamp" remix). As a fan of this series (and its music), I think any remix would not be complete without it. The synth calrinet was an interesting choice, as I have always envisioned a saxaphone replacing the synth line of the origional; but Proticity has made it work wonderfuly. Overall, this is a great track, which can easliy stand with the rest of his superior DK2 remixes. However I was dissapointed that he did not choose to include the great little synth solo that occured at the end of the origional.