OCRA-0017 - Donkey Kong Country 2: Serious Monkey Business

[Eino Keskitalo]

Transition from Monkey Merengue to Token Up is smooooooth.

--Eino

[Liontamer]

Then ask that question in the first place, rather than insulting 1.3 billion Mandarin speakers by calling it a moon language.

I should remember this, but I think diotrans went with the Mandarin because it seemed to fit the song better than English. Hopefully she can chime in later.

Your fault for telling me it was Catonese. I will never ask you anything again.

[Palpable]

Your fault for telling me it was Catonese. I will never ask you anything again.

First of all, Cantonese, and second, you wish it was my fault. I have a log to dig through when I get home.

[Brandon Strader]

First of all, Cantonese, and second, you wish it was my fault. I have a log to dig through when I get home.

I remember thinking it was just really lazy English where I could only pick out 1 or 2 words per line... hahah.. Didn't realize it was a different language.

[Ashamee]

Want to hear another fun fact? I bet the recorder is only still on the song because Nekofrog was using Reaper, and probably either forgot to cut it off or couldn't figure out how. >=) Hahah!

Actually, you may be absolutely right about that. I remember him using my computer to mix it, and he used to listen to it quite a bit before he left a few weeks ago. I remember, it was playing in the car one day, and he says, "Whoa, where the hell did that recorder part come from?" Maybe he forgot? I think it grew on him eventually, though.

[Shadow Wolf]

Okay, so I haven't had a chance to listen to the album yet. I'll be doing that in a minute when I jump in my car, and I'm rather excited because I haven't really listened to ANYTHING from this site since about mid 2009... so hopefully this will be my triumphant return.

But I wanna take a minute to say that the ARTWORK for this album is unbelievable. Oftentimes the web designers and artists for each of these releases kinda get lost in the fray and never get their proper due. But the artwork for this album is the best I've seen over 17 releases here. GREAT work. It's beautiful, imaginative, and well executed. I'm a whore for production, and this is just a cut above. Great work on the design guys!

I'll come back and gush about the music later.

[zykO]

Zyko- Since you're here I have a question for ya and a couple comments on your excellent tracks.

Q: So how did you come about taking on 3 different tracks for this project, each one going in such a different direction too, did you start out knowing you wanted to take on 3 right away or did some of the unclaimed tracks fall into your hands after you got some good ideas for them?

You know, I don’t exactly remember although I recall chatting it up with wes and tauce about Token Tango; that was initially going to be my contribution. I joined on pretty late so most of the tracks were taken and so the recruiting was at a slow but both boss bossanova and run, rambi, run were available. I believe boss bossanova had been previously claimed but largely neglected and run, rambi, run… I dunno, guess nobody had interest in it…

How they ended up going in such different directions is beyond me haha I was working on all three almost simultaneously and I rarely plan out my stylistic mood swings so it just sorta fell into place.

Token up: Awesome sense of direction for this piece, you took it down a rollercoaster or two on your way to the finished project, you rock the melody in the smoothest way possible, take us around the world, and bring us back to the familiar melody with energy, and it's almost 7 minutes! Can't get enough of this one.

Yeah, I’m glad you’re feelin that one. I’ve been getting the feelin that it’s my least popular one hehe the source naturally lends itself to this sort of style, me thinks and as far as the laziness goes, i'm a big fan of lazy, sloppy play and i embrace that aspect of my personal style almost religiously. Part of the problem with the drums is that this was actually the first time I had recorded live drums and I’m not a natural drummer =) I also experimented a lot with the keys, something I’m also not particularly proficient at. For me, it was a foray into complete darkness…

Apes of Wrath: imo the most reminiscent of your older work, loving the way you played around with the melodies, very free guitar, smooth organ, and creative percussion, there's a lot to love in this one.

Thanks for noticing the tribute back to the good ol’ days, it was completely intentional! boss bossanova was such an epic theme when i first heard it way back in the day. EPIC. i wanted to maintain that feel somehow while zyko monkeying all over it. i tell stories with most of my music, no doubt but this one in particular has a very distinct plot which might be part of the reason why my daughter loves this song so much... she likes to follow along with it describing what's going on... and there's certainly a whole battle going on from start to finish with all sorts of thematic respites and what not.

haha

Backwards Room: Left me breathless the first time around with its gritty new wave sort of feel, grabs my attention 100% every time I hear it. Great flow to it, although it loses a bit of energy by the time the last verse hits. That aside, this is exactly what I wanted to hear from the source material, something immediate and right there in your face, nice vocal mixing and use of effects.

I had no idea this track would be received the way it has but I am glad for it! I do have a knack towards this sort of grimy, gritty sound but it isn’t as if I sat down and said, ok, this is how I’m gonna do run, rambi, run. In fact, what really happened is that I instantly thought of an old bluegrass tune called run, rabbit, run and wanted to do something upbeat and folksy!! How it transformed gently into this romp, I have no idea haha… also, this song is definitely about a girl as much as it is about simian conflict. Weird stuff.

[Mirby]

Hey, Palpable, does that qualify as Cantopop? Also, when I read the English lyrics, I realized they fit perfectly. But the Cantonese singing is beautiful. Great work!

zyk0, is that you singing in Backwards Room? Pretty good! And nice guitar. It makes me laugh... Run run run baby run run... lol

Now where's Nekofrog... I have a question for him...

Edited March 18, 2010 by Mirby

[Nicole Adams]

Now where's Nekofrog... I have a question for him...

Nekofrog is in the Air Force.

I haven't listened to the album yet; I'm saving it for the listening party. I did skim through the old preview that contained most of the tracks and was happy with what I heard. Nice job everyone!

[Ashamee]

Mirby, Neko's in Air Force bootcamp for the next month-and-a-half. However, I happen to be his wife and I write him quite often, so if you want to ask him something, let me know and I'll see what I can do!

[José the Bronx Rican]

Like I told Amy a while back, after watching Chang Cheh's Shaw Bros. kung fu classics in their original dubs countless times, I would've recognized the language right away. Fun fact: they said "bu guo" a lot in those films, which is why in the lazy English dubs you heard characters say "but still" so many times.

I have to offer my standout moments on this album when I have time, but I do recall having Talking Heads flashbacks listening to "Backwards Room."

[Brandon Strader]

Actually, you may be absolutely right about that. I remember him using my computer to mix it, and he used to listen to it quite a bit before he left a few weeks ago. I remember, it was playing in the car one day, and he says, "Whoa, where the hell did that recorder part come from?" Maybe he forgot? I think it grew on him eventually, though.

Omg hahah! That is just too funny. I'm glad it grew on him, it would have been bad to find a mystery instrument in your song that totally sucked.

[Contricity]

I've had alot of favorites in this album but one track stands out to me and that's Us Monkeys Together by Flickerfall. TOTALLY love that song, currently on Repeat as I type. Oh, and someone tell me how they got David Bowie to sing in Backwards Room. o_O

[Xenon Odyssey]

Finally got around to listening to the whole thing, and the only word I can think of is phenomenal. Everyone really pulled out in spades for this one, and it really shows throughout all of the tracks.

However, Tepid stole the show for me with Crystal Swamp. Not only did he take a favorite source of mine and make it beautiful, but THEN he dug up more nostaglia by throwing in Donkey Kong LAND. I was completely not expecting that at ALL, dude; if praise was a physical object I would shower you with it. And praise for Mr. Burns as well, with Rare Respite. Such a seamless extension of an already amazing song, I don't think I'll ever need another arrangement of this tune (well, that may be a lie, but I'm satisfied for at least a couple of years )

Also, I would to thank Jeremy and Wes not only for the fantastic job they did, but also for letting me be apart of the album as a bonus track. Believe me, I bothered them with enough messages to probably warrant a restraining order, and I'm very thankful they didn't tell me off or something. So thanks again guys!

i was also going to write a nasty comment for all the vocal mix-haters, but hey, if you don't wanna listen to the music, not my problem! i'll continue to head-bang to Monkeys Disarm Their Kremlings.

[Bahamut]

Actually, you may be absolutely right about that. I remember him using my computer to mix it, and he used to listen to it quite a bit before he left a few weeks ago. I remember, it was playing in the car one day, and he says, "Whoa, where the hell did that recorder part come from?" Maybe he forgot? I think it grew on him eventually, though.

He told me you liked the recorder and I think that's why he kept it . He definitely didn't forget though!

And thanks everyone for the kind words! Glad you all enjoyed this, and got some more where this came from

[kefkafloyd]

I can't be the only person getting a Pink Floyd vibe from Beneath the Canopy, right? Some Breathe/Shine On stuff going on there in the intro. Good work.

[KyleJCrb]

I can't be the only person getting a Pink Floyd vibe from Beneath the Canopy, right?

Nope, you are not.

[AMT]

I just got done with my second listen-through on real speakers. In general, I think it was a solid album. My main gripe is that there were a lot of tracks where it was either difficult to identify the source or it completely changed the feel of the original. It made it seem like those tracks didn't get fair representation on the album. There were a few on here that I couldn't even link to the source without comparing them side by side, and I know this game really well. The tracks that were great, though, were absolutely amazing. Rare Respite, Dance of the Zinger, and Re-Skewed are probably my favorites. Tetanus, Beneath the Canopy, and A New Place were all fantastic as well. While I wish it were more coherent in places, it was good and I enjoyed it overall. Good work everyone!

[Brandon Strader]

I was sad that the panel NO'd Roller Disco, I really enjoyed that song. They just DON'T UNDERSTAND, man. I like how it's actually fairly disco-y and has some retro-sounding synths and drums. Also the gate synth near the end is really epic. Oh well. At least it's on the album.

[Thrik]

Just got through the whole thing. God damn, lots of amazing stuff on there.

My favourites are definitely Rare Respite, How K.Rool Went Insane, Boss Bossanova, Beneath the Canopy, Bad Bird Rag, The Flying Krock, and Castle Crescendo. Not just the interpretation but also the production of these is superb. Beneath the Canopy hit so many nostalgia strings when it changed its tone halfway through.

Also really enjoyed Monkeys Disarm Their Kremlings, albeit the instrumental version — I don't mind the odd death growl but this track is a bit heavy on it for my liking. Really love how it segues into DKC1's K.Rool boss music.

Wouldn't mind hearing some of the others without vocals too but I guess that was a design decision and won't happen.

[zylance]

I was sad that the panel NO'd Roller Disco, I really enjoyed that song. They just DON'T UNDERSTAND, man. I like how it's actually fairly disco-y and has some retro-sounding synths and drums. Also the gate synth near the end is really epic. Oh well. At least it's on the album.

Thanks for the kind words. I was (still am) surprised at the attention my song got when I slipped onto the project (that was over 2 years ago!), but I'm not suppressed it didn't pass the panel. I not sure how none of them "got" the ending though

[Chernabogue]

Awesom album, awesome remixes ! Everything is perfect ! Congratulations to everyone on this project, it rocks !

[kefkafloyd]

Nope, you are not.

Good to know. As a gigantic Floyd fan, I approve. We need more of this stuff.

edit: Also, I loved Roller Disco. It does have an ending, it has the level clear jingle right there.

Edited March 19, 2010 by kefkafloyd

[Liontamer]

Wouldn't mind hearing some of the others without vocals too but I guess that was a design decision and won't happen.

Hate vocal haters with hate. No instrumentals.

[Palpable]

Thanks for the kind words. I was (still am) surprised at the attention my song got when I slipped onto the project (that was over 2 years ago!), but I'm not suppressed it didn't pass the panel. I not sure how none of them "got" the ending though

Hey, I got what you were going for, I've played the game dozens of times. But I think there was a way you could have worked it in so that it ended less abruptly, which was the big complaint (though not from me).