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OCR01242 - Donkey Kong Country "Beneath the Surface"


djpretzel
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AWESOME remix. One of my favourites. The cameos are a very nice original touch.

Does anyone have a guitar tab for the jazz solo that kicks in around 3:04? I'm working on right now, but it gets a little fast at the end and hard to pick out all the notes and slides.

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Some people have commented on a video of this I uploaded to YouTube and pointed out some neat easter eggs:

5:19 Psalm 23 (Bible)

5:27 Frog's Theme (Chrono Trigger)

5:40 Kraid's Lair (Super Metroid)

5:55 Title Theme (The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time)

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Hehe. I know this song is pretty old, but I've been listening to it for years. Now that I'm a member, I'd just like to say how much I appreciate it.

Funnily enough, I hadn't played Chrono Trigger when I first heard this mix. It was only later, after I had finally been introduced and it became one of my favorite games of all time, that I saw someone mention the Frog cameo in this song. I had gotten so used to hearing this piece as it is, and recognizing it as its own beautiful work, that even after hearing the original Frog's Theme I failed to put them together until it was pointed out to me.

The cameos are a creative touch. I was reading this thread and someone else mentioned the feeling of lost things lying at the bottom of the ocean. That's a great analogy. To me this song is also somewhat like sinking into an ocean of nostalgia. Your memories from different periods in your life are coming gently and inobtrusively back to greet you- I've been playing DKC since I was old enough to comprehend anything, and Zelda came in when I was around 13, and Chrono Trigger a few years after that. For me, it's almost like moving from the past- where things seemed to move a lot slower and I had all the time in the world, which is why the piece is a DKC theme- and rushing towards these later themes in the future where everything seems to move a lot faster, which is why they are only snippets.

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Hehe. I know this song is pretty old, but I've been listening to it for years. Now that I'm a member, I'd just like to say how much I appreciate it.

Funnily enough, I hadn't played Chrono Trigger when I first heard this mix. It was only later, after I had finally been introduced and it became one of my favorite games of all time, that I saw someone mention the Frog cameo in this song. I had gotten so used to hearing this piece as it is, and recognizing it as its own beautiful work, that even after hearing the original Frog's Theme I failed to put them together until it was pointed out to me.

The cameos are a creative touch. I was reading this thread and someone else mentioned the feeling of lost things lying at the bottom of the ocean. That's a great analogy. To me this song is also somewhat like sinking into an ocean of nostalgia. Your memories from different periods in your life are coming gently and inobtrusively back to greet you- I've been playing DKC since I was old enough to comprehend anything, and Zelda came in when I was around 13, and Chrono Trigger a few years after that. For me, it's almost like moving from the past- where things seemed to move a lot slower and I had all the time in the world, which is why the piece is a DKC theme- and rushing towards these later themes in the future where everything seems to move a lot faster, which is why they are only snippets.

I caught that the whisper was the 23rd Psalm (I've been raised a Christian; I'm a LOST geek, remember Mr. Eko? Anyway...) I knew there was something hauntingly familiar about those guitar phrases in the fifth minute. Now I know where from for certain.

Donkey Kong Country was my first video game. Aquatic Ambience has pretty much always been my favorite theme from the soundtrack. So it's fair to call this mix my absolute favorite OCremix of all time, especially in how many times I've listened to it as compared to every other excellent remix in my collection.

Beneath The Surface, lost things lie at the soul of the sea. This song is soaring through a storm of solace; recalling all the depressing disappointment of your life, but failing to summon tears, you only close your eyes and wince as if pinched by years past. Regret hides behind fear of the unknown; life is a love and hate relationship with the universe. Beneath The Surface, the scars are deeper; bad memories more fervent than the good. But the good is still there, and everywhere, so you never lose sight of all importance. Refreshed by this piece, you hold on to hope and survive to thrive.

This song obliterates oxymorons and clears conundrums, it simplifies death and destruction with love and life by embodying them in a soothing sweet sorrow. I also leave it on loop as I struggle to fall asleep.

Released from prison after life behind bars, an old man in a movie (I will not mention the movie for this could be seen as a spoiler) narrates: "I saw an automobile once when I was a kid, but... now, they're everywhere! The world went and got itself in a big, damn hurry..." Yes we have.

(here's the scene, check it out)

"This is your life and it is ending one minute at a time." -Fight Club.

Better make the most of it.

"Gather ye rosebuds while ye may, old time is still a'flying. And this same flower that smiles today, tomorrow will be dying."

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  • 2 weeks later...

From first hearing this, I identified 5.07-5.09 as a piece of the Chrono Trigger main theme (in addition to the other three obvious references). Haven't seen anyone else mention this, though... am I reading too much into it?

I have some vague recollection that Vigilante had a habit of inadvertently 'improvising' pre-existing phrases of music, so perhaps that could explain it.

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You know, I never even noticed the cameos until people pointed them out in this thread. I DID notice the similarity to Kraid's theme, and just thought it was a coincidence.

By far my favourite mix on an OverClocked ReMix album, if not one of my favourite pieces from this site. One question: Are the drums real? That deep snare is one of the best snare hits I've ever heard. The ride cymbals work well too. What type of reverb did you use for them?

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  • 7 months later...

The Donkey Kong Country soundtrack has a dark, atmospheric vibe that I don't think anyone has nailed nearly as well as Vigilante with this mix. Simply put, this is a stunning rendition of an incredible melody.

It's pretty hard to mess up such rich material, but its even harder to surpass it.

The intro makes me sway, the body makes me a kid again and the outro makes my heart ache. A beautiful piece of music that isn't betrayed by its ambition or its performances. Everything comes together effortlessly and in its own time, resulting in a sexy, soulful masterpiece. Much love for this one.

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  • Liontamer changed the title to OCR01242 - Donkey Kong Country "Beneath the Surface"

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