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OCR01243 - Donkey Kong Country "Machina Anesthesia"


djpretzel
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In the words of Carl Brutananadilewski, and I quote:

Frickin' Awesome.

It's like some badass samurai infiltration unit decided to crash the industrial ninja base, (it's my fantasy, c'mon, work with me) and they're sneaking around hallways, snapping necks like twigs, getting all stabby, and generally kicking all kinds of ass until BAM! They shoot a poison dart into the ninja guru, then slink back to the palace and celebrate with much sake and "kinky kinky space pirate sex." Whatever the hell that is. :)!!

Seriously, though, DKC mixes are orgasmic anyway, and this just put me in a mood. Props, bro. Props. :wink:

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I really like the way this starts out. Percussion is brutal (in a good way) and the Asian instrument touches are very cool. At around 1:30, it looks like we start to visit more of the original tune itself, and I love the pads that fade in and eventually rise to a deep 'boom' of a transition.... nicely done. The bells sound a little thin, but not that there's anything wrong with the sample. I probably would have just gone with something meatier.... still, all of this is very cinematic and forces imagery...

This is my favorite part, coming in at about 3:03.... the first time I heard it, I didn't like the repetitive 'boom-chick, boom-chick' bass and snare action; but after more listens, turns out I really like it. Those ethnic, almost harmonic bells and tweaks with the stomping percussion make it easy to picture Donkey Kong and tap my foot in a song where I didn't think I would be, and it even reminds me of some old Stewart Copeland work from the early 80's... very cool and almost myterious....

The rest of the song seems to just be settling down now, and it's hard to 'feel' the music unless you imagine the cinematic involvement in unison, which is not difficult at all.... hey, that harp/bell sweep at 4:32 is KILLER.... sounds like something out of NiGHTS.... I seriously enjoy whatever that combo of samples/effets was there...

The brass samples are outstanding in this piece.... they sound much more convincing than just about everything besides the percussion.... startlingly realistic sounds....

Funny.... I still think this falls into the new-age category, although my idea of the genre may certainly be different from others.... It doesn't matter, because I very much enjoyed the music, and feel this is in the upper tier of Gray's work.

Now.... for the last time, I'm begging Gray to try something upbeat, poppy, and faster. :)

85/100

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:D

Now this is what you call hugely organic and amazing and all. Amazing arrangement, stupendous orchestration. I know I was able to find a few isolated spots where there was some sort of a percieved flaw on the first listen, but now after listening a few times I am having a hard time finding them =(. I'll post a follow-up later when I find them =) but either way, amazing work. One of the lushest and most high-quality mixes I may have ever heard; there's really a lot of warmth in this one. Many nice works, Gray!

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This has to be THE defining year for GrayLightning as a mixer on OCR. He becomes a judge in December. Eight mixes of excellent quality since january, the most recent being his stunning Shining Force mix, which clearly placed him amongst the best mixers in the community. His sound is professional and clean; his mixes are film score lush and vibrant with images. His latest mix, the second OCR release from the Kong in Concert project (fast on the heels of Vig's excellent mix), is probably one of, if not, his best mix to date. The arrangement is seamless; the quality is top notch.

The instruments are beautiful and realistic, organic, to steal rellik's word. Gray might have had some minor problems with precussion in the past, but that is not to be seen here at all. Everything in this mix clicks together like pieces of a puzzle. Gray is proving himself to be the master of ethnic orchestral.

I don't see any problems with this mix. Excellent title; delivers the goods on time, without any shipping or handling charges. GrayLightning has shown incredible maturity as a mixer, and, as always, if this is any indication of what is to come, then I will be blown away.

Great stuff.

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GrayLightning consistantly puts out great remixes. I remember browsing through the DKC project thread and the project seems as though it had just been announced and before most people had their first WiP done GrayLightning had already finished this mix!

This mix is my favorite GrayLightning mix. The instrumentation is great and I love the ethnic instruments and the percussion in this mix. More importantly im a sucker for bells. So this mix would obviously be a favorite.

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I always seem to gripe at Gray for the pacing in his mixes. I don't feel that way about this one at all; everything seems well-timed in this one.

As with any GL piece of late, it's full of quality orchestration. A few of my favorite moments are:

- The subtle catharsis at 1:06-1:18. It's so understated I barely noticed it the first time, but it sounds so beautiful.

- The low strings echoing the melody line at 1:46.

- The asian harp (?) at 4:33.

- Switching to pizzicatto strings on the main melody at 2:53.

This is great work, and one of GL's best. Not as complex and daring as Armageddon, but close -- and better paced to boot.

Now.... for the last time, I'm begging Gray to try something upbeat, poppy, and faster. :)

Not sure if that's a joke or not -- but, if it's not, check out his "Afterlife" remix from Final Fantasy.

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  • 1 month later...

Hmmmmmm...wow, it defenitley has an enchanted pagonda kinda feel. It makes me think of a samurai warrior getting ready to battle *nods thoughtfully*. Yes, indeed. It certainly is a different take on the original, ne??? I like it. It has reeeeeeeeeeeeeally good parts, but...it doesn't seem to click w/me all the way. Oriental music fashods should dl this. Moby fans *stands up proudly*, possibly. But weirdos like me...who knows. Who listens to people who like Moby, anyway *looks down sadly* :lol:

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  • 8 months later...

I always remember GrayLightning on this ReMix. The first song that I listened of him, times ago.

My favourite thing here is the arrangement. It has a lot of creativity, a more slow style and more beautiful things than the original source tune. I like the asian ideas on the transition of the mix, as he said that has some New Age influences.

The percussion is very strategic and pleasant; sounds random. The instruments are very powerful and played really nicely. I love what the strings are doing, with the other instruments. Some sounds reminds me of factories, industries and such, like the original track was did to be. The bells are a nice thing. And the pizzicato is a perfect combination as well. All things here are doing a great work with high quality. Very pleasant and strong piece.

I finally listened this ReMix again. Whatever, this is one of my favourites of GrayLightning.

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  • 1 month later...
The bells are sweet...

The rest of the song however sucks the big one! (just kidding) :D

You BETTER...

I have already mentioned this before, that this track is one of the best DKC songs. Well now this mix is one my favorite mixes, all thanks to GL. I still don´t get that New Age style, this sounds orchestral to me. The essential strings, some very nice drums, one, two, many chimes and other metal-sounds back there(anyway, this is fear FACTORY) and other instruments I can´t really recognize. DUDE, this does sound like a movietrack, some darn good one by the way. A great piece by gray, really a masterpiece with good rhytm and style.

How can someone NOT like it? (glaring at Azar)

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  • 1 year later...

What random arrangement of caccophany is this!

There is one thing I must say about it though. My favorite sound in the entire world, I kid you not, is the sound of the Japanese Tsuzumi hand drum.

I hated this song to shreds, but I must say, kudos for trying out something new.

I have as yet been unsuccessful finding a sample of that one sound that's used so much in videogames...

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  • 1 year later...

Pretty nice soundscape, i really like the strings and textures used. Melodically there isn't much going on, but everything clicks as a whole, and it's a good listen. The overly subtle melody could also be a source issue.

An excellent mood, great sounds used, but I just wish there was something a bit more leading.

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  • 1 year later...

I haven't listened to a lot of Graylightning's stuff, but I'm big fan of what I've heard do far. This is by far one of my favorite tracks from him.

I love how he's taken what would've been an industrial track and taken to a much more mystical, oriental place and still able to keep the dark, oppressive and mechanical feel of the original track.

Overall, a great track from gray.

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You get the sense that this was inspired by a lot of different genres, styles, and sources but it feels entirely cohesive at the same time. I don't really have a problem picking out the melody, and the percussion especially reminds you that you're listening to a factory remix.

The only thing that's really distracting is the drumrolls, something about them just seems off :? Everything else feels like a great remix with unity, direction, and a clear sense of identity. It's not as immediately impressive as some of the other KiC tracks, but there's a lot of detail and creativity packed into this unassuming orchestral mix. Recommended! :-D

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  • 3 weeks later...

Now this is interesting....

It's like it's trying to relay the story of how someone infiltrated a factory. There's textural streaks of severity, knowing of consequences, tenseness, pride, & duty all running throughout this mix.

Wow, this is really a cool mix. The atmosphere isn't quite as thick or heavy as I was expecting, but what it does offer has a very unique flavor and vibe.

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  • 3 months later...

Gray Lightning. I think that says it all on the quality of the ReMix itself, but is not even close. It's better! I like the Oriental feeling of this mix, especially since this combines two of my favorite things: Epic Asian Movie sounding stuff and Fear Factory's theme. Although the source doesn't seem to pop up as much as I'd hoped, I can't gripe at all at after hearing this. Sweet!

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  • 5 years later...
  • Liontamer changed the title to OCR01243 - Donkey Kong Country "Machina Anesthesia"

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