Donkey Kong Country - Aquatic Ambiance Hip Hop Remix

[davidbloop]

Hi guys,

 

I'm a part of an Australian Hip Hop record label and as part of an initiative for extra content for our youtube channel I decided I'd like to tackle some video game music remix's that I remix into hip hop instrumentals. For my first proper remix I picked one of my favourite pieces of all time with Aquatic Ambiance.

 

When I made this, I really wanted to keep the feel of the original intact. Part of what made the original piece of music great for me was the style and atmosphere it embodied so I tried not to stray too far away from that. Unfortunately I believe the kick drums especially could have used some extra mixing work as they are way too loud imo but the deadline arrived before I had a chance to fix it. There are also some other issues with the mixing I'd have liked to address. One thing I've been tackling is that, compared to when I normally make a hip hop beat, for video game music I find I need to get the melodic sections a bit louder, as they're the recognisable part of the track. I think I may have taken it a bit far though.

 

I'll be doing these remixes quite regularly and I thought getting feedback from this community would be invaluable for me to improve as this is my first proper attempt at doing something like this. (I've done one other beat but that was just a straight ripped sample and was a quick one so I'm not counting it)

 

 

 

 

Source:

[Skrypnyk]

My suggestion on improving is keep practicing and keep experimenting with your DAW.  

 

I've listen to your mix several times and I'm sorry, but I can't give you any positive comments about your mix other than if you were trying to lay a hip-hop beat over the original source, you've kinda succeeded.

 

The beat is too simple, the synths are dry, most if not all of the instruments are sequenced really stiffly, there hasn't been much if anything done to expand on the original source, and nothing about this mix stands out as being unique, having character, originality, or a certain je ne ce quoi.  I understand you were trying to keep the feel of the original song, but you can still do things to personalize it more than just putting a beat over it.  Get creative.

[davidbloop]

My suggestion on improving is keep practicing and keep experimenting with your DAW.  

 

I've listen to your mix several times and I'm sorry, but I can't give you any positive comments about your mix other than if you were trying to lay a hip-hop beat over the original source, you've kinda succeeded.

 

The beat is too simple, the synths are dry, most if not all of the instruments are sequenced really stiffly, there hasn't been much if anything done to expand on the original source, and nothing about this mix stands out as being unique, having character, originality, or a certain je ne ce quoi.  I understand you were trying to keep the feel of the original song, but you can still do things to personalize it more than just putting a beat over it.  Get creative.

 

Thanks for the feedback mate. I guess something I've got to come to terms with deviating further from the source as I was a bit scared I'd ruin it if I lost that spark that made the original so great.

Do you have any suggestions for what I could do to expand on it? I didn't just put a beat over it and I did spend quite a long time recomposing the melodies to fit within the structure I was looking for. Perhaps it would have been wise for me to spend some time adding extra elements that could compliment the mix or add extra depth or character to what was already present. You're correct though in that the sequencing is too stiff. That was one of the elements I would like to improve on next time given a bit more time to work with it.

 

I appreciate you taking the time to let me know your thoughts and I'll definitely take it on board for my next project.

[Bowlerhat]

Hey,

 

First of all, i'd like to say to you've definitely got the right attitude to improve!! Even though there is a lot to say about your mix, if you keep your mindset as it is, then you're sure to get better . 

 

Second of all, hip hop isn't really my forte, but I'm gonna try to help a bit anyway.

 

 

What you should do, if you haven't already, is to listen to all the other remixes on this site on aquatic ambiance, and listen to the way they implemented the source material into their mix. What's really noticeable about your remix is that it is 100% source material, even though that isn't necessary. 

 

I don't know if you already know this remix, but I'm gonna throw in this hip hop mix as an comparison, so that you know what you could improve on. I'm not going to comment on your mixing, as there are a lot of people on this site who know a lot more about that.

 

(If you do not know the source I'd recommend checking that out as well.)

 

Structure:

Your mix uses the same kind of harmonic and melodic structure the whole time. This makes it very repetitive and kind of dull. Especially since it's the same structure as the original source. It makes sense for hip hop, but you could/should throw in some kind of bridge or variation at times. In the mix I posted as a comparison the bridge it uses is 100% new material, which isn't necessary, but it does give a fresh feel to it. You should keep in mind to keep the same vibe in the bridge as in the rest of the song, though, since the bridge still has to be a part of the whole remix. 

 

Instrumentation:

You switched your instrumentation quite a lot in your mix, which is nice. It wasn't always done perfectly, but it did give some variety. But, you should keep in mind that when you want to write nice music, the parts you write have to be nice as well. In "Memories Frozen in Time" there are a lot of layers, some ambient, some groovish, some countermelodic. In your mix it's the same, but what's essentially different between the two mixes is that the parts in MFiT make some melodic sense. It's more important to have the music be horizontally correct, than to have it vertically correct. It doesn't make sense to add some more layers, if the layers itself aren't fun to listen to. 

 

Source handling:

You handle your source very direct. All of the parts from your remix, are in the same place as they are in the original song. There is no variation, expansion or any kind of switching at all. There is some delay until the main melody comes in, but that's it. If you listen to MFit, you can see that they put some vague source in the countermelodies, that there are some variations on the main melody and that the bass only starts playing the original bass line after the bridge. Which gives a really nice effect, because, if the original bass line would have been played from the beginning, it would have been pretty tiring to keep hearing the same bass the whole song. I'm not  saying you should do the same thing, but you do need to keep in mind that there are other alternatives to implement a motive than what's used in the original song. 

 

 

Okay, that's it. There's probably a lot more to say about your mix, but that's all I can think of at this moment. I hope it was useful.

 

Also, you probable won't get everything right at your next try as well, but if you keep trying and trying you're sure to improve. Experience is really important when you make music.

[Skrypnyk]

 

Do you have any suggestions for what I could do to expand on it? 

 

Perhaps it would have been wise for me to spend some time adding extra elements that could compliment the mix or add extra depth or character to what was already present.

You can do whatever you want.  Play with an effect, phaser, delay, reverb, etc.  Play with a sample in a slicer.  Play around with a synth sound.  Whatever sounds good,make it stands out, gives it character.