OCR04967 - *YES* Donkey Kong Country 2 "Kommand & Kongquer"

[jnWake ⚖️]

Collabers: TheManPF, Ronin Op F

So, my friend Naop (from Mega Mixtape) decided it'd be a fun idea to organize an album featuring regulars of the Dwelling of Duels community, focusing on the Donkey Kong Country franchise. As we've collaborated a ton in the past, he chose me as one of the project leads and, naturally, as a contributor of music! I've always wanted to cover "Crocodile Cacophony" so I finally took the chance to do it! I'll admit though that it was kinda hard to do, since choosing a direction for the remix was tough. The original theme is a menacing upbeat theme and I wanted to keep that but also add my own touch. I'm not really sure I actually kept the menacing part alive that much on my take but it's definitely upbeat at least! One of the hardest parts was figuring out how to use the source's intro, since it's quite chromatic. In any case, I eventually managed to settle into some ideas and ended up building a metal-ish take with a lot of transitions and variations!

At first I was kinda imagining to take this on a more jazz/synth mood but eventually I realized I needed guitars so I contacted my friend and (also) fellow latino TheManPF. As usual, he completely nailed his parts, playing a nice solo! When I shared the track in the project's Discord server, Ronin offered me to add live strings and I obviously said yes! A couple days later I received like 10 stems that simulate a string ensemble and promptly inserted into the mix.

In any case, lemme share a source breakdown:

0:00-0:31: Intro, chord progression is based on the section just after the intro (as is the string rhytm).

0:32-0:48: The piano line echoes the string line from 0:16 on the source.

0:48-1:04: Repeat with PF on lead. The melody there is based on the melody from Gangplank Galleon!

1:04-1:20: My take on the 0:24 funky section from the original.

1:20-1:49: My take on the 0:33 of the original, both times (piano and synth) with some reharmonization and timing changes.

1:49-2:04: Transition based on first riff.

2:04-2:14: Finally, the source's intro!

2:14-2:46: Another variation of the 0:24 funky section of the original, with a guitar solo on top! At 2:30 there's variation of the previous riff on the leads.

2:46-3:24: Big transition into the final melody of the source (0:41), first on piano and then on guitar.

3:24-end: Keyboard solo over the riff from 1:04-1:20 to finish the track.

Hope you enjoy!

---

Games & Sources

[Hemophiliac ⚖️]

Another neat proggy track from jnWake.

To open, I'm not very fond of the placement of the piano in the mix here. It's left out in the middle of the ocean to drown, buried behind the other parts to open. During the rest of the track, it's placed perfectly; however the opening (0:10-0:31) it is lacking the clarity and crispness you usually have.

The interpretation of the source is great, you walk us through every portion of the song and I love the expansion to it.

RoninOpF sounds great as a small section, and he fits into the mix perfectly. Good job incorporating the strings into the mix and not letting them get dominated when they are mostly a background texture. I love the string rhythms 0:48-1:03 really anchoring us to the source rhythm.

No real complaints other than the piano in the intro, and that goes away quickly enough.

YES

New version 11/15: Mastering changes, kick is bigger and boomier now. There's a few kick hits that stand out a lot more now, I don't hate them but don't love them. It's fine. No change to vote, it's still fine.

Edited November 16 by Hemophiliac

[prophetik music ⚖️]

opens with some suitably menacing keys that builds into an interesting combo, between the strings, guitars, and keys alongside the drums and keys. strings took a second to grok what they were doing as it wasn't obvious what they were at first. 0:32's jazzy chord blocks are a fun adaptation of the original. the lead section with 0:48 sounds a little funny - the bend (at 0:50 and 0:58) sounds like it isn't properly in the chord that's underneath it. it's played well though and sounds good aside from that.

there's a surprise acoustic break at 1:20 for a bit before it gets proggy suddenly - i love that lead tone! the build into the intro section is great, and i really liked how you handled the chromaticism in the original's intro at 2:04. we do finally get the big fast double-time section i've been waiting for the whole song, and it feels great coming out of that into the sustain in the guitar lead.

there a slam transition at 2:46 into some sfx and sustained strings - this felt very unexpected (probably intentionally), but it took a few listens to get the direction there. it eventually settles out into a really nice band sound at 3:07, and again pf does a great job with the lead. the last section is the chord blocks from earlier in the guitar, and this features a great keys solo. there's no real ending which is a bummer.

this is a really great ride. like hemo said earlier, you use every part of the song in interesting ways, and the overall ensemble sounds really solid together. there's a few bits here and there that don't make as much sense to me as they could - a few of the transitions for example - but overall it's a really enjoyable track. nice work.

 

 

YES

[Liontamer ⚖️]

Prot did a great cover of this theme that put it on my radar (I owned the first game, but not the second.)

Noting here that I've only heard the revised version. I'm familiar with Wake's work of course, yet I was very surprised by just how structurally interpretive the treatment ended up being here.

Sections like 1:48-2:30 feature Ronin Op F and TheManPF creating tension and aggression, respectively, but the arrangement doesn't need to stay menacing with the source tune to have something to say creatively, so I'm glad Wake leaned into his penchant for dynamic proggyness, which never steers him wrong.

YES