ReMix:Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! "mojo gogo" 2:59

MERRY XMAS!! Whether you'll be opening presents tomorrow or going out for Chinese food or WHATEVER, we'd like to wish everyone happy holidays from all of us here at OCR!!

We've got some especially upbeat, warm, & wintry holiday mixes to help make your season bright! First up is Brad Burr, aka prophetik, with a unique sampled doo-wop/motown vibe going on, coupled w/ live sax and a swing that's the thing, groovin' along to Jangle Bells, which is kind of like Jingle Bells but with less A and more I. Brad writes:

"i didn't want to approach it from the standard jazz approach that i've recently been taking to tracks, though, so i sat there for a bit trying to decide what direction to take the track. i eventually settled on a goofy 60s style mixed with some big band elements. i used a ton of elastik, as well as some trilian, liquidinstrument's horn section library, and my trusty old salvation-army tenor sax."

Lovin' the organ on this; while the elastik usage might seem a bit like cheatin' to those familiar with Ueberschall's Elastik product, the tech actually allows for changing individual notes & timings within phrases - pretty slick - plus Brad defeats any criticism in that regard by rocking some mean (as always) REAL LIVE SAX. Santa approves, and after some judges had weighed in with critiques on production and the copy-pasted background vocals, so did Nutritious, with the deciding vote:

"I do agree that this sounds like it could use some more polish. For me, it's mainly in the mixing department - sax stands out a bit too much over everything, other elements are relegated a bit too much in the background (drums). Better balance would help. Ending fadeout was a bit too sudden. However, the track has a lot going for it, creative arrangement, good performances, nice samples overall. The copy pasta ooh aahs really didn't bother me, even after reading about them here and listening to them after."

I think this is a fun, straightforward mix that definitely gets some bonus points for trying out a genre/style we hardly ever see and for doing a relatively good job on blending live sax with some more preset elements. It's not breaking the bank in the complexity department, it doesn't develop much, and in some ways it's more of a sketch, but it's a fun one, the energy is positive & has a holiday resonance, and it's got an infectious charm that makes it hard not to like.