ReMix:Donkey Kong Country "OSHA Violation" 5:21

Because of the particular creativity of this arrangement, we thought it would be perfect to post today in celebration of David Wise's birthday! Buuuuuut... when we posted yesterday about our intent to do this, D. Wise revealed that... Wikipedia was wrong and September 13 wasn't actually his birthday. :-O So... Happy Un-Birthday to the legend, David Wise!

Our fourth featured ReMix from Reuben Spiers immerses the listener quite literally in a factory environment, with power drills and myriad FX & textures that evoke sinister cinders, blending with a cinematic/folk take on the theme that features lovely string & harp performances:

"This is my cover of David Wise's "Fear Factory" from the 1994 video game Donkey Kong Country. Special thanks to Earth Kid for her harp performance, and Sean Leffler for his viola/violin performances. Power drills and wine glasses will forever be my favourite instruments."

I'm not sure they fit every composition, but they are used to sublime effect here, creating just the right atmosphere for an otherwise primarily acoustic take on the theme, with harp, strings, acoustic & electric guitars, banjo, a nicely-harmonized two-part choir, bass, and classic rock drums. It kinda sounds like trippy psychedelic rock performed inside of a warehouse, except someone invited Steve and his power drill, so Barbara had to repeatedly hit her wine glass to make THAT work, and then Chad & Tom started singing and everyone just went with it, becuase that's what you do. In the best of ways. Judges were unanimous and pointed out a lot of specifics, but I liked Larry Oji's general praise here:

"Dug the vox hitting some sustained notes at 3:14 for a nice bit of dynamic contrast. Easily Reuben's best concept piece; a hugely interpretive and personalized sound, a very varied sound palette that came together nicely, and good performances by the collaborators.

Never thought I'd hear "Fear Factory" like this. Again, every time you think "this is a cliched source tune choice", people in the VGM arrangement community make you realize there are so many different and creative ways to approach an interpretation. Nice work, Reuben, Natalya, and Sean!"

Rexy also pointed out nice use of toms to mix up the drum part, and I thought the banjo was a smart choice; you don't often hear these instruments paired up, together, against a backdrop that's less traditional and more soundscapey, but the whole thing works a treat. Add a cheeky title & collaborations that breath life into the bits what need it, and you've got a wonderfully creative concept, realized with style. And we're *always* a fan of those - truly awesome stuff, and happy fake birthday to the composer!