ReMix:Kirby: Planet Robobot "Mind Lost in a Program" 4:20

For a cute puffball like Kirby, his final battle themes can be stressful, but they're still pretty fun, and that includes Kirby: Planet Robobot's Star Dream! For Dwelling of Duels this past spring, jnWake tapped into that spirit of fun to cruise to the top of the DoD podium, bolstered by guitar assists from Jabo & Ivan Hakštok, as Wake shifted the source's instrumentation from orchestration to the group's signature brand of rock:

"Another DoD passes, another remix submission... this one is from March 2024's HAL Month, and it's my take on the theme that plays on the first phase of the final boss of Kirby: Planet Robobot, known as either "VS. Star Dream" or "Mind in a PROGRAM", in my usual progressive rock/metal style... Features awesome collaborators Jabo on guitars, Ivan Hakštok on bass. I've always wanted to cover Kirby music since it's super hype, which is especially true of its final boss themes. I was a little hesitant about covering this one since there's an incredible cover of it by GaMetal, but I decided to go for it anyway... So, the final boss in Planet Robobot has you face the main villain of the game after he fuses with a supercomputer, hence I wanted my cover to kinda reflect the contrast between "organic" elements and "robotic" electronic ones, which guided most of my sample/instrument decisions, hence the usage of piano, acoustic/clean guitars against chiptunes and synths. The backstory of the main villain of the game also has some sad elements, which is reflected in the melodies during the song, and I wanted to keep some of that melancholy in the remix. [...]

Aaaand that's all! This track actually won the month in DoD, where it got 1st place (out of 22 entries), which was very cool! Hope you enjoy!"

Wake's extensive arrangement breakdown comments are tagged in the MP3, but this is the epitome of a spirited rockin', synthy cover, so there's no epic, complicated jumble of yarn to unravel here. Even so, judge Emunator heard so many great audio tidbits in here that he's discombobulated and jumbled to this day:

"This original song is nuts - I had to check if I was accidentally playing multiple songs at the same time, but nope. Just a weird intro! The jazz-fusion-orchestral meat of the source is just sublime and feels right up your alley, I can see why you were drawn to this.

Your arrangement wastes no time getting into it. Immediately I'm hearing the benefit of the collaborators you chose to involve here. The whole band ensemble sounds full and rich, and your keys/synths fit right in. [...] man... there's just so much going on here, I don't think I could fully process everything you've done here across 10 listens. It's really cohesive despite jumping between styles at a moment's notice. The performances and writing are so strong [...] This is a slam dunk."

As my hero Bret "The Hitman" Hart says, "you gotta be bold to wear the gold", so it's no surprise jnWake, Jabo & Hakštok could take on a fusion-ready theme like Star Dream's, boldly add heaping helpings of musical spices, and joyously lay waste to a stacked field of DoD competitors. Looks like Wake's the final boss now. :-D