ReMix:Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest "Brambly Rivers" 3:00

Kind of a strange mix IMO. Synth at 1:03 is just too loud. The stab later on has the same problem. Can't say I like it; it just feels awkward.

While I don't mind Midi-chiptunish sounding ReMixes, this sounded a little TOO chiptunish for me. It was kinda grating and awkward all over. I do, however, like that you tried to take a somber and serious source and make it upbeat. I love the sound of Stickerbush Symphony upbeat and full of energy. It was definitely different. Perhaps a cleaned up version would be amazing, as the whole idea of a faster happy ReMix of this song intrigues me, but this isn't exactly it. Not the best I've heard, but good try.

Very nice mix, well done.

old-school chiptune goodness on this one; Some of the frequencies on the high end can be a bit harsh, but the vibe of the track i thought was pretty good, except for the super weak drums. They seem like cardboard cutouts of the drums that should have been used. Flat and fakey. The patterns were also somewhat boring, but the kick drives the track pretty well. The lack of noticeable fills or variation hurt the track.

There are some nice points, like the shimmering runs, and the lead tone chosen is pretty good, having presence, but keeping things from being too hardcore. The panning effects used throughout are very well done as well, making this extra interesting on headphones.

Arrangement is pretty conservative but sounds unique due to the chiptune treatment. Overall pretty good, and I enjoyed this, despite some of the production issues.

I like this mix.

I should say that I love the original track's ambient feel and relatively solid melodic lines. It makes for a really good nostalgic experience.

This piece mostly retains what I loved in the original, while jump-starting the energy. This is due in large part to the fact that the instrumentation of the melody starting at 0:29, along with the tempo, gives a real impression of soaring.

A couple notes. When the melody starts, I think an echo effect would be more effective than a slow pan (same goes for any of the quickly repeating motifs). For example, I like the echo effect at 0:35.

The rhythm of the ting-y bells often feels disturbingly random (first time 0:31), in spite of the fact that they clearly follow/echo the melody.

And I agree with others about the ending being too abrupt. Other than those things, I really like it.

My first impression of this mix was "UGH!"...the opening annoyed the hell out of me. It sat in my OCR folder for quite a while before I dug it out and listened to it again, and somehow it has grown on me. The opening still bothers me, but once it gets past the first 13 seconds or so, I find it to be an enjoyable, upbeat remix.

Overall, I give it a 7/10. Not bad, Wintermute...I prefer your DKC3 remix over this one, though.

(Why the hell has no one made more DKC3 remixes???)

Is this how it would sound if you enhanced the speed on this song twice? It´s very catchy and all that. But I have compared this one to the original, well, it´s not the same synths really I think, but he does a good job making it sounds like it. This is just a speed up version of the org. But I still thinks it good, the org was a much calmer and quiter one that didn´t do that much noise out of itself, Wintermute piffed his style a little a here it is, in a form of a partytrack.

What are you waiting for? It´s party!

I'm kinda just echoing what most other people are saying...but yes, Protricity's mix was much better. It's not horrible but...I'll just say it's not something I'll be listening to over and over...at all. In fact, I probably won't listen to it ever again. All right, I hated it. It was too much of a departure from the original, and the ending was too abrupt. See this statement right here?

I've yet to find a bad remix of DK2 music.

It is now officially a lie.

Well yeah, I saw a lot of Brambles mixes in my time, although this was the first one I ended up downloading. One thing I heart about Wintermute is that he's the only person on here with a DKC3 mix here, however that's beyond the point. For this incarnation I managed to dig it for what it was at first; the grab isn't quite as hot now, but it's still pretty firm for what it is.

Here's my opinions relating to all this

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Remix

The track is one of those that play really conservatively on the source material via two straight riffs of the melody line. The execution was well thought out even for something like this; one thing that seemed to rub me the wrong way though was a light glitch that came through at 1:56 where it sounded that little bit off-key from this angle. That could be just a light nit-pick though, although everything else is pretty okay in terms of tonality. Variance on the actual theme is minimal at best, although in the second half there's been some light variance upon the accompanying synths to help add in some much needed spice to the overall formulae. The structuring is generally good in spite of the conservative nature; however one thing that seemed to rub me the wrong way was that the ending just went on a chord on a sweep pad and that was it. I wanted to hear a stronger ending than that. When I first heard it a couple of years back I appreciated a lot of the simplicity that came into it; even though it's starting to rub off a bit, I still think it's been able to stand out. Not the best Brambles mix, but it's still well thoughtful for its place here.

Creativity

I didn't sense much that breathed in much life into the track, although I feel that some of the accompaniment variance has managed to help on that aspect; it would have helped to involve some more creative aspects on that field to be able to match. The sections link together pretty fluently, although I would have wanted to see more fluency taken towards how some of the backing sounds left and entered their parts of the mix. There's some fresh pacing work within the feel of the genre, which may fit okay if you're into electronica; not sure if it will be able to remain itself at a stale pace after a few listens, but it's still not bad. Even here, repetition is a qualm as shown with the repeated melody line in the second riff and a lot of riff recycling brought throughout the piece, so don't be afraid to change of some of the measures to help create a lightly more exciting song. I could recommend it to some people who are into electronica, but outside from there I can't really think it'll fit too well. It's still interesting if you want to hear a small sample of what OCR was like in its elder days.

Production

The samples feel retro-like to say much; I feel that some of the synths that were incorporated sounded like default FL loops, although much of which have been programmed in a reasonable fashion to help go against that. The EQ range could have been given a light looking into though; some of the material sounded to be mid-range dependant, so don't be afraid in thickening out the sounds some more. I managed to see that the sounds taken were well thought out with the release and delay effects that came on cue. The encoding of the instruments isn't bad and I can admit that, but there's something about the drums that feel a bit faint; they sound like a NES kit, so I'm sure a boost in EQs or a change in samples may make them sound a bit more realistic. One quirk I've noticed about this was how the leveling was done; I actually dig the volume taken into account here, although it would be advised to turn down the melody a bit and bring in the drums and bass to help round it off. I can admit I was pleased with the panning techniques taken what with the effects and instrument positions n board. I would have wanted to hear some cleaner distinguished positions though, but this is still neat. So yeah, there are some elements that have aged well, and some that have aged not too well, but it's still not bad to take on board.

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I have to chip in and say that I preferred Prot's incarnation over this, with the main reasons linking towards the vast difference in compositional and production depth. It's still pretty decently levelled out and thought over for what it is, but with attention to a more polished sound this would work well as a stronger mix. I don't think it's painful to listen to as such; that's better off being saved for his Fear Factory mix.

nonetheless, it'll be interesting to see him get back in touch with the site sometime soon, and I'm sure he'll be able to take his arrangement ideas to that next level, I assure you

I know this has to be a reply, but i can't hold it. Hi I'm BloodFalcon, I'm visiting ocr since the beginning. Now i'm member 2.

Now going to the song.

Quite good work, the instruments has something from the GameBoy output. Speed up, that's best about it. I liked the song as it is, but this remix shows how you can make a quitly song whit sence to an unsensual song, whit enough beeps to get a headake!

Proticity (did I spell it well? ) maked a remix, you made one. If there is going to be a DCK2 project on ocr, I think your mix must be on it (sorry Proticity, your song is good as well, but, man, I like those Beeps!)

Keep up the good work!

BloodFalcon

I have listend to both remixes of this song and it is clear which version is the superior and that would go to Protricity's version of this song. To me this song kinda sounds like an upbeat MIDI version to the Bramble Theme.

ear pain...

Good music, yet oddly cool leads. Me like.

Yeah, it may not be fall on the floor amazing, but I wrote lyrics to the tune of this ReMix. So...it's alittle heart-n-soul to me. HEY! If anyone want to see them (I know, I know, BORING!), just lemme know! I'll happily...make them...available...for...well, reading, I guess.

This is the worst remix I have ever heard, you are destroying a classic. Stilll thanks for trying.