Posted 2011-05-26, evaluated by the judges panel


Awesome mix, here. You would have thought that, after the amazing number of DKC2 mixes that Serious Monkey Business birthed, we'd be sated or otherwise less inclined for more, but it's one of the truly great OSTs, as some superb non-album mixes that have followed since have further proven. Now cometh Joren, otherwise known in "abrasive IRC persona mode" as Tensei, with Xenon Odyssey on sax and melody w/ a piano assist:

"This is a disco style remix of two of the songs from DKC 2. Genrewise, this is completely uncharted territory for me, but I'm satisfied with the way it turned out, so I hope you are too. The inspiration for this probably comes from listening to too much virt, Jamiroquai and Joshua Morse (If you stare into the Abyss long enough...etc, etc). It's a bit on the liberal side of things so I'll provide a source breakdown. Xenon Odyssey provided some much needed live sax playing which really adds another dimension to the mix, so he's credited as a collaborator. Special shoutout goes to melody for providing me with a live, humanized version of the lead piano melody (heh) in the first minute.

Chord progression is completely original unless I somehow managed to rip it off subconsciously.

00:00 - 00:18 Original
00:18 - 00:34 Modified version of the Forest Interlude synth ostinato
00:35 - 00:51 Somewhat verbatim version of Forest Interlude lead melody with embellishments
00:53 - 01:08 Forest Interlude ostinato pretty much verbatim.
01:09 - 01:50 Original, though maybe some allusions to the source in the synth lead.
01:50 - 02:30 Stickerbrush Symphony ostinato + lead.
02:31 - 03:05~ Forest Interlude lead + ostinato.

Rest is original soloing though there's allusions to the source in the sax solo. It doesn't come out to an exact 50% but I'd feel like a kitten murderer if I had to fade the soloing section out earlier/faster (the fadeout itself takes a good thirty seconds). So please, think of the kittens."

Oh, we do... to paraphrase the now beyond-trite Jerry Maguireism: you had me at "virt, Jamiroquai, and Joshua Morse" - hell, any one of the three, really. You gon' be droppin' names like dat, you can't bring flaccid beats or limp hooks to the table, and thankfully Joren turns in his funkiest, most accessible arrangement yet. It IS a party, it IS a disco, and it IS some very musical foolin' around; Xenon adds:

"When I first heard Tensei's mix, everything was gravy 'til that sax sample came in. After hearing how much the sax played, I was all like 'Pffft, I could do that,' and that's EXACTLY how that shizz went down."

Good to know; sax parts being clearly live adds immediacy & character, definitely enhancing the mix. Police sirens jive with the mix title, which I dig, and while it's a liberal arrangement there's almost always some tendons connected back to the skeleton of Wise's original. OA writes:

"Nice arrangement, very classy, and the breakdown was very appreciated. Solid production, a good room sound, and everything was clicking for me as far as balance. Percussion, bass, and the leads were all very well done, with good sequencing. The sax was a little flat on a few notes, but not enough to bring down the track at all, and the playing was otherwise very good, with nice tone and good articulation. Not much else to say, this is really nice."

While disco may be the umbrella genre, there's a fair smattering of funk, jazz, and Latin components that fill things out, and while I'm not 110% on the fade/record-scratch transition circa 3'08", it segues into some badass soloing (synth AND piano) that vindicate thoroughly. My advice to Joren? Keep staring into this abyss, please... It is funky, fresh, and has resulted in perhaps your best mix yet; great stuff.

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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WesternZypher
on 2016-06-03 12:44:40

I love how this mix moves between mellow and energetic, such a happy vibe - you can see it "walking off into the sunset", happily saxing away.

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Black_Doom
on 2015-12-03 13:54:05

Woohoo! Party! Jungle! Yeah, this mix is certainly a killer. While some moments are awkward a little, as others mentioned, this is still a great mix. The synth soloing parts along with sax piano solos are my favorite moments of this song. Awesome!

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Bahamut
on 2011-12-17 12:06:52

This mix definitely oozes Jamiroquai - the overall feel is executed pretty well, and gives the song a solidly new identity from its more removed original context. I like the addition of the sax, although I feel like the rest of the song is drowned out some by it, and it makes the end sound a bit like it was a quick fade out. Otherwise, it's a nice enjoyable mix to add to the collection :) .

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urdailywater
on 2011-07-27 23:11:30

I really did enjoy this mix very much; the strings especially caught my attention, and I am absolutely in love with what follows the at 2:15. That synth was absolutely beautiful, along with the sax.

One thing I didn't like, though, is how the song transitioned to the soloing section. The soloing was very good, the piano especially, but it really just felt tacked on, to be honest. Not that it didn't belong at all, but I just didn't really like how it transitioned is all.

Good remix!

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Martin Penwald
on 2011-07-26 15:18:26
More artists filling out the soundscape pioneered here by the likes of Morse and posu yan? Never a bad thing.

This.

As djp said in the write-up, please keep staring into the abyss, as only good things can come from that. Very smooth, laid-back remix with some nice use of sfx (rain and police sirens), and the live sax adds the cherry on top of the cream.

Nice work, folks.

I do wonder what the whispering voice in the end says, though...

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Crulex
on 2011-06-15 13:16:47

It amuses me that the source tunes get almost as much love as Ice Cap. Rightfully so, because both SS and Forest Interlude lends themselves well to so many different takes. This ReMix is a great example. Nice jazzy arrangement. The police sirens and such were a nice touch and oh, do I love that sax. Half laid-back, half funky, all good. Nice work!

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Javo
on 2011-06-09 14:41:29

definitely nice to hear :)

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Tuned Logic
on 2011-05-29 14:50:33

SO AWESOME. Props.

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DaMonz
on 2011-05-27 17:31:33

This is awesome! I can definitely hear Jay Kay sing to that! :)

OCR's diversity level just went up once more! :D

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codebeard
on 2011-05-27 05:08:26

Great remix! I love the smooth feel. We need more of this kind of thing.

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Brandon Strader
on 2011-05-26 20:46:53

Surprisingly solid, I am impressed and surprised. Nice use of SFX. Beautiful live sax, I wish more people were comfortable with collaborating for samples they need instead of sequencing them. Nice work! :nicework:

Yea disco :tomatoface:

Love how it fades out with the sax honking!

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MechaFone
on 2011-05-26 19:49:22

Really great! Fantastic, innovative and fun! Probably my favorite for the month of May. More like this, please!

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Chris ~ Amaterasu
on 2011-05-26 17:36:08

Been looking out for this one ever since it was on the WIP boards, love all the nice human touches. And that atmosphere with the police sirens, very nice =D

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Emunator
on 2011-05-26 16:49:55

Oh hells yeah. Been loving this one ever since the early days on the WIP forums, but these live performances put it WAY over the top. Very classy arrangement and performances all around, nice merging of the themes...

Definitely one of my favorite mixposts in a loooong time. Dig it!

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Amphibious
on 2011-05-26 15:57:52

This is damn fine. I love smooth remixes like this! Need moar.

Sources Arranged (2 Songs)


Primary Game:
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (Nintendo , 1995, SNES)
Music by David Wise
Songs:
"Forest Interlude (Web Woods)"
"Stickerbush Symphony (Bramble Blast)"

Tags (7)


Genre:
Disco,Funk
Mood:
Instrumentation:
Piano,Saxophone,Sound FX,Synth
Additional:
Origin > Collaboration

File Information


Name:
Donkey_Kong_Country_2_Monsoon_in_the_Concrete_Jungle_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
6,525,357 bytes
MD5:
3799caa798d28112df212ab4bdb3ef76
Bitrate:
192Kbps
Duration:
4:28

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