ReMix:Donkey Kong Country "Depth of the Deep" 5:55

By Waveformer

Arranging the music of one song...

"Aquatic Ambiance"

Primary Game: Donkey Kong Country (Nintendo , 1994, SNES), music by David Wise, Eveline Novakovic, Robin Beanland

Posted 2012-04-30, evaluated by the judges panel


Alright then, brief hiatus as we've been tending to internal tasks, but on with the show... from newcomer Hunter "Rubix" Short, a.k.a. nintendude794, comes this solo piano rendition of the ever-popular (and deservedly so) 'Aquatic Ambiance' from DKC. His mix description featured a coder-friendly zero-based list:

"About the remix:
0) Once again endured a similar/same-as-always Arrange, Experiment, Organize, Improv {A.E.O.I.-- almost had all the vowels, darned U!} sorta process leading up to this here remix
1) Got a Yamaha DGX640 for Christmas
2) Recorded and edited this--my first project with the fancy new keyboard--together in only approximately 3 hours.
3) A year ago, I realized Aquatic Ambience is my favorite videogame theme of all time, largely thanks to Vigilante's mix from Kong In Concert, "Beneath The Surface". My iTunes play-count on that track? Uhhhhh......... Anyway, DK Country is the first videogame I ever played.
4) Folks in the Workshop forum seem to dig it
5) Hopefully y'all do too! Enjoy!"

Nice; we actually got an updated version w/ a volume bump, based on panel feedback. This is a little unusual for a solo piano mix; first of all, the delay employed creates a pretty distinct feel and strikes me as an unusual but generally functional decision. The arrangement is a mix of ideas that range from the more expected, straightforwardly mellow approach to the source to some odd modulations (2'29" for example) and changeups/counter-patterns that play with the rhythm & structure of the melody in interesting ways. The dropout/truncations at 3'53" surprised me, and I'm still not sure how I feel about that particular bit, but the net effect of all these peculiar little aspects is that the arrangement avoids the very relevant trap of being an auto-pilot "mellow piano-based" approach to the source. Based on the artist's own comments, it's clear that there was experimentation and improvisation; I think more organization might help in the future, and a subtractive approach to editing for flow could help, but I dig a lot of the ideas themselves, and that's huge. halc writes:

"this is a pleasure to just relax to. it's really conservative in how it handles the source (for some reason, most AA mixes are), but the little flourishes and harmonies added are wonderful, and the rhythmic shifts in the second half are fun. arrangement runs a little long imo, and there were a couple noticible flubs in the performance early on but overall I thought this was pretty well-realized."

I'd say the second two-thirds of the arrangement aren't too awful conservative, or at least fluctuate in their fidelity. Vinnie adds:

"Yeah, I think this is great as far as arrangement goes. It started off pretty conservative, but had some great ideas as it went on. I fell in love with the minimal section in the middle, where it felt like you were just playing enough notes to keep the song moving. That was a great dynamic. The piano sound is not bad, though the higher notes tend to stand out more."

Judges summed it up well; interesting debut from Hunter, who takes a familiar source and an approach you would think would lend more predictable results, but definitely personalizes it in ways I wouldn't have anticipated - good stuff.

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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Crulex
on 2013-07-25 09:03:31

It's really hard to get anything more beautiful sounding than a solo-piano piece when done right and done with tracks as tranquil and serene as the waters of DKC. It's not even just a solo-piano mix that follows the source closely, as even though it does follow the source nicely, there are several areas of actual interpretation and originality in here that makes it the ReMixer's own, so that was splendid! Great work and amazing debut. Hope to see more of this ReMixer.

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Sarad_Thamia
on 2012-08-02 00:55:59
Love this mix. George Winston vibe from it.

(1) Guy wants more songs from certain games

(x) Guy writes songs for other games to meet this need.

(2) Guy complains when songs from games he isn't interested in are posted.

Hmm...

GREAT reference! That was the FIRST thing I thought literally like 5 seconds into this song! Props for knowing who George Winston is! :)

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Sarad_Thamia
on 2012-08-02 00:53:23

At the top there is that whole "A. E. I. O." thing. I have one for U. How about Utilize? Maybe I am babbling but that was the first thing that came to mind. To me it makes sense. lol.

With that being said, this is SO beautiful! I could relax to this all day long! Aquatic Ambience is probably the most remixed song so I would like to see the other remixed more but the remixes that I have heard have all been awesome. 8-)

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jordex
on 2012-05-30 05:34:19
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meccaneer
on 2012-05-16 14:24:06

Beautiful. The piano works well with the feeling of the level. I really enjoyed the dynamic nature of your playing - gave the track a bit of the organicness it needs; sometimes delicate, sometimes strong.

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Mordi
on 2012-05-13 15:10:37

Awesome piano-piece. Nicely done!

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ZArsenalZ
on 2012-05-09 03:45:53

Tear jerkingly beautiful. Makes me love aquatic ambience even more. I look forward to your next creation

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Pander
on 2012-05-02 01:12:37

Love this mix. George Winston vibe from it.

You mad bro? There's only... 7 remixes of aquatic ambience? SOOOOO MANY! I SEE WHAT YOU MEAN NOW! We must stop remixing this song! IT HAS HAD TOO MUCH EXPOSURE! Lock up your daughters, cut off your ears,OR AQUATIC AMBIANCE WILL TAKE OVER THE WORLDDDDD

(1) Guy wants more songs from certain games

(x) Guy writes songs for other games to meet this need.

(2) Guy complains when songs from games he isn't interested in are posted.

Hmm...

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MessagesFromEarth
on 2012-05-01 23:41:10

The louder notes seemed to get a little too blaring at times, but other than that this is a really beautiful arrangement and a definite download for me

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WillRock
on 2012-05-01 17:09:03

This is a sweet mix. Very delicate vibe to it that I can dig.

I like it, but can't we please add a new rule? "No more Aquatic Ambience please"? I'd like to see other games now.

You mad bro? There's only... 7 remixes of aquatic ambience? SOOOOO MANY! I SEE WHAT YOU MEAN NOW! We must stop remixing this song! IT HAS HAD TOO MUCH EXPOSURE! Lock up your daughters, cut off your ears,OR AQUATIC AMBIANCE WILL TAKE OVER THE WORLDDDDD

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WesternZypher
on 2012-05-01 13:12:08

I feel there's always room for more mixes. It's only when mixes start to sound samey that the "retreading old ground" really feels unnecessary, and that's on the mixer, not the source.

This was a gentle, relaxing and contemplative piece.

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Liontamer
on 2012-05-01 11:53:58
I like it, but can't we please add a new rule? "No more Aquatic Ambience please"? I'd like to see other games now.

Or, you know, no. :lol:

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codebeard
on 2012-05-01 10:45:34

All I can say is: Moar piano solos! The piano solos on this site are by far the best remixes in my opinion. I want to encourage anyone who thinks of doing a piano solo to GO FOR IT. That goes for acoustic guitar solos too!

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Krakozhia
on 2012-05-01 04:01:16

I like it, but can't we please add a new rule? "No more Aquatic Ambience please"? I'd like to see other games now.

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Rockos
on 2012-04-30 22:02:21

Nice touch on there. Little flaw near the end, but the constance and dynamism here is keeping things fresh through the mix.

Nice piano solo. Felt like you put your emotions in it. Plus dkc is an awesome soundtrack.

Keep it up. :D

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


Primary Game:
Donkey Kong Country (Nintendo , 1994, SNES)
Music by David Wise,Eveline Novakovic,Robin Beanland
Songs:
"Aquatic Ambiance"

Tags (4)


Genre:
Mood:
Mellow
Instrumentation:
Piano,Solo Piano
Additional:
Arrangement > Solo

File Information


Name:
Donkey_Kong_Country_Depth_of_the_Deep_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
8,607,082 bytes
MD5:
4453350b1798577604c38c53ea883900
Bitrate:
192Kbps
Duration:
5:55

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