ReMix:Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! "Epic Bananas" 3:58

Rounding out the FIRST chunk of our DKC3 mixflood is Sole Signal - 'Castle Crescendo' was an absolute gem and a highlight of Serious Monkey Business... can Greg follow it up with another hit? Are his bananas truly epic? Anticlimactically: YES! But don't just take my word for it - let's see what El Director Emunator has to say about this trance-hybrid-orchestral opus:

"What's always struck me about this remix is how well it captures the feelings I got while playing through the treetop levels in the game, particularly Ripsaw Rage. This is one of those rare instances where I feel like the remix is even more true to the game than the source - Eveline's original composition was fantastic and extremely moody in its own way, but when I think of frantically climbing up a hollowed-out tree while being mercilessly chased by a reanimated saw blade, THIS is more what I had in mind!

That feeling of constant tension and energy is a perfect fit for Sole Signal's signature style, which typically marries inspiration from multiple genres into a very progressive, danceable remix where the source melodies are always constantly present. This track does exactly that, and if you're familiar with Greg's past musical endeavors, you probably know what's coming, and shouldn't need any convincing whatsoever to give this a listen!"

Indeed I did not; this is heart-racing, blood-pumping, tree-hopping stuff that every bit echoes the energy Greg conjured on SMB; he adds:

"I had always loved this source from the heavily underrated third game in the DKC series, with a just-as-underrated soundtrack. It's a fun dance/breaks take on the theme, with a big electro/orchestral section in the middle. Props to Nutritious for the song title.

When creating remixes, I rarely stick with one distinct genre all the way through. The melody leads itself very well to an electronic style, but I had to explore it in an orchestral sense as well. You don't often hear such contrasting styles mixed together, but it's something that I think is very fun to listen to. I was unhappy initially with the orchestral section, but, after several months of off-and-on development, I finally was able to build it to a point that I was happy with releasing. Hopefully, it's enjoyed as much as it was being created."

Actually, I find that OCR happens to enjoy an above-average number of submissions that blend & bend genres; perhaps it's related to the nature of arranging, or arranging VGM in particular, but I've always thought it was a good thing, and that's what I went for with my own track off SMB, too. In most such mixes, one genre emerges as dominant, and I definitely think of this as primarily an electronica track, but the inclusion of orchestral components ups the "epic" ante considerably, beyond simply providing variety, and with Greg at the helm you know it's gonna be great either way!