ReMix:Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! "Permafrost" 5:04

Draconiator teamed up w/ Flexstyle for this frosty bit of four-on-the-floor electronica from Double the Trouble! - the artists write:

Flexstyle: "When Draconiator first handed his mix to Wes, who then handed it to me, I knew there was a lot of work to be done on it, but it definitely had promise. I asked if Drac would be okay with a collab, just to throw a couple coats of polish on his track and possibly get him in as an actual mixer, instead of just a bonus mixer. He agreed, and we got to work. To be honest, most of the arrangement is his work. I did some editing, such as adding the reversed piano bits and chopping up the arrangement to make it more listener-friendly, and I did some serious tweaking of synth patches and tempo and whatnot, but a lot more of this is Draconiator than me, musically. Where he fell short in mixing and general "remix sense," if that makes sense, I was able to step up. The result is this deep trance track, which both of us are very happy with."

Draconiator: "Before I even sent this to Wes, it was an original (which I lost the FLP file for). I sent said original to Wes, and he suggested that I redo it into a remix for the album, which seemed like a good idea to me, so that is what I did. However, the first finished version of it, according to Wes, was still bonus mix quality, so sometime later he proposed that I work with Mike to get it up to album quality. I couldn't be happier with my decision."

Couple comments to make - one, I'm really proud that our community gets artists working together for alley-oops like this, because sometimes artists have an arrangement that needs a different take on production to really make it shine, and sometimes other artists with some free time who can really get into working with something relatively complete and taking it to the next level. Secondly, beyond being a great characteristic of the community in general, coordinating these sorts of collaborations is a hallmark of an effective album director. Many album directors are artists, some aren't, but either way being able to envision & successfully matrix contributors to an album project is a critical skill, so kudos to Wes. Regarding the mix, you've got a relatively straightforward trance treatment, but the break at 1'07" lasts for a long while, which really sells the mix title and creates a wispy, wintry vibe. Palpable writes:

"Nice dance mix, this definitely goes beyond your run-of-the-mill adaptation. Lots of little layers and effects, and the source was used a couple different ways. The ambient section with the reverse piano was completely gorgeous. If this has a fault it's with the balance: there was a washed out sound to the synths and bass that made this sound a little hollow. But with such good flow and production otherwise, it's not gonna stop this."

Good stuff; not groundbreaking, and not quite as modern as some of the more recent electronic arrangements we've posted, but a creative take on the source that conveys the chill context & adds some nice energy to the equation!