ReMix:Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest "Sinfonía del Sabio" 3:40

Up next & reppin' DKC2 is Leandro Abreu, who debuted almost a year ago with a killer rock/jazz Sonic 3 mix. Here he takes on 'Stickerbush Symphony' with some very cool, mellower mixed rock/jazz instrumentation - electric guitar still features prevalently, but some rather unorthodox low brass takes on the underlying motif, and Ron Burgundy himself would be diggin' all the JAZZ FLUTE. There's also the acoustic guitar strummin' that starts things off and sticks around, some funky wah, and drums that stay out of the way for the first minute or so but are nice & crisp when they do make themselves known later on. OA sums it up nicely:

"Loved the performances on this, and I think the drums sound good, tonewise. Great performances really take this over the top for me, and pretty solid mixing makes sure that all the good stuff can be heard.

The arrangement structure is conservative, but the different elements handed out to various instruments gives the piece it's own flavor, and the solo section in the middle was really well-executed. All the instrumentalists are very talented, and play well together. This is a really nice song."

Larry did point out that the low brass doesn't quite match the fidelity of the other instruments, most notably the superb guitars & flute, but DAMN do I love that it's in here, because it's part of what makes the arrangement more compelling & more unexpected. This is a popular source, and most of the interpretation here is additive in the form of some delicious soloing, but the instrumentation is also a star in its own right, as Leandro fuses harder rock with mellower jazz VERY successfully. This would still be a great mix sans flute, but that particular component is really what sets it over the top & sells the vision, for me at least. Even the curmudgeonly Vig was on board:

"Agree with larry about the trombone in the intro. Doesn't fit well, though it's cool later on. Mixing is great, performances are great. This is a great example of an arrangement that stays pretty close to the original in terms of structure and form, but adds plenty of personality with careful arrangement and musical performances. Great track."

This source gets mixed a lot, but you haven't heard it quite like this, and I'd also say that Leandro fully delivered on the promise of memorable debut mix with this follow-up. 2014 isn't even a day old and it's already throwin' down the gauntlet - fantastic work!