ReMix:Donkey Kong Country "Aquatic Shrediance" 5:27

By ToxicxEternity

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 2016-01-11, evaluated by the judges panel


Our first DKC of 2016! If there was any doubt before, I think we can now conclusively say that "Aquatic Ambiance" is an all-time VGM classic; at least from the number of (excellent) fan arrangements, it's right up there with "Terra", "Ice Cap", etc. Newcomer ToxicxEternity (Jack Fliegler) debuts with an intuitively-titled metal/rock arrangement of the iconic source that plays a nice loud-soft game, alternating between mellow acoustic & shredalicious electric guitars:

"Hello! I recently had my track approved by the mods on the OC ReMix forum, so here is my submission! I've been doing metal remixes of video game songs for a while and they usually turn out pretty intense and heavy. With this track, I was looking to step out of my comfort zone a bit and calm things down using an acoustic guitar and a more ambient soundscape. I had a lot of fun recording these parts, because it's very different than what I usually do."

Emunator hits the nail on the head and says most of what needs to be said:

"Rad! This shares some similarities to this remix by The Distortionist but I think your more relaxed, acoustic focus helps set it apart nicely. Your guitar skills are impeccable, and despite the fact that your mix feels somewhat conservative, the harmonic variations and fills are enhancing the original writing in subtle, but very important ways. And that solo is killer! Overall, this is really doing the trick for me, even though this source and this style have been done several times before by some very talented people."

Flexstyle has actually caught a live performance of this mix, since he lives in the same area as Jack:

"OH HEY THIS GUY. Hi Jack! I've actually had the privilege of hearing this particular arrangement LIVE, thanks to the fact that Jack is a local here. He occasionally breaks out the jams at Endgame, a local video game bar, and tends to rock the house completely!"

Neat; I've never actually been to a video game bar, but I'm certainly glad they exist, and am definitely gonna have to hit one up when I get the chance. Chimpazilla echoed some of Mike's minor criticisms but also dug the overall arrangement:

"Agreed with Mike that the drums are a bit vanilla. Drums could have more volume and presence. I'm not a fan of the extreme panning in the outro, it makes me think my left speaker has suddenly failed. Definitely a conservative arrangement, but the performances are absolutely dynamite. DAT SOLO. Even with some nitpicks, this is good stuff!"

Right on; judges said all that needs saying, so I'll offer a warm welcome to Jack, who's cooked up a satisfying, oscillating take on an enduring source tune - hope to hear more!

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 10 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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on 2022-01-09 19:04:59

Thanks this song is hitting hard for me right now. Just heard it on GDQ stream. Top tier cover!

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Souperion
on 2019-03-28 10:27:19

I'm pretty sure I could still relax to this like any other mix of Aquatic Ambiance. As everyone else's comments, this is a solid piece of work. Well done!

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Crulex
on 2018-06-04 02:32:49

While I do love the chug-a-lug of The Distortionist's take on the DKC AA theme, this is awesome in it's own right, taking a more relaxed kind of shredding, which is unique to me because while it certainly rocks hard, it maintains that peaceful soundscape, especially in the middle with the more acoustic section. Same with the outro. Gotta give props to the percussion in the intro for really hitting the mark for accompanying the guitar. The blending of metal and acoustic is still a fresh thing to hear since I don't come across many songs that combine both, so this was very fun to listen to. And that solo is fantastic! I love this and will definitely be rocking this on my playlist.

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timaeus222
on 2017-06-18 02:06:57

I actually rather like the build you made for the intro up to 1:39. The arp was kept consistent while the textural fullness around it was creating the variation---you really make the most of that arp sequence.

The transition at 2:24 was also particularly welcome and well-placed, IMO. Great way to raise the energy and differentiate between the earlier part where your lead guitar was more exposed. The solo thus came at an appropriate time. The melody itself was handled pretty conservatively, but I think the subtler arrangement choices (e.g. the drum fills in the intro, the tempo slowdown after the intro, the shifts in dynamics, etc) made up the difference. Well done!

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WesternZypher
on 2016-01-25 14:41:05

Didn't think it possible to relax to this kind of shreddage, but it turns out - you can, and it is blissful.

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Chernabogue
on 2016-01-18 03:52:49

Very nice. I like where it goes. I still prefer the Distorstionist's version, but we have a really nice performance here. :) Nice work!

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Trism
on 2016-01-14 09:01:51

Amazing guitar work right from the start, the shift from straight-up metal to acoustic was unexpected but extremely well done. You don't often hear electric solo's over acoustic backing but this works very, very well. When the metal does come back it doesn't kick the door in and destroy your house; instead it gradually insinuates itself into your living-room, drinking tea and commenting on the weather before melting your face off with some superbly executed shreddage. I may have lost my thread a little here... Anyway, this is balls to the wall awesome and will be finding a home on my MP3 player. [6/5]

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DetectiveTuesday
on 2016-01-12 12:05:04

This cat can shred. There're some interesting altered harmonies in the arrangement that I liked as well.

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nitrozsz
on 2016-01-11 20:23:49

Love it. What makes this a great arrangement is that yeah it's a metal arrangement of a relaxing water level theme, but it's a subtle metal arrangement. It doesn't rely on fast solos, intense percussion work, or anything remotely aggressive. Aquatic Ambiance is a very mellow and peaceful track. So to be able to make a mostly conservative metal arrangement of such a mellow and peaceful track is quite an impressive accomplishment.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to lament at the fact that I will never have the chance to go to this bar that @Flexstyle mentioned on the detail page :(

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Liontamer
on 2016-01-11 12:18:53

What did you think? Post your opinion of this ReMix.

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


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

Tags (5)


Genre:
Metal,Rock
Mood:
Aggressive
Instrumentation:
Acoustic Guitar,Electric Guitar
Additional:

File Information


Name:
Donkey_Kong_Country_Aquatic_Shrediance_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
9,693,742 bytes
MD5:
f66439a274bb22d161f57f9ac8830e43
Bitrate:
235Kbps
Duration:
5:27

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