ReMix:Donkey Kong Country "Drowning in Brambles" 5:08

By 744

Arranging the music of 2 songs from 2 games ( view all )...

"Aquatic Ambiance", "Stickerbush Symphony (Bramble Blast)"

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

Posted 2019-09-04, evaluated by the judges panel


Want some MORE "Stickerbush"? What if I told you it was combined... with "Aquatic Ambiance"? 744 (Ben Brownlee) follows up his previous mixes from 2017 & 2018 with this chill synthwave take on BOTH classic DKC series themes:

"So, two of the most remixed tracks on all of OCR are "Aquatic Ambiance" from DKC and "Stickerbush Symphony" from its sequel, but as of this submission, no one's attempted to combine them yet. They're both terrific tracks and fit their aesthetic perfectly on their own, and are easily two of the most memorable David Wise compositions so far. These themes make the games themselves much more memorable and it was cool the SNES could pull them off. From childhood, having played these two games for endless hours, I know both these themes so well, I was able to transcribe them from memory (albeit not in their original keys).

So, originally this was going to be just an "Aquatic Ambiance" synthwave mix, mostly to see if I could produce one that would meet the high standards of the mixes that were already up. While Logic was playing an early version of this back, I accidentally hit one of the media buttons on my keyboard and iTunes queued up "Stickerbush Symphony" by chance. At that point I decided, why not go for it - two of the most remixed tracks on OC ReMix, but lump them together somehow. Both tracks in this mix borrow elements from each other; "Stickerbush's" expanding bass synth and percussion play during the "Aquatic" section, for example, while the "Stickerbush" section borrows "Aquatic's" arpeggio and ornamentation. But I still wanted to go with a cheesy, reverb-soaked 80s snare, warbly synths, slightly glitchy pads, and punchy bass for that heavy synthwave feel.

With this track, I envision a dark bramble-themed underwater level full of bright, neon purple grids and random yellow, green, and hot pink shapes floating around in the background."

Indeed. Stickerbush Ambiance or Aquatic Symphony, take your pick, but either way Ben's done a great job gluing (not lumping!) everything together with a slick 80's sheen & satisfyingly thick drums & synths. Rexy writes:

"First of all, I love your concept of blending two well-loved sources! The structure itself is by the numbers with one run-through of Aquatic Ambiance, one interpretation of Stickerbrush Symphony and back the other way for the ending. But the way both themes integrate backing elements from the other is sublime and have locked together in one cohesive arrangement.

Even the sound design is cohesive and appropriate for the synthwave direction. The retro-sounding drums, the synths and even the lo-fi-sounding EQ molding contributed to a track that sounds like it's tailor-made for a 1980s boombox."

This is all true. While it doesn't color outside the lines much, and probably could have just a little bit more, this is an enjoyable & creative take on blending the themes in a synthwave style, which suits *both* of them quite well. Fun, accessible, & chill - great stuff!

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 8 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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Crulex
on 2024-07-04 12:25:28

Taking two of the most unquestionably beautiful themes in the Donkey Kong Country series and combining them into a synth wave audio feast is genius. Honestly, the fact that these songs aren't mixed together more often is surprising to me, but this mix is incredible. All the love in the world for this song.

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CJthemusicdude
on 2024-04-19 12:21:15

Kudos for taking these two iconic tracks and mixing them together so cohesively. It seems so simple yet so creative and clever! This was definitely a banger!

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Geoffrey Taucer
on 2021-09-10 20:47:48

Holy shit. This might actually be my favorite mix on the site right now. I cannot possibly say enough good things about this mix.

Before listening to this track, I hated synthwave; this mix hit 0:37, and my mind was changed.

This does an absolutely phenomenal job of amplifying everything that was wonderful in the original tracks.

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DarkSim
on 2020-04-11 09:34:34

Hnnnnngggggg this is just perfect for what I'm listening to right now! Absolutely love the synthwave movement/revival, and these sources are just fantastic material to work with. Not much deviation, true, but when the sources are this good, why bother?

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Melody of Light
on 2019-09-19 18:39:28

Really nice mix. I got chills when the melody switched over. It seems to blend so smoothly, I'd think that anyone who either hadn't played the games or wasn't as familiar with them wouldn't realize that they were two different levels. Definitely saving for listening more in the future. Thank you for this mix!

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orlouge82
on 2019-09-05 12:53:20

Really glad to see this posted already! I loved it when I first heard it in the WIP forums!

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lemnlime
on 2019-09-04 23:42:55

This is some damn clever dreamy synth awesomeness. Love it!

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Liontamer
on 2019-09-04 10:58:21

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

Sources Arranged (2 Songs, 2 Games)


Primary Game:
Donkey Kong Country (Nintendo , 1994, SNES)
Music by David Wise,Eveline Novakovic,Robin Beanland
Songs:
"Aquatic Ambiance"
Additional Game:
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (Nintendo , 1995, SNES)
Music by David Wise
Songs:
"Stickerbush Symphony (Bramble Blast)"

Tags (6)


Genre:
EDM,Pop
Mood:
Chill
Instrumentation:
Electronic,Synth
Additional:
Time > 4/4 Time Signature

File Information


Name:
Donkey_Kong_Country_Drowning_in_Brambles_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
8,974,126 bytes
MD5:
5a202acc2c187aa2ce4677f621b5e00d
Bitrate:
230Kbps
Duration:
5:08

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