ReMix: Donkey Kong Country 'Machina Anesthesia'

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You probably won't be TOO awful surprised to see this next mix also coming from Donkey Kong Country, it being a proud member of the Kong in Concert family as well. The debut of said project went very successfully, and was certainly kickstarted in terms of media coverage and bandwidth by a slashdotting, which linked directly to the project torrent, amongst other things. This is as good a time as any to mention that the first official OCR torrent surpassed 10,000 downloads recently, which is something of a milestone (especially considering having never been direct-linked by slashdot) - both torrents, as well as the second OCR torrent and Relics of the Chozo, owe their thanks in life to Aubrey, who makes the supertux OCR mirror as well as our bittorrent tracker possible - should be a much-deserved shirt comin' your way soon, man. Speaking of shirts, we've got a new order in, so run, don't walk, to the ZTNet Store - in addition to black and white shirts, we also by request added dark navy hoodies. It says pre-order but we actually got 'em in stock and will be posting photos shortly. Perfect for the upcoming Fall/Winter season. Now that my shameless adulation and plugging is out of the way, on to the ubiquitous GrayLightning's contribution to the juggernaut that is Kong in Concert.

This piece is about as different from Jesse's debut piece as you could get, mixing orchestral timbres with very dramatic percussion. I'm not just saying that, either. There's a lot of percussion here. And it's dramatic. No foolin'. The melodic motifs are direct and not overly intricate, but the layering interweave of the percussive goings on is front and center for the majority of the mix. Gray had a lot to say:

"I have done it in a style combining various influences. Most notably hollywood cinema symphonic, new age and asian/japanese styles. I was most influenced by japanese new age composer Kitaro for this piece. A number of people have commented it sounds like Tan Dun's score for Crouching Tiger. This also ranks up as one of my most complex mixes to date. Like Armageddon numbering near the 50 midi track range - with over 20 dedicated to ethnic, orchestral, chromatic and metallic fx percussion sets alone. The orchestra is made up of full string parts Violins, Violas, Cellos and DoubleBasses of various articulations. There's also an Asian Fiddle here playing the lead at times, also flutes and brasses - new age pads and synth bells round out the instrumentation. I feel fortunate to have been a part of this project. Thanks to Digital Coma and everyone else involved in it. Enjoy. ^_^"

Actually, I was reminded more of a different soundtrack, also (in part) by Tan Dun - the score to The Last Emperor. Similar unabashed use of a variety of chromatic and unpitched percussion, all working in a flowing, mounting clockwork, with strings doing the primary melodic work in a collaborative relationship. There's grandiose brass, pizzicato towards the end, flute, and ambient pads, but the chimes, blocks, snares, and slapped and shaken rhythm section are what's so tremendous, awe-inspiring, and larger-than-life. See 3'04" and immediately following for reference - sounds like the procession of a massive force, something of unearthly scope, marching forward, and woe befall anyone tries to stop 'em. The interpretation is indeed liberal, but totally identifiable at the same time, which is an art unto itself. Makes me glad Gray decided to wander outside his initial new age shell - not that there was anything wrong with his earlier pieces, just that clearly he's broadened his scope and it's paid off. A very visionary arrangement - not at all obvious, but pulled off with all the confidence and style of someone who knows it can work. Excellent.

― djpretzel