ReMix:Donkey Kong Country "Chekan Winter" 6:21

By Jason Covenant

Arranging the music of one song...

"Northern Hemispheres"

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

Posted 2005-02-04, evaluated by the judges panel


Well, it's been relatively quiet recently, but here's a mix from newly knighted OC ReMixer Prophecy, originally created for the Kong in Concert project but abbreviated/adapted a bit for submission here. The ReMixer, aka Jason Miller, writes:

"...there's been some questions as to the origin of the remix title. The "Cheka" were Soviet secret police. I think the name is appropriate for the mood of the song."

I'm not sure if I would have conjured mental images of stern, slavic men running around and being... official... had the image not been planted there by Jason's explanation, but it seems fair enough; think cold, distant, uncompromising trance/electronica with a hard edge, and you're there. The build here takes a little longer than some mixes, and things really only get going full-steam at around at 2'22" when the four-on-the-floor kick drops. Prophecy's added in a large variety of elements that wouldn't appear in a more cookie-cutter trance piece, at times going pretty far outside the trance mold and venturing into breakbeat. There's choral elements, church bells, mucho bell timbres for that wintry feel, layered percussion, filter breaks, a kickin' extended breakout at around 4'05" that's especially groovematic, and while the core underlying progression does pretty much stick to its guns throughout, variation efforts are clearly running on high for structure and additive/subtractive groove layering. Judge Larryshkaya Ojinova played the mixed-heritage card with his thoughts:

"Being half-Russian myself, something like gothic trance wasn't going to be literally evocative of the motherland, but I definitely see the Russian influence here from many of the elements in play like the choir vox, bells, and strings, as well as the cadence of the source tune arrangement from 2:48 to 3:14 in particular. I thought the winter vibe was captured very well. I could envision DK & Diddy having to navigate through the most difficult Gorilla Glacier level imaginable."

It definitely conveys cold temperatures effectively while being a hot mix, and in this sense is comparable to McDonald's McDLT from days of yore, which kept the hot side hot and the cold side cold. Great, solid electronica from Prophecy - looking forward to more.

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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Necrox
on 2015-12-22 23:45:42

Great atmosphere in the intro (meaning all the way up until the 4 on the floor). Speaking of the kick, I love how its bassy frequency gives it an impact while leaving lots of room for the synth. Pretty sick stuff, the desolate vibe is pulled off really well. Listening to the OST, this source surprised me for being so downbeat; previously, DKC only made me think percussion and swing rhythms. Sweet mix.

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TillyFun
on 2013-03-23 18:07:21

Just amazing! ^__^

The atmosphere... the build up... the storm. c:

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GTAHater836
on 2011-05-01 12:35:03

I DID have the right idea. This IS the idyllic ReMix for a snowstorm! I can imagine this track being well-suited to a desolate mountain road that's been closed due to extremely heavy snow. I still think this is Prophecy's best work.

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Giga Bowser
on 2011-05-01 05:45:40

this is one of my fav remixes in all of ocr plus you made my dream come true I always wanted to hear a remix of this track but no one in the world ever made one personally before hearing any dk remix in my life that was my fav track and atmosphere in the game.

Best part of that remix was the Psychedelic part I want more Psychedelic remixes!!!

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DarkSim
on 2010-11-06 15:20:53
Fun thing to try: Try playing this while walking in a snowstorm. It's awesome.

Last winter I had my OCR playlist on whilst on a long drive at night. As this came on it started snowing hard, and it was such an awesome experience. Seeing the snow fly past the car as I was driving into it listening to this really loud made me feel like I was having some sort of out-of-body experience almost, it certainly was entrancing. Truly excellent work, I always get goosebumps at 3:32 when the lead synth comes in.

A fantastic development of the (reasonably sparse) source, conveying the journey through a blizzard magnificently. Love it.

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Giga Bowser
on 2010-03-18 07:22:41
Probably my favorite Prophecy song. Its epic trance that doesn't suck, which is sorta uncommon.

Its the best I find it something really unknown and excellent the truth is I've been looking years to hear a trance music like that if you know any other tracks the same genre or what is this type of trance or any other info on someone who makes these I'd be deeply grateful.

Oh and my second best was echoes it was very well made anyway thanks for your remixes and btw I'd like to ask you something you don't have to answer, but the reason I am is because I couldn't contact you V_V. Well I would really like to know why didn't you join the serious monkey business album were you busy or did you want to give a chance for other remixes or is it because you have done enough DK2 remixes, the reason I'm asking is because I care and I personally find that the best DK2 remixes are the ones you make and no I'm not exaggerating I really do admit it and please don't be modest Thanks.

Please forgive me if I intruded or annoyed you in any way by this message.

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Crulex
on 2010-02-07 14:48:10

Good ol' Trance/electronica mixed with DK. I really enjoy the heavy gongs at the beginning of the track and the bells that break out later on. Fun thing to try: Try playing this while walking in a snowstorm. It's awesome.

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Scar
on 2009-12-29 17:27:53

this song has an amazing development.

its amazing

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OA
on 2009-11-20 17:23:45

this one has a huge build up, but there's some great spectrum-filling saws that end up sounding excellent, and the arrangement here is exceptionally good, really conveying a feeling of a powerful winter blizzard. Some incredibly well executed filter automation, and good transitions round this out. It runs a little long, but it definitely works to keep things exciting.

Good stuff, check this one out.

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animatedjay
on 2009-04-14 08:52:46

Now where did i put those glow sticks? Great mix. It has an awesome atmosphere to it.

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Txai
on 2009-02-22 15:55:41
Agree with that? What a dumb thing to do. :lol:

Am I imagining things, or did someone tried to point out what I do? Yet in a Review thread? Keep it off.

This song is still quite playable. The entire drum work change at 4:06 surely keep things interesting and heavier. Also, I love the brief breakdown around 4:45; good use of Irina's voice. Still a keeper.

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Liontamer
on 2009-02-22 08:57:36
I agree with Prot, because the majority of the epic trances are ackward.

Agree with that? What a dumb thing to do. :lol:

Surprised I never posted here, as this was definitely an eye-opening from Kong in Concert. Jason transformed the source into a completely different animal, while still keeping the winter imagery of the source here intact. The imagery seems like a lot more violent snow storm than anything in the original game. Good stuff!

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TonyHex
on 2007-01-07 19:30:14

I'm absolutely in love with this song, definitely my favorite track of the KiC album. It genuinely gives me goosebumps every time I hear it. Simply amazing.

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YellowYoshi1
on 2006-07-13 14:33:07

I absolutely love this remix. It really catches the theme really well, and in a GOOD trance mix as well!

After I read about the Russian influence I always imagine an FF-ish RPG with russian soldiers in a turn based battle. o.O

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Ghetto Lee Lewis
on 2006-03-03 19:15:58

I first heard this song on vgmix in Summer 2004. That was the summer when I didn't have air conditioning in my apartment, and I lived in Las Vegas (I'm still in the same apartment, but got a new A/C eventually).

Anyway, I live in Las Vegas where it gets up to 115 degrees during July. I would never have been able to get through the summer if it hadn't been for Prophecy. That song seemed to cool off my apartment whenever it played.

This is still one of my favorite songs from Prophecy. He needs to submit something else for this site; I'm waiting for "Soul Rust" and "Back to the Place that I Once Knew" (I think you can get one of them on www.prophetikmusic.com along with lots of other good songs).

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


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

Tags (4)


Genre:
Mood:
Instrumentation:
Electronic,Orchestral,Synth
Additional:
Time > Duration: Long

File Information


Name:
Donkey_Kong_Country_Chekan_Winter_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
6,179,981 bytes
MD5:
e7d7ec5238a18f46ca2c22910c71882a
Bitrate:
128Kbps
Duration:
6:21

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