ReMix: Banjo-Kazooie 'In the Darkness Lies'

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When I think Banjo-Kazooie, I think happy-go-lucky, Rare 3D platforming fun... not darkness, nor anything that might happen to be lying in or around it. Nevertheless, DragonAvenger and The Joker have collaborated to create a very, very dark and haunting arrangement of Mad Monster Mansion, our first standards-compliant Banjo K. mix to date. The Joker writes:

"Tell me kid... you ever dance with the devil in the pale moonlight?"

... sorry, wrong Joker. Here we go:

"I always liked the MMM music from Banjo Kazooie. It just had this really catchy melody. I always wondered what that melody would sound like if it were darker, more "serious" in tone. So, I ended up making a really dark, gothy take on the song. I used every part of the song I could, even rearranging certain parts to make them sound more ominous. I also had the idea to use vocals, as the arrangement was rather minimalist, & I felt the song would be better fir it. So I contacted DragonAvenger, who came through in spades."

DragonAvenger adds:

"The Joker contacted me asking for vocals to his piece. I tried to focus on some elements of the stage, mainly hands that are playing a piano and a ghost that won't turn it's back to you. I wanted to contrast the higher part, the "angels", and using "demons" in a lower part seemed the obvious choice."

It's a shame it's not early October, because this would be absolutely perfect Halloween mixage, no doubt. It's delicate yet edgy and disturbed, at times tonal and gentle, in the vicinity of ambient, at times dissonant and channeling a more IDM mood. The vocals are more atmospheric than lead, the lyrics barely discernible yet haunting, the pace very deliberate, as if the constituent elements are all drifting on a plane and coming together at chance but conducive meetings. Shariq thought the vocals were a little too muted and hence superfluous, but Jesse responded:

"Very dark. Darker than most goth rock i've come across. Good job. I think the vocals work well. It's common in some of the more ambient goth groups to have vocals mixed in such a way that you can't hear the lyrics. (check out "Judgment of Paris") Solid submission. Certainly accomplishes it's gothy goals."

Pretty much; this is a very different piece, period, but the fact that it comes from Banjo-Kazooie makes it a rather peculiar, unique, unusual, singular oddity... if you're feeling particularly dark, it's great brooding territory - just don't tell your significant goth other (gother?) that it's from a video game starring a bear and a bird.

― djpretzel