Posted 2009-01-24, evaluated by djpretzel


Mattias had two mixes in 2007 but a whopping eight last year, edging Sixto out by one and providing our first LSL mix - 'Larry's Funky House of Lowe' - that we presented to composer Al Lowe at Genericon XXI. We're back at Genericon XXII right now, our panel's tomorrow, and we haven't had any AnSo action in '09 yet, so it seems an opportune time to post his latest creation, from DKC3. He writes:

"I have to admit, I'm huge electronica fan. Because of this reason, and this reason alone I decided to do a pure electronica remix. I wanted to make some un-tss with a hint of minimal techno and a dash of whatever the hell I do. What I'm saying is, kickdrum, hi-hats, synths, a strange blend of real instruments and gating. That's what you get. Enjoy! (Also, I can't believe Donkey Kong Country 3 has only one remix! What's wrong with you people?) As always, MUCH LOVE!"

Yes, but *how* much love? Quite a bit, as it turns out. This mix has elements from different styles of electronica, with slicker chopping and gating paired up with trancier builds and filtering, and a whole lot of AnSo style. Things starts off upbeat, with a more major key refrain, but one thing this mix does especially nicely is segue between major and minor feels. The intro gating establishes a contemporary vibe, but then a more traditional major key bell synth motif enters. The beat fills out at 0'53" with a snare and faster hat pattern. There are some bridging sections that are more minimalist, with a hard bass driving on the same note with some subtle filtering, a nice detuned square lead solo/motif starting at 2'56", and I dig the reductionist, bass-only ending. Overall, an excellent blend of major/minor, contemporary/traditional, rhythmic/melodic, and myriad electronica flavors. It's worth noting that, fresh off the previously released Artoon, another XNA community game - The Perfect Match - just came out with a soundtrack that he composed. We'll no doubt be seeing more from Mr. Gerdt this year, but for now enjoy this ReMix from the underappreciated (relative to 1 & 2) DKC3 score.

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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tabuhli
on 2015-01-11 13:18:59

I feel kind of bittersweet towards this remix. It's a GOOD remix. Really good actually. However, I absolutely HATED the original tune from DKC3. I honestly don't know why. It always sounded really obnoxious to be. So I'm not sure what to feel about this. The quality is great, but the composition is very similar to the lackluster original.

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TillyFun
on 2014-06-17 15:51:37

I could easily listen to this over the source. Has that cavern vibe, crystal feel and beats. :)

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Cody Wedel
on 2011-12-17 03:21:10

OA pretty much unanimously nailed how I feel about this remix.

I only listened to this mix maybe once when it first came out and subsequently put it on hold (I'm not sure why... I might've been detached from OCR in general at the time). In fact, I'm not even sure if I listened to it fully until now.

On my 3rd listen in a row, I feel this mix definitely excels in capturing the upbeat-but-tense vibe of the original cavern levels. It seems like something I'd expect to hear in a well-produced Donkey Kong Country 3 Returns.

Either way, it's pretty nice stuff and I'd rather it be part of OCR than not. Thanks for producing a nifty DKC3 mix, AnSo :)

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DarkSim
on 2010-12-15 12:39:35

No reviews for over a year! Here we go...

Love the bells and the super-tight metallic drums that come in, they're really interesting and liven up a pretty boring source tune. The pads help with the feeling of claustrophobia by sounding a bit foreboding, giving me a sense of uneasiness whilst listening to this. It does a very good job of that, although it doesn't seem to go anywhere after that and I'd perhaps like some sort of "relief" section at the end. Instead it sounds like it wants to spill over into a trance track. Overall I like it, but it seems to lack direction.

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Crulex
on 2009-07-16 20:06:59

Great mix! I enjoy the quick changes in the first 13 seconds that goes on for quite a bit of the track. Good song made even better. Hmm, come to think of it, we need more DKC3 songs like this.

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OA
on 2009-03-19 14:51:06

A little too repetitive for me, but what is here is good. The track does progress texturally and there is a lot of arrangement personalization, but i'm not sure the source is melodically strong enough to support this style of mixing. Production is great, and i think the soundscape is great, but there really isn't a huge hook or anything.

Good but not great stuff from the super-prolific AnSo.

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anosou
on 2009-02-25 14:27:16
This is nice, and I'm not just saying that because I have a soft spot for mixes that are titled after an irrational fear and utilize stuttering/gating effects. A few of the synths sound a tad generic, but the pads, gating effects, and overall arrangement make up for it in my opinion.

Thanks :3 In my defense re: vanilla synths I went for vanilla electronica sound so this vote is a victory for me!

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about:blank
on 2009-02-25 14:15:05

This is nice, and I'm not just saying that because I have a soft spot for mixes that are titled after an irrational fear and utilize stuttering/gating effects. A few of the synths sound a tad generic, but the pads, gating effects, and overall arrangement make up for it in my opinion.

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cyb0rgjeff
on 2009-02-16 08:59:55

i realy like the sounds u use !

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Martin Penwald
on 2009-02-09 16:07:42

This remix has a certain space-ish quality to it. If I didn't know it was from DKC3, I'd assume it's from some SciFi game. Especially the first few seconds would fit into a Metroid game perfectly.

Very enjoyable.

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gandalf0987
on 2009-02-09 08:41:02

The break beat is nice. I can't say that I don't like this song because it's so cool. When you can do the breat beat properly, it works. The other instruments, (especially the bells) make it fun to listen to...distorting the sounds is fun and works with this remix. It goes too far, however, making me forget about the game it's for. I want a remix with less distortion, so that I can hear the original song sounds.

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Palpable
on 2009-02-07 08:22:03

Lots of cool effects going on here, as your songs tend to have. Gentle but a good solid beat, very easy to lose yourself in and lends itself well to repeating. I kept expecting the chord progression to get modified sometime, especially around 3:24, but it never happened. I guess this is something for me to do if I ever take on this theme!

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CopiousX
on 2009-01-29 16:22:35

The feeling of the title you gave it really comes out in the bridge. Also, the syncopation/stuttering that you added to the lead around 2:10 was fun. On a whim I slowed down the play back in VLC, and your remix turned into this effing sexy downtempo-ish song. Try it out.

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DarkAura
on 2009-01-29 13:13:51

It's got a real... I dunno... Spyro-ish sound to it? It reminds me of the music in the first Spyro game. It's pretty good.

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bamblakopz
on 2009-01-29 12:39:07

It's a bit to repetitive for me... but it is pretty good... Keep up the good work!

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


Primary Game:
Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! (Nintendo , 1996, SNES)
Music by David Wise,Eveline Novakovic
Songs:
"Cavern Caprice"

Tags (2)


Genre:
Mood:
Instrumentation:
Electronic,Synth
Additional:

File Information


Name:
Donkey_Kong_Country_3_Claustrophobia_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
5,905,805 bytes
MD5:
b49a7d507206d2a9e12aaa518a54f9c2
Bitrate:
173Kbps
Duration:
4:27

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