ReMix:Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest "All Aboard the Glitter Express" 3:39

By Light Pillar

Arranging the music of one song...

"Disco Train (Target Terror)"

Primary Game: Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (Nintendo , 1995, SNES), music by David Wise

Posted 2015-05-02, evaluated by djpretzel


Get your bellbottoms on & your mirrorballs spinning, because IT'S DISCO TIME!! From newcomer Light Pillar (Michiel Nijhof) comes a retrotacular incarnation of Dave Wise's "Disco Train" from DKC2 that expands the already polyester-stretching levels of disco found in the original:

"Donkey Kong Country 2 is a game that's too hard to finish, for me anyway, as I embarrassedly have to admit I've never even made it to this very level. I first discovered the tune while listening through the entire soundtrack from this game. I liked it instantly and the urge to have some fun with it grew every time I listened. The original track, while it serves its purpose, arguably lacks a little spark and punch due to - maybe - hardware limitations. This is an effort to give the song a little more to love. It was great recreating all these iconic sounds and giving them a facelift at the same time. In the end, both songs can perfectly coexist with each other, so it's your choice which one to dance to."

So how awesome is it that RIGHT NOW there's a kickstarter for Yooka-Laylee, a spiritual successor to Banjo-Kazooie, that features music by Steve Burke, David Wise, AND Grant Kirkhope?? Seriously freakin' cool, that's how cool. It's profoundly awesome that DKC2 for instance came out two decades ago, and we're still seeing the titans from Rare active in the VGM world and working on new material, much to excitement of fans - myself included! That's staying power, and that's an art form whose community values its artists, and it just makes me all sorts of happy & proud! Larry corroborates:

"We're quick to praise David Wise for his legendary creativity around here, but he totally deserves it. I love that a song like "Disco Train" even exists. It adds just that little bit of levity to the cart action in DKC2, when usually the DKC series' mine cart-style levels were super-eerie and tense. Light Pillar expands the more subdued groove of the original song into a fun synth-laden disco piece with tongue-in-cheek genre-deprecating lyrics. And, wouldn't you know it, I actually liked the key change at 1:56. Nice transition! :-D I certainly hope Michiel keeps submitting more arrangements, because I like the stylishness of his trip on the Glitter Express!

BTW, give fellow Rare composer alums David Wise, Grant Kirkhope & Steve Burke some love and back the Kickstarter for the Yooka-Laylee, which they're doing the music for!"

Chimpazilla adds:

"Well I think I'll go ahead and dance to THIS one, thank you very much! Nice work from Light Pillar, VERY groovy... gosh, I love disco. You really did this source up right, I love the vocals, and even the "trucker's gear shift" modulation! Groovy disco-y fun."

This arrangement indeed puts additional quantities of disco in "Disco Train" and modernizes it a bit, amping the cheeze factor with some vocoded shenanigans & fully embracing the genre. Great, creative, & quintessentially playful stuff from newcomer Light Pillar - my curiosity is certainly piqued for anything else he might have in store for us in the future. I'm also looking forward to the day when OC ReMix posts its first Yooka-Laylee ReMix! In the meantime, burn baby burn, you don't have to show it, you are the dancing queen, stay alive, get on the train, & enjoy the mix!

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 7 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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Chernabogue
on 2015-12-04 12:32:53

Very nice vibe on this one (some cool disco influences, especially the staccato strings). It starts rather calmly but then gets more and more power. I like the synthetized voice, but they get a little repetitive at some point -- not a huge deal though. The more atmospheric breakdown was a nice addition too. A fun track to dance to. :)

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A-RoN
on 2015-05-31 20:47:23

Definitely a source heavy remix with some nice transposing and drum fills. The synth work is very novel but gives me a bit of a subtle Madeon vibe especially around the 2:00 where the transposing happens. The strings are also a nice stuff along with the wah laiden stuff. Although the drum work is not much more than your average four on the floor beat, it's enough to hold a solid groove together. I'll be bumping this one for a while.

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Emunator
on 2015-05-09 18:55:56

This is too much fun! Love the source, and like DarkSim said, you maximized its potential with modern production sounds and a lot of cool effects that wouldn't have been possible back on the SNES hardware.

Very faithful, enjoyable rendition that's brimming with personality! :-D

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DarkSim
on 2015-05-05 21:11:23

Anything by David Wise is an auto-DL for me, and this track elevates the source to its full potential, no doubt about that. Great remix, looking forward to hearing more from Light Pillar :)

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Crulex
on 2015-05-03 10:41:56

This is the update and ReMix that the Disco Train needed so very much. Taking all the groovy goodness from the original and turning it up to eleven with full on vocoded vocals and a fresh disco beat is terrific. Awesome mixpost Light Pillar!

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Flexstyle
on 2015-05-02 13:56:41

Ooh, I like this one a lot! Gonna have to see if I can slip it into a set somewhere. :D

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Liontamer
on 2015-05-01 13:49:28

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

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


Primary Game:
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (Nintendo , 1995, SNES)
Music by David Wise
Songs:
"Disco Train (Target Terror)"

Tags (7)


Genre:
Disco
Mood:
Instrumentation:
Electronic,Strings,Synth,Vocals: Male
Additional:
Effects > Vocoder
Lyrics > Lyrics: Original

File Information


Name:
Donkey_Kong_Country_2_All_Aboard_the_Glitter_Express_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
5,354,367 bytes
MD5:
f3ee422a18757cd59a74ce6cb7630127
Bitrate:
192Kbps
Duration:
3:39

[x4]
Disco's in your brain
Makes you go insane
The sound's so inane
On the disco train

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