Will this album be a great remix of a timeless album or a total flop?
Album: Donkey Kong Country
Group: The Greatest Bits
Released: 2011
4/5
The Greatest Bits (TGB) is a Dutch DJ/Producer who specializes in the retro era of video games. Taking his love of video games and knowledge of music production, he’s created 3 albums all harkening back to the heyday of the 8-bit era. While I have not heard all of them, I did get a chance to listen to the Donkey Kong Country album and it was quite the pleasure to listen to. To preface, this is a 8-bit translation of the melodies with very modern dance beats and rhythms.
One of the first things I noticed about this remix album is that all of the tracks are named after their originals. No new names to memorize and it was easy to find what songs belonged to what part of the game. The album is 13 tracks long, which doesn’t make this album a full remix (DK Jamz is 23 songs plus 2 secret ones) but is never the less a remix album, and a good one at that.
This album is not like most other DK remix albums that I’ve heard. While I have heard techno remix and modernized reinterpretations of the soundtrack, TGB does a great job of melding his techno/dance influence with the 8-bit charm he clearly loves. The album opens up with the song “Donkey Kong Country title theme” and starts off with classic riff line in 8-bit form only to then throw in some fast paced dance beats and drum patterns. Phalangers come in the verse section and really add to the dance vibe of this song. The next song, “Simian Segue” is much slower paced with a combination of modern piano sounds and 8-bit piano to play the main riff. The drum pattern is a much more hip hop oriented and gives a very smooth “head-bumping” vibe, which I found myself doing often while listening to this album.
Now this goes to say that not all of the album is entirely dance/hip hop stylized. The very tribal/jazz “DK Island Swing” is still in that style with a bit of an 8-bit flair and some dance elements to spice it up. On the other hand, “Mine Cart Madness” has been almost completely reworked to make it a fast paced hip-hop/hardbop song and makes it very exciting track to listen to. One of my favorite tracks on this album (and on the original) is “Fear Factory”. With a heavy industrial atmosphere, TGB makes it into a great industrial/dance mix that I can imagine being played in a club (a very nerdy one at that). The drum pattern on this song is just great and really gets you in the groove of things. Another huge favorite of mine is “Ice Cave Chant” and I’ve heard some wonderful remixes of this song and this one does not disappoint. It takes the soft, melodic, and mysterious sounds of the original and transform it into a very bright and poppy song that really makes you feel good. Also, rocking dance beat doesn’t hurt. The last song I want to touch up on is “Gang-Plank Galleon”, while this one starts off as a song that should be played at a carnival, it quickly takes a much darker turn after the first verse. It turns into a series of rolling triplets played by what I believe to be an 8-bit bass and while this is an exciting and fun part, this song just doesn’t hit me like all of the other ones. While it is not my favorite, it still is a good song and enjoyable.
All in all, The Greatest Bits is clearly someone who has been a long time fan of video games and the music that they create. His passion is clearly shown and deserves much praise for his work. He does a great job of remixing the album and making it his own. He definitely has a style all his own, with which he exemplifies in this album and I can’t wait to hear the rest. You can find the rest of his work here. Go out and buy it!
Seriously, go buy it.
Photo provided by The Greatest Bits
