Kong in Concert

Kong in Concert
Album by OverClocked ReMix Site Projects
Released	September 12, 2004
Recorded	2004
Genre	Electronic, Rock, New Age, Jazz
Length	87:25
Label	OverClocked ReMix
Producer(s)	Binnie "Digital Coma" Katti
Independant reviews
The Shelanman Review stars-****½ Sept. 14, 2004
OverClocked ReMix Site Projects chronology
Relics of the Chozo (2003)	Kong in Concert (2004)	Hedgehog Heaven (2005)

Back of the album.

Kong in Concert or KiC is a non-commercial collaborative album of 22 rearrangements of the music from the classic video game Donkey Kong Country for the SNES. Twenty artists from the video game music arrangement community used their talents to pay tribute to the soundtrack composed by David Wise, Eveline Fischer and Robin Beanland, considered to be one of the best ever created in a video game.

Overview

The project began on April 14, 2004 with director Binnie "Digital Coma" Katti inviting artists to pick tracks to rearrange. Competing arrangements for the same track were then voted on by the project contributors to decide which to include in the album. After having the working title Gorilla con Gusto generally panned a few months prior to the project's completion, the album was retitled by contributor Jesse "Vigilante" Taub. The finished product was released and spotlighted as OverClocked ReMix's second Site Project on September 12, 2004 and slashdotted on September 13. Less than a month later, the site accrued over one million hits and Dave Wise, regarded as the leader of the Donkey Kong Country soundtracks, privately made note of the project and expressed his appreciation. The critical success of the album within the video game music arrangement community continues to be unmatched and has spawned many projects in its wake including Rise of the Star (2005) and The Dark Side of Phobos (2005). As of January 1, 2006, the CD Album WAV torrent was downloaded over 12,000 times.

Peer review

On August 23, 2004, nearing the project's completion, two pairs of songs were placed in a peer review runoff among contributors to determine which would be placed on the album.

Michael "Israfel" Dover's introductory "Godiva in the Desert" had been left in a nearly-complete but unfinished state, leading Ari "Protricity" Asulin to collaborate with Jesse Taub on "Plight of Heroes" in order to replace the track with one he deemed complete. Despite its circumstances, a 10-8 majority of participants felt Dover's track sounded complete and presented a more unique arrangement amongst the album's other tracks.

Danijel "Nacho" Milovanov's track "Goodbye Mr. Kong" was also criticized on grounds of quality, leading Asulin to also create an alternate ending theme, "Rare Reminiscence." A 14-2 majority supported Asulin's track as a better written and better produced arrangement.

Track listing

Disc 1

1. "Godiva in the Desert" [Theme] (Israfel) – 3:52
2. "Swing, Monkey, Swing" [Simian Segue] (Hemophiliac) – 3:26
3. "West Coast DK Island" [DK Island Swing] (JigginJonT) – 4:01
4. "Rest and (Re)spite on a Soft Summer Night" [Cranky's Theme] (Unknown) – 1:55
5. "Cry of the Chasmal Critter Chain" [Cave Dweller Concert] (Adhesive_Boy) – 4:57
6. "One Zero One" [Bonus Room Blitz] (Icy Guy) – 3:51
7. "Beneath the Surface" [Aquatic Ambiance] (Vigilante) – 6:20
8. "Funky Monkey Love" [Candy's Love Song] (Vigilante) – 4:39
9. "Boiling Point" [Bad Boss Boogie] (Red Omen, Protricity) – 1:48
10. "Mine Cart Misadventure" [Mine Cart Madness] (Protricity) – 6:00
11. "Echoes" [Life in the Mines] (Sadorf, Sir NutS) – 3:49

    Disc 2

12. "Idols of Hanuman" [Voices of the Temple] (GrayLightning) – 2:40
13. "Faunaphonic" [Forest Frenzy] (zircon) – 2:45
14. "Arboreal Ascent" [Treetop Rock] (smh) – 3:26
15. "Aerofunknamics" [Funky's Fugue] (bLiNd) – 3:28
16. "Clouded Mind and Ringing Ears" [Misty Menace] (Aetherius) – 3:48
17. "Chekan Winter" [Northern Hemispheres] (Prophecy) – 6:52
18. "dolilop do wop" [Ice Cave Chant] (analoq) – 3:13
19. "Machina Anesthesia" [Fear Factory] (GrayLightning) – 4:54
20. "Pirate Prelude" [Gang-Plank Galleon Pt 1] (Dhsu) – :42
21. "Thrash the Plank" [Gang-Plank Galleon Pt 2] (SnappleMan) – 3:30
22. "Rare Reminiscence" [The Credits Concerto] (Protricity) – 7:29

The arrangements and CD artwork are freely available for download at the project website.

Personnel

• Jordan Aguirre ("bLiNd") – arranger
• Gray Alexander ("GrayLightning") – arranger, mixing assist on "Pirate Prelude"
• Ari Asulin ("Protricity") – arranger
• Andrew Aversa ("zircon") – arranger
• Michael Dover ("Israfel") – arranger
• Tyler Heath ("Unknown") – guitar, arranger
• David Hsu ("Dhsu") – piano, arranger
• Sam Huse ("smh") – guitar, arranger
• Joey Johnston ("Icy Guy") – arranger
• Binnie Katti ("Digital Coma") – project director
• Andreas Kotsamanidis ("SnappleMan") – guitar, arranger
• Aaron Matthews ("analoq") – arranger
• Jason Miller ("Prophecy") – arranger
• Michael Molina ("Sir NutS") – arranger
• Larry Oji ("Liontamer") – additional vocals on "Funky Monkey Love"
• Chris Roman ("Hemophiliac") – arranger, album design
• Jack Ryerson ("Adhesive_Boy") – arranger, mixing assist on "Arboreal Ascent"
• Allen Sadorf ("Sadorf") – arranger
• Jesse Taub ("Vigilante") – vocals, guitar, arranger
• Jon Titterington ("JigginJonT") – trumpet, arranger
• Rab Townsend ("Aetherius") – arranger
• Ryan Walker ("Red Omen") – arranger
• Trevor Wishart ("Eon_Blue") – website design

External links and references

• Kong in Concert website
• Kong in Concert at MusicBrainz
• Unofficial arrangements (ReMixes) of Donkey Kong Country's soundtrack at OverClocked ReMix
• OverClocked ReMix