DKC Atlas Forum

Yello, everyone! my nam is pig and i lik 2 make TEH MUZIX!!!!11!!!!!!!!111121!!!!!! wait gais wher u going WAIT NOAZ

On a more serious note, hi! As a way of introducing myself to everyone, I thought I'd start a project. My favorite DKC soundtrack has always been the massively underrated DKC3. Something about the ambient and moody feel of the soundtrack is really appealing to me, which is why I love the soundtrack of games like Wario Land 4. but that's not what this is about huehue

I've been playing the piano for a couple of years now, and I've occasionally played around with a few different DAWs and soundfonts. However, I've never made anything that I've felt confident in enough to release. So, being a Rare fan and a new composer, I finally decided to do something useful with my time and start a project... Donkey Kong Country 3: Orchestrated! A full orchestration of every single track from the SNES version of DKC3 (keep in mind a few of the tracks will be put together as a medley). i might sneak in some not-very-orchestra-ish sounding instruments too huehue It's a very intimidating thing for me, since I'm a novice, but I hope that with the help of some great fans and musicians, I can make this work!

Here's the current tracks and drafts I have uploaded to Soundcloud:



Fanfare



The Heroes' Return (Dixie Beat)



Crazy Calypso



The New World (Medley of Northern Kremisphere, Sub-Map Shuffle, and Krematoa Koncerto)



War for the Kremisphere (Medley of Wrinkly's Save Cave, Get Fit A-go-go, and Wrinkly 64)



The Otherworldly (Medley of Crystal Chasm and Mama Bird)



Prancing the Boardwalk (Stilt Village)



Intruding the Sawmills (Mill Fever)



Frosty Frolics



A Greater Foe (Boss Boogie)



Sound of the Trees (Treetop Tumble)



Hot Pursuit



Tropical Dangers (Enchanted Riverbank)



Industrial March (Nuts n' Bolts)



Down into the Rapids (Cascade Capers)



Kascading Kopters (Cavern Caprice)



Kremling Behind the Kurtain



Alarm! (Rocket Run)



Oh, the Kremlings Outside are Frightful (Jangle Bells)





Another thing: I'm taking name ideas for each piece, so feel free to give me your ideas (credit for "Prancing the Boardwalk" title to Donkey Kong Fan).

Thanks for reading! And don't forget to leave some feedback; it helps a ton.

Thread on DK Vine:

Hello and welcome.

First up, I really enjoyed the draft of "The New World" you've shared; it feels like a nice balance of new and familiar sounds, and is quite easy on the ears.

You might want to edit that banner, though, as it's missing the 'h' in "orchestrated"!

Aside from that, great work! I look forward to hearing your next composition.

I co-directed the DKC3 OC ReMix album Double the Trouble! so I too share your love of the soundtrack. I typically like to wait for albums without spoiling them so I'll sit on the backend regarding the music you shared, but good luck! I'll keep an eye on this one

(your user name has to do with Mother 3, right? That's another brilliant soundtrack! Both DKC3s and Mother 3 are in my top 5!)

Thanks, Cody!

The reason I'm not completing the orchestration and then releasing it is because I'm a novice. In other words, I don't want to release a bunch of awful music and be all like "hey look awesome orchestral music huehue" when it's actually bad. Oh, and Double the Trouble was incredible.

Qyzbud wrote:Hello and welcome.

First up, I really enjoyed the draft of "The New World" you've shared; it feels like a nice balance of new and familiar sounds, and is quite easy on the ears.

You might want to edit that banner, though, as it's missing the 'h' in "orchestrated"!

Aside from that, great work! I look forward to hearing your next composition.

How could I have missed that?! That's really embarrasing...

Thanks for your feedback.

EDIT: Here's another track, Stilt Village. I think this one is just about complete, I just need some ideas for a name.



EDIT X2: I updated the OP a bit.

Hello, PigmaskColonel! Wow, your arrangements are amazing. I especially love the real-orchestra like feeling with the French Horns and Marimba in "Stilt Village."

I am also a composer myself; I'm working on making a SoundCloud account (literally like right now as I type this-between tabs).

On a related note, I do have a suggestion for the title of "Stilt Village." I'd name it something like, "Prancing the Boardwalk;" it has a crazy, wacky feeling to it like in the original game. I really do love these (even though DKC 3 isn't my favorite DKC game)!! I urge you to continue; these sound professional! Bravo!

Thanks for the feedback (and the )!

I'm really trying to make it sound as realistic as possible even with my limitations. Glad it sounds good. And I really like your title; could I use it? Also, regarding your new SoundCloud account, could you leave a link? I'd like to hear your music too!

I've been thinking about doing Mill Fever next, but I'm having a lot of trouble figuring out what direction to take with it... It's a bit jazzy, and it doesn't work very well with an orchestra.

You're welcome! You deserved the !

Of course you can use my title, Prancing the Boardwalk! You don't have to give credit or anything; we worked together on it!

About Mill Fever; maybe you could make the melody at the beginning an orchestra doing pizzicato? Have the violins and cellos doing pizzicato? Ya know, only the beginning melody after the drum-percussion part.

I just posted a new piece to my SoundCloud account. It's Mario 64's Rainbow Road; click
https://soundcloud.com/user-53546366/rainbow-road
to listen to it! Post a comment too, please!

I'll upload the final version of Stilt Village under the name Prancing the Boardwalk, soon. Dang internet...

Currently polishing Treetop Tumble and just finished Rocket Run. I really like how this one came out!

I'm probably going to be able to upload these pieces in around a week from now, at best...

EDIT: Working on a a draft of Hot Pursuit right now. Coming along pretty well.

Double post. Yeah, blah blah blah

Anyway, I've finally gotten to upload all of my work from across the past week! Here's each one, individually:



The New World (Final)



Crazy Calypso



Prancing the Boardwalk (Stilt Village [Final])



Sound of the Trees (Treetop Tumble)



Hot Pursuit



Kaskading Kopters (Cavern Caprice)



Rocket Run (Draft)





Well, hope you enjoyed! I'm looking for feedback on the draft of "Rocket Run" in particular, so I'd appreciate a comment.

EDIT: Updated OP with new SoundCloud links.

EDIT X2: Frosty Frolics is out! Please go give it a listen and leave some feedback.

Reviving this thread to post two new pieces. Apologies for the huge delay, I'll get back to working on this project more regularly!

War for the Kremisphere (Wrinkly's Save Cave, Get Fit A-go-go, & Wrinkly 64 medley)



Rocket Run (Final)





Feedback is very much appreciated! Name ideas are also welcome, as usual.

Well, I'm back with two surprise tracks! Jangle Bells, 'cuz it's Christmas (or Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Yule, whatever you celebrate ), and the Fanfare.



Oh, the Kremlings Outside are Frightful (Jangle Bells)



Fanfare





Now, there's something important I want to discuss:

I'm really starting to lose my motivation to work on this project. Without much feedback or anyone really looking forward to the project, I lose my motivation to keep on working on it. I know that I shouldn't be expecting a zillion people to be awaiting my next piece with excitement every day (and I don't), but without anyone looking forward to it, I lose all of my motivation. The only thing really keeping me going is my love for this game and it's soundtrack. Basically, unless anyone is interested, I'm probably going to either cancel DKC3 Orch or just take a very long brake from it.

I'm sorry for being a little whiny, but it's just how I feel.

Also, for those who haven't checked it out yet, go have a listen to Donkey Kong Fan's WIP, Diddy's Symphony Quest! It's an orchestration of most of the tracks from DKC2!

http://www.dkc-atlas.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=2180

I'm listening through your recent tracks (and a bunch that I've missed — oops!), and they're really enjoyable. Classical instrumentals aren't always my favourite remix style, and the DKC3 soundtrack was never top of my list in the series, but you've done a great job marrying the two in a compelling way. I really hope you can keep motivated, as I will certainly be among those who continue to enjoy what you produce.

*Sends a motivational care-package*

Thanks for your kind words, Qyzbud (and the "motivational care-package" ).

I suppose that I will continue pumping these out, but it's going to be at a much slower rate. I'm very determined to finish this album, though, so don't worry about cancellation. Dixie Beat and Cascade Capers are two tracks I've been eyeing for awhile now. Expect them in about a week or two, at best. My Great Grandmother is coming to visit for Christmas, so that could delay things.

Man... this music is amazing!!! All I can imagine is an action rpg with all the kong characters... maybe something I should do?

I never knew how much better these tracks could be when orchestrated. Even ones I didn't like originally, like Cavern Caprice and Jangle Bells, were very well done! I don't know about anyone else here, but I can only imagine a 3d rpg when I listen to these, like the ones where you have a large world to explore with no limits (which is kinda what DKC feels like in itself)

OneOf99 wrote:All I can imagine is an action rpg with all the kong characters... maybe something I should do?

If you mean making a fangame, I'm totally willing to let you use my album when it's complete.

Thanks! Of course, all credit for your music would be given. I probably won't start for some time, but I have plans for one in the future.

Another update, Cascade Capers (or as I have dubbed my arrangement, "Down into the Rapids).



https://soundcloud.com/pigmask-colonel/down-into-the-rapids-dkc3-orchestrated



Apologies for the delay and for no Dixie Beat... I'll get on that one soon! For now, please enjoy this piece and leave some feedback.

o mah gurd im not dead huehue

Yup, I'm back after my three month long absence! And with a new arrangement, The Heroes' Return, AKA Dixie Beat. I'm really proud of this one.

The Heroes' Return (Dixie Beat)

I'm once again determined to finish this project. Expect tracks coming every week or so. Next arrangement up will be Boss Boogie.

Apologies for the slight delay! I've been having internet related problems lately and had no access to it for several days. As promised, here's "A Greater Foe" AKA Boss Boogie.


A Greater Foe (Boss Boogie)




As usual, I'll be updating with a new arrangement every week. Which song should I tackle next?

I noticed your latest link is broken, pigmaskcolonel, so I'll post the URL here for everyone's convenience:

https://soundcloud.com/pigmask-colonel/ ... chestrated

I'll listen to these latest orchestrations soon and will post any feedback that comes to mind.

Oops! Yeah, lemme fix that.

I just had a listen through the full collection so far, and really enjoyed it.

I'd love to hear your take on Pokey Pipes when you get a chance.

Thanks! Yes, Pokey Pipes is a wonderful one. It has this hazy, almost relaxing sound that's really intriguing.

I'm currently working on Nuts n' Bolts. It's coming along very well.

Nuts n' Bolts is done! I've called it the Industrial March.



Any suggestions for which song to do next? If I don't see any I'll most likely do a medley of the Swanky themes.

You should do Rockface Rumble. That would be epic. By the way, I've heard your Industrial March (Nuts and Bolts; my favorite of the SNES version). It sounds very John Williams-like (that's an awesome thing). Oh, and do you have any plans to do the GBA version after the SNES soundtrack? The GBA soundtrack was what I grew up with.

These are very good, the game should be remade with these orchestrations! I'm surprised at the high quality of these, do you compose any music on your own?

Ninni973 wrote:You should do Rockface Rumble. That would be epic. By the way, I've heard your Industrial March (Nuts and Bolts; my favorite of the SNES version). It sounds very John Williams-like (that's an awesome thing). Oh, and do you have any plans to do the GBA version after the SNES soundtrack? The GBA soundtrack was what I grew up with.

Don't be ridiculous, I'm nowhere even close to our lord and savior John Williams.

Contrary to popular belief, the GBA soundtrack isn't really all that bad. Sure, you have some more experimental ones like Frosty Frolics, but then you have some good ones like Stilt Village and Rockface Rumble. I might do Stilt Village as a little final huzzah after I finish this album, but I'll probably be so worn out by that point that I'll just have to take a little break...

As for Rockface Rumble, yeah, that sounds like fun! I'll do that one next.

OneOf99 wrote:These are very good, the game should be remade with these orchestrations! I'm surprised at the high quality of these, do you compose any music on your own?

Thanks once again! I don't do any original symphony style stuff, but I do some original chiptune music.

On another note, I'm doing a couple Wario Land 3 arrangements too, so if you happen to like that game you can go check them out on my Soundcloud.

If only there was a 3D remake of DKC3 with this soundtrack in it, that would be the best thing ever!

Which reminds me, someone did make a remake of two DKC trilogy levels (factory and sunken ship) in Unreal Engine, it looked.. Just wow..

It's time for the fan favorite, Rockface Rumble!







I'll start work on Pokey Pipes soon. Have any suggestions or feedback?

Um...

Yeah, this project is still going. No, I'm not meeting the 20th anniversary deadline, obviously. Let's aim for spring 2017...Maybe? I dunno, but I really am going to try and focus MUCH more on DKC3 Orch now. I need to stop dilly-dallying and FOCUS. It's not even motivation at this point, I'm just avoiding it for some reason.

Moving on, here's the next track complete: "Tropical Dangers"!







Pokey Pipes might have to wait; I'm having a lot of trouble finding a good inspiration for what to do...I could just do some bizarre stuff with the strings, but I want to do something a little more interesting with it.

Nice, I'll have to check this out when I get home!

Here's "Intruding the Sawmills", AKA Mill Fever. It's a bit jazzy!







If I don't see any suggestions I may move on to Pokey Pipes, but like I said, I'll have to find a good way to pull it off.

These are all pretty good! The funny thing is that Mill Fever was my least favorite song in the game, yet I love what you made out of it. Please keep up the good work

Will you be doing Big Boss Blues, Bonus Time, or any of the other songs you haven't done?

No worries, my good sir. They will be worked on in due time.

Just an update, artist's block has been hitting me even harder than before, so the progress rate of the album is at a complete crawl. I'm trying my damndest to keep my motivation and pacing up, but it's a real struggle. For your information, I'm currently working on the Mama Bird/Crystal Chasm medley, and it's nearing completion finally, so at least that's something.

Well, in that case, I would recommend that you listen to a bunch of music to expand your mind.

And now for the abstract and dramatic; I present "The Otherworldly".



Indeed, Pokey Pipes is still on hiatus. Big Boss Blues is in the works as we speak, though, so progress is still being made.

I assume Big Boss Blues is highly anticipated by those following the project, as it has proven to be quite the fan favorite. Well, anticipate no longer; I present "Kremling Behind the Kurtain"!





Brother's Bear is next to be arranged.

What software are you using to make these? Are you using sound samples or having people actually play the music?

Bah! In my dreams. Having a symphony at my hands would be a dream come true.

My main DAW is SynthFont, an old, inefficient piece of software that I undoubtedly do not recommend to anyone, particularly those of whom that are new to the process of digital composing. Frankly, the only blasted reason I've so stubbornly stood by SynthFont is simply because I know my way around it incredibly well. I've discovered so many tricks, techniques and loopholes that there's essentially not a single reason to make the move to more popular DAWs, such as FL Studio.
My work utilizes various sound libraries, ranging from spiffy VSTs, to less-than-stellar soundfonts that require loads of ingenuity and tinkering to sound practical. Over the nearly two years I've been working on DKC3 Orchestrated, the standards of the album have increased substantially; as such, the average production time for each piece has become quite demanding, typically ranging from two weeks to two months, depending on how complex the arrangement is and whether or not I'm suffering from artist's block.

After yet another multi-month long hiatus, I believe it's time that I made a statement concerning the future of this project, instead of leaving those of whom still following it in the dark;

DKC3 Orch is over. The project is cancelled.
Yes, I'm going to be completely and utterly blunt. There are a multitude of reasons that led me to this decision-- for example, the vastly varying quality from track to track (which is to be expected, as the album spans two years, and in that time I've made some significant improvements over my earlier arrangements), or it's failure to obtain an audience-- however, the greatest reason of them all is quite simple: I have no interest in working on it anymore.
It's not a matter of artist's block, either. My desire to see the album out to completion is nonexistent, and my conscience is persistent in telling me that it's time to move on, to something bigger, more ambitious. And I have done so; in recent times, I've begun work and made significant progress on an original, full-length, classically-influenced piece. After all, DKC3 Orch was intended to act as a "training ground" of sorts, for me to further my experience and then channel that new knowledge towards original compositions. Thus, if there's one thing I can't deny of this album, it's that I learned a lot from the experience, and that it ultimately was a massive help.

A sincere thanks to every soul who's supported the project throughout the hiatuses and whiny ramblings on "motivation", or even those who simply listened. It truly means a lot.

Hey PigmaskColonel, if you get the chance, could you please re-upload the orchestrated tracks, most specifically Industrial March (Nuts and Bolts SNES) and Kremling Behind the Kurtain (Big Boss Blues SNES), or at least all of them? They seem to be removed from Soundcloud.

Also, sorry for the huge bump.

Sorry about that. I deleted the SoundCloud account earlier this year for personal reasons.

Here's a little RAR of everything I ever made for the project: https://mega.nz/#!vuIDwYJZ!xZTLaMyXIpwwG7j8hyTWj6q4s-_ObL6OQ5-gT3F4Y6s
Please excuse the low quality. Due to a lack of foresight on my part, all of the original MIDI & arrangement files have long since been lost and/or damaged, so I can't provide anything better than the lossy MP3 exports I made for SoundCloud way back when...

Pardon my old posts in this thread, by the way. They're pretty embarrassing to read now.