Step, for me, this is your best song. I realize it's only a remix, and that you didn't contribute as much to the main-melodic themes of the song as David Wise did, BUT I think you have outdone yourself in composition, and general immersion. Both of which in my opinion are the most important aspects in any musical piece. You encompass a jungle-esque vibe within seconds from the start of the track. You manage to make the music shiny, powerful, and groovy all at the same time. This will probably be me randomly rambling about the qualities about the track that I really love. Things that I find awesome, brag-worthy, and maybe tiny little nitpicks that I have... and they are most definitely the nittiest of picks.
What I find impressive is how you manage to use so much of the original songs (including other DK tracks) to your advantage and pretty much utilize them however you can. The most impressive instances are during the transitions from part to part. Like at 1:45 to go into the next bit was perfect, you do it again later before going into the map theme from Donkey Kong Country. The song is separated by a few different songs used from the games, and you manage to transition between them seamlessly, and also manage to connect them all within one flowing track while making them sound unison in a way that it ALL has that jungle vibe I mentioned earlier, holding the original immersion throughout the entire track. Each transition perfectly prepares me for the big emotional dynamic changes from your countering emotions throughout the track (like going from the main theme to the more cheerful guitar, or even the guitar to the map theme). I also really enjoy the variation of your melodies (the ones from the original tracks I meant, not the improvs), you really use them to your advantage to, again, make proper transitions and create a greater dynamic.
The dynamics in this track are beautiful. In volume, and emotion. Going from sparkly, to badass to cheerful and back to badass, etc, etc. You mentioned that some people thought the map theme section was underwhelming, but as I mentioned, I completely disagree. One reason I once stated is because it offers a greater dynamic throughout the entire track. The more important reason to me though, is in the composition. The very ending would not have been as big if it weren't for the dynamic change and the build up right before hand. The map theme is naturally more less exciting, and let's be honest... nothing is more badass and NOTHING can be as exciting as the Congo Jungle Theme which go back into after the map theme. So like I said, the dynamic change in the specific instance of the Map part to the next works really well for the tracks compositional aspect. I can elaborate more if that doesn't make sense, my wording is a bit weird.
One thing I was a little disappointed by was not hearing the theme a little more at the end. I have heard this track at least 10 times since the album has come out, and I never really thought about it but I would have liked to hear the theme a bit more. I only thought about this after those 10 times, so I think you really nailed the ending that you kept... I guess I just realized that I wanted more :p Which is definitely another good quality about the track, wanting to hear more of the awesomeness within it. I can also see how making the song bigger throughout that final "chorus(?)" would be difficult as well. So again... nitpick. Along with the ending, I love the calm feel you give off. It sounds BIG (4:55)... but then you sort of just let it cool down and relax with the last little bit (5:01). Again, the track is very dynamic, even on an emotional level.
Oh man Stephan. The mixing. It's just wonderful... you give off a warm powerful feel throughout the entire track, you are hitting every frequency you possibly can from those crisp rolling cymbals to the down-low tribal drums, bongoes and whatever other drums that Stormdrum2 has that no one knows the name of >.<. But anyway, you covering all of that distance on the frequency spectrum just gives this song the full sound that gives this song the amazing feel that it does. The ONE thing that set me off a tiny bit was the bass guitar in the beginning that plays the main theme. It sounds awesome, and it hits me hard every time and sends chills down my spine. The problem is that the movement from note to note is a little difficult for me to hear. I'm really unsure what it is... But in my experience it either needs a little bit of shelving EQ on the high end to cut through the mix a bit more, or increased bell curve EQ in the mids to bring out the movement from note to note. I really don't feel this way about it anymore, but the first few times listening I really did feel this way, and I may have just gotten used to it/gotten over it... So take it with a grain of salt, because I've felt both ways. Besides that, the bass has an incredibly smooth and clean sound.
WAIT I JUST HEARD STICKERBRUSH SYMPHONY. YOU SNEAKY BASTARD. That was really really really well hidden. That makes me wonder how many more references you put in your track (I hid a bunch in my track too). Anyway back to the review.
You utilize melodies at whatever point you can and each tiny transition. Full and broad, with beautiful harmony from your Camoshark VST. I'm not sure what you had to do with the improvs, if you gave them any sort of direction to go in, but they were really wonderful. There was one or two points in the brass improv that kind of threw me off a little bit... As in it didn't quite match up with the rest of the tracks background music intensity building throughout that section. It does pick up, but it just takes some time I suppose. It just seems a little up and down and all over, at the very end it picks up and ends strong, but it would have been cool to hear it build up to a faster rhythm to reach that big part towards the end (quarter to eighth notes to etc.). The guitar improv is solid throughout. I really enjoyed it especially when the guitar harmonizes with multiple notes.
I really don't know what else to say. You nailed it Step. This is the first song I show to my friends so they understand the kind of standards the album has. You created an incredible atmosphere with your great instrumentation, mixing and composition skills. I really wish I could think of more things to comment on, but I really can't. Great work.
-Ryan
p.s. please don't hurt me for any typos
p.p.s. let me know if you need any clarification.
p.p.p.s. butts