DKC Atlas Forum

The Donkey Kong Country games have, in my opinion, excellent soundtracks. Some of the music in these games is completely original, but other tracks were apparently inspired by pre-existing music. Of course, the DKC intro theme is based on the original Donkey Kong arcade game's theme music, and many tunes and other musical elements are shared around within the DKC games, but the focus of this topic is to reveal the potential non-video game origins of the music of the Donkey Kong Country soundtracks.

Similarities noted so far...
Haunted Chase was based on the classical piece Night on Bald Mountain by Modest Mussorgsky
In a Snow-Bound Land very closely resembles the Theme From Antarctica by Vangelis
Bayou Boogie has similar sounding percussion to In The Air Tonight by Phil Collins
Nuts and Bolts borrowed the main guitar riff of Kashmir by Led Zeppelin
Mill Fever features a tune which can be heard in Can't Buy Me Love by The Beatles
Hot Pursuit may have been based on a riff from They Don't Care About Us by Michael Jackson
Disco Train shares a quite few similarities with We Are Going On Down by Deadly Sins ← mentioned by Sockpuppet

If you have heard any non-video game melodies which sound like DKC tunes, or you hear a strong DKC-resemblance of any kind (beat, bassline, chord progression, etc...) in a piece of non-video game related music, please share your observations in this topic. Subtle similarities are worth sharing here, too, but I'm mostly hoping to hear about music which may have directly inspired any musical piece from the DKC trilogy's soundtracks.

If you've heard something which sounds as though it was inspired by a DKC track, you can mention it here, too.
(Obviously, actual DKC/video game music remixes themselves aren't applicable to this topic)

Okay, ladies and gents... share your musical knowledge!

Haha... if I wasn't amazed by the similarity of Kashmir and Nuts and Bolts (I'm a big Led Zeppelin and DKC3 fan, and I hadn't noticed this before, lol) - the way percussion was practically borrowed directly from a recording of in the air tonight (by the sounds of it, anyway ) just stunned me...

I don't really know any of Dave (or Eveline)'s inspirations... but I do know that Grant Kirkhope (DK64, Banjo Kazooie) got a lot of his inspiration from Danny Elfman's music.

The beginning and end of Haunted Hall has the melody of a polyphonic cell phone ringtone called 'Mountain' and DK64's DK Isle is a faster, happier version of the Fortress of Fear level 3 from Glover. Then again, it could be the other way around, Glover has been known to do that.

So Kowz, you actually don't think the Kashmir similarity is very strong?

I know the instrumentals I'm talking about aren't too complex, so it's possible that it's a coincidence, but it sounds to me as though the instrument, tone, rhythm and 'vibe' are pretty close to identical. Just for the intro of the two songs, I mean...

I'm not surprised Grant finds Danny Elfman's music inspiring... So do I.

Kong-Fu, thanks for the reminder. I further researched, and rediscovered the possible true origin of Haunted Hall's inspiration:

Tensei-San, OC ReMix Forum (link) wrote:Actually, Haunted Chase would happen to be a pretty blatant rip-off/arrangement of Modest Mussorgsky's Night on Bald Mountain
(The fast rising note passages at the start and the ominous brass are almost verbatim)

I remember listening to Mussorgsky's piece a while back, and the similarities were undeniable.

That's interesting about DK Isle/Fortress of Fear... I'll have to reacquaint myself with Glover's music soundtrack before I can comment further.

Actually that 'Night on Haunted Mountain' (EDIT: Whatever. Bald Mountain ) thing is WAY more clearly a ripoff of Mountain than Haunted Hall is.

Do you have Glover? PS1 or N64?

...Haunted Mountain? Huh? Anyway, I hope that was a joke...

I'm pretty sure that RINGTONE wasn't the original source material.

Qyzbud wrote:So Kowz, you actually don't think the Kashmir similarity is very strong?

I know the instrumentals I'm talking about aren't too complex, so it's possible that it's a coincidence, but it sounds to me as though the instrument, tone, rhythm and 'vibe' are pretty close to identical. Just for the intro of the two songs, I mean...

I'm not surprised Grant finds Danny Elfman's music inspiring... So do I.

No, I do see the resemblance, just not as much as the other piece. Sorry for horrible wording, lol.
There's certainly a similarity between the two... I guess you'd just have to ask Rare yourselves.

That reminds me, Rare has a new community manager, George Kelion, who's acting as the man breaking down the barrier between the Rare community and Rareware themselves. I might point the site out to him when I next see him; he's great if you'd like to organise an interview with a Rare employee or something like that.

When you next... see him?

Wow, I'll have to follow this up.

Speak with him... whatever.

He's joined a lot of Banjo-Kazooie communities around the net, so it won't be too hard to contact him.

Well that's exciting indeed. They've been quite the elusive company for some years now.

Oh! Haunted Chase was on the radio just 30 mins ago!

The original from DKC2!? Are you sure!? I never thought any radio station would play video game music! What station!?

Haha, I wondered how my post would sound...

It was actually Night on Bald Mountain that was being played, but damn, it sounds so very Haunted Hall-esque!

The stations I listen to have such an ecclectic variety of genres that I would almost expect them to pull out some SNES music one day... and when they do, nobody will believe me thanks to my last post.

They're not that close. Haunted Chase is WAY closer. I even deleted my MP3 of Haunted Hall because Haunted Chase is so close to it.

But I'll bet you never even heard Haunted Chase, which could explain why you think Bald Mountain is so close.

Isn't Haunted Chase just the name given to the music of Haunted Hall?

Sometimes remixers can't think of a name for their remix, so they give it the same name as the original.

Come on, Tansunn. A simple "The Kackles Are Coming! The Kackles Are Coming!" will do.

Oh, that would've been cool if it were on the radio.

Thanks for the info!

No worries. It's interesting, hey?

If you hear anything which sounds just like a DKC track, find out the title of it and post here so we can check it out.

Those are all remixes.
Of course they sound similar >_>

...what? This thread is about music that inspired the soundtrack in DKC, not it's remixes, dumbass.

Cmon guys,

calm down.

All the known inspirations were alreading mentioned, so all that's left are the remixes. Also, Qyzbud, don't forget to add Fear3 as one of the inspirations in the first post of the thread.

Create a new thread if you want to discuss remixes.

Yeah, it doesn't take a genius to know what I meant. Just a little commonsense.

Kong-Fu, get a bit of commonsense. Derailing topics isn't as fun for others as it is for you.

The point of this thread is sharing observations. I don't believe that anyone here has heard all of the world's music yet, but I bet there are people out there who know of songs that DKC tracks may have been inspired by. If you hear a song which may have been inspiration for a DKC track, or which at least bears a reasonable resemblance (sigh... other than remixes of DKC tracks...), please post here. As cfh said; you may start a DKC remixes thread if you want to talk remixes.

Qyzbud wrote:Kong-Fu, get a bit of commonsense. Derailing topics isn't as fun for others as it is for you.

Minecart Madness'ing

...okay, apparently it is. Still, please aim to keep the discussion on-topic! Cheers.

cilkRMM1V3g ← previous video — no longer exists

The above is the Glover level that Kong-Fu mentioned. At around 18 seconds, it does sound strikingly similar to DK Isle.

I can hear the notes you're referring to in Glover's Fortress of Fear 3, and yeah, there is a bit of a likeness. I wasn't really intending for other game music to be mentioned here as inspiration, but it's a fair observation (although DK64 isn't part of the DKC trilogy). While I'm talking about non-DKC game music, I ought to mention the intro to the NES game Pirates! - it doesn't seem quite fitting to call it the 'inspiration'... because it too was written by Dave Wise, but it undoubtedly evolved into the Jib Jig tune we've all come to know and love. It sounds particularly similar to the DKL version.

Here's a YouTube video for the benefit of curious souls:

DK64 definitely borrowed from Glover, and not the other way around. DK64 was made in 1999, and Glover was made in 1998 (But Glover actually borrowed from Adams Family, Star Trek, and 007). I can see why DK64 did that, too. The music is awesome! (Speaking of course for the PS1 version, not the eerie N64 version). You can't find any Youtube videos of the PS1 version, but it definitely has great music. Simion knows what I'm talking about.

Kong-Fu wrote:DK64 definitely borrowed from Glover, and not the other way around. DK64 was made in 1999, and Glover was made in 1998 (But Glover actually borrowed from Adams Family, Star Trek, and 007). I can see why DK64 did that, too. The music is awesome! (Speaking of course for the PS1 version, not the eerie N64 version). You can't find any Youtube videos of the PS1 version, but it definitely has great music. Simion knows what I'm talking about.

I don't think Grant was thinking of Glover when composing DK64's soundtrack. A lot of the songs used were originally going to be used in Banjo-Kazooie, so he themed them around those in his usual style.

Grant gets his inspiration from films and other compositions, a lot from Danny Elfman; not from games. From what Rare says, apparently he's a terrible gamer so I doubt he'd be getting his music from levels in something like Glover.

Do you know him personally? Just because he doesn't do it often, doesn't mean the world would stop spinning if he does it once. If someone liked a piece of music enough, they could take it from a crappy piece of elevator music if they felt like it (That's a metaphor, of course. Not to say anyone would)

In other words, you've never spoke with him, met him, or even talked to anyone that knows him personally. Yet you are certain he'd never inspire any of his music from another game. That's like getting information from a complete stranger and saying "This has to be right. That guy would never lie to me! "

I personally think it's just a coincidence.

Woah, Kong-Fu, take it easy. You seem to always like blowing things way out of proportion.

Anyhow, it feels more like coincidence to me, too. It's just 5 notes from a simple melody... I mean, I don't know the answer here, but I do indeed doubt that Glover's the inspiration. To be honest... Kowz, you mentioned Banjo-Kazooie; I get a pretty strong Freezeezy Peak vibe when listening to the DK Isle melody. of course, Freezeezy Peak's tempo is much higher, so you may have to mentally compensate, but some parts of it can be heard in DK Isle's theme. 'least I think so.

Have a listen:


DK Isle, DK64


Freezeezy Peak, Banjo-Kazooie

In fact, the main similarity between those two... is the same 5 notes you mentioned in Fear3!

So, which came out first — Banjo-Kazooie or Glover?

qyzbud wrote:Woah, Kong-Fu, take it easy. You seem to always like blowing things way out of proportion.

How was I uncalm? I wasn't tring to sound uncalm.

Also, this thing sounds like DK Isle, too

I didn't actually mention Banjo-Kazooie, but that's cool anyway. Those are a popular 5 notes!

To add to the popularity, check out 1:11 in Airships Make Me Happy.

cfh wrote:I didn't actually mention Banjo-Kazooie

Oh right, yeah that was Kowz.

*edits post*

Kong-Fu wrote:this thing sounds like DK Isle, too

That link gave me a "No Animals Sign" error. (403 Forbidden, for those out of the loop)

Kong-Fu wrote:To add to the popularity, check out 1:11 in Airships Make Me Happy.

Interesting. Is this in the actual FF7 music as well?

Dunno. I never heard the original.

Qyzbud: Its server gave me a boo boo. ... Try it now.

Kong-Fu wrote:Do you know him personally? Just because he doesn't do it often, doesn't mean the world would stop spinning if he does it once. If someone liked a piece of music enough, they could take it from a crappy piece of elevator music if they felt like it (That's a metaphor, of course. Not to say anyone would)

In other words, you've never spoke with him, met him, or even talked to anyone that knows him personally. Yet you are certain he'd never inspire any of his music from another game. That's like getting information from a complete stranger and saying "This has to be right. That guy would never lie to me! "

Actually, I have his myspace and have talked to him a few times - even interviewed him a few months ago.

Wow. Weren't expecting that, were ya?

It helps to have the facts right if you wanna dish out such bold accusations.

The track Right on Time by the Red Hot Chili Peppers has a similar bassline to DKC2's rollercoaster music... 'least I think so.

Take a listen. (the bit at 1:33 gives the best clarity)

I didn't hear any resemblance to Disco Train. Maybe slightly at 1:33, but it's shear cooincidence.

I don't hear it either... same synthesizer though.

Yeah. I certainly wasn't suggesting that it's any more than a coinky-dink.

On closer listen, the resemblance isn't as strong as I thought. They still have a similar vibe from what I can hear, and the synth/bass instrument has a very similar sound about it. They are similarly upbeat in rhythm, and I believe they are in the same key (using many of the same notes, but not the same order... so the melody isn't the same). Those are the similarities I'm hearing still. Before I thought that the tune itself was a near-exact match, but no, it isn't. I think perhaps any time I listen to any song, secretly and subconsciously I'm always listening out for anything that I can possibly relate to a DKC track...

I might need to see a shrink.

Another little something I noticed... Take a listen to Gimme Some Lovin' by Spencer Davis Group. (YouTube Link)

Listen carefully to the horn section which comes in at 00:07, and try to tell me where in DKC3 you've heard that tune.

Qyzbud wrote:try to tell me where in DKC3 you've heard that tune.

I may be wrong, but it reminds me of the end credits.