Here on the Arrangement of the Week we’ve had a lot of the metal rock entries. So this week I thought it would be a good change of pace to feature a cover from a different rock sub-genre. Enter our chiptune rock arrangement of the Donkey Kong Country 3 track “Hot Pursuit” from artists jmr and streifig, who make up the duo Marshall Art.
The soundtrack to Donkey Kong Country 3 has an interesting history. Most notably that it has two completely different soundtracks. The SNES version was mostly written by Eveline Fischer, while the Game Boy Advance version has a completely reworked soundtrack by David Wise. This arrangement of the DK3 track “Hot Pursuit” is from the former and is titled “My Monkey Drives a Maserati.”
The track takes off right from the start, evoking much of the same energy present in the original piece. At first the chiptune instruments dominate the track, but the electric guitar and drums steadily build a presence. At various points, like the 1’30” and 2’30” mark, the synth instruments drop out to allow the guitars to have the spotlight. In each instance they act as brief interludes that contrast well with the rest of the arrangement.
What I enjoy about the track is the overall blending of the chiptune sounds with the modern rock instruments. The track sounds like it could exist as an actual track within the game. As I mentioned, the chiptune elements start off as the primary sound source, but the guitars eventually find space to show off and really add to the piece. All in all, it’s a fun arrangement with plenty of energy.
Have you heard any good chiptune rock covers, arrangements, or remixes this week? Feel free to share them with us in the comments below. You can check out Marshall Art’s “My Monkey Drives a Maserati” on OC ReMix.
