Club Kong by hal-c: A Lost in the Music Review

Last month hal-c, along side DJ Cutman's Gamechops Label released the album Club Kong, a 6 track EP featuring a small sampler of music from the Donkey Kong Country franchise. Sadly, do to life issues I never really got a chance to sit down and listen to the album until now.

When I went into the album, i was expecting a strictly electronica album but that changed with the first track; Welcome to Club Kong. I was greeted with a wonderful jazz remix of the track Jungle Hijinx from the original game. The style of music complimented David Wise's original and I find it that jazz is well suited for the Donkey Kong Country OST.

Not all songs are jazz however such as the cover to Aqauatic Ambiance, Swept Away. The track is more of a trance/electronica mix, but it works well with what hal-c is trying to do with the album. Swept Away is not a track you dance to but instead you simply sit back and relax. The track isn't thought provoking like other pieces of music I have covered in the past. Swept Away simply allows you to sit back and not think.

One of the down sides of the EP is that it is so short. Coming in at only 6 songs, this song barely scratches the surface of the entire collection of songs from the series. I would have loved to hear hal-c take on the popular Gangplank Galleon, Jib Jig or Rockface Rumble. The 6 songs are not bad by any means, but it leaves me wanting more.

One of the cooler aspects of this album is that it emulates the feeling of being at a small night club at a resort. You can visualize brentalfloss (who introduces the album) as a Kong dressed in a tropical shirt introducing hal-c to a crowd of laid back simians enjoying an evening of drinking and entertainment. Had hal-c add banter between him and the crowd during song changes, I think it would have added to the overall atmosphere of the album.

As I have stated, my only real complaint about the album is just how short it is. Club Kong comes in at 6 songs and while the music is incredibly fun to listen to, I feel they could have added a couple more songs to make it longer. Maybe add a couple tracks from Donkey Country Country 3. I would love to hear what hal-c could do with the music from the game.

Aside from that minor issue, this is still You can purchase the album on loudr.fm for 5 bucks or you can stream the soundtrack for free on soundcloud. Despite the albums length, I do suggest that you purchase the album as it is a solid EP.

While I love the music from Donkey Kong Country, I fear that it is starting to get too overdone, much like music from Super Mario, The Legend of Zelda and Final Fantasy. However, hal-c's take on the music is unique enough to warrant Club Kong a pass. I would love to hear more albums done in this style, treating it as a live performance done in a small club.

This is Daimo Mac and I am lost in the music.