Kirby's Adventure - Butter Building [Revision]

I'm really excited to share this one! Kirby's Adventure was my first Kirby game and its soundtrack holds a special place in my heart. I covered this track about 4 years ago, but like many of these revisions it was really in need of an update. 

@0:00 - This track is immediately a lot more energetic than my original version. This time around I chose to go for a pop-funk angle, with Clavinet, Rhodes piano, and B-3 Organ making up the majority of lower-mids. (A combination of instruments I'll try to use on basically anything I can get away with. Bloodborne Kart has changed my brain chemistry). NES tracks are extremely fun to cover because there is so much open to interpretation. I had such a good time doing the part writing for the bass and other rhythm section instruments. 

@0:10 - Since this song is inherently a little goofy, I chose a weird plucky synth brass for the lead line here. It is also subtly layered with a tenor saxophone to give a small impression that it's organic. In between each section of the melody a threw in a few Rhodes solos to fill up space, and for at least this loop I tried to keep the bass and drums more evocative of the marching feeling the original had. 

@0:22 - Now for my favorite part of the song! I really tried to beef up those descending 7th chords to keep that chill feeling, but it's contrasted with a cacophony of rhythmic parts in the keys. Like before, the synth lead is layered with an organic instrument (this time a clarinet) and a flute joins in for the second half of the melody. If it's not clear at this point, I love writing bass parts. For each chord I chose a bass pattern that emphasizes the 2nd and resolves down to the 1st. I feel like this helped contribute to the "open" feeling this section has, now that the chord changes are 2 bars apart. Also I played guitar on this section!!! It was really bad and I stitched together so much but I'm learning!!

Also, this is the first arrangement I've done where I've experimented with drum loops. The snare, hi-hat, kick, and any other identifiable drum parts were programmed manually, but there's a super subtle "texture" layer that just gives it a bit more swinginess! 

@0:48 - For the loop I decided to keep the rhythmic energy going, maintaining the same  beat instead of going back to the march. This time, the tenor sax is playing an octave below to distinguish it more, and the Rhodes solos are mirrored by the organ. 

@1:01 - This time around, a cello takes the lead with no synth accompaniment. This was one of those moments in arranging that's harder to explain for me - sometimes you just listen to a section and go "that's a cello part." Doubling down on this more chill section, the bass part is more augmented and has more melodic independence. Also, instead of keeping that 2 chord the same @1:22 I changed it to a V/V chord to give it some more momentum. I've always loved V/V chords because if used correctly it can give the illusion of a dorian sound (because well, it is technically). In the relative minor the 2 chord comes the 4 chord, and in the dorian mode that 4 chord is major! Nerdy rambling! 

@1:26 - I've wanted to do this for a while - the last section is a break that features the Butter Building Map theme! Just to tie the whole area together. If I cover any more Kirby's Adventure music in the future I imagine I'll do this again with each area's respective map theme. I love the rhythmic feeling of the triplets over the previous drum beat. Also I adore that Rhodes part.

And that wraps it up! If you have any questions about the piece let me know in the comments! <3