Well, this really snuck up on us didn't it? Today just happens to be the Fifteenth anniversary of Donkey Kong Country! It's hard to believe that fifteen years has passed since Rare rejuvenated a dying icon and created the series that we all know and love. I guess time sure flies when you're bashing baddies. Make sure you go to our forum and let us know what you did/plan to do to celebrate this occasion.

...posted by Jomingo

Famous Rare composer David Wise, who composed some very memorable DKC tunes throughout the series has officially left Rare. He states that,
"I think the business of Rare has changed a great deal, and at the moment there is just not the opportunity to create the soundtracks that Rare were fortunately very famous for."
Of course, we all wish him the best of luck in all of his future endeavors, but it is easy to say that this is very sad news for Rare and fans of Wise's fantastic work.

...posted by Jomingo

A long-hidden secret of OC ReMix's DKC2 album project - entitled 'Serious Monkey Business' has recently been revealed... and a mind blowing revelation it is, too! Apparently, legendary Rare composers Dave Wise, Grant Kirkhope and Robin Beanland(who have all provided their musical expertise for DK's adventures over the years)will be pooling their extraordinary talents to collaborate on a remix for the project!

Excerpt from the track list on the OC ReMix project thread:
"Donkey Kong Rescued (claimed by Dave Wise, featuring Grant Kirkhope on guitar and Robin Beanland on trumpet)".

For those unfamiliar with the title, 'Donkey Kong Rescued' is the track played during the cast/credits sequence - an absolutely epic sounding and highly memorable composition.

Very exciting news for all video game music fans, especially those partial to the works of Wise, Kirkhope and Beanland. I for one cannot wait to hear what these legends of VGM come up with!

...posted by Qyzbud

With the OC ReMix DKC2 album project's release seemingly just around the corner(and our own DKC Atlas remix album for the first DKC gradually nearing completion), a timely release by Swedish rock group Monkey Kong gives us a rockin' Aquatic Ambience rearrangement to 'tide' us over.

A beautifully surreal, ambient soundscape sets the underwater scene perfectly. Monkey Kong's live rock instrumentals complement and contrast these soothing synth sounds as the energy of the performance builds throughout the mix. Whether you prefer liberal reinterpretation, or the faithful recreation of source material, Dolphin Ride is likely to appeal; there is a considerable amount of both remixing approches in this arrangement.

Aquatic Ambience is a tune that gets plenty of love from remixers, but I certainly never get tired of it - especially when such quality remixes come along to breathe new life into the composition. Another must-hear OC release.

'Dolphin Ride' write-up and download page on OC ReMix

...posted by Qyzbud

Although it's just in early beta stages, Simion32 has released a DKC Level Builder update which features a working engine which accurately replicates DK's movement physics - including a simulated walking/running hitbox. A big step forward in the development of the highly anticipated Donkey Kong Country Level Builder. Check out the DKCLB forum topic on the Atlas forum for release info and general DKCLB discussion, as well as download links, of course!

...posted by Qyzbud

I've posted two new articles today; one describing why a revival of DKC is likely, and the other a New Year's special. I know, I'm a little late on the latter but I wrote it months ago and just forgot to update with it. So there it is, and enjoy what is likely the last day of your break.

EDIT @ 3:19 PM: Wow, I'm on a role today. I've now added a similar Decade in Review feature to the articles page. Normally you have to pay extra to get this kind of service. Enjoy!

...posted by Jomingo

I have written a special fifteenth anniversary article about DKC, which you can read here. I hope you enjoy it!

Also, keep your eyes open later tonight and the next few days because I might be updating with some more articles for the occasion.

...posted by Jomingo

It has taken a considerable amount of fiddling and negotiation, but the migration from old server to new is now complete. Our new server promises better performance, capacities and features than the old one, and at a lower price... so here's hoping these promises hold true. If you notice anything I need to fix, or if you have a comment about the loading time or reliability of DKC Atlas, please head over to this forum topic and post your thoughts.

...posted by Qyzbud

Hi everyone, the current hosting service for DKC Atlas is due to expire at the end of this month, and I've decided that rather than simply renewing the contract, I will have the Atlas 'migrated' to a new server. This new server 'Super Green Hosting' offers better features, higher storage/bandwidth/database capacities and more affordable pricing than our current server, and you should also notice increased performance and reliability. To top things off, Super Green Hosting is an environmentally responsible hosting provider - they claim to use energy efficient servers and are apparently 100% carbon neutral... so basically things should be better all-round.

I'm aiming to switch servers in around an hour from posting this announcement. I'll be making a full backup of the site/forum, just in case there are complications. Hopefully there won't be much(if any)Atlas downtime, but I'm not sure about that. With any luck, it will be business as usual(but better)before too long.

...posted by Qyzbud

Just a little note to let you all know that I've added Unseen64 to our Links page. As it says on the page, Unseen64 is an archive of articles, screens and videos for cancelled, beta & unseen videogames - so it's sure to be a place of interest to many visitors and regulars of DKC Atlas. U64 have provided a link to us, too... As a point of interest, some of our community discussions here on the Atlas forum made headlines on Unseen64's news feed this time last year - link 1 link 2 link 3

...posted by Qyzbud