Ypx here—today we’re going to be listening to “Lobby Theme” from Diddy Kong Racing.
Released for the Nintendo 64 in 1997, Diddy Kong Racing was an alternative to the Mario Kart series with a Rare-dominated roster, and while some of the characters have made appearances again on Nintendo games and consoles, many have not after the sale of Rareware to Microsoft. As with many of Rare’s early titles, the music is composed by David Wise.
The track is a collection of synth lines to form a funky foundation, including a bouncing short arpeggiated synth that pans between ears every other beat, a distorted synth that mostly functions as the bassline, and two organs that mostly feature as occasional chord stabs with flourishes from time to time. Underneath all of these synths are surprisingly straightforward drums that lay right on the backbeat.
