Does Yooka-Laylee's Music Stay Faithful to the Banjo-Kazooie Style?

Comments · 243

• OV

  @Override9636 · 6 years ago

  8-bit does a super in-depth, 18 minute long explaination of the musical intricacies between both games. <br>My dumb brain: Heh Banjo-kazooie theme has a banjo and a kazoo...and Yooka-laylee theme has a Ukulele ...

  369

• DI

  @Diricos · 6 years ago

  What impresses me about Grant Kirkhope is how he can score games in radically different genres and still nail the soundtrack! I&apos;m a particularly big fan of his work on the Perfect Dark soundtrack (don&apos;t worry Perfect Dark, we didn&apos;t forget you!)

  267

• TR

  @Trestrope · 6 years ago

  <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcEWPJPS7gc&amp;t=285">4:45</a>, wow I wasn&apos;t prepared for that Z-bomb

  42

• AU

  @AubriGryphon · 6 years ago

  &quot;Tritone jank&quot; is my new favorite music term.

  31

• AL

  @alexconstantelos5392 · 6 years ago (edited)

  Great explanation. I think the real difference between the soundtracks isn&apos;t in harmony or melody (and you did a great job pointing out the consistencies there), but in rhythm. Virtually every Banjo track uses an &quot;oom-pah&quot; style, where the bass <b>always</b> alternates between the root and the fifth of the chord on the strong beats, and a middle voice fills in the harmony with off-beat &quot;pecks.&quot; This type of arrangement is rare in Yooka-Laylee (though you can find instances of it, such as a passage in the middle of Moodymaze Marsh).<br><br>In addition, Banjo uses far more percussion than Yooka. Every Banjo level but one (Mad Monster Mansion) has a percussion track playing a consistent rhythmic pattern. By contrast, only two Yooka-Laylee levels use percusson in this way. One of them, Capital Cashino, evokes a mood that is deliberately different from Kirkhope&apos;s usual style. The other, Tribalstack Tropics, lacks the oom-pah pattern in the bass.<br><br>This means that not a single track in Yooka uses the &quot;oom-pah + percussion&quot; arrangement we hear in practically every Banjo level. That&apos;s what people who call Yooka-Laylee&apos;s soundtrack &quot;less energetic&quot; are noticing.

  145

• PR

  @prototypeinheritance515 · 6 years ago

  When 8bit uploads, it&apos;s gonna be a good day

  161

• RE

  @Redhollow · 6 years ago

  <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcEWPJPS7gc&amp;t=1039">17:19</a> Hey I know that guy.

  74

• AN

  @andrewdrost6786 · 6 years ago

  Grant Kirkhope could be considered it&apos;s own genre of music.

  104

• JA

  @javierquinterosurzua2767 · 6 years ago

  BK&apos;s soundtrack sounds more like a cartoon<br>YL&apos;s soundtrack sounds more like a movie

  5

• VI

  @Viviantoga · 6 years ago (edited)

  If you really want Yooka-Laylee&apos;s soundtrack to sound more like Banjo-Kazooie&apos;s, just add bari sax. Everywhere.

  19

• DI

  @dion_spyro · 6 years ago

  I grew up with Banjo-Kazooie, and I&apos;ve found that these harmonic structures are kinda everywhere in my own work. It&apos;s a totally subconscious influence and I&apos;ve only recently realised it.

  7

• KE

  @Kekoapono · 6 years ago

  <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcEWPJPS7gc&amp;t=742">12:22</a> Papa Haydn would be proud!

  1