Aquatic Ambience
{{EngvarB|date = April 2024}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Aquatic Ambience
| type = Instrumental
| cover = DK Aquatic Ambiance.png
| caption = Promotional art of Donkey Kong in a water level, which is where Aquatic Ambiance can usually play in Donkey Kong Country
| artist = David Wise
| released = {{Start date|1994|11|18}}
| genre = Video game music
| composer = David Wise
| year = 1994
| misc = {{Audio sample
| type = song
| file = DKC Aquatic Ambience Sample.ogg
| description = A 21-second excerpt from "Aquatic Ambience".
}}
}}
"Aquatic Ambience" (also written as "Aquatic Ambiance"){{Cite web |date=2021-09-05 |title=Quick Beats: Donkey Kong Country Composer Talks Aquatic Ambiance And Get Lucky |url=https://www.nintendolife.com/features/quick-beats-donkey-kong-country-composer-talks-aquatic-ambiance-and-get-lucky |access-date=2023-11-15 |website=Nintendo Life |language=en-GB |archive-date=2023-11-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231115143409/https://www.nintendolife.com/features/quick-beats-donkey-kong-country-composer-talks-aquatic-ambiance-and-get-lucky |url-status=live}} is a musical theme composed by David Wise for the video game Donkey Kong Country (1994). It plays in the underwater levels.
Composition
Wise initially worked as a freelancer and assumed his music would be replaced by a Japanese composer because of the importance of Donkey Kong to Nintendo. Rare asked Wise to record three jungle demo melodies, which were merged to become the "DK Island Swing", the first level's track. Wise was subsequently offered the job to produce the final score.{{cite web |last=Greening |first=Chris |date=December 2010 |title=Interview with David Wise |url=http://www.squareenixmusic.com/features/interviews/davidwise.shtml |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120115042157/http://www.squareenixmusic.com/features/interviews/davidwise.shtml |archive-date=15 January 2012 |publisher=Square Enix Music Online}}
According to Wise, he "just [took] eight waveforms and played them in sequence and that first experiment became the baseline for 'Aquatic Ambiance{{'"}}. The song took five weeks to compose and Wise used a Korg Wavestation. He said the track was his favourite and the game's biggest technical accomplishment in regards to the audio.{{cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_RNM2QlujU |title=Composer David Wise Dissects Donkey Kong Country's Best Music |date=5 July 2019 |last=Wise |first=David |medium=YouTube |access-date=22 June 2020 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/v_RNM2QlujU |archive-date=2021-12-11 |url-status=live |website=Game Informer}}{{cbignore}}
Rearrangements of "Aquatic Ambience" appear in Donkey Kong Country Returns (2010) and Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (2014).{{cite web |last1=Harris |first1=Craig |title=Going Ape Over Donkey Kong Country Returns |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2010/10/28/going-ape-over-donkey-kong-country-returns |website=IGN |access-date=March 24, 2024 |date=October 28, 2010}}{{cite web |last1=Riendeau |first1=Danielle |title=Nobody Played 'Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze', but I Loved It Anyway |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/mvb9ey/nobody-played-donkey-kong-country-tropical-freeze-but-i-loved-it-anyway |website=Vice |access-date=March 24, 2024 |date=October 27, 2016}}
Reception and legacy
In 2016, Ignatiy Vishnevetsky of The A.V. Club described the song as "a placid piece of music that uses a sophisticated palette of synthesized instruments and futuristic sound effects to create a mood of calm that's very different from the sped-up themes usually associated with platform games", being "more nocturnal and urban than submarine". He said that the song could be better appreciated "without a controller in hand", something that he considered rare, and that Wise seemed to be the only one that "managed to get as much texture and ambiance out of Super Nintendo's S-SMP sound chip" as he did.
"Aquatic Ambience" has been particularly influential. It has been described as "the 'Eleanor Rigby' of video game music", praised by artists such as Trent Reznor and Donald Glover,{{cite AV media|title=The Most Emotional Video Game Music in the Unlikeliest of Places|author=IGN|via=YouTube|date=6 August 2023|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwFJdaxM89c|access-date=12 August 2023|archive-date=11 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230811115820/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwFJdaxM89c&feature=youtu.be|url-status=live}} and Vishnevetsky of The A.V. Club wrote that it spawned a "minor cult" dedicated to remixes.{{cite web |last1=Vishnevetsky |first1=Ignatiy |title=Chill out with Donkey Kong Country |url=https://www.avclub.com/chill-out-with-donkey-kong-country-1798242884 |website=The A.V. Club |access-date=29 June 2022 |date=7 January 2016 |archive-date=29 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220629094540/https://www.avclub.com/chill-out-with-donkey-kong-country-1798242884 |url-status=live}} Glover sampled it in his 2012 song "Eat Your Vegetables", to which Wise expressed approval.{{cite web |last1=Reseigh-Lincoln |first1=Dom |title=Random: Childish Gambino sampled Donkey Kong Country and David Wise definitely approves |url=https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2018/05/random_childish_gambino_sampled_donkey_kong_country_and_david_wise_definitely_approves |website=Nintendo Life |access-date=11 June 2022 |date=24 May 2018 |archive-date=11 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220611140232/https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2018/05/random_childish_gambino_sampled_donkey_kong_country_and_david_wise_definitely_approves |url-status=live}} In 2016, it was remixed for a video game music award.{{cite web |last1=Reynolds |first1=Shawn |title=New Donkey Kong Aquatic Ambience remix composed for video game music awards |url=https://hardcoregamer.com/videos/new-donkey-kong-aquatic-ambience-remix-composed-for-video-game-music-awards/232903/ |website=Hardcore Gamer |access-date=11 June 2022 |date=29 October 2016 |archive-date=11 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220611140409/https://hardcoregamer.com/videos/new-donkey-kong-aquatic-ambience-remix-composed-for-video-game-music-awards/232903/ |url-status=live}}
The track, along with the rest of the Donkey Kong Country soundtrack, was part of the launch lineup with the Nintendo Music application in October 2024.{{cite web|url=https://www.nintendolife.com/guides/nintendo-music-app-every-game-soundtrack-included-how-to-download-all-systems|title=Nintendo Music App: Every Game Soundtrack Included - How to Download, All Systems}}