I had a lot of trouble sleeping lately… something about that full moon.

Every night I woke up, I just stayed up. Through my insomnia, I often listened to Aquatic Ambience by David Wise. It’s a very calming song.

When I sat down at my computer to make music through it all, I realized that I wanted to make myself something for those sleepless moments: Nights like that have never really been a rarity for me… Keeping in mind the fondness I’ve had for Aquatic Ambience throughout the years, I decided it would be the thread I followed for my next project.

Over the next week or so, I created this album, “Donkey Kong Tropical Dream.” It’s a project I made to ground myself, but also a love letter to the DK series and its music. I adore the Donkey Kong Country games and their creativity and poured that love into the album. I’m really proud of what came through in the songs I’ve made with theirs! The order of the album is the order in which I made each track over the course of a single waning lunar cycle, which I think is pretty fun… makes it a sorta personal time capsule. I hope you enjoy!

Special thanks to the original artists, but especially David Wise & Grant Kirkhope who have created the soundtracks and sounds of the Donkey Kong series. I’ve always believed their music to be hidden gems, and it was a lot of fun to mash them up with Diva pop. Hope it can put a spotlight on em!

🎈 🧿