Development:Banjo-Kazooie

This page details development materials of Banjo-Kazooie.

Music Tracks

To do:
Are the original bandcamp files (not ogg conversions) archived anywhere?

In 2013, composer Grant Kirkhope released several early tracks he wrote for Banjo-Kazooie on his Bandcamp page in an album named BK BETA'S!!. He later had to take the songs down for legal reasons. While some are unambiguously from Project Dream, and some would later be reused in Banjo-Kazooie, Donkey Kong 64 and Banjo-Tooie, others are less clear. Also included in this album are all of the tracks that are still present but unused in the final game, such as Advent, Mumbo's Rain Dance, etc.

Atlantis

A track that would eventually be repurposed for the Atlantis section of Jolly Roger's Lagoon in Banjo-Tooie. This early incarnation is slightly faster than than the Tooie version, and includes a segment at 1:40 that was removed from the final track.

Babe

Not even Kirkhope is sure where this track would have gone. The title implies it might have been for a female character, but who exactly is anybody's guess.

Big Foot

No relation to the similarly named Biggafoot enemies from Tooie. A version without the brass was used for the falling stalactite sequence in Donkey Kong 64's Crystal Caves.

Boss1

This theme can be heard in footage of the demo booth at E3 1997 (erroneously labeled 1998 in the video), playing somewhere offscreen; it's unclear whether the track was playing over speakers along with other game tracks, as some E3 booths have been known to do, or if the music was actually in-game, from demo play or B-roll footage. The first 12 seconds would be altered and re-used for the minecart challenge in DK64's Jungle Japes, while the section from 0:35 to 0:57 would be used for the final battle against Gruntilda.

Elvking

It is not known what "Elvking" refers to; the simplest assumption would be that it is the name of a hitherto-unseen king of the elves in Dream. The middle section would be touched up slightly and re-used for the credits in Kazooie.

Freezeezy (early version)

An early rendition of Freezeezy Peak, the 5th level in Banjo-Kazooie and one of the first levels in the game Grant Kirkhope had attempted to compose music for, having been told to use a longer melody than the 8 bar standard. Kirkhope stated that he didn't believe either this or the other early version of Freezeezy Peak displayed below had "enough of a wintery feel [to it], as well as [lacking in] a Christmassy element". The section at 0:45 also has a resemblance to Glitter Gulch Mine from Tooie.

Another FreeEezy!^(sic)

A slightly modified version of the track directly above, also composed for Freezeezy Peak. This incarnation is more complex than the first rendition shown above, with more naturally flowing instrumentation. While the majority of the composition would be scrapped entirely in favour of a more energetic score, 2 of the melodies would end up being included in the final version of the level's theme.

Giant

A slow, brass-heavy theme with unclear purpose. It was likely intended for Dream, as its main melody is shared with "Ogres" below, which combines it with Edson's theme. Tonally, it bears a resemblance to K. Lumsy's theme from DK64 (the percussion and strings at 0:56 are almost identical). Fitting, as K. Lumsy is himself a giant.

Jungle1

The original version of the Mumbo's Mountain theme, derived from Henry Mancini's "Baby Elephant Walk".^[1] It can also be heard playing ingame in footage from E3 1997.
It shares its name with the first planned level of Kazoo and the internal name for Mumbo's Mountain (Jungle), but it's not known when the track was actually composed during development. The final MM theme is called "Jungle2" internally. The melody of the old theme can still be heard in the final game, as the Ticker's Tower submap did not receive a new theme to match the final Mumbo's Mountain melody. In DK64, Tiny Kong's Tag Barrel theme also bears some similarities to the original melody.

Lost

What would eventually become DK64's overworld theme. Likely to have also been a Dream track, given its drumline matches that of the main theme.

Lost1

If you've ever wondered why Angry Aztec and Mayahem Temple sound so similar, here's why: both of them originated from this early track. The section at 0:39 would also make it into DK64's Hideout Helm.

Ogres

A fight theme that intertwines parts of "Boy" and "Giant", indicating a showdown between Edson and the aforementioned Giant character (or some ogres, judging by the title).

Temple

This theme would later be re-used for Fungi Forest, the 5th level in Donkey Kong 64, and a level which was notoriously planned to be in Banjo-Kazooie (albeit with the name Fungus Forest). While the E3 1997 iteration of Clanker's Cavern uses music that would be eventually used for Fungi Forest's theme in DK64, it's a section of that song that is not actually present in Temple. This early version of the track is noticeably faster, shorter, and includes different melodies, percussion and instrument allocation midway into the theme.

Treasure Trove Cove

An early composition for Treasure Trove Cove. Completely different to what we would receive upon release, with a generally slower, less energetic melody that Kirkhope believed "didn't really feel right" for the level. Like Jungle1, this composition was already played in-game at the E3 1997 demo and can be heard in E3 '97 B-roll footage of TTC as well.