Watch Animal Crossing: New Horizons musicians virtually perform the theme

(Image credit: Nintendo)

The musicians behind the incredibly soothing Animal Crossing: New Horizons main theme got together virtually to perform the song for the internet - and it was as magical as you'd expect.

Check out the performance below and tag yourselves - I'm the percussionist gently shaking the egg shaker.

Isn't that music the most soothing thing ever? It's great to see the musicians behind the theme join in on the social distancing musical performance trend and give us the dose of calm we all need right now. 

It's also really interesting, as a music noob, to see all the instruments that come together to perform the New Horizons. I certainly had no idea it was so complex - there's a trumpet, a bass violin, bongos, a guitar, an egg shaker, a tambourine, a ukulele, and even an accordion. I can't believe that K.K. Slider casually rocks up to my island and performs that hit with just an acoustic guitar - now that's talent. 

Speaking of K.K. Slider, did you know that he's based off of the sound director and composer for New Horizons, Kazumi Totaka? In the Japanese version of New Horizons, K.K. Slider is called Totakeke. Totaka has composed the music for all of the Animal Crossing games and tons of other Nintendo titles. 

There's a lot of music in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and all of it's pretty damn great, but there's something extra-special about the theme song. If you're into all of K.K.'s greatest hits, you can request songs from the dog pop star when he comes to visit your island - after his initial visit, he'll come back every Saturday to rock out for your islanders.

Here's how to unlock all the K.K. slider songs in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. 

Alyssa Mercante

Alyssa Mercante is an editor and features writer at GamesRadar based out of Brooklyn, NY. Prior to entering the industry, she got her Masters's degree in Modern and Contemporary Literature at Newcastle University with a dissertation focusing on contemporary indie games. She spends most of her time playing competitive shooters and in-depth RPGs and was recently on a PAX Panel about the best bars in video games. In her spare time Alyssa rescues cats, practices her Italian, and plays soccer.

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