ReMix: Super Mario 64 'Spinlock'
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- Game: Super Mario 64 (Nintendo, 1996, N64)
- ReMixer(s): aluminum
- Composer(s): Kenta Nagata, Koji Kondo
- Song(s): 'File Select'
- Posted: 2007-06-03, evaluated by the judges
Different, and very cool. Like NoppZ, aluminum proves his return from hiatus wasn't just about a single mix, as he follows his January release up with this slick and rather ballsy Super Mario 64 arrangement. He of heat-resistant yet surprisingly lightweight metal writes:
"Here's my take on the brief (but catchy) "File Select" tune from Mario 64. It started out as a slow, relaxed groove in the original key, but I wasn't making much progress on the arrangement. After flipping it to the minor key and adding the transition to the double-time percussion, the rest fit pretty well (I think). The bass is mixed fairly loud, and the cymbals are intentionally over-compressed for extra crunchiness."
Never before has file selection been this fun, or this... interesting. What could easily have been a more contiguous electronica mix (which would still have passed) is tempered somewhat with solo piano infusion and some very blatant, in-your-face processing trickery. Jesse writes:
"Talk about making the track your own. I didn't recognize it at first. Having an entirely different feel from the original and being in a minor key, this is the sort of complete re-envisioning that I haven't heard 'round here since Intense Color. I love the degree of creativity on display here."
You know what else was a pretty complete re-envisioning? The Sveldt!!111!... I'm just sayin'... seriously, aluminum takes a molehill and makes a mountain in terms of expanding a looped, peppy BGM skeleton into a full-fledged corpus, complete with key change, tempo change, and obvious production alterations. It's on the extreme side of arrangement, but you can still hear the guts of the source in there. small inconsequential squares writes:
"wow, now this is cool. i wasn't crazy about the execution of the transition at 2:20, but all in all, in my own opinion, this is an excellent example of reinterpreting a track in your own style."
I'll say. SM64 had a great soundtrack and is actually rather underrepresented. While in addressing this issue I wouldn't necessarily have thought to start by transmogrifying the file select music in particular, it really does work. Hopefully some of you are discovering or rediscovering this game now via the Wii's Virtual Console (or other means) - it's truly one of the classics of the medium - but even if 3D platforming greatness ain't your thing, this inventive and enjoyable arrangement from aluminum is well worth a spin.
Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the Still, it has a nice clear soundscape, and some very awesome ideas. Good stuff. :-)
- OA on October 5, 2009
What was apparent though was how much I enjoyed this even though I couldn't recognise the link to SM64. As a standalone, it was impressive. So now that I can understand where things are originating from, it adds a whole new level of impressive.
The electronic stuff is to die for. The piano is very fitting, I think, although people seem to be divided over that. I see it as a necessary breather and conclusion to such a wall of sound approach.
It's disconcerting how little this resembles the original. Not just in mood, but the melody has been mutated into something its own mother wouldn't recognise. But hey, it's lawful, it's a remix and it sounds very awesome. I doubt a faithful interpretation would sound nearly as original, creative and full of energy. Much praise.
- Marmiduke on April 10, 2009
- Psythik on February 17, 2009
beats are nice - nice interpretation and expressive leads - lots of ear candy - great versatility and change-ups
this is quite a gem that i never realized was on here - going in standard rotation now
A+++++
- audio fidelity on December 4, 2008
this remix is blowing my mind. i've had it on repeat for the last 90 minutes or so. i'm not even stoned or drunk or anything...
the snap/clap rhythm with the hi-hat is a great background to the organ-type melody. the pseudo-tempo drop at 1:14 is insane. The sister phrases with the halfstep digress in pitch on the high pitch synth starting at 1:50 sends chills up my spine everytime i hear it. every. time. still. after 90 minutes lol.
of course a bit of a smoother transition into the 2nd section would be great. the bells underneath a 2:20 kinda mess that part up for me, but it's not enough for me to dislike the piece... Honestly I wish this was longer though... i really want this song to be like 8 minutes long with more of that synth, ya know?? maybe just use that slow section for a bridge and perhaps down to a complete silence with only the bells from the beginning... then build up again into a completely new section... my mind is running wild with ideas... god this piece is amazing.
Seriously, aluminum... if you're there think about re-remixing this into something gigantic... it's got so much more potential and it would make a LOT of people on here very happy.
- Shoop
like... that sister phrase i mentioned... that needs to happen a good 2-3 more times.
- ShoopdaWhoop on July 18, 2008
Thank you.
- Oni-91 on December 19, 2007
Awesome interpretation of the source. Awesome.
It really sounds like you put some thought into synth automation and FX (lots of cool stuff going on at 1:50-2:18) so props for that. All in all, props for a really cool mix.
- Harmony on September 3, 2007
- avaris on July 27, 2007
I'm not sure what "that something" is, but whatever it is, mixes containing "that something" cause me to become infatuated with them and play them WAY too much, eventually becoming intensely burnt out. But hey, it's fun while it lasts!
- herograw on July 27, 2007
The slow section up to 1:22 didn't really catch my attention, but once the song picks up afterwards, it becomes better. The piano part from 2:19 took me by surprise (when I first listened to it, I assumed that this was already the next remix in my playlist), but it's a pretty cool part.
- Martin Penwald on June 20, 2007
The same could be said for this. Great stuff. I even got used to the last third, which seemed out of place at first.
- Vidilian on June 16, 2007
- SosusOCR on June 16, 2007
..yep, could have done that without anyone being suspicious. Insane genius.
- watkinzez on June 16, 2007
This automatically moved to my favorite song of ocr, that is how much I love it.
Ooh...just the way it is. It is dark with a mix of...I can't even explain.
This song gets my approval all the fucking way. Holy shit, so fucking good.
- Arek the Absolute on June 8, 2007
Wasn't too keen on the ending, just because the energy was so strong leading up to it... then it faded off. BUT, a lot of people dug that too and it was an artistic choice to make, so it's definitely not a knock on the work.
Can't wait to hear more of your stuff!
- siven7 on June 6, 2007
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