Posted 2017-09-04, evaluated by Liontamer


If you haven't heard DiscoCactus's insanely epic 15-minute Mario Kart jazz fusion medley... now you must...

First, some warm-up quotes from OCR staff, just to get you in the mood:

djpretzel: "In a word? Epic."

Gario: "Wow. I mean, I have more words that I can use to summarize this, but I think that's more than enough. Wow."

"Epic" and "wow" are BOTH right (!!), as this monumental tribute to the musics of Mario Karts old and new will stand forever as a triumph of human ingenuity & ambition. Long after our species is extinct, when the planet is visited by space aliens or inherited by a new evolution of hyper-intelligent bee-people, a recording of this mix will be unearthed and cited as irrefutable evidence of homo sapiens' mastery of... arranging the music of Mario Kart.

If nothing else, let us have that. Together.

In addition to a lyrical homage to Mark Kump's own "Rainbow Road" masterwork, this ReMix is jam-packed with hot takes on numerous MK themes, performed by a fleet of uber-talented musicians, so let's get the facts straight, first:

Game tracks remixed:

  • Super Mario Kart: Mario Circuit and Rainbow Road tracks (Composer: Soyo Oka)
  • Mario Kart 64: Winning Results Screen music (Composer: Kenta Nagata)
  • Mario Kart: Double Dash: Rainbow Road track (Composers: Shinobu Tanaka and Kenta Nagata)
  • Mario Kart 8: Sunshine Airport and Dolphin Shoals tracks, Win Results music, Item Roulette jingle, and 2nd Place Finishing music (Composers: Shiho Fuji, Astuko Asahi, Ryo Nagamatsu, and Yasuaki Iwata)
  • Diddy Kong Racing: Main theme (Composer: David Wise)

The super-awesome players are...

The instrumentalists:

The vocal quintet:

Edited by: Ben "DrThrex" Wallace (recording/editing) and Doug "DrumUltimA" Perry (mixing/editing)
Mixed/Mastered by: Wilbert "bustatunez" Roget, II

It's worth noting that Will cleaned up the mixing/mastering a bit for this version, which should in theory make it the definitive Road. DrThrex (Ben Wallace) writes:

"Hello! It's finally here! This is the DiscoCactus recording of "A Road That You Go," a massive remix of tunes from Nintendo's Mario Kart franchise. What started as a humble attempt to remix the Mario Circuit track from the first game blew up into a large-scale saga hitting points from almost every game in the series complete (even the item roulette sound) with complex rhythmic modulations, groovy steel pans, gritty Reich-ian hockets, and a full brass band and a cappella choir at the cataclysmic end.

"A Road That You Go" was written over the past 6 months using various themes and sounds from the canon of the Mario Kart franchise. My roommate DrumUltimA and I acquired Mario Kart 8 over the summer and the themes started to stick in my head during our mutual frustrations over how difficult this game was. And over time, I started arranging both the iconic Mario Circuit and Rainbow Road themes from the first game while integrating elements of the latest entry. I ended up using the item roulette jingle as a compositional device for transitions and textures, following it with music associated with other items in the game (invincibility star, coins, shells, and the lightning bolt). We were also fortunate enough to have so many friends willing to record the music for us when editing the track for entry into Dwelling of Duels.

Thank you so much for your consideration, and apologies for the length. (It clocks in at around 15 minutes long!)"

Always neat to hear how juggernauts like this were birthed into existence, by the collective willpower of the men & women who identified a need and rose to meet the challenge head-on. As a Labor Day mixpost it works rather well, since it's quite clear that a lot of work went into it... along with passion, and a dash of the sillies. Liontamer breaks it down:

"Here's my rough breakdown of the source usage. The constant theme interplays and tradeoffs were tremendous throughout. Props to 11 musicians with 15 minutes of greatness. Epic, seamless stuff, and a big deal to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Mario Kart franchise this year!!"

  • Super Mario Kart: Mario Circuit - :00-:03, :18.5-:21.5, :32-1:00, 1:15.5-1:24.25, 1:53.75-2:01.5, 2:31.5-3:20, 4:43.5-4:53, 5:45.5-5:50, 6:20.5-6:45, 7:02-7:10.5, 9:50-9:55.75, 10:11-10:44
  • Mario Kart 8: Win Results - :08.5-:16, :21.5-:32, 1:02.5-1:04, 2:01.75-2:07, 2:10-2:15, 3:32.5-3:31.5, 3:34.5-3:45
  • Super Mario Kart: Rainbow Road - :21.5-:32, 3:34-3:45, 3:46.5-3:57, 4:03-4:17.5, 5:20-5:34.5, 5:40-5:55, 6:12-6:15, 6:30.5-6:43, 6:46-6:59, 7:13.5-7:33, 12:39.5-13:10, 13:59-14:24
  • Mario Kart 8: Item Roulette - 1:07-1:48.5, 3:20-3:29, 4:15.5-4:37.5, 8:02.5-8:11.5, 8:40-9:03, 10:44-11:19, 12:31.5-13:19.5, 13:21-14:13, 14:14.75-14:50
  • Mario Kart 64: Winning Results Screen - 4:48.75-5:04
  • Mario Kart 8: Sunshine Airport - 7:40.75-8:05.5, 8:17.5-8:28.75, 8:31.5-8:40, 8:48.5-8:59
  • Super Mario 64: Invincibility Star - 8:12-8:31.5
  • Mario Kart 8: Dolphin Shoals - 9:04.5-9:50
  • Diddy Kong Racing: Main theme - 10:01.75-10:11
  • Mario Kart: Double Dash: Rainbow Road - 10:51.75-12:05
  • Mario Kart 8: 2nd Place Finish - 14:53.25-15:00

I think I speak for us all when I say "Jeebus!" - or perhaps just for myself, since very few people say "Jeebus!" - but either way the point is that you've got a badass lineup of musicians with legit killer studio chops who've assembled to provide a thorough & heartfelt outpouring of intense aural pleasure that, Kart or no Kart, Mario & co. would enjoy. Iconic, everlasting, & gorgeous stuff - highly recommended!

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 10 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
avatar
Crulex
on 2022-03-22 22:19:47

This is pretty sweet as a grand tour (or Grand Prix if you will), of several course songs and I love the item selection jingle being used as transitions. The lyrical throwback to the “where you go” video made me laugh because I always remember that video when I play on Rainbow Road. 15 minutes of just awesome mario kart music mixed well, very cool stuff here.

avatar
Liontamer
on 2018-12-01 14:44:53
1 hour ago, Radbot42 said:

15 minutes for this.... Break it up especially when it's on rainwave. The site doesn't say how long it is and holy crap is it long. Not that it's bad, but no why no.

Get over it. :-)

avatar
Radbot42
on 2018-12-01 13:05:41

15 minutes for this.... Break it up especially when it's on rainwave. The site doesn't say how long it is and holy crap is it long. Not that it's bad, but no why no.

avatar
bluelighter
on 2017-10-03 15:26:36

Awesome! My favorite arrangement from Mario Kart. The variable time signature is really well done, notably at the 2nde third. It's all the more impressive so as that it's played by live instruments. I can imagine the difficulty for the instrument players to keep the control facing a so complex rhythm.

I've listenned it in loop, trying to resolve this time signature^^

Impressive stuf!

avatar
orlouge82
on 2017-09-05 10:27:48

Wow, this is insanely good. And my 6-year-old son can listen to it with me since he loves Mario Kart!

Also, I say Jeebus, too.

avatar
Jabadoterry
on 2017-09-05 03:22:03

absolutely stunning piece of music! well done on all the hard work from the artists and composers, this made me feel like I was at a live orchestra! words alone can not describe how chill, relaxing, and enjoyable this arrangement is!

avatar
Uffe von Lauterbach
on 2017-09-04 21:10:29

This took a lot of time to do, no doubt. This one shouldn't be passed up. This is really good. :)

avatar
DimeTower
on 2017-09-04 21:01:58

My goodness, I started listening to this and I was thinking, "the only bad thing about this incredible accomplishment is I'm going to have to figure out the source timing of all the themes," and BAM, it's already there - holy crap, this is wonderful. I love the fact that it somehow keeps a cheery, fun vibe through all the transitions and fun tunes. And speaking of the transitions, I would argue that using the item selection process to do it is one of the most brilliant, easy to follow, and like-it-was-always-part-of-the-songs perfect transitional device. Really in awe on that one - and with the mix in general. Congratulations to all the artists on a beautiful, fun, gorgeous piece (opus?) of music!!

avatar
jett
on 2017-09-04 17:52:18

I listened to this back when it came out on DoD. It's a really amazing piece.

avatar
Liontamer
on 2017-09-04 16:02:44

What did you think? Post your opinion of this ReMix.

Sources Arranged (11 Songs, 6 Games)


Primary Game:
Super Mario Kart (Nintendo , 1992, SNES)
Music by Soyo Oka,Taro Bando
Songs:
"Mario Circuit"
"Rainbow Road"
Additional Game:
Diddy Kong Racing (Nintendo , 1997, N64)
Music by David Wise
Songs:
"Title"
Additional Game:
Mario Kart 64 (Nintendo , 1996, N64)
Music by Kenta Nagata
Songs:
"Winning Results"
Additional Game:
Mario Kart 8 (Nintendo , 2014, WIIU)
Music by Atsuko Asahi,Ryo Nagamatsu,Shiho Fujii,Yasuaki Iwata
Songs:
"Dolphin Shoals - In the Sea ~ Deep Sea"
"Goal in #2 (2nd~6th)"
"Obtaining Item"
"Results A"
"Sunshine Airport"
Additional Game:
Mario Kart: Double Dash!! (Nintendo , 2003, GCN)
Music by Kenta Nagata,Shinobu Nagata
Songs:
"Rainbow Road"
Additional Game:
Super Mario 64 (Nintendo , 1996, N64)
Music by Koji Kondo
Songs:
"Powerful Mario"

Tags (23)


Genre:
Fusion,Jazz
Mood:
Energetic,Funny,Jazzy
Instrumentation:
Electric Guitar,Flute,Piano,Singing,Synth,Trumpet,Violin,Vocals: Female,Vocals: Male
Additional:
Arrangement > Medley
Lyrics > Lyrics: Existing
Origin > Competition > Dwelling of Duels
Production > Live Instruments
Regional > Latin American
Time > Duration: Long
Time > Tempo: Fast
Time > Tempo: Variable
Time > Time Signature: Variable

File Information


Name:
Super_Mario_Kart_A_Road_That_You_Go_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
26,925,708 bytes
MD5:
0529a9fa53acdd10dd910066e384d9ff
Bitrate:
237Kbps
Duration:
15:04

[Taken from "Rainbow Road" by Rhymes With Stomach]

Rainbow Road

It's called a road, it's called a Rainbow Road
It is a road that you go.
It's called a road, it's called a Rainbow Road,
And you will know when you get there.

It's a road called Rainbow Road
It's a road we're all gonna go
It's a road called Rainbow Road
It's got Princess Peach, Mario, and the Toad
It's a road called Rainbow Road
It's a road we're all gonna go
We'll go...

It's Rainbow Road, it's where you go
When you die, it's Rainbow Road!
I'll miss you again, uncle.
It's Rainbow Road, it's where you go
When you die, it's Rainbow Road!
I'll miss you again... on Rainbow Road.

It's a road called Rainbow Road
It's a road we're all gonna go
(Road)
It's a road called Rainbow Road
It's got Princess Peach, Mario, and the Toad
(Road)
It's a road called Rainbow Road
It's a road we're all gonna go
(Road)
It's a road called Rainbow Road
It's got Princess Peach, Mario, and the Toad

[x2]
It's a road called Rainbow Road
It's a road we're all gonna go
It's a road called Rainbow Road
It's got Princess Peach, Mario, and the Toad

It's a road called Rainbow Road
It's got Princess Peach, Mario, and the Toad

It's a road called Rainbow Road
It's got Princess Peach, Mario, and the Toad
It's got Princess Peach, Mario, and the Toad
It's got Princess Peach, Mario, and the Toad

It's Rainbow Road (It's Rainbow)
It's where you go
When you die

It has got Princess Peach
Mario, and the Toad
It's called Rainbow Road

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