ReMix:Super Mario World "Through the Castle" 3:50

By Rockos

dubstep synth aggressive dark

Arranging the music of one song...

"Sub Castle BGM"

Primary Game: Super Mario World (Nintendo , 1990, SNES), music by Koji Kondo

Posted 2012-10-31, evaluated by the judges panel

Newcomer Rockos (Roch Côté) provides your Halloween festivities with some dark, dirty dubstep, taking on the SMW 'Sub Castle BGM' with plenty of wub:

"The inspiration came while on my work whistling the castle theme for mario world. This has always been may favorite track from the game. I could listen to this track for hour before getting bored. I decided why not mix my favorite track with my favorite genre. For the mix itself, it's pretty straightforward. And you'll maybe take a step back because the song is 'midi-ed'. The main lead is nearly intact. But the soundscape here makes it shine more. Those chip sounds, the osc and the robotic bass makes it more attractive. Some glitching add with the help of my fav plug-in help it to be different than many others. There are some sounds unprocessed due to the nature of the genre itself. Still there are about 20 different synths and a lot of effect on specific synths.

The end was written well a week or two after I finished the song. This is gario that gave me the idea cause there was only one play through the original source. So I added a part mixed up of extended soundscape and original song. It sounds more of a solo with some bit of the real song. In the end, I wanna thanks all those who took a listen to this and commented."

This mix has a VERY generous (two scoops!) helping of reverb applied to it, and an almost equal amount of compression, which prompted some judge concern as to whether either effect had crossed the line; Emunator's opinion summarizes both the criticism and the majority approval nicely:

"I'm siding with Drew and Justin on this, this mix has a lot of merit. The flaws have already been stated so I won't really spend much time rehashing it - reverb levels, compression, and conservativeness are all present concerns, but to me they're nothing that truly inhibits me from enjoying this mix or makes it unlistenable. Despite the compression and high reverb levels, all of the different sounds are clearly audible and distinguishable, I don't hear anything bleeding together and I don't feel like my ears are being destroyed as a result of listening.

It's true that this one sticks relatively close to the original, structurally, but the real magic here is in how Rockos mangles and modulates each of the different melodies & instruments in dramatic, yet tasteful ways to really set the mix apart from the source. There's only a few minor points where the glitching seems superfluous or excessive, for the most part I think this was executed very well and is one of the most classy, enjoyable dubstep mixes we've seen since the genre exploded."

This is definitely a ReMix that leans more on a "remix" angle than many, but the level of discombobulation & transformation forms the skeleton of an arrangement that, while conservative, is distinct. It's not going to convert any dubstep-haters, as it fully embraces the genre without ANY reservations, but.... DAMN is that drop at 2'01" sick. If you want to scare the trick-or-treatin' childrens with spooky SYNTH BASS tonight, this is your weapon. Even from a compositional perspective, while the melodies themselves are quite intact, the timing is cleverly & intelligently altered beyond just routine glitching, resulting in some modifications that could actually work in a totally different context. zircon's enduring classic gave us monstrous turtles, and now they've got some diseased, electrified turtles to keep them company; nice genre work from newcomer Rockos who definitely brings it on a source that lends itself to the treatment!

― djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
avatar
Black_Doom
on 2015-12-04 10:15:49

I think that because of the popularity of dubstep and Sub Castle theme from SMW, these things had to meet someday, and I'm actually glad that it was Rockos who blended them - he knows for sure how to wub the things up a bit :) The reinterpritation may be straightforward a little, but with all the gritty bass twists and other stuff, it sounds awesome. Nice job here!

avatar
Crulex
on 2014-02-11 12:28:23

The dubstep-like variations and glitching up of the melody makes this arrangement interesting to listen to. Rockos did a fine job of reworking the source into something different while keeping the dark spirit of the castles intact, which is great. Not bad for a debut mixpost.

avatar
Rockos
on 2013-09-03 23:51:18

Just look what I found sitting on my soundcloud. This is the old WIP I had done. If you are curious how it developped, check this track:

https://soundcloud.com/rockos-1/rockos-through-the-castle

avatar
timaeus222
on 2013-05-17 17:42:53

A tad too much reverb, but everything for the most part is still clear (some bitcrushing suffered as a result), and I do love the approach. Risky with the low end reverb, but it works. No idea why I didn't notice this when it was posted.

avatar
DarkSim
on 2012-11-11 12:46:08

Monstrous Turtles is one of my all-time favourite OCReMixes, but this stands up there alongside that track, so great job on that. I always feel like if you remix a source that's already been remixed it's a risk to be compared to others, but this is superb.

No problems with the reverb and compression - they're staples of the genre, and I agree with Melbu that I'd probably enjoy it less if it didn't have as much. Congratulations on your first mixpost, and let's hope there are more like this!

avatar
Jragyn
on 2012-11-06 10:46:30

When I see a game that I'm interested in hearing a remix post on the mainpage, I get excited, though it seems lately all the remixes are really far off from the source to the point where I don't even know what the hell I'm listening to.

This however has definitely left the source intact, I know what song you derived this dubstep beat from and I like it. (and I don't even like dubstep 90% of the time)

Well done, Rockos.

avatar
Yami
on 2012-11-02 13:31:13

The first track on my new headphones :)

This is so sick (but in a good way)

avatar
SuperiorX
on 2012-11-01 18:44:20

I have to agree, this does remind me of Monstrous Turtles a bit too, but it definitely has more of an aggressive edge. I'm really enjoying this song, great debut!

avatar
Bahamut
on 2012-11-01 17:15:47

Congrats on your mixpost Rockos! You sure love your dubstep :razz: .

This source seems to get a fair amount of love. This mix reminds me a bit like Monstrous Turtles!, except with a dubstep angle to it. It's a fairly conservative song, and it injects the dubstep tastefully. I do wish that drop was more potent though, it could use some more bass to really give its full effect. I'm not a huge fan of the ending either.

Otherwise, great job!

avatar
LazarCotoron
on 2012-11-01 13:36:19

As someone who's not really a musician, I'd like to add in that this is one of the most "listenable" dubstep songs I've ever heard. From my sound engineering course, I have enough ear and knowledge that I can hear the high compression, and anyone could hear that reverb abuse. While we could probably argue on the compression front, the reverb is used well here.

Sometimes when I read the judge's comments, I feel that they're so into 'music' that they forget about listenability, although frequently this is why I like djp's write ups-he brings it down back to earth.

Congratz to Rockos on mixing Mario with dubstep successfully!

avatar
Magellanic
on 2012-11-01 13:16:52

Damn, this is really awesome. This BGM works so so well in this dirty style. I'm especially loving how you've kept the original so recognizable yet fresh. Just a perfect mix post for Halloween.

avatar
Platonist
on 2012-11-01 09:32:07

i also really enjoyed this one :)

the massive drums are right down my alley :

oh

and grats on getting posted.:nicework:

avatar
Rockos
on 2012-10-31 19:46:32
Congrats on getting posted Rockos.

As to the mix, it's definitely an interesting take on the source - I don't think I've ever heard anything vaguely like it. The reverb actually didn't bother me in the slightest; it felt like it fit in with the overall tone of the track's direction. In fact, I'd almost say I think I'd enjoy the track less if it had less reverb - almost makes the character of the track.

This is a really weird ,creepy and SUPREMELY AWESOME remix.

The source melodies feel very recognizeable immediately and that helps to make this incredibly enjoyable!

Thanks a lot guys.

avatar
BONKERS
on 2012-10-31 19:37:44

This is a really weird ,creepy and SUPREMELY AWESOME remix.

The source melodies feel very recognizeable immediately and that helps to make this incredibly enjoyable!

avatar
Melbu Frahma
on 2012-10-31 17:10:19

Congrats on getting posted Rockos.

As to the mix, it's definitely an interesting take on the source - I don't think I've ever heard anything vaguely like it. The reverb actually didn't bother me in the slightest; it felt like it fit in with the overall tone of the track's direction. In fact, I'd almost say I think I'd enjoy the track less if it had less reverb - almost makes the character of the track.

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


Primary Game:
Super Mario World (Nintendo , 1990, SNES)
Music by Koji Kondo
Songs:
"Sub Castle BGM"

Tags (4)


Genre:
Dubstep
Mood:
Aggressive,Dark
Instrumentation:
Synth
Additional:

File Information


Name:
Super_Mario_World_Through_the_Castle_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
6,457,910 bytes
MD5:
5d45f9868eb25ba69374457961cff315
Bitrate:
221Kbps
Duration:
3:50

Promotion

8-bit Jazz Heroes - Press Start

Follow us on Twitter

Join us on Facebook

View All

Latest Albums

View All

Latest ReMixes