ReMix:Super Mario Bros. 3 "Through the Clouds" 3:07

Super Mario Odyssey = sooooo good!! To celebrate the latest & greatest Mario opus, we've got an upbeat, quirky, & respectably funky SMB3 ReMix from Fxsnowy (Adrian Bureu), who returns with a third mix after two excellent pieces posted towards the end of 2015:

"My original idea was a fun, upbeat version of the Underwater theme. I experimented with transitioning to the Athletic theme and liked how it sounded. I used some FM synths, an 80's lead, an 808, and a bit of Latin percussion. Enjoy!"

The thing that I love about this arrangement is that it sounds very much like the type of theme update that Koji Kondo himself might make; playful alterations, creative embellishments, and while it gets a good bit funkier towards the end, there's a certain restrained charm & cleanliness to the presentation that makes it seem very... Mario. In a great way; I've always loved the series and its music, and while this mix is still interpretive/transformative, I love that Adrian's also managed to keep it sounding consistent with the universe, even if some of the judges felt it sounded more like a Sonic piece. Sir_NutS writeS:

"The interpretation was very original and there are lots of neat arrangement sprinkled throughout. Things like that bit at 2:28 are some of the detailing that made this piece feel pretty unique. I think this sounds very oldschool-ocr, which isn't a bad thing to be, just that it feels very quirky and basic regarding production, and not completely whole or without issues, but packs a charming arrangement."

My take on the production is that the entire style/approach kinda surrounds pairing of "basic" (dry, synthetic, and more static) textures against other bits that DO have more motion & life to them, creating a nice contrast. That's a specific result that you don't get if everything sounds old-school OR if everything is more modern/processed; it's the interplay between those two aesthetics that this approach focuses on, and I think it works really well for Mario in general but also for the specific arrangement that Adrian has cooked up. It's the little sonic details - a pitch bend here or there, or a sprinkle of modulation/vibrato - that make this mix sing and make the production as interesting & fun as the arrangement. A light, effervescent, late-breakingly funky, and most of all FUN ReMix from Fxsnowy, well-timed for the release of Odyssey & hopefully an indicator of more submissions to come!