ReMix:Super Mario Land "Welcome Goombo Probably" 3:07

Okay, are we welcoming Goombo or not, though? The indecision is killing me...Suzumebachi (Ty Guenley) hits us up after a six-year hiatus with this beautiful, sleepy, art/garage rock ballad take on Super Mario Land featuring some baked EPs, warm & gritty organ, and relaxed beats/guitars:

"I did a thing. Man, it's been a while since I submitted. Made this for a itty bitty Super Mario EP that me and my Grammar Club compatriots released on Super Mario Day -- the holiday formerly known as Columbus Day. Replace one genocidal Italian with another. Aren't we clever? Made a couple minor tweaks to the song since the release of the EP because I am weird and indecisive.

The song itself is, uh, some cheesy electric piano kwak with some cheesy drums and guitars. Also organs. Playing organs is fun. So satisfying when you hit that wheel and the Leslie kicks in. Feels good. Feels right. Almost as fun as playing a real, live electric piano, like a Wurlitzer 140B, of which one I own, but did not use on this track. I used my old Yamaha workstation, sorry for getting your hopes up.

Ran some simple 80s EP patches through a bunch of dirty saturation and a series of LFOs to keep it alive and wobbly like bad tape. The only thing more fun than Wurlitzers is bad tape. Throw in some grimy guitar work and you have yourself a dildo. Dealio. You have yourself a dealio.

Fun fact: Did you know the baddies in Super Mario Land are actually called Goombos, not Goombas?"

I did not, but now I do. Probably... at any rate, this is an excellent example of creative FX processing, lending quite a bit of life & dirt to both sets of keys; the playing is of a chill, obscenely comfortable variety, and it benefits greatly from having some depth & teeth. The overall mix is grimy-yet-polished, with meat on the drums where it counts and a certain general fullness. It's kind of like those model folks who spend hours making their hair look the right *type* of messy; nonchalant, but with poise. Liontamer noted some of the stranger intonation, but was still feelin' the overall:

"The way the verses ended seemed off-key in places (e.g. :11-:14, :55-:58, 1:40-1:42, 2:37-2:41), and I'm not sure what the point of that was; didn't sound good at all, and I'll never like it, but it was brief and I'll move past it. Overall, the track was fine in terms of the bar, with a mellow, almost downer-style take on the source. The quick references to "Muda Kingdom" and "Dire, Dire Docks" were fun and well-integrated."

My take on some of those bits is that maybe they're the "Probably" the title alludes to :) Works for me, at least... and yes, this is a super-bubbly, almost saccharine source tune that's been given a very effective slacker/stoner makeover of sorts... Hipster Tanaka, anyone? NutS writeS:

"I'm all up for this, it's dirty, it's intimate, and feels personal. I think it could've gone farther when it comes to the manipulation of the lead melodies, and it feels a bit on autopilot at times, but I liked this and everything seems good enough to beat the bar. Didn't feel the ending was a problem. I love scratchy EPs and this song has it front and center and delivers."

Great marriage of vintage effects & affects with a chill, downbeat groove - don't see as much of this type of mix as I'd like, really, and Suz does a great job with it. Cool to see him back in action & would love to hear more just like this. Or different, that's cool, too. Enjoy responsibly!