ReMix:Super Mario Odyssey "Chill Waves" 2:55

Tune in with Chewie (Nestor Estrada) has a knack for downtempo, chill arrangements with compelling sound design and an exploratory vibe, and he follows up his excellent Kingdom Hearts II debut back in March with an equally enjoyable trip-hoppish take on "Lake Lamode" from Super Mario Odyssey:

"Hello, friends! Hope you dig this arrangement. This is my second Mario arrangement thus far. Mario games were always known for having such relaxing water level music and this one is no exception. I wanted to do a water level theme and "Lake Lamode" from Super Mario Odyssey was the perfect one to do. When I first heard it, I knew I had to make an arrangement of it. It has a strong melodic motif which gives me the freedom to explore different harmony and instrumentation. The message gets across - it's still "Lake Lamode," but my interpretation.

I kept the same structure with added additions and a different musical style. There was a good amount of experimentation going on with this one in terms of sound. I used my Eurorack to create cool arps and recorded violin, guitar, and vocals. I re-sequenced them in my DAW to play back differently (certain parts in reverse and different bits re-spliced together to make something new and different). I also created my own presets using Serum and Zebra as well as use my own Kontakt instruments. The additional orchestral elements are just a bit of my film composer side showing off. There was also a ton of cool production techniques I used to mangle the sounds and give it a bit of that lo-fi sound without going full of lo-fi.

The important thing is this was a ton of fun to arrange. Going for those C H I L L vibes. You feel me? ;)"

I do; really cool approach to layering texture and creating a watery, wavering environment imbued with character & depth. On top of that, some slick harmonic modifications and left turns that give all those wonderful sounds a bit more freedom. Liontamer writes:

"Another excellent example here of staying melodically conservative but fashioning your own style around that core melody. Nice work by Nestor adding beats, bass, and quirky SFX & effects to expand the composition's dynamic range. It gives me a slight Mother series vibe, but add quirkiness and trip hop elements to nearly any Nintendo composition and you've sold me. Short and sweet, this is indeed chill. Can't wait to hear more from Nestor!"

The net result of Nestor's relatively elaborate creative process is a distinct sound that can't be constructed just by combining presets, but has to be tweaked, fiddled with, & otherwise twisted into final form, as is the ethos of Eurorack in general. This mix lends a lived-in soundscape dripping with detail but never soggy with mud, doing a great job of channeling the classic Mario water-stage chill into something more literal, where both arrangement & production are moistly mellow. Enjoy!