Super Mario RPG - Fight Against Smithy (Patreon)

The Super Mario RPG Remake is almost here! We're probably gonna see a ton of amazing covers from VGM folks in the near future. :) I have such a fun time covering "weird" music, some of my favorite instrument combos includes squelchy basses, bitcrushed synths, and mellotrons. I use this same sort of template for my Earthbound covers! Here are my thoughts this time around:

0:00 - This song is a slightly disjointed mishmash of textures and ideas, so I wanted my instrumentation to reflect that. Most of the instruments used here are detuned and low-quality, giving it an almost unnatural or artificial vibe. I think it's just whimsical enough for Mario RPG music while still able to be expanded upon. 

0:17 - Since this is a climactic battle, after cementing the quirkiness of this fight I switched gears into something a bit more driven and intense. As opposed to the original, I've taken the drums into double time (which is one of my favorite drum part writing tricks to do). 

Playing subtly over the top of this is the Harpsichord figure from "Fight Against Smithy, Who Likes Transforming" (2:08). I wanted to have some connection between the phases, and this section was uninvolved enough that it felt right to include it here. 

0:31 - Mellotron is on full display here. What an incredible instrument. :,< In this quieter section I changed out almost all of the percussion and bass for something a bit more subtle. 

0:45 - Breaking out into a bit of Castlevania here. Instead of the serious tone of my CV arrangements the Harpsichord here almost sounds more akin to a banjo? Just fits the flavor of Mario a bit better. 

1:43 - It wouldn't be right if I didn't include the next phase! Working with the same instruments here. There's a Celeste playing whole tone arpeggiations quietly in the background. 

1:48 - Double time once again! I feel like it fits even better here.  You can hear the 808 bending pretty clearly, just adding a bit more to the weirdness. 

2:08 - There's that Harpsichord part from before!

2:15 - This is my favorite part of the track, where it slides into a laid-back, lounge-y sort of section. Playing up that vibe by having a Midi Electric Organ taking the lead. "Enjoy Your Stay" anyone? 

2:26 - Moving on, this part is extremely evocative of early Kirby boss music. Loved having the synth leads play above all this chaos. 

2:43 - Another quiet section, this time highlighting the synthesized lead voice. The last few chords lead right into the loop end!

This was a fun one, I hope I can cover another SMRPG track soon! For now, thank you so much for listening, and if you have any questions about this track throw em' in the comments! Keep an eye out for this track dropping on my channel at 10am PST on the 17th!