Super Mario RPG: Window to the Stars
Comments from album director Dustin Lagaly (Theory of N), co-director Emery Monzerol (DaMonz) & ReMixers
Album freely available at http://smrpg.ocremix.org

Seven years after having joined the OC ReMix community, I was becoming increasingly distraught that there had not yet been an attempt at a remix album for what is, in my opinion, the greatest game of all time. I eventually decided to take matters into my own hands and create what would eventually become Window to the Stars. While not the easiest undertaking by any stretch of the imagination, I feel that this tribute to the brilliance of Yoko Shimomura, Koji Kondo, and Nobuo Uematsu does the soundtrack justice. With nearly every track rearranged across 3 discs, the album as a whole portrays a sort of reimagining of the journey taken in the game itself.

Of course, this project would not be what it is today without a great deal of help. Big thanks to both the artists and fans who have been waiting patiently throughout this sometimes-not-too-clear development. IT'S FINALLY HERE! A second thanks to the artists who worked on the album not only for their incredible talent and timeliness, but also for dealing with Emery and my pestering over the last 4 years. You da real MVPs. Thanks to Yoko Shimomura for her incredible ability to create emotive works, even through beeps and boops. Also to Koji Kondo and Nobuo Uematsu for creating the initial atmosphere in the Mario series and Final Fantasy series, respectively, that would serve as the foundation for many pieces in Super Mario RPG. And finally, a VERY special thanks to Emery for all of his work on this album. There was a time I thought I'd have to drop the project and that caused much distress in my life, but Emery stepped in to help pick up the slack and saved me and the album. It's safe to say this album would not be complete today and it most definitely wouldn't be of the caliber it is without his help. I've said it to you many times in private conversations but, again, thank you so much for everything you've done.

Ultimately, all this work would be for nothing without you, the people listening to this music. I hope this album brings you as much joy as it does for me.

Enjoy, friends!

- Dustin Lagaly (Theory of N)

Okay, so let me make sure we're all on the same page here: Super Mario RPG is one of the greatest masterpieces of classic video games. Anyone who hasn't played it should get that fixed ASAP. And the rest of you already know why that game is so good.

With that out of the way, I would like to say that my history with this project wasn't the most straightforward path. I started with simply claiming and remixing the final battle music of the game. At that point, the project was still far from completion, so I contacted Dustin and asked if I could help in any way. So, with his consent, I started sending out messages to the other remixers to try and get the ball rolling some more. And then, one thing led to another, and here I am! I'm really grateful to Dustin for letting me help with directing the project, for the highs and lows anyone should expect from a project of that scale, for the teamwork, and for making the project happen in the first place. I'm also very grateful to all of the musicians and to the visual artists for providing all the great content this project has to offer, and for enduring my (most probably obnoxious) constant badgering. And, of course, where would this project be without the original composers Yoko Shimomura, Koji Kondo, and Nobuo Uematsu, towards all of whom I hold the highest admiration. Their music has shaped a huge part of my childhood, and has provided the world with a gorgeous demonstration of human expression.

As for this here project, we have decided to highlight both the complexity of the original soundtrack by covering most of its extent, and the variety of musical styles and moods that is achievable by the remixing community. The three discs (Exploration, Confrontation, and Celebration) give a quite self-explanatory progression to the album that, I believe, should provide you with a satisfyingly wide array of emotions to re-enact the original game's mood on a nicely crafted musical scene. Getting this project done was one big adventure for us, and I hope listening to it all will be a big adventure for you all as well. Happy listening!

- Emery Monzerol (DaMonz)

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1-01. DDRKirby(ISQ) - "Super Mega Ultra Pipe House"
Sources: Super Mario RPG - "Super Pipe House," Super Mario Bros. - "Course Clear Fanfare"

DaMonz: As usual, Timmie's work is absolutely incredible. I seriously don't understand how any of it is possible. But it apparently is, and I'm Super Mega Ultra grateful for it. I could not have asked for a better opening track than this chippy hyped jam of awesome! This, in my opinion, is a perfect tribute to Mario's happy and lighthearted theme, and impeccably sets the stage for this grand and jolly adventure.

DDRKirby(ISQ): Sometimes remixes just... happen. We had a couple of tracks that still needed some love for the SMRPG remix project and DaMonz kept poking me to see if I could do another one. I agreed and tentatively chose the "Super Pipe House" track, but kept on putting it off due to lack of time... I was also a little apprehensive about the source, to be honest -- the Mario theme is just so ubiquitous and I worried that I would have a hard time bringing something new to it.

Then one day, I just sat down and thought that it would probably be cool to try doing a chippy, uptempo remix with some DnB-flavored drums. A couple of hours later, I had almost all of it written out and had this huge smile on my face because holycrapthatwasFUN!!! :D

1-02. Argle - "Ready to Go"
Source: "Let's Try"

1-03. DaMonz - "Floor Is Lava"
Source: "Barrel Volcano"

DaMonz: This is my second contribution to the album! I tried something more organic than usual. I spent lots of time humanizing the vibes, wurly, and drums. And of course, I had to throw in some chips, I couldn't help it. :) I hope you'll enjoy!

P.S. Huge thanks to Emu for providing awesome feedback as I made this!

1-04. halc - "Flowers, Peace & Rosy Cheeks"
Source: "The Road Is Full of Dangers"

1-05. XPRTNovice - "You Dirty, You Nasty, But You Mine"
Source: "Moleville Mountain Railroad"

XPRTNovice: So I got asked by Emery Monzerol to fill some holes in the SMRPG album, and as I was looking through the tracklist I saw this "Docaty Mountain" thing. Never having played SMRPG before, I didn't really know what I was looking at, but when I opened the track, I heard what was obviously a Western bluegrassy thing. I thought, "Oh, okay, that'll be easy. I'll just sort of bring out the bluegrassyness of it and see what happens; I'm a bluegrass player and I can do this."

Well, it turns out the easy path is the fucking boring path. I just couldn't get what I wanted out of it and I was utterly unmotivated. So, since the changes were essentially blues changes, I thought, "What if I cut the source's time in half and made a blues tune out of it?" And then I saw my slide sitting on my desk and though "Oh. Oh no. This must happen." And it did.

1-06. Brandon Strader - "All Bark and No Bite"
Performers (cameo): the_bong_bandit, The_Pigeon_Man, Lucavi
Source: "Beware the Forest's Mushrooms"

Brandon Strader: Remixing the Forest Mushrooms theme from SMRPG is a big deal because it's so recognizable to a lot of people. So what better genre choice than death metal -- err, I mean... electronica. Although the choice to do electronic with some dubstep elements was more dictated by the complexity of the original than anything. I'm not the best guitarist, so when I can turn a high energy source into an exciting electronic remix, that's a good thing. It opened the material up for more arrangement options as well.

It's a pretty conservative mix, but there's a lot of partial uses of the main melody, a solo section, a breakdown with some trippy dialogue, and some really nasty dubstep wobbles. 

This mix features some guest vocals, and I promised them I would introduce them this way:

• the_bong_bandit, the Jewel of Canada, the polar opposite of Justin Bieber with no vocal talent whatsoever (did the lower evil laugh)
• The_Pigeon_Man, and yes, his voice really is that high, did the insane cackling laughs
• Lucavi, a fat ginger bastard who single-handedly keeps Taco Bell in business, has a crazy scream during the dubstep part.

All of that was just taken from pre-recorded Facebook Messenger recordings from normal "conversation," except the_bong_bandit who got a big head and was like "I can do this," and Auto-Tuned the worst vocals I've ever heard throughout the entire song, then just got about 5 seconds of evil laugh put in for the final song.

It was these 3 personal friends who really helped me finish the song, not directly, but I had a sudden inspiration for how I wanted the transition to go, and I was trying to keep my mind off of things that were happening in real life, so I finally finished this song I started on in 2013. Also finally getting Massive running on my laptop was a big thing.

As a final but very important note, this whole mix was mixed and mastered using iPhone 6 earbuds, which are a common listening device. I fully encourage you, for the best listening experience, to use those or similar earbuds.

1-07. DjjD feat. Jehm Faulking - "Tricky Labyrinth"
Source: "Welcome to Booster Tower"

1-08. XPRTNovice - "Lies My Snifits Told Me"
Source: "And My Name's Booster"

XPRTNovice: I got asked to fill in a gap in the album for SMRPG, and this was the song I got handed. When I pulled up the tune to listen to it, I was a little put off. The source tune was really only something like 20 seconds long; it has only a few bars of melodically significant stuff going on, and the repetition within the source itself doesn't really have a lot of room for interpretation. Then I looked up Booster (having not played the game myself) and kind of thought that his story was a little tragic. So, instead of trying to do something complicated with it, I wanted to instead radically simplify the already simple. It sounded like a weird idea, but I think it ended up working. I wanted to go for something meditative and unlike anything I've done before. A man can only klezmer so hard.

1-09. Hylian Lemon, Phonetic Hero - "Oyster Me Timbers"
Source: "Sunken Ship"

Phonetic Hero: Ben took up the reins on this track after I'd started with a VERY barebones WIP, and, of course, sent something way more awesome back, taking it in a completely different direction than what I'd started. 90% of the track was his doing, and then I came back at the end to re-write the drums and add a couple things here and there, then do the final mixdown. Took me FOREVER to land on the kit and perc writing that you hear in the final track, but I think it turned out alright. Experience was 10/10, would Oyster again.

1-10. bLiNd, Chimpazilla - "Pipe Funk"
Source: "Hello from Inside the Earthen Pipe"

1-11. Doc Nano - "Just One Wish"
Source: "The Starlight's Flower Shines on Star Hill"

DaMonz: When I stepped up to help with the direction of this project, one of the very first things I wanted to do was to get in touch with Alex because of a beautiful piano arrangement of his for Star Hill that I had heard a while back on his YouTube channel. When he came back to me with a completely upgraded arrangement that included various orchestral elements and a further-elaborated structure, I was completely thrilled! I could not have asked for anything more. Alex's arrangement is an absolutely stunning take on the source material that tells an engaging story, and adds a lot of emotional depth to the album.

Doc Nano: Ah, Star Hill. One of my very favorite settings from any game, ever. In exploring its reaches, you stumble across the unfulfilled wishes of friend and foe alike, all stymied by the evil forces gripping the world. It was moments like these, full of subtlety and heart, that set Super Mario RPG apart from most games of that generation, and certainly signified a huge departure from the minimalist storytelling of the Mario series proper.

The setting of Star Hill was hugely augmented by a wonderful little musical theme, comprising a simple arpeggio motif supported by a pipe organ, chimes, and string pizzicati. As the source material is rather scant and amelodic, I opted for a short piano piece reminiscent of a Chopin prelude with a ternary ABA form. The A section is built on a faster version of the aforementioned bell arpeggios. The B section contains an original counterpoint to the main theme, and is backed by a simple orchestral accompaniment that crescendos to a climax with the reprisal of the main theme towards the end. The second A section is differentiated from the first by countermelodies on the oboe, French horn, and clarinet.

1-12. Jeff Ball - Still, the Road Is Full of Klezmorim"
Source: "Still, the Road Is Full of Dangers"

2-01. Hylian Lemon - "Shell Warfare"
Source: "Fight Against Monsters"

2-02. VOIA - "A Night Out with Koopa"
Source: "Fight Against Bowser"

VOIA: Super Mario RPG is my favorite game ever, and I am highly influenced by the funky house vibes that modern-day Japanese pop had to offer. I decided to blend two of my biggest loves with my remix of "Fight Against Koopa."

2-03. WillRock - "Fight Against a Somewhat Delicious Cake"
Source: "Fight Against a Somewhat Stronger Monster"

DaMonz: WillRock, the absolute madman and master of synth lead handling. This arrangement is yet another amazing addition to his history of blazing synths and crazy melodies. I love how Will handled the switching between original writing and source usage throughout the track, which makes for a fresh and exciting take on the source material. This is a high-energy piece of total pwnage that is most certainly more than somewhat delicious!

WillRock: I did a thing.

2-04. Rockos, Danton Freitas - "Dungeon Full of Glitches"
Source: "The Dungeon Is Full of Monsters"

Rockos: Started as an awesome dubstep track. But I lacked direction and Danton appeared and made the track a magical one, literally rocking the track in an awesome way. The game is on my top 3 SNES games. Hence, the envy to remix a track for my love for this SNES game. Also, this is my first collab ever and turned out awesome. The track continues to surprise both of us.

Danton Freitas: The track is metalstep. High-gain guitars blended with heavy electronic stuff spiced with game effects. I had no idea the way it was going when we made the song. Time has passed and it still surprises me when I listen it.

2-05. zykO - "Variations in Melancholy Minor"
Source: "Sad Song"

zykO:
[0:00-0:35] variation A - solitude
[0:35-1:35] variation B - anxiety
[1:35-2:10] variation C - promises
[2:10-3:30] variation D - of disappointment and despair
[3:30-4:50] variation E - denoument
[4:50-6:53] variation F - so here we are again
[6:53-end] variation G - finit

2-06. djpretzel - "The Usurper Queen"
Source: "Margarie Margarita"

2-07. bLiNd - "Club King Bowser"
Source: "Bowser's Keep (Second Time)"

DaMonz: Jordan's legacy as the king of top-quality production is definitely very present in this beast of a ReMix. The heavy, *heavy* kicks and bass give a new meaning to "mean," and the wailing synth lead playing the main melody is a perfect complement to all the badassery present. The multiple buildups and drops are bound to satisfy anyone's deepest desires, I'm sure. Amazing work from bLiNd!

2-08. Nutritious - "Weapons of Mass Production"
Sources: "Weapons Factory," "Fight Against Culex"

Nutritious: This remix was a long time coming. I joined the SMRPG project with the intention to claim one of the better-known original tracks, but, unfortunately (or fortunately?), I was late to the game and ended up selecting "Weapons Factory." This is a very short theme with lots of repeated patterns and a really strange time signature (13/8 or something?). I started it some time last year with the idea of a electronic-focused big wall-of-sound-type mix. I got about halfway through when I ran out of ideas and the song really stalled out.

Many months later, DaMonz began contacting me about the status of the track and we had a few discussions about ideas and ways to expand on what was here. He was the one who came up with the idea of a DnB style transition and while working on that, I found myself humming the FF4 boss fight theme along with it. It then hit me that that same theme happens to also appear in SMRPG during the secret Culex boss fight, so I decided to roll with the idea. While there is a significant style-shift at the halfway mark, I tried to have a more gradual transition between the two source themes so that they are present together for a good portion of the switch.

Definite thanks to DaMonz for pushing me to not give up on the track & OceansAndrew with feedback help (and anyone else I bounced it off of earlier on that I forgot!).

Source usage:

:12-1:08 - Bassline from "WF"
1:09-1:41 - Lead playing triplet/simplified version of strings from "WF" (weakest connection, probably)
1:42-2:27 - Bass & triplet lead together (bass cuts out after a bit)
2:35-3:11 - Backing stab synth playing "WF" string lead more directly
3:12-3:32 - Guitars playing "WF" bass, synth on "WF" strings continues
3:33-4:08 - Guitar/synth leads playing "Culex" lead, previous guitars and synth alternate between "WF" themes and "Culex" theme
4:09-4:36 - "Culex" theme on leads and backing

2-09. zircon - "Inside Smithy's Head"
Source: "Fight Against Smithy"

2-10. DaMonz - "Agent Smithy"
Source: "Fight Against Smithy, Who Likes Transforming"

DaMonz: It's me again! :D

I'm back with some more prog weirdness! This is my first track for the album, and I have a very strong attachment to this game, so I wanted to make sure I did it justice as well as I could.

Smithy gives me the creeps. I think he's probably the most underrated sociopath character in video games. I mean, who just barges in from space in a gigantic sword just to mess things up? This guy.

So, yeah, I wanted my ReMix to feel... sociopathic. I wanted to make sure the track never really settled anywhere and always kept moving and morphing, to illustrate Smithy's shapeshifting abilities. I wanted the listener to keep getting surprised the whole time. I think I managed to reach my goals, and I hope you'll agree. :)

In any case, please enjoy!

3-01. Ethan Rex - "Happy Sun, Delightful Waves"
Source: "Happy Adventure, Delightful Adventure"

Ethan Rex: So, it turns out that when Dustin contacted me about this project, I was JUST starting to play SMRPG for the first time. Needless to say, I was already hooked on the killer soundtrack, and I was itching at an opportunity to remix a track. This was around the time I first got Kontakt, and I wanted to try out some of the samples -- I started with the steel drum and timbales, and then most of everything fell into place from there. I ended up being inspired by Banjo-Kazooie, a favorite OST of mine that oozes charm and adventure. Hopefully, this piece captures that optimistic feeling of setting off on an adventure.

3-02. Argle - "Riptide Rush"
Source: "Let's Go Down the Wine River"

DaMonz: I have very fond memories of the soundtrack from Super Mario RPG, but "Let's Go Down the Wine River" holds a particularly special place there. I remember repeatedly going through that level in the game only to hear that beautiful, cheerful music "just one more time." Argle did a great job making sure we still feel the awesome vibes from that moment. The jumpy bassline and simple drums are a strong backbone that recall the original music's lighthearted feel, and all that is covered by super-tasty synth work. In addition to all that, the acoustic section that starts at 2:08 is a very refreshing surprise. Great work from Argle!

Argle: Chiptune-infused trance with some polka elements. If that sounds ridiculous, it's because it is.

3-03. DDRKirby(ISQ) - "Electric Monstro Carnival"
Source: "Our Paradise ~Monstro Town~"

DaMonz: I just can't get enough DDRKirby(ISQ). I was expecting something just as awesome from him once again, and he delivered. What I was not expecting is that Timmie had the genius idea of noticing a shocking similarity between Monstro Town's music and the "Prelude" from Final Fantasy. The reference that ensued in his ReMix is an insanely satisfying surprise that makes for a gorgeous blend of themes, while still holding true to Monstro Town.

DDRKirby(ISQ): Theory of N pinged me for assistance in the 11th hour hoping that I could put together another track for the SMRPG project realllly quickly. We only had a couple of days left, so I whipped out my Speed-Composing Hat* and set out to work. 4.5 hours of work time later, I turned in my final version!

I decided to arrange the song using a swing-y triple meter to contrast from the original source. I often find that taking a song in a different direction like this forces me to warp the original melodies into a different form and helps me avoid going on autopilot and copying the source verbatim. It ended up being a pretty fun idea to explore, and I'm happy with where it went, particularly with the sweeping breakdown section in the middle of the song. Enjoy!

*(not actually a literal hat that I own, unfortunately)

3-04. Wiesty feat. XPRTNovice - "Honky Town"
Sources: Super Mario RPG - "Rose Town," Chrono Trigger - "Robo's Theme" (cameo)

Wiesty: I had originally signed on the OC Big Band (now the OCJC) to take on this source way back in the early days of this project. Since that idea fell through and I was wrapped up with Chronology, this never came to be. However, in the late days of this project, I decided to revisit the source and submit something quick. I was instantly drawn to the source as it had a bit of a jazz influence, and the chord progression it uses is one very commonly found in jazz. I wanted to reimagine this track as to what you might hear if you walked into the Rose Town saloon for a glass of bourbon. Again, the chord progression lends itself so well to jazz and, if you listen carefully, you'll hear a bit of Gershwin's "I Got Rhythm" and "Robo's Theme" from Chrono Trigger. (I was still finishing up Chronology and had some ideas to get out...) Joe Zieja graciously lent his guitar and clarinet chops, as well as his voice acting talents to the cause, which really brought the whole thing together.

3-05. Wiesty - "Happy Times Are Back Again"
Source: "Hello, Happy Kingdom"

3-06. Amphibious - "A Yo'ster Sunset"
Source: "Welcome to Yo'ster Island!!"

Amphibious: This was a super-fun groove to work on. I decided to take the source into a completely different direction, changing up some of the harmonies and making it a little jazzy and funky. I wasn't sure about switching the feel for the ending, but I was pretty happy with how it turned out!

3-07. Yoann Turpin - "Ragga Moles Are Cool Moles"
Source: "Hard-Working Moles Are Good Moles"

3-08. Blen - "Froggie Drinks for Everyone!"
Source: "Grandpa and the Delightful Tadpoles"

3-09. Gario - "Nimbus Can Wait"
Source: "Let's Do the Fluff-Fluff!"

Gario: This is an interesting arrangement. The source attracted me due to its rich harmonies, its rather complex transitions, and the overall happy atmosphere. There are a great deal of things that I could share about this track (style, interesting production tricks, why in God's name I used a sine wave as my lead... that was not easy, etc.), but instead I'll talk about a story of what this track represents.

This represents one's attempt to express something wonderful to someone else, while trying (and failing) to contain your excitement over it. Something like Nimbus, the city in the clouds, the place where dreams come true (literally!). Everyone has things that they hold dear, things that, given the opportunity, will happily gush about for a length of time unknown. Many things can be your "Nimbus" -- your love for video game music, or for the arrangement of said music, or perhaps for a television show, or even for a religion. Many of us have experienced our proclamation of our Nimbus -- our cares and dreams -- and have had to hold back so as not to lose our audience!

Music has a way of reaching others in a manner that just can't be expressed effectively in words sometimes, so perhaps listen with that in mind. This is for all of our Nimbuses out there, our passions, our dreams, that we have difficulty sharing with those outside of that circle. This is for the times where Nimbus, indeed, had to wait.

Enjoy, and don't forget to listen to the rest of the album!

3-10. DDRKirby(ISQ) - "Matrimony Mixset"
Sources: Super Mario RPG - "The Marrymore Bell Rings," Super Mario Bros. - "Underground BGM", "Overworld BGM" (cameo)

Theory of N: This was one of the first tracks that was completed on the album, and, to those of you that are familiar with Timmie's incredible work ethic, that should come as no surprise. In this piece, he does a wonderful job of using every motif in the source tune to its fullest extent, many of them in multiple ways, creating a work that is varied, yet clearly derivative of the source. I especially like the transitional section leading up to the time change from 3/4 to 6/8 that includes references to both World 1-1 and 1-2 from Super Mario Bros. As usual, great work from Timmie.

3-11. Tuberz McGee - "Send the Last One Way Up High!"
Source: "Goodbye Geno..."

Tuberz McGee: The motivation for this track was to have something that sounded very natural and realistic, even incorporating flaws into the process. As a good example of this, I ended up recording my own click track with a pair of bongos I had lying around. By doing this, I could get a very lifelike tempo that was fluctuating frequently, allowing me to slow at the end of phrases and really bring out the character of the melody. :)

3-12. Yoann Turpin - "Toadofunksky"
Source: "You and Toadofsky Create Exquisite Music"

Theory of N: I've been a big fan of Yoann Turpin's works for a few years now and he never ceases to amaze me with his impressive arrangements and performances. He'd done a few game arrangements of his own in the past, so I thought it would be cool to invite him on board for a track or two. Not even a week after agreeing to jump in and being sent the tracklist, he sent me a completed WAV of this track and I was blown away. One of my favorite things about his style is that he always manages to make the simplest melodies and hooks into something way more fun and enjoyable, and this is the perfect example of that. I didn't expect this track to be covered because of how short and vanilla it is (it's just a constant stream of quarter notes), but Yoann took it and turned it into something wonderful.