Victory Lap (Staff Roll) ~ Mario Kart 64 Cover

Hey, you very good! See you next time!
What a crazily nostalgic piece this is! Now, I didn't grow up with the Nintendo 64, but I've played many of its games. The Mario titles of the time in particular have always felt timeless to me, even having discovered them after many more recent games. Super Mario 64's smooth controls keep me coming back to it, the three Mario Party games released for the console are my favorites in the series, and Mario Kart 64, while admittedly far from my favorite of Mario's racing endeavors, still carries its weight in nostalgia. I have feeling its because of music like this.
This piece serves as Mario Kart 64's credits music. Given that Rainbow Road is the last race track in the game, it makes some sense that this piece shares a lot of commonalities with Rainbow Road's own theme. From the driving pulse and similar BPM, to having a shared key, these two pieces could be (and have been by many here on KZbin) mashed together quite easily. While I debated doing so, I decided to only cover Victory Lap here.
This doesn't mean, however, that I ignored Rainbow Road's melody completely. While arranging this, I determined rather quickly that I wanted to have a trading section between two saxophones, the flute, and my organ that I managed to get free of charge thanks to a family friend's friend, for lack of a better term. I quote Rainbow Road a few times throughout the small solos, and even did so accidentally at one point. I also included another quote from somewhere else in the Mario series during this trading section that I hope someone is able to pick out! It's a bit more tricky to notice.
Outside of this trading section, the arrangement is mostly akin to the original. I couldn't replicate the quick bass line, so I did change that up a bit. Certain other rhythm parts undergo changes as the piece progresses as well, and I figured I would give the organ as good of a debut as I could, so I ended up recording a number of different tracks on it. The organ plays chords in this cover, doubles the melody, and at one point plays a pedal E underneath the progression. I just figured it would be fun to let it have its moment, since it fits this piece so well!
Thanks so much for listening!
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#Mario #MarioKart #Nintendo64 #Nintendo #N64 #MarioKart64 #VGM #VideoGame #VideoGames #VideoGameMusic #Saxophone #Flute #Cover

[@kmadsmusic]

AHHH SO NOSTALGIC! This sounds fantastic, I can visualize the staff roll whizzing by right now. Great job! I really enjoyed the trading section.

[@XanderPlute]

Thank you so much! I always enjoyed the fast pace of trading at a lot of jazz performances at my college. It’s such a great opportunity to let instruments and musicians bounce ideas off of one another!

[@clutchathan1476]

Bro was whipping that kart in the thumbnail🔥🔥

[@XanderPlute]

I’ve got places to be!

[@diablo947866]

THIS IS LEGIT!

[@XanderPlute]

Thank you!!

[@Someplace_Sunny]

You get better with each one - wow !!!

[@XanderPlute]

Thank you!

[@ElementalityStudios]

What a throwback! Nice job man!

[@XanderPlute]

Thanks, Jon! It’s a classic!

[@NeonCowell]

This is excellent!

[@XanderPlute]

Thanks man! It means a lot coming from the king of N64 covers.

[@gameswithhart1498]

This one is genuinely such a thrill to listen to!! Everything about it is just 🤌 Awesome to see you always improving with each and every video!

[@XanderPlute]

Thanks, Hart! It really means a lot and I’m glad you enjoyed it!

[@BishopBeater69]

sick tunes

[@XanderPlute]

Thanks so much!

[@TheLemonSweat]

AAAAAAAAAHHHAHAAAA

[@giancarlochen]

Is this masterpiece on spotify?

[@XanderPlute]

Not yet, but it’s a goal of mine to have much of my music on streaming services by the end of the year, so maybe it will be soon!