Super Mario Bros vs Mario 3: Koji Kondo’s Underground Theme

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Comparing the Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros. 3 versions of Koji Kondo’s “Underground Theme,” focusing on how each uses the NES/Famicom soundchip.


Both themes use the NES’s five‑channel audio architecture, but the Super Mario Bros. 3 version introduces several major changes. Most obviously, SMB3 adds a new drum groove using lo‑fi DPCM samples and noise‑channel hi‑hats, but, also significantly, we look at how the two games use the pulse channels differently, shaping the timbre and overall character of each version of the theme.

These choices highlight not only Koji Kondo’s evolving creativity, but also composers were able to leverage the NES soundchip differently over the life of the system.

Whether you’re interested in game music, NES chiptune sound design, or how classic game composers created so much with so little, I hope this provides some background into how the “Underground Theme” remains one of the most iconic tracks in video game history.

More on the NES and Famicom sound here:


More “on video game sound here”Listening to Videogames” here:

When a HPF Causes Clipping (Filtering, Phase, & Constructive Interference)

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How can a low-pass filter increase amplitude even though filters remove frequencies?

In this video, I explain how *phase shifts* introduced by your filters can cause constructive interference, increasing amplitude and even leading to clipping. We’ll explore:
-Why filtering can boost amplitude
-How phase changes affect waveform shape
-Strategies for filtering in synthesis and mixing

Understanding this concept can up the game of sound designers, mixing engineers, and anyone working with EQ or synthesis.

More synthesis and MIDI fundamentals here:

The Three-Oscillator Problem: Chaos and Emergence

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Simple rules to sonic chaos: the “three-oscillator problem” & Rob Hordijk’s “Benjolin”

In this video, I talk about the “Three-Body Problem” and created an analogous Pure Data patch, where three oscillators frequency-modulate each other. Just as in the physics problem, this cross-modulation network creates unpredictable, chaotic patterns.

This emergent complexity from simple rules perhaps connects to ideas of motivic development in music, how great artistic works can grown from simple and small ideas.

Feedback Loops & Acid House (“Hum” live set)

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“Hum”: Acid house meets analog chaos, live feedback loops performance

This is my live performance set “Hum”, blending digitally controlled analog synthesizers, surrealist acid house grooves, and feedback textures. Recorded in my home studio, this video revisits the set I played live at Synth-tember / Mini-Blorp at New Alliance Gallery in Somerville, MA.

Featuring chaotic 303 basslines (from Herbs & Stones Liquid Foam), evolving feedback loops (from the Random*Source Serge Resonant EQ), and hybrid digital/analog sound design, this should satisfy fans of modular synth performance, experimental electronic music, and custom audio setups.

🎧 If you enjoy this, check out my previous live set from Bleep/Blorp 2024 on Bandcamp:

Sequencing an Alesis D4 Drum Module with Arturia DrumBrute Impact

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Sequencing a vintage Alesis D4 drum module with an Arturia DrumBrute Impact for classic 90s electronic percussion sounds.

Today, I’m connecting my Arturia DrumBrute Impact to a classic (?) Alesis D4 drum module through a MioXL interface. I explain the very straighforward setup, then check out the retro drum sounds of the D4 while sequencing from the contemporary DrumBrute Impact.

Why is this cool? These two pieces of hardware made decades apart still communicate perfectly thanks to the enduing MIDI standard. It’s a reminder of the expressive possibilities of “obsolete” technology and how vintage gear can still inspire new creative workflows.

Gear Used:

Alesis D4 Drum Module
Arturia DrumBrute Impact
iConnectivity MioXL MIDI Interface

Japanese Famicom Controller 2 Microphone

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Retro console teardown meets audio hacking: turning classic hardware into sonic experiments.

Have you ever wondered what’s inside a Japanese Famicom? Well I did. Particularly what that microphone in controller 2 is like. Luckily, last summer when I was in Japan, I found a “junk” Famicom console for under $6 and, in this video, I break it down to check out what’s going on inside. I open up the controllers and the main system, extract the microphone, and wire it into a custom circuit to hear what it sounds like.

This is part teardown, part audio experiment, and completely perfect for fans of retro tech, DIY audio, and creative sound design.

More DIY audio projects here:

Pd Envelope Follower Patch from Scratch

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In this no-talking, step-by-step video, I build an envelope follower patch from scratch using Pure Data Vanilla.

I route the amplitude of an incoming drum beat to control various parameters of a sawtooth oscillator ([phasor~]) in real time:

🔹 First, the amplitude of the sawtooth wave follows the drum signal.

🔹 Next, the oscillator frequency responds dynamically to the drum’s envelope.

🔹 Next, I patch the drum’s amplitude to modulate the cutoff frequency of a filter.

🔹 Finally, I make an old-school envelope filter by applying the envelope-following filter to its own input.

This is a hands-on demo for anyone interested in interactive audio, modulation techniques, or learning how to build dynamic control structures in Pd. All done in Pure Data Vanilla, from scratch, with no external libraries. Perfect for beginners exploring envelope followers or anyone wanting to see modular ideas implemented visually.

More Pd no-talking tutorials here:

AI, Retro, and Music of Our Time

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As musicians, how should we respond to the rise of AI in music? In this video, based on an article I wrote for the SEAMUS Journal, I explore the cultural, ethical, and artistic implications of generative AI tools. Rather than framing AI as a threat or miracle, I argue that it’s a technology we must actively engage with, both critically and creatively.

Rather than surrendering to nostalgia or automation, artists can explore how to engage AI as a tool for meaningful, speculative, and human expression.

🧠 No one owns the technofuture.

0:00 Music that speaks to our time
1:07 Results: text to music
1:36 Limitations of existing data (biases and cartoon models)
2:50 Mark Fisher and the problem of nostalgia
4:11 AI and automating nostalgia
4:42 The creative potential of generative AI
6:13 What should artists do?

Embrace the Random (Algorithmic Synthesis Nuances)

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Composing small elements of randomness into your synths to add nuance, movement and human feel.

In this video, I “embrace the random” and show some ideas for adding dimension to your synths by passing off some parameters to randomness, exploring how introducing small elements of randomness to a synth in Native Instruments Reaktor. These kinds of details help synths feel less rigid and more expressive, especially when looping or playing repetitive patterns.

  • 0:00 Introduction
  • 1:25 Simple Sawtooth Synth
  • 2:36 Random Filter Cutoff
  • 8:31 Random Panning
  • 13:06 So What?
  • 13:40 Arpeggios in Logic Pro X
  • 15:23 Closing Thoughts, Next Steps

More Reaktor tutorials available here: