Super Mario Bros: Koji Kondo's 8-Bit Masterpiece [Twenty Thousand Hertz]

This episode of Twenty Thousand Hertz originally ran in August 2025. Kirk's 2020 episode of Strong Songs about the music of Super Mario TWENTY THOUSAND HERTZ SHOW NOTES: This episode was written & produced by Casey Emmerling . From the springy jump sound to the iconic Overworld Theme, the sound of Super Mario Bros. is instantly recognizable. With just five lo-fi audio channels and 40 kilobytes of space, composer Koji Kondo created a soundscape full of unforgettable melodies. In this episode, we explore how Kondo’s playful instincts, rhythmic trickery, and love of jazz fusion defined the sound of Mario. Featuring Kirk Hamilton of Strong Songs and Thomas of Thomas Game Docs . MUSIC FEATURED IN THIS EPISODE Rocker Jr. - Shake [B]IT DJARTMUSIC - 8 Bit Console from My Childhood moodmode - Game 8-Bit On XtremeFreddy - Bit Beats 1 moodmode - Level VII Wesley Slover - Analog Jam 1103 Space_Cat - Light It Up moodmode - Level VI William Benckert - Dance of the Pixel Birds Subscribe on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to see our new video series. If you know what this week's mystery sound is, tell us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠mystery.20k.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ . Support the show and get ad-free episodes at ⁠⁠⁠20k.org/plus⁠⁠⁠ . Follow Dallas on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ , ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ , and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ . Join our community on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Reddit⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ . Follow Kirk Hamilton’s podcasts ⁠Strong Songs⁠ and ⁠Triple Click⁠ . Subscribe to Thomas’ Youtube channel, ⁠Thomas Game Docs⁠ . ----LINKS----- 💰 SUPPORT STRONG SONGS! Patreon | One-Time Donation 🏠 HOMEPAGE 👚 MERCH 💬 DISCORD SERVER 📬 KIRK'S NEWSLETTER 🎸 KIRK'S GEAR & INSTRUMENTS 🎶 KIRK'S MUSIC 📷 KIRK’S SOCIAL MEDIA: Instagram | YouTube | Bluesky 🎙️ KIRK’S OTHER PODCASTS: Triple Click | Definitely Fiction 🎧 EVERY STRONG SONG: Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube Music 🎨 SHOW ART: Tom Deja, Bossman Graphics