Lindsay Lowend's "Trapped Inside an Earthbound Cartridge" is Eight Minutes of Gamer Genius

It was inspired by Japanese role-playing video games and Mario Kart.

by David Garber
Sep 18 2014, 8:51pm

Artwork by LOWBROS

In case it wasn't completely obvious, Lindsay Lowend is a diehard gamer. He even wishes he had Kirby's ability to swallow people whole and steal their abilities. "I'm tryna be that guy," he told us. Lowend's latest tune, produced with his occasional partner-in-crime Jonah Baseball, reaches back to the the year 1994, taking direction from the popular Japanese role-playing game Earthbound which—along with The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening and the entire Mario Kart franchise—is among the producer's favorite games. 

"Trapped Inside an Earthbound Cartridge" is an eight-minute-long abstract odyssey through glitchy video game-inspired beats and hallucinatory melodies. It sounds like it was made by someone who ate one of Mario's magic mushrooms, honestly. "I try to never make the same song twice," Lowend tells us. "Each segment represents a different part of the game. I used different sounds effects from Earthbound to simulate traveling from level to level. It's pretty open for interpretation." You heard the man—decide for yourself.