Jazz pop orchestra The 8-Bit Big Band won the Grammy Award for Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella last night for their gospel Super Mario remix.
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The 8-Bit Big Band formed in 2017 and rework classic video game anthems. Their take on Kirby classic ‘Meta Knight’s Revenge’ won them a Grammy back in 2022 and last night (February 1) the group picked up their second Grammy for ‘Super Mario Praise Break’, a gospel megamix of four classic Super Mario Bros anthems – ‘Super Mario Bros Theme’, Super Mario 64’s ‘Bob-Omb Battlefield’, Super Mario Galaxy’s ‘Gusty Garden Galaxy’ and ‘Athletic Theme’ from Super Mario World.
“Holy shit we just won another Grammy. So incredibly honored to have won this award along with my overwhelmingly talented friends and collaborators,” The 8-Bit Big Band wrote on Instagram. “More thoughts to come on this insane moment soon as they may have moved on with the show before I could speak (it happens!), but another huge win for the video game music scene as a whole. Thank you all so much for your continued listening and support of all of the incredible musicians that give us their time and talent to make this project happen!! Long live video game music!!”
Last summer, Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa teased the possibility of official orchestral tours in the future, following the popularity of the Nintendo Music app.
Last night’s ceremony also saw Austin Wintory’s soundtrack for Sword Of The Sea pick up the Grammy for Best Video Game Score, beating out competition from Helldivers 2, Star Wars Outlaws, Indiana Jones And The Great Circle and Avatar: Frontiers Of Pandora.
Wintory was nominated for Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media at the 2013 Grammys for his Journey soundtrack and was shortlisted for Best Video Game Score in 2023 (Aliens: Fireteam Elite) and 2024 (Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical) respectively.
In other news, Prince Of Persia fans have launched a campaign to save the recently-scrapped remake of Sands Of Time.