When Mikau left his legacy to Link, little did he know he’d be helping to keep the spirit of his band alive and helping to save the whole of Termina. Lending Link his slick guitar riffs would not only grant our hero access to the Great Bay Temple, but it would also prepare him to put on a performance that people in Termina wouldn’t soon forget. The Indigo-Go’s top hit — known for its upbeat tempo yet chill jazz vibes — would go down in Termina’s history not just as the catchy song that played at the Carnival of Time, but rather as the one that opened for the Dawn of A New Day.
For some reason, I feel like this foot-tapping, finger-clicking piece from Majora’s Mask is considered more obscure than others in the soundtrack. Pieces like the ‘Song of Healing’, ‘Stone Tower’, and other catchy tracks usually garner the spotlight first. But I absolutely love how jazzy The Indigo-Go’s theme is. While it does gain its moment of glory in the game’s brilliant end credits medley, to me it just doesn’t get enough credit in general (cue canned laugh).
Well, whether or not it’s top of the charts in Termina, I wanted to highlight it during the 20-year anniversary of Majora’s Mask that we’re currently celebrating. What better way to do so than with an official orchestration that was published a few months after the game itself and that most people may not have even heard of? It’s an excellent extension of the original that retains its soul and yet manages to fill it with even more of an oomph than it already had. While Lulu’s iconic voice may be absent, the sassy saxophone has been turned up to eleven and the entire melody has received a well-deserved encore, with it being at least four times the length of the original and ending with a glorious splash that would make every Zora put their fins together.
Picture this: it’s the early hours of the morning in Clock Town. Link is relaxing in the Milk Bar after a tough day of the hero gig, and Talon’s look-alike, Mr. Barten, passes him a cool glass of Romani Milk (which Link helped to deliver just a few hours ago). On the old, rusting radio sitting at the end of the bar, a classic piece by the Indigo-Go’s comes on: the jazzy hit single that they’re scheduled to play live at the Carnival of Time. Link recognizes it instantly, as it wasn’t so long ago that he was jamming with The Indigo-Go’s themselves in Mikau’s form, and was strumming along to the tune on his fish-bone guitar.
With a child-like grin, Barten chats with Link and another customer about how great The Indigo-Go’s show will be in his bar tomorrow night, and that he hopes they’ll both make it despite all the craziness going on about the end of the world. Link looks over to the stage, thinking about how hard Lulu and the rest of the band were practicing for the big night last time he saw them. He assures himself that he’ll absolutely be there to play the part of Mikau, guitar in hand and Zora Mask on — provided he can actually save the world as planned.
After all, saying that the moon looked like it was about to fall is about the oldest and lamest excuse for missing a gig.
Be sure to check out the rest of our articles from Majora’s Month, our month-long celebration of Majora’s Mask’s 20th anniversary!
