Inspired by last week’s Cosmic Baby track, I’ve created something new, along the same lines.

The other inspiration comes from the Apollo 11 journey to the moon. There’s a specific manoeuvre called a slingshot, which accelerates the shuttle by circling round the earth, using its orbit to build up the speed needed to travel to the moon. It was first used in Apollo 8 a mission that circled the moon but did not land on it.

You can find out more in this video.

The audio dialog I used in the track are real recordings from the Apollo 11 mission; all 17000 hours of the missions audio is preserved by NASA here.

I found myself comparing the track to last week’s from time to time – it was the inspiration. Whenever I did, I was struck by the simplicity of its production. I had more elements this week and this definitely made it harder to mix. It’s a good lesson to remember as much as possible.

I have been wanting to make this track for the last 20 years.

Ever since I heard the original it has captivated me on every listen. Simply imagining the melody – even when I’m not listening to it – does something not far short. To me, and I think many others, it has the unrivalled ability to transport me back in time; the pin-pricks of the arpeggio pierce the mind with a blissful feeling, and it’s delicate traces of reverb and delay leave a feeling of Ecstasy.

The original was created by Cosmic Baby in 1992. He was a German producer, and it you have a look at some of his writing, you won’t fail to spot the philosophical underpinnings his creativity.

Germany, like Britain,  is renowned for its affinity to Electronic music, and has unblemished claim to the origins of several of its genres.

In Cosmic Baby’s work you can hear the intersection of science and programming with art and delight. This is may in part be due to this geographical provinence, but it is also a consequence of the sheer newness – and purity – of using computer hardware to make music. (These days we try and put a little of the analog sound back in.

For my part, Space Track, my favourite of all his work, was fascinating to make for so many reasons. 

*The lead arpeggio is built on a single sine wave: the simplest, purist sound possible. 

*On the other hand, I found the bass sound extremely difficult to re-create at first. After trying countless oscillator combinations, and emulations of early hardware, I ultimately had to ask for help from one of the world experts in early synth sounds (who also happens to be a friend). His overnight advice gave me the clue I needed, and a couple of hours later I had some of the essence. 

*Mostly though, after listening to that lead line well over 100 times more than I had a week ago, and examining its components in quite some detail, its effect remains as strong – if not stronger – than ever. 

Sonically, I hope my re-creation sounds at least as good, and pays tribute to such a pioneering piece of music. (I skipped panning the bass to the left speaker; this isn’t The Beatles.)

Here’s the original: 

Next week I’ll do a follow up to this: similar vibe but something brand new.

P.S. Cosmic Baby, aka Harald Blüchel, is alive and well. Here he is playing an hour-long recital on solo grand piano in 2018. 

His blog is also fascinating. 

If you have a few seconds, study the picture. Which element sticks out? How much of the insect’s beauty has been lost?

When I was about 15, and already falling for dance music, my family went round for Christmas drinks with another family we knew nearby. I recall them having 4 kids. At least 2 of the 3 boys were prodigious: one could climb up nearly flat walls and went on to set extraordinarily difficult climbing routes at the indoor wall in Gloucester; the other was precocious and played the cello. (The other was into sports too.)

Although I had anticipated a nice conversation about the shared love of music with the latter, that’s not how it turned out. He had a dim view of electronically made music, and imagined that its production was about as creative as completing a jigsaw. Sure, he thought, there were skills to learn, but once a basic knowledge was acquired, you just line up a few different parts and you’re done.

This week’s track is my testament to him, a couple of decades later. I do not view it as complete, and although I like the hooks and arpeggios, there are little things I’m not happy with.

It’s true that sometimes parts seem to work together right away, things feel effortless. Mostly, though, they don’t. I shall not list all the particulars that I wish were different, but I count over 20. That’s well over a dozen elements that deserve more polish, more time, and a gentle caress. I’ll leave you to find them!

Each of these stick out a little to me. And while the track is feels more rough around the edges to me – each of them decisively rule in favour of my childhood friend’s ignorance.

Having said all this, although aiming for perfection is foolish, and although 95% is fantastic, 85% can still move the heart.

I love and care for all the work I do here, but perhaps for this one especially.

Drum & Bass: one of the first genres of dance music I learnt to really love and appreciate. Actually, I was in to it before it even was drum and bass; before rave music split down the middle, forking into jungle on the one hand, and happy hardcore on the other.

Musically, I have retained many things from those early days – perhaps most of all the love of the harmonic structures that defined hardcore. They’re still there in lots of my work.

I’ve really enjoyed paying homage to the club nights in the Sanctuary, Milton Keynes, and have this week is influenced more than a little by the work of LTJ Bukem.

I’ll also tell you a story. Last year when I went to Drumcode Halloween in London (the music that inspired week 5 and week 6), some guy from Japan shouted loudly in my ear – for there was no other way – that he didn’t think people my age like this sort of music.

In the UK for University, perhaps his eastern upbringing lent him a deference to people older than him; he asked pleasantly enough, and perhaps clubbing in Japan is more geared towards those in their 20’s. I’ve no idea.

In turn, I asked him how old he was. When he told me, I was pleased to let him know that I’d been into this sort of music since before he was born.

And back to the present, it’s taken me nearly as long to get good enough to do justice to the early jungle pioneers.