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.