Remembered & Remastered Volume 1: Ben Daglish

Published: 08/06/20

First we take a look at Alligata's Trap and more importantly the hidden demo which has since been given the name Gladiator Demo. The demo was created to advertise Compunet and the music is credited to WEMUSIC. WEMUSIC was a short lived collaboration of Ratt (Tony Crowther) and Ben Daglish. It was a flash in the pan project and musically Ben was mostly the man behind the name.

Ben Stated that Trap was his first full length composition. The track lasts nearly 9 1/2 minutes. Naturally a daunting task for any remixer to take on but a few have. Karl R Pettersen back in 2001 gave at a good run for it's money especially when you consider the remix is 19 years old.

Ocean's Cobra is another 19 year old remix and only one of two remixes Axel Melzener remixed. Focusing on a typical Ennio Morricone spaghetti western style Axel surprisingly pulled it off. Again it's aged fairly well although more recent ventures into this genre have surpassed it.

SIDrip Alliance remixed Gremlin's Krakout in 2012. A live recorded version with real instruments featuring the talents of Chad (Drums), Werdy (Keyboards), Hermit (Bass), Küki and NecroPolo (Guitars). Ben joined remix64 soley based on this remix and left a review. He was thrilled.

Following on from his 2001 remix of Blasteroids 2002 saw Glyn R Brown re-blasting it. This is Glyn's Pop/Dance phase before he ventured off into Symphonic remixing. Glyn somehow remixed a 33 second SID into a glorious dance remix that lasts 4:12. One of the few remixers than can add his own stamp to a remix without the listener noticing. Very Clever.

Rune Bertils was very active making remixes for 5 years before rebranding as Uncle and the Bacon. This Jazz/Swing remix of Ark Pandora by rino shows how to take something and turn it on it's head whilst still sounding familiar. It was made in 2009 and was Rune's second remix.

Another SID credited to WEMUSIC is the Bomb Jack Clone Bombo by Rino. After an amusing intro Romeo Knight delivers a clean guitar laiden remix. Released in 2004 it's hard to believe this is 16 years old. Just like the nuts intro the outro is just as nuts!

What would a trubute be without Last Ninja from System 3. This is the oldest remix featured in this article and it is dated way back to the year 2000. This SID filled dance classic by Instant Remedy was a big hitter when it was released.

Fancy a Guinness? Well, Makke certainly did back in 2005 with this superb Sing-a-long irish folk remix of Artura from Arcadia Systems. This is probably still to this day one of the most original takes on a sid.

We'll finish off the article with a remix that is a fitting tribute to the legacy of Ben Daglish and the remixes of his music. There's nothing more poignant than Lala's remix of Hades Nebula by Nexus Information systems. Just under a month of Ben's passing Lala created this heartfelt remix. You can feel the genuine sorrow in the remix and when the audio samples from Ben start it's hard not to shed a tear.