Tim Forsyth - Shades
This is one of my all time favourite SIDs and I have been chipping away at it for months.
It hasn't quite turned out as I would have hoped… the opening, which I assumed would be the easiest proved to be impossible to get right. Arpeggios like the original (which are now leading the track out) didn't fit well in my mix.
That said, I think after the first 30 seconds it finds it's groove. Making all the percussive fx and elements, which I thought would be hard, was a joy. Aside from the 808s in the mid section and the crash cymbal, everything is analogue.
I put a lot of effort into making sounds that pay tribute to the original, many of which use Dagger, by BeepStreet. This is a fantastic mono synth, so if you have a Mac it's worth checking out.
The new section in the middle is for pacing and the robot / speak and spell part near the end completes a part of the original I always felt was unfinished.
Technique
Artistic skill
Nostalgia factor
Overall rating