Synthrilla’s full reconstruction of Baby Be Mine is now live on YouTube. Timed to the theatrical opening of the Michael Jackson biopic Michael, the instrumental cover is a complete ground-up sonic rebuild of one of the most underappreciated tracks on Thriller — every synth patch, every bass line, every horn hit analyzed, transcribed, and recreated from scratch.
Not a Cover — A Reconstruction
This is not just an instrumental. It is a complete ground-up sonic rebuild of Baby Be Mine from the Thriller album. No samples, no shortcuts. Just ears, instruments, and obsession. Every element — from the crystalline synth stabs to the layered horn arrangement — was analyzed off the original record, transcribed by hand, and reconstructed patch by patch.
Special thanks to the Synthesizer Museum Berlin for their invaluable contribution to authentic Thriller-era synthesis research, and to the San Diego State University Backdoor Studio for hosting our musicians during the live tracking sessions.
What You’re Hearing
- All synthesizers hand-programmed by Antonio Santiago — patch by patch, ear by ear.
- Bruce Swedien’s iconic bass sound recreated via the Synthrilla Bass Box VST — a custom C++ emulation of the UTC LS-10X vintage transformer, built by Daniel Jösch.
- Rhodes piano performed live by TapeVault.
- Full live horn section led by Andy Hoang, recorded at The Backdoor Studio, SDSU San Diego.
- Additional live drums and guitar by Nate Willenberg.
Coming Soon: Vocal Version with Kabe
What you’re hearing today is the instrumental release. The full vocal version, featuring Kabe on lead and backing vocals, is the next milestone in our Thriller-era reconstruction series.
Credits
Produced by: Antonio Santiago & Andy Hoang
Engineering: Andy Hoang & Antonio Santiago
Mastering: Andy Hoang
All Synthesizers & Synth Programming: Antonio Santiago
BassBox VST Emulation (Bruce Swedien’s UTC LS-10X Vintage Transformer): Programmed in C++ by Daniel Jösch — patches available at synthrilla.com
Rhodes Piano: TapeVault
Lead & Backing Vocals: Kabe
Additional Drums & Guitar: Nate Willenberg
Synthrilla Horns:
Trumpet: Andy Hoang, Jose Avalos
Trombone: Chris Klacka
Tenor Sax: Joshua Antonio
Additional Engineering: Jacob Antonio
Videography: Justin Gemena, Daniel Jösch
Video Editing: Daniel Jösch
Recorded at: The Backdoor Studio, San Diego State University, San Diego CA
Synthrilla founded by Daniel Jösch & Andy Hoang.
Why We’re Doing This
We believe the Michael Jackson biopic Michael (2026) will bring a new generation of listeners to the most iconic album productions in pop history — and remind the world how timeless Quincy Jones and Bruce Swedien’s work truly was.
Synthrilla is a worldwide collaboration of musicians and sound designers dedicated to preserving and reviving the sonic DNA of the Thriller era — rebuilt from the circuit up, with zero compromises.
This isn’t nostalgia. This is resurrection.
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