Please note this is an old page and Fly Global Music has now moved. Please follow this link and search for the entry in the new site.

By coincidence, William Orbit produced/co-wrote two of Mrs Hectic’s favourite tunes of all time; ‘Pure Shores’ (ouch!) and ‘Ray Of Light’ (I concede, that one is still rather fantastic as a ‘Best of 1999’) but since then he’s apparently been working with Katie Melua and at the same time been putting together this re-mix/working/interpretation of classical music ‘hits’.

I thought the best time to listen to this last week was when I was making my way back from the Big Chill Festival to get into the right frame of mind as Oribit ambles through some of the best known bits of Eglar, Bach, Saint-Saëns, Ravel and Puccini seemed to flow quite nicely as a mixtape. But the Devil’s voice was nagging at me - could this be aimed at Classic FM/’O Level’ music teachers or just a ‘sampling’ steal where he knows that there’s no royalties going to be paid?

Whilst the Carl Craig/Moritz von Oswald album ReComposed (on the famous classical label Deutsche Grammophon).took the orchestral/classical to a new/same level. That said, the opener ‘Aquarium’ is some gentile synth laden Yellow Magic Orchestra/Lemony Snicket soundtrack cross.

Getting back to Big Chill, the Big Chill Radio one pre-dawn period had a Classic FM moment and it just seem to fit the mood (in our tent at least) whilst The Igloo had and ‘last night’ ambient session and most of the action was kids going in and out of the door, i.e. ruining the ambient vibes. Which is a long way of saying, the sub-Kraftwerk ‘Nimrod’ is the closest you get to Orbit dance-synth but it’s not for long as it’s sweeps into Tetley Tea advert nostalgia.

The thing is, for any non-Last Night of the Proms, this is as accessible as you can get to classical music chill and he’s clearly put a lot of time and effort into this; would it be better with some real orchestration with a string section; probably. But I do love the dreamy quality to it and the retro electro-pop moments (on ‘Peer Gynt’ of all things!).

Having said all that, one of my favourite tracks ever (and at one time it was an cast in stone Desert Island Disc) was PIL’s ‘Death Disco’ that was a thinly disquised an adaption of ‘Swan Lake’; Orbits’ version of ‘Swan Lake’ ends this CD.

The remix edition must have got lost in transit (looking forward to hearing the Timo Maas and Santos mix) but I’m sure you’re wondering whether their are any potential hits like what he managed on the first edition of Pieces In A Modern Style, Barber’s ‘Adagio For Strings’ and Ravel’s ‘Pavane Pour Une Infante Défunte’? Well, whilst I’ve got negative tendencies on this, I’ve actually enjoyed every time I’ve put it on and on that basis, I’d recommend it to the chilled out mindset amongst you.

Reviews: William Orbit - Pieces In A Modern Style Vol. 2 (Decca) Cat. No. 4782546 Release date: 16th August 2010
Tracklisting:
1. Aquarium (Saint-Saens) (3:37)
2. Nimrod (Elgar) (8:58)
3. Alto Giove (Porpora) (4:06)
4. Peer Gynt (Grieg) (5:31)
5. Arioso (Bach) (2:36)
6. Lark (Vaughan Williams) (5:48)
7. Sonnambula (Bellini) (3:35)
8. Paradisum (Faure) (3:37)
9. Pavane (Faure) (4:47)
10. Clavier (Bach) (4:25)
11. Babbino (Puccini) (3:45)
12. Swan Lake (Tchaikovsky) (5:17)
Disc 2
1. Nimrod (Jakwob Remix)
2. Carmen
3. Aquarium Remix
4. Prelude
5. Lark (John Digweed and Nick Muir Remix)
6. Lark (Alex Metric Remix)
7. Lark (Rockdaworld Remix)
8. Clavier (Ferry Corsten Remix)
9. Nimrod (Timo Maas and Santos Remix)
10. Nisi Dominus
11. Nesciens Mater 1
12. Nesciens Mater 2
13. Stabat Mater 3:54
14. Swan Lake (Rico’s Variation)

Links:
www.myspace.com/williamorbit
williamorbit.com
orbitstreamcast.com
http://twitter.com/WilliamOrbit
www.katiemelua.com
Thomas Newman - Lemony Snicket’s A Series Of Unfortunate Events (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)