Pieces in a Modern Style Vol. 2

Ten years ago, William Orbit, a man whose name is synonymous with excellence in production and known for his successes with such luminaries as Madonna, Blur, U2 and Katie Melua, to name a few, indulged in and explored one of his keenest passions.  He produced, arranged, and performed a selection of his favourite classical compositions using modern electronic instruments and techniques, presenting them in his own unique and fresh style. 

That album, Pieces in a Modern Style, connected timeless orchestral works with a pop-dance generation and sold almost a million copies in the process.  The glorious Ferry Corsten remix of Samuel Barber’s ‘Adagio For Strings’ from that album became a surprise hit that year and continues to maintain its dance floor anthem status to this day.

The eagerly-awaited sequel, Pieces in a Modern Style 2, is long overdue, and it proves confidently to be well worth the wait. For this album, Orbit brings us arrangements of works both well known and less familiar, by Vaughan Williams, Grieg, Bach, Tchaikovsky, Bellini, Porpora and given them an interpretation that could only be the result of his deep exploration of classical music and his years of immersion and zen-like understanding of electronic instrumentation.
 
Orbit’s love of classical music was nurtured from birth. In fact it was the only music that was played in the house, so was an important and highly regarded backdrop to the family’s life. William says of these newly recorded tracks, “I wanted to convey and share my passion for these pieces by re-voicing them with current sounds and rhythms, yet maintaining the integrity of the compositions”.

The enclosed album will be coupled with a second disc (to follow) which includes William’s own further remixes and variations. Also appearing on this disc are remixers Jakwob, Ferry Corsten, John Digweed and others.  Thus with this album almost any box you can conjure up is ticked, from the haunting, gentle mysteriousness of Sonnambula to the stampeding remix by Digweed of Lark Ascending , and everywhere else in between.