Vol. 2-Pieces in a Modern Style

WILLIAM ORBIT - "PIECES IN A MODERN STYLE 2"
Madonna once said of William Orbit that he probably didn't realize how talented he is. This is a producer and musician who has already worked with U2, Sugababes, Depeche Mode, Pink, Prince, Blur, Katie Melua and Robbie Williams. Yet Madonna - whose bestselling album Ray of Light was co-created and produced by Orbit - knows what she's talking about.
William Orbit is one of those secret stars whose names are known only to professionals in the business and who prefer to stay out of the limelight. A highly gifted, introverted Londoner, who has been known to exasperate the American pop diva - for example, in the studio when he would suddenly become unapproachable: "He had a tendency to put his headphones on and disappear into his own world," Madonna recalled with some amusement. "I had to tap him on the shoulder and say, 'Um, what are you doing? Excuse me? We're making a record together'."
That was over twelve years ago, during which period Ray of Light has chalked up sales of more than 20 million, though William Orbit is one of those people you could imagine having been a little terrified by such success.
It wasn't long, however, before Orbit landed another bestseller that was even more surprising, and this time under his own name. The album that became a surprise hit was called Pieces in a Modern Style, a CD on which he artfully remixed classical pieces by George Frideric Handel, Antonio Vivaldi, Erik Satie, Ludwig van Beethoven, Maurice Ravel, Samuel Barber and other composers, transforming them into fragile, daydreamlike electropop melodies. In a manner not heard before, Orbit combines the classics with electronics to make a lulling, chill-out ambient sound. The single release of Barber's Adagio for Strings reached position 4 on the British charts. Madonna - "she loves classical music" (Orbit) - was so excited by it that she released the album in America on her own "Maverick" label. The artist responsible for it, however, was so overwhelmed that he retired from the public eye. In recent years he's been enjoying the peace and quiet. Now Orbit is back with Pieces in a Modern Style 2. This time he has remixed as "classical trip hop" pieces by composers including Camille Saint-Sans, Edward Elgar, Edvard Grieg, Johann Sebastian Bach, Gabriel Faur, Giacomo Puccini and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.