The Classical Remix That Defined William Orbit’s Solo Voice

William Orbit’s death last week at 69 closed a career that touched Madonna’s Ray of Light, Blur, and a string of remixes, but his solo identity took shape on a project that had little to do with pop. Pieces in a Modern Style, an album of classical pieces reimagined through synthesizers, birthed a track that would echo far beyond its ambient origins — thanks to a trance producer’s rework.

The album’s lead single was Orbit’s take on Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings. Ferry Corsten’s remix turned it into a club hit, a collision of orchestral longing and four-on-the-floor propulsion. But the story behind the project reveals a quieter gamble. Inspired after Warner Brothers chairman Rob Dickens sent him music by Górecki and Arvo Pärt, Orbit told Sound on Sound in 1996 that the shift made sense: “If you think about not being constrained by a vocal or the need to have a song or a lyric… I can only go so far with MIDI soundscapes, and the thing about music designed for instant impact is that it isn’t necessarily sustained after several listenings. I believe the only way to sustain depth is to use profound melodies.”

The album’s first release, in 1995 on Orbit’s N-Gram label, was pulled almost immediately after Pärt objected to the use of two compositions without permission. “In pop music, you don’t have to ask permission,” Orbit told El País in 2000. “Apparently classical music doesn’t work that way.” He replaced the pieces and reissued the record. The Adagio, however, remained untouched — and its journey from ambient reimagining to dancefloor staple gave Orbit a solo blueprint that sat outside genre expectations.