T/S : Tomita vs. William Orbit's Pieces in a modern style

Message Bookmarked

Bookmark Removed

Pick your fave electronic classics.

― phil jones (interstar), Saturday, 15 February 2003 15:30 (twenty-two years ago)

Actually haven't heard either one of these, but I have to admit that I like Oxygene and Equinoxe by Jean-Michel Jarre.

― Chris Barrus (xibalba), Sunday, 16 February 2003 08:30 (twenty-two years ago)

TOMITA!! Absolutely one of the reasons I make music (electronically) today. This man could work his synthesizers better than, IMO, Walter/Wendy Carlos or D. Hyman or anyone in their legion of imitators.

Search: Snowflakes Are Dancing, Greatest Hits (for the *only* cover version of the Star Wars theme that matters), Pictures At An Exhibition, The Planets

― Jay Vee (Manon_70), Sunday, 16 February 2003 17:16 (twenty-two years ago)

I haven't heard (of) William Orbit, but I'll chime in and say that I love stuff I've heard by Tomita. My dad has a ton of old electronic/avant garde records that I spend time listening to when I'm home, and I think he was actually a little dismayed that I liked the Tomita so much out of the bunch (I think he regards it as "lightweight"), but for my money, it was great lush electronic pop/pseudo-classical. Since then I got a greatest hits record, but I guess it's not the one mentioned above, since there's no Star Wars cover on it. That sounds great though.

― A.H. (A.H.), Sunday, 16 February 2003 19:46 (twenty-two years ago)

Yeah, "Snowflakes are Dancing" is brilliant.

I was interested to compare the two because I saw on the internet that Tomita also did a Ravel album which I've never heard (of) including "Pavanne for a Dead Princess". William Orbit also did a version of this. (If you don't know who William Orbit is he did the famous trance version of Barber's Adagio for Strings)

― phil jones (interstar), Monday, 17 February 2003 18:12 (twenty-two years ago)

Haven't heard of William Orbit? The guy's a bit of genius in my opinion. He's produced some really top notch pop songs. For example...

Madonna - Ray Of Light Album (im pretty sure)

All Saints - Pure Shores (overplayed to death, but i really do like it)

I didn't like Pieces In A Modern Style one bit though, one of the remixes of the single was quite cool, and I remember at a music show they used it to show off some of their 5.1 special effects, it was very effective.

Anyho a link to all his production credits, mighty impressive

http://www.futurestyle.org/archives/o/orbitWilliam.htm

― Emofex, Monday, 17 February 2003 21:01 (twenty-two years ago)

two years pass...

the famous trance version of Barber's Adagio for Strings

I'm blasting this right now, and it is entirely fucking splendid.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Saturday, 16 April 2005 06:53 (twenty years ago)

Don't know jack about classical but Pieces In A Modern Style makes for nice first-thing-in-the-morning music when I'm not feeling jazz.

― m coleman (lovebug starski), Saturday, 16 April 2005 09:45 (twenty years ago)

one year passes...

Isao Tomita wins it every time for me. He was a better producer and more gifted musician that William Orbit ever will be. Tomita's recordings sound all the more innovative than Orbit's given the fact that they came out two decades before William Orbit recorded Pieces In A Modern Style, and that Orbit had the opportunity to use modern technology such as digital samplers (which didn't exist in Tomita's day) and sequencers (which were in their infancy and were huge cumbersome beasts in the 1970s). Tomita's "Snowflakes Are Dancing" debut album was also a huge inspiration on The Art Of Noise's 1999 comeback releases "The Seduction of Claude DeBussy" and "Reduction". The Art of Noise were one of the best elecro acts of the 80s, and certainly one of the more innovative and colourful bands of that era. But the modern-day pioneers simply don't compare with Tomita. The man's a genius!

― Dave Weaving, Tuesday, 23 May 2006 11:59 (nineteen years ago)

aghast @ Alex in NYC's post.

― jed_ (jed), Tuesday, 23 May 2006 12:05 (nineteen years ago)

No idea about Tomita, but I love "Pieces In a Modern Style".

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Tuesday, 23 May 2006 12:46 (nineteen years ago)

You must be logged in to post. Please either login here, or if you are not registered, you may register here.