Listen 'Symphony Of You' :
Alongside Boy George the new album also features Todd Edwards, MNEK, Grace Carter, Zara Larsson, Alison Mosshart and more, and is set for release on November 29th. Chilled Classics is the follow-up to the chart-topping 2016 and 2017 albums Classic House and Ibiza Classics, which saw rework classic tunes with the orchestra, conducted and arranged by Jules Buckley. This third collection sees Tong and Buckley introduce a number of new tracks, fitting seamlessly in amongst the classics as if they too were unearthed from the vaults. “We’re trying to make timeless music”, says Tong, “and we think these fit in”.
With the new record, the overarching aim was to continue to develop and evolve the original idea at the heart of the project, the original idea being classical, orchestrated interpretations of Ibiza, house and techno classics. Key, Tong says, was to push things forward on all fronts: inspired song choices, inventive interpretations, ambitious collaborations. As he acknowledges: “We hope our versions are true to the visions of the original songwriters, producers and artists – but equally, they have to stand alone as a worthwhile tribute, alternative and complement to those visions”. He is quick to clarify that the “chilled” concept is meant in a specific context, however. To Tong, a man who knows the scene better than most, if not everyone, this new selection of tunes “is chilled in the sense of a sunset set Ibiza. So that doesn’t mean it’s all ambient or meditation music”, he notes with a smile.“It’s what a DJ might play at Café Mambo for Café del Mar as the sun’s going down. So it can have tempo, and be quite soulful, too”.
Classic House, Ibiza Classics, Chilled Classics: three albums in, Tong and co are owning the dancefloor and the concert arena in a wholly fresh, forward-thinking way. All classic, all new, all good times. Here’s the tracklist of the upcoming album:
- SWEET HARMONY ft. Nina Nesbitt
- 7 SECONDS ft. Grace Carter and Langa Mavuso
- ROSE ROUGE ft. Robert Owens
- GO CRAZY ft. Todd Edwards
- SYMPHONY OF YOU ft. Boy George
- THE CURE & THE CAUSE ft. Sinead Hartnett
- EVERY HEARTBEAT ft. Zara Larsson
- AT THE RIVER
- OFFSHORE
- PERFECT HARMONY ft. MNEK
- DARKEST DAYS ft. Shungudzo
- TOUCH ME ft. Alison Mosshart and Jamie Hince
- GREECE 2000
- ALRIGHT ft. Au/Ra
- SHOW ME LOVE ft. Moss Kena
- BORN SLIPPY ft. Wiley
- ADAGIO FOR STRINGS
- EVERY HEARTBEAT (FULL ORCHESTRAL) – NON-LP