S. Barber - Adagio for Strings (DEZ Remix) (Formerly titled: Stairway to Heaven)

TranceAddict Forums (www.tranceaddict.com/forums)
- Music Producers Promotion
-- S. Barber - Adagio for Strings (DEZ Remix) (Formerly titled: Stairway to Heaven)

Posted by EddieZilker on Apr-02-2009 02:41:

S. Barber - Adagio for Strings (DEZ Remix) (Formerly titled: Stairway to Heaven)

EDIT: Fixed version posted

Samuel Barber - Adagio for Strings (Deep Eddie Zilker Remix) 192 by DeepEddieZilker

[[ LINK REMOVED ]]

320

Okay. It's not even close to "Stairway to Heaven".

A while back, Mr.BoJiveJangles kind of dared me to make a remix of Samuel Barber's "Adagio for Strings" after I remarked that Adagio for strings was for trance producers as "Stairway to Heaven" is to guitar players. At first I was reluctant. I ambled about in a creative quagmire - a bit of writer's block and a lot more of other things I was paying attention to.

In the end, I thought it would be an interesting exercise, so I looked up a couple of YouTube versions of the song. One was a stringed arrangement set to serene landscape slides, each with folksy bits of wisdom. The other was strictly vocals.

Oh, and happy April Fools Day!

EDIT: I retooled the break and hence, have omitted my erstwhile comments. I hope you all like it. Please feel free to leave comment on it.

Posted by Subtle on Apr-02-2009 03:13:

Interesting remix.

Its very deep sounding, but still sounds somewhat like Barbers Adagio.

Its a pretty cool remix, i dont have any technical feedback to give you, other than some transitions around the break where u bring in the big strings could have been a little smoother.

Posted by EddieZilker on Apr-02-2009 23:03:

quote:
Originally posted by Subtle
Its a pretty cool remix, i dont have any technical feedback to give you, other than some transitions around the break where u bring in the big strings could have been a little smoother.

Thanks and I fixed the break, this afternoon.

(First post edited with new links.)

I appreciate the feedback.

Posted by mUSER on Apr-03-2009 01:45:

Listening now Eddie - will let you know!

*edit*

Mannnn, I'm digging it I really appreciate how you approach your productions. You have a great sense of soundscaping the track. The mix is really clear, all the elements stand well. I'm enjoying the groove of the whole piece. It's a really nice track to listen to; I can't say I'd dance to it per se, but I feel it'd be really nice in a listening mix. Very cool vibe to it. The production is well done. The textures are quite good. I'll definitely listening to it again.

Cheers man!

Posted by G-Con on Apr-04-2009 06:25:

Really nice track man.

Adagio for Strings is one of my favourite trance tracks of all time (both Tiesto and Ferry Remixes) and normally I despise seeing even more remixes appear.

However you're version does actually bring something different to the table. The melody is Adagio for strings only it sounds different, much more subtle. I love the breakbeat drums, the atmosphere and the progression.

Criticisms would be, at times I wanted more lush reverbed FX to really wash over the mix creating more depth. And at the break before the pads come in, you allow it to drop completely silent. I think instead you need longer tails on the synths dropping out that fade away just as the pads come in. An FX sound of some sort would help with this transition.

Other than that, I really enjoyed it. In the future, I'd like to try a collab with you or do a remix of one of your tracks, I love your style..

Posted by EddieZilker on Apr-04-2009 23:08:

Thanks M-User and G-Con!

I deliberately kept myself from listening to any of the other remixes out there so I could focus on developing this version. I had a copy of Tiesto's version around my home, that I listened to quite a few times, a few years ago.

As I mentioned, earlier, my only reference material was a couple of YouTubes (apparently removed subsequent to my utilization) of stringed and choral arrangements. Both of those faded to nil, after the first movement, before resuming with a return to the primary refrain. As I had already taken liberties with Mr. Barber's arrangement by entirely scrapping the string section, I thought it better work in the context of the original work, as much as was feasible, to cultivate a nuanced integrity to the piece.

That said, your ideas are good ones. Having heard your work, I'd definitely be interested in putting something together with you, in the future. If you just want to remix something of mine, let me know what it is and I'll try and put together a package, at some point, with .wav, .mid, and .rsn files.

Posted by MrJiveBoJingles on May-08-2009 23:12:

Haha, in that original thread I put up an "eighth note" version just as a joke. It was something I threw together in half an hour using a Deadmau5 loop, hi hat, and KORG Mono-Poly VST:

quote:
Originally posted by MrJiveBoJingles
I have just put together a sketch for a remix of Adagio for Strings. I feel it is quite excellent, original, and creative. Have a listen!:

http://jbj.raceriv.com/stupid/adagioformau5.mp3