Lists
January: 18 albums you need to hear this month
Sven Väth, Fever Ray, Nabihah Iqbal, Björk and more
Pete Tong with The Heritage Orchestra 'Ibiza Classics' (Universal)
There is potential here. The Heritage Orchestra and Jules Buckley have a rich history, Pete Tong obviously knows his onions, and the tracklist is great. But sadly, it’s something of a missed opportunity: orchestral arrangements could add so much to dance tracks, but these songs are often note-for-note recreations, which take away all the original sonic invention and add little else in return. Okay, there’s a little bit of extra disco lavishness to ‘Sing it Back’, a little sensitivity added to ‘Finally’ – but honestly, do you really need to hear an overly reverent version of ‘Unfinished Sympathy’ or The Prodigy’s ‘Outer Space’ without the sampling? This is expertly done, but ultimately too slick for comfort. Joe Muggs
6/10
