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Visage - Fade To Grey (Fear of Tigers Remix)

from Remixology - Part 2 by Fear of Tigers

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This remix of Visage - Fade To Grey, was done for a chap who briefly managed me. I did a number of remixes for him including Bulletproof by La Roux which appears on Remixology Volume 1 but was turned down by the artist. This remix however did get past the gatekeepers and got a release, albeit fairly low key one. I talk about the reason why remixes often get turned down in the accompanying podcast that accompanies Remixology.

If you don’t know the original track, it’s a classic slice of proto new romantic synthpop and went on to inspire a whole bunch of people. This is the era of Ashes To Ashes by Bowie and you can certainly see the connection between these two records. When coupled with the artwork, the video and the mythos behind lead singer Steve Strange - it's a difficult track to criticise. But honestly - as a piece of music alone, is it really that great? I'm sorry to blast a hole in the legend but I'm a heretic - what can I say.

That said, I like the track as completed piece of work, but taking it apart I realised just how bad the production and performance was on the record. Frankly, it's ruined it for me. It works as a whole but when one breaks down the individual elements it just falls apart.
 
There is also an issue with remixing a bonafide classic. Other than just making it sound more contemporary (which has never been my interest), what can one really do with such calcified, time-honoured golden oldie? I remember once sitting in the communal area of a record label, trying to explain to the A&R man why I didn't have any interest in remixing Relax by Frankie Goes To Hollywood for similar reasons. Just as I was questioning why I was turning it down a voice popped up from the seat behind to agree with me and explain that's he'd also turned down the offer to remix Relax. The mysterious interjector? Mark Ronson.

Back to Visage though - In the end, unable to do anything with the stems, I thew away all my attempts to remix Fade to Grey and instead overlaid the vocal on an existing piece of music I had written, one that already worked instrumentally. In many ways then, this is a Fear of Tigers record rather than a remix in my view. And, listening back I like it, I think it’s a sweet little unassuming piece of music that had little to do with the original.

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from Remixology - Part 2, released October 11, 2019

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Fear of Tigers London, UK

Original, independent, life-affirming music

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