It’s a new era for Star Wars. With the recent acquisition of the saga by Disney from Lucasfilms, we can surely expect to see plenty of changes and adaptations. As we all eagerly await to see what director JJ Abrams has in store for Episode VII, Disney and Lucasfilms have collaborated to feed us an appetizer by introducing a new television series called Star Wars Rebels. About two weeks ago, we reported that Disney reached out to Flux Pavilion to produce a remix for the newly developed show’s Rebels Theme. With Disney branching out into the world of dance music recently for the production of scores (See Daft Punk’s Tron Legacy score), it was not surprising to see the company call on the London-based producer to adapt Kevin Kiner’s rework of Rebels Theme.
Prior to Rebels Theme (Flux Pavilion Ghosts Remix)’s release, Flux informed us via Twitter that he would keep the 128 BPM tempo of the original song, leaving us to speculate that the remix would end up on the electro house end of the dance music spectrum. We have come to know and love Flux Pavilion for his melodic dubstep style. However, his recent collaborations with Steve Aoki have shown Flux’s willingness to experiment with electro house and be successful. Although, songs like Steve French and Get Me Outta Here were somewhat of a compromise and still featured Flux Pavilion’s signature sound. Unfortunately, Flux Pavilion’s remix of Rebels Theme is a complete departure from why we are such big fans of him here at Dance Music Northwest.
It can be tough for producers to abandon their usual style, even if only for one song. All too often, musicians are crucified by their fans for stepping too far outside of the box. Flux Pavilion should not be reprimanded for trying something new. However, remixing an iconic orchestral piece from perhaps the most famed cinematic saga of all time does not seem like the most appropriate time to do that. Flux Pavilion sticking with what he does best would have undoubtedly done the original Rebels Theme more justice than the big room electro house style shown on Rebels Theme (Flux Pavilion’s The Ghost Remix).
This song is an incredible disappointment given the hype and excitement surrounding it. The synth used in Rebels Theme (Flux Pavilion’s The Ghost Remix) is almost tough to listen to. Comparing it to nails on a chalkboard might seem harsh until you actually listen to the song. Combine that with an incredibly generic, big room kick drum and you have yourself a pretty subpar track. The builds using the sampled original version and a Chewbacca scream before the last drop are some of the very few bright spots of the song.
Who knows if Disney used the force to make Flux Pavilion produce a big room remix of Rebels Theme. With a lot of money involved and Disney realizing the trendiness of big room electro house, that all doesn’t seem too far out of the question. It is every nerds’ dream to be involved with Star Wars in any way shape or form. It is just a shame that Flux Pavilion couldn’t produce the song using his original sound. This song could be avenged if Flux were to do a dubstep remix of The Imperial March (*crosses fingers*).
Give Flux’s new track a listen by clicking on the SoundCloud link below and decide for yourself if you like the track or not. Flux Pavilion recently went on the offense on Facebook regarding the mixed reviews of his remix. Regardless of how you feel, he is coming to Seattle for the Safe in Sound Festival on October 25th and I think we can all get pumped about that (here’s three reasons why). Also, don’t forget to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for more news and reviews in the future!
https://soundcloud.com/waltdisneyrecords/rebels-theme-flux-pavilion-remix
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