The Heritage Orchestra

The Heritage Orchestra first assembled in 2004 as a jazz-focused ensemble before any thought of wider stylistic reach. Its initial breakthrough arrived after a show at Cargo in London, where Gilles Peterson caught the performance and subsequently offered the group a deal on his Brownswood imprint, resulting in the release of their debut self-titled album. By 2007 the thirty- to sixty-piece collective had begun exploring fresh territory, drawn by a mutual enthusiasm for reimagining electronic repertoire through acoustic means. That shift crystallized with their treatment of Amon Tobin’s Foley Room, an album whose already organic textures lent themselves readily to orchestral expansion.

The following year Massive Attack recruited the orchestra for their Meltdown Festival, where the ensemble unveiled its reading of Vangelis’ Blade Runner soundtrack to considerable critical acclaim. Demand for collaborations intensified by 2009, leading to a high-profile appearance alongside Dizzee Rascal at the BBC Radio 2 Electric Proms. Over the ensuing five years the roster of partners grew to include Spiritualized, John Cale, Arctic Monkeys, Aphex Twin, Björk, and Goldie.

An orchestral version of Goldie’s Timeless caught the ear of DJ and broadcaster Pete Tong, who invited the group to rework a set of Ibiza dance anthems for the BBC Proms in 2015. The enthusiastic response prompted the full-length album Classic House. Two years later the orchestra returned to the Balearic white island’s dance legacy with Ibiza Classics, a project that reworked material by the Prodigy, Adamski, and the Chemical Brothers.