The song Magic Fly by Space is a good time to take a look at what has been done with this song. That eventually leads you to, yes, singing cats.
Space - "Magic Fly"
To be honest, Space’s song “Magic Fly” has nothing to do with singing cats. Face it, there are many singing cats around, so why start with this song? There is a good reason to do start with this song that once featured on Space’s debute album.
The Kiffness
Getting from Magic Fly to singing cats is no easy task. For that, you have to do something. Immerse yourself in Space’s history, for example. Unless, of course, you choose the easy route. That consists of watching videos by the likes of David Scott directly.
Scott is better known as The Kiffness, which has nothing at all to do with Space or Magic Fly in its original form.
Scott werd vooral bekend van zijn remix van Bilal Göregen’s Levan Polkka, die ook weer een remix was van groepen als Loituma. Alleen de oudste versies zijn niet de oorspronkelijke versies, zelfs niet de versies uit de jaren negentig, hoe leuk ze ook zijn. De oudste versies gaan terug tot aan 1928. De herkomst moet gezocht worden in Finland. In 2007 werd het nummer pas echt bekend, toen Hatsune Miku ermee aan de haal ging. Voor alle duidelijkheid, Hatsune Miku bestaat alleen in de digitale wereld. Scott bestaat wel in het echt. Alleen hij deed tot op heden niets met het nummer van Space. Wel met katten. Heel veel katten.
Space’s song, Magic Fly, others did something with that. One decided to work on this and adapt the song. They have been doing that since the 1980s. The song itself was released in 1977. Besides this song, the formation from France released several other songs before they decided to stop in 1980. After a two-year break, they picked up again in 1982. Since then, the formation has continued to exist, although the main focus is on Space’s frontman Didier Marouani. Hence, people sometimes speak of Didier Marouani & Space.
Especially when you consider that the formation was formed at a time when similar music was making its appearance, becoming known to a wider audience, it is extraordinary that Space became less well known. Space’s music is similar to those other songs. So which songs, among others, are we talking about? First of all, it is tempting to think of looking for it in France itself. Space has French roots, so then Jean-Michel Jarre’s name comes to mind. On the other hand, Kraftwerk from neighbouring Germany should certainly not be forgotten either.
Verschenen in 1976: Jean-Michel Jarre – Oxygene Pt. 2.
Synthesiser music
Magic Fly made music in the 1970s (and in a later period) that completely suited its target audience. It just wasn’t limited to just one formation. Jean-Michel Jarre and Kraftwerk should certainly not be forgotten. Other well-known names were Vangelis and Tangerine Dream. Call it what you want, electronic music, synth music. It was a certain sound that would form a basis for a sequel. The music of those days would have a great influence on later musicians and producers. If only because of the electronics used or the developments that followed thanks to the introduction of these electronic instruments.
Spacesynth, Space Disco or “just” Electronica, it’s just whatever you want to call the style or genre Space’s music belongs in. Space also focused briefly on New Wave.
Kraftwerk
Jarre became famous. The German group Kraftwerk became even more famous. They gained a certain mythical status, that they still hold up until today.
1977
Both Jarre and Space broke through in 1977. Only Jarre became just a little more famous than Space. The similarity between the two names is that they can be traced back to France. The similarity between Jarre, Space and Kraftwerk is that they all came from Europe and were all popular from the 1970s onwards. European electronic music was leading the way. The music would be influential for generations that followed. Besides Jarre and Kraftwerk, there were of course many others who left a mark on electronic music. What to think of Giorgio Moroder, Tangerine Dream and Vangelis.
Nice, but none of those are singing cats!
That’s true. The music of Jarre or Kraftwerk did not consist of singing cats. Space’s music, on the other hand, did. That was only at a later date. For that, we can thank the German supermarket chain Netto Marken-Discount.
That is the easy version. When you dig a little deeper, you end up with another version. That of Felix Da Housecat. In 2001, he launched a remix of “Magic Fly.” So Net Marken-Discount‘s 2017 advert was not that original at all. It was when it came to the music video, though.
Not the first remix
Felix Da Housecat’s edit was certainly not the first remix. Perhaps the 1977 extended version is the first remix unless you don’t want to count it. Why wouldn’t this one count? Because it is a longer version. By the way, that does not apply to Space’s own 1985 remix.
Space Cats
When it comes to edits or remixes, the question is which was earlier. There is quite a long period between Felix da Housecat’s version and the advert. Too long, in fact. The German supermarket was the first to bring it all to television and the internet as advertising. When it came to originality, it wasn’t too bad in the end. There was something like Space Cats earlier. That was a year before the German discounter came out with its version.
Het verschil is alleen wel dat de reclame destijds voorzien werd van een ‘Making Off’ video.
Live performances and more remixes
The story as far as Space is concerned, by the way, is not over yet. How about the live performances, sans cats? Of course, the legendary live performance for Italian broadcaster RAI from 1977. Remember, back then, everything was from a recording. People were pretending to make music.
Still, Marouani is performing with his formation. Take this recording from 2012. There’s just more to it than the live performance. The song is still good for several remixes. Take the arrangement by Enzo Margaglio, who has also been responsible for other adaptations of well-known songs. Think of Popcorn for example.
The amount of edits offered via YouTube is huge. It just depends on what you call this edit, remix or remaster. This 2009 version shows that.
Singing cats
Well, that’s nice… wasn’t this about singing cats? That’s right! So, here are …
