Taylor Swift has been sitting atop the Billboard Hot 100 for the past seven weeks with “The Fate of Ophelia” from her latest album, “The Life of a Showgirl.” It has also been the number one song on the U.K. chart for six weeks, marking her longest-running number one hit in the country since “Anti-Hero” from 2022’s “Midnights.”
Although the song’s momentum is still going strong, it’s just gotten a breath of fresh air.
Swift teamed up with The Chainsmokers to create an EDM remix of the track that Billboard says “DJs everywhere are going to want to add to their rotations.” The track was announced on the songwriter’s Instagram page with lyrics from the song.
“The Fate of Ophelia (The Chainsmokers Remix) is wrapping around us like a chain, a crown, a vine,” she wrote. Similarly, The Chainsmokers shared the news, calling it “truly an honor,” and adding “We Love u T.”
The EDM duo is no stranger to collaborations. They are well known for their hits “Closer,” featuring Halsey, and “Don’t Let Me Down,” featuring Daya. Their remix of “The Fate of Ophelia” goes harder into the clubbing style with thick bass and drums.
Instead of the drumset introducing the song from the original, The Chainsmokers took a sample of Swift singing “Ophelia” and drenched it in reverb to open the song. They then bring in the first verse with a super sparse arrangement that features subtle synthesizer pads and a light percussion on just beats two and four. This sets up a lot of suspense and foreshadows the dynamics. By beginning extremely soft, the full, loud sections will seem larger than life.
The second half of the chorus features a four-on-the-floor bass drum pattern to set the driving tempo for dance music. Although the chorus is typically the most pumped-up part of a song, The Chainsmokers play with your expectations by making the first chorus almost drop out. The beat slowly fades back in, building to its full force on the post-chorus.
Central to the track’s huge sound is the use of sidechain compression, a common practice in dance music.
“Sidechain compression is a pivotal technique in electronic dance music (EDM) production, used to create rhythmic dynamics and ensure clarity in the mix. By automatically reducing the volume of one track to make room for another, sidechain compression helps emphasize key elements like the kick drum and bass,” explains W.A. Production. “Sidechain compression works by triggering a compressor on one sound channel whenever another channel’s signal exceeds a certain threshold. Commonly, the kick drum is used to trigger the compressor, reducing the volume of competing tracks such as the bass or synths, creating a pulsating effect that is synonymous with EDM.”
The collaboration between Taylor Swift and The Chainsmokers has gotten fans riled up, re-energizing an already popular song. It’s a testament to Swift’s ongoing evolution and openness to EDM crossovers. The Chainsmokers remix reframes “The Fate of Ophelia” from an introspective theatrical piece into a dance-floor catharsis, all while preserving the emotional and harmonic DNA.
Now, get the sheet music for “The Fate of Ophelia” and create your own remix:
