Orbital C/D

At any rate, I feel sorry for anyone disappointed by _Middle Of Nowhere_. It's isn't Orbital's best album (which is clearly _In Sides_), but it's CLEARLY a fantastic piece of work. _The Altogether_ doesn't hang together nearly as well, but the individual songs are killer ("Funny Break" is one of the best singles they've ever released).

But as for MoN, I shouldn't have panned it so clearly, I really enjoy the second half, from Ontono to Style. The first half is too blaring for my tastes.

Good point about Halcyon, but do they have to do it every time they play it live from now on till they finally hang up their nifty flashlight goggles? Unless they've stopped doing it lately, I haven't been to a show since '99.

It just is so perfect in its own beautiful sense. From the very beginning it seems to point to a sonic height that's still miles away and go directly to it in 8 minutes. Does anyone know what I mean? Few songs are so utterly perfect in this sense.

and i'm going to have to disagree with dan and say their best album, without a shadow of a doubt, is the brown album.

Compared to their work from the late 80's to the mid 90's, the Hartnoll output of the last two albums has been pretty uninspiring. 'Middle of Nowhere' was on autopilot and 'The Altogether' is was so God awfully bad that it should come as no surprise we recently got the old "We're not happy with how our label is marketing our work nowadays..." (i.e. bumped from the label) line. Even crusty old Juno Reactor pal Alex Patterson sounded more relevant with the last Orb record than Orbital did.

'The Altogether' was the sound of Orbital taking that Bon Jovi/Belinda Carlisle sample and extending the idea for 70 minutes.

Does anyone feel this about Chime? I'm interested to know if it's a personal reaction or not. That's the best way I can put it into words, it just feels so constant. Makes music worth listening to every time I hear it. No more gushing, I promise.

Ronan for another example of perfect locomation (albeit in a less anthemic manner) see The Modernist's "Abi '81".

Agreed with all the praise for Orbital. My favourite dancefloor delirium moment though has to be live version of "Impact (The Earth Is Burning)" included on the bonus disc for In Sides.

My own fave Orbital moment still has to be the live "Chime" on the three-part Satan Live EP. Just builds up a percussion-heavy start and THEN...the melody slams in. Perfection.

Ned: That live version is amayyyzing.

Heh heh, that's me, whoops. :)

There's one reason, yes. Besides, there are great synth sounds and stereoeffects (like in most techno), some really interesting harmonic bits, and even hints of melodies here and there.

My definite one and only OPO is "In-Sides" btw.

bloody hell yes - you heard that Homelife album Massey and his millions of musical mates made last year? Widdly jazz chaos, I tells yer - Gilles Petersons album of the flippin' millennium, basically...and all that that entails.

In conclusion, Orbital are fucking brilliant and I couldn't possibly live without wither Brown or In Sides or even Snivilisation in my collection; to hell with them post-1997, however, it all went horribly wrong.

heh, i'll probably LOVE it

I reckon my favourite album overall though would be "Snivilisation", even though it has some weaker tracks... the emotional force to it is so strong.

I am convinced people hate "Illuminate" SOLELY for David Gray. If it had been an instrumental, people would have wet themselves over it.

The US and UK version of Green are completely different but I do still love Speed Freak, Oolaa and High Rise (and obviously that closing Chime-Midnight-Belfast kiss off) - the rest I can take or leave. Probably my least favourite of the lot of them overall though, except possibly The Altogether.

The first three tracks on MoN are so mindblowingly amazing that I can forgive any so-so stuff that follows it (and Nothing Left is kinda wonderful too).

Mm, that's for sure. As Dan noted, remove the singles, burn the rest. The best version ever of Chime is the Evil Satan one because you hear the buildup and then the synth riff kicks in...man. Pure, unalloyed, beautiful drama.

And I still think David Gray is getting an unfair kicking with all of his middlebrow, super-nasal glory. (I am amused because the David Gray haters sound like me bitching about Justin Timberlake and I have no good reason for liking one and hating the other, save possibly that David Gray phonates and Justin doesn't.)

'Illuminate' is not a bad track at all really but i think i'd prefer Orbital to not bother making pop songs with male vocalists (Funny Break is a great dance/pop song with female vocal...it might just be me and my preference that i dont enjoy male-led dance/pop half as much) - i maintain its just the David Gray factor that irritates people...perhaps the same reason why Chemical Brothers 'The Test' is not liked - well that track was definitely 'Chems by numbers' which didnt help, but Orbital's entire approach to their last two albums has been quite formulaic too (as you could argue it has been with all the big British dance acts), despite the relative variation of tracks like 'Otono', 'Nothing Left', 'Style', 'Pay Per View' and 'Illuminate' - they're all VERY Orbital basically.

I agree with Dan's comments about MoN and I even think "I Don't Know You People" is a pretty good track. The organ and revving noises are interesting touches on an otherwise standard Orbital track.

(Steve, you are a mentalist but that's why we cherish you so; those ending arpeggios are working all over a major key and are blatantly uplifting after all of the minor key noodling of the first twenty-some minutes. It's more like the song rises into hysterical frightening mania, then fritters off into cheery hopefulness at the end.)

but cheery hopefulness? you really think? can you get cheer out of a note sequence that is literally a four step descent? are there are other examples of that? OTS's ending is pure dystopia if you ask me, even beyond the melancholy of Boards Of canada (i've had many minor arguments with some people about how the tracks that uplift them (e.g. Aquarius, Happy Cycling, Hi Scores, Turquoise Hexagon Sun) depressed the hell out of me...well they used to anyway but i've come round a lot - as i probably will with In Sides very soon.

Steve: Fair enough if you hear descending lines as depressing. I can't hear that particular progression as depressing, though, because of the tonal quality of the synths and the key it's working in (I find it hard to hear a major key as depressing).

Your point about "Adnan's and "Dwr Budr" is interesting because those are both built on minor keys and, by default, sound more... "ominous" isn't the right word, especially given the absolutely frightening oppression of the first half of "Out There Somewhere" with that screaming keyboard riff that sounds like a woman crying for help, but I can't think of a better one. Neither of them flips into major at the end (although "Adnan's" is acoustically warmer than "Dwr Budr" in its synth palette), so I find less "hope" in them than I do at the end of "Out There Somewhere".

As far as those BOC songs go, I wouldn't call any of them depressing; the only one that comes close is "THS" and that's more oppressive/claustrophobic (again, due to the arrangement and the minor chord progression; actually, that song pretty much typifies "ominous" and I love that aspect of it to death).

I totally agree with this, I was there and it was one of the most glorious live moments I've witnessed. The version of "Impact" that follows with the spectral synths at the end is special, too.

No-one does "moments" better than Orbital, do they? I have to say one of the best is on "Out There Somewhere" - yes, it's a descent, but it's a magic descent that rises. I don't know the technical musical terminology so the term "magic" will do for me. If you want ascent, though, try "Know Where To Run" for the greatest Orbital moment - that riff at the end! But then there's the harpsichord bit on the single version of "The Box" - I can feel a Top Ten Orbital Moments coming on, all of which start with "That bit where...".

Mike, you can copy and paste my comments about that section if you want, although I like describing it as "magic" more.

well i'll be off to a therapist probably as i'm clearly alone on this one ;)

as for BOC, its only 'depressing' like Radiohead is 'depressing', only because its detached more from a human element it can go either way more freely in resonating positive or negative sensations...BOC tracks always primarily remind me of places rather than people, the nature of which are often dictated more by precisely that - nature, rather than the actions of people - although thats around 50/50 whereas with orbital there's more of a sense that they are communicating feelings of approval/disapproval with the actions of people, in short they're less subjective, commentators as opposed to BOC who are more strictly observers. i mentioned this before in another thread comparing the two bands - i can't remember the thread or exactly what i said (!) but i think it was the idea that Orbital present exhibits for people to see and explore - the tracks reison d'etre is to be experienced by people in certain ways, and BOC's remit and output was far more ambiguous.

Great Orbital moments:

- the sudden sidewise darkness lurches in "Are We Here?" and then the celestial synths flooding in

- the heavenly break in "Adnan's" which sounds like the sun coming out from behind the clouds

- the compressed vocal loops in "Nothing Left 2" drawing together faster and faster like water swirling down into a plug, then that little corny breakbeat and then the synth line rushes back

- pretty much every single moment of the live version of "Impact (The Earth Is Burning)" but particularly the total nuclear fall-out of the last five minutes or so.

Is that the track that sounds like something off "Autobahn" or some C-64 computer game in the beginning?
Agree that one is kinda cool.

lets talk about 'Snivilisation' some more - that is an album for me with quite a drop in the middle as i find i NEVER want to listen to 'Philosophy By Numbers' (not good with this Orbital darkness am I?)or 'Science Fiction' (find it pretty dull) particularly but i will gorge myself on the fantastic first three tracks and the last two, tho in a strange way the highlight is actually 'Kein Trink Wasser' because it always reminds me of the Glastonbury moment i described above and its just pure piano magic.

btw, has anyone heard Spooky's 'Fingerbobs'? it is one of THE brilliant Orbital tracks that was never made by Orbital. i might have to upload it...

Of course OTS only really takes off in Part II anyway, after you get that great chaotic bit where it all seems to be falling apart and then it suddenly resolves. Lovely.

'Snivilisation' has strong broody moments - namely the two tracks i mention i never listen to on it, plus a couple of other bits (first part of 'Are We Here') - i find the first three tracks quite soothing despite the sinister overtones of the samples used on 'I Wish I Had Duck Feet' and Alison Goldfrapp's wailings on 'Sad But True' (which pilfers the intro to The Selecter's 'The Selecter' tune sample-spotters) - 'In Sides' is definitely a darker album overall imo

Edition 1 (aka THE KICK-ASS EDITION): CD2 contains the "Times Fly" EP and "The Box" EP.
Edition 2 (aka THE ALMOST AS KICK-ASS EDITION): CD2 contains two versions of "Satan", "The Saint", "The Sinner" and a live version of "Halcyon".

Its environmental sleeve theme was definitely dark to say the least, but I wouldn't say the music was.

Sort of but...well, not really. For reasons unexplained (and which pissed the band off enormously, apparently), their label decided to eschew the "proper" and mostly glorious full-length album/12" versions in favour of shitty radio edits.

Thus, you're best off persuading someone nice with a fairly comprehensive Orbital collection to burn you a full-length best-of comp.

(NB I'm not sure I am that person, sadly, nice as can be - most of my Orbital's on vinyl and 12000 miles away...)

Can I take this opportunity to reaffirm the unabashed kick-arsedness of Technologique Park again please? Thankyou.

still 'Work' is very accessible so might suit Ess Kay, otherwise snap up the Brown album and In Sides and see how you go from there

here's the Spooky track i mentioned upthread: Fingerbobs an old tune ('95/'96) that has that old Orbital sound/vibe

Steve - that's probably the remix of Initiation, which is supposedly on the next album proper. The original Initiation is alright as well - definitely the most 'Orbital' thing on there.

It's not better than The Altogether :( But it's not really being treated as a 'proper' album, though, so its difficult to judge what the next one will be like.

(megawhat? megawatt. sorry...)

Transform!

I was serious about Orbital 2, though.

Orbital - Blue
http://www.loopz.co.uk/discog/album/blue.html

Tracks called 'Pants' however, fill be with horrific versions of Altogetheresque comedy techno.

Word has it that the new album is more InSides/Snivilisation than the last two albums, with the exception of Sunrise which is meant to be proper euphoric Halcyon hands-in-the-air stuff.

The sample from You Lot goes something like: "Unravelled DNA and at the same time youre cultivating bacteria strong enough to kill every living thing. Do you think you are ready for that much power. You lot ? You lot? You're running around science like kids with guns." Which needs to be a huge Snivilisation/Forever-esque rant over the top otherwise I will be hugely disappointed.

The Brown album hangs together better because one song flows into another, one idea flows into another.

but still...Orbital 2 had the cohesion, the consistency. To maintain that over an entire album's length is pretty rare.

Plus with Orbital 2 you get this amazing run from "Lush" through to the end of "Remind" but the "cohesion" of the rest is only notable in comparison to the schizophrenia of Snivilization. Most of the allegedly unique qualityies of Orbital 2 are present in Middle Of Nowhere as well (the excellent flow of the first three tracks; "Nothing Left" as a sequel to "Halcyon" only even vaster).

Orbital 2 is still an amazing album obv, but I'm not sure if its qualities are automatically superior to Snivilization - whose perversity and restlessness frequently captivate me.

Of course if Orbital 2 had the full version of "Impact (The Earth Is Burning)" it might *well* be unbeatable.

in sides is still an unreal experience start-to-finish. 2 benefits quite a bit from tracks running together, but i hardly notice the transitions on much of in sides, even when they incorporate a change in beat and key. they're cleverly done.

The best version of Impact was the one played on the MoN tour, where they reversed the parts so you got the hard bit first and then uplifting first section kicked in later. Destroyed the concept, but sounded incredible (especially when it was sandwiched in between Spare Parts Express and Know Where To Run as part of a continuous mix).

"Funny Break" is nice obv but its stand-out status is relative to the rest of the album; it falls short of most of their previous vocal numbers.

“I think we feel that Orbital has run it’s course,” says Paul Hartnoll. “We’re both pursuing different avenues with our music. And we’ve been sat, as brothers, in the same room for 15 years now–and studios are always confined spaces–I think it’s time for a change.”

Since their first single, ‘Chime’ entered the top 20 in April 1990 Orbital have released six albums and developed a live show that evolved, by common consent into one of the landmark performance shows of the last decade. They have helped to shape and develop both the character and credibility of electronic music far beyond the disposable anonymity of the first white labels and the acid house scene that they came from. In 1989–when Chime was recorded onto their dad’s cassette player–no–one expected things to come this far, least of all the band themselves.

The brothers extra–mural interests have all informed the character of The Blue Album, the bands seventh, which evolved gradually over the course of 2003 with the band free from record company expectations and schedules for the first time since their career began. “If anything,” says Paul “It’s closer in character to our first album than our later ones, if only because we made it in our own time and for ourselves.”

Fans will recognise the trademark Orbital sound when they hear it. Familiar themes from previous albums, such as religion, are also present.
“There’s a couple of references to that,” says Paul. One of my favourite tracks, “You Lot” has got this speech from Christopher Eccleston from this fantastic drama called The Second Coming. I just really loved that programme and that speech is quite typically orbital, like our other track Forever, that’s got a speech halfway through and I really love the sentiment behind that. That whole programme was about the second coming, obviously, and God.”

“We’ve got another track [One Perfect Sunrise] we did with Lisa Gerrard who was in Dead Can Dance, singing on it. That’s a spin off from something we wrote for a Sunrise scene, in another film …that’s turned out well.”

Noted for their collaborations, Orbital’s last album is no exception
featuring work from fellow sibling legends, Sparks.
“We were wanting some vocals on the track Pants, something fairly odd, and thought Sparks would be perfect,” says Paul. “It turned out they’re quite up for a bit of collaboration and said yes when we approached them. After we’d asked them I set about listening to some of their recent work and was pleasantly surprised to find it was even more bonkers than their original stuff. It was all done across the Atlantic, via file sharing and CD’s, and when we heard it we realised it was really a track in it’s own right so we remixed it and it’s ended up here as Acid Pants, it’s own thing.”

Another audible influence on the album is that of legendary transsexual composer Walter/Wendy Carlos. “Absolutely,” says Paul, “I tried to do something with a sort of Clockwork Orange feel, and that became ‘Bath Time’ . It started off by being hummed in the bath on tour before I was about to go and meet everyone for a pint in San Francisco. Got out of the bath and scribbled it down on my laptop and finished it over last summer, adding little bits in buses and vans while I was travelling. And it went on from there. It became like Clockwork Orange and Kraftwerk combined. Electronic music for electronic musics sake, dodging all real instrument sounds. Wheras ‘Easy Serve’ is weird supermarket muzak, almost like hospital muzak. Maybe it’s a supermarket where they only sell hospital items. Here’s the lip section…Either way, it’s not going to be a coffee table album. But then we’ve never done one of them. Maybe a coffee table album at three in the morning, when everyone is blind drunk and no one can remember anything anyway.”

With the album complete the band are turning their attention to their final show at Glastonbury. An appropriate venue for a farewell as it was here, exactly ten years before that Orbital delivered a live show that Q magazine listed as one of the fifty greatest live show of all time. “It’s nice to know that we’re finishing, it’s not many bands that do that. They tend to just fade away. And it’s nice to have our last gig at Glastonbury. It’s gonna be a party set, a best of Orbital. We’re not gonna sit there and try and promote the new album. I think if we’re gonna do a last gig we should do distilled set of all the best stuff we’ve done. And that’s what we’re gonna do, play all the stuff that’s stuck around for all this time because they are the favourite ones. This will definitely be our last ever live shows,” confirms Paul, “Although I’m sure Status Quo keep telling themselves the same thing.”

Read on for details of how to get tickets for the last UK indoor gig @ Brixton."

http://www.loopz.co.uk/begin.html

Let me repeat this:

“If anything,” says Paul “It’s closer in character to our first album than our later ones, if only because we made it in our own time and for ourselves.”

Ugh, that's definitely not what I wanted to hear.

Ned had said the best version of "Chime" was on the Satan Live CD thing...I beg to differ, I think there was a Joey Beltram mix I have on vinyl somewhere that really exploited the bell sound nicely...it was the first time I ever heard Orbital and my jaw dropped. Both that and the "Chime Crime" version on the Mutations EP made the album version of "Chime" seem slow as molasses when I finally heard it.

Jeez!

Nick, I would totally put you up but will be at Glasto, sadly.

I like disposable anonymity.

Yes (and point taken, it's just that much as I like this vision and that I agree they handle long songs really beautifully, I fear the results of an off day! but this is all wishful thinking, alas...)

...Oh, you weren't talking to me.

Quick Chime question: there's a mix (not the Beltram or Ray Keith ones) or version with a faster, housier beat than the original and a 'chime' sound that follows the bassline that I've been trying to ID for years. It would have been a pre-1995 release...anyone have any suggestions?

You Lot is pretty good - the rant over the top of it works and it's got some backbone and urgency to it, and Acid Pants certainly lives up to its name, but overall it sounds like a bad 90s act trying to imitate Orbital at their peak. I'll try and do a track-by-track later, once I've listened to it again.

There's a really nice plinky piano-led one in the middle called Bath Time, though.

You Lot makes me want to touch myself in my special place. I think the middle section will really appeal to fans of Selected Ambient Works II.

xpost MATT STOP TORTURING ME PLZ

It's not on Slsk. Ner.

One Perfect Sunrise begins with one lone female vocal while the shimmering synth noises start to kick in and then this really fast bassline picks up and then suddenly HANDS IN THE AIR TRANCE!

Pants, the second track, sounded like a trance record initially, it's the glossy sleek production, but on closer listens you can here all those interlocking forever-esque bleeps going on, and there are big string stabs and everything, and a 'chorus' bit that is essential a big string line pitch bent up and down and up and down again.

Yes, I was lying. Actually, I wasn't, I was just wrong.

But yeah, I've got dibs on this at Stylus, I NEED TO HEAR IT MATT I LOVE YOU.

Third track = Tunnel Vision - dark and relentless, like running through tunnels being chased by monsters music - very PETROL, very Crash and Carry.

(x-post: If it means I get a copy, I'm down.)

Third or so listen I'm realising this is essentially Orbital redux.

(x-post - I imagined your ass as several fruits but never a cherry, Perry.)

9th - Initiation - this is a remix of the best track off the Octane soundtrack. Chopped up female vocals in the Sad But New style, a ridiculously prolonged squelchy bass noise. I don't think this is going to be on the final album so you'll have to take my word for it.

PS; Dan, I imagined it as being like a kumquat.

And then Sunrise. And that's it. Over. Forever.

I was totally wrong in my first post.

I'm glad that from Matt DC my prescription of more prog seems to have worked well.

I have a feeling I'm going to be listening to a lot of Orbital in the near future.

It's not on Slsk. Ner.

and found it but didn't want to spoil matt's fun. aren't i nice?

I'm not sure where I stand on this album in general - it's not as good as Brown-Sniv-Insides-MoN but its still a pretty good record. It's very Perry-Raggett though - dark and gothic and progged out.

The only one I'm not sure about is One Perfect Sunrise, although the beat just screams "WE ARE GOING TO MIX YOUR BIG GAY TRANCE ARSE INTO CHIME AT GLASTONBURY!" and that will pretty much win me over, I think.

And the Sparks vocals in Acid Pants are really starting to fuck me off - the "when the laugh track starts..." sample is used way too regularly and just gets in the way - as an instrumental it would be absolutely unstoppable (and I here cheeky references to both Remind and Walk Now in the acid lines every so often).

But the string buildup in Transient is great, and I still reckon You Lot stands up there with anything they've ever released, the beatless section in the middle with the speech is absolutely gorgeous and when it all kicks in it's just like "you can do THIS why on earth did you fanny around with crap like Waving Not Drowning?!"

Aw, that makes the song for me! (Keep in mind I'm a Sparks fanatic, so.)

I LOVE YOU, SOULSEEK.

It's Christopher Eccleston from the 'Second Coming' TV programme from last year. I think someone's already identified it upthread.

This is far from being their best album, but by George it's still fucking brilliant. Better than the last two (proper) albums, I'd say.

I think part of the reason it's so good is because it reminds you of just about every phase of their career at one point or another.

Orbital are the best band ever, period. Fuck the expense. Tomorrow I shall sort out going to the Brixton gig. Anyone else up for it?

Spot on.

Never mind, I no longer hate you guys!

Oh good. If it wasn't me, I thank whatever kind soul assisted!

Okay, I'm on slsk now. Who's going to help me get to the front of the queue?

Who are you on slsk? (My handle is listed above.)

I listened to Acid Pants. Really sounds like they're trying to recreate Satan in a way. Surprisingly it does sound like the first album to these ears.

My SLSK username is the bit of my email address before the @ sign.

www.loopz.co.uk (the official site) says it's this;

1. Transient
2. Pants
3. Tunnel Vision
4. Lost
5. You Lot
6. Bath Time
7. Acid Pants
8. Easy Serv
9. One Perfect Sunrise

The version I downloaded is like this;

1. Transient
2. Acid Pants
3. You Lot
4. Pants
5. Lost
6. Initiation
7. Bath Time
8. Easy Serve
9. What Happens Next
10. Tunnel Vision
11. One Perfect Sunrise

And the version Matt has on CD has those tracks but in a different order, which I think must be summat like this;

1. Transient
2. Pants
3. Tunnel Vision
4. Lost
5. You Lot
6. Bath Time
7. Acid Pants
8. Easy Serve
9. Initiation
10. What Happens Next
11. One Perfect Sunrise

Can you tell how excited I am?

One Perfect Sunrise works for me now... I think it was walking by Thames in the moonlight while that lush breakdown was playing and the lights of the city flickering away in the distance that did it for me. I can definitely hear this in the Glasto encore making way to Chime...

But I want Acid Pants to be played out live more than anything.

Ronan - It's Christopher Ecclestone on You Lot - they're evidently trying to get a Doctor on every record these days.

I really had a good, proper revisitation with Orbital tonight, though, played the Brown album, In Sides and danced around in my room. It's been a long time since I've done that. What a workout! Whew!

The Sparks list that I run was intrigued to know about the "Acid Pants" collaboration and at least one person has vowed to start investigating Orbital's music = I am most happy.

BTW I've just noticed that Glastonbury has suddenly become their second last date- they're also playing at the Sunday at "T In The Park"!!!!!!

I have exactly one song so far -- "Transient" -- and it is FANTABULAR.

Pardon the green eyed monster drooling in the corner;>

I'm listening to the whole of the Blue album for the first time. I admit I don't remember a thing about Middle of Nowhere, which was the last time I bothered listening to their work, but I know it was nowhere NEAR as interesting as this Blue album stuff. "Acid Pants" still hits me the wrong way - kind of a poor cousin to Satan and other things they've done in the same vein, I think, but other than that, I'm pretty well flabbergasted by this. There IS a small element of the first album in it, I think, in it's raw primitive weirdness. But I think this is a good thing.

I really owe you ilxors this, I mean, if it weren't for this thread, Orbital probably would have remained a very pleasant memory for me.
It feels really nice to return to them after so many years. I've also kindof put some demons in my personal life to rest lately, and it just feels right to revisit these guys who once meant the whole world to me. Thanks.

I'm terribly jealous of those who can catch the last shows, but I guess I shouldn't be. I saw them at least three times, and I feel lucky/grateful just for that.

'You Lot' is classic Orbital tho, awesome stuff - it has that sinister aspect i tend to find unnerving, i find it very macabre tho of course that's the point - but there's that point where it all's really kicking off that must rank up there with all time great Orbital moments, and the effects on the vocal do remind me of BOC's '1969' too. 'Initiation' would be my other big fave. and i like 'Transient' as it's something a little different. find 'Acid Pants' a bit dull/done. 'One Perfect Sunrise' is too Dreadzone/new-agey for my liking.

So essentially there are three tracklistings floating around at the moment

Make that four, woops five!!!

(blue in shops today)

i want to hear the Ray Keith remix of 'Chime'. only just saw Dan's mentioning of it!

Is the official tracklisting, and the awesome "What Happens Next" is a b-side.

So much of their music is majestic and ethereal (my fav being the live version of Out There Somewhere - Irvine Plaza live mix), but it's that same tone that's increasingly made them feel a little too fuzzy to maintain their pull/relevance.

I've since developed more of an appetite for tension in sound and themes, to excite a sense of the present moment, rather than the remember-a-time-when-chillouts-were-so-psychedelic-man type nostalgia that pines for great present moment's of years passed.

But that's just one song -- I'd say that "The Box" and "PETROL" (also from In Sides, of course) provide plenty of tension and immediacy.

(I may have completely misunderstood your argument, though)

Let's face it -- "OTS" is as proggy as techno gets. Not everyone wants to sit through a 26 minute techno opus about alien abduction as an allegory for the crucifixion. Sometimes you just want to play the last four minutes of "Impact USA" over and over.

OTS might be a bit of an electro-cinematic extreme, but I'm also thinking of The Tranquilizer and Sad But New.

The most recent piece from them that I heard was "Ska'd For Life" on their Back to Mine mix. They were still all about exploring that gluey membrane between pop/electronica genres - which I've loved for many years - but while I agree a lot of their gear has a strong sense of immediacy, it just seems to suffer a lack of critical intensity that other producers seem to understand better.

I think I've said this before though.

The Altogether was far too quirky/playful for my liking. They were trying to recapture the spirit of 1990. Too much "hands in the air" stuff.

I love Orbital, but I love them like a precious beautiful piece of porcelain on the mantelpiece which will essentially always stay the same. They're just not one of those artists/acts/bands that are capable - at least with each other - of really moving beyond their own admittedly wonderful formula.

Incase anyone is offended by what I've said I will freely admit I haven't heard The Altogether or the soundtrack they did "Octane". But if The Altogether was their step forward, clearly to many it was little more than a step in the wrong direction.

But then I don't like to treat any music like "a precious beautiful piece of porcelain on the mantelpiece"; I want a certain amount of robustness alongside my beauty, a certain pragmatism with my idealism.

Well, I'm not sure it's fair to say they didn't *progress* along a certain path, and that's not what I meant. But let me use an example. (and you're free to say it's a bad one) I don't recall any of Orbital's albums hitting me in the gobsmackingly surprised way Radiohead's Kid A did. I do think The Box EP was the closest thing to what I might have called a real surprise from them, a broadening of the horizons. It takes a special kind of band/artist to grow to that extent, it might even take a certain brilliance they simply don't posess, and how could we fault them for that? Surely none of us are even a smidgen as brilliant as they are.

But imagine what they might do free of each other's tether? For this I am hopeful, as I'm sure they are themselves. If I felt like weeping, I don't anymore. Good for them, you know?

However I don't think Radiohead are a good comparison for a few reasons.

a; The 'group dynamic' is totally different to the 'fraternal duo dynamic', and almost necessitates a greater level of diverse creative input and intra-group friction leading to creative change.

b; The 'experimental rock band dynamic' is totally different to the 'techno duo' dynamic (related but different to above).

c; R'head consciously set out to change (with every record but especially) with Kid A for a myriad of reasons that would and could never influence Orbital's work.

d; Shocking and dramatic change is not necessarily more radical or worthy or 'changing' than slowly evolved, subtle change.

No two Orbital albums, to me, sound 'of a kind' in the way that Kid A and Amnesiac do.

But since we're talking about Orbital, they may indeed be the kings of live performance, so...

Sick, before I peter out on this board, what's your opinion of Octane? Or is there a review I missed somewhere?

tune in via the web

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/aod/rpms/peel_wed.rpm

the news over-ran, so seek forward. orbital start at about 31 mins in

I am currently trying to figure out how I can turn "Acid Pants" into a hat.

-- VengaDan Perry (djperr...) (webmail), May 1st, 2004. (link)

Roffle.

I could have sworn I heard that Peel show Martian was on about upthread. Maybe it was being talked about on another Orbital thread.

1 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
Orbital, as in round and round on the same old trak, September 7, 2005
Reviewer: DRYWASHER-BILL (LAS VEGAS, NEVADA) - See all my reviews
The DJ must've been lacking filler on the CD to include the rather monotonous first 3 traks. Sure you get into the vibe as you clik through the traks, but musically, it takes Orbital a long time to morph into progressive takes in the songs. It's like a pounding headache- you can hear the thumps, but can't figure out if it's your head or the track.

Take an aspirin and get some other CD, maybe even a compilation which seems the best route for the genre. At least there are more hits and good traks in a comp and if you find you like certain people, then go after them specifically.

Orbital 2 is one of those disks you should play while in the car with the windows rolled up. People think you are listening to something def from the beat, but you'll know different

Well, I couldn't give a flying crap about whether something works on the dancefloor or not. But I still love Orbital. For other reasons.

ha ha matt you're coming round to my way of thinking!

Yes Middle of Nowhere is very good, basically halfway b/w Orbital 2 and In Sides.

THE GIRL WITH THE SUN IN HER HEAD IS THE BEST THING EVER YOU GUYS

semi-detached / attached on peel sessions says no way.

amen to that

but ok, you've got a point. seeing that live in new orleans 1995 was mind (body and soul) boggling.

Hey, you're the guy who called me a "giant cocksucking douche"!

http://www.darktrain.org/dirty/forums/showthread.php?t=6826

anybody like the new solo stuff they've been up to? Long Range?

i'm a huge fan of 'Just One More', it's got a really moody riff going on.

you're right Nick. sorry about that (http://www.darktrain.org/dirty/forums/showpost.php?p=81814&postcount=13)

i do still think your review was pretty bad. you complimented the album for most of the review then gave it a C-. anyway, i could debate the review but it's your opinion after all.

no hard feelings? btw, did you google yourself and find that post or do you check the UW forums?

Isn't it great when you read a thread and then spend an hour listening to stuff you've not heard for five years and remember what the meaning of life is again?

http://pacside.com/underthe%20skies%20above.jpg

no hard feelings? btw, did you google yourself and find that post or do you check the UW forums?

Googled myself - see this for my immediate response! - http://sickmouthy.blogspot.com/2007/11/google-you.html

"I was driving home from work one winter evening when I saw two lights
emanating from a strange object in front of me. My car began to lose power, and eventually stopped. It was completely dark. Then, strange circles of white light began to flash on and off. The next thing I knew it was fifteen minutes later, and I was traveling down the road in a different part of the village. I am convinced I was selected by aliens earlier in the day, and later rejected."

LC1: loving the tune but feel bad for the guy.

On September 21, a reunited Orbital (Brothers Phil and Paul Hartnoll) will perform new music and classic cuts in the US for the first time in five years, at the inaugural Electronic Music Awards, live from downtown Los Angeles on Twitter. The performance follows a successful UK run of impressive performances at the WAM Festival in Spain, Forbidden Fruit in Dublin, Supersonic in Japan, the Brussels Summer Festival, and the Bluedot plus Standing Calling festivals in the UK. Additionally, the duo announced December 2017 dates at both London Hammersmith Apollo and Manchester Apollo which sold out in less than 24 hours upon announcement.

The duo’s new single, Copenhagen, which has been playlisted by BBC 6 Music, is streaming now. Orbital’s performance at the EMAs, personally requested by Executive Producer Paul Oakenfold himself, will be the duo’s first live show in the US in five years with a new album on the horizon.

I am reminding myself that Blue is actually really good

it holds a special place in my heart because it was the first album they released since I got into them, and it also led to me discovering Sparks. as a whole I'm pretty lukewarm on it though. it sounds more like fragments of several different (potentially great) albums than it does anything coherent by itself.

I kind of wonder what they're up to now. I remember they were planning to do this 30th anniversary album in the style of Kraftwerk's The Mix, along with something new. But it doesn't look like anything's on the horizon.

When they are together in interviews, i'm not sure which one, but one of them looks like he's taken too much speed and has a tenuous grip on reality. They seem to not be on the same page. I don't think they're viable as a duo capable of creating interesting music anymore. At this point they should just start focusing on any live recordings they have sitting around and coast through their 60s by pressing up old live shows and reissuing 12"s and where the f is the In Sides reissue? Anyway, I don't think a 'new' Orbital release would make me shell out the cash as much as a catalog reissue would.

this is a group where i mostly like their singles but their b sides are good too but i pretty much like most everything up to the altogether and i like you lot from the blue album but everything else and since does not impress me much!

I've recently come to view them a modern version of Kraftwerk - they have a timeless sound and so many excellent melodies that speak for themselves, and their body of work is often characterized by their singles despite having several excellent albums. and much like Kraftwerk it's not so much about losing their way as it is having nowhere left to go. I thought Wonky was great and parts of Monsters Exist was as well but with both of them I can't help but notice how all the good parts are just throwbacks to stuff they did in the mid-90s. their recent live albums are very good, but I can't imagine getting too excited about anything else, considering their setlist has basically been the same since 2001. still, whatever they do, I'm on board. and yes it's criminal that their back catalogue hasn't gotten reissued yet, they're like the only high-profile 90s electronica albums you can't find on vinyl now

I thought it was interesting to see in an interview with both of them (not sure how recent exactly, maybe very but within the last ten years I guess) Paul just flatly said he was the composer of the Orbital stuff. I think the writing credits have always been mostly or entirely for both of them and it seems like at some point he's felt entitled to claim that. Fair enough.

I figured that was the case given how Orbital-esque Paul's solo albums are. Phil's only non-Orbital thing is a duo called Long Range which sounds like something totally different (and it's not very good for that matter). I had assumed that was where a lot of the tension was coming from.

When they are together in interviews, i'm not sure which one, but one of them looks like he's taken too much speed and has a tenuous grip on reality. They seem to not be on the same page. I don't think they're viable as a duo capable of creating interesting music anymore.

That's Phil. They haven't really been creating as a full duo since Blue in 2004 - Phil only co-wrote one track on Wonky, and worked on half of Monsters Exist. I get the impression (from the multiple breakups, their interviews, and the credits) that Paul brings Phil in just about as much as he can stand, for the more banging or squelchy techno stuff, and that their relationship as brothers is better for it. (Also, based on their output afterward, probably that the first breakup was prompted by an imbalance in writing contributions despite a shared credit and publishing.)

And Phil is obv essential to the live energy and improv.

At this point they should just start focusing on any live recordings they have sitting around

TBF they're not really taxing your patience with two new albums in 17 years, and they've released four triple live albums, a quadruple live compilation, and a best-of with some live tracks on it, in that time :)

Paul did perhaps waste an opportunity by putting all that old live stuff on youtube instead of Bandcamp last year, but probably wasn't expecting to still be indoors ten months after he started...


considering their setlist has basically been the same since 2001

Those 2017/18 live albums look to have been hits-heavy specifically because they were getting recorded - otherwise their non-festival setlists in recent years are mostly new stuff with four '90s classics spaced out to keep the old farts' attention.

ha ha xp, I typed that and then relistened to Monsters Exist and a live session to confirm my confidence

xp thanks, i need to investigate their live releases. I didn't realize they had so many.

The fan-made six-hour career-spanning live box set is also very worthy of investigation

(discussed in the other Orbital Classic Or Dud thread two years ago)

OK, Orbital have never done very much for me but I'm about 40 minutes into this live set ^^^ and I'm liking it a lot more than any of their albums. Thanks for that link!

🎧. 🎶 👍🏻

thank u sic for that link. working on this presentation is going to be a lot more merciful.

The Gun Is Good is imo the last great classic Orbital track they put out.

thanks, i need to investigate their live releases. I didn't realize they had so many.

I just remembered that one of the two new albums also had a full live album as a bonus disc!