One
of the seminal bands of the post-acid area, the Hartnoll
brothers formed Orbital, in 1987 when they started recording
together with just a four-track, a handful of keyboards
and a drum machine. The band took their name from the
London Orbital motorway, better known as the M25, a
famous meeting point for ravers across England during
the late eighties. Their first release, Chime,
recorded and mastered on their father’s tape system,
for a mere £2.50 as the legend has it, became
an overnight success, crashing the UK top 20 in early
1989. Crafting psychedelic dance gems typical of the
rave age, the band came back over a year later with
their second EP, Omen, and, in 1991, Satan,
also known as 3 EP, which also featured the
stunning Belfast.
But Orbital were always more about accomplished projects
than one-off singles, and that same year, the pair released
their eponymous debut album, nowadays referred to as
the green album, and started touring intensively. This
helped establish Orbital as an all-round act and defined
the pair’s sound and approach for years to come,
reflected on Orbital 2 (the brown album), which
followed two years later, on tracks such as Lush
3, Impact or Halcyon + On + On,
and even more so on its follow ups, Snivilisation
(1994) and In-Sides (1996).
In the fifteen years that separate their first album
and their last, Orbital have become one of the most
important dance outfit around. The pair have produced
seven albums and a myriad of EPs, collaborated with
a multitude of artists and contributed to the soundtrack
of Spawn and The Saint, and have composed
the entire score for Marcus Adams’s 2003 thriller
Octane.
After years spent experimenting with sound, Orbital
somewhat return to their roots with this new album,
especially on the superb Transcient, an introverted
orchestral piece, the full-on Pants and Tunnel
Vision or the moody Lost. Similarly, the
Hartnoll brothers seem to review their entire career
in just over fifty minutes. You Lot, which
features a sample of a speech by Christopher Eccleston
taken from the TV drama The Second Coming,
is typical of the Orbital of the late nineties, and
is curiously reminiscent of Spare Parts Express
from The Middle Of Nowhere. Bath Time
is a homage to the work of legendary composer Walter/Wendy
Carlos on the soundtrack of A Clockwork Orange.
Described by Paul as ‘electronic music for electronic
music’s sake’, this is Orbital taking a
light-hearted and humourous look at their work.
The album also features a collaboration with legendary
baroque electro-pop duo Sparks on the grisly and rather
disposable acid/techno monster Acid Pants,
and concludes with the evocative One Perfect Sunrise,
which features Lisa Gerrard
on vocals. Echoing the Hildegard De Bingen sample used
on Belfast, which closed their first album,
this track is the perfect swansong to Orbital’s
fifteen-year career.
Not many acts have the lucidity to stop before it is
too late, and this album demonstrates that, despite
being tired of working together, Phil and Paul Hartnoll
still know how to put on a good show. If not as impeccable
as their first three albums, Blue remains one
of Orbital’s most accomplished record in years
and will surely contribute to the band being sorely
missed.
4.2/5 |
