Tag Archives: The Orb

New music – The Orb: Under The Bed

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adapted from the press release by Ben Hogwood

In a changing, unpredictable and turbulent world, something we can always rely on is a new Orb album, with the next holiday-for-the-head never far away. On what is quite possibly the millionth longplayer helmed by electronic lifer Alex Paterson; partnered with the now firmly-entrenched boy wonder Michael Rendall; the inspirationally productive outfit yet again deliver the goods, with one of their best yet.

“I was having a dream, and in this dream was an escalator descending out of the clouds, upon which were Buddhists and hipsters travelling downwards, and beckoning me down from the top, was Roger Eno. When I woke up, I had a text from him, asking if we fancied more collabs, so he’s on the record, amongst other friends.

New single Under The Bed, the second track to be taken from forthcoming album Buddhist Hipsters sees long-time Orb cohort Andy Falconer, whom Alex calls “an ambient god”, join forces with Alex, and the pair go so many fathoms deep that they aren’t merely out of their pit, but Under The Bed, and it displays all the awe of the cosmos like a planetarium from heaven. As the press release says – it is nearly ten minutes of pure, easy, hot-weather ambience.

“Recording the album and playing recent gigs have been comfortable, happy, and therapeutic experiences, largely due to Michael Rendall, who’s a genius that picks up anything he turns his hand to. We have a wonderful, simpatico relationship on record and on stage. Overall, the length, arc, and energy of Buddhist Hipsters energy mirrors one our fans’ faves, U.F. Orb.” Alex Paterson

Spontaneously Combust kicks off in fine style, with Steve Hillage’s unmistakeable guitar, Miquette Giraudy on vintage EMS synth, plus blue roomy bass, backwards vocals, and gentle dream house grooves. It features a top-secret sample, suggested to Alex by shopkeeper-par-excellence Michael King, taken from his mythical basement vaults at West Norwood’s Book and Record Bar.

A recent live set starter, P~1 slowly builds into firing cosmic D&B cyclones, whilst the bleeped-up late 70s synth of Baraka is an ode to a famous Kenyan blind rhino, who, tellingly is known as a symbol of resilience. Already a firm live favourite, A Sacred Choice is prime leaping reggae skank, with Youth on bass, Paul Ferguson on drums, Andy Falconer on atmospherics, and vocals by Eric Von Skywalker.

The title of the eastern influenced, orchestral drama of hip hop banger Arabebonics is a word invented by rapper Rrome Alone, who lends vocals to the track, with added BVs and strings from Violeta Vicci.

Elsewhere, prog-throbber It’s Coming Soon features Andy Cain’s dulcet tones, that grace this plaintive-arpeggiated-prog-throbber, on which Alex manages to smuggle a nod to his aunties Rose and June into the lyrics, before the dusty nostalgic vibes of Doll’s House glows and pulsates in all the right ways, scattering sound beams like a planet sized disco ball.

With Alex having met lovers rock legend Trevor Waters and discovering his classic Love Me Tonight, Rendall isolated the vocal using Logic, transforming the original into the pinnacle of the LP’s house music passage. Newly titled The Oort Cloud (Too Night) and aided by cult Manchester disc jockey Dr D, they embark on a classic NYC deepside journey, for a moment of dancefloor ecstasy.

Elsewhere, Andy Falconer joins forces with Alex on Under The Bed, while the delightful Khàron, named after the sister planet of Pluto, conjures a universe alive with light and celestial beings, largely aided by Roger Eno’s stunningly sparing piano. Finishing on a high, it bids us a warm goodnight.

Buddhist Hipsters is released on October 10th via Cooking Vinyl and will be available on CD with a 6 panel fold out sleeve, black double LP vinyl with a gatefold sleeve and limited-edition rust red, pink marble and yellow marble vinyl.

Published post no.2,637 – Monday 25 August 2025

New music – Orboretum: The Orb Collection (Cooking Vinyl)

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published by Ben Hogwood, with text appropriated from the press release

Flanked by a large colourful cast of ‘characters’ and an even bigger, persistently prolific output, despite adversity, after 30 years Alex Paterson continues to draw from his infinite well of creativity and drive. He’s constantly in the studio or on-stage as The Orb (and an ever-growing list of side projects too), and it’s especially for this reason that a new ‘Best-Of’ is apt.

Released 25th October via Cooking Vinyl, Orboretum: The Orb Collection is a career-spanning, 2CD & limited-edition quadruple vinyl octagonal set including new and rare mixes, compiled by Paterson himself. It goes way back, but also focusses on recent highlights from albums such as Abolition Of The Royal Familia (2020) and Prism (2023) – which were cited by the media as some of their greatest work – up there with the bonafide gold of yesteryear. “I don’t want The Orb to end up milking it like Roxy Music, who were always cranking out another best-of, although we did release the ‘History Of The Future’ best-of in 2013, and its part 2 in 2015 to be fair”, says Paterson. “We have such a gigantic catalogue though, that sometimes even I need a reminder of what I’ve done, especially these days. This is a sort of director’s cut, reframing our output, making new neuro pathways, and new juxtapositions. Some of these tracks are 30 years apart, but there are clear through lines, a continuum.”

Put simply; this is The Orb: Stop and pause to think about what that means to the culture. Alex is a living legend who’s travelled a clear path through one of the most important journeys of music in recent times; starting with punk, heavily influenced by Jamaican / Windrush generation UK dub and reggae, growing with acid house, inventing chill out, topping the charts, then becoming one of the first arena-sized live electronic acts. This national treasure deserves to be celebrated. With his boundless appetite for recording and collaboration, The Orb is happening right now, still new, still striving; not resting on past laurels or dining out on the Dad rave nostalgia circuit, instead seeing from the stage multi-generational crowds losing their minds, from fresh faced teenagers to war-torn rave fossils, and everyone in between.

Orboretum will be available on colour vinyl, in an octagonal 4LP set, with sleeve notes by Kris Needs. Each side of vinyl is pressed on a transparent colour green, lilac, orange and blue, grouped by Alex to represent the 4 seasons, hence its botanical title. The comp’s “roots and more recent shoots” traverses their work for Universal across discs A and B, whilst discs C and D explore their music for indie labels Cooking Vinyl, Kompakt, Malicious Damage, and Liquid Sound Design. In addition, Orboretum will also be available on 2CD and digitally.

You can pre-order Orboretum from The Orb’s official site

Published post no.2,311 – 25 September 2024

New music – Say She She: Silver (Karma Chief)

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Here is some wonderful weekend music from Brooklyn trio Say She She, with their second album Silver.

Having made a strong impact at Glastonbury with their live set, which included one of the singles of the year in C’est Si Bon, they have given us a long player guaranteed to brighten up any day. A homage to the disco music of the late 1970s, it is more than mere pastiche – a brilliant collection of original compositions, packed with good feelings and funky basslines.

Listen below for some wonderful summery sounds!

New music – The Orb & David Gilmour: Metallic Spheres in Colour

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Described as a ‘remixed collaborative album’, this is an update for the 2010 release made by The Orb and David Gilmour, Metallic Spheres.

You may remember that the original has just two tracks, which sit either side of the vinyl release. Producer Youth recently revealed that “The idea for Metallic Spheres In Colour was that Alex Paterson could have done more on the first version, and he didn’t really have the opportunity because we had a philosophy of making the music like the Blade Runner soundtrack meets Wish You Were Here. So, I asked him why don’t we remix it and make it like an Orb classic? And in doing that, it’s almost like a completely different album.”

Have a listen to an excerpt below and see what you think:

Switched On – The Orb: Prism (Cooking Vinyl)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

British electronic artists are known for their staying power. Few are more durable than The Orb, however, with Alex Paterson’s band having gone through so many different membership connotations since their formation in 1987.

These days the outlook is relatively settled, as the duo – Paterson and Michael Rendall – have now completed three albums together, bringing the studio album count to 18.

There are plenty of guests adorning Prism, with its artwork homage to Pink Floyd, intentionally or not marking the 50th anniversary of Dark Side Of The Moon.

What’s the music like?

If you know The Orb from the 1990s, the musical content of Prism will come as little surprise. And yet Paterson and Rendall have made an album full of very fresh sounding music, and any familiar formulas that might be used are given the freshest coat of paint.

There are some explicit musical homages made throughout the record. H.O.M.E. (High Orbs Mini Earths) makes direct reference to Mr Fingers’ Can You Feel It in its celebration of Chicago house music, while Living In Recycled Times follows the promise of its title by matching the key, tempo and mood of Adam F’s Circles and Alex Reece’s Feel The Sunshine, both prominent drum ‘n’ bass tunes in the mid-1990s.

These are two excellent tracks, but the pure reggae contributions are best of all. A Ghetto Love Story uses Eric Von Skywalker to bring the sunshine, a great piece of Brixton committed to record – while Tiger makes a powerful impact, its dedication to Paterson’s son and late brother made meaningful in music of strong emotion.

More traditional ambient fayre can be found elsewhere, with the heat-soaked Picking Tea Leaves And Chasing Butterflies a real gem in its use of distant trumpet fanfares and chugging foreground beats.

Does it all work?

It does. Even though Paterson can make this sort of album in his sleep, he shows what a strong instinct he has for structure. Prism works beautifully as a single listen, and although there are a few slightly derivative tracks they all carry the distinctive Orb imprint.

Is it recommended?

Heartily. The Orb have a remarkably consistent discography, but Prism is one of their very best.

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