Orbital - Wonky

http://c438342.r42.cf2.rackcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/orbitalwonky.jpg

Due out in April, am I wrong to be a little excited about this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCi1CurRAVg&feature=player_embedded

I'm excited!

"Never" is great!

And i've been offboard for over ten years.

hm, that track's in some post-indie/post-M83-ish, but coming back around to rave by way of its newer dubstep/nu-electro influences kind of place

That's good.

the new Underworld and Chemical Brothers albums were really good, no reason why this can't be

fingers crossed lightly. don't care for the new track at all.

i didn't feel this track but lady leshurr is on the album?!

the track isn't anything mind-blowing. but it warms my heart the same way their older stuff does.

couldn't care less about zola jesus, bur i'm enjying this : http://www.pitchfork.com/news/45304-listen-orbital-and-zola-jesus-team-up/

*enjoying

I really like Never but the idea that Lady Leshurr will work well over an Orbital track just does not compute with me. Zola Jesus is probably more likely to work, her problem has always been tedious backing. I feel quite strongly that Orbital tracks should be lyric-less.

Also 'Wonky' is a shit title and I'm worried the brothers will decide to indulge their sense of humour again, as they're terrible at it.

Looking forward to the gigs more than the album really.

^agreed on basically all points

I felt the same as Matt DC but this is an amazing record - their best since In Sides. The title's a red herring because there's very little goofy humour and lots of what they're best at without being too self-referential. I'd be interested to see what younger listeners make of it because it doesn't sound nostalgic at all.

Hang on, didn't these guys "split up" not very long ago? *Thinks* oh shit, that was probably about 9 years ago now...

2004. Reunited for live shows in (I think) 2010.

must have been 2009, they came here in early 2010.

Don't think much of the Zola Jesus collaboration, hope there isn't anything else in that vein. Stadium-friendly in all the wrong ways.

New France and the title track (with Lady Leshurr) are the outliers but there are no duds imo.

love "never" and the zola jesus collab, can't wait for this.

They're playing new stuff live on 6Music at the moment. Sounds great, melancholic, disembodied voices, a bit 'Forever'.

I think Forever might be my most played Orbital track, so this is good. I've deliberately heard nothing new by them yet.

There's an interview with them on Fact today:

http://www.factmag.com/2012/03/16/orbital-on-comebacks-envying-the-chemical-brothers-working-with-flood-and-zola-jesus/

Interesting they talked to FACT, given that FACT made some disparaging "techno grandads" remarks about them a month or two ago.

Apparently 'Beeledub' is the dubstep version of Satan they played at Glastonbury last year, which wasn't great IIRC.

I thought that would be a remix of the B-side "Beezlebub" that somehow didn't make it on The Altogether

btw it sucks that this is only going to be like 50 minutes long

Oh I'm quite happy with that idea.

short and sweet beats long and noodly

#ilxpostsoutofcontext

I dunno, just hoping it's not like the new Underworld album where it sounds like they made a conscious decision to keep things short and wound up neglecting a lot of what really made them great in the past, which bothered me because the material itself was really very good

I'm guessing they'll vary in length a bit?

If the Maida Vale set is anything to go by they've started playing 'Sad But True' live again. <3

i never did hear that new underworld...

It's pretty good, better than anything else since Beaucoup Fish, but it falls down because by and large it's not very like them, there are too many other producers getting in the way, so it feels a bit like a remix compilation. Which clearly won't be the case with the Wonky, no matter whether it's any cop or not.

Always interesting to check out although "In Sides" was the last time they were top notch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpQQy52T0Ts

Loads of new stuff in here, at least four tracks... sounds amazing.

Also the dubstep Satan turns into a really awesome hardcore Satan about midway through.

http://pitchfork.com/news/45774-video-orbital-and-zola-jesus-new-france/

I missed this

btw I love it

Matt I'm just getting to that set you posted upthread, holy shit

Jesus you guys weren't kidding about that Maida Vale set.

http://open.soundrop.fm/s/orbital

Ahead of the release of their 8th studio album "Wonky", Orbital are hosting a very special live webchat event on Spotify.

Join the Orbital Soundrop room on Spotify on Thursday 29th March at 4pm to chat with the band live - and get your chance to ask them about their experiences from the last 25 Years at the heart of British dance music, and their triumphant return to the studio after an 8 year hiatus.

We'll also be hosting a truly democratic Orbital playback - where you can listen along and vote for your favourite Orbital tracks - creating the ultimate Orbital playlist - voted for by the fans, for the fans.

Soundrop is an app on Spotify to share, discover and experience music together with friends. Soundrop takes the original concept of the jukebox and brings it to the web in a social and democratic way. Find it in Spotify’s App Finder.

maybe I will be sick Thursday

mmmm.

djp will just ask them about dr who.

"what's he REALLY like"

then Aldo will join and say how much nu-who sucks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9675nvyses

OMG.

Now that's how to do a fucking build.

This has leaked by the way and 'Stringy Acid' is sending me in paroxysms of 90s throwback techno joy. It would be a standout on the Brown album, it's that good.

STOP TALKING ABOUT IT! I am embargoing it until I can buy it in a record shop on Monday.

Nick it's hardly my fault you refuse to live in the modern world!

I felt the same as Matt DC but this is an amazing record - their best since In Sides. The title's a red herring because there's very little goofy humour and lots of what they're best at without being too self-referential. I'd be interested to see what younger listeners make of it because it doesn't sound nostalgic at all.

Cosign this entire post really. My copy arrived in the post this morning actually. I've listened to it twice and it is astonishingly good, definitely best since InSides. It's merely very good for the first four tracks or so and then really takes off from Distractions onwards.

There's a bit of almost everything they're good at actually - extreme prettiness (Never), aching Adnan's-style sadness (Distractions), widescreen rave (Stringy Acid) and proper hands-in-the-air anthems - I want at least 10 minutes more of the last track, Where's It Going? which is kinda like the first half of Impact with the cinematic swoop of Out There Somewhere pt. 2.

Also, Stringy Acid aside, I'm surprised how contemporary it sounds, partly because most of the elements of their sound are vogueish again, in M83-style indie electronica when not in dance music itself. And the nods to current music (wobbly dubstep on Beelzebub, Azealia Banks style electro on the title track) work because they maintain the personality of the rest of the album.

You're torturing me.

i really love this

i mean i guess this should've been obvious because this is an orbital record but listening to the disconnected youtubes kind of misses out on the incredible weaving they do between tracks

for instance before now it was hard to tell how similar the outro of "straight sun" and the intro of "never" were

Excited.

This is the first album they've done that actually flows like an album in absolutely ages. I would have given it a colour name if I were them. A colour that's patently not as good as green or brown.

Orange maybe.

There's a bit of almost everything they're good at actually

^^ this. i only listened to it once, so i still don't know if i prefer it over 'middle of nowhere'. i could do without 'belzedub', tbh. 'stringy acid' is all i could hope for a rave throwback - and even better that what such "statement" could imply.

*even better than

damn, still waiting for my copy...so this is better than The Altogether I take it? :D

another one hour thing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XT_ZKP9_Oo

listened to the album yesterday. fucking love it.

Absolutely fantastic.

The build on One Big Moment is just masterful, I love how they keep adding more and more layers an then suddenly there's one chiming synth line over the top that changes the melodic complexion of the track altogether. I wish they'd taken a bit more time with it actually, if there's one mild criticism I might have of this record it's they could have been a bit more patient with the pacing of some of the tracks, Where's It Going? in particular could have a much slower build and a longer outro.

But this is already above Middle of Nowhere for me, which sagged quite badly in the middle with I Don't Know You People and Otono.

True but the highs ("Spare Parts Express", "Know Where To Run", "Nothing Left") on Middle of Nowhere probably were higher for the reason you cite - the build on those tracks is at once astonishing and yet totally inevitable sounding. There's a slight "radio edit" quality to the tunes here.

Though it's not really a bad thing that with nearly every track I'm thinking "oh, that ended too soon."

At the same time I'm not sure many of them actually need to be much longer - its only really the first and last tracks that would benefit from it really.

Conversely Beelzedub feels longer than it actually is and not in a bad way particularly, because there are so many sections to it and all of them feel exactly the right length. Also I love that you're sitting listening to the drill and bass bit and wondering if it could get any more gleefully ridiculous and then they throw the Kirk Hammett guitars in there as well.

Also, Distractions is a really astonishing piece of music.

Flood probably had a hand in tightening the structures and keeping the song short.

Duh @ StanM reposting that Maida Vale thing and not even noticing until now. Wtf, dude.

glad i listened to this, i doubt i'd have bothered without the leshurr hook. i think it sounds pretty dated in places and "beelzedub" got serious side-eye from me, but "straight sun" is amazing and the leshurr track is easily the best - that build!

This is pretty good! It does feel a bit like it's missing that final mysterious ingredient to take it to "really great", but In Sides didn't click for me until I had it on the Walkman (lol 90s) for a coach journey through brilliant sunshine and scenery, and this one sounds like it's going to go well with summertime walks, so I'm hoping it'll really hit me then.

Though I do kind of prefer my Orbital with no hints of the 21st century, so I'll admit I prefer it if I skip Beelzedub (second half with the breaks is ok tho) and the Lady Leshurr track. I am aware this says more about me being a corny indie fuck than about the album.

you guys are getting me hella psyched here!
title cut sounds great.

ne-v-er

I like how this album is a bit of a parental rebuke of Scuba.

"Straight Sun" is amazing, yes.

another one hour thing:

― StanM, Sunday, 1 April 2012 02:35 (Yesterday)

this is a DJ set btw not a live session

3 hours till I get to buy this.

Anyone heard the second disc of the 2CD version? (Five live tracks). I'm currently debating which edition to order.

i doubt i'd have bothered without the leshurr hook

http://media.bigoo.ws/content/gif/music/music_139.gif

I don't really think much of this sounds dated at all actually - the exception being Stringy Acid and that at least is consciously so. Also even if it were some old acid house record I'd still probably lose my shit if I heard it in a club.

I'm surprised Straight Sun is getting so many props, it's one of the weaker tracks for me, feels a bit Orbital by numbers and could maybe do with a bit more melodic development. I'm not mad keen on Zola Jesus's eurohouse bluster on New France either, the rest of the track is good but I keep thinking how amazing Alison Goldfrapp was over the top of Orbital tracks and it doesn't compare.

xp- I'd think a lot of fans already own a bunch of live versions of those tracks, so I personally wouldn't spend money on it. Orbital have yet to really release a great live album, like Underworld, Daft Punk, and now the Chemical Brothers have - I mean the Live in Glastonbury comp had some great performances, but it was basically a glorified bootleg.

The three UK CD re-releases of Satan had b-sides which made up a really great live album- but yes, no dedicated release does this.

"Anyone heard the second disc of the 2CD version? (Five live tracks). I'm currently debating which edition to order.

― Jeff W,

I just bought the 2CD version. It was only £2 more than the single disc one so wasn't that difficult a decision.

And if anyone wanted to complete their Orbital back catalogue on CD then surely this represents value for money:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Original-Album-Series-Orbital/dp/B005DEVGUQ/ref=ntt_mus_dp_dpt_2

Yeah, this seems pretty ace.

Yeah, this is really fucking good.

They're almost as good as they were in the first part of their career, it's as if time has become a loop

i like "beelzedub", just don't fit in the album

hm, not on spotify. wonder if that's a long term thing or?

It's now available in Europe http://spotimy.co.uk/albumpage.php?album=5059

The three UK CD re-releases of Satan had b-sides which made up a really great live album- but yes, no dedicated release does this.

― good luck in your pyramid (Neil S), Monday, April 2, 2012 1:59 PM (5 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

The live version of "Impact" on this is sometimes my favourite Orbital thing ever.

I was right to be excited. As someone said upthread only disappointment is that the tracks aren't longer. So may great Orbital touches, favourite so far the breakdown in 'Straight Sun' then kicks in again with the little 'chime' at 4:25.

it's streaming on NME too. Didn't have time to check it out yet, dig the first two singles though.

been listening to snivilization and insides all day

Anyone heard the second disc of the 2CD version? (Five live tracks).

Haven't heard the CD, but I think I was probably at the actual show, and based on that I'd say buy it

People confused by Beelzedub being by Orbital must be mental; it's like some amazing amalgamation of the really fucking nuts space alien terror of Out There Somewhere Part 1 and Satan. Obviously.

Given this two listens and maybe i should hold my tongue till it's bedded in a bit more but so far my impression is good, not great. Matt is otm upthread with There's a bit of almost everything they're good at, and it feels very much like revisiting past glories, "hi guys this is why you loved us in the first place" (despite a bit of dubstep wobble and latest flavour of the month young brit mc of choice). Which is fine, it just doesn't really feel that fresh. I know, it's a lose-lose situation, if they'd come out with something radically new sounding they'd be criticised for abandoning their sound.

Perhaps my actual complaint is that although it's mostly successful at revisiting those past glories, it never quite reaches the heights of anything on in sides. Which is asking a lot i know.

I'd resigned myself to it not getting near In Sides. I don't want another In Sides; I'm not sure I'd know how to deal with it. I'm not saying this is amazing yet; but I am enjoying it more than I'd dared hope I would.

The tightness of it, which as pointed out above, might be partly due to Flood, is a really odd thing to get your head around.

I'm interested as to how that Lady Leshurr collaboration came about actually, do they share a record label or something? She's really not the MC you'd expect an ageing 90s dance act to plump for (ie she's actually good).

I remember reading something where they said they'd played the track to someone (can't recall who) and said "we think we need a vocalist, something modern" and they recommended Lady Leshurr? Unless I'm confusing the provenance of that with the Zola Jesus track.

ZJ's throaty warble is reeeeeaaallly rubbing me up the wrong way right now.

I really, really like it!

http://www.factmag.com/2012/03/16/orbital-on-comebacks-envying-the-chemical-brothers-working-with-flood-and-zola-jesus/

“It was a similar thing with Lady Leshurr – we’d already been playing the track out, and we were going to go with it as an instrumental, and then I suddenly thought, if we were to have a female rap just after the bass drop, that could be interesting…so I really wanted to try it. Finding a strong, staccato kind of female rapper is quite difficult – there’s not that many out there, or at least not many in my sphere of listening. So again, we put the feelers out, and a friend said listen to Lady Leshurr, and we heard her and were like wow, she’s like a machine gun! Both of them came down to the studio in the last week of recording and did their thing there and then.”

My first impressions: the first coupla tracks are a wee bit underwhelming, but then the album increasingly gets better. Excellent from 'Distractions' onwards. Experienced major flashbacks while listening to 'Stringy Acid'; I bet they had huge grins on their faces as they put that one together.

Zola Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring sounds like Umbrella-Rihanna on her feature

After listening to the whole album at work this morning, myself and office-mate (also a fan) have just been playing through all the random Orbital tracks I've got on my iPhone, which is a smattering of stuff from their whole career, plus all of In Sides and Wonky. And the Wonky stuff is sounding really good next to everything else.

Zola Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring sounds like Umbrella-Rihanna on her feature

Or Katy Perry.

sigh, wish this would arrive already

until then I'll just play Paul's solo album. which was ignored by nearly everybody. but it's really quite good!!

I've not got the case with me and can't remember which oen it was, but I was intrigued to see in the liner notes that the bulk of the tunes were written by one brother.

Rambling thoughts after 24-hours - http://sickmouthy.com/2012/04/03/orbital-wonky/

Phil only has writing credits on Beelzedub and Wonky.

thanks for that - now I'm really stoked. I think that captures a lot of what makes these guys stand out amongst all their contemporaries. I'd say many of the same things about Underworld, too.

this thread and Sick Mouthy's blog post got me all excited for this, but apparently its not out in the U.S. yet.

next week

yeah thats what i found out.

yeah, this is kinda ridiculous

Man alive, the last two minutes of Where Is It Going plugged straight into some mono no aware style emotions for me just then. Really beautiful.

okay I broke down and went to the NME site

holy fuck "One Big Moment" is great

two tracks in and I want to cry, I like this so much

Zola Jesus's voice is so in line with the synth patches used on "New France" that I find it practically impossible to get worked up over her voice; I can't imagine a wispier voice making it through all of that bombast

words cannot express how happy "Stringy Acid" made me

also "Beelzedub" makes a lot more sense on the album IMO, I didn't notice the little fussy drum details from the live set upthread

OH MY FUCKING GOD

"Wonky"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HOLY HELL

my unfiltered, unconsidered opinion is that this is easily my favorite album of the year

when you are ready to hear more lady leshurr, dan, let me know!

Bonus track for Japan = P.E.T.R.O.L. (Final Drop Mix) by the way (it's also on the WipeOut 2048 game soundtrack)

lol, they have been giving "P.E.T.R.O.L." to WipeOut games for 16 years now

Wow, that live bonus disc is pretty essential too - they haven't lost their ability to use all the familiar elements of a track yet turn it into something new every time they do it live.

btw can I just say that a second listenthrough confirms my initial "OMG SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE" reactions

It's not up there with that run from Brown to Middle of Nowhere, but it's far better than I expected any 8-years-on comeback would be, and it'll more than do for me.

okay, I finally got my hands on it

will probably post more detailed thoughts later but right now I'm feeling the same as I did with the new Chems album - like, holy hell it's good and I can't wait to hear it again. I definitely agree that some of the tracks could stand to be longer (especially the last one). Didn't really like "Beezledub" the first time around b/c I'm not really a fan of that genre but every track made an impression and I suspect this will probably hold up as well as their classic material has. It doesn't feel gimmicky or anything - the tracks are maybe a bit predictable but the melodies are really solid and have been pinging back and forth in my head.

I'm not really getting the love for One Big Moment, or Never, either. They're probably the weakest tracks on this, for me.

that's nuts, those are two of the best on the album!

on the 3rd listen now and yeah, I'm definitely a fan of how relentlessly melodic this is, even for an Orbital album.

Does anyone know anything about a U.S. release for this thing? Stopped by two local shops today one said the domestic release has been removed from their calendar and they could order it for me for $35 and the other said it won't be out here for another month or two. Not on iTunes either. #thisiswhywedownloadshit

ELECTRONIC ICONS ORBITAL
US RELEASE DATE FOR NEW ALBUM WONKY
APRIL 17, 2012
VIA DOWNTOWN RECORDS
AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY ON ITUNES

Hmmm okay, thanks, hopefully that ends up the case. I found a very similar press release that claimed it was out today.

i got that info from a press release mailed to me from some folks i know; pretty sure it's accurate

Royal Albert Hall show last night was great. Made me realise how heavily they had been leaning on certain big tunes in the years before the hiatus. They played everything from Wonky bar New France and Distractions and really played around with the classics - Halcyon early in the set rather than the big finish, ending on Are We Here?, etc. They sounded totally liberated. Good lights too, obv.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Y5urHuT8Dk&feature=share

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SBVKQ4MwUw&list=UUMspp2HRloRpBSQtvC_RIzw&index=2&feature=plcp

tell me that gig sold out aeons ago and i won't feel so bad about not even knowing it was happening.

December dates on sale now FYI

http://orbitalofficial.com/live.asp

I shall be going to Bristol, I think.

I hate it when bands play big tours like that and totally omit Scotland. 10 English dates and nothing north of the border.

Yeah the Royal Albert Hall gig was astonishing, they felt revitalised by the new material and it didn't get a notably worse reception than the classics - in fact Wonky probably had the best crowd reaction of the night.

Also I've never heard them do Are We Here? live before but it felt monolithic. Loved the extra section the put on the end with the Karen Carpenter sample in the middle.

We got (SPOILER ALERT)
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
One Big Moment
Halcyon
Straight Sun
Sad But New
Beelzedub
Never
Belfast
Impact
Wonky
Are We Here?
-----------
Stringy Acid
Chime
Where's It Going?

The slow transition between Never and Belfast was a glorious moment, as were the layers of percussive clatter they threw over the top of the second half of Impact. And just looking up around the Royal Albert Hall and seeing people up and dancing right around the venue, up to the top circle.

Jealous.

7 tracks off the new one but not the single? Odd.

The single is so obviously there for the radio.

anyway Wonky is the new single

Damn, that Carpenters sample works *gorgeously*.

lol @ 0:50, "what's this?"

New France does sound awesome on radio. I know others aren't massively keen but I really like it.

xp

haha, yeah, I figured that most Orbital fans are old enough to recognise her voice...

Btw, the live CD that comes with the 2 disc version of the album is epic

I have ordered tickets for Dec but not got a confirmation email. Is that how it works if you ask for tickets to be posted (which I only did because it costs the same as email tickets and that is kind of ridiculous)?

/vibrates with uncertainty and 8-month-early anticipation

oh uh this is with ticketweb, in case some of the dates are via some other ticketing site

Been holding off on all discussion to avoid psyching myself out but had to read through this just now and, well, want. So hurrah for the 17th. I suspect Dan's opinion will match my own.

I had been bummed because I hadn't seen the album on any official release lists and wasn't trusting the April 17 date but found confirmation on the Loopz message board so I'm back to FUCK YES

want this album in my hands do fucking badly

30 of my earth pounds for london live dates!

Maybe this album needs to grow on me some more. It's OK, but nothing I would have gone out of my way to hear. Based on this, Modeselektor are the new Orbital.

http://thequietus.com/articles/08516-orbital-wonky-review

very nice. I didn't have quite the history with the group - I got into them via the Work 1989-2002 collection (which, in retrospect, was pretty much the worst way to get into them), but I think you pretty much nailed it. never really thought of the "ten years out" idea but that rings pretty true, huh?

I'm pretty sure I stole that idea off this thread"

!

really enjoyed that review

For all the talk of 'Beelzedub' as their spin on dubstep it sounds to me the most retro of all the album. Puts me in mind of such big beat staples as 'Atom Bomb' by Fluke or 'We Have Explosive' by FSOL.

Opener 'One Big Moment' starts with layers of quiet, sampled voices, a little like 'Forever' from Snivilisation, before dropping a beat and a reverberating synth riff and a slowly developing melodic topline that will have a Pavlovian effect on tens of thousands of people of a certain age. You could interpret that cynically, or you could put your hands in the air.

so fucking OTM

btw typo: it reminds less of Burial or Skrillex than it does the Hartnoll's own history

How's that a typo?

Apostrophe in the wrong place. Possessive plural.

Good review, mr. Mouthy.

Cheers.

I have purchased a ticket for the Bristol gig. Anyone from here going?

This is great fun. I'm totally feeling the Insides comparisons. An all-out party record that balances head, heart and body very well. Also the first Orbital album I've bothered to check out since the one after Insides. Might have to do a bit of backtracking and listen to the others now.

I wouldn't bother really.

haha, okay. Actually I'm not even sure I've heard all of Middle of Nowhere. Insides was such an important, pivotal record for me (the first couple of paragraphs in Mouthy's review are basically identical to my life experiences), that I think I must've thought "There's no way they can top that" then I heard Style and that Saint thing and thought, "yeah they're not gonna top it".

The best bits of Middle of Nowhere are maybe my favourite Orbital if I'm really honest.

yeah, that first half is really something, and the singles on the second half pretty much rule too

"Spare Parts Express" / "Know Where To Run" / "Nothing Left 1" / "Nothing Left 2" for me.

"Middle of Nowhere" is very fine too and I actually really like "Style", but the other tracks are next level.

lol I think I'm the only person on Earth who really digs "Otono"

I like "Otono", but it's definitely third tier on that album.

Always wanted to hear the Pooka albums actually, I actually have the single for "City Sick" somewhere for some reason, and I remember a friend told me their second album was fantastic.

This Pooka? Shift is pretty interesting, especially for its time (2001), esp the track "One in a Million". My understanding is the sometimes IDMish backing is very much an outlier in Pooka's catalog.

Wonky is on US spotify today; cracking it open now!

one big moment is LOVELY, totally vintage

I just picked up green, brown, and snivilisation w/in the past month or two and they're all v good! It's strange that I have five (!) of their albums now and yet still feel like I'm just getting into them

total first world problems but can I say how irritated I am that the US domestic release of this is an iTunes exclusive

^^^^ otm, super annoying

If you guys want to paypal me I can post you CDs from the UK?

hmm, maybe? let me check how much ordering from amazon.co.uk would be

ha the special edition from amazon.co.uk will cost me $20 with shipping, so I'm gonna go that route; thanks though!

I think "Wonky" is my favorite song of the year so far

It had been bugging me for ages what 'Wonky' reminded me of and it's actually 'Jump And Shout' by Basement Jaxx, the combination of insane build and an MC who's simultaneously on top of the build and part of it.

when are Orbital and Underworld going to synch up their schedules and do a joint tour that I can fly over to the UK to see

mmm hmm

This is extremely enjoyable. I like the experimentation with more analoguey noises.

kind of hard to believe that "Stringy Acid" didn't exist before this album came out, i'm already retroactively inserting it in my mid-late 90s memories

apparently it was an outtake from those days

I'd like to qualify my earlier endorsement by saying that the brostep track is dreadful. All other tracks are good, I particularly like New Fance and Where is it Going?

This album was pretty cool first time I heard it, but I'm just not drawn in enough to really love it. everything's in place, but i dunno.....

saw them on Saturday and they were incredible, seemed to have slashed much of the new stuff out of the set for Australia sadly - though what was there sounds very much of a piece with the old material in that setting.

SO MANY forty-somethings off their faces around us!

I want them to release a real live album so badly

like the UW 3-disc Live in Tokyo set if possible, something more than just an hour

those screeching synths in the end of "One Big Moment" would sound so massive live, c'mon boys

This album was pretty cool first time I heard it, but I'm just not drawn in enough to really love it. everything's in place, but i dunno.....

― Scary Move 4 (dog latin), Tuesday, May 8, 2012 6:33 PM (3 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yep

album is a con that makes me doubt all of my orbital love ever, but this remix has a nice bit in the middle

https://soundcloud.com/orbital-4/where-is-it-going-steve-mac

credited to steve mac and phil

3 months pass...

huh

What do you mean by "album is a con"?

i don't hear a lot of spontaneous life in most of these tracks, which is especially jarring given what they're trying to do. doesn't even sound rote, sounds contrived. not going to be a convincing argument if these tracks actually create joy for you.

i like "never" though.

I'm increasingly feeling that this album is content rather than music. I still quite like it, and think its their best since Middle of Nowhere, but I don't love it.

>album is a con that makes me doubt all of my orbital love ever

If you'd said this about 90% of The Altogether I might have understood, but wrong target with this one - the great tracks on here still sound great to me, and I've *hammered* this album.

I'm with Bill, this album still sounds pretty f great to me

yeah, it holds up good for me too.

I'm increasingly feeling that this album is content rather than music

This is a meaningless statement.

Only cos I didn't add context; my feeling is actually drawn partly, I think, from the same feeling that caused you to say that New France was "so obviously there for the radio", which you may not have meant as a pejorative, but which I inferred as such.

Yo this album is great!!

Yeah, finally (at last) heard it today myself and love it.

Sorry Nick I still don't know what "content rather than music" means.

Sorry Nick I still don't know what "content rather than music" means.

Did some scribbling to try and explain. http://sickmouthy.com/2012/08/27/four-tet-and-some-thoughts-on-music-as-content/

Ah, I read this as you complaining that it's too functional (within the parameters of how Orbital's music functions).

This strikes me as a particularly odd criticism to make of Orbital (and also Talabot) - I hope I don't sound condescending when I say it sounds like a criticism made by a person who doesn't listen to (or appreciate) much actual dance music.

It's not so much "how dare you complain that music is too functional" - more that I think when you listen to a lot of music that is pretty explicitly functional in that manner then its functionalism no longer exists at the opposite end of a continuum from art/creativity/etc. for its own sake - hence saying "it's too functional to be art" begins to seem as nonsensical as saying "it has too many beats to be art".

More generally I think the idea of wanting music to "transcend its purpose" is a really bad one, not because music should not transcend its purpose but because the idea that it can and should is only propogated by people who are wary of (and hence do not have a good handle on) the alleged purpose to begin with.

What I would say, and I think it gets at roughly the same ballpark feeling, is that Wonky feels like an album purposely designed to "tick all the boxes" for an Orbital box except the box of "creates at least one new box". Its problem is that it's precisely as functional as Middle of Nowhere, and as such feels like a retreat into safe territory.

More specifically the entire idea of transcension here is really saying "I think this purpose is better than that one."

Oh I don't dance these days and I don't DJ and I'm the first to acknowledge that (and there's nowhere round here where I could dance to this kind of music anyway); that's not been a barrier to me enjoying huge amounts of dance music, though, and especially and particularly Orbital in the past (and also plenty of stuff that was compared to Talabot when Fin came out, which piqued my interest). I'm not saying one "purpose" is better than any other, just that one isn't mine, and there's not enough "whatever it is" to quite satisfy what my purpose might be.

Yeah that's fine, I just think the content vs music opposition makes it seem like you're drawing a more concrete distinction than that.

Yeah it was a bit flippant putting them as opposite ends of a dichotomy; the Cistene Chapel ceiling was a commission and arguably "content", and huge, huge reams of other great art of all mediums and genres and stripes.

Maybe you're just expecting something out of it that others aren't; I for one am happy to get nothing more than just a pile of great tunes

Orbital, at least for me, has a specific feeling of being composed, more so than most sequenced, functional dance music. It's a ridiculous statement on its face, to feel more composed than the next act with quantized beats and layers of samples that build up and roll off like clockwork, but it's the most succinct way of expressing that quality of their music.

This isn't a problem when it works - I appreciate Tim's point about it being a continuum, rather than an opposition. It applies just as much to the Orbital albums I love as those I don't. But when it doesn't hit, that feeling of functional composition is grating.

hot slag otm.

And I love them so much, too, that when something doesn't quite work, it feels like an affront. Which I know is ridiculous on any kind of "artist owes you nothing" perspective, but fandom doesn't work like that.

I don't see Orbital lapsing back into making "just" dance music (at least not from Snivilisation onwards) - pretty much all of their stuff retains the "composed" feeling, it's just that some tunes sound more rote or uninspired than others. So I think trying to equate Orbital's less inspired moments with non-Orbital dance music is a misnomer.

Unless you're applying some qualitative threshold to the application of "composed", which I think would be a kinda dodgy step really. Especially when it's being used so vaguely.

A good example of this is "Are We Here?" - an amazing tune and one of my favourites by Orbital. But by removing almost all of the melodic information and focusing on jungle rhythms it also revealed how much of Orbital's "signature sound" relies on their melodic (and harmonic) sensibility; there's nothing about it that is categorically different from A Guy Called Gerald or Neil Trix (the two jungle producers I could imagine doing something similar had they wanted to) - each sound as"composed" as Orbital when all three are working in the same style.

This is not to say that there's nothing special about Orbital, but that what is special is not some kind of magical, transcendent distinction from other dance music techniques, so much as a kind of sensibility that regularly pushes their music into territory that others pass through any fleetingly. And it's really only across an entire album (or their oeuvre as a whole) that this sensibility becomes obviously their key distinguishing feature.

But that sensibility remains the motivating factor on Wonky and even The Altogether. The fact that the former is largely content to repeat past glories and the latter is for the most part awful doesn't change that.

So I think trying to equate Orbital's less inspired moments with non-Orbital dance music is a misnomer.

who was doing this? neither was i saying that Orbital was better than other dance music. that sense of the music feeling "composed" isn't a positive, it just doesn't bother me if the track works. it bothers me if the track doesn't work, and i have that experience with multiple tracks on Wonky.

each sound as"composed" as Orbital when all three are working in the same style.

not familiar with neil trix, but all i'll say is that AGCG doesn't make compositional structure so salient in his work. that's not to say it's not at all salient, and it's nothing to do with how much compositional ingenuity went into the track. it's just a question of what the listener notices.

some kind of magical, transcendent distinction from other dance music techniques

sigh

I read you as saying that good Orbital feels composed rather than functional and sequenced like other dance music, but when they're not so good they just sound functional again (like other dance music).

Is that not what you're saying?

But my comment re "transcendent" is in response to Nick who in his blog post uses precisely that language - I'm not assuming you believe that Lukas.

What I meant to say was that when I'm listening to Orbital I can never quite forget that the music was deliberately composed. This is not really a compliment. There is a sense of of marionette strings being pulled and mechanisms chunking through a predefined path. At best it's part of the charm (The Girl With The Sun In Her Head), but at worst, if the track as a whole doesn't work for me (several tracks on Wonky) the music just ends up sounding contrived.

Of course now that I've restated it a couple times I've said it maybe more strongly than I would like. This is not something that applies only to Orbital, it's just something that I specifically associate with them.

but when they're not so good they just sound functional again (like other dance music)

but I love dance music! *sob*

What I meant to say was that when I'm listening to Orbital I can never quite forget that the music was deliberately composed. This is not really a compliment. There is a sense of of marionette strings being pulled and mechanisms chunking through a predefined path. At best it's part of the charm (The Girl With The Sun In Her Head), but at worst, if the track as a whole doesn't work for me (several tracks on Wonky) the music just ends up sounding contrived.

This makes absolute sense to me - i.e. that they always sound "composed" but it can occasionally work against them rather than for.

Lots of music, of all stripes and genres, can either feel transcendent or sound functional; I'm not limiting that scope to just Orbital being transcendent or just dance music sounding functional.

Guys, everything sounds composed

Even improvisation is on-the-spot composition

Lots of music, of all stripes and genres, can either feel transcendent or sound functional; I'm not limiting that scope to just Orbital being transcendent or just dance music sounding functional.

― Sick Mouthy (Scik Mouthy), Wednesday, 29 August 2012 7:18 AM (13 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Difficult for me to overstate how much I dislike this term and by extension your use of it.

Guys, everything sounds composed

I keep mentally interpreting the use of the term here as meaning "sounds like it was written out on a stave beforehand".

Which term? Functional? Transcendent?

Transcendent.

Probably the only time I've ever really resented a review edit job was when I tried to explain how an album was good even though I disbelieve in the notion of transcendence (in this context) and the edit changed it to (effectively) "the album transcends its genre".

Why do you disbelieve in the notion of transcendence?

In the context of music I think that it implies a hierarchy of forms of enjoyment without substantiation, and elevates a certain stance vis a vis established musical forms as categorically superior rather than simply differentiated (in many cases rather predictably so).

In the contex of metaphysics, I believe the transcendent can only be conceived of negatively.

What about the notion of the sublime?

You can be sublime within genre.

This is a particularly weird argument to be having with regard to dance music because in house and some techno in particular, "functional" and "transcendent"/"sublime" tracks are interdependent. In a DJ set you need more functional tracks to make a big anthem or an injection of melody or a collection of astonishing sounds work properly. This stuff is hardwired into the structures of dance music.

Assuming that everyone agrees that the 'best' way to listen to and enjoy dance music is through a DJ set, though.

That's neither here nor there - I was making a point that idea of transcension or the sublime or whatever you choose to call it can occur within genre (and always does to a greater or lesser extent). Especially within dance music.

The DJ set thing was merely an example, this is an artist album we're talking about after all.

Fair enough; I'm a bit defensive after being lawyered by Tim again.

And as if by magic, Halcyon+on+on comes on in the office.

FWIW I think you have to respect the intentions of the producers and how the records were intended to be heard, but that's neither here nor there in this conversation.

See I'm torn on that, coming from a structuralism / semiotics POV where Barthes looms large and the 'death of the author' is a big thing. It's also incredibly difficult to expressly know someone's intentions with direct access to them, and inferring them through content, history, and other assumptions is dangerous. The music I like best, of whatever kind, is the stuff that I as a listener can find the most use for and draw the most positive experiences from, and if I use something in a way unintended by the author, so be it.

I'm a bit defensive after being lawyered by Tim again.

TBH I'm a bit over having this thrown at me when I'm not even using legal terminology.

I wasn't aware it was something that gets thrown at you that often, but I'm not on here all that much so may have missed that. It's not about legal terminology, though, not at all, it's about a certain approach to argument and logic that feels, when you're on the end of it, as if it's about finding loopholes and faultlines and proping them to the point where they collapse an argument (or someone's engagement with an argument). It's about a way of thinking, and turning that thought into discourse.

Well it gets thrown at me because I'm a lawyer.

I have no issue with the basic distinction you're drawing, I just think that talking in terms of the transcendent is an unhelpful way to make that point. I really don't think it's possible to use the term in a way that helps rather than hinders understanding. The nature of the word, and its baggage, means that it implies a lot more than the speaker really means.

When we say that an artist "transcends" a genre, typically what we really mean is that they're taking aspects of that genre and then reframing them within articulations that cannot be reduced to that genre.

But that is like saying mixing blue with yellow to make green results in a transcending of blue. This seems like an odd way to express the relationships of colours because we don't think of colours as existing in hierarchical relationships with one another.

And I think once we recognise that hierarchies aren't the best way to think about music, then we begin to feel that the language of transcendence is no longer appropriate.

'Wonky' is an attempt at the kind of dance album you used to get a lot of in the nineties - that "throw everything in, let's make a bangin' dance-pop album like 'Music For A Jilted Generation'" kind of thing, which is fine in my book. But what seemed to make 'In Sides' so good at the time was that it was a nineties crossover dance album that felt like a complete "piece" in six movements.

It was maybe one of the first times for a lot of rock-orientated fans looking to get into electronic music that they could access it in a way that didn't follow the typical 12-song rock album format - to be immersed in a complete, neatly-bound aural experience without having to have the "oh here's the hit", "oh here's the collab with popular singer of the moment", "oh, here's the ambient fillery bit" etc... 'Insides' just feels so satisfying, so concise, no wasted moments - a slick, well oiled engine with all the components in place. I get that this is the antithesis of 'Wonky''s sparkling maximalist all-star comeback record, but it's not what I personally was hoping for.

'In Sides' largely precedes that sort of dance album though, Jilted Generation aside (and even that is way more cohesive than, say, a mid-career Chemical Brothers album).

'Wonky' is actually considerably more concise and tight than 'In Sides' - not really a judgement, 'In Sides' is a much better record, but the tracks have so much time to build. It's not a case of "wasted moments", more "we have loads of time so let's be patient" and it works in its favour.

In the contex of metaphysics, I believe the transcendent can only be conceived of negatively.

board description

They're both different records entirely though. Obviously In Sides wouldn't work as a bunch of single edits, and Wonky probably was good to cut these tracks off when they did.

I don't mind the "composed" element of it at all. I love how it feels like an electrified orchestra in places. Outside of "Straight Sun" (which is too straightforward and sounds like something from The Altogether) all the hooks work for me. I never really bought into the idea that an album couldn't be truly great if it didn't think outside the box or "transcend" its genre.

Orbital is performing with Stephen Hawking at the London Paralympics! Like, right now!

"content rather than music"

vs

In the contex of metaphysics, I believe the transcendent can only be conceived of negatively.

battle of the sentences whose meaning i cannot fathom even a tiny bit

if you've not studied western philosophy then I wouldn't worry re the latter.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transcendence_(philosophy)

Orbital is performing with Stephen Hawking at the London Paralympics! Like, right now!
― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, August 29, 2012 10:55 PM (Yesterday)

Orbital at the Paralympics was brilliant. Being a bit of an Orbital know-nothing, it made me want to investigate further, and I know there's a box set of five of their albums just waiting for me next time I go record shopping.

Wish I'd seen them at the Paralympics ceremony.

iplayer

(iView for Tim FYI)

Wasn't it C4 rather than BBC? I'll investigate though, perhaps watch it at the weekend.

ah sorry

http://paralympics.channel4.com/video/index.html

They did Where's It Going with Stephen Hawking in front of them wearing Orbital glasses and speaking over the top of it, then manipulated his voice so it sounded like he was singing. Except the whole thing had a disabled band playing Spasticus Autisticus by Ian Dury sandwiched in the middle. The whole segment was insanely great.

Would love to know who suggested putting the glasses on Professor Hawking and how that actually happened.

Wow.

OK, calling one of your songs "Stringy Acid" is something that was too obvious even for Analords.

That might be one of my biggest bugbears in music, and something a lot of my favourite acts are guilty of (I'm looking at you, Blur). VCMG did this: 'Bendy Bass', 'Single Blip'. It's like a track spoiler and very annoying.

lol @ the idea of a track spoiler

I don't mind if it's a track spoiler, it's just lazy. And Orbital are one of those artists who are often quite clever with their titles. They could have done better.

The album's alright. It is an Orbital album, no more, no less. Beezledub is a bit embarrassing, like a dad rifling through their kids' record collection but apart from that it's solid.

Lazy, yes. Like they had a working title and never changed it. It winds me up and actually affects my enjoyment of the music because it makes me think they just thought "well this track's good enough, let's call it "Good Song".

(opening ceremony repeated on freeview channel "4seven" this afternoon, 4pm i think. might need to rescan your freeview channels though as 4seven is relatively new)

Didn't see the ceremony last nught. Happily an HD quality rip is available on youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=Kd4FgGSY5BY#t=12282s

Orbital comes in around 3hr 25. Now excuse me for a minute, I've got some dust in my eye. Again.

Just the Orbital: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfmpxaLl6c4

thanks!

I'm actually really digging Beezledub, in general I dislike that style but they really did it right, in my eyes

Yeah, it's actually one of my favourites. Helps if you think of it as a mutant version of Satan.

well... it IS a mutant version of "Satan", so

Exactement.

btw "Where Is It Going?" pwns

Wish they'd used the 'Live style' mix on the album.

should i go see orbital or go to a national convention re: my chosen profession

see orbital, c'mon son

otm

ok, i will

The end:

"After 25 years, we are hanging up our torch-glasses. Please see http://orbitalofficial.com/ for more info."

After 25 years at the forefront of electronic music — from house to rave to festival mega-techno, to international dance stardom to the 2012 London Paralympics Opening Ceremony — Orbital brothers Paul and Phil Hartnoll announce that they’re hanging up their iconic torch-glasses and parting ways for the final time.

“We’ve had our ups and downs, and it’s not always been easy, but I’ve loved my time with Orbital,” says Paul Hartnoll. “It’s been brilliant that we’ve been able to take our music to so many places, from local clubs to headlining Glastonbury to playing massive events across America, Australia, Japan… It’s been fantastic.

“It was particularly nice to get such a lovely reception when we got back together a few years ago. We made the Wonky album specifically to play live and these shows over the past few years have been a real high point in many ways. The shows and the audiences have been amazing.

“But nothing lasts forever and it's time to stop. Since finishing the soundtrack with Flood & PJ Harvey for the BBC One television show Peaky Blinders, I’ve now got my own new project, ‘8:58’ which I'm really excited about. It's a continuation of my work from the past 25 years but with a new vitality taking me on to something fresh, mixed with the best of what I've put into Orbital. Expect some live shows soon where I will be playing a mixture of my new music alongside my Orbital favorites.”

Phil Hartnoll is focusing on his DJing career, which has seen him traveling around the world. Most recently he’s played for fans in Thailand, Japan, Korea, Dublin and private parties in New York, France and London. "I am really enjoying playing a mixture of my own exclusive Orbital remixes mixed with some great new dancefloor tracks. I have also been discovering so much talent along the way and look forward to potential collaborations. Orbital has been fantastic, but like the Bond movie - "Never Say Never Again".

Having broken up in 2004, the Hartnolls reunited to play the Big Chill to celebrate 20 years of their DIY techno classic ‘Chime’ in 2009. Massive demand from fans who’d grown up with Orbital’s groundbreaking live shows led to a triumphant, ever-extending tour, culminating in an appearance before millions at the opening of the Paralympics with Professor Stephen Hawking on vocals.

Ok. See you in 2019.

Not quite 2019:

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/feb/02/orbital-return-split-british-dance-duo-tour-dates-new-material-kinetic

a bit of a cheap shot to call this "new material" but whatever, I'll take it. always felt this tune was underrated anyway.

hope they stick around a while and zip on over to the States while they're at it. I missed an opportunity to see them in 2001 cuz I was too young, not gonna happen again

Stringy Acid off this album is really good.

yeah that one got me a bit choked up the first time I heard it

btw the last two tracks on the 8:58 album are really good. no doubt would've appeared on a 2015 Orbital album had they not split.

well this is great news (although yeah, an actual new song would be nice)

I don't know if it's fair to call this track "overrated" since it was on practically every dance comp I looked at in 1994

https://www.discogs.com/artist/5388-Golden-Girls?filter_anv=0&subtype=Compilations&type=Appearances

66!

https://www.discogs.com/artist/5388-Golden-Girls?filter_anv=0&subtype=Compilations&type=Appearances

Aw man.

Snap!

From memory think I own at least 5 of those compilations

oh wow, I had no idea it had been around for so long

all I knew was "Frenetic" which was on a Orbital comp I bought, it basically said something like "it's a remix of an old tune", which I still haven't heard

either way here's a really underrated Orbital tune - "Illuminate"

*ducks*

They wheel out a new version of it every decade or so, only the original Golden Girls one is really worth the time of day.

Damn, they ruined one of their best tracks.

The Morley mix is the best version.

I think the version I know best is the Frank de Wulf mix?

Yeah, that was the pretty ubiquitous one back in the day

Yeah the De Wulf mix is the one that you around most often - I wasn't really talking about other remixes though, the original is clearly superior to either Frenetic or this new version.

Wow, I remember that tune fromback then, but I had no idea Golden Girls was Orbital, I thought they'd just remixed it.

IIRC there was also some confusion about some remixes being called "Orbital Mix", because the Orb also called some of their remixes "Orbital Mix"? So I wasn't even sure who remixed "Kinetic".

It was originally this track by The Pied Piper in 1991 then Paul came along the year after and added the distinctive Orbital sound and it was re released under the Golden Girls moniker (Pied Piper + Paul)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itaS3fpX62Y

wait Golden Girls was Orbital?????

Well, half of Orbital anyway.

Kind of thought everyone knew that as, as linked above, it was on a ridiculous number of dance compilations and was pretty big in the clubs too and has a fairly distinctive Orbital sound.

tbf I was 4 or 5 when this song came out

Best version, imo: https://youtu.be/kjoLwENSp9A

Given how I'm still listening to Wonky a fair amount, I'd love a new Orbital LP.

Last album was pretty good! Title track got annoying fast but "Straight Sun" is aces.

I'll stick up for about half the songs on it (obviously not including the awful attempt at dubstep).

love pretty much all of wonky still

live recording of a new track, very much has got the classic Orbital sound to it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaYpW8JL7LU

W.O.W. wow wow wow
all goin' psycho now now now

30 seconds into this and it's gorgeous

I very much welcome any new material from them. I'm still listening to Wonky a fair amount.

sold

Full live show here from around 56 minutes onwards:

http://www.rtve.es/alacarta/audios/festivales/wam-2017-editors-orbital-06-05-17/4009260/

I'm really ready for a new Orbital album right now

Does anybody have $20? I need another Mitsubishi, I think I'm coming off the peak

we get new track

https://soundcloud.com/orbital-4/copenhagen/s-2Ejgj

not sure what to say about it other than it really sounds like Orbital. and it's quite loud.

Good track. They're never going to give up those MMT-8s, huh? Their method of making and playing songs live started novel, then disciplined, then limited, and now sounds a bit novel again.

This thread is reminding me of how much I enjoyed "Straight Sun".

you can now download two 2017 live sets on Live Here Now

have not listened to them in full yet but can confirm that "Satan 2017" is tight as hell and probably my favorite version of the track

Wonky's now one of my favourite Orbital albums, and it has some seriously fucking tough competition.

You're an idiot.

out of all Turrican's posts on ILM this month, that's an innocuous one to append that reply to

Ha, yeah! I seriously wasn't expecting that to get such a strong negative response, and was more looking for a discussion on how well Wonky has held up over the last few years - and personally, I think it's held up very well. I'm still listening to it, I'm still enjoying it, and of course I find it (naturally) leagues ahead of albums like The Altogether and the album that came after it.

Of course, artistically it doesn't touch the trio of Orbital II, Snivilisation and In Sides, but it's still a favourite and still a worthy addition to their catalogue. It's a great record.

As for Scik Mouthy and his spontaneous cry into the abyss, it's difficult to muster up any other reaction other than "meh" ... I've never been bothered by his opinions as a music critic, and I care even less about his opinion of me.

i like wonky a lot but it's hard for me to even entertain the idea that it's their best album

I didn't say it was their best, I said it was one of my favourites - which is true, given how much I've listened to the thing.

ah, well; that makes sense then.

yeah I'm w/ Turrican on this

IMO there's 3 tiers of Orbital albums:

Sniv/In Sides
Brown/MON/Wonky
Green/Altogether/Blue

the first & second tier albums are all excellent, of course

IMO Wonkey is either the 3rd or 4th best Orbital album, depending on how I feel about Middle of Nowhere. I kinda like how the brothers decide to keep things short, for once.

I've been listening to Wonky in the car for the last week or so (for the first time in a couple of years).

I'd forgotten how good an album it was and agree that it sits fairly comfortably alongside their best work. Could definitely do without the Satan rework though.

xp no way is Green on the same tier as those other two

IDK I think all three of those albums have some killer tracks but aren't all that good from start to finish. What hurts Green the most in my eyes is that it's just so long.

I probably like The Altogether more than most, even if only because I've made a playlist that boots the worst stuff out and replaces it with the B-sides on the second disc, it's a solid listen

I think the highlights of the debut are leagues ahead of the highlights of the other two, but it feels more like a compilation to me in comparison to the suite-like approach their albums would later have.

Green album is great wtf

their god-tier knack for melody is there, but I dunno, a lot of the tracks on there just don't evolve at all & combined with the dated sound palette & the needless overextension of most tracks it makes it kind of dull as a whole. half the individual tracks are gold of course

that said my ranking it w/ Altogether and Blue is more a function of how much I dig those two albums more than the typical Orbital fan. I don't care what anyone says I love "Illuminate" in all its mealy-mouthed glory

New France and Stringy Acid both get the endorphins going.

Green Album UK or Green Album US ?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orbital_(1991_album)#Track_listing

The UK version, natch.

I've only got the US version, maybe that's my problem. One thing that's always bugged me about it is how odd the sequencing is. "Belfast" is the best track but it's so weird as an album opener. Meanwhile "Chime" is stuck somewhere in the middle.

Yeah, that US tracklisting looks like someone just chucked the CD on random.

UK version is great as it has the Chime/Midnight/Belfast triptych at the end

The Gun is Good is a tier 1 single imho. I freakin' can't get enough of that one.

they just released two lowkey live albums on Live Here Now. they look pretty much identical - I got the Hammersmith one and it's freakin' incredible. like, it gives me flashbacks to the first time I heard Everything, Everything. loved all 3 new tracks, all of them sound like classic Orbital, though "Tiny Foldable Cities" sounds a bit like Plaid as well. new album better come soon!!

Is it worth buying both live shows?

The digital download for both is $20; I assume I should go ahead and pony up?

the set lists are basically identical - only difference is Hammersmith has "Doctor". I don't see why you'd need both.

New music forthcoming?

🔘 OUR NEW ORBITAL 12" GIVES YOU THE SIZE OF A REGULAR VINYL AND THE MUSIC OF A 7" 🔘 pic.twitter.com/zBc56gTwuU

— Orbital (@orbitalband) February 21, 2018

yea I definitely think they're releasing an album this year

"a regular vinyl" 8(

I enjoyed (and still enjoy) Wonky a lot, but outside of 'P.H.U.K.', I don't enjoy the new album at all - sonically, it doesn't particularly sound great and a lot of it sounds phoned in.