― Alan Trewartha, Thursday, 24 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
I think every Underworld album is strong, though they do seem to front-load their albums a bit, I think. The weaker stuff on Underworld albums always seems to be near the end.
― patrick, Thursday, 24 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Vinnie, Thursday, 24 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
Counterexample: "Kittens" is near the end of _Beaucoup Fish_.
― Dan Perry, Thursday, 24 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Tim, Thursday, 24 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
I have to say fuck Leftfield. They were only ever a convenient re-working of the dance scene with more familiar elements for dinner party and TV sports show theme consumption. They've never done anything that wasn't utterly generic to the time it was made, and as such never produced anything as transcendent as Orbital.
Underworld are just boring techno with ranting over the top. They're just the follow-on iteration to Finitribe. Gold Chains are the new Underworld.
― jacob, Thursday, 21 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― christopher, Friday, 22 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
a) even at their most hardcore (and I'd say that by their second album they were already very removed from where "'ardkore" was concurrently), Orbital were always primarily about the melody-harmony-texture thing rather than the rhythms. Yeah their rhythms were frequently great and/or slamming, but they rarely sound like the focus of the track. It's one thing to use well- programmed beats and breaks, but its quite another to make them the point of the exercise.
b) "Are We Here" is clearly intended as a token jungle track. Its sound, approach and desired effect are all at marked odds to the rest of Snivilisation and everything they had done prior. In contrast The Prodigy's junglistic tendencies sound unconscious, a purely coincidental accident of proximity.
The fact that the "Are We Here?" is brilliant suggests two things to me - firstly, that your "hardcore gone sensitive" theory is correct, and secondly that Orbital could have easily made rhythms their focus all along and had a very different but equally interesting career.
― Tim, Friday, 22 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Arturo, Saturday, 23 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― gareth, Saturday, 6 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Ronan, Saturday, 6 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Dan Perry, Monday, 8 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
But like Gareth I also have a special fondness for the behometh that is "Nothing Left" - in some ways a pinnacle still for maximalist (danceable) techno.
― Tim, Monday, 8 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
Juan Atkins "The Fusion" is pretty killer too.
― itchy bits (itchy bits), Friday, 25 February 2005 03:22 (nineteen years ago) link
― NRQ (Enrique), Friday, 25 February 2005 15:30 (nineteen years ago) link
http://www.rockness.co.uk/
RockNess is extremely proud to announce that LEFTFIELD will return with a live performance at this summer's festival - a first for over 10 years and a stunning exclusive for the fast-rising Most Beautiful Festival in the World, staged on the shores of iconic Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands.
Acknowledged as one of the most influential exponents of electronica of all time - LEFTFIELD were one of the first truly great crossover acts, trailblazing into previously unexplored territory and carving a path for a raft of great artists including Underworld, The Chemical Brothers and The Prodigy. The sheer brilliance of the band's debut album Leftism - a startling piece of work that even now remains peerless - firmly sealed a place in dance music history. Fusing epic soundscapes with intoxicating rhythms and guest vocalists including John Lydon, LEFTFIELD created a mind melting adventure deserving of the sweeping acclaim and lofty nominations bestowed upon LEFTFIELD.
An official statement from LEFTFIELD is expected soon.
― brotherlovesdub, Friday, 29 January 2010 23:52 (fourteen years ago) link
http://www.mmalinker.com/forum/images/smilies/icon_rolleyes.gif
― zoom, Saturday, 30 January 2010 00:50 (fourteen years ago) link
what i meant was http://www.mmalinker.com/forum/images/smilies/icon_rolleyes.gif
― zoom, Saturday, 30 January 2010 00:51 (fourteen years ago) link
i'm confused by your rolleyes.gif. if i posted on every thread i thought was boring, i'd have a billion posts by now. anyway, Leftfield rule. i hope they do a full tour.
― brotherlovesdub, Saturday, 30 January 2010 01:12 (fourteen years ago) link
Quite enjoying the new Leftfield. Hardly groundbreaking, of course but very well put together. Their/his attention to sonic detail is always a pleasure.
― the joke should be over once the kid is eaten. (chap), Monday, 14 September 2015 16:14 (nine years ago) link
I listened to it once and thought a lot of it sounded like an uncanny recreation of a DJ Hell album c. 2004. Of course a lot of the tracks may literally have been hanging around for that long. The Sleaford Mods one was dire.
― Matt DC, Monday, 14 September 2015 16:41 (nine years ago) link
I was extremely disappointed in the Leftfield album. They'd be better served collecting the remixes they did for other artists from 92-94.
― brotherlovesdub, Monday, 14 September 2015 16:53 (nine years ago) link
on the flip side I've been enjoying the new sorta-Orbital album from Paul (called 8:58), it rests a lot on his laurels but it's entertaining, particularly "Nearly There" which is full on Orbital madness. some other good tracks too.
― frogbs, Monday, 14 September 2015 18:00 (nine years ago) link
i like leftfield ok, never really cared for orbital. suppose i want to start with orbital, where would I start?
― the late great, Monday, 14 September 2015 19:14 (nine years ago) link
start with the green album, listen sequentially
― I Am Curious (Dolezal) (DJP), Monday, 14 September 2015 19:25 (nine years ago) link
if you want to just hit the green highlights: "Chime", "Satan", "Belfast", "Choice"
― I Am Curious (Dolezal) (DJP), Monday, 14 September 2015 19:26 (nine years ago) link
i like "halcyon" ... ultimately though orbital remind me of something like plaid ... pretty, but no strong rhythmic backbone. maybe I need to listen more
― the late great, Monday, 14 September 2015 19:29 (nine years ago) link
Of the first four In Sides is definitely the one.
― Noel Emits, Monday, 14 September 2015 19:39 (nine years ago) link
pretty, but no strong rhythmic backbone
uh waht
― I Am Curious (Dolezal) (DJP), Monday, 14 September 2015 19:40 (nine years ago) link
let's set aside Snivilization and In Sides for a second; have you never heard "Satan"?????
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbs6GvLeEXQ
― I Am Curious (Dolezal) (DJP), Monday, 14 September 2015 19:43 (nine years ago) link
Love the beat on 'I Wish I Had Duck Feet'
― nashwan, Monday, 14 September 2015 19:43 (nine years ago) link
Snivilisation/InSides are basically front to back incredible imo; earlier work very much excellent but not quite on that level
― Meta Forksclove-Liebeskind (forksclovetofu), Monday, 14 September 2015 19:47 (nine years ago) link
basically Orbital 2 -> The Middle of Nowhere is one of the best run of albums in anyone's discography
― I Am Curious (Dolezal) (DJP), Monday, 14 September 2015 19:51 (nine years ago) link
xp yeah those two work best as albums I think, the first two are both excellent but each is less of a coherent whole than the subsequent two
― Neil S, Monday, 14 September 2015 19:53 (nine years ago) link
xp it's up there with tom waits, prince and stevie as far as i'm concerned, yeah
― Meta Forksclove-Liebeskind (forksclovetofu), Monday, 14 September 2015 19:54 (nine years ago) link
xxp - definitely. don't listen to any comps or anything, just those 4 albums front-to-back. I think Wonky is about that good as well. Green is absolutely not a good place to start, though the singles are must-haves.
― frogbs, Monday, 14 September 2015 19:55 (nine years ago) link
I'm trying to figure out what Orbital songs you could possibly have encountered to form the impression that they have no strong rhythmic backbone
― I Am Curious (Dolezal) (DJP), Monday, 14 September 2015 20:09 (nine years ago) link
Cheapo box of the first 5 Orbital albums
― the top man in the language department (誤訳侮辱), Monday, 14 September 2015 20:12 (nine years ago) link
their albums probably deserve the full reissue treatment like Underworld, lots of good alternate versions, remixes, live tracks etc. to be brought together
― Neil S, Monday, 14 September 2015 20:40 (nine years ago) link
I just saw reissues for Green and Brown. Not sure if they're official or not. The sleeves have been redone and are kind of gross, so I assume they are official.
― brotherlovesdub, Monday, 14 September 2015 21:01 (nine years ago) link
This thread reminds me that after going gaga over it, I hadn't actually played anything off Wonky in years besides the title track and "New France". Rectifying that right now.
― I Am Curious (Dolezal) (DJP), Monday, 14 September 2015 21:14 (nine years ago) link
I think it's fair to say Orbital's music generally isn't particularly rhythmically showy or 'sick'. Mostly very straightforward, not even especially syncopated. Although that could be one definition of "solid". The breakbeat stuff on Snivilisation seemed sweet and naive compared to what was happening in Jungle a year or two previously.
― Noel Emits, Monday, 14 September 2015 21:26 (nine years ago) link
As someone currently on an Orbital listening binge, I can't find a single song of theirs that doesn't feature rhythmic and melodic syncopation from any point in their career.
― I Am Curious (Dolezal) (DJP), Monday, 14 September 2015 21:42 (nine years ago) link
Okay "Quality Seconds" doesn't have rhythmic syncopation in it but the entire melodic theme is a simple syncopated figure repeated for a minute; that is the first one I've found that isn't using syncopation in both the rhythm section and the melodic lines.
― I Am Curious (Dolezal) (DJP), Monday, 14 September 2015 21:45 (nine years ago) link
i revisited wonky recently! it rules so much
― insufficiently familiar with xgau's work to comment intelligently (BradNelson), Monday, 14 September 2015 21:52 (nine years ago) link
Not intended as a damning criticism, it's just what they do. Rhythmically I think it is mostly quite simple, and not what i'd call highly syncopated. There also isn't much variation in fills and turnarounds for instance. Not to say it isn't well done or appropriate.
― Noel Emits, Monday, 14 September 2015 21:58 (nine years ago) link
There's some insanity being talked about here re Orbital but I see DJP has already done my work in response and more comprehensively.
― Ned Raggett, Monday, 14 September 2015 22:11 (nine years ago) link
I'm not saying there's no beats just that the beats that are there seem like an afterthought compared to the pretty melodies
― the late great, Monday, 14 September 2015 22:54 (nine years ago) link
Orbital's '94 Glastonbury set is on iPlayer at the moment (along with a huge amount of other Glastonbury sets). Not much to look at but they dance goofily and cool version of 'Sad But True' with extended intro making the Selecter sample sound extra dirty, transitioning smoothly from the slowed down end of 'Forever' right into it, at the expense of '...Duck Feet', but then right into 'Impact' and 'Remind' after that. No 'Lush' though surprisingly.
― nashwan, Saturday, 3 July 2021 12:07 (three years ago) link
Leftism sounds less dated today than it did a decade ago.
― pomenitul, Saturday, 3 July 2021 13:23 (three years ago) link
they're both shite, textbook student house and techno. What you want is the real brain frying hard acid on labworks, dj.ungle fever/structure, and magnetic north, noisy and a low key criticism of the club that Orbital couldn't manage. Let the bad times roll.
The Power of love? You bet. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3EPkj2ROBUI
― RobbiePires, Saturday, 3 July 2021 21:58 (three years ago) link
Did you write this review on discogs too?
Dj.ungle Fever WAS Cologne. Then the the overwhelming miasma of endless pretend genres of masturbatory boredom tightly grasping the throat of the Techno community today intruded their unwanted, fake faces and never let go.
― recovering internet addict/shitposter (viborg), Sunday, 4 July 2021 01:44 (three years ago) link
nah, not me. Although I think what killed techno was endless splits, rather than detroit-inflected minimalism, which was initially refreshing amongst hardcore and acid gear, as a kind of heads down no nonsense back 2 basics jackin sound. See the Black Scorpian technotron ep and Ian Pooley Celtic Cross ep, as well as Robert Hood internal empire. All totally uncompromising.
― RobbiePires, Sunday, 4 July 2021 03:33 (three years ago) link
it was good when trance sounded like this, like a coldly cosmic take on EBM. But then Sasha Digweed and people like Leftfield, Underworld had to come in and invent prog trance which was like soppy indie goldsmiths graduates of the 90s crying on the dancefloor to Be as One. And orbital was their chillout music of choice. Yuck. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bCVLHkh5p4
― RobbiePires, Sunday, 4 July 2021 03:42 (three years ago) link
.. anyway, i need to correct myself, paul wrote chimes _before_ going to the pub.
that and other interesting bits here: https://www.soundonsound.com/people/orbital-recording-chime-london-studioand here: https://www.soundonsound.com/people/classic-tracks-orbital-chime
this particular quote is interesting in the context of green album -> brown album -> snivilisation -> insides progression, it wasn't just growth in terms of confidence level but intent also. this is after the brown album:
"We're a lot more anxious about things now," admits Phil. "We've now got the responsibility of getting a track finished 'cos it's going to be on a record. You become more analytical of your stuff." Paul: "I still have to fight with that idea — the last month has been quite bizarre, with us trying to work out what the next record should sound like. For example, I've been trying to dodge using a constant 909 bass drum 'cos a lot of our records over the last four years have got that. But then I think, 'Hey, if we were at home making music then I wouldn't hesitate to use that if I wanted to.' You know what I mean? And I'm forever trying to draw the line somewhere and work out why, if we weren't making records would we have used it? Because we just felt like it! Now we think twice about it; you start to think 'Hey wait a minute, isn't that just getting pompous?" Phil: "Consequently you're in the studio, set to do your next recording, and you end up spending three weeks just talking about it!"
leftism feels like it's trying so hard to prove something while pretending it doesn't
― scanner darkly, Sunday, 4 July 2021 20:40 (three years ago) link
new leftfield
SAD!
― the late great, Saturday, 21 January 2023 02:06 (one year ago) link