I’m useless when it comes to knowing all the subgenres of electronic music, to be honest. It’s my age, perhaps—old dog, new tricks, that sort of excuse. It’s a miracle I can actually use my own phone.
But I also hate it when people try to pigeonhole an artist into a nice and neat little predefined musical box. When I write about music, I generally try to describe what it sounds like without relying of anything but very broad genre labels.
Regardless, my research tells me that the Orb invented the subgenre of electronic music called ambient house. So they’re historically important; but beyond that, a lot of their music is just really good—lots of beats, often thumping and propulsive, at times juxtaposed with spacier passages that hang suspended, nearly motionless. Always, sounds and samples drift in and out of the mix like thoughts flitting out from your subconscious, and the pieces seem to morph gradually over time into new shapes and rhythms.
Essentially the work of Alex Paterson on keyboards, turntables, sampling, and programming—often working alongside one or more of a rotating set of partners, including the KLF’s Jim Cauty, Kris Weston, Thomas Fehlmann, and Killing Joke’s Martin Glover—the Orb is an essential electronic music listen.
Playlist 1
The Orb’s Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld (1991) is an undisputed classic of electronic music, inventing the sub-genre of ambient house music in one stroke.
When it was prepared for release, the record company shortened the original 2CD UK release down to a single CD for the American market. Surprise, surprise, they bungled it. (I mean seriously, when has that ever happened before?) Here’s the single-disc version that should have been. An electronic masterpiece, I’d say.
Playlist 2
Playlist Two presents highlights from the remainder of the Orb’s ‘90s albums. This is a long-form genre, so I’ve let the playlist creep past my typical single-CD time limit. I’m not a big clubgoer, but I could definitely imagine myself dancing to this stuff for an hour or three.
Cover Art:
- The Orb’s Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld: Source, Discogs.com, Fair use.
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