Hot on the heels of critically acclaimed new album ‘No Sounds Are Out Of Bounds’, longstanding electronic titans The Orb are to undertake a 6-date UK tour this Autumn, in celebration of 30 illustrious, fun-filled and envelope-expanding years. The celebratory shows, which commence at Cardiff’s Tramshed on October 11, will feature a 30th Anniversary Greatest Hits set highlighting the best of The Orb, alongside debuting tracks from their brand new album.
Really, The Orb should need no introduction, but in essence they’re a rotating cast of members helmed by Alex Paterson that began in 1988 and still thrives to this day. They were there since UK acid house day one, providing a unique ambient take on the musical milieu and soon rising to chart-topping, huge-venue-headlining prominence.
‘No Sounds Are Out Of Bounds’, finds The Orb embracing an anything-goes new approach to creative freedom. Refreshing and reinventing the predominantly two-man set up with Thomas Fehlmann on the prior two albums (‘Moonbuilding 2703 AD’ and ‘COW / Chill Out World!’), ‘No Sounds…’ is intentionally an ensemble piece, featuring a large cast of big names, cult heroes, rising talent and fresh newcomers. Alex Paterson, Thomas Fehlmann, Youth, Roger Eno, Hollie Cook and Guy Pratt take star turns, as does heroic bassist Jah Wobble, who returns to the fold following bassbin-bullying anthem ‘Blue Room’.
“I wanted to try something with more musicians and more voices. More contributors essentially – similar to the conditions our first album ‘Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld’ were recorded in”, explains Alex.
“Thomas and I made two streamlined, techno-style albums for Kompakt which I love, but this time I wanted a change to expand the palate, and to bring in other elements that will keep people guessing and keep them confused. This is a more English and less German sounding LP and it’s on an English label, although obviously the music comes from all over the globe and beyond, as do the musicians.”
Alex Paterson recently curated OrbFest at the Roundhouse, an all-day Orb festival that brought together some of the most important, exciting and current acts in electronic music including Youth along with Roger Eno, Michael Rendall and an array of support performances from Leftfield, Gas (Wolfgang Voigt), Ulrich Schnauss, System 7 and Chocolate Hills.