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Dr Alex Paterson - music as medicine
The Orb have a well earned place in dance music legend as the originators of ambient house, and catalysts to the rise of electronica in the charts. The Orb’s history is of a series of creative endeavours by Alex Paterson and a variety of collaborators. They started with a single that burst onto the dance scene in 1989, “Loving You/A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain That Rules From The Centre Of The Ultraworld”, often credited as the first chill out club track.
Their early releases charted new territory in dance music in the UK and America. Albums including the debut “The Orb’s Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld” (1991), “U.F. Orb” (1992) and “Live 93” (1993) documented the band’s creative development as legend grew around the intensity and brilliance of their live shows. From this era came the classic “Little Fluffy Clouds” that has since become synonymous with the band and the zeitgeist of 90’s UK ambient culture.
The mid-nineties saw The Orb continued to expand creatively, with “Pomme Fritz (The Orb’s Little Album)” (1994) and commercially, with “Orbus Terrarum” (1995), a healthy boost to their growing popularity in America. This was deftly followed up by “Orblivion” (1997), their best-selling album to date, due in no small part to the radio success of the track “Toxygene”. They also released a ‘Best Of’, “U.F. Off” (1998), and the drum-and-bass influenced “Cydonia” (2001).
“Bicycles and Tricycles” is an entirely new and modern effort from The Orb, now in its 15th year. It features Alex’s long-term collaborators Simon Phillips, John Roome and Jimmy Cauty lumped in with newer faces like vocalists The Corpral and MC Soom-T. This new album boasts a sophistication and nuance fitting of 21st century dance and leftfield music; a cohesive and mature effort that still throws in its share of orb-tastic humour and surprises.
RA asked Alex Paterson a few questions about The Orb's new album and more....
How do you feel the Orb sound as progressed over the last 10 years? Are you still enjoying making music as much as when you started, or maybe more-so?
I think we are staying with the new sounds of yesterday. And yes, I'm enjoying making music now as much as ever. Even more so, maybe...
How do you feel about the new album?
Good, happy, content and well worked out.
Your music has a lot of different facets. I don't think it's worth trying to categorize it. Do you try and do something different every time or do you stick to a theme?
Well we try not to make all the albums sound alike. So yes, it sounds fresh and hopefully new sounds bring new pleasures to people's ears. The theme is the actual LP itself, if all the tracks work together then the album is complete.
What other artists have influenced you?
Kraftwerk, King Tubby, Eno, Can, Alice Cooper, T Rex and Prince.
Collaboration is a large part of The Orb. Do you enjoy working with anyone in particular, and why?
Thomas Felhmann, because we have a ear for each other and we have a laugh looking for sounds together and I think we have a very personal musical relationship that so special to The Orb.
How do you approach a remix?
With fresh thoughts and happy memories of the track to remix....
A lot of today’s music is catchy and short-lived. Do you try and make music that lasts?
Well that's part of making a very good album or a crap one, that's the catch, seeing if it can pass the test of time. Have you listened to Pomme Fritz lately?
You've recently had releases on German label - Kompakt, they seem a perfect outlet for some of your music, what are your thoughts on this new sound coming out of Germany, Michael Mayer, the Voigt's, etc..?
Magical and konkaved beyond the Ultraworlds lay the Kompakt world of music for the masses. I'm very proud to release music here, we have had 3 releases so far and another EP called " Komplott" in April/May, and we did a remix of Ulf Lohmann for a future release on that wonderful label, bless.
Being a producer / DJ, do you enjoy one more than the other?
No. Yes no. No yes, no it depends which way the wind blows… and how far away the DJ set is!!!!
What are your thoughts on file-sharing, and the mp3 revolution?
None, only that bands are now the new poets for the 21st century.
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Published / Tue, 30 Mar 2004
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