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Biography
Use dmy dates|date=December 2011Infobox musical artist | name = Orbital| image = Orbital Brixton Academy.jpg| caption = Orbital in concert at the Brixton Academy in 2009| landscape = yes| image_size =| background = group_or_band| origin = Sevenoaks , England, UK| genre = Techno music|Techno Ambient techno Acid house Rave music|Rave Electronica | years_active = 1989–2004 2009–present| label = FFRR Records Internal Records| associated_acts =| website = URL|orbitalofficial.com| current_members = Phil Hartnoll Paul Hartnoll Orbital are a British electronic dance music duo from Sevenoaks , England consisting of brothers Phil Hartnoll|Phil and Paul Hartnoll . Their career initially ran from 1989 until 2004, but in 2009 they announced that they would be reforming and headlining The Big Chill (music festival)|The Big Chill , http://www.nme.com/news/orbital/41214 "Orbital to reform to headline Big Chill 2009" on NME .com (21 November 2008) in addition to a number of other live shows in 2009. http://www.nme.com/news/orbital/42328 "Orbital announce more reunion shows" on NME .com (27 January 2009) The band's name was taken from London|Greater London 's beltway|orbital motorway , the M25 motorway|M25 , which was central to the early rave music|rave scene and party network in the South East during the early days of acid house . http://www.loopz.co.uk/begin.html "2010 Live Dates confirmed" on Loopz.co.uk One of the biggest names in British electronica during the 1990s, Orbital were both critically and commercially successful, and known particularly for their element of live improvisation during shows, a rarity among techno acts. They were initially influenced by early Electro (music)|electro and punk rock .
Career
Early years
In 1989 Orbital recorded " Chime (song)|Chime " on their father's cassette deck, which they released on Oh Zone Records in December 1989, and then re-released on FFRR Records a few months later. The track became a rave music|rave anthem, reaching number 17 in the UK charts and earning them an appearance on Top of the Pops , during which they wore anti- Poll Tax t-shirts. A few singles and Extended play|EP s followed, and their first Orbital (green album)|self-titled album , a collection of tracks recorded at various times, was released in late 1991.
In late 1992, the Radiccio EP barely reached the UK top 40, but it included one of their most popular songs, " Halcyon (Orbital song)|Halcyon ". This song featured a sample of Kirsty Hawkshaw from "It's a Fine Day" (a chart hit for Opus III earlier that year), and B-side "The Naked and the Dead" was similarly based on a line from Scott Walker (singer)|Scott Walker 's rendition of Jacques Brel 's song "Next". "Halcyon" was dedicated to the Hartnolls' mother, who was addicted to the sedative|tranquiliser Triazolam|Halcion (Triazolam) for many years.
The duo's popularity grew rapidly with the release of their second Orbital 2|self-titled album , in 1993. The album featured complex arrangements and textures, and opens with the two-minute track "Time Becomes", consisting of nothing more than two slightly detuned, looped samples of a Michael Dorn line from Star Trek: The Next Generation , "...where time becomes a loop" being played simultaneously through the left and right channels, respectively (until one cycle of phase difference has happened). This same sample was used at the beginning of "the Mobius", the opening track in the previous album. This audio pun was intended to make listeners believe that they had bought a mis-pressed album ( Orbital 1 packaged as Orbital 2 ). The album reached #28 on the UK album charts, staying in the top chart for 15 weeks. "Halcyon" was remix ed for the album, as "Halcyon + On + On". Versions of this song played live by the band have incorporated diverse samples, including " You Give Love a Bad Name (song)|You Give Love a Bad Name " by the band Bon Jovi , " Heaven Is a Place on Earth " by Belinda Carlisle , and most recently " I Believe in a Thing Called Love " by the band The Darkness (band)|The Darkness .
The first two albums are commonly known as "The Green Album" and "The Brown Album", after the colours of their covers.
1994 breakthrough
Orbital won a NME award for Vibes Best Dance Act early in 1994, but it was their headline appearance at the Glastonbury Festival on 25 June 1994 that brought them most attention. Q (magazine)| Q magazine classed it as one of the top 50 gigs of all time, and in 2002 included Orbital in their list of "50 Bands to See Before You Die". http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/qlistspage2.html Q Magazine lists The RockList Site, accessed 29 May 2007 Orbital gave an improvisational element to live electronic music as the brothers mixed and sequenced their tracks on the fly, wearing their trademark head-mounted torches behind banks of equipment. Orbital were one of the few electronic acts invited to play at Woodstock '94 .
The third album, Snivilisation , was released in August 1994. Alison Goldfrapp provided vocals on a couple of the tracks, including the single "Are We Here? ". This track also included a sample from "Man at C& A" by The Specials . Among the remixes of "Are We Here? " was "Criminal Justice Bill? " & mdash; four minutes of silence, a reference to the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 , which was in part intended to clamp down on the rave scene which had given birth to Orbital. The other track with Goldfrapp vocals, "Sad But True", was remixed for the Times Fly EP, the band's only release in 1995.
The single " The Box (Orbital song)|The Box " was released in April 1996, reaching number 11 in the UK, and its parent album In Sides , released in May 1996, became their second Top Five album. In Sides has since come to be one of their most critically well-regarded works. As with the previous album, there was a vague theme of ecological disaster and dissatisfaction with society.
The following year, the duo contributed to film soundtracks ( The Saint (film)|The Saint , Event Horizon (film)|Event Horizon ) and enjoyed the biggest singles of their career, with a live version of " Satan Live|Satan " and their reworking of the aforementioned The Saint (Orbital single)|The Saint theme both reaching number three in the UK. The In Sides track "Out There Somewhere (Part 2)" was also included in the long-awaited game series relaunch of Test Drive (video game)|Test Drive 4 . http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Accolade+Features+Two+Top+Bands+on+Test+Drive+4+Soundtrack%3B+Orbital...-a019806685 "Accolade Features Two Top Bands on Test Drive 4 Soundtrack; Orbital and The Younger, Younger 28's Included on Fall Release"
Later albums
In 1998, they returned to the studio to work on their fifth album The Middle of Nowhere (Orbital album)|The Middle of Nowhere . This was released in 1999, becoming their third top five album, and was a return to a more upbeat style, with Alison Goldfrapp returning on vocals, and included the single "Style" featuring the stylophone . In 2000 the single "Beached" was released from the soundtrack to the film The Beach (film)|The Beach , mixing the brothers' musical style with a melody by Angelo Badalamenti and the words of Leonardo DiCaprio from the film.
The Altogether , released in 2001, featured guest vocals by the Hartnolls' brother-in-law David Gray (musician)|David Gray , a sampled Ian Dury , and a version of the Doctor Who theme. It was to be their last album for FFRR, and had a mixed critical reception. The following year, Work 1989-2002 collected various singles from "Chime" onwards.
Orbital split up in 2004.cite web|url= http://www.loopz.co.uk/begin.html |title=The ORBITAL Blog |publisher=Loopz |date= |accessdate=31 December 2011 They played a final series of gigs in June and July 2004 at the Glastonbury Festival , the T in the Park Festival in Scotland, the Oxegen festival in Ireland, and the Wire Festival in Japan, concluding with a live John Peel|Peel Session gig at Maida Vale Studios in London on 28 July 2004. The release of their seventh and last original album, Blue Album (Orbital album)|Blue Album , coincided with this final wave of shows. The album featured Sparks (band)|Sparks (on "Acid Pants") and Lisa Gerrard (on the final single, "One Perfect Sunrise").
Following the breakup
Paul Hartnoll continued to record music under his own name, including tracks for the 2005 game Wipeout Pure for the PlayStation Portable|PSP . He released his first full length solo album, entitled The Ideal Condition on the ACP record label in June 2007.
Phil Hartnoll formed a new electronica duo, Long Range (band)|Long Range , with Nick Smith. Their debut album, Madness and Me , was released on their own label, Long Range Recordings, on 6 August 2007. Orbital released a two-CD/DVD compilation Orbital: Live at Glastonbury 1994-2004 on 11 June 2007. The collection contains over two hours of music recorded during the group's performances at the festival over the course of a decade of appearances there.
Comeback & new album
On 21 November 2008, Orbital announced they would be reforming to play a gig together called "20 years after Chime" at The Big Chill (music festival)|The Big Chill Festival 2009. They preceded this show with a headline performance at RockNess 2009 in June. http://www.culturedeluxe.com/news_item.asp? id=5455 Orbital Set to Headline Rock Ness
On 26 January 2009, Loopz announced confirmed dates for their 20th anniversary tour. "The Orbital reformation gathers momentum with headline shows now confirmed for Manchester and London this September." The concerts met with positive reviews.cite web|url= http://www.digyorkshire.com/HighlightDetails.aspx? Article=232 |title=Orbital at Leeds Academy |publisher=digyorkshire.com |date=16 June 2009 |accessdate=17 June 2009cite news| url= http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/jun/13/pop-electronic-review-orbital | work=The Guardian | location=London | title=Electronic music (Music genre),Pop and rock (Music genre),Music,Culture section | first=Dave | last=Simpson | date=13 June 2009 | accessdate=20 May 2010cite news| url= http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/live_reviews/article6841688.ece | work=The Times | location=London | title=Orbital at Manchester Academy | first=Stephen | last=Dalton | date=21 September 2009 | accessdate=20 May 2010 The band's first performance after the breakup took place in June 2009 at Selector Festival in Cracow, Poland. http://www.selectorfestival.pl/image/plakat_2009_ico.gifSelector Festival 09 poster|date=April 2012 On 17 April 2009, it was announced that Orbital would be playing at The Electric Picnic in September 2009.
On 16 June 2009, Orbital released a 2-CD collection of their favorite tracks. The collection, simply called "20", covers the 20 years since "Chime" and contains 20 tracks. “This compilation is the most definitive summary of our work since ‘Chime’ came out in 1989”, says Paul Hartnoll.
A new single, "Don't Stop Me"/" The Gun is Good " was issued in 2010 on 12" and digital download.
At the Glastonbury Festival on 27 June 2010 to close their set, Matt Smith (actor)|Matt Smith , who plays the Eleventh Doctor , came on stage and performed with Orbital using the sample of the Doctor Who theme tune. http://www.bbc.co.uk/glastonbury/2010/artists/orbital/ Performance on the BBC
On 16 February 2011, Orbital posted a video diary on YouTube via their official website, Loopz. The video diary reported their progress on the recording of their new album, along with remixes of existing material for their DJ sets. Subsequent diary updates have been published.
In October 2011, Orbital announced a 6 gig UK tour (including a date at the Royal Albert Hall) and new album in April 2012. "Never", a track from the forthcoming album, was offered as a free download. The album titled Wonky (album)|Wonky was released on 2 April 2012 and features collaborations with singer Zola Jesus and MC Lady Leshurr . Wonky was generally well received by critics and considered a return to form after the lukewarm reception of 'Blue Album' and 'The Altogether' .
On 10 February 2012, an Orbital live set for Mixmag was announced called "In the Lab", which can be seen now on YouTube. http://www.mixmag.net/music/dj-lab/orbital/ Mixmag Release http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=3XT_ZKP9_Oo/ Youtube Mixmag Mix
On March 1, 2012, Electric Picnic listed Orbital as one of the festival's main acts. They will return to play at Stradbally for the second time. http://electricpicnic.ie/ EP Homepage
Political commentary
Orbital sometimes incorporated political and environmental commentary into their music. The track "Forever" on Snivilisation samples a speech by Graham Crowden from the 1982 Lindsay Anderson film Britannia Hospital , in which he lambasts humankind; http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083694/quotes and the track "You Lot" on the Blue Album (Orbital album)|Blue Album , features a confrontational, partially vocoder|vocoded anti- genetic engineering sample from Christopher Eccleston , originally from the TV two-part series The Second Coming (TV serial)|The Second Coming written by Russell T Davies .
The track "The Girl With The Sun In Her Head" from In Sides was recorded in a studio powered only by Greenpeace 's mobile solar power generator, CYRUS .
Discography
main|Orbital discography
Orbital (1991 album)|Orbital (1991)
Orbital 2 (1993)
Snivilisation (1994)
In Sides (1996)
The Middle of Nowhere (Orbital album)|The Middle of Nowhere (1999)
http://rateyourmusic.com/artist/orbital Orbital at Rate Your Music
http://www.last.fm/music/Orbital Orbital at Last.fm
http://www.synthtopia.com/artists/Orbital.html Orbital - profile with band bio, discography and album reviews.
Orbital DEFAULTSORT:Orbital (Band) Category:Breakbeat musicians Category:British techno music groups Category:Electronic music duos Category:English house music groups Category:Musical groups established in 1989 Category:Musical groups disestablished in 2004 Category:Musical groups reestablished in 2009 Category:Remixers Category:Sibling musical duos
