Latest Release
- SEP 29, 2023
- 4 Songs
- The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld · 1990
- The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld · 1991
- The ORBSERVER in the star house (feat. Lee 'Scratch' Perry) · 2012
- The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld · 1991
- The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld · 1991
- Metallic Spheres In Colour · 2023
- The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld · 1991
- The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld · 1991
- Metallic Spheres In Colour · 2023
- Yarns from the Chocolate Triangle · 2023
Essential Albums
- The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld is less an album than a magical place—like Narnia or Wonderland, but easier to get to (and get lost in). House grooves and hip-hop breaks provide the gently funky underpinning for undulating waves of sound: hazy synths, dub bass, field recordings, and brain-teasing snippets of movie dialogue. The Steve Reich-sampling "Little Fluffy Clouds" is a rave-defining anthem, and the epic closer will have you dreaming in colors you never knew existed.
- 2021
Music Videos
Artist Playlists
- Lose yourself in the cosmic soundscapes of the UK's ambient house pioneers.
- Explore the psychedelic nougat center of this playful group.
- Lean back and relax with some of their mellowest cuts.
Live Albums
Compilations
About The Orb
The Orb have been central to electronic music’s evolution since the late ‘80s, yet their commitment to expanding consciousness puts them in the lineage of the psychedelic pioneers of even earlier generations. The group’s mastermind and sole constant member, Alex Paterson, was born in London in 1959 and found his calling as the rave scene blossomed around him. In chillout rooms, he would mix NASA recordings and sound effects with Krautrock and the trippier end of acid house; his productions followed suit—cosmically inclined, unexpected in their influences, and occasionally audacious in their ambitions. The Orb’s 1989 debut single, “A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain That Rules from the Centre of the Ultraworld,” sprawled to 19 minutes; three years later, they’d hit the UK Top 10 with the 39-minute “Blue Room,” which proceeded more like a DJ mix than a song. Over the years, Paterson has fleshed out the lineup with a rotating cast of contributors—The KLF’s Jimmy Cauty, prog guitarist Steve Hillage, German techno veteran Thomas Fehlmann—along with high-profile guests like dub legend Lee “Scratch” Perry and Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour. While ambient trends have waxed and waned over the decade, The Orb have remained true to their belief in the transporting power of atmospheric sound.
- ORIGIN
- London, England
- FORMED
- 1988
- GENRE
- Electronic