THE ORB Vinilo y CD

Review: Chocolate Hills is a duo made up of Paul Conboy and Alex Paterson, Orb founder and Orbscure Records boss. Their excellent Yarns From The Chocolate Triangle is one of those albums that is tailored made for listening to on good quality headphones, a lush and world class ambient soundscape with vivid designs and bright colours all in high definition. It draws on library music, exotica, kitsch, Balearic, downtempo, folk, spaced out pop and even d&b, all loosely based on an imagined nautical journey to the Bermuda triangle and back. All is calm at sea as you bob and drift on these roomy and magnificently realised sounds, mixing organic and electronic sources and taking a more gorgeosuly idiosyncratic route than the latest Orb album.

Review: The Orb's 13th album is a carefully crafted collection of tracks that are couched in minimal techno and ambient house. The first half embraces so-called 'Schaffel' rhythms, while the second half explores classic Orb sonic landscapes and features guest appearances from Schneider TM and Ulf Lohmann. The likes of 'Captain Korma' are warmly infused melodic jaunts with shimmering vocals, 'Cool Harbour' is a lumpy, dubby and off-balance workout and 'Kompagna (Zandic mix)' is a raw, experimental blend of harmonic tones, smeared samples and ambient bliss. This one, then, continues The Orb's legacy of genre-defying music which started in the late 80s when they pioneered chill-out and ambient house.

Review: Orboretum: The Orb Collection is a comprehensive 2xCD set curated by Dr Alex Paterson, showcasing the evolution of The Orb's sound across three decades. This collection not only revisits classic tracks from their pioneering days but also highlights recent gems from Abolition Of The Royal Familia (2020) and Prism (2023), acclaimed as some of their finest work. This "director's cut" reimagines The Orb's extensive catalog, juxtaposing tracks from different eras to reveal a continuous thread in their music. Known for their ambient house and psychedelic influences, The Orb's work has consistently pushed boundaries, from their groundbreaking 1991 debut album to their latest releases. This collection serves as both a tribute to their past and a celebration of their ongoing innovation in electronic music.

Review: "The idea was simply to make an ambient album", Dr Alex Paterson has said of The Orb's new album entitled Chill Out, World!. With partner in crime Thomas Fehlmann, the duo resisted looking back and studying their earlier (seminal) recordings and opted for a more spontaneous approach: a focus on where they are at today in 2016. COW is said to have been completed over the course of five sessions in only six months, between a relentless touring schedule which they also credit as being hugely influential on the album's sound. As always, strap yourself in for an immersive sound experience and possibly expect to hear some of the more courageous DJs dropping likes likes of "4am Exhale (Chill Out, World!)" or perhaps "Just Because I Really Really Luv Ya". Oh and the track titles are as baffling as ever too.

Review: On 2013's History of The Future, Alex Paterson looked back at The Orb's most productive and critically acclaimed period, between the ever-changing band's formation in 1989 and the end of their 'major label adventure' at the tail end of the '90s. This second instalment - released ahead of a new album in the summer - brings the story bang up to date, gathering together Paterson and company's best productions since the turn of the millennium. For the most part, it's business as usual, with the former Killing Joke roadie and longtime production partner Thomas Fehlman joining the dots between sample-heavy downtempo grooves, dub, melodious techno and '90s style ambient house (the second disc, which focuses mostly on this style, is particularly enjoyable).