THE ORB annunciano il loro ritorno con ABOLITION OF ROYAL FAMILIA
PIONIERI DELL’AMBIENT-HOUSE, CAPITANATI SIN DAL 1988 DA ALEX PATERSON, HANNO CONTRIBUITO ALLA DIFFUSIONE DELLA MUSICA ELETTRONICA AD AMPIO SPETTRO, PRODUCENDO BRANI IMPORTANTISSIMI PER LA STORIA DELLA MUSICA ROCK CONTAMINATA CON L’ELETTRONICA
THE ORB annunciano oggi ‘ABOLITION OF ROYAL FAMILIA’ IL NUOVO ALBUM IN ARRIVO IL 27 MARZO
PRIMO BRANO ESTRATTO, PUBBLICATO OGGI: ‘PERVITIN’ stream ‘Pervitin’ here
Track by track
The journey commences in light mood with the breezy Balearica of ‘Daze’, followed by cowbell heavy, rude bass powered ‘House of Narcotics’ – both of which feature Andy Cain (of Mark Ernestus and Moritz Von Oswald’s house gems ‘I’m Your Brother’ and ‘A New Day’ fame). Incidentally, the House of Narcotics is apparently what other countries called our royal family, during the aforementioned opium years.
Having met Steven Hawking at a lecture and later being told that the legendary cosmologist used to listen to The Orb, the pulsing technotrance of ‘Hawk Kings’ is Patterson’s tribute, which he describes as “a monster of a tune, in a similar mood to ‘Assassin’ and ‘Toxygene’”. Am embryonic version of ‘Honey Moonies’ went down a storm at Youth’s Space Mountain Festival in southern Spain, and with the finished article’s vintage deep sunrise house, it’s easy to see why.
An ironic juxtaposition (named as it is after a methamphetamine given to German soldiers in WW2), ‘Pervitin’ marks the first in a passage of epic ambient gems, which follows with the orchestral, WNBC radio referencing ‘Afros, Afghans and Angels’, and onto ‘Shape Shifters (in two parts)’, which segues from blue jazzy beauty into pimped-out-funk-meets-dub.
Bass-heavy reggae vibes continue on the brass and melodica of ‘Say Cheese’ and onto the chugging, hip hop rubadub of ‘Ital Orb’. The warm happy glow of ‘Queen of Hearts’ nods to classic jungle and the ‘Weekend It Rained Forever’ is a 12-minute masterpiece of stunning ambient perfection. The album closes with ‘Slave Till U Die No Matter What U Buy’ – a cosmic overhaul of Jello Biafra’s ‘Stay In Your Home’.
Michael Rendall, Roger Eno, Youth, Steve Hillage, Miquette Giraudy, Nick Burton, Violeta Vicci, Gaudi, David Harrow, Roney FM, Sherman, Paul Conboy, Ollie Cripps, Andy Cain, cousin Leyton and Ruby the dog
Track-list
‘Daze’ – Missing & Messed Up Mix
‘House of Narcotics’ – Opium Wars Mix
‘Hawk Kings’ – Oseberg Buddhas Buttonhole
‘Honey Moonies’ – Brain Washed at Area 49 Mix
‘Pervitin’ – Empire Culling & The Hemlock Stone Version
‘Afros, Afghans and Angels’ – Helgö Treasure Chest
‘Shape Shifters (in two parts)’ – Coffee & Ghost Train Mix
‘Say Cheese’ – Siberian Tiger Cookie Mix
‘Ital Orb’ – Too Blessed To Be Stressed Mix
‘The Queen of Hearts’ – Princess Of Clubs Mix
‘The Weekend it Rained Forever’ – Oseberg Buddha Mix (The Ravens Have Left The Tower)
‘Slave Till U Die No Matter What U Buy’ – L’anse Aux Meadows Mix
Praise for previous album ‘No Sounds Are Out Of Bounds’:
“Harks back to the band’s early 90s heyday” The Guardian
“Turning 30 has done wonders for The Orb” Sunday Times
“A loose, happily baffling melange of recumbent dub-house and non sequitur samples” Mojo
“This latest outing re-establishes them as sculptors of heavy-but-humorous aural odysseys. The pioneering ambient-house outfit reacquire their mojo.” Q
“The ambient pioneers are back to their pulsating best” Record Collector
“Harks back to their first album’s sprawling genesis” Electronic Sound
“Classic sample mangling dub throb, ambient piano pieces and a lot more besides” Mixmag
“Occasionally brilliant” Resident Advisor
Pionieri della ambient-house music, The Orb, capitanati sin dalle origini da Alex Paterson, annunciano il loro atteso ritorno con ‘Abolition of the Royal Familia’, il nuovo album di studio in arrivo il 27 marzo per Cooking Vinyl (Egea Music/The Orchard), la continuazione del precedente ed acclamato ‘No Sounds Are Out Of Bounds’ (2018).
‘Abolition of the Royal Familia’ marca la prima importante collaborazione tra Paterson e Michael Rendall come co-writers, segnando inoltre il ritorno di Rendall nella formazione dal vivo, e la produzione di Youth. Numerosi gli ospiti nel nuovo lavoro: da Youth a Roger Eno, da Steve Hillage a Miquette Giraudy (Gong and System 7).
Con un titolo provocatorio ed alludente alla mafia ed una copertina altrettanto provocatoria, il nuovo lavoro prosegue il ruolo idiosincratico di The Orb contro l’establishment. L’album è una retrospettiva della protesta contro l’approvazione storica da parte della famiglia reale del commercio di oppio della East India Company, che è stato estremamente dannoso per l’India, causando due guerre con la Cina nel 18° e 19° secolo.
Umorismo, samples, deep ambience, dub palpitante, classic house, hip hop, psicologia e composizioni straordinariamente profonde sono le caratteristiche di ‘Abolition of the Royal Familia’, che non manca di essere orgogliosamente pop.
