The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld
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The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld is the 1991 ambient house-concept debut album by the electronic music collective The Orb. The album's framework is of a two-hour psychedelic trip through music genres and studio electronics, produced to "push the threshold" of live stage performance. The double album is a continuous progressive composition consisting of several tracks advancing the journey concept and composed of vocal samples and sound effects interspersed with original music.There are three versions, a 109:41-minute UK release, a 70:41-minute US release and a 182:05-minute UK Deluxe Edition reissue that was released in mid-2006.
History
The Orb have always primarily been composed of one individual, Alex Paterson, along with numerous and varied individuals assisting throughout the group's recording career.[1] Paterson's late 1980s and early 1990s chillout DJ sets in Paul Oakenfold's Land of Oz night in the club Heaven are thought of by those involved as legendary[2] and included collaborations with another ambient house pioneer Jimmy Cauty. Paterson said of these events:
"We'd build melodies up by overdubbing and mixing multiple tracks and then take an eight track (or was it a twelve track?) into Heaven, just linking it up to three decks ([turntables]), loads of CD players, loads of cassettes... we used to keep it very, very quiet. We never used to play any drums in there. It'd be, just like, you know, BBC sound effects, really... four or five hours playing really early dub reggae... For All Mankind [a documentary of NASA's Apollo missions, with a soundtrack by Brian Eno]. We had white screens so we could put up visuals as well. We had home movies of ducks in the park. We'd go for everything. It was all layering on top of each other."[3]
Following success in the singles market (including 1988's Tripping on Sunshine and the Kiss EP and A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain That Rules from the Centre of the Ultraworld both in 1989),[4] Paterson and Cauty started work on their first album but split in 1990 due to disagreements about releasing The Orb's material on Cauty's record label KLF Communications.[5] While Cauty released his portions of the planned album as Space[6] and resumed his partnership with Bill Drummond as The KLF. Paterson moved on to his next collaboration Little Fluffy Clouds in Autumn 1990 with Killing Joke's Youth. The track was recorded by an 18-year-old studio engineer and future Orb collaborator Kris "Thrash" Weston.
In April 1991, the Orb released The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld for an audience familiar with their groundbreaking singles and several John Peel radio sessions.[7] The album was received in the UK and Europe with critical acclaim. The album rose to position No. 29 in the UK Album charts. By mid-1991, The Orb had signed a deal to release the album in the US but were forced to edit the double-disc 109:41-minute UK release down to a one disc 70:41 minutes. The full double-disc version and cassette were later released in the US by Island.
Album covers
The two covers are primarily distinguished by the outing of the Floydian Battersea Power Station on the cover of the US version. The images are attributed as follows (in the lining):
- orbsonic love deep space & sampling image in The Designers Republic: ian, dave, nick, micheal & vanessa
- Battersea Power Station photographed by richard cheadle and treated by dr/chromagene
- cumulonimbus clouds over the congo basin (challenger 1 April '83)
Accolades
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [8] |
Spin | [9] |
Publication | Country | Accolade | Year | Rank |
---|---|---|---|---|
Melody Maker | UK | Top 30 Albums of 1991[10] | 1991 | 22 |
NME | UK | Greatest Albums of All Time[11] | 1993 | 45 |
Spin Magazine | US | 90 Greatest Albums of the '90s[12] | 1999 | 82 |
Muzik | UK | Top 50 Dance Albums of All Time[13] | 1999 | 7 |
Pitchfork Magazine | US | Top 100 Records of the 1990s[14] | 2003 | 100 |
Slant Magazine | US | 25 Greatest Electronic Albums of the 20th Century[15] | 2003 | 4 |
Track listing
UK
Side one
- (earth orbit one) "Little Fluffy Clouds" (A. Paterson/Martin Glover) – 4:27
- (earth orbit two) "Earth (Gaia)" (A. Paterson/K. Weston) – 9:48
- (earth orbit three) "Supernova at the End of the Universe" (A. Paterson/S. Hillage/M. Giraudy) – 11:56
Side two
- (lunar orbit four) "Back Side of the Moon" (A. Paterson/S. Hillage/M. Giraudy) – 14:15
- (lunar orbit five) "Spanish Castles in Space" (A. Paterson/J. le Mesurier/G. Pratt) – 15:05
Side three
- (ultraworld probe six) "Perpetual Dawn" (A. Paterson/E. Maiden) – 9:31
- (ultraworld probe seven) "Into the Fourth Dimension" (A. Paterson/A. Falconer/P. Ferguson) – 9:16
- (ultraworld probe eight) "Outlands" (A. Paterson/T. Fehlmann) – 8:23
Side four
- (ultraworld nine) "Star 6 & 7 8 9" (A. Paterson/Tom Green/Hugh Vickers) – 8:10
- (ultraworld ten) "A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain That Rules from the Centre of the Ultraworld (Live Mix Mk 10)"(A. Paterson/J. Cauty/M. Riperton/R. Rudolph/S. Darlow/S. Lipson/B. Woolley/T. Horn) – 18:49
US
Side one
- "Little Fluffy Clouds" – 4:27
- "Earth (Gaia)" – 9:49
Side two
- "Supernova at the End of the Universe" – 11:55
- "Perpetual Dawn (Solar Youth Mix)" (A. Paterson/E. Maiden/J. Nelson/S. Phillips/Martin Glover) – 3:48
Side three
- "Into the Fourth Dimension" – 9:14
- "Outlands" – 8:20
- "Star 6 & 7 8 9" – 4:22
Side four
- "A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain That Rules from the Centre of the Ultraworld (Live Mix Mk 10)" – 18:47
UK: 2006 Deluxe Edition reissue
Disc one
- "Little Fluffy Clouds" – 4:27
- "Earth (Gaia)" – 9:48
- "Supernova at the End of the Universe" – 11:56
- "Back Side of the Moon" – 14:15
- "Spanish Castles in Space" – 15:05
Disc two
- "Perpetual Dawn" – 9:31
- "Into the Fourth Dimension" – 9:16
- "Outlands" – 8:23
- "Star 6 & 7 8 9" – 8:10
- "A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain That Rules from the Centre of the Ultraworld (Live Mix Mk 10)" – 18:49
Disc three
- "A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain That Rules from the Centre of the Ultraworld [Peel Session]" – 20:14
- "Perpetual Dawn [Ultrabass II]" – 7:12
- "Little Fluffy Clouds [Cumulo Nimbus Mix]" – 6:39
- "Back Side of the Moon [Under Water Deep Space Mix]" – 8:42
- "Outlands [Fountains of Elisha Mix]" – 8:39
- "A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain That Rules from the Centre of the Ultraworld (Aubrey Mix Mk 11)" – 7:13
- "Spanish Castles in Space [Extended Youth Mix]" – 13:39
- Track 3 mixed by Pal Joey
- Track 4 mixed by Steve Hillage
- Track 5 mixed by Ready Made
- Track 6 mixed by Jimmy Cauty & Dr Alex Patterson
- Track 7 mixed by Youth
Tracks details
Instrumentation and samples
- "Little Fluffy Clouds":
- A vocal sample of John Waite, presenter of Face the Facts ("Over the past few years to the traditional sounds of an English summer, the droning of lawnmowers, the smack of leather on willow, has been added a new noise.")
- "A Conversation with Rickie Lee Jones" by Rickie Lee Jones, an interview from a promotional CD which came with some copies of her album Flying Cowboys. This sample was the subject of litigation.
- "Electric Counterpoint: III. Fast" by Steve Reich, performed by Pat Metheny
- "Man with a Harmonica" by Ennio Morricone
- "Jump into the Fire" by Harry Nilsson, source of the main drum loop.
- "Earth (Gaia)"
- Dialogue by Max von Sydow and Peter Wyngarde from the film Flash Gordon
- Vocal samples of the Apollo 11 moon landing from the documentary film For All Mankind
- Hendrick Van Dyke from the Family Bible Reading Fellowship reading Book of Amos 9:13–15
- At around 6:18 into the track, spoken text in Lithuanian; this is an excerpt about "signing a treaty with the communist party of Azerbaijan."
- "Supernova at the End of the Universe"
- "Synthetic Substition" by Melvin Bliss
- Various flight instructions from Apollo 11 and Apollo 17 from the NASA documentary For All Mankind.
- Various NASA samples
- A vocal sample of Slim Pickens shouting "Yahoo!" from the film Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
- "Back Side of the Moon"
- Various NASA samples
- A vocal sample from the album Some Product: Carri on Sex Pistols by the Sex Pistols.
- "Spanish Castles in Space"
- "Spartacus Love Theme" by Bill Evans
- "Perpetual Dawn"
- "Into the Fourth Dimension"
- A vocal excerpt from "Miserere" by Gregorio Allegri.
- An excerpt from the 2nd Movement of the "L'amoroso" Violin Concerto in E major, RV271 by Antonio Vivaldi.
- "Outlands"
- "Abu Zeluf" by Dunya Yunis
- "Blackboard Jungle Dub" by Lee "Scratch" Perry
- "A Conversation with Rickie Lee Jones" by Rickie Lee Jones, an interview from a promotional CD which came with some copies of her album Flying Cowboys. This sample was the subject of litigation.
- "Autobahn" and "Trans-Europe Express" by Kraftwerk.
- An organ sound patch from a Casio CZ-101 synthesizer
- "A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain That Rules from the Centre of the Ultraworld"
- "Lovin’ You" by Minnie Riperton
- "Slave to the Rhythm" by Grace Jones
- Dub-influenced ambience
- BBC Radiophonic Workshop soundtracks
- 70s ambient pioneers Brian Eno, Steve Hillage, and Pink Floyd
- Larry Heard's Chicago house
Contributors
Musicians and engineers
- Alex Paterson
- Jimmy Cauty
- Steve Hillage
- Miquette Giraudy
- Trevor Horn
- Andy Falconer
- Thomas Fehlmann
- Youth
- Kris "Thrash" Weston
- Guy Pratt
- Steve Lipson
- Simon Darlow
- Richard Rudolph
- Eddie Maiden
- Jeffrey Nelson
- Simon Phillips of Prayer Box
- Greg Hunter
- Tom Green of Another Fine Day
Samples
Influences
Release history
Year | Type | Label | Catalog |
---|---|---|---|
2006 | CD | Island/Universal | 948,002-2 |
1994 | CD | Big Life/Island Red | 535005 |
1994 | CS | Big Life/Island Red | 535005 |
1994 | CD | Big Life | BRDCD5 |
1991 | CD | Big Life | 314-511034-2 |
1991 | CS | Big Life | 314-511034-4 |
1991 | CD | Big Life | 511034 |
1991 | CS | Big Life | 511034 |
Recording details
- the coach house, London.
- do not erase, London
- marcus studios, London.
- soho, London.
- mit cafe.
- Berwick Street Studio, London.
- Brixton, southside.
- outer space, inner space
- Trancentral, London. Cautys/KLF studio
Citations
- Critical attributions from CDUniverse
- Sample attributions from Babylon and Ting
- Release history from allmusic
- Toop quote from David Hedges
External links
- Adrien Denning's album review
- review Eamon McCucker's album review
- Howard Shih's interview with Alex Paterson 1997
- Back Side of the Orb – The Orb Discography
Footnotes
- ^ Prior to The Orb, Paterson was a roadie for Killing Joke, and worked in Brian Eno's EG Records.
- ^ Paterson's "White Room chillout sets are mentioned here
- ^ David Toop Ocean of Sound. London: Serpent's Tail, 1995
- ^ The singles are detailed here
- ^ There is some evidence to indicate they split because of artistic differences, Paterson viewed himself as a musician, Cauty as a DJ and there was some concern that Cauty was treating The Orb as a side project.
- ^ There are direct parallels between Space and Adventures but Cauty removed Paterson's attribution from the credits
- ^ The "Maida Vale" Peel sessions are listed here
- ^ Allmusic review
- ^ Weisbard & Marks, 1995. p.282
- ^ The full Melody Maker 1991 Top 30 list is available here
- ^ The full NME 1993 Greatest Albums list is available here. You have to scroll down to the 1993 section
- ^ Retrieved from the Internet Archive here
- ^ Full list is here. Scroll down, list is very long.
- ^ Full list is available here
- ^ Full article available here
References
- Weisbard, Eric (1995). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
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