The Orb

This article is about the European band. For other uses, see Orb (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with Orbital (band).

The Orb
The duo behind a record table
Alex Paterson and Thomas Fehlmann of the Orb at Culture Box in Copenhagen in 2005
Background information
OriginLondon, England
Genres
Years active1988–present
Labels
MembersAlex Paterson
Michael Rendall
Past membersJimmy Cauty
Kris Weston
Andy Falconer
Andy Hughes
Simon Phillips
Nick Burton
Dom Beken
Thomas Fehlmann
Websitetheorb.com

The Orb are an English electronic music group founded in 1988 by Alex Paterson and Jimmy Cauty. Known for their psychedelic sound, the Orb developed a cult following among clubbers "coming down" from drug-induced highs.[1] Their influential 1991 debut album The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld pioneered the UK's nascent ambient house movement,[2] while its UK chart-topping follow-up U.F.Orb represented the group's commercial peak.[3]

Beginning as ambient and dub DJs in London, the Orb's early performances were inspired by electronic artists of the 1970s, most notably Brian Eno, Cluster, and Kraftwerk. The Orb have maintained their signature science fiction aesthetic despite numerous personnel changes, including the departure of Cauty and members Kris Weston, Andy Falconer, Simon Phillips, Nick Burton, and Andy Hughes. Paterson has been the only permanent member, continuing to work as the Orb with Swiss-German producer Thomas Fehlmann, and later, with Martin "Youth" Glover, bassist of Killing Joke. Paterson's unauthorised use of other artists' works has led to multiple disputes, most notably with Rickie Lee Jones.[4]

During their live shows in the 1990s, the Orb performed using digital audio tape machines optimised for live mixing and sampling before switching to laptops and other digital media. Featuring colourful light shows and psychedelic imagery, their performances often incited comparisons to Pink Floyd, whose guitarist, David Gilmour, later collaborated with them on the album Metallic Spheres in 2010.

Their seventeenth studio album, Prism, was released on 28 April 2023 by Cooking Vinyl.

  1. ^ Hodgkinson, Will (31 January 2003). "Chills and thrills". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 March 2007.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference century was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Bush, John. "U.F.Orb – The Orb". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
  4. ^ Silva, Joe (1 February 2001). "Living in Orblivion". Remix Magazine. Archived from the original on 7 May 2006. Retrieved 20 March 2007.