| "Toxygene" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by the Orb | ||||
| from the album Orblivion | ||||
| B-side | "Alternate mixes" | |||
| Released | 27 January 1997[1] | |||
| Genre | Ambient house | |||
| Length | 5:19 | |||
| Label | Island | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Le Gonidec | |||
| Producer(s) | Alex Paterson, Andy Hughes, Thomas Fehlmann | |||
| The Orb singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Audio sample | ||||
"Toxygene" is a single by electronic music artist the Orb. It was released in 1997 as the first single from the album Orblivion. The song was originally commissioned as a remix of Jean-Michel Jarre's "Oxygène 8" from Oxygène 7–13.[2] However, the Orb "obliterated it" and reassembled only a few fragments for their remix, much to the chagrin of Jarre, who reportedly "threw a fit and refused to release it".[2] The Orb released the track themselves under the name "Toxygene", which further irritated Jarre, to whom Paterson retorted "The French are always five years behind us, anyway."[2] In statements made after the release of "Toxygene", Jarre denied the reports: "It's not that I didn't like it, but I wanted the first wave of remixes to be linked to Oxygene's theme and textures."[3] The release was accompanied by a music video directed by Ben Stokes.
"Toxygene" became the highest-charting single by the Orb, reaching number four on the UK Singles Chart on 8 February 1997. The band appeared on Top of the Pops to promote the song, but the pretence of a live performance was avoided; instead, the group danced around on playground rides. Outside the United Kingdom, "Toxygene" reached number 23 in Ireland and was an alternative hit in Canada, climbing to number four on the RPM Alternative 30 chart.
- ^ "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 25 January 1997. p. 33. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
- ^ a b c Smith, Andrew (16 February 1997). "Music of the Spheres". The Sunday Times. p. 13.
- ^ Aston, Martin (27 January 1997). "Dotmusic Talent: Jean Michel Jarre". Dotmusic (retrieved from the Internet Archive). Archived from the original on 8 July 1998. Retrieved 30 April 2007.