The Gig Cartel - Artist profiles: The Orb

Over the last 25 years, The Orb has charted one of the most idiosyncratic paths in music, notching up hit singles and albums, sell out shows all over the world and an impressive string of collaborations, most recently reggae legend Lee Scratch Perry.

Initially formed by Alex Paterson and the KLF’s Jimmy Cauty in 1988, The Orb has since consisted of the former plus different collaborators, springing to prominence with 1989’s ’A Huge Ever-Growing Pulsating Brain Which Rules From The Centre Of The Ultraworld’ before 1991’s The Orb’s Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld created a new genre called ‘ambient house’ but stretching into dub and avant garde. 

‘Little Fluffy Clouds’ [co-written with long-time collaborator Youth] was a hit single, followed by 1992’s U.F. Orb reaching number one in the album charts, spawning a top ten single in the epic 40 minute ‘Blue Room‘. The Orb went on to release a string of albums, including Live ’93, Orbus Terrarum, Orblivion, Cydonia, Bicycles & Tricycles, The Dream and Baghdad Batteries and collaborating with Pink Floyd’s Dave Gilmour on 2010’s Metallic Spheres.

 Alex, who played a pivotal role in the creation of Primal Scream’s epoch-making Screamadelica, has also pursued side projects, run his own record labels and remixed names including Primal Scream, Erasure and Front 242, while DJing all over the world and for BBC Radio.

 The silver jubilee shows are both testament to the longevity of a uniquely original British musical talent and a guarantee of an evening of floor-shaking grooves, warmly-surreal humour and the original euphoric spirit which turned acid house into the biggest youth revolution since punk rock.