THE ORB
The Orb have been part of the British dance furniture for 30 years, helmed from the start by Alex Paterson. Their latest tour celebrates both a three-decade milestone and a new album, No Sounds Are Out Of Bounds. With Alex as the hub, The Orb are arch collaborators. Most of his co-musicians have been well regarded, if not necessarily superstars – unlike Dave Gilmour of Pink Floyd, with whom he made 2010’s Metallic Spheres. But how did this match-up come to be?
“One of my old schoolmates, Guy Pratt, ended up playing for Pink Floyd and I used to be his prefect! Sometimes it’s about who you know,” he says jokily, before confessing that the album process was a strange one. “He came and did his guitar parts, then someone at the studio called to say, ‘Dave’s just left’. I didn’t realise he had been and gone. I never even saw him.”
Would he like to have been part of a worldwide phenomenon like the Floyd? “Well, this is what scared me at the start, when we were referred to as ‘the Pink Floyd of the 90s’. Of course, that was only until we released an album that pissed everyone off. That got the monkey off our back. It also showed us who are true fans were.”
Alex has always understood the appeal of The Orb’s music well; when recording their first two albums, they’d bring in smoke machines and strobes to recreate the club environment and get the sound just right. Not that he’s a hippy: “I grew up in a punk environment. I certainly wasn’t a hippy listening to Pink Floyd when I was growing up. Ironic, given I ended up working with Dave.” The suggestion that maybe he’s ‘a punk in a hippy world’ draws a wry chuckle of recognition from Alex.
And how is he curating a show that draws on 30 years of musical output? “We have a lot to pick from, so we can change it around and see how we feel each time out. There’s a new album, so there’ll be plenty of new stuff, plus I like to throw in totally new tunes that I’m still working on too.” MAX HARVEY
The Orb, Tramshed, Cardiff, Thurs 11 Oct. Tickets: £29. Info: 029 2023 5555 / www.tramshedcardiff.com