An ever-expanding phenomenon, The Orb’s history is often distilled down to just one moment, a handful of tracks.
Yet the group’s recent history has resulted in some of their most fascinating sonic experiments. Upcoming compilation ‘History Of The Future Pt. 2’ will be released on February 16th, tracing their output from (broadly) 2000 to the present day.
Ahead of this, Clash is able to bring you a very special premiere. Recorded with dub pioneer Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, ‘Soulman’ is a rootsy skank. In the hands of Ricardo Villalobos and Max Loderbauer, though, it is turned into an expansive dub-techno headspinner.
Thomas Fehlmann has stepped in to supply his own edit of the remix, adding a new spin to the track. Dive in below, then check out a quick Q&A with Dr Alex Paterson courtesy of our very own Tristan Parker.
‘History of the Future: Part 2’ focuses on the latter part of The Orb’s output, broadly from 2000 to the present day. Do you feel that part of The Orb often gets overlooked?
Indeed we do, but that’s something that happens when the band goes 25 years - fans can focus on the ‘hits’. Also it relates to the fact that independent labels aren’t able to market the record as a major would do . But small labels also have the bonus of no huge advances, plus they don't hold you back creatively . ‘Dirty Dancehall Dub’ and ‘Soulman' are up there with the best ever tunes The Orb have done and in time they will be seen as such.
Why did you want to structure the ‘History of the Future’ releases into two parts?
We are thinking of doing a third actually! One to celebrate Andy Hughes and his time with the band. This will be in 2016.
How did you decide what to include on ‘Part 2’?
A small process of elimination. We have plenty of albums to choose from & at the end of the day it’s a ‘favourite selection’ from Thomas and myself. We took the singles and various tracks we enjoy the most. Simple but quite clever…
Tell us about the track we’re premiering – Thomas Fehlman’s Edit of Ricardo Villalobos and Max Loderbauer ‘Soulman’ remix:
A floor filler and a right royal record with the living prophet who is Lee 'Scratch' Perry. We gave the tune to Ricardo & Max, they turned it on its head and made an epic journey out of it. Max is a close friend of the Orb who was part of Sun Electric (as was Thomas).
Can you tell us anything about the next Orb album, upcoming on Kompakt?
We are all excited in the Orb camp and that’s all I can say for now. But all will be revealed in due course, old bean.
Do you feel that The Orb’s line-up changes and vast list of collaborators have helped define the project over the years?
Yes and no. The music has. It’s liquid thing. We are The Orb. Long live The Orb. The Orb is a natural style & has its roots in many weed, ambient & natural sounds . The biggest help has been technology. And Thomas Fehlmann - he IS the man .
It’s still a fine track, of course, but do you ever get sick of playing/hearing/being asked to play ‘Little Fluffy Clouds’?
Silly question – that’s a daily hex innit ! We love this track that Youth and I got together back in the summer of ‘89. It’s original in many ways and a classic to boot ! There are two tunes on HOTF 2 - ‘Apple Tree’ and ‘Golden Clouds’ - both these gems have their roots in Little FC. Anyways it’s a top calling card. We’re all very proud of making such a record and thank the people who actually went out, bought it and made it the classic it is today!
Thank you and we, The Orb love you all.
The Orb is dead
long live The Orb
Alex Paterson
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