The Orb - The Orb's Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld (Album Review)

[@novemberAB]

I remember this album being one of my earlier introductions into electronic music that isn't just Monstercat-type EDM junk, along with stuff like Aphex's SAW 85-92 and Daft Punk's Homework. Life-changing shit.

[@pgasnow]

hi i just wanted to say how amazing it was to discover this discography review a few weeks ago i'm a huge fan of The Orb and there's pretty much nobody talking about them this entire channel is amazing

[@sirum3n262]

Was very excited for this series! This debut is an absolute classic, no questions asked!

[@GradyBroyles]

So I have a couple of funny Orb stories: Alx Patterson is a RL friend with a couple of my best friends here in San Francisco. In 1996, he was hired by Martin OBrien (another friend of mine) to play the chill room at The Gathering at the legendary "Home Base" aka "Oakland International Rave Center" . My friends, Billie and Jonah Sharp who are friends with Alx, a guy named Nick and I here sitting about 3 feet from Alx where he was sitting on a low bench with decks and a mixer. Jonah introduced me and Nick to Alx. He was really funny and friendly. A few minutes into his set he gestured to me like he wanted a cigarette. It was a cigarette-free venue but I figured that it's The Orb, who's gonna tell him no? But as I pulled out a pack, he gestured again like "no! a JOINT" So Nick, a radical faerie, had a big bag of buds so he rolled a joint, lit it and handed it to Alx. Well, Being a Brit, Alx wasn't really ready for San Francisco weed. LOL. He got so baked, he started trainwrecking his mixes. But true to form, he leaned over and asked us, "So I just got back from Cuba where I bought a bunch of dub records I haven't heard yet.. you guys want to go through them and listen with me?" I mean... yes. Apparently a bunch of other "kids" (we were all "rave kids" back then) must have seen the joint-exchange and every few minutes some random raver would come up to the mixer and place a joint on the top of it as if all Alx was just waiting for was more weed. LOL He kept looking over at us bemused like "what is happening right now?" One kid came over, walked up slowly, got *on his knees* and with *both hands* placed a joint on the mixer like he had just met the Buddha. Alx, Jonah, Billie, Nick, myself and Blackstone (RIP) were cracking up uncontrollably at that point. Best. Night. Ever. The second time was at the same rave the following year. I saw Alx, said hi, exchanged hugs and then went to where my friends were. At that point it seemed like a good idea to take a really good E *and* a couple of grams of mushrooms. 30-ish minutes later I was so high I could barely see two feet in front of me. Oh the colors. Anyway, I must have wandered near where Alx was playing because he gestured for me to come over and asked if I was OK. I don't remember what I said, but he was like "Sit here under the console" So I did. I was sitting at his feet basically. Every now and then, he would reach down and pat me on the head and tell me it was going to be OK. Those are my fun Orb stories. He's a lovely dude. He has a podcast every week in London that he does live, BTW.

[@JamieLadue]

Holy shit. That's amazing thank you for those stories

[@F3udF1st]

Classic, little fluffy clouds was also what got me into the Orb I believe, and this was I think the first one I heard as a whole! I love "perpetual dawn", me and a friend even named our first batch of homebrew after that song. Also, when the chior about one minute into "into the fourth dimension" starts... Goosebumps.

[@RobertLombardi04]

Yay!!! It’s finally here! I was looking forward to this series and it’s finally here. The Ultraworld is a masterpiece for sure and is my easily my favorite Orb album. It genuinely makes me feel like I’m going on a journey through the solar system. A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain is easily my favorite track on this album for being my introduction to The Orb, and also because it’s quite the journey to get through as well. Other tracks that I really love are Little Fluffy Clouds, Spanish Castles in the Sky, Earth (Gaia), and Perpetual Dawn. I can clearly see why this one of your all-time favorite albums. This is golden, period!

[@dmandaman9009]

time to play little fluffy clouds on repeat all day

[@benjiusofficial]

lilulululilululililililulululilululililili

[@patricklauer4452]

Only had to wait a few years but yay this discog review is happening and this album is a masterpiece!

[@gyrethclemman923]

the biggest trip was seeing the patterns and textures video on acid... normal to hear rearrangements of the classic tracks in mixes since live 93, but at the time it was mind blowing. the full manasseh vocal on perpetual dawn is massive

[@horrorfan8785]

Not only was little fluffy clouds my introduction to the orb but it was also my introduction to electronic music as a whole. Gotta hand it to my dad for that one.

[@benjiusofficial]

Along with the PQMs 'You are Sleeping', the monologue in Little Fluffy Clouds is the only extended monologue from a song I have committed to memory. Wait, also the Twin Peaks sample in Biosphere's 'Hyperborea'

[@dsmyify]

Can you get me some plasma, perhaps some plasma will help... nevermind, sigh.... he's about as dead as these cigarettes.

[@dsmyify]

You've just had a heavy session of electroshock therapy and your more relaxed than you've been in weeks; all those childhood trauma magically wiped away, along with most of your personality.

[@ronaldmadican2393]

I found that this music was such a rewarding experience. It was different and takes you on a journey. You can almost hear the space beyond what you are listening to. They never got close to this vibe again, although the excursions beyond the call of duty are a very good listen, and the new album by Sedibus "The Heavens" isn't bad either.

[@dsmyify]

Ronald, listen to the Patterns and Textures live version of the Underworld album recorded at Brixton, it's an amazing retelling of the album.

[@jamesfield1674]

For 1991 fantastic album all tracks are sublime but my fav has to be "Into The Fourth Dimension (at about 4:50 min I was blown away)"

[@danielgaylor]

OH DUDE LOVE THIS ALBUM

[@a_silly_birb]

an easy favorite for me, probably to no one's surprise. It's got immersive tracks like the big brain song, some of their catchiest things with melodies that stick in my head in almost every track, heck, it has the bragging rights of an underrated ambient masterpiece in "Spanish Castles in Space," which is about on par with the one and only "1/1" from Music for Airports for me. This was my first album from them and was my favorite for a while, and it still is one of my favorites, but it has been topped at least by Orbus Terrarum and I do kinda hold it on par with a couple of their other albums now too, such as U.F.Orb and Chill Out World (this is one of their best don't @ me). Impossible to deny just how amazingly consistent it is, though, so on a good day, don't be surprised if I do call this one their best. This one's a real classic! The Orb are a band that I obviously respect in the world of ambient and techno (probably even a little more in techno if I'm being honest), but I also feel guilty because I don't really spend that much time with their catalogue, especially compared to other catalogues just a little bit more up my alley, like Aphex Twin, Squarepusher, Autechre, Orbital, Tim Hecker, Daft Punk, µ-ziq... you get the idea I still really like them and this album is still awesome haha please don't burn me to the stake

[@thefinkie6459]

Amazing album, and I'm so excited that The Orb discography review has finally begun! I still think it's hilarious that Little Fluffy Clouds is loved so much by so many people considering it's just a quick joke track they put together with a random tape of samples someone sent them. On the other hand, I know some people who consider that track to be the most annoying song of all time... For me it's not a favourite either, but makes an excellent album opener. The real stars of this album are Earth and Outlands imo.

[@dsmyify]

Outlands is such a great track! Little Fluffy Clouds was everyway at one point. Got sick of hearing it. Got sick of people thinking the Orb was a one hit wonder because of it. Like they were some pop band.

[@ibelieveicansoar]

Au contraire; “Little Fluffy Clouds” is one of the most complex and brilliant songs ever made. The various samples weave into and around each other with choreography that is nothing short of miraculous and transcendent. The way the word “little” gets “scratched” / pitch-shifted like a record is something I don’t think I can ever recall hearing by any other artist. It’s only topped in my mind by the actual scratching of a Sade sax solo in “Mellow Madness” by Paris, which has been my favorite hip hop song for over 30 years. The Miami Vice theme song by Jan Hammer is another brief track full of disparate elements that come together in an indescribable onslaught of genius.

[@thefinkie6459]

@@ibelieveicansoar Perhaps a fluke then? I'm pretty sure the band themselves have admitted that it was an incredibly low-effort joke track. Sometimes the greatest, most in-depth songs can be completely unintentionally so.

[@thwackmybonobo]

Dr LX has been twisting my melon for 30 years 💙

[@dsmyify]

As good as this album is, although in my opinion CD1 lacks because of backside, the patterns and textures version of this album is utterly sublime. It is without a doubt The Orb's finest hour.

[@pyenapple]

TRUTH

[@samhurley6161]

Off topic, but do you know what artist you’re thinking of doing for the next discography review? I was hoping for monolake soon. Also, I love the shit out of this album.

[@TheWonkyAngle]

uh I guess we'll see when I get there? this is gonna be a pretty long series lol

[@nolanatlsmusic9067]

Hey man, are you ever gonna review anything by Spacetime Continuum/Jonah Sharp? I just scored Emit Ecaps on CD, it's a great IDM album

[@gaborkrausz5402]

*...Oh my God, okay It's happening, everybody stay calm...*

[@a1o1]

The Orb and The Future Sound of London 🙌

[@mariefryzelkova7927]

OMG! Orb discovraphy! Finally!

[@sclitchmusic]

Dude we need a full prodigy discog review

[@AnimusTheNerd]

LESS GOOOOOOOO

[@dsmyify]

Wait ... are you not talking Aubery mixes?

[@matthewellis7002]

me too, totally agree (again) 100%

[@Vallesaab]

there are now reviews for 43/100 albums on the top 100 list

[@tresjames]

...they had to have a different singer come in to do the Minnie Riperton parts, due to copyright stuff...

[@memorytheater]

While I love this album, I do feel it is a bit overrated. The only reason it’s considered the best is that it strikes a good balance between The Orb’s more minimal and calm stuff, and their cheesier, more chaotic stuff (kinda like how you talked abt in the review on The Dream)

[@Theaphextwin972]

Have you listened to chill out by the klf it's really good aswell I haven't listened to space by Jimmy cauty though have you listened to it aswell

[@TheLippythelion69]

Found it in vinyl 50.00 From the country

[@EoinCarty]

Do reviews on metallica

[@TheWonkyAngle]

this is a channel specifically centered around electronic music, not rock, it would not make any sense for me to review metallica. also while I don't actively dislike metallica in the way that I actively can't stand AC/DC, I've never really cared about them one way or the other, they're just a band that exists as far as I'm concerned

[@neonlemurs4865]

Dj roswell murder burger review?

[@nuznikas]

Ccooll

[@talkingtechno7315]

Man I really wish I love this album. I've always found the album to be fine to an extent but except for Little Fluffy Clouds and the final track, the album does nothing for me.

[@dsmyify]

That's a shame mate.

[@brendawg207]

wonky slush

[@fliptheflunk]

wocky angle