The Altogether
Orbital
David Gray
Producer: Orbital
Sire Records (USA), 2001
2 CD
Catalogue #: 40678
EAN: 0809274067821
UPC: 809274067821
You save: 20%
Orbital: Paul Hartnoll, Phil Hartnoll.
Additional personnel includes: Naomi Bedford, David Gray.
Pioneering techno duo Orbital has been around long enough to establish the kind of immediately identifiable sound one associates with any long-standing band. Accordingly, the Hartnoll brothers play to their strenghts on THE ALTOGETHER. The pair's sixth album doesn't leap off in any bold new directions, but it certainly delivers the electro-dance goods in a manner to which Orbital fans have become accustomed. The opening track, dancefloor burner "Tension," mates a vocal sample from the immortal trash-rock clasic "Surfin' Bird" with a relentless techno beat, and atmospheric synth drones. Siren-like femal vocals illuminate the poppy "Funny Break," and David Gray even turns up on one track, but this is still the Hartnolls' show. Throughout the album, they deploy samples, loops, and synth riffs with a deftness that only comes with extensive experience. For the faithful, a second disc featuring rare tracks and remixes is included to sweeten the deal.
Tracklist
Orbital
Formed in the early 1990s, Orbital was the brainchild of the English brothers Phil and Paul Hartnoll. Drawn from a wildly diverse set of influences, ranging from disco to hardcore, Orbital's style broke free from dance music conventions. It is rich and complex enough to reward repeated listens, yet as compulsively danceable as the most single-mindedly groovy club music.
David Gray
Welsh singer-songwriter David Gray's story is the classic scenario of the overnight success that took years to happen. He emerged in the early 1990s as an acoustic-based artist heavily influenced by old-school troubadours like Bob Dylan and Van Morrison. After a few more fine but financially unsuccessful albums, he finally broke through to the mainstream in 1999 with WHITE LADDER, an album that organically meshed Gray's singer-songwriter aesthetic with a more contemporary electronica-flavored sound.
