''The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld'' is the debut
studio album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
by English
electronic music
Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...
group
The Orb
The Orb are an English electronic music group founded in 1988 by Alex Paterson and Jimmy Cauty. Known for their psychedelic sound, the Orb developed a cult following among clubbers "coming down" from drug-induced highs. Their influential 19 ...
, released as a
double album
A double album (or double record) is an audio album that spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically either records or compact disc. A double album is usually, though not always, released as such because the recording i ...
on 2 April 1991 by
Big Life
Big Life was a record label established in 1987 by Jazz Summers and Tim Parry. It featured hundreds of releases from artists such as The Orb, Stare, Yazz, Junior Reid, Coldcut, De La Soul, and Damage.
In 1999, the label was put into receivers ...
. It is a continuous,
progressive composition evoking a two-hour
psychedelic trip that draws from various genres (including
ambient
Ambient or Ambiance or Ambience may refer to:
Music and sound
* Ambience (sound recording), also known as atmospheres or backgrounds
* Ambient music, a genre of music that puts an emphasis on tone and atmosphere
* ''Ambient'' (album), by Moby
* ...
,
house
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...
,
dub reggae
Dub is an electronic musical style that grew out of reggae in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It is commonly considered a subgenre of reggae, though it has developed to extend beyond that style.Dub: soundscapes and shattered songs in Jamaican re ...
, and
hip hop) and incorporates
samples and
sound effect
A sound effect (or audio effect) is an artificially created or enhanced sound, or sound process used to emphasize artistic or other content of films, television shows, live performance, animation, video games, music, or other media. Traditi ...
s. Much of the album was recorded after founding member
Jimmy Cauty
James Francis Cauty (born 19 December 1956), also known as Rockman Rock, is an English artist and musician, best known as one-half of the duo The KLF, co-founder of The Orb and as the man who burnt £1 million.
He is married to artist and mu ...
left the group, leaving
Alex Paterson
Alex Paterson (also known as Dr Alex Paterson, born Duncan Alexander Robert Paterson; 15 October 1959 in Battersea, London) is an English musician and co-founder of ambient house group The Orb, in which he has worked since its inception.
Life ...
as the central member, with additional contributions by
Andy Falconer,
Kris Weston
Kristian "Kris" Weston (a.k.a. Thrash) (born 1972) is a British electronic musician, record producer and remixer best known for his work as a member of The Orb. Around the beginning of his career, he worked with Andrew Weatherall on remixes of ...
, and others.
The album was preceded by the charting (#78) 1989 single "
," which closes the album. ''The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld'' was well received in Europe and reached number 29 on the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...
. It has since been credited with popularizing the UK's nascent
ambient house
Ambient house is a downtempo subgenre of house music that first emerged in the late 1980s, combining elements of acid house and ambient music. The genre developed in chill-out rooms and specialist clubs as part of the UK's dance music scene. It w ...
movement.
Background
Alex Paterson
Alex Paterson (also known as Dr Alex Paterson, born Duncan Alexander Robert Paterson; 15 October 1959 in Battersea, London) is an English musician and co-founder of ambient house group The Orb, in which he has worked since its inception.
Life ...
began his music career in the 1980s as a
roadie
The road crew (or roadies) are the technicians or support personnel who travel with a band on tour, usually in sleeper buses, and handle every part of the concert productions except actually performing the music with the musicians. This catc ...
for the
post-punk
Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...
band
Killing Joke
Killing Joke are an English rock music, rock band from Notting Hill, London, England, formed in 1979 by Jaz Coleman (vocals, keyboards), Paul Ferguson (drums), Geordie Walker (guitar) and Youth (musician), Youth (bass).
Their first album, ''Ki ...
before eventually leaving in 1986 to pursue his own musical interests. Influenced by the growing popularity of
Chicago house
Chicago house refers to house music produced during the mid to late 1980s within Chicago. The term is generally used to refer to the first ever house music productions, which were by Chicago-based artists in the 1980s.
History and origins Disco ...
music in Britain during the decade, shortly thereafter he began working with another
ambient house
Ambient house is a downtempo subgenre of house music that first emerged in the late 1980s, combining elements of acid house and ambient music. The genre developed in chill-out rooms and specialist clubs as part of the UK's dance music scene. It w ...
pioneer,
Jimmy Cauty
James Francis Cauty (born 19 December 1956), also known as Rockman Rock, is an English artist and musician, best known as one-half of the duo The KLF, co-founder of The Orb and as the man who burnt £1 million.
He is married to artist and mu ...
, who had been involved in the Killing Joke side-project
Brilliant with Paterson's childhood friend
Youth
Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood ( maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as being a young adult. You ...
.
Paterson, Cauty and Youth also performed
chillout
Chill-out (shortened as chill; also typeset as chillout or chill out) is a loosely defined form of popular music characterized by slow tempos and relaxed moods. The definition of "chill-out music" has evolved throughout the decades, and generally ...
DJ sets in
Paul Oakenfold
Paul Mark Oakenfold (born 30 August 1963), formerly known mononymously as Oakenfold, is an English record producer, remixer and trance DJ. He has provided over 100 remixes for over 100 artists including U2, Moby, Madonna, Britney Spears, Mass ...
's ''Land of Oz'' night in the club
Heaven
Heaven or the heavens, is a common religious cosmological or transcendent supernatural place where beings such as deities, angels, souls, saints, or venerated ancestors are said to originate, be enthroned, or reside. According to the belie ...
.
Paterson said of these events:
Following success in the singles market with their releases as The Orb, including 1988's ''
Tripping on Sunshine'' and the ''
Kiss EP'' and ''
'', both released in 1989, Paterson and Cauty started work on the first Orb album but split in April 1990 due to disagreements about releasing The Orb's work on Cauty and
Bill Drummond
William Ernest Drummond (born 29 April 1953) is a Scottish artist, musician, writer, and record producer. He was a co-founder of the late-1980s avant-garde pop group the KLF and its 1990s media-manipulating successor, the K Foundation, with wh ...
's record label
KLF Communications
The KLF (also known as the Justified Ancients of Mu Mu, the JAMs, the Timelords and other names) are a British electronic band formed in London in 1987. Bill Drummond (alias King Boy D) and Jimmy Cauty (alias Rockman Rock) began by releasing h ...
. While Cauty released his portions of the planned album as ''
Space
Space is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consider ...
'' and continued with his other group
The KLF
The KLF (also known as the Justified Ancients of Mu Mu, the JAMs, the Timelords and other names) are a British electronic band formed in London in 1987. Bill Drummond (alias King Boy D) and Jimmy Cauty (alias Rockman Rock) began by releasing ...
, Paterson moved on to his next collaboration, "
Little Fluffy Clouds
"Little Fluffy Clouds" is a single released by the British ambient house group the Orb. It was originally released in November 1990 on the record label Big Life and peaked at number 87 on the UK Singles Chart. The Orb also included it on their ...
", in autumn 1990 with Youth.
The track was recorded by an 18-year-old studio engineer and future Orb collaborator,
Kris "Thrash" Weston.
Music
''
Slant Magazine
''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York ...
'' called the album a blend of "loping
house
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...
beats and shades of
reggae-dub with atmospheric
sampladelia
Sampledelia (also called sampledelica) is sample-based music that uses samplers or similar technology to expand upon the recording methods of 1960s psychedelia. Sampledelia features "disorienting, perception-warping" manipulations of audio sampl ...
(film dialogue, wildlife,
radio broadcast
Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...
s, strings and choirs)" which defined the
ambient house
Ambient house is a downtempo subgenre of house music that first emerged in the late 1980s, combining elements of acid house and ambient music. The genre developed in chill-out rooms and specialist clubs as part of the UK's dance music scene. It w ...
movement of the early 1990s.
''International DJ'' noted the album's "then unique blend of head-nodding grooves (often recycled from old
hip hop and
dub reggae
Dub is an electronic musical style that grew out of reggae in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It is commonly considered a subgenre of reggae, though it has developed to extend beyond that style.Dub: soundscapes and shattered songs in Jamaican re ...
records), horizontal ambience, and all manner of tongue-in-cheek
spoken word
Spoken word refers to an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a late 20th century continuation of an ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetics of ...
samples."
Release
In April 1991, the Orb released ''The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld'' for an audience familiar with their groundbreaking singles and several
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...
radio sessions. The album was received in the United Kingdom and Europe with critical
acclaim and reached number 29 on the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...
.
By mid-1991, The Orb had signed a deal to release the album in the United States but were forced to edit the double-disc 109:41-minute UK release down to one 70:41-minute disc. This version replaced "Perpetual Dawn" with a remix by Youth and "Star 6 & 7 8 9" with its "Phase II" version, both available on the "
Perpetual Dawn
"Perpetual Dawn" is a song by English electronic music group the Orb from ''The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld''. It was originally released in 1991 and re-released in 1994 and features vocals by Jeffrey Nelson and Shola. The song reache ...
" single; and removed "Back Side of the Moon" and "Spanish Castles in Space" entirely. The full double-disc version and cassette were later released in the US by
Island Records
Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...
.
Artwork
The cover for ''The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld'' was designed by graphic design collective
The Designers Republic
The Designers Republic (also tDR, and styled as The Designers Republic™) is a British graphic design studio based in Sheffield, England, founded in 1986 by Ian Anderson and Nick Phillips. They are best known for electronic music logos, a ...
, who is credited for "orbsonic love deep space & sampling image" in the liner notes.
The album booklet features an image of the
Battersea Power Station
Battersea Power Station is a decommissioned Grade II* listed coal-fired power station, located on the south bank of the River Thames, in Nine Elms, Battersea, in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It was built by the London Power Company (LPC) ...
, as photographed by Richard Cheadle and "treated by dr/chromagene", as well as an image of
cumulonimbus
Cumulonimbus (from Latin ''cumulus'', "heaped" and ''nimbus'', "rainstorm") is a dense, towering vertical cloud, typically forming from water vapor condensing in the lower troposphere that builds upward carried by powerful Buoyancy, buoyant air ...
clouds over the
Congo Basin
The Congo Basin (french: Bassin du Congo) is the sedimentary basin of the Congo River. The Congo Basin is located in Central Africa, in a region known as west equatorial Africa. The Congo Basin region is sometimes known simply as the Congo. It con ...
, taken from the
Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' on 1 April 1983.
The Battersea Power Station image was utilized as cover art for the US release of the album.
Reception
In a contemporary review of ''The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld'', the ''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'' dubbed it "an album sounding like
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...
without all the self-indulgent solos", concluding that "Reality is inside a pair of headphones overflowing with The Orb. Life will never be the same again. The flotation tank beckons."
''
Select''s Russell Brown wrote that "long and strange as it is, ''Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld'' is without doubt a good trip." At the end of 1991, ''
Melody Maker
''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...
'' ranked it at number 22 on their year-end top albums list, adding that it contained "some of the most unique sounds of the year."
In the years following its release, ''The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld'' has received continued critical acclaim. A 1993 list of the greatest albums of all-time by ''NME'' placed the album at number 45. In 1999, ''
Spin
Spin or spinning most often refers to:
* Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning
* Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis
* Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...
'' ranked it at number 82 on their list of the best albums of the 1990s, with critic Richard Gehr opining that "''Ultraworld'' is art at its most functional: It works equally well as both acid-peak booster rocket and as
Prozac
Fluoxetine, sold under the brand names Prozac and Sarafem, among others, is an antidepressant of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) class. It is used for the treatment of major depressive disorder, obsessive–compulsive disorde ...
-ian relief from an ecstatic all-nighter." In 2002, ''
Muzik
''Muzik'' was a British dance music magazine published by IPC Media from June 1995 to August 2003.
''Muzik'' was created by two former ''Melody Maker'' journalists, Push and Ben Turner. Push was the editor of ''Muzik'' from its launch until he ...
'' named it the seventh best
dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded danc ...
album of all-time,
while ''
Slant Magazine
''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York ...
'' deemed it the fourth greatest electronic music album of the 20th century.
The following year, ''
Pitchfork
A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves.
The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...
''s decade-end list ranked the album at number 100, with Alex Linhardt's accompanying write-up noting that it "managed to make
ambient house
Ambient house is a downtempo subgenre of house music that first emerged in the late 1980s, combining elements of acid house and ambient music. The genre developed in chill-out rooms and specialist clubs as part of the UK's dance music scene. It w ...
a perpetual 'next big thing' for the rest of the decade."
John Bush of
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
cited ''The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld'' as "the album that defined the ambient house movement."
Track listing
Original UK release (double album)
* On CD, Sides 1 & 2 appeared on Disc 1 (the "orbit compact disc") and Sides 3 & 4 appeared on Disc 2 (the "ultraworld compact disc".)
Original US release
* On CD, Sides 1, 2, 3 & 4 appeared on 1 disc.
2006 UK deluxe edition
Tracks details
Instrumentation and samples
* "
Little Fluffy Clouds
"Little Fluffy Clouds" is a single released by the British ambient house group the Orb. It was originally released in November 1990 on the record label Big Life and peaked at number 87 on the UK Singles Chart. The Orb also included it on their ...
":
** A vocal sample of
John Waite
John Charles Waite (born 4 July 1952) is an English musician. As a solo artist, he has released ten studio albums and is best known for the 1984 hit single " Missing You", which reached No. 1 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and the top ten on ...
, presenter of ''
Face the Facts
''Face the Facts'' was a consumer affairs programme on BBC Radio 4, featuring investigative journalism, that ran from the 1986 until 2015. Introduced by John Waite, cousin of the well-known humanitarian and churchman Terry Waite, it usually focuse ...
'' ("Over the past few years to the traditional sounds of an English summer, the droning of lawnmowers, the smack of leather on willow, has been added a new noise.")
** "A Conversation with Rickie Lee Jones" by
Rickie Lee Jones
Rickie Lee Jones (born November 8, 1954) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and author. Over the course of a career that spans five decades, she has recorded in various musical styles including Rock music, rock, Rhythm and blues, R&B ...
, an interview from a promotional CD which came with some copies of her album ''
Flying Cowboys
''Flying Cowboys'' is an album by Rickie Lee Jones that was released in September 1989 and produced by Walter Becker of Steely Dan.
Background
After the release of '' The Magazine'' in 1984, Jones retreated from the limelight. She married Pas ...
''. This sample was the subject of litigation.
** "
Electric Counterpoint
''Electric Counterpoint'' is a minimalist composition by the American composer Steve Reich. The piece consists of three movements, "Fast," "Slow", and "Fast". Reich has offered two versions of the piece: one for electric guitar and tape (the ...
: III. Fast" by
Steve Reich
Stephen Michael Reich ( ; born October 3, 1936) is an American composer known for his contribution to the development of minimal music in the mid to late 1960s. Reich's work is marked by its use of repetitive figures, slow harmonic rhythm, a ...
, performed by
Pat Metheny
Patrick Bruce Metheny ( ; born August 12, 1954) is an American jazz guitarist and composer.
He is the leader of the Pat Metheny Group and is also involved in duets, solo works, and other side projects. His style incorporates elements of progre ...
** "Man with a Harmonica" by
Ennio Morricone
Ennio Morricone (; 10 November 19286 July 2020) was an Italian composer, orchestrator, conductor, and trumpeter who wrote music in a wide range of styles. With more than 400 scores for cinema and television, as well as more than 100 classica ...
** "Jump into the Fire" by
Harry Nilsson
Harry Edward Nilsson III (June 15, 1941 – January 15, 1994), sometimes credited as Nilsson, was an American singer-songwriter who reached the peak of his commercial success in the early 1970s. His work is characterized by pioneering vocal ove ...
, source of the main drum loop.
* "Earth (Gaia)"
** Dialogue by
Max von Sydow
Max von Sydow ( , ; born Carl Adolf von Sydow; 10 April 1929 – 8 March 2020) was a Swedish-French actor. He had a 70-year career in European and American cinema, television, and theatre, appearing in more than 150 films and several television ...
and
Peter Wyngarde
Peter Paul Wyngarde (born Cyril Goldbert, 23 August 1927 – 15 January 2018) was a British television, stage and film actor from the late 1940s to the mid 1990s. He was best known for portraying the character Jason King, a bestselling novelist ...
from the film ''
Flash Gordon
Flash Gordon is the protagonist of a space adventure comic strip created and originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by, and created to compete with, the already established ''Buck Rogers'' adve ...
''
** Vocal samples of the
Apollo 11
Apollo 11 (July 16–24, 1969) was the American spaceflight that first landed humans on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin landed the Apollo Lunar Module ''Eagle'' on July 20, 1969, at 20:17 UTC, an ...
moon landing from the documentary film ''
For All Mankind''
** Hendrick Van Dyke from the Family Bible Reading Fellowship reading
Book of Amos
The Book of Amos is the third of the Twelve Minor Prophets in the Old Testament (Tanakh) and the second in the Greek Septuagint tradition. Amos, an older contemporary of Hosea and Isaiah, Harris, Stephen L., ''Understanding the Bible''. Palo Alto ...
9:13–15
** At 6:19 into the track, a sample of a
Lithuanian news report: "Jie pasirašė lyg ir sutartį su Azerbaidžiano komunistų partija.
..Didelį svorį pajuto tautiškai nusiteikę azerbaidžianiečiai, jų populiarusis Laisvės Frontas, kuris būtų tolygus mūsų Sąjudžiui. Jie pasirašė lyg ir sutartį su Azerbaidžiano komunistų partija." ("They seem to have signed the agreement with the
Communist Party of Azerbaijan
The Azerbaijan Communist Party ( az, Azərbaycan Kommunist Partiyası; russian: Коммунистическая партия Азербайджана) was the ruling political party in the Azerbaijan SSR, making it effectively a branch of the ...
..Nationally minded Azerbaijanis felt their big weight, their popular Freedom Front, which would be equivalent to our
Sąjūdis
Sąjūdis (, "Movement"), initially known as the Reform Movement of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Persitvarkymo Sąjūdis), is the political organisation which led the struggle for Lithuanian independence in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It was es ...
movement. They seem to have signed the agreement with the Communist Party of Azerbaijan".)
* "Supernova at the End of the Universe"
** "Synthetic Substition" by
Melvin Bliss
Melvin McClelland (June 1, 1945-July 26, 2010) was a rhythm and blues singer known for his 1973 in music, 1973 song "Reward/Synthetic Substitution", the B-side of which was heavily sampled
** Various flight instructions from
Apollo 11
Apollo 11 (July 16–24, 1969) was the American spaceflight that first landed humans on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin landed the Apollo Lunar Module ''Eagle'' on July 20, 1969, at 20:17 UTC, an ...
and
Apollo 17
Apollo 17 (December 7–19, 1972) was the final mission of NASA's Apollo program, the most recent time humans have set foot on the Moon or traveled beyond low Earth orbit. Commander Gene Cernan and Lunar Module Pilot Harrison Schmitt walked on ...
from the NASA documentary ''
For All Mankind''.
** Various
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
samples
** A vocal sample of
Slim Pickens
Louis Burton Lindley Jr. (June 29, 1919 – December 8, 1983), better known by his stage name Slim Pickens, was an American actor and rodeo performer. Starting off in the rodeo, Pickens transitioned to acting and appeared in dozens of movies and ...
shouting "Yahoo!" from the film ''
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb''
* "Back Side of the Moon"
** Various NASA samples
** A vocal sample from the album ''
Some Product: Carri on Sex Pistols'' by the
Sex Pistols
The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they were one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music. They were responsible for ...
.
* "Spanish Castles in Space"
** "Spartacus Love Theme" by
Bill Evans
William John Evans (August 16, 1929 – September 15, 1980) was an American jazz pianist and composer who worked primarily as the leader of his trio. His use of impressionist harmony, interpretation of traditional jazz repertoire, block ch ...
** Narration from the Soviet field recording album Звуковые И Биоэлектрические Сигналы Рыб (Audio and Bioelectric Signals of Fishes)
* "
Perpetual Dawn
"Perpetual Dawn" is a song by English electronic music group the Orb from ''The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld''. It was originally released in 1991 and re-released in 1994 and features vocals by Jeffrey Nelson and Shola. The song reache ...
"
** "
Peppermint Twist
"Peppermint Twist" is a song written by Joey Dee and Henry Glover, recorded and released by Joey Dee and the Starliters in 1961. Capitalizing on the Twist dance craze and the nightclub in which Dee performed ("The Peppermint Lounge"), the song hi ...
" by
Joey Dee and the Starliters
Joey Dee and the Starliters (also credited as Joey Dee and the Starlighters) is an American popular music group. The group is best known for their million-selling recording "Peppermint Twist" (1961).
The group's most notable lineup is considere ...
* "Into the Fourth Dimension"
** A vocal excerpt from "
Miserere" by
Gregorio Allegri
Gregorio Allegri (17 February 1652) was a Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic priest and Italy, Italian composer of the Roman School and brother of Domenico Allegri; he was also a singer. He was born"Allegri, Gregorio" in ''Chambers's Encyclop ...
.
** An excerpt from the 2nd Movement of the "L'amoroso" Violin Concerto in E major, RV271 by
Antonio Vivaldi
Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist and impresario of Baroque music. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lifetime was widespread a ...
.
* "Outlands"
** "
Love Without Sound" by
White Noise
In signal processing, white noise is a random signal having equal intensity at different frequencies, giving it a constant power spectral density. The term is used, with this or similar meanings, in many scientific and technical disciplines, ...
** "Blackboard Jungle Dub" by
Lee "Scratch" Perry
Lee "Scratch" Perry (born Rainford Hugh Perry; 20 March 1936 – 29 August 2021) was a Jamaican record producer, composer and singer noted for his innovative studio techniques and production style. Perry was a pioneer in the 1970s development o ...
** "A Conversation with Rickie Lee Jones" by
Rickie Lee Jones
Rickie Lee Jones (born November 8, 1954) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and author. Over the course of a career that spans five decades, she has recorded in various musical styles including Rock music, rock, Rhythm and blues, R&B ...
, an interview from a promotional CD which came with some copies of her album ''
Flying Cowboys
''Flying Cowboys'' is an album by Rickie Lee Jones that was released in September 1989 and produced by Walter Becker of Steely Dan.
Background
After the release of '' The Magazine'' in 1984, Jones retreated from the limelight. She married Pas ...
''. This sample was the subject of litigation.
** "Some Love" by
New Age Steppers
New Age Steppers were a dub collective from the United Kingdom, formed by producer Adrian Sherwood and featuring members of various prominent 1970s UK post-punk groups, including Ari Up and Viv Albertine of the Slits, Mark Stewart and Bruce Smi ...
** "Hot Tip" by Prince Django
** "
Europe Endless" by
Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk (, "power station") is a German band formed in Düsseldorf in 1970 by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. Widely considered innovators and pioneers of electronic music, Kraftwerk were among the first successful acts to popularize the ...
.
** An organ sound patch from a
Casio CZ-101
is a Japanese multinational electronics manufacturing corporation headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Its products include calculators, mobile phones, digital cameras, electronic musical instruments, and analogue and digital watches. It w ...
synthesizer
* "A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain That Rules from the Centre of the Ultraworld"
** "
Lovin' You
"Lovin' You" is a song recorded by American singer Minnie Riperton from her second studio album, ''Perfect Angel'' (1974). It was written by Riperton and Richard Rudolph, produced by Rudolph and Stevie Wonder, and released as the album's fourth s ...
" by
Minnie Riperton
Minnie Julia Riperton Rudolph (November 8, 1947 – July 12, 1979)
was an American singer-songwriter best known for her 1975 single "Lovin' You" and her four octave D3 to F7 coloratura soprano range. She is also widely known for her use o ...
** "
Slave to the Rhythm" by
Grace Jones
Grace Beverly Jones (born 19 May 1948) is a model, singer and actress. Born in Jamaica, she and her family moved to Syracuse, New York, when she was a teenager. Jones began her modelling career in New York state, then in Paris, working for ...
Personnel
Credits for ''The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld'' adapted from liner notes.
*
Alex Paterson
Alex Paterson (also known as Dr Alex Paterson, born Duncan Alexander Robert Paterson; 15 October 1959 in Battersea, London) is an English musician and co-founder of ambient house group The Orb, in which he has worked since its inception.
Life ...
– production, engineering, mixing
*
Jimmy Cauty
James Francis Cauty (born 19 December 1956), also known as Rockman Rock, is an English artist and musician, best known as one-half of the duo The KLF, co-founder of The Orb and as the man who burnt £1 million.
He is married to artist and mu ...
– production ("A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain That Rules from the Centre of the Ultraworld")
*
Andy Falconer – production ("Into the Fourth Dimension"), engineering, mixing
*
Thomas Fehlmann
Thomas Fehlmann (born 1957) is a Swiss composer/producer who lives in Berlin, Germany, and has been active in electronic music since the 1980s. He is currently active on the Kompakt record label based in Germany. Fehlmann is an on-and-off member ...
– mixing
*
Miquette Giraudy
Miquette Giraudy is a French keyboard player and vocalist, best known for her work in Gong, and with her partner Steve Hillage. She and Hillage form the core of the ambient band System 7. She has also worked as an actress, film editor and writer ...
– production ("Supernova at the End of the Universe", "Back Side of the Moon")
*
Steve Hillage
Stephen Simpson Hillage (born 2 August 1951) is an English musician, best known as a guitarist. He is associated with the Canterbury scene and has worked in experimental domains since the late 1960s. Besides his solo sound recording and reprodu ...
– production ("Supernova at the End of the Universe", "Back Side of the Moon")
*
Greg Hunter
Greg Hunter (born 1965 in Hammersmith, London) is an English composer and sound engineer. He attended Goldsmiths, University of London. He is known for his work with The Orb and with producer Youth in their collaboration to form Dub Trees, and a ...
– engineering (assistant)
* Eddie Maiden – production ("Perpetual Dawn")
*
Guy Pratt
Guy Adam Pratt (born 3 January 1962) is a British musician. He is best known for his prolific work as a session bass player, working with artists including Pink Floyd (also David Gilmour and Nick Mason), Roxy Music (also Bryan Ferry), Gary M ...
– bass ("Spanish Castles in Space")
* Tim Russell – engineering, mixing
*
Kris "Thrash" Weston – engineering, mixing
*
Youth
Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood ( maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as being a young adult. You ...
– production ("Little Fluffy Clouds"), mixing
Release history
Footnotes
References
*
*
*
External links
*
* Sample attributions fro
Babylon and Ting
The Orb albums
1991 debut albums
Albums with cover art by The Designers Republic
Ambient house albums
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